Cheese and Fairytales

It truly feels like spring is in the air at the moment. February has been a pretty good month and March is looking promising.

I spent some time exploring Burrowbridge at the start of the month, looking for interesting views of Burrow Mump. The moors around the mump are interesting but pretty difficult to work with I think. Because the land is so flat it’s hard to find interesting compositions for photographs. There are a maze of rhynes to get around and then a row of telegraph poles to try and avoid. I eventually found a clump of Willow trees which made an interesting and original picture.

I still need to do a bit more exploring before I feel happy that I’m familiar with the area though.

I also wanted to capture some different landmarks in Somerset. Cheddar Gorge seemed like a good place to start from! This view is from the eastern side of the gorge looking towards Cheddar Reservoir and the Bristol Channel in the distance.

Finally, I’ve also been waiting for a foggy morning to explore the hills. I’ve anticipated foggy mornings so much that I know pretty much how many we’ve had over the winter and there don’t seem to be as many as in previous years. Maybe that’s because of the cold weather? However, as the weather has become warmer there’s been more rain and thus some fog! Not only was there fog but there was also sun (if one climbed high enough). My plan sprung into action and I managed to get just high enough to be above the fog on a hill near Wells. The experience of seeing such thick fog coating the Somerset levels was mesmerising. I watched as slowly the fog drifted along, lapping the Mendips. It really is a wondrous sight and the only way I can describe it is it’s like watching waves coming in at sea in slow motion but on a bigger scale.

Because the landscape near Wells is quite flat I had trouble photographing any landmarks – Glastonbury Tor was just a blip in a grey sea and the tips of Wells Cathedral only just poked through the fog. But this was all I needed and as I stood there waiting for the sun to rise I imagined that there could be all sorts of things beneath the thick fog. The tips of Wells Cathedral and St Cuthbert’s Church seemed like castle turrets… a hidden kingdom.

Of course as soon as the sun had risen above the horizon the fog expanded and rose, swallowing whatever view I had of the cathedral with it.