No this wasn’t some form of Northern Soul meet-up it was actually my birthday present, a cracking weekend away in the Ribble Valley. We stayed at the Ribblesdale Park which is part of the Gisburn Park Estate, and lovely it is to. The site is set in some lovely countryside but has some great facilities both in the lodge but also on the site. he other great thing about the location is that its not far away from some great places to visit, and two of these locations feature in this blog, along with some images from the landscape around the site. All these images are taken with my new Leica Q3, all handheld.
On Friday, when we arrived, it was raining but still we needed to take Charlie for a walk, for him to do what dogs need to do each day. The site website said that there were a number of walks around the perimeter of the site. So in one of the rain breaks we set off to give Charlie a walk and pit stop, but I saw it as an excuse to take some images from around the site. The first 3 images are all taken on the site, with the third image being taken at first light on Saturday morning, as dogs have to do what they do.
There are two versions of this image, this is the first I took as I was quite taken with both the stone and the trees in the background. Add to this the road that sweeps round as a pop of colour in the sky, you see why I decided to take this particular shot.
As we looped back around the site, being warned off some private property, Tarcey mentioned that having the 3 stones in the image might make for a better image. She is of course right on this but the sky didn’t quite play ball this time around. I do like both of these images though.
Unfortunately dogs dont have quite the same feelings about being away from home, they still need to do what they do. Charlie woke me up at about 7am and once I’d done what I needed to do I decided to give him a quick walk around so he could do what he needed to do. As you enter the main drive of the site this small pond and tree are on the left, and are nondescript during the daytime, but as we walked around I realised that the still water made for a great refection. Just my luck, as I was lining this shot up a few ducks landed in the water and disturbed the calm. I waited a short while to get this image but not quite stillness on the water. This was taken at first light but maybe 30 mins before sunrise time (not that I saw the sun at that point). What is covered over in the background by clouds is Pendle Hill. Maybe one for another day.
We decided that Saturday would be a trip to Malham, to see the cove and also Janet’s Foss. The weather wasn’t great but it wasn’t battering it down either, but waterproofs were required in any case. It was misty and cloudy as well as wet at Balham and despite taking quite a few images at the cover, I wasn’t happy with any of them really. This images was taken maybe 500 meters outside the village centre on the path to Janet’s Foss. I love a good old barn. The path, the wall and the landscape all draw the eye towards the barn, and the murky sky adds to what I think is a lovely image.
Sunday was meant to be a rainy day, but thankfully the rain stopped as we set off about 10.45am. We agreed to go to Bolton Abbey, as there are things to do and dogs were allowed whilst on his lead. When we arrived at the car park we couldn’t really see the Abbey or the river, but as you walk through the village and go through a gate the scene opens up in front of you. The Abbey, the bridge, The Stepping Stones, the valley etc etc. I took quite a few images of the stepping stones and bridge and the Abbey but this is the one that I think is the best of the batch I took. The stepping stones are walkable, if you are brave and several groups of folk did just that. The Abbey has reflects really nicely in the river here and thankfully there was some sun and blue sky.
We followed the trails into the valley that winds its way along the valley. WE followed the paths up and down and eventually came across the Pavillion cafe. Suitable refreshed we headed off looking for the Strid. Not really sure what that would be but we set off. `There was a 12 days of Christmas set of quizzes set up for the kids who visited nd they had to answer questions from various screens set up in the theme. This meant lots of families and lots of dogs. We eventually arrived at The Strid Woods, and the quiz ended there but the image above is just beyond the last Christmas scene. The river has shaped the rocks here and there is a hidden cavern somewhere along this section. I was taken with the rocks and the babbling brook, but the gap in the trees balances this image out nicely. The river draws the eye through the image to that spot..
Having taken some further images of The Strid we decided enough was enough and we would head back to the car. Following the trail on the opposite bank brought us back to the Abbey from a different side and entrance. This monument caught my eye and being raised up I thought it would be a good image to shoot with the Abbey in the background. There was no signs or writing to indicate what this symbolises but its a lovely stone either way.
I took about 120 images over the weekend and these are my favourites based upon the first set of edits. As aways other images emerge as you do a second and third look at what you have taken. So maybe more to come.
Thanks to Tracey for the fabulous weekend, I really really appreciate what you did.