Well, who would have thought that after a prolonged spell of dodgy weather, the bank holiday weekend would yield a couple of successful photography outings?

The forecast in the North of the Park was good for Saturday morning, so a dawn trip was planned and rising at 4am I hurried up to Askrigg. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t quite as planned with big banks of grey clouds around, but fortunately the sun made its appearance at around 7am and I was able to get some good shots whilst the light was still good.

The two images below are a couple of the favourite viewpoints of Allen Kirkbride, a dairy farmer in Askrigg. I have picked the first one to put in the gallery for now, but will give Allen the option of which he’d like to use when Sarah interviews him later in the year.

The forecast for the rest of the weekend had looked poor (and it didn’t look up to much looking into the Dales from Skipton), but checking it again on Sunday afternoon revealed that it was due to be sunny in Sedbergh that evening. Not wanting to miss an opportunity, I headed up to Dent to try to catch the sunset. As I approached Ingleton, there was a lighter band of sky to the West of the Park, so it looked like I was in luck again. Parking in Dent I headed up Flinter Gill to find the Toposcope from where the favourite view of Margaret Taylor, the owner of High Laning Farm, was to be found. It was a steep slog up the hill and I soon discovered that I had dressed for much colder weather, especially as I always seem to end up rushing up hills, fearful that the nice light will go before I get there! As it happened, I had plenty of time, with the best light being at just after 8pm, just before the sun dropped below the hill.

The obligatory bank holiday Monday rain was not begrudged as it gave me time to sort out the images! All in all a very successful weekend.