The vagaries of upland weather

The last two trips have perfectly illustrated why it's best to adopt a phlegmatic approach to landscape photography. The first one Nic accompanied me to Y Mynyddoedd Duon (Black Mountains) and a walk up onto and along the Ffawyddog ridge. The walking was enjoyable in warm sunshine with a cooling breeze, heather moorland in bloom and natures larder of bilberries were deliciously sweet.

It became apparent the area encompassed by the Ffawyddog ridge, Vale of Ewyas and Hatterall ridge was a magnet for clear skies, whilst trains of photogenic cloud formations rolled in from the NW further east and to the west over the Gaider Fawr ridge.

Photogenic cloud

I have no great enthusiasm for landscape photography with overhead clear blue skies due to their propensity to drain colour from a landscape and whilst black and white photography would rescue some images it holds no interest for me. When I belatedly decided to explore the moorland vegetation with a macro lens, the wind increased in strength and as sunset drew near a visibly long bank of slow moving cloud appeared to the NW that would mask the best light. The last of the sunlight was utilised for an image of photogenic cloud and then the walk back to the car unassisted by head torch light. The lack of any sunlight on distant hills confirmed the early departure was a wise decision.

The second trip had a rather enticing weather forecast of heavy showers and spells of sunshine with the wind from the SW or the distinct possibility of heather moorland illuminated by fleeting light under stormy skies and the chance of a rainbow. Except the cloud never broke up, towards dusk the rain squalls were heavy and persistent. To be fair the wind strength was spot on with winds of 30 mph (Strong breeze/near gale) and gusts to 40 mph (gale force intensity). The weather and exposed location meant I was relieved to have packed the winter jacket, over trousers and gloves.

Calluna vulgaris and Ulex Gallii

Photography ambitions were restricted to leeward ground and then ground level macro photography before rain curtailed this activity. Chatting to a hill walker descending from a nearby summit it seemed that further south, the cloud was breaking up and sunlight breaking through, this kept me enthused until it became apparent with sunset approaching that this trip would also be curtailed. So two successive trips made where the landscape photography rewards would have been very good if the locations chosen were just a couple of miles distant, c'est la vie!

A trip to a heather moor.

The flowering of heather (Calluna vulgaris) marks the end of a self imposed break from visiting the hills in Wales as the welcome addition of purple hues to the vegetative colour palette of greens and yellows transforms the uplands in late summer.

Eventually a number of weather forecasts aligned to give some confidence to what the weather might be and importantly the words 'excellent visibility' and 'cloud breaking up' were prominent.  The one downside was the wind strength of a northerly 'fresh' to 'moderate' breeze that would induce vegetative movement, although a positive would be the suppression of the resident winged insect population. Suitably inspired and motivated an excursion was made to the National Trust property Mynydd Pen-y-fâl an outlier of Y Mynyddoedd Duon (The Black Mountains) in the Brecon Beacons National Park.

Harebells (Campanula rotundifolia)

The ascent route wasn't the planned one, but the convenient one due to the bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) growth. The relatively low winds, increased warmth and sunshine that characterised the early summer of 2017 were optimal for bracken growth and in places exceeded over 2.0 metres in height. However the weather subsequently reverted to the heavy rain and high winds that have afflicted recent summers in the UK. The adverse weather had collapsed the bracken, obscuring the minor paths, necessitating taking a well trodden route to the hills. The consolation of which was chancing upon a colony of Harebells by the side of the track under bracken.

Heather (Calluna vulgaris) and Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) re-colonising a burned area of moorland.

With height gained the bracken covered slopes changed to open moorland and by mostly keeping to vehicle and sheep tracks, footfall was minimised on the vegetation. The moorland is actively managed for conservation by creating a mosaic of varying aged vegetation, the methods employed appeared to be controlled burning and in the absence of charred material on the ground presumably by cutting or flailing. Whilst heather dominated the moorland vegetation there were areas where other plant communities also put in an appearance : Western gorse, bilberry, grasses, rushes, sedges and bracken.

Western Gorse (Ulex gallii), Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) and wind blown Wavy hair grass (Deschampsia flexuosa)

Eventually the cloud started to break up and allowed some welcome sunlight to play over the landscape.

The one downside of the location at this time of year is the curtailing of last light by the main bulk of the Black Mountains massif and the last of the direct sunlight was used on a less exposed area of moor with a mosaic of moorland vegetation modified by conservation management.

The wind negated any dusk twilight photography and a revisit will be made at some point in less windy conditions.

Black Mountains trip report

Bank Holiday weekend and on the Sunday a weather forecast to get enthused about for a late afternoon excursion to the northern escarpment of the Black Mountains. The Black Mountains escarpment is part of the Great Red Edge that runs across the Brecon Beacons National Park, so named due to the underlying Old Red Sandstone bedrock. The Black Mountains have undergone repeated exposure to the action of glacial ice and periglacial processes, yet the plateau areas show little apparent sign of glaciation. Surprisingly, comparatively little research has been published on elucidating the evolution of the Black Mountains landscape. The Black Mountains also held some importance for ancient people, as a number of funerary monuments were built in the adjacent landscape. From some viewpoints on the escarpment a number of Neolithic chambered tombs sited at lower elevations can be viewed and Bronze age cairns also occupy some prominent positions at higher elevations. The reason for the siting of the Neolithic funerary monuments locations remains an enigma.

The plan was to walk along the escarpment, with stops to take in the views and to photograph the expansive views as shower light flitted across the landscape, before looping back over moorland and deciding on where to linger for sunset.
The weather was warm and the ascent made in full sunshine, which made matters unpleasant. When the hill slope eased, unerringly, cloud rolled in and that was the last of the sun for the next couple of hours walking. Stops were made to take in the views from the escarpment, the camera gear was not required. A notable highlight was watching a Kestrel demonstrate its mastery of the wind to quarter the escarpment ridge, at times it hovered a matter of metres away, too close for the binoculars field of view. It was surprisingly warm, even with the absence of sunshine and with a stiff breeze at ~750m ASL, a base layer was sufficient.

A brighter area of sky on the western horizon provided some cause for photographic optimism. However the elevated views were marred by reduced visibility, I guess due to a moisture associated with the low level overhead cloud, whilst lower down below 600m the visibility was good. The air clarity determined where a location for sunset would be and a descent made to an outcrop of bedrock with views.
The nature of the vertical joints/fractures in the bedrock outcrop, appeared to correlate with the orientation of the ridge. It would not be unreasonable to suggest that the geological structure exerted some control on the evolution of the landscape.

The sun did sink into the letterbox of clear sky on the horizon and with overhead cloud, the quality of the resulting light was very good.

Needless to say it was a good trip.