Wood of the Waterfalls

The mountain forecast indicated cloud and low hill fog, Nic fancied waterfalls and recent heavy rainfalls would ensure some photogenic water flows so a trip was made to Coed y Rhaeadr. The area provides an insight into fluvial geomorphology with steep sided ravines cut through bands of shale/siltstones/sandstone and floored by more competent sandstone. The geology is also responsible for the prevalence of waterfalls with rock competence and faults dictating their individual nature. The first photography stop was at Sgwd Ddwli Uchaf on the Nedd Fechan, where the first Dipper was seen.

Sgwd Ddwli Uchaf

Then a wander down to the confluence with Afon Pyrdin, where water levels indicated that a visit could safely be made to Sgwd Einion Gam a destination reached by a number of unassisted river crossings.

Sgwd Einion Gam

Sgwd Einion Gam

The area also falls within the Coedydd Nedd a Mellte Special Area of Conservation designated for sessile oak woods and ravine woodland, with the topography, underlying geology and superficial deposits determining the mixture of trees in the woodlands.  With the trees in leaf small leaved limes were evident and took the form of derelict coppice stools of some age. The area has a moderately oceanic climate that combined with a closed tree canopy and high levels of humidity, provide a habitat for bryophytes and ferns. Both oak ferns and beech ferns were present along the banks of the Afon Pryddin.

Oak ferns (Gymnocarpium dryopteris)

Beech ferns (Phegopteris connectilis)

A carpet of enchanter's nightshade also indicated the habitat of a closed woodland canopy and moist soil conditions.

Enchanter's nightshade (Circaea lutetiana)

The trip was a rewarding one, with plenty of interest along the way and further insights gained into the flora and landscape.

Shades of green

Persistent rain and almost negligible wind provided the necessary inspiration and motivation for a late spring photography trip to a scowles woodland. Whilst I have written about the benefits of rain wetted surfaces elsewhere in this blog, an additional bonus of heavy rain is the dampening effect on the surprisingly large and diverse resident population of biting insects, that would have otherwise made photography purgatory.

The tree species tally was impressive : beech (Fagus sylvatica), oak (Quercus spp.), ash (Fraxinus excelsior), cherry (Prunus avium), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), wych elm (Ulmus glabra), holly (Ilex aquifolium), yew (Taxus baccata, field maple (Acer campestre), hazel (Corylus avellana),  hawthorn (Crataegus spp), birch ((Betula spp.), large leaved lime (Tilia platyphyllos), small leaved lime (Tilia cordata) and wild service (Sorbus torminalis). Some trees were derelict coppice stools of considerable girth indicative of a long life span.

Having exhausted my supply of dry micro fibre towels, I made my way back to the car and chanced upon a Greater Butterfly Orchid, the first I have ever seen in a woodland and the end to a satisfying outing.

A Pembrokeshire bluebell wood

A weekend away in Pembrokeshire to catch up with friends and it is reasonable to suggest that the date was timed to coincide with the display of bluebells in Coed Tŷ Canol National Nature Reserve. I had last visited the Tŷ Canol woodlands at the end of March 2015  and this was my first visit in the month of May. Saturday dawned to a forecast of high wind and clear skies, sigh, nevertheless I had time for a recce to Tŷ Canol and ascertained that the woods were as atmospheric as ever, most of the sessile oaks were in leaf and bluebells were in flower, the harsh lighting and wind meant any meaningful photography was limited to recording the ground flora.

Enchanters nightshade, wood sorrel, hard fern, buckler fern and  bluebells.

On Sunday I persuaded Nic that we should visit Tŷ Canol on the journey home, coincidentally the weather was more photographically promising with lighter winds, showers, over head cloud with breaks for sunshine. The weather was amenable to making images of woodland in contrasting lighting with the quiet light of overhead cloud and intermittent sunshine allowing sunlit dappled woodland.

A far better appreciation and insight was gained into the habitats within Tŷ Canol with flora in leaf/flower denoting associations with deep shade, water logged ground, flushes and dry soils. The lichen and bryophyte communities for which Tŷ Canol is renowned for were once again pondered and once again a mental note made to make the effort to investigate these further. Nic summed up Tŷ Canol  perfectly in describing it as a 'special place' and 'nourishment for the soul'.

A local bluebell wood

Let me state that I am no phenologist with detailed records of weather/nature events, my observations stem from consulting a photographic archive, memory and empirical observations, leaving some margin for large errors. So with those caveats in place, thus far the 2017 bluebell carpets in the woodlands of the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean seem below par. Instead of a synchronised mass of flowering there has been a staggered roll out of bluebell flowering in the woods I have visited. The bluebell plants also seem smaller in stature too.

Illustration of the patchy flowering of bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) in 2017

The weather may be factor being dominated by high pressure after a relatively dry winter, so lots of sunshine, little rainfall, cold air from the north and east, wildly fluctuating temperatures with some hard frosts when the wind drops and clear skies etc etc. Or it may just be the foraging activity of the resident population of wild boar, trampling by deer or something else. On the plus side some tree species are leaf flushing earlier providing some relief in a woodland image with a leaf canopy instead of sky lined bare tree branches against a blown out sky.

After some unfruitful photographic outings, it was time to put aside the quest for new bluebell woods and instead satiate my bluebell carpet fix, by visiting a wood that produces a consistent display of bluebells irrespective of weather. The wood favours evening photography with the main bluebell carpet concentrated on an exposed north-westerly aspect slope, susceptible to westerly winds funnelled through a valley. On my visit it was an easterly wind that eased during my visit.

Aesthetically a case can be made for cloud and rain providing the best photographic weather for conveying the depth of colour, in lieu of rain: dappled sunshine falling through a developing tree canopy, illuminating tree trunks and the woodland floor conveys an uplifting vision of spring in my humble opinion.

It was a rewarding photography trip, although the aroma of bluebells and the chorus of birdsong a reminder of the limitations of photography in capturing the atmosphere of a landscape.

Asturias trip report - 5

Our penultimate day in Asturias saw us bid farewell to Sergio and Paloma at the Hotel rural Los Riegos and travel back to stay again at the Hotel Posada del Valle. The journey detoured off the N-625 to take in some viewpoints of the Picos de Europa massif and then a drive through the spectacular Beyos gorge which was an experience best described as interesting. At the Hotel Posada del Valle, we unpacked and then enquired about two walks I had noted in the hotels itinerary of self guided walks in the Parc National de los Picos de Europa. The hotel staff helpfully warned that the access road to the Lakes of Covadonga was now closed to public cars until 20.00 hrs and an arrival just before sunset. The weather forecast was depressingly blue skies, sunshine and decidedly warm.

The first walk was along the Rio Casaño upstream of La Molina, through a by now obligatory limestone/dolomite gorge, past some caves where a small leaved lime was growing and then through what appeared to be an orchard of sweet chestnut trees. Many of the trees were pollards of some age with hollowed trunks and bill berry/ferns growing as epiphytes, I was suitably impressed.

Wood Saxifrage was also in flower in contrast to Redes Natural Park where its presence was signified only by the distinctive the leaves.

Wood Saxifrage (Saxifraga mertensiana)

Some apparently derelict agricultural buildings added an insight into the history of the valley and the craftsmanship of rustic architecture. The pale fencing around the buildings appeared to be sweet chestnut.

We then departed to the next destination of the Lakes of Covadonga, waited at Covadonga for the road to be opened to public traffic, joined the procession of traffic for the ~12km journey and arrived at the main car park shortly before sunset, cloud on the western horizon nullified any hope of quality light or alpenglow. It would be reasonable to suggest that the Lakes of Covadonga are a very, very popular destination.


A wander away from the crowds and I chanced upon an exposure of karst geomorphology.

With the crowds dissipating after sunset an image was made of the peaks in a small pool.

That was the end of the photography as next day was travelling back to Bilbao and a return to the UK. To sum up I was very impressed with what I saw of Asturias, the welcoming nature of the Spanish and the obvious respect for their landscape by the complete absence of litter. The autumn potential for landscape photography would be high.

Asturias trip report - 4

With a weather forecast for a clear blue sky, sunshine and temperatures in the low 20's C, a walk was needed with scenery, shade, fresh water and some interest. Paloma suggested the walk from Orllé to Majada de Melordaña, wildflowers, woodland, a gorge to scramble up and historic summer dwellings. Photographic ambitions were restricted to a narrative of documenting some of the sights along the way. Orllé is a small town nucleated on south facing slopes, on the north side of its namesake river and immediately surrounded by small scale fields (hay meadows?) and woodland. The track to Majada de Melordaña essentially follows the course of the Rio Orlé upstream, passing hay meadows and then into open countryside.

Wild cherry in flower

Along one section, the track cut into the hill slope revealing exposures of angular fragments of dolomite cemented by flowstone. Extrapolating the extent of the exposures and their thickness suggested extensive period(s) of periglacial weathering/slope processes and an insight into the geomorphology of the Rio Orlé valley.

The walk exits open grazing land and enters a wooded gorge where the river had cut down through steeply inclined bedrock and evidence for historic rock falls.

Steeply inclined bedrock and flowering Spanish heath (Erica Australis)

The track through rock fall debris

Many of the wildflowers and flora growing alongside the track through the woodland, were familiar from UK woodlands designated as ancient.

Wood Anemone (Anemone nemorosa)

Outsize hazel coppice stools

Great Wood Rush (Luzula sylvatica)

Oxlip (Primula elatior)

At the hamlet of Conforcos, I was impressed with an historic hunting lodge, now derelict, sited in a particularly photogenic location and I think there would be some potential with the scene in autumn with better lighting.

Next stop was the Foz Melordaña where the Rio Secu emerges from a gorge into a mass of boulders and woodland with outsize beech coppice stools. The opportunity was taken to cool our feet in the water of the Rio Secu, before heading on up through the gorge.

Coppiced beech ~ Foz Melordaña

The scrambling and traverse through the gorge presented no difficulty in dry weather and exiting the gorge we arrived at the Majada de Melordaña.

Majada de Melordaña

The Majada de Melordaña is the site of derelict cabañas (summer huts) once used by pastoral herdsman/shepherds looking after grazing livestock on the Braña. The cabañas were very similar in size to the numerous ruined hafods (Wales) and sheilings (Scotland) that I had encountered in the uplands of the UK.

Majada de Melordaña

Some of the roof slabs/tiles displayed ripple marks and most of the building stone to my eyes appeared to have originated from an outcrop on a hill side a few hundred metres to the west above a grove of Holly trees.

Ash trees grew in close proximity to some cabañas and a likely source of fire wood that produces a useful heat even when 'green'. I would have liked to investigate the yew trees growing on the limestone outcrops, the binoculars indicated some yews to be of some girth, sadly the heat and fatigue sapped my curiosity.

The return journey to Orllé bypassed the gorge through a beech woodland where spurge  (Euphorbia spp) was conspicuous in an area where trees had been cleared in the widening of a new track .

It had been an interesting excursion and the final one of our stay in Redes Natural Park.

Asturias trip report - 3

The previous evening after dinner, Sergio had enquired if we would like to accompany him on a Rebeco survey, essentially a drive to a high mountain pass and then a short ascent to view Rebeco. Sergio's work as a mountain biologist authorised him to drive along the restricted mountain tracks to conduct survey work. Realising there would be no slog uphill in the night, Nic immediately said yes and how could I turn down an opportunity to be taxied to a high point for the quality light of dawn.  Generally the topography required a minimum ascent of 600 - 1,000m from the parked car and a few hours of night navigation to reach a high point for dawn. In any case the weather forecast had taken a turn for the worse, with weather charts indicating high pressure and the depressing symbol of sun and clear blue sky for the next 4 days, so dawn twilight would be a welcome opportunity.

Following an interesting drive up a rugged mountain track the destination was an area of pasturage on a col covered by a hard ground frost, with a dramatic vista of surrounding peaks and valleys. Normally a frost should equate to clear air and excellent visibility, instead there was a distinct haze, deep sigh and another reason to loathe high pressure weather systems.  I complimented Sergio on the location and views, then explained that I'd take the opportunity to look around and with indecent haste departed, leaving Nic to keep Sergio company in finding Rebeco.

The views encompassed some areas of compelling structural geology, sadly the azimuth of sunrise and haze mitigated against that image. In my view what defines twilight landscape photography from the hills with clear skies is alpenglow and the haze would accentuate that, with pastel colours of purple, pink, red contrasting with cool blues transitioning to a golden colour developing towards sunrise, then the warm golden light and then harsh lighting.  The image narrative I wanted was to convey the dawn colour, geology and mosaic of habitats.

The col was a mosaic of grass, holly bushes, gorse, bracken, brambles, broom and daffodils growing between 1,200 - 1,300m asl. The vegetation assemblages hinted at reduced levels of grazing/trampling and with a continued reduction in grazing would given time witness a succession of scrub communities then secondary woodland.

The numbers of holly bushes must be close to satisfying the requirements of woodland categorisation and showed no visible browse lines, the larger holly bushes appeared to be old coppice stools some with younger sucker shoots and possibly an historic resource of animal fodder during winter. 

The high elevation of closed canopy woodland prompted thoughts of autumn photographic potential.

I did take an image of the geology outcrops tracing the outlines of folding that hint at the structural complexity of this area of the Cordillera Cantábrica. Having since read some geology research papers it is indeed the case with thrusts, folds and faulting associated with thin skinned deformation in the Variscan Orogeny and later reactivation in the Alpine Orogeny.

Geology structure on a landscape scale

Sergio, had located Rebeco and a look through his spotting scope at a grazing Rebeco was a revelation, as I couldn't see anything looking through binoculars at the same distant hill side. The ride back down emphasised the ruggedness and exposure of the mountain track. After breakfast, we went to the nearest village store and bought a couple of bottles of wine as a thank you to Sergio. A siesta was taken and suitably refreshed an excursion made to specifically scouting out a valley for its autumn potential.

Angel's Tears

It was an enjoyable and useful walk, identifying some areas of autumnal potential.