After working as a photo retoucher for a large online retail firm for 3 months I decided to get out and soak up some solitude in the peak district with just my camera and a map of Kinder Scout, the walk made famous by it's unique rock formations that scatter the landscape throughout the 12 mile route. Given that this is perhaps one of the more forgiving times of year to explore the area, I decided to go for a somewhat unconventional approach and start climbing at 8PM. This gave me time to pass fellow climbers and walkers as they finished their descent to the usual rewarding pint at the old nag's head pub situated in Edale village at the end of the route. What they missed however was the last of the sun as it beamed over the hills providing the last touch of true warmth before it slipped behind the horizon. After the initial sunset, the sandstone rock along the nearest peak almost glows red. This gave for a spectacularly 'un-english' feel to the landscape for a brief period of time.

I managed to get a good few hours of shooting done with the help of the tripod with the slow disappearance of available light. Then it became all to clear I was the only person around for about 4 miles, which is an eerie feeling when out in the moors, but all the same provided me with some true peace and quiet. So many hours of our day are spent crammed together whilst we all try to get from place to place going in the same direction as each other getting stuck in traffic jams, kept behind in places that give us no real sense of solemnity or freedom. Every once in a while we all need to just get away from it all. I couldn't help but wonder why I don't do this more often. At least whilst the temperature at this time of year permits such an extended period of time spent up in the hills to be able to truly enjoy it.

I admit that I didn't make a conscious decision to go wild camping, or sleep atall for that matter. I was already carrying around 3 stone worth of camera gear on my back, so any camping gear would have been impossible for me to carry. I was more than aware of the fact that I most likely wouldn't be able to sleep at the top of Kinder Scout, and this made it a little easier to cope with the wait til morning. I spend so much time surrounded by technology in my everyday life that I was happy to wait for the sun to come up and experience a different, more old fashioned method of passing time; to just sit and wait. My notes told me that the sun was to rise by 4.44AM but there was sufficient light for me to carry on safely across the peak by 4AM. So i grabbed my gear and trusty old map of the route and set off for a 6 hour hike across the peak to see what the land had to offer me and the camera.

After i figured out where I was on the map (by identifying the hills) I went about enjoying what would usually be a busy hiking route, all to myself with not a single person to get in the way of my photographs. A landscapers dream. I had a head start on the usual beginning of the walk, so presumed the hardest part might be over, but i was wrong. The terrain got rockier, steeper and less clear, but due to all of this the opportunity for great pictures came flooding through. I had never actually been to Kinder Scout before, only Castleton rocks, about 10 miles to the south of where I was. The rock formations are what made me want to come here, and I had researched Kinder only two nights prior to setting off with my camera. Some of the areas I encountered were truly wonderful to look at; a sort of mix between the grand canyon and the lake district.

This is the highest point in the East Midlands, and the views were a welcome treat as I carried along the peak to find more and more spots prompting me to stop and set up my tripod. Probably a good few dozen times. The numerous exposed eroded rocks that have stood the test of time were only too eager to show themselves to the camera. The highlights were the wool packs and Edale rocks toward the latter end of the peak, where they were scattered in their hundreds across the landscape. My thought at the time was to how many more of these must still be beneath the surface.

One of the highlights of the walk was when I stumbled upon the opening of Crowden Brook where the water runs down into the valley. During harsher conditions this would be a flowing waterfall, but I was able to walk right down to where it was a mere trickling stream, as if someone had just slightly left a tap running. No sound for miles but the faint wind tunneling through the pass, on the corner of the wool packs overlooking the cliff face and the valleys. This made the whole trip worthwhile, and was a great moment to sit back and enjoy so as to not waste any opportunity to remember it by. 

By the time I had finished the descent, I had walked 12 miles over 12 hours and found a pure water stream at the bottom, which was probably the most refreshing I had ever tasted and just in time as my bottle was empty. A very rewarding photo trip, and a much needed break from normality to see some truly magic parts of the Peak District. All photos in this blog are unedited cameraphone shots. Full dusk til dawn photo story coming on the main page very soon.