Somewhat foolishly we decided to go for a walk last Sunday and I can truely say summer is over, like it ever begun I hear you say! Well after deciding to avoid the fair at Buile Hill Park, on account of it being over run with chavs, we headed off in the direction of Clifton Country Park. No mean feat in itself, as it must be a good 40 minute walk from the house alone. I havent been since March last year and the foilage, due in part probably to the recent heavy rain, was overgrown and stark contrast to my previous trip. The main reason for going was to get some shots of the epic 13 arch viaduct, but due to rain and the fact that all the new greenery hides a great deal of this massive structure I hardly got the camera out! After trapsing down winding muddy tracks for an hour or so and having crossed the full and fast flowing River Irwell, we finally got a proper look at it and despite the weather conditions and the fact that over half of is hidden; its still a site to behold!
After attemtping to take a couple of shots, we plodded on in the rain, it was at this point where it turned ugly! The rain got harder the wind more forceful and at one stage I felt like I was in Vietnam, tripod in hand rucksack on my back, horrendous weather and night closing in – as we hadnt set off till 6.30ish it was now getting on for 8ish. We finally made it home at around 9 and cooked a lovely chicken risotto and enjoyed a few large glasses of vino! I have since worked out that we walked 5.5miles that day which whilst that isnt unusual for me but Reet (Mrs.TdM) is not a big fan of walking, so hats off to her! :-)
The extremes we go through to get some decent images of the great outdoors. I’m going hiking in the Lakes on Sunday and looking at the weather forecast I’m going to check, then re-check, that I’ve packed my waterproofs.