Last weekend in the Peak District, there was what has become an increasingly rare thing in the UK (at least on the lower levels) – snow in December. Snow for me has that great effect of extenuating the features of the land, particularly low lying features like ridge and furrow fields, old robbed out buildings and stone circles. Its certainly made my commute across the Peak District more interesting in the past week as the snow has covered the land.
I managed to make it to the village of Litton, which is near Tideswell in the Peak District. Litton has a series of long regular fields at the back of it which are a result of the enclosure act, where previously common land was (as the name suggests) was enclosed to be made in to privately owned fields. Photographically for such a small area there is plenty to photograph – including a shot of a tree with walls that I had visualised and thought would be rather good as snow shot. There is also a rather nice view of a barn and great long shot of Tansley Dale leading down to Cressbrook Dale.
After visiting Litton I gingerly headed off to Longstone Moor, where I came across a small herd of Highland Cattle in the snow. There is something about snow that makes photography (for me) that little bit better, the muffled silence that it brings and the cleansing effect that it has on the landscape – it all enhances the experience for me.
You can see more of my landscape photography from around the Peak District in my gallery.
I would love your thoughts and comments, please comment below if you have a moment.
