Martindale

Today was a non-escorted day at LPH so we could choose what we wanted to do and as most people has chosen to go to a location that I have visited many times I opted to go to an area to the east of Ullswater that I had never explored - Martindale. Initially I called in at Pooley Bridge and took some shorts across the lake of the ferry leaving the quay. On a previous occasion I had done this when there was a mist about and it given my image a very moody look. Today it was not so good as the sky was just very bland. 

When I arrived in Martindale I parked near the upper church just across the road from Hallin Fell. It looked as though there were going to be really good views down the dale further up the hill so I started to climb up it, stopping every few minutes to take photographs or just to catch my breath and so it continued until I reached the summit about an hour or so later. I had not made it any easier for myself as I was carry a full pack of camera gear and a tripod. I don't think I have exerted myself so much in many years. The view from the top was worth it but not that exciting photographically as the dales seemed rather hazy and the skies remained bland. All my photography for the rest of the day was done from the car stops !