Old Pale Hill

The grey skies, accompanied much of the time by rain and/or strong winds, has been relentless this February. Yet again it was a very wet morning, but forecast to be drier this afternoon so we headed out on an expedition.

Our destination was near Kelsall in Cheshire, from where we walked towards Delamere Forest. The image is of us approaching the top of Old Pale Hill, the highest point on the Sandstone ridge. Up until this point all had been grey, the ground sodden and occasional trees lying horizontal, felled by yesterday’s storm. Astonishingly as we approached the top we saw an expanse of blue sky and a distant landscape bathed in sunshine.

A glorious view from the top. The snow on the distant hills - we could see as far as the Bowland fells looking north - meant they shone in the sunshine. Manchester and Salford’s. growing residential towers make that metropolis more evident, against a snowy Pennine backdrop. And we could pick out Liverpools Anglican cathedral and St John’s tower. To the south, under grey clouds, we could see the outline of the Shropshire and Welsh hills, and nearer the great expanse of the Cheshire plain.

Next time I must bring a longer lens. I took photos of the views, but they do no justice to the vista.