Almost a classic winter’s day

Click on an image for a larger view.  All images copyright Leslie Ashe

The forecast for the Mourne Mountains was for overcast conditions with 40mph winds over the tops and wind chill of -11c.

The wind forecast and temperature forecast were correct but fortunately we were blessed with fairly clear sky with only a few scattered clouds.

The wind on the top of Commedagh (750m) was wild.  Fortunately it was on our backs as we ascended and the last third of the climb was definitely wind assisted.  Keeping your footing on the summit in that wind was another matter!  Trying to predict exactly where your foot would be placed became a lottery.

Where we could find shelter from the wind it was very pleasant with even a bit of heat from the sun.  

On the way back down the Trassey Track we encountered a flock of sheep being taken back up for winter grazing. 

 What would have made the day a classic - some snow and less wind.  But it is the mountains and you take what you get and make the most of it.

Cut granite slabs and Slieve Bearnagh

Slievenaglogh summit looking towards Slieve Commedagh

Frost covered millstone

Doan, Slieve Bearnagh and Slieve Meelmore

 

Cove and Slieve Beg

Sheep on the move

Greyabbey sunset

 Click on the images for a larger version.  All images copyright Leslie Ashe 

A quick run down to Greyabbey for sunset given that the sky looked promising.  However, there was a bank of cloud out to the west and while there was a little colour it wasn’t the great sky I hoped for.

The first image below of the medieval fish trap remains was taken about 10 minutes after sunset.  After that everything just went grey.

Before the sunset I tried a couple of compositions using the clumps of grass in the sand as foreground but they didn't work as well as the main image:

A trip to the Pot

Click on the images for a larger version.  All images copyright Leslie Ashe 

An interesting day in the Mourne Mountains yesterday.  The forecast for the morning wasn’t good so we decided to head into Tollymore  and depending on the conditions we would have the option of climbing up through the Pot of Legawherry, a very distinctive corrie on the north side of the mountains.

It remained misty over the tops but there was very little rain at lower levels so we decided to head up in the hope that the promised better weather would come in.

Approaching the Pot of Legawherry was over ground that was in large parts boggy and tussocky which drained the legs.  The mist parted briefly a couple of times but mostly the Pot was clagged in.  Once in the Pot we found the remains of a crashed aircraft - probably from WWII.  There seemed to be less of it than I remembered from visits to the Pot many years ago.  I have been unable to trace any information about it.

The climb up the headwall of the corrie was, to say the least, interesting.  It was steep, grassy and wet meaning that it at times our boots were unable to get a decent grip.  Higher up, where there was less grass, progress was easier (well at least we weren’t slipping all the time) leading to the final scramble up through the granite tors. 

A quick jaunt up Slieve Commedagh (for the exercise!) and then back along the Mourne Wall, where the sun finally made an appearance, and down to the Trassey Track back to the car park.  The climb through the Pot won’t be repeated again until there is a long spell of dry weather! 

The view towards the mist-filled corrie

Remains of an aircraft

Looking up at the corrie headwall.  The camera provides a foreshortened view which disguises the steepness.

Approaching the granite tors

The final scramble

This image gives an idea of the steepness

The spring near the top of Commedagh in full flow.

Ben Crom Reservoir

The millstone

The side path to the Trassey Track

Western Mourne Mountains 29 June 2021

 Click on the images for a larger version.  All images copyright Leslie Ashe. 

For a change we decided to visit the western part of the Mourne Mountains.  We started with Hen and it wasn't until we reached the summit of Cock that the sun started to break through giving us fleeting glimpses of Spelga Dam.  Much of the day was hazy and so didn't lend itself to landscape photography.

As we descended off Cock the low cloud dissipated revealing feathery high cloud which seemed to radiate from a single area.  In the very bottom of the image is a figure for scale.

5 frame stitch panorama from Pigeon Rock

Wall and Slieve Bearnagh

Reed pool

Mourne Mountains 18 June 2021 - B26 engine, weather station, waterfalls, Binnian tunnel

      Click on the images for a larger version.  All images copyright Leslie Ashe.

Fascinating day in the Mourne Mountains. Not a day for bagging summits.  We found the engine of the B26 Marauder which crashed on 10 April 1944, a weather station in the middle of nowhere, waterfalls galore and finished with an inspection of the Dunnywater end of the Binnian tunnel.  It’s been fairly dry recently so there wasn’t much water in the rivers and the waterfalls were a bit underwhelming but showed a lot of potential for wetter conditions.  A return visit later in the year is planned.

B26 engine

Weather station

Panorama of Binnian, Lamagan, Cove, Commedagh

Waterfalls

The Dunnywater end of the Binnian tunnel.  Constructed between 1947 and 1951, it is over 2 miles long and takes water from the Kilkeel River to the Silent Valley Reservoir.

Belfast Lough sunset 11 June 2021

    Click on the images for a larger version.  All images copyright Leslie Ashe.

The prospect of between 50 and 60% low cloud, some high cloud and a rising tide over the sunset period got me out to Grey Point on the south shore of Belfast Lough.  I arrived about an hour before sunset and scouted around for a few compositions based on where the sun would be setting.

The low cloud was a bit stubborn around sunset itself restricting the view of the light on the high clouds.   However, patience paid off and about 30 minutes after sunset I was treated to some lovely fleeting colour in the sky over Black Head.  The foreground rocks are not what I would have wished in the final couple of images but when the colour appeared it was well to the right of where I would have expected it and I didn't have time to move to a different location.

The following images were taken over a period of about 90 minutes.  Shutter speeds ranged from 30 seconds to 4 minutes.

When the weather forgets it's summer

     Click on the images for a larger version.  All images copyright Leslie Ashe.

A misty and windy day in the Mourne Mountains.  At times it felt like the middle of winter rather than early June.  Misty conditions for much of the day, only really clearing as we were walking out.  It was an opportunity to visit a lesser frequented part of the mountains and an area to go back to in better conditions to explore around the crags.

Through the keyhole

Cascade

Cove, Lamagan and Binnian

    Click on the images for a larger version.  All images copyright Leslie Ashe.

Some images from a great day's walking in the Mourne Mountains.  It's a bit of a trek in from Carrick Little to Cove but making our way to the summit of Cove along the top of the crags makes it worthwhile.  It wasn't a great day for photography as there was a lot of blue haze in the air.

Cove crags with Chimney Rock in the background

Looking down on Cove Lough.  I got lucky at one point when a blink of sunlight fell on Cove Lough helping to make it a point of interest. The Carrick Little track is on the far side of the forest in centre of the frame.

Bearnagh from Lamagan 

Panorama from Lamagan (from one Slievenaglogh to another Slievenaglogh!)

Panorama from the lower slopes of Binnian. 3 shots in landscape orientation, I should have taken 5 or 6 in portrait to get all of Ben Crom reservoir in the frame.  Next time!

Panoramas were hand held.  The day was about hill-walking with photography playing second fiddle so the tripod was left at home!