Field Trips to Keswick and Castleton

A quick dash to favourite locations in the Lake District and Peak Districts over the weekend, to take photos for paintings for forthcoming shows.

Derwent Water from Isthmus Wood, Keswick.

Ringinglow, Sheffield, from the Alpaca farm.

Ringinglow with the outskirts of Sheffield in the distance.  It's really beautiful, honestly.  And there are alpacas.  What more could you ask for?

Alpacas!  Told you...

Heading straight out the Ringinglow road to the Peak District.  Doesn't take long from the centre of Sheffield.

Burbage Valley.

Rain clouds at Castleton.

Sun, rain and shadows, Castleton, two minutes later.

Wonderful trip!

...and the Peak District

After Keswick, it was on to the Peak District.

The weather was, again, a tad blustery and cold.  Nevertheless, I managed to get some good photos of the fast-moving clouds over Castleton.  However, as far as Peaks in the Peak District, it always surprises me how, er...small they are.  And how the landscape always seems to be the colour of a post-war sitting room whenever I go.

But the shapes are fantastic, all Paul Nash.  Just look at this...

BTW, if you're looking for a place for lunch, try the Ladybower Inn (they've got a fantastic chutney that goes with the ploughmans).  It's a popular pub with cyclists, walkers and dog lovers, as there's plenty of seating outside where you can take in views of the reservoir.

And here's the Ladybower overflow, water engineering fans.  How sculptural is that?

The Castleton photos are also going to form part of the paintings that I'm currently working on in the studio.  It's not so much about the colours, it's going to be all about the shapes and the patterns of the landscape.