An interesting afternoon out in the Peak District yesterday. Not the best weather conditions for photography but nothing if not eventful!

We heading off to Monsal Dale Weir for the first stop. Parking at Monsal Head we headed off down the steep bank to the Headstone viaduct and then down the embankment to the banks of the River Wye. I've been down here before and there was a fair few cattle in the field. So much so I stuck to the tree line to avoid any confrontation. Anyone who has been out with me knows my fear of cows in fields! Alarm bells started to ring as we dodged fresh cow pats along the path! We met a couple and their daughter coming the other way who warned us of a 'bully' cow in the next field. We deliberated but decided to press on. I felt brave as I have just swapped out the rubber feet on my tripod for spikes so at least I had a weapon :)

We rounded the corner and saw a gate with the cows on the other side and a few walkers milling around on our side. There must have been a dozen cattle with one particular one having horns some 12" long! Now, I always thought horned cattle were bulls. However, this one had udders! Everyday is a school day I suppose :) It wasn't friendly by any means, we went to give it a gentle pat put in snarled and bucked it's head.

The general consensus amongst those of us there was to either turn back or skip over a fence lower down and skirt the cattle in the hope they didn't turn around. A small party went for it but got caught up in the brambles, coming out the other side covered in scratches.

In the meantime a young couple were approaching, late teens and full of confidence. The girl entered the gate and from then on everything went into slow motion. The horned cow took one step forward, lowered its head and promptly flipped the young lady up into the air!! She landed on her side thankfully and the strange thing was she never made a sound. The next few moments were a blur as much shouting and screaming from the watchers on managed to shoo the cattle on before they came in for seconds. Thank heavens she was ok. Obviously very shaken up and only a few grazes to show for her ordeal. I do hope she got checked out and was looked after by her Mum who wasn't far away.

We finally made it to the weir and fired off a few shots. The light wasn't good but I think we were in too much shock to care! We headed back up to the car from the other side of the river just to be safe. Once at the top and oxygen levels were replenished we saw the car park was almost full of supercars. Porsche, McLaren, Aston Martin, Ariel to name a few. Led by a BMW M3 and I assume on some sort of road trip.

Next stop was Higger Tor. A place I have never been to. The heather was spectacular but the light was dismal to say the least. Getting attacked by millioms of flying ants wasn't pleasant either.

There was some kind of Bollywood style fashion filming going on up at the top. Then, to top the day off we had a flyover by Tom Cruise in his matte black helicopter. He had been filming a scene for Mission Impossible 7 up at Darlton Quarry nearby in Eyam. A steam locomotive goes off the end of the tracks and meets its demise on the quarry floor below. One to look out for! Not!

Tags:   Monsal Dale Weir Higger Tor Peak District Headstone Viaduct Angry Cow Waterfall Water Tritych MI7 Mission Impossible Eyam Tom Cruise Movie

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Taken for the Macro Monday's theme of 'Brush'

I had to use one of my best make up brushes for this shot!!!

The brush was loaded with orange and blue glitter plus a good dollop of pink holi powder. A rocket air blower was used to eject the powder/glitter from the brush. Two YN560IV's both set to 1/128 @ 105mm were used to light the brush. One placed directly behind the brush and one at right angles to light the ejection.

Tags:   Boom! Macro Mondays Brush Orange Blue Orange and Blue Holi Powder Pink YN560 IV Strobist 62/366

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The light was all over the place as I drove along the A4086. A quick capture from the side of the road as the sunlight hit the south side of Mt Snowdon.

Explored 18.2.2018 :)

Tags:   The Road to Snowdon A4086 Mt Snowdon Snowdonia National Park Snowdonia Wales Road Sunlight Mountain Snow

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An early morning dart to the spillway at Torside Reservoir. A fellow tog had been earlier in the week so I knew it was overflowing. A most unusual kidney shaped overflow that feeds Rhodeswood Reservoir and eventually the River Etherow. Then onto the good folk of Greater Manchester for their water needs.

NiSi polariser plus a ND64.

Tags:   Torside Reservoir Spillway Torside Reservoir Spillway Overflow Rhodeswood Reservoir River Etherow Greater Manchester NiSi Polariser ND64 6 Stopper Long Exposure Peak District

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Mike's extended Welsh family. The Goat Whisperer in action!

We had set off hoping to capture waterfalls and greyness but on our first climb we rounded a corner to be met with 23+ goats! Not at all bothered by Darcy the Congo Mountain Schnauzer and Pepper the Stokie Border Terrorist they were chilled as fook for a Sunday!

More images to follow of this Welsh Mountain Goat herd.....

Explored 19.5.2020 :)

Tags:   Welsh Mountain Goats Goat Wales Mountain Dinorwig Darcy Pepper Border Terrier Schnauzer

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