52 for 2021 Week 52 Bad weather = Plan B

52 for 2021 Week 52 Bad weather = Plan B

This week Mrs T and I had intended to go out to the Bleak House via Arms Tor and Great Links Tor but when we got to the car park on Lydford Down the weather was so bad it wasn’t worth the effort to get out there as the light was awful again and the rain was coming in on very strong winds so we decided to opt for “Plan B” and go to Burrator Reservoir into the surrounding woods for some shelter. There are some interesting ruins of old Farms to photograph and the chance of some distant shots of the landscapes.

Miniscule Sausage Area (aka Snappers Tor).




Middleworth Farm.




We parked in the Norsworthy Bridge car park at the top end of the reservoir and set off along the short walk to Middleworth Farm, the track is quite rocky at first.




After a short while it smoothes out.




After about a ¼ mile we came on the farm area.







Sometimes compositions were challenging and I was glad of the large Tripod to get height to help keep the keystoning effect to a minimum. (Photo courtesy of Mrs T).




We stayed a while to do different angles but the light was very drab and overcast.




Close by there was a rock formation amongst the Bracken so we went to investigate it.




Although technically a Plantation there were some more interesting trees that must have been the original type for the area before the Pine planting, these ones overlook the Farm.




We set off along the track again to some other ruins further along.




After a short walk we reached our intended lunch spot amongst the ruins looking out over Walkhampton Common and the still drab weather.




The buildings at this site were much more ruined.










But it didn’t bother the Sheep.




After lunch we set off back to the car park and as we walked the light started to improve with some sun clearing the cloud to cast some nice light on a favourite of mine, The Miniscule Sausage Area also known as Snappers Tor. I would normally photograph this rock formation from the opposite side but this angle with the now very pleasant light was just as good.




I had set myself up on a small bank to get some elevation. (Photo courtesy of Mrs T).




From here we went up to that rock formation for a closer look.




It had a great view of The Miniscule Sausage Area and the light was getting better as the afternoon wore on but I knew it would be short lived as the sun was really low in the sky.







I swapped to a longer lens and was rewarded with a splash of really nice light.




We then set off the last few hundred meters back to the car, Leather Tor was catching some nice light so I snapped it.




That’s all for this week folks, as always comments welcome.

Happy New Year to you all, thanks for visiting this Blog which started during a lockdown as a 52 project but has become much more.

As for 2022 I will still be keeping this Blog as a way to share my weekly outings on Dartmoor,although I won't be titling the entries Week 1-2 etc, and going forward I hope to be using my Bronica film camera more on these outings so, developing permitting (turnaround times from the lab being crucial), I will be adding shots taken on film (hopefully) plus the occasional shot provided by Mrs T .

Tags: Landscape and travel Dartmoor Photowalk Middleworth Farm Dartmoor The Miniscule Sausage Area aka Snappers Tor