 |  Allan Rostron(19th March 2009)Another gem! |
 | Allan Rostron(19th March 2009)Sitting here in suburban Perth, Oz, this is the sort of picture that instantly takes me back to the scene of my rambling days in the 1950/60s. Wonderful! |
|  Allan Rostron(19th March 2009)Very evocative of the place, and wonderful lighting. I was brought up in Wythenshawe, a few miles north of Styal, and used to go to Styal as often as I could. Your picture calls to mind that special smell in the air I associate with the north country - not the mills and mining and factory smells but that peculiar blend of damp moss, fungi and I don't know what else. If somebody could bottle it ... |
 | Allan Rostron(16th March 2009)This reminds me of the Goathland I used to know in the 1950s when my aunty used to take my brother and me with her on winter walking weekends with the Moor and Mountain club from Manchester. Very evocative shot! |
 |  Allan Rostron(4th March 2009)Lovely lighting, and I like the varied texture of the ground. Very nice! |
 |  Allan Rostron(3rd March 2009)I said "for much of the way" partly because we didn't walk the whole way on the day I took the picture last May - just from the car park at the bottom of the dale to a rocky lookout some way up the gorge. From the car park there's an easy walk-in-the-park-type path on the left of the river, just visible at the left in the photo, as well as the rough track on the right (where my daughter and son-in law can be seen close to the water). Twenty minutes or so from the car park you can cross the river on stepping-stones; the river turns left and you then approach the entrance to a steep-sided gorge. I didn't notice what happened to the path on the left of the river from this point, but the right-hand path continues up the gorge, getting quite steep in places. The ascent is at first gentle on a good path, but later gets steeper and rougher. It's not particularly difficult, but I probably wouldn't have attempted it if I'd been 15 years into pensionable age! |
