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  • Banks of cloud roll in from the Irish Sea and curl over the top of the Nantlle Ridge in Snowdonia, North Wales, before evaporating again over the Nantlle valley at Drws y Coed. Taken from the a precipitous crag of Craig y Bera on the adjacent mountain of Mynydd Mawr.
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  • Banks of cloud roll in from the Irish Sea and curl over the top of the Nantlle Ridge in Snowdonia, North Wales before evaporating again over the valley. Taken from the adjacent mountain, Mynydd Mawr.
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  • This was a beautifully eerie day on the Welsh hills for me. As usual I was alone, enjoying the solitude, but today felt different. There was hill fog all around, and enormous blankets of low cloud tumbled down over the Nantlle Ridge like breakers on a rocky shore, but then plunged down into the valleys around me. Here on the summit of Mynydd Mawr I was totally in the clear.
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  • Banks of cloud roll in from the Irish Sea and curl over the top of the Nantlle Ridge in Snowdonia, North Wales before evaporating again over the valley. Taken from the adjacent mountain, Mynydd Mawr.
    GD001825.jpg
  • After an unpromising start on a cold grey day, and my hip playing up for the first time in a year, serene sunlight glowed underneath the swirling low cloud shrouding the summits.<br />
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It’s moments like this that make my day, that lify my spirits and paint away the anxiety and anger over the stupidity of human kind. I need the solace that the hills offer those who seek it. I love the solitude as it’s further escape from the nonsense that is current society. Thankfull I didn’t see many fellow walkers, and those I did, bar four, were the grumpiest sods. They never ackowldeged me or my warm greeting, choosing instead to pretend I didn’t exist. Sign of the times. The mountains however welcomed me glady as always, and I felt part of them and utterly connected to them and the elements.
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  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in Snowdonia, North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's highest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank. This ridge of Mynydd Mawr is at cloud level, just before breaking into bright sunshine, the cloud below dark and ominous.
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  • From below, surrounded by hundreds of sledgers & skiers creating a cacophony of noisy laughs & screams, the summits were in swirling low cloud, never showing themselves. <br />
<br />
As I trudged higher the snow became thicker and the chaos of the crowds diminished. I followed deep snowy footprints & drops of bright red blood from an injured dog, marking the route of previous ascensionists. The snow dumbs sounds; no birds sang, or sheep bleated. I could hear my own heart as the silence & snow deepened more. <br />
<br />
I was surprised nevertheless by the numbers of small parties descending the hill, and I was troubled (as always) that I was being trailed by others, a super fit elderly couple with a tiny day sack, and a backpacking single guy. I stopped for a drink to let them pass and I watched them disappear into the thick fog. Finally, I was alone, and I laboured step by step in deep snow until I arrived at the summit. I could hear occasional walkers chatting in the whiteout, but none appeared alongside me. It was dark up there, and the strengthening wind chilled my fingers through my gloves. I sensed something was happening with the clouds though so persevered in my wait. For about ten minutes the sun made regular bursts through the low cloud, illuminating snow-crusted rock sculptures all around me. It transformed the scene completely & I felt less lonely somehow. <br />
<br />
The horizon darkened and I could see snow clouds approaching. It was getting colder and colder, so I called it a day and retraced my footsteps back down to cloud base. Sleet and then heavy rain pelted me about five minutes from the van. Dozens and dozens of soaked sledging families made a sad retreat off the slopes.  I was delighted with the ten or so images that I made on the summit. I think will make some beautiful prints for the gallery wall.
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  • The summit of Snowdon peaks above a huge cloud bank and convection clouds building over Nant y Betws, Rhyd Ddu and the mountain of Mynydd Mawr.
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  • Morning light over tiny waves in showery weather at Traeth Bychan beach, East Anglesey. A cloud shaped like a jumping figure hangs in the sky.
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  • An ominous looking Mynydd Mawr in low cloud and bad weather as seen from the craggy summit of Moel Tryfan above Rhostryfan, Snowdonia, Gwynedd, Wales
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  • Sun behind a cloud over colonies of mussels at low tide, at Llanddona beach, Red Wharf Bay, Anglesey, Wales
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  • A mountain walker stops at a high point of a precipitous crag of Craig y Bera on Mynydd Mawr, to watch banks of cloud roll in from the Irish Sea and curl over the top of the Nantlle Ridge in Snowdonia, North Wales before evaporating again over the Nantlle valley.
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  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's highest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank.  <br />
<br />
Tryfan & the Glyderau are the high peaks in the background and Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) fill the foreground above the fog
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  • Low cloud rolling in from the Irish Sea wraps around the summit of Mynydd Mawr and adjacent peaks of the Welsh mountains of Snowdonia at sunset. The top of a pine woodland can be seen on the hillside, separated from the background by  sheets of hill fog.
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  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's hughest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank. Here we see the first peaks of the Nantlle Ridge, a hill walker's paradise, with Moel Hebog just making an appearance in the far distance.
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  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's hughest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank.
    GD001952.jpg
  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's hughest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank.
    GD001951.jpg
  • Banks of cloud roll in from the Irish Sea at sunset, and curl over the top of the Nantlle Ridge in Snowdonia and over Rhyd Ddu and the lakes of Llyn y Dywarchen and Llyn y Gader, Snowdonia, North Wales. Taken from a lower ridge of Mynydd Mawr
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  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's highest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank but here in the transition zone on Mynydd Mawr the fog created eerie views above steep and craggy mountain cliffs.
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  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's highest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank.  <br />
<br />
Nantlle Ridge peaking above a vast sea of fog in brillian sunshine. Below. it seemed like an awful dull wet day.
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  • There was a draw, I wanted to just leap into the light, to soar like a raven into the void - I wanted the light, I needed the light and the cool vapours swirled around me as the sun tried to warm my face. <br />
<br />
It was caused by a phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's highest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank.
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  • On one of my low days, under a gloomy blanket of dull weather with a forecast of heavy drizzle, I headed mid-afternoon for the Welsh hills. <br />
<br />
It's funny really, but the dark weather, the impending gloom, the threat of a downpour, the complete lack of any people on the hills, the quiet, the isolation, the wet earth underfoot, the raven circling in and out of the swirling low cloud - all served to remind me that even the most wonderful aspects of my world, are often naturally dark, and  even inhospitable
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  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's hughest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank.
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  • I left the valley in beautiful warm evening sunshine but by the time I reached the summit it was shrouded in dense, fast-swirling and cold hill fog. I shivered as I sat in the lee of the summit cairn but when the sun burst through I was bathed in warmth and mesmerised by the rapidly unfurling mountain views beyond me. The conditions lasted maybe an hour before the temperatures balanced out and the cloud dispersed leaving totally clear views. I can't help but be impressed by the constantly changing ethereal qualities of the Welsh light and weather.
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  • I left the valley in beautiful warm evening sunshine but by the time I reached the summit it was shrouded in dense, fast-swirling and cold hill fog. I shivered as I sat in the lee of the summit cairn but when the sun burst through I was bathed in warmth and mesmerised by the rapidly unfurling mountain views beyond me. The conditions lasted maybe an hour before the temperatures balanced out and the cloud dispersed leaving totally clear views. I can't help but be impressed by the constantly changing ethereal qualities of the Welsh light and weather.
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  • Warm perspiration chilled rapidly as low cloud over the summit of Moel Eilio obscured the evening sun. A gentle breeze forced cold vapour around our necks and up our sleeves. Occasionally we could see brilliant sunshine bouncing off the West coast of Anglesey but up here we were being kept from revelling in the beauty.<br />
<br />
Nevertheless the two of us drank hot coffee and ate chocolate biscuits, just sitting close to each other and loving the surreal magic of the conditions and our joint solitude up here on the mountain top.
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  • Yes another dreary evening here on Anglesey, heck we've not seen much sun at all this summer have we! We'd sat on a little beach hoping for any glimmer of sunshine and finally gave up. On the way past the causeway though, the gentlest beams of sunshine squeezed through the depressing blanket of cloud and the warm, murky sea adopted a beautiful silvery skin, slowly undulating over slow waves.
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  • On the summit in dark swirling cloud. A delicate sun glimmered through the vapour, illuminating shards of quartz-covered, shattered wet rock. <br />
<br />
I was alone on the summit and it helped create the feeling that this pictorial wonder was my privilege alone.
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  • Today has been hard and incredibly emotional, having attended the funeral of a very close best friend. His funeral was the biggest I've ever been to, so big that crowds had to wait outside and listen by loudspeaker. As a pole bearer for my friend, I could feel the physical and emotional weight shared by fellow bearers as we slowly walked into the crematorium, to an aptly chosen Top Gun theme tune. <br />
<br />
I sat staring at the order of service, the cover portrait one I'd taken at his retirement do just a few years before - in his element, surrounded by colleagues and loved ones, glass of red wine in hand and a damned cheeky, mischievous smile. <br />
<br />
Today he was surrounded once again, and he'd have been elated by all the wonderful, loving people, from school friends to top consultants high in the NHS, and all of us everyday folk in between. We were all there to mourn his passing, because his grin, cheekiness and gregarious personality was infectious and drew people to him. <br />
<br />
I listened to amazing eulogies from his daughter, an anaesthetist colleague and one of his professors from med school. It was hard to cry because they all related so many mischievous events from his past that made most of us smile. When his daughter Siân finally said, in Welsh, 'Sleep Well Dad' a ripple of stifled tears tore into the mourners. <br />
<br />
This evening I stood in near-freezing air before entering the cold sea, my breath backlit by the setting sun. A huge seal silently appeared just 30 feet from me and stared into my tearful eyes. An arched back rose in the molten gold and he disappeared into the distance. I didn’t swim - I just stood shoulder deep in the bitter water and studied the passing snow clouds, curtains of them against the delicate warm hues of the disappearing day. Though there were a few walkers in the gloom back on the beach there was silence, as was only right this evening - no cars, no planes, no yapping dogs, no screams from kids
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  • On the summit in dark swirling cloud. A delicate sun glimmered through the vapour, illuminating shards of quartz-covered, shattered wet rock.<br />
.<br />
I was alone on the summit and it helped create the feeling that this pictorial wonder was my privilege alon
    GD002348.jpg
  • On an otherwise blue sky day, an unusual solitary cloud appeared above the freedom of the mountains. Shortly the cloud intensified and grew much larger, but thankfully it never rained.
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  • After weeks of appalling weather, wind and rain, it was such a relief to have a dry-ish day. We headed for the coast and literally just caught the last moments of a giant hole in the clouds where we glimpsed the blue sky above. A gentle shimmering of sunlight reflected off the calm sea, but it was like the eye of a storm as banks of deeper grey cloud moved in from the West and the rain started all over again.
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  • View from the summit of Garn Ganol (Yr Eifl) the highest point on the Llyn Peninsula, looking across the rural farmland through low lying clouds and hill fog  in showery weather
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  • Dramatic large cumulonimbus clouds increased over lush rolling hillsides and farmland, whilst the ancient stepping stones navigate the walker across the wide gap of the Afon Braint River near Newborough on West Anglesey. The hills of Snowdonia can just be seen in the distance, <br />
<br />
<br />
Sneezing, coughing and nose blowing, I left the van and with eyes as blurred as looking through milk bottle bases I arrived at these ancient stepping stones. I had enough sense to plan for the tide this time as I wanted to see the stones surrounded by high water unlike my previous shot "Out of Sadness Came Forth Joy". A VERY different story today, and although I was feeling below par, the light was absolutely beautiful, sharp, crisp and intense. The skies were dramatic and the clouds voluptuous and swelling. I took great delight in jumping the stones across the deep blue water, just for the sheer hell of it. The surrounding water was incredibly calm and reflective with just the smallest signs that actually the tide was flooding
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  • Dramatic large cumulonimbus clouds increased over lush rolling hillsides and farmland, whilst the ancient stepping stones navigate the walker across the wide gap of the Afon Braint River near Newborough on West Anglesey. The hills of Snowdonia can just be seen in the distance,
    GD001060.jpg
  • The largest iron age settlement / fortress in Britain, Tre'r Ceiri covers the top of a high Welsh mountain, so high that clouds often pass lower than the summit as here. The highest peak on this peninsula hides behind the mist in the background.
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  • Pilgrim's Way Llyn Trail, Iron Age route - A Life path for centuries. <br />
<br />
The largest iron age settlement / fortress in Britain, Tre'r Ceiri covers the top of a high Welsh mountain, so high that clouds often pass lower than the summit as here. The highest peak on this peninsula hides behind the mist in the background.
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  • It's August, it looked sunny. The hills are swarming with summer walkers, like mozzys on a sweaty cow. I have to go further and further afield at this time of year to escape the vortex desperation of lemmings sucked towards the highest peaks. Arenig Fawr jumped out at me on the map - The description: "To some, the poor Southern relative of the Snowdonia bigger peaks" - but to me exactly the reason to reach for it's summit. The downside to these hills, is that their very disuse means the paths are not so precise, so trodden or so scarred. Map reading and navigation are worthwhile skills but even with my OS 1:25,000 the description of the descent as, 'follows faint, sometimes invisible paths, across boggy vegetated hillsides" did worry me a little, especially as the clouds were already thickening over Snowdonia by the time we'd even reached Capel Curig!
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  • It's August, it looked sunny. The hills are swarming with summer walkers, like mozzys on a sweaty cow. I have to go further and further afield at this time of year to escape the vortex desperation of lemmings sucked towards the highest peaks. Arenig Fawr jumped out at me on the map - The description: "To some, the poor Southern relative of the Snowdonia bigger peaks" - but to me exactly the reason to reach for it's summit. The downside to these hills, is that their very disuse means the paths are not so precise, so trodden or so scarred. Map reading and navigation are worthwhile skills but even with my OS1;25,000 the description of the descent as, 'follows faint, sometimes invisible paths, across boggy vegetated hillsides" did worry me a little, especially as the clouds were already thickening over Snowdonia by the time we'd even reached Capel Curig !
    GD001292.jpg
  • The largest iron age settlement / fortress in Britain, Tre'r Ceiri covers the top of a high Welsh mountain, so high that clouds often pass lower than the summit as here. The highest peak on this peninsula hides behind the mist in the background.
    GD001129.jpg
  • Rapidly developing and blowing clouds create a mountain illusion, as they obscure the spatial reality, that the summit we see is Elidir Fawr, but the base which is actually the lower peaks of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), separated by the Llanberis Pass
    GD001827.jpg
  • The largest iron age settlement / fortress in Britain, Tre'r Ceiri covers the top of a high Welsh mountain, so high that clouds often pass lower than the summit as here. The highest peak on this peninsula hides behind the mist in the background.
    GD000982.jpg
  • Dramatic large cumulonimbus clouds increased over lush rolling hillsides and farmland, whilst the ancient stepping stones navigate the walker across the wide gap of the Afon Braint River near Newborough on West Anglesey. The hills of Snowdonia canbe seen in the distance, and on the wall straight ahead sits a cock pheasant, creating an almost perfect traditional British countryside scene.
    GD001062.jpg
  • South Stack lighthouse on Holy Island, Anglesey, as seen from the flying bridge of the Holyhead Lifeboat, RNLB Christopher Pearce.<br />
<br />
 I had to react quickly to changing compositions as this powerful vessel blasted us around the imposing cliffs of Ynys Lawd. <br />
<br />
The early morning sunshine was gorgeous but what made this picture for me was the single fluffy white cloud hovering above South Stack lighthouse. My elevation meant I could look down onto the deep green sea as well as up into the blue sky. An incredible experience.
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  • Isles Apart, Caldeiras Negra & Comprida, Flores, Azores
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  • As the clouds played in the sky, patches of sunlight scuttled across the windblown landscape, but the summit of Yr Eifl remained dark and cold-looking throughout.
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  • The views from Yr Eifl are spectacular at most times, but today was particularly dramatic and spacious. The huge fluffy clouds were racing up the coast over the tiny-looking villages of Trefor and Clynnog Fawr, and the morning sunshine cast distinct shadows down across a green-grey sea. They towered high above the land and dwarfed even the mountains. From my elevation, it gave an impression of flying, that ability to look down on the world below as if it were a map. When staying in Y Nant, surrounded on three sides by mountains, nestled amongst dark trees, the contrast between the escape of this nearby hilltop and the seclusion of the village was even more striking.
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  • Almost Spielberg-like, the most incredible dark clouds built above a small cluster of beachside houses at Rhosneigr. Late afternoon sunlight burst under the weather front illuminating the coastline, increasing the drama further.
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  • Waves creep over a sand bar at Silver Bay cove on North West Anglesey whilst clouds scurry overhead
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  • 3 Edition A1 - 5 Edition A2<br />
(Only one left in A1 size, no.1 of 3)
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  • Shot from the side of a Welsh mountain, the sunbursts illuminating an otherwise shadowy Irish Sea was far more vivid and spectacular than from sea level.
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  • Fixed line shore fishing net, Traeth Bychan, East Anglesey, Wales.
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  • Storms move across the Atlantic Ocean off the North coast of South West Cornwall. Brilliant sunshine pierces the blackness of the weather and dark sea
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  • Shot from the side of a Welsh mountain, the sunbursts illuminating an otherwise shadowy Irish Sea was far more vivid and spectacular than from sea level.
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  • These rolling foothills form part of the Snowdon Massif but each have their own names, and are affectionately known collectively, as the 'roller coaster' by local hill walkers.
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  • Thick fog at sunset, caused by a major temperature inversion, seen here at the high cliffs at South Stack, Holy Island, Irish Sea, North Wales.
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  • This beach doesn't change profile that often, but when it does, it seems quite significant, leaving large pools & lagoons, with fish-like undulations of sand ripples. As we move towards summer, it was so uplifting to see change on its way.
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  • Shot from the summit of Gyrn towards a phenomenal sunset over the Llyn Peninsula. The high hills to our left never really received much light so remained a cold grey blue all afternoon. Today I was alone again, and happy. A group of mountaineering students looked as if they would head for this summit but then they turned and headed into invisibility. The wind was severe and bitterly cold but it was worth being on the hill tops for light such as this.
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  • Looking at the eroded mountains of the Llyn Peninsula in the background; watching the tide gently advance over the slabs of tilted rock; studying the two Oystercatchers enjoying the evening warmth; marvelling at the rich yellow lichen growing in the clean air; I couldn’t help but ponder about the purpose of human life. Without us, there would be so much less damage to the planet, no evil, no unnecessary violence, no exploitation of what the planet provides - I just reason that everything would be in order, that the earth would be in balance not plunging into darkness.
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  • These rolling foothills form part of the Snowdon Massif but each have their own names, and are affectionately known collectively, as the 'roller coaster' by local hill walkers.
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  • Crib Goch (Red comb) under a blue sky.  This is the most precipitous and narrow ridge walk on Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) - 1,085 m (3,560 ft), the highest mountain in Wales, and Snowdon is the highest point in the British Isles outside Scotland. With a café at it's summit, it's also the highest café in the UK. A railway takes some visitors to the summit.
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  • Rays of light from South Stack lighthouse, Holy Island, Anglesey, under a thick bank of fog at sunset, caused by a second day of temperature inversion over North Wales and here over the Irish Sea. Fishermen's torches light the rocks at the base of the cliffs in the blue gloom.
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  • A temporary clearing in thick fog at sunset, caused by a major temperature inversion, seen here at South Stack, Irish Sea, North Wales. The RSPB information centre and viewing point of Elim's Tower is the white building on the cliff top.
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  • Nominated in 2022 International Colour Awards<br />
<br />
Second day of a phenomenal temperature inversion in a row. This is right at the edge of the fog bank, before the coast, so the sun was able to pierce the thick fog over Aberffraw and the Irish Sea
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  • Menai Suspension Bridge (Welsh: Pont Grog y Borth) which is a stone built Victorian suspension bridge between the island of Anglesey and Bangor and mainland of Wales. The 100ft high bridge was designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826.
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  • Available as unlimited A3 & A4 prints only
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  • The rain was relentless, falling in vast sheets across the sombre Welsh hillsides, soaking the landscape and everything upon it. I’d just descended from the gale-blown summits where I’d not seen a soul, but I was more than happy in my wet solitude. I could hear a hidden river tumbling through dark rocks in the valley below.<br />
<br />
The wind drove the rain through the back of my waterproofs as I trudged down the tiny path back to habitation. It was near silent, no calls of birds or bleating of sheep, just the drumming of the downpour on my hood. <br />
<br />
I loved it all. Amidst these huge Welsh mountains that one-minute seemed imposing and soft like a watercolour the next, I felt alive in this huge valley, a tiny, isolated figure moving through an ancient glaciated landscape. These are times and conditions when you feel humbled by the elements and connected to the earth.
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  • These rolling foothills form part of the Snowdon Massif but each have their own names, and are affectionately known collectively, as the 'roller coaster' by local hill walkers.
    GD001587.jpg
  • Rays of light from South Stack lighthouse, Holy Island, Anglesey, under a thick bank of fog at sunset, caused by a second day of temperature inversion over North Wales and here over the Irish Sea. Fishermen's torches light the rocks at the base of the cliffs in the blue gloom.
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  • Available as unlimited A3 & A4 prints only
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  • Nominated in 9th (2016) International Colour Awards (Nature category)<br />
<br />
The undulating set of hills in the foreground is known as the roller-coaster by locals, the foothills to Wales' highest mountain, Snowdon, the name forming the root of the Snowdonia National Park, though Snowdon's real name is Celtic, Yr Wyddfa, & is the one dear to Welsh people. This hugely popular mountain is mostly deserted and offers perfect solitude as dusk settles upon it, the crowds having left by foot and railway to the warmth of the pubs and guest houses in the town nestling below.
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  • Menai Suspension Bridge (Welsh: Pont Grog y Borth) which is a stone built Victorian suspension bridge between the island of Anglesey and Bangor and mainland of Wales. The 100ft high bridge was designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826. Here the floodlit bridge spanning the Menai Strait is backed by snow covered Welsh mountains of Snowdonia
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  • Surreal, freaky, rapidly billowing and convecting fog in the void between Mynydd Mawr and the Nantlee Ridge. Ice and frozt covered wind exposed edges.
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  • International Color Awards 2016 - Nominee in "Nature" category<br />
<br />
Rays of light from South Stack lighthouse, Holy Island, Anglesey, under a thick bank of fog at sunset, caused by a second day of temperature inversion over North Wales and here over the Irish Sea. Fishermen's torches light the rocks at the base of the cliffs in the blue gloom.
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  • Yes this is for real, indeed it’s so easy with sunsets to get the processing so wrong to make it look so not right, but I had to make sure I didn’t increase the contrast for there was NO black in the original scene, just a gentle set of pastel tones except for the burn of the sun itself. It went behind a long thin cloud layer ahead of a huge bank of cloud moving on for the next morning’s rain. This vaporous layer split the sun so that an intense burn remained above the cloud, but a deep red burn emerged from beneath. There was hardly a drop of wind (look at the surface of the sea) but the cloud shapes make it look as though the suns flames are themselves being blown by a gale. <br />
<br />
All of this was incredibly lucky as a few minutes beforehand the sun was completely obscured by a hazy and vast layer of cloud. Through the long lens I was able to see the detail more quickly and perhaps thanks to the optics, I’ve never seen a sunset so surreal and so spectacular.
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  • As is the way with my days off these days, there is no rush ever. Jan works long days and even longer nights in an intensive care department and there is NO shift pattern at all to allow a person’s body clock to plan the week. Her need for sleep catch up is vital, so I have learned not to expect a 7am leap out of bed, and instead to respect her body clock readjustment time. It doesn’t stop me getting fidgety however if the light looks amazing, and the day is going by :-)<br />
<br />
It was Sunday however, and for Jan a rare Sunday off, so whatever! The weather forecast was for brightness, light cloud, zero chance of rain and plenty of sunshine later. We could do a lazy leisurely hill walk later with no worries about the elements or timings. I didn’t really absorb the additional information I skimmed through on the mountain weather forecast though, which indicated freezing level at summits and 45mph winds. Nevertheless we threw in our Paramo’s and Rab wind proofs just in case, along with two flasks of steaming hot coffee.<br />
<br />
At about 2pm we started the one hour drive towards the distinctive pyramid shaped mountain called Cnicht. I haven’t done it for couple of years and I love the mountain (approximately 2200 feet). I have done it from the very meandrous North side and also from the shadowy East facing quarry valley of Cwm Orthin, which was today’s plan as I wanted to show Jan the old quarry workings. However, as part of her prep for some bigger mountains in the next few weeks she said she’d prefer a steep ascent, so we headed for Croesor on the brighter West side instead. This was a first for me too which was nice, making our way up the classic West ridge.<br />
<br />
We decided to have a cuppa and a sandwich in the cafe in the tiny, sleepy hamlet of Croesor but the cafe was so asleep it was closed! I was really surprised, this being the Easter break and a car park packed with walkers’ vehicles. We started up the long, bouldery woodland track before exiting right up towards
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  • I arrived at the beach at the very last minute, after a long day in the gallery and a desperate need for fresh air. The sunshine on the trees and hedgerows as I swept by in my van was an intoxicating promise of things to come but even as I neared the coast I could see a band of broken cloud on the horizon and a chance of broken promises.<br />
<br />
I took a couple of frames from the sand dunes before  jogging down to the water’s edge where huge sand pools had formed. There wasn’t a drop of wind and the water surface was like a mirror. I managed about 3 subtly different frames before the sun dropped behind a layer of dark cloud and the intensity had gone for the night. <br />
<br />
I count myself lucky nevertheless
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  • I arrived at the beach at the very last minute, after a long day in the gallery and a desperate need for fresh air. The sunshine on the trees and hedgerows as I swept by in my van was an intoxicating promise of things to come but even as I neared the coast I could see a band of broken cloud on the horizon and a chance of broken promises.<br />
<br />
This is one of a couple of frames from the sand dunes before jogging down to the water’s edge where huge sand pools had formed. I only managed about 3 subtly different frames before the sun dropped behind a layer of dark cloud and the intensity had gone for the night. I count myself lucky nevertheless
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  • Dropping below the cloud base above Snowdonia, a gigantic ball of sun slowly, teasingly appeared below a huge bank of cloud over the Irish Sea. The horizon turned orange and then deep red.<br />
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It was calm, silent and perfect as I stood with my lover on a freezing mountainside, marvelling at just how incredible being alive can actually be.
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  • Even from the Isle of Anglesey the clouds over the mountains looked amazing, so I headed for the foothills. Strangely the effects looked better from Ynys Môn than the hills themselves but for a short while, magical moments of light offered themselves up here on the peaks. A huge dark cloud gathered over Garnedd Elidir and remained there even even after I crossed the summit ridge. <br />
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In the background you can see Yr Wyddfa, the highest mountain in Wales & England, amazingly cloud free on its summit, even though much higher than Garnedd Elidir. <br />
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I'd been reading numerous articles about women being anxious about men in the mountains, so it was interesting that bar one man, all my fellow walkers were confident, happy, friendly women, young & old, nothing like the worried women I'd read about in articles. I was pleased that none of these women saw me as a threat in our shared wonderful landscape.
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  • At 12,198 feet (3718m) , the highest peak of Tenerife, and indeed Spain, is Mount Teidi (Pico del Teide) located in the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The skies can be clear above the clouds below. The moisture from the regular cloud cover means that the tree line reaches high up the mountain sides in form of woods and forest.
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  • At 12,198 feet (3718m) , the highest peak of Tenerife, and indeed Spain, is Mount Teidi (Pico del Teide) located in the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The skies can be clear above the clouds below. The moisture from the regular cloud cover means that the tree line reaches high up the mountain sides in form of woods and forest.
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  • The last embers of a burning sunset caught the gable ends of the hillside town of Groeslon on the hillside below the imposing Nantlle Ridge. The clouds were on fire, billowing and swirling, hiding and revealing the majestic hills behind. <br />
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And then within perhaps a minute, a huge fire blanket of cloud on the horizon suffocated the intense flames, and the colours were gone for the night.
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  • By the time my student and I had reached the coast I thought we’d lost the light, but as we walked out onto the estuary the sun, which had eased behind a massive cloud bank, gradually dropped further and re-appeared, highlighting waves of higher cloud beyond the darker blanket beneath. It was a superb finish to a very full 14 hour 1-1 workshop.
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  • One of those days when I knew that my need for positivity-inducing sunshine was not going to be satiated by the time I reached the coast after a long day in the gallery. <br />
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Layer after layer of blanket cloud had been drawn from the horizon to the sky overhead. I stood alone on the headland, silently studying the surface of the near motionless sea in the vain hope that a porpoise or dolphin would bring a wave of excitement to the watery view.<br />
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Amidst the grey gloom huge beams of sunlight suddenly pierced the cloud cover and spot lit the Irish Sea to help me scan more clearly – a huge searchlight from the universe above.  I never did see any marine life but the light itself, which only lasted a few minutes, made the journey worthwhile.
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  • Had no idea that a huge sea of cloud would be building as I summited Garnedd Elidir, but it was such an incredible surprise benefit of this last minute evening walk into the hills. <br />
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Though Yr Wyddfa was packed with 1000s of visitors ever day this week, I was completely alone on my summit and was therefore able to let my mind float at cloud height with all this sumptuous vapour. It’s precious enough being alone on the hill tops, but being presented with such spectacular weather phenomenon is such a heightened privilege. <br />
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Strangely, as I left my perch and headed down the scree slopes, the inversion faded, as if it was purely there for me, at a time when I needed it.
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  • Gentle patterns of wind blown ripples, delicate peninsulas of sand and fast moving sheets of cloud with the unmistakeable Llyn Peninsula and it’s classic peaks.
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  • Iwas just fascinated by the hard, angular patterns of wall and shadow in this old industrial construction, and the softness of the scoop of cloud overhead. On such a warm day it made me smile.
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  • I arrived at the beach in pouring rain but decided to head out anyway, brolly in hand. Thankfully the rain stopped suddenly and large breaks appeared in the huge blankets of grey cloud. The low sun painted colour onto the clouds behind me and I felt uplifted by brighter conditions. And then the first drops of rain fixed themselves to my lens and within less than a minute the heavens opened once again. I sheltered under the brolly for a short while, revelling in the elements around me before battling a squall back to the van.
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  • Shot from a mountain summit at sunset. At this time of year the sun blazes across the Menai Strait, the stretch of water that separates the Isle of Anglesey from the mainland. <br />
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The wind was bitterly cold even in July, but sheltered behind the summit cairn the sun did offer some warmth as I excitedly watched the rapidly changing light created by fast moving swirling clouds above me. <br />
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I remained on the summit until the sun dropped behind a huge bank of cloud on the horizon, and I walked down alone in the gathering dusk.
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  • From a shoot alongside the BBC's 'Weatherman Walking' series with Derek Brockway. I was acting as guide for the walk because of my book about the location.<br />
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We had just come up from Tre'r onto the summit of Garn Ganol. The hill fog had been very thick, swirling in a clammy wet blanket about us which was very atmospheric but also blocked all the views. Here however, the cloud suddenly parted and revealed beautiful patches of sunlit Llyn Landscape. Even the cameramen were ecstatic about the weather phenomenon before us - stunning.
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  • Just the strangest early morning cloud formations over a tranquil Menai Strait at high tide. Above the darkness of the shadowed hillsides, clouds slowly changed shape and size,creating an incredible if slightly surreal skyscape. <br />
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It was like watching a vast charcoal drawing in the making by invisible hands.
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  • Huge seas (for Aberffraw, rolled right up to the top of this long flat beach, whilst breakers of cloud rolled over the stormy peaks of the Welsh mountains of the Llyn Peninsula in the background.<br />
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Available in A4 and A3 sizes only
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Glyn Davies, Professional Photographer and Gallery

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