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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.
    GD001792.jpg
  • 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
    GD001733.jpg
  • 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.
    GD001822.jpg
  • 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.
    GD001823.jpg
  • 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
  • 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.
    GD001893.jpg
  • 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.
    GD001151.jpg
  • 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.
    GD001793.jpg
  • Wales highest mountain, Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) hides under sunlit cloud in the background, but the rounded slopes of Mynydd Mawr sit in the middle shot, whilst the craggy narrow Nantlle Ridge can be seen to the right. The deep scarred landscape in front is the Rhosgadfan quarries, now disused.<br />
<br />
UNESCO World Heritage Site
    GD001050.jpg
  • 3 Edition A1 - 5 Edition A2<br />
(First two A1s SOLD, one remaining)<br />
<br />
In brief glimpses through thick fog and heavy cloud, stunning recessional hills appeared, illuminated by subtle rays of weak afternoon sunshine, beautiful. In the far distance is Elidir Fawr, then the rounded peak of Mynydd Mawr, and finally the lower peaks of the Nantlle Ridge.<br />
<br />
Views from the peaks of Tre'r Ceiri, an  Iron Age settlement / fortress steeped in Brythonic history of kings and tribes from the Dark Ages on Snowdonia's Llyn Peninsula. <br />
<br />
Clouds and fog swirl around these peaks but when the fog clears, stunning views are to be had of the surrounding countryside. This place is ethereal, spiritual and always changing. The sense of past is strong and the identity with people living on this Iron Age hill top since the dark ages is potent.
    GD000974.jpg
  • One end of the famous Nantlle Ridge walk starting with Y Garn (highest central peak) before moving to the right and Trum y Ddysgl. The peaks in the distant left, lead to a highest peak of Moel Hebog, Snowdonia
    GD000839.jpg
  • Normally I avoid taking pictures of the mountains when they only have light patchy snow, as I always think it looks 'messy' but this evening, in the last of the sunlight before dusk, there was something subtly beautiful about it all, so I relented and made an image before a very muddy, squelchy, flooded walk home.
    GD002579.jpg
  • I’ve always been impressed by this distinctive dry stone wall that literally divides a mountain in half. It seems overkill for whatever purpose, and is an unmissable mad-made structure over this gorgeous, windswept rounded hillside.
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  • The peak of Yr Elen in the Carneddau range, Snowdonia, covered in shadows of passing cumulus clouds.
    GD001033.jpg
  • 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.
    GD001891.jpg
  • The weather was building over the hills and a strong breeze pushed the cloud shadows over the hillsides at a striking speed. Gradually the scene became darker but isolated patches of intense sunlight splashed the landscape for just a few moments at a time in this quiet Welsh valley.
    GD002087.jpg
  • 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.
    GD002310.jpg
  • I had spent the afternoon surrounded by thick hill fog on the summit of Mynydd Mawr this winter, and the wind was bone chillingly cold. On the col between Mynydd Mawr and Moel Tryfan frozen lakes were surrounded by deceptively warm looking grasses, intensified further by the pinks and mauves up-lighting the low clouds over Nantlle. In reality everything was crunchilly icy and the grasses seemed like they would snap when you touched them, but amazingly, under the thick layer of pool ice, life was still surviving in the darkness.
    GD001174.jpg
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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
    GD001892.jpg
  • The pointed peak of Pen yr Ole Wen, the first peak of the Carneddau range in Snowdonia, in evening sunlight, reflected in a slow moving, dark, river pool, flowing out of Cwm Idwal hanging valley down to the Ogwen Falls and the Nant Ffrancon pass .
    GD000554.jpg
  • 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
  • Second snows on the Welsh hills, and a dusted icing across the rounded lower peaks of the Nantlle area - as seen from Anglesey.
    GD001411.jpg
  • Slopes of the Carneddau mountains in Snowdonia, Wales, in winter, covered in snow, ice, sunlight and shadows from clouds above.
    GD000891.jpg
  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's hughest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank.
    GD001950.jpg
  • 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.
    GD001953.jpg
  • Huge volcanic crater landscapes below the summt of Teneriffe's highest mountain, Mount Teidi. Scant plant life exists at this height which appears more like an arid desert landscape. The air is thinner here and is quite noticeable near the summit.
    GD001857.jpg
  • 3 Edition A1 - 5 Edition A2<br />
(Only one left in A1 size, no.1 of 3)
    GD001155.jpg
  • 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.
    GD001748.jpg
  • 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.
    GD000858.jpg
  • 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 />
<br />
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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  • The Llyn Peninsula in winter, seen from Northern Snowdonia, looking across the lower ridges of Snowdon, Foel Gron, Foel Goch, Moel Eilo, Mynydd Mawr, then Bwlch Mawr and Yr Eifl ib the far distance.
    GD000911.jpg
  • The Llyn Peninsula in winter, seen from Northern Snowdonia, looking across the lower ridges of Snowdon, Foel Gron, Foel Goch, Moel Eilo, Mynydd Mawr, then Bwlch Mawr and Yr Eifl ib the far distance.
    GD000904.jpg
  • A surprisingly rocky, surprisingly ridgy, edgy walk upon Elidir Fawr in Snowdonia. The snow was everywhere but the weather was stunning, bright skies and crisp sunlight bouncing off brilliant clean white surfaces. In the middle distance are the lower slopes of Wales highest mountain, Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) and in the background, the undulating peaks of the Nantlle Ridge.
    GD001043.jpg
  • Stunning views of the surroundings hills and valleys whilst descending from Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) Wales' highest mountain. The effects of glaciation are clearly visible and explains why so many educational groups come to this region to study geography and geomorphology
    GD001499.jpg
  • Stunning views of the surroundings hills and valleys whilst descending from Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) Wales' highest mountain. The effects of glaciation are clearly visible and explains why so many educational groups come to this region to study geography and geomorphology
    GD001497.jpg
  • This is the upper lake just below the summit of Elidir Fawr, which is streamed into huge pipes which feed the 4 turbines in the power station 500 meters below. The water is pumped back up at night when demand is low and pumping costs are least.
    GD001936.jpg
  • View south over the misty Carneddau mountains and Mynydd Du, over to Elidir Fawr and finally the pointed summit of Snowdon in the far distance.
    GD001902.jpg
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  • Stunning views of the surroundings hills and valleys whilst descending from Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) Wales' highest mountain. The effects of glaciation are clearly visible and explains why so many educational groups come to this region to study geography and geomorphology
    GD001500.jpg
  • View south over the misty Carneddau mountains and Mynydd Du, over to Elidir Fawr and finally the pointed summit of Snowdon in the far distance.
    GD001884.jpg
  • Gentle late morning sunshine dappled across the ancient & eroded Welsh mountains of the Carneddau. I love the way these huge geological structures of solid rock become smoothed, rounded & softened by the elements & the growth of nature
    GD001717.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
    GD001828.jpg
  • Vast plains of lush looking crops stretch right across the enormous valleys, from mountain ridge to mountain ridge.  The roads are long and near deserted and houses and hamlets are few and far between. A VERY impressive landscape.
    GD002170.jpg
  • 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
    GD001737.jpg
  • 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
    GD001736.jpg
  • 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
    GD001735.jpg
  • 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
    GD001734.jpg
  • 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.
    GD001826.jpg
  • We’d been so engrossed in our rock-climbing that we hadn’t even noticed the full-moon behind us, rising above Crib Goch ridge on Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) <br />
<br />
Had to stop to grab a snap from the roadside, so thankful that I’d left my tripod in the van.
    GD002397.jpg
  • On a bitter day in Snowdonia, numbers of tiny figures appeared on the summit ridge of Snowdon, highest peak in England & Wales, on their cold walk to the café on the top. Equally, the broken snow defines the numerous well worn tracks to this high coffee house, including the famous Snowdon Railway. ..The massive plume of cloud was a humorous visual metaphor for the steam trains which usually stop in England & Wales' highest station :-)..© Glyn Davies 2012 - All Rights Reserved.
    GD001402.jpg
  • The narrow lane winding up through the slate quarrying village of Deiniolen, disappears over the ridge but in the distance the Snowdon railway track leads us up to the summit of the highest mountain in England and Wales
    GD001038.jpg
  • Surreal, freaky, rapidly billowing and convecting fog in the void between Mynydd Mawr and the Nantlee Ridge. Ice and frozt covered wind exposed edges.
    GD001391.jpg
  • Last blast of evening sunlight over a stormy winter mountainscape in the Carneddau range, Snowdonia, Wales.  Spindrift blows off the ridge between Carnedd Dafydd and Carnedd Llewelyn.
    GD002035.jpg
  • 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 />
<br />
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 />
<br />
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.
    GD002617.jpg
  • The roads were quiet, the forest track deserted and the hillsides empty. The morning rays of sunlight were slowly being extinguished by a deepening cloud cover and the winds were picking up. By the time I reached the ridge a howling gale was bending even the thickest fir trees. The summits were now hidden by a cloud of racing drizzle and were completely uninspiring. <br />
<br />
My heavy heart seemed to struggle to feed movement to my legs and every step felt tiring. As I left the hillsides I meandered around a lake and for only time that afternoon, glimmers of light glowed through thinning cloud, reflecting off the deep black lake, reminding me that at some point we will see light again.
    GD002605.jpg
  • There was a torrent of water in the narrow river powering down the dark valley. The sound was just audible from a distance, but up close it was noisy and relentless, yet at the same time captivating, mesmerising even.<br />
<br />
I had seen the woman from the mountain ridge, swimming upriver from the valley below, like a salmon to its breeding ground. Every so often she was forced to stand, in order to navigate her way through the waterfalls that interspersed her ascent to the river’s source.<br />
<br />
By the time I reached the valley floor she had temporarily left the water to stretch her lean muscles after such a magnificent effort. The air was warm and her wet skin started to dry in the gentle breeze. When the midges began to surround her, she re-entered the river, squeezed her naked body through large black boulders and in a moment, had slipped into a deep pool. The last I saw of her was no more than an undulating flash of pale skin under the dark water and then she was gone.
    Drying Out in the Dark Valley
  • Farm and lane within rolling farmland and fields of sheep on the Llyn Peninsula at this most Westerly tip of North Wales.
    GD001280.jpg
  • There was a torrent of water in the narrow river powering down the dark valley. The sound was just audible from a distance, but up close it was noisy and relentless, yet at the same time captivating, mesmerising even.<br />
<br />
I had seen the woman from the mountain ridge, swimming upriver from the valley below, like a salmon to its breeding ground. Every so often she was forced to stand, in order to navigate her way through the waterfalls that interspersed her ascent to the river’s source.<br />
<br />
By the time I reached the valley floor she had temporarily left the water to stretch her lean muscles after such a magnificent effort. The air was warm and her wet skin started to dry in the gentle breeze. When the midges began to surround her, she re-entered the river, squeezed her naked body through large black boulders and in a moment, had slipped into a deep pool. The last I saw of her was no more than an undulating flash of pale skin under the dark water and then she was gone.
    The Caress of Air & Water
  • On every horizon, there was walled-cloud, kept low by a huge temperature inversion and yet, from here on the slopes of Garnedd Elidir there was good clarity. One solitary cloud gradually appeared over western Ynys Môn but almost as soon it formed it started to spread southward to join a sea of cloud over the Nantlle Ridge. I was alone on the hill and there was such wonderful silence.
    GD002511.jpg
  • Rime Frost on a long fence crossing the ridge of Arenig Fawr
    Fencing on Arenig
  • In the approaching dark of heavy rain clouds and a biting cold wind, the beautiful and enticing ridge-walk from Pen yr Helgi Du received an unexpected burst of sunlight along its length.<br />
<br />
We debated all the way to its steep northern ascent, but then the heavens opened and we realised we had been very wise to ignore the siren’s call as we headed down to the dark lake in torrential, skin-soaking rain. Even the Gore-Tex rainwear failed in these conditions and we still only just made the van before complete darkness.<br />
<br />
What has always struck me when looking at this photograph, is just how skin-like the hillside appears, like the hide of a huge animal. When you think of just how thin the ‘living surface’ above mountains of solid rock actually is then, effectively, it is just a ‘skin’ which will be affected by the weather and which will change appearance and colour constantly over time.
    GD000970.jpg
  • Snow & ice cover the ridges of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) Wales' highest peak.
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  • Driving through the Timanfaya National Park on Lanzarote, the signs of volcanic activity are abundant and striking. Here a whole mountain has blown apart leaving just jagged ridges above the numerous craters. It has an alien other-worldly feel in this place and it’s no wonder they tested lunar landing robots here.  The forces of nature here are so striking and it’s hard to imagine the sounds that must have been caused by such huge explosions.
    GD002064.jpg
  • Glimpses of sunshine - patches of fast-moving light scudding across the striking ridges of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) and its foothills. First warm rays - an ultraviolet shower between snow-clad peaks. Perfect company and amongst this theatrical majesty, a young woman’s first illuminating and exhilarating ascent of a Welsh mountain
    GD002006
  • Acres and acres of traditional rock climbing on the huge serrated ridges of the Sandia Mountains, New Mexico.
    GD002400
  • A brilliant white dust road leads out of the Tsitsikamma National Park forest and heads towards peak after knife edge peak of the mountain range beyond.<br />
.<br />
I can’t get over how high, serrated and steep these mountain pinnacles actually are.
    GD002351.jpg
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