Local Viewpoints

This week I have not been out with the big lens photographing the local wildlife owing to very poor weather and other commitments. I did however carry a small compact camera with me and this week by way of a change I am showing some of the local scenery in this part of Lancashire. One super viewpoint not very far from home is at Jeffrey Hill on the northern slope of Longridge Fell. Here from the roadside you have a magnificent view across the Vale Of Chipping to the Bowland Fells to the north east of the lovely village of Chipping. This is a popular spot with motorists and on a fine day there can be few better views in Lancashire.
The second viewpoint demands a little more effort and a climb to the summit of Clougha Pike at just over 1200 feet. On the way up and from the summit there are magnificent views across Morecambe Bay to the Lake District Fells and across to the three Yorkshire Peaks of Whernside, Ingleborough and and Pen-y- ghent. Currently the heather is coming into flower and swathes of purple enhance the journey to the summit of this delightful Lancashire Peak. The images above show views of the Bowland Fells from Longridge Fell and finish with views from the heather covered slopes of Clougha Pike. If any of my readers have the opportunity to visit either of these viewpoints you will not be disappointed with some of Lancashire's finest scenery.

Deer Watching

Last week I made a long overdue visit to Leighton Moss. I had heard that the red deer were showing well and so I arrived at the Griezdale Hide deep in the reed beds around mid afternoon. I could immediately see a number of deer both hinds and stags and all were lying down in the reeds and grass to shelter from the very warm afternoon sun. There was little activity until something spooked all the deer and I was treated to a magnificent sight as a number of stags charged across an open area and into the dense reedbeds in front of the hide. Needless to say I fired off a salvo of shots with the camera hoping to capture the fast moving action. The stags soon vanished into the reed beds and didn't reappear during my stay and so once again I had been in the right place at the right time and was pleased with the images I obtained.
The rest of my stay until early evening was spent watching the red deer hinds and their fawns which were feeding and showing well in an area to the west of the Griezdale Hide. It was a very pleasant scene as they chewed the cud and fed on the reeds and grasses close by. From time to time the fawns returned to their mothers for a feed , still dependent on mother's milk to help them through their early months of life in the reed beds of Leighton Moss. It had been a very interesting few hours spent at Leighton Moss and I returned home well pleased with the images I had managed to capture of these magnificent red deer.The stags in particular looked wonderful showing off their sets of antlers.These will be put to good use in combat in the months ahead when the reed beds at Leighton Moss resound to the sights and sounds of the annual rut. It was a privilege to witness and I hope I have managed to convey some of the excitement I experienced in my images shown above.