That awkward time between the excitement of winter with it's photogenic snow, ice & dramatic sky and spring's colour & vibrancy is perhaps not at the top of many photographer's shoot list but the drab, grey clouds & muted landscapes have a unique charm.
After heavy snow the week before it looked like Cumbria was climbing out of winter in search of the warmer days of spring, via persistent rain & drizzle. Piles of dirty grey snow still lying by the roadsides and the remnants of icy drifts sheltering in the shadow of hedgerows and crags in the hills
An early evening stroll along Derwent Water at Keswick gave a tantalising glimpse of spring but only served to lull us into a false sense of optimism.
The next day a walk along the banks of Buttermere and climb towards Haystacks was full of beautiful views but under grey skies with only muted colours in the landscape.
A surprisingly strenuous walk/climb (compared to the description we'd read on the internet the night before) to the summits at Haystacks provided stunning views of the surrounding peaks, views back down the valley to the village and of the icy tarns up there. A stunning place to be at any time, especially if you can find shelter from the winds threatening to blow us off our feet and back down the cliff.
A scrambled descent across the scree of Warnscale & stroll back to the lake provided an opportunity to explore the detail in the valley from a different angle.
And to look back at our route (below), along the peaks from right to left before dropping down from the left of the highest beck and down the centre of the valley.
The next day saw a return to persistent rain and a trip (by car) to Ullswater, picking out remote details and views of the misty peaks beyond.
A return to Derwent Water and Keswick, still in the rain, only served to reinforce the fact that spring was stubbornly holding out for a little longer and the glimpse of colour earlier in the week was just a preview of things to come.
All photos taken with Canon 5Dmkiii & Tamron 28-300mm lens hand held except colour photos of Derwent Water taken with iPhone6. All photos processed with Adobe Lightroom Classic/Mobile