Woodland Miscellany

 

Just some assorted woodland pictures from the far corners of my hard drive, while I plan the updates to the Gallery section of the website. The woods are all bursting into life at the moment, with Bluebells springing up beneath the trees, and lush herbage such as Garlic Mustard and Cow Parsley crowding the edges and roadsides. Ah, woodlands are fantastic! The following photos are a bit of a mixture, but are all from the woodlands - certainly one of my favourite places to be on a sunny day like today.

 

These two images above were both taken near Zell am See in Austria, on a misty morning climbing the mountain Schmittenhöhe. If a ten-hour hike to the top of the local mountain and back doesn't sound like fun, then perhaps it's best to avoid holidaying with an ardent walker and photographer like myself! The morning started off with a thick mist floating through the evergreens, creating an ethereal atmosphere and interesting lighting for these two photos when the sun blazed through. The mist thinned and finally burnt off around noon, leaving some stunning views over Zell am See and the adjacent lake, and surround countryside too. Myself and Natasha attained the lofty heights of Schmittenhöhe at 1,965m above sea level - around 1,200m above the town where we began, with temperatures reaching 23 degrees Celsius. Strange to think that the mountaintop was covered with a heavy snowfall just two days later.

 

This image was taken on the shores of Loch Lomond in Scotland, while walking the 96-mile long distance footpath "The West Highland Way" from Glasgow to Fort William. The lacustrine woodland petered out here, with one lone outlier tree standing in the very waters of the lake and taking pride of place in this shot. The lighting was very soft for the time of day (midday) giving this picture a very calm aspect. Wood and Water here both contribute to my favourite image from this eight-day hike.