A Return To Great Mell Fell
Last Sunday, with the forecasts promising "fog" for most of the day, I packed my gear and braced myself for the 80 mile drive North along the M6 to Great Mell Fell for some moody woodland photography.
Upon arrival it quickly became apparent that the forecast was off, way off! I wasn't going to get my fix of misty woodlands after all. Of course, this didn't stop me trying and I still spent three enjoyable hours exploring the woods and photographing anything that didn't move, before finally heading up to the summit (the hike was 5:22 in total, covering a mere 3.6 miles which felt like 20 miles by the end of it). Despite being a modestly sized fell, I still feel like I've hardly explored it at all, so there are definitely plenty of reasons to return and explore it further.
This tree has a menacing presence. Almost like some kind of gatekeeper. That said, it didn't try to stop me as I made my way beneath its branches, so maybe I misjudged it?

Out In The Open
After fighting my way through the jungle ferns, I eventually reached the relative safety of the main path and continued my slog up towards the summit. I stopped a couple of times and turned to enjoy the view. This is looking more or less due South towards Patterdale, with Ullswater lurking unseen from here at the bottom of those distance peaks. This is one of those shots that I felt looked better with the Eterna Bleach Bypass film simulation, largely because the hazy colours were muddy and the contrast was weak, so although this film sim looks kind of unnatural, I think it's more pleasing in this instance than the standard Provia sim that Fuji cameras use as by default.
As you get higher up Great Mell Fell, you begin to encounter rows of dead trees, all bent backwards to some extent or other by the high winds that regularly batter this location (some are bent double!).

The row of dead trees line the edge of the woods and, to my (anthropomorphing?) eye at least, seemed to be lined up enjoying the view.

After once again wandering off the main path, I encountered this solitary Scot's Pine quietly enjoying the view looking off to the West. Once again, this is another image that seemed to work well with Eterna Bleach Bypass.

A lone Scot's Pine waves to its distant chums at the edge of the woods.

A bit of a face off between the live and dead trees near the summit of Great Mell Fell.
