The Peak District in Film
The Autumn colours in full bloom on Snake Pass. 1/8s 110mm F11 Portra 800 Bronica SQ-A.
Having wrapped up the shoot at Sychnant Pass in North Wales, it was time for me to hit the road again and carry onto the latter half of my autumn roadtrip to the Peak District. My first day there saw me going to Combs Reservoir for another shoot, but whilst it (just about) worked as a location for a car, it wasn’t the most exciting location for landscape photography. What greeted me was a rather muddy walk, without much in the way of autumn colours or really anything that grabbed my eye. Ultimately, I shot a single image of a perfectly reflected group of trees; you could almost turn the image upside down and not know the difference.
The perfect reflection at Combs Reservoir, the only thing that really gives it away when flipped upside down is the path. 1/60s 110mm F11 Portra 800 Bronica SQ-A.
Unfortunately, the last photoshoot I had planned that week ended up being cancelled due to the owner of the car being ill, but it meant I had an extra day up north to go out with my film cameras. Day two was actually the 11th November – Remembrance Day, and whilst poking about on google maps I discovered there was a crash site of an old American B-29 bomber, with much of the wreckage still lying in-situ. Conveniently the parking spot was also just off of Snake Pass (A57), the famous road that traverses the Peaks and has long been popular with drivers. I’d driven it once before but not in my Peugeot 205. This itinerary meant I could kill two birds with one stone.
The fog began to creep up on me as as walked through the Bleaklow moors. 1/25s 50mm F11 Fuji Across 100 (expired) Nikon F100.
The crash site memorial for the B-29 bomber ‘Overexposed’. 1/60s 110mm F16 Portra 800 Bronica SQ-A.
A large part of the B-29 Wreckage. 1/3s 20mm F11 with polariser Fuji Across 100 (expired) Nikon F100.
I won’t go into too much detail about the crash site itself, as that will be the topic of next week’s blog, but finding it was not too difficult. Once you park up on the side of the road you then walk along the Pennine Way, before making a short turning off West until you reach your destination. After being away from this part of the world for so long it was a real joy to be back out on the moors, and there were also a surprising number of red grouse to greet me. Shame I didn’t have a long lens to get a decent photo, though I hardly had the correct film in my Nikon F100 in any case.
The trig point at the Higher Shelf Stones. 1/30s 110mm F16 Portra 800 Bronica SQ-A.
My lunchtime valley view from the High Shelf Stones. 1/30s 110mm F22 Portra 800 Bronica SQ-A.
The large stones that this location is named after has seen many people carve their names and messages in the rock face. 1/8s 50mm F11 with polariser Fuji Across 100 (expired) Nikon F100.
The incredible miles long view out to Manchester in the distance. 1/8s 50mm F11 with polariser Fuji Across 100 (expired) Nikon F100.
Once I’d passed through the crash site, I headed on up to the Higher Shelf Stones, giving me a phenomenal view out all the way to Manchester which was a long way away. It certainly made for a good stopping point for lunch. However, as I had been making my progress from the cark park the land behind me had begun to disappear into a thick blanket of fog. Whilst I had made it just in time to see out for miles, it was quite striking how within half an hour this had all completely disappeared. It just goes to show how quickly things can change up in the hills and why it is important to always come prepared. With a decent bit of experience and the right gear behind me I wasn’t in any trouble but conditions like this catch out many naïve people every year, sometimes with deadly consequences.
The fog had quickly rolled in as I started my walk back to the car. A great showcase of how quickly conditions can change on the moors. The soils are dark with the colour of the peat. 1/60s 110mm F16 Portra 800 Bronica SQ-A.
A lone tree (or perhaps two trees?) sticks out as a saw thumb. It’s almost like someone planted it for a joke. 1/125s 110mm F5.6 Portra 800 Bronica SQ-A.
Part of the Labybower Reservoir at the end of Snake Pass. 1/8s 110mm F11 Portra 800 Bronica SQ-A.
Once I made it back to the car I carried on my drive along Snake Pass, making the odd stop for photos, before finishing up and turning around at Derwent Reservoir. It’s just a shame that the days aren’t very long during that time of year. After a night out in Manchester I had my final day left (and the day I was to travel home), so I decided to visit one of the more popular places for walkers – Mam Tor.
My Peugeot 205 parked up on Snake Pass. It was great to finally drive it in my own car. 1/6s 50mm F8.0 with polariser Fuji Across 100 (expired) Nikon F100.
Mam Tor, infamous for its numerous landslips. 1/2.5s 50mm F11 with polariser Fuji Across 100 (expired) Nikon F100.
The path on Mam Tor that leads on from the trig point. 1/15s 110mm F11 Portra 800 Bronica SQ-A.
The path carries on for a long distance along the ridge. 1/30s 110mm F16 Portra 800 Bronica SQ-A.
Whilst I had visited the nearby Blue John mines as a child, I’d never been up Mam Tor itself. It’s not a particularly difficult walk, parking down the bottom you can easily be up the top within fifteen minutes if you are fit, though it is fairly steep. Well worth the effort though, as you are greeted with 360° views of the nearby slopes. The fog had been threatening to roll in from a distance, but it cleared away before being replaced by light rain. After walking up and along part of the ridgeway, I walked down to the destroyed and abandoned A625.
If you look out from Mam Tor you can see the abandoned A625 that was destroyed by a large landslip in the late 1970s. 1/15s 110mm F16 Portra 800 Bronica SQ-A.
A closer view of a section the destroyed road. 1/4s 50mm F11 with polariser Fuji Across 100 (expired) Nikon F100.
The sight was an impressive as it was shocking. The elevation changes between the different sections of the road highlight why it was ultimately abandoned. 1/60s 110mm F11 Portra 800 Bronica SQ-A.
The name Mam Tor means ‘mother hill’ and it also has the alternative name of the Shivering Mountain, a name well earned due to the frequent landslips that have occurred for many years. The crumbled road that lay before me had originally been built in 1819 and after numerous minor repairs, was hit by major damage due to a landslip in 1977. The road was finally abandoned in 1979 and what it left is a sight rarely seen in Britain. It’s quite staggering how much the earth has moved, and the sheer differences in elevation between the difference layers of tarmac. In all honesty it is worth visiting just to see that.
A wider view of the Mam Tor ridge path. 1/3s 50mm F11 with polariser Fuji Across 100 (expired) Nikon F100.
Finally, after a full week away I took the final shots on my rolls of film and packed everything away for the journey home. When I had arrived the car park was mostly empty, but even on this wet, random mid-week, it was almost full by the time I left. Goes to show the signs telling you to come early on weekends weren’t kidding. I was pretty pleased with my trip away, especially as when I went there were hardly any autumn colours back home. I hope you’ve enjoyed viewing the images as much as I enjoyed taking them.
The Blue John mine which I visited when I was a child. It’s well worth doing, although I didn’t have the time to go down on the day. 1/25s 75mm F11 Fuji Across 100 (expired) Nikon F100.
The trig point at Mam Tor. 1/6s 20mm F11 with polariser Fuji Across 100 (expired) Nikon F100.
Have you done any trips away with just you film cameras? Let me know in the comments down below.
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