Friendly Friday Photo Challenge – Inspiration


How convenient that this challenge has just started. After quite a long break from blogging on Say It With A Camera I’ve finally started to get back into the swing of things with some new posts.

Last week I took some time out to visit a place I have been meaning to photograph for years, Gwylfa Hiraethog, which sits high on the Denbigh Moors in North Wales.

Gwylfa Hiraethog
High on the moors above Llyn Brennig Gwylfa Hiraethog is reputed to be haunted

Abandoned now and a total ruin, the lodge is reputed to be haunted, not that I saw anything.

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But a photographer friend of mine say visiting at night takes on a more spooky atmosphere. At 496 metres above sea level, the lodge in the late nineteenth century was considered to be the highest inhabited house in Wales, with some fantastic views of the surrounding countryside.

Not the greatest of photographs, taken with 75-300mm lens at 300mm this is the view from Gwylfa Hiraethog towards the Snowdonia National Park.

Snowdonia
Looking from Gwylfa Hiraethog towards the Snowdonia National Park

And from another side you can see towards the coast.  Looks so close, thanks to the power of the 75-300mm lens but in reality it’s about 20km away.

Sea View
Looking from Gwylfa Hiraethog towards the coast

Now it might be lonely up there, but it’s far from quiet. This area is used by low flying military aircraft from RAF Valley, training future fast jet pilots. Gets quite noisy at times but I just saw it as another photo opportunity. More on that in another post.

Anyway, moving on. I love the moors, vast open spaces with the occasional tree to break up the featureless terrain.

Lone Tree
Lone tree on the Denbigh Moors

There’s also a lot of reservoirs on the moors. It’s cold up there as well so swimming is not advised.

Warning Sign
Swimming in cold water reservoirs can be dangerous

Being in Wales, we get all signs in two languages, Welsh and English. Can be confusing at times, especially with road signs, but you soon get used to it.

Well that wraps it ups for this post. I hope you enjoyed the photographs and all that is left for me to say is “thank you” to both Snow and Amanda for hosting the Friendly Friday Photo Challenge – Mike

22 thoughts on “Friendly Friday Photo Challenge – Inspiration”

  1. Thanks Mike for joining the challenge! Your photos are stunning – my favorites are the view towards Snowdonia and the lone tree. Also, the last one is powerful – I would say haunting even. As for the lodge, any plans of going back at night? 🙂

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    1. A couple of us are waiting for a clear night when we can head up to the moors to get some stars. It’s not the easiest of terrain up there, so we would have to be careful how we walk it. But chances are yes sometime. It’s not somewhere I’d go on my own at night, mainly because of the terrain

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  3. The telephoto lens is a remarkable tool and I can not imagine what photography would be without it. My favorite of this post is of the lone tree on the moors. I can imagine it to be silent except for the sound of the grasses and wind and maybe an occasional bird song.

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  7. Those peaks are my normal stomping ground, that’s where I do most of my photography, Arv. The whole bay is full of those wind turbines, generating electricity for North Wales and Ireland.. There are plans to put more in, some people hate them, some don’t. I don’t mind them out to sea as it breaks up a featureless horizon when I’m photographing on the coast. Hate them inland, when there’s some beautiful scenery and it’s broken by even one wind turbine, which looks like a blot on the landscape.

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  10. Took the time to check this place out on Google. What a striking structure in it’s day. What a shame it has fallen to such a state. Is it still privately owned or in the hands of the government? Imposing shot of the mountains. Great to have you back. Cheers.

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