Full Force

It was a very stormy night on the campsite. On arrival I'd opted for a lakeside pitch as I usually do. There weren't any warnings in place from the Environment Agency so I knew it should be alright. They're very 'on the ball' with that sort of thing because they do often flood. The wind was buffeting the van and also whipped off the screens which fasten round the front windows to insulate and act as blinds. After putting them on again and adding two full strips of gaffer tape, the wind whipped them off again so I removed them and stowed them away. I do have curtains at the front to keep shade and privacy. In the morning as I went to the facilities, I noticed that Derwentwater had risen noticeably and the campsite staff were speaking to all the folk in the area that I was in. There was now a flood alert because as I had noticed the level of the lake was higher, another 10mm of rain was expected during the day plus there would be a lot of water on the hills making it's way down. I'm now on another pitch, quite a way from the lakeside and it seems much calmer out there tonight.

The weather looked to be better to the east and I decided to go to Ullswater and Aira Force. I got over in that direction and decided that first priority was a coffee so I went on to Pooley Bridge to Granny Dowbekins Cafe. As I was about to cross the road I heard my name called and John and Debs had finished a run and were heading in to the cafe. 

There are lots of lovely places to photograph near Pooley Bridge but there's very little opportunity to park along the road side. It's much easier as you get along to Aira. I hadn't intended to stop at the Duke of Portland's Boathouse but as I hadn't yet taken anything else I pulled into the little lay by there and walked back to take a few shots. It's not at it's best on a dull windy day but with a long exposure to calm the water and smear the clouds over the sky it looks OK. I've added it as an extra. Ny main blip is of the higher reaches of Aira Force which after all the rain was running with a lot of power. I've also added one of the main falls as an extra.