Honister Pass

This is Honister Pass in the Lake District which connects Borrowdale with Buttermere. This was taken high on Honister Crag below Fleetwith Pike looking down on Gatesgarthdale Beck and the road descending to Buttermere. There was a brief gap in the heavy, blustery showers to allow the camera to be taken out.

Honister Crag has bands of slate that have been worked over the centuries. Where the slate outcrops, the soils are more alkaline than is usual for the Lake District, and the result is that the high altitude vegetation is especially rich in mountain plants.

The slopes and crags on the other side of the U-shaped glacial valley are of much harder, acidic rocks dominated by acid grasslands, screes, bracken and heather higher up.

Good to be out of the office, albeit in inclement conditions and otherwise quite challenging circumstances. All in a day's work....