After our misty shooting hike on Stanage Edge before the end of the year, we decided to take another trip up onto the edge on our next hike, so we could take in the views Stanage Edge has to offer! We parked up on the road ‘The Dale’ and made our way up onto Stanage Edge near the Trig point. The weather was amazing, cold but so sunny and clear. We stopped here for a few moments and took in the views and decided to make our way down Stanage Edge towards Crow Chin. The photographic purpose of this trip was to capture the rocky outcrop that made Stanage Edge and the Peak District famous in 2005 Pride and Prejudice film, as Elizabeth Bennet stands amid her dream.
We progressed down Stanage Edge at a fair pace, keeping an eye out for the rocky outcrop. Eventually we spotted it! It was around noon and I knew I wanted to capture this scene in the ‘Golden Hour’ later in the day, so we dropped ‘a pin’ on the map so we’d find it on our return leg. Along the way some fantastic views were possible, looking across to Castleton, Mam Tor and Lose Hill, here captured below.
We then made our way down off the edge, heading towards Buck Stone. This resulted in a fantastic view of the edge from below, as captured here… as the dappled sunlight hit the rocks and boulders.
We then made our way back up onto the edge via a small path before you reach Crow Chin. Once we had reached the top we decided to stop for some lunch and to get our waterproof trousers on, as rain clouds approached!
Thankfully it was just a passing shower, and I managed to capture this image of Stanage Edge as the storm clouds passed over the Longshaw Estate and Hope Valley. This image was created by stitching 3 individual portrait images together, creating that wonderful wide field of view.
As time was getting on, and I wanted to get to the ‘Pride and Prejudice’ rocky outcrop a good 40 minutes or so before sunset, we started our return leg of the journey.
Sadly cloud started to set in, so it appeared my beautiful ‘Golden Hour’ conditions might not occur. I see this happen so much in the Peak District, you can have brilliant weather all day and then cloud will fill the sky just before the sun is about to set!
We made it to the Pride and Prejudice rocky outcrop and I got myself setup. It was pretty windy, so the Woolly Walker helped make sure the tripod and camera didn’t take a tumble off the edge! The cloud was still being stubborn, but small areas of sunlight kept appearing giving me hope! Lighting wise, it was still a little early for me as the sun wasn’t low enough, but sometimes you are better capturing something with good conditions rather than waiting for ‘perfect’ conditions to set in and getting nothing if it doesn’t appear!
I was keen to capture a 3 image panoramic of this view, but with the sun coming in and out of cloud cover it was going to be a difficult task! To make life easier I pre-planned my framing and set my filters while we were in cloud cover. The cloud was moving at a fair pace but it was easy to see when it was going to clear, thankfully the cloud broke for about 30 seconds, allowing me to capture the image below.
I am really happy with this image, and think it provides an excellent representation of the beauty of Stanage Edge. In some ways it’s how most people know the Peak District and Stanage Edge from watching the Pride and Prejudice film.
Cloud cover came in heavily as the sun began to set, so and we decided to call it a day and make our way back to the car along the edge.
All the images in this blog are available as high quality photographic prints for you to enjoy in your home. Why not take a look at my full Peak District Print Collection.