Silverdale, Lancashire- Secrets and Treasures

  Although like much of Britain it has its own fair share of agriculture Silverdale and Arnside sure do live up to their designation as an area of outstanding natural beauty. I've always found myself bypassing the Lake District and heading here. It's a gold mine of little woods, mostly National Trust owned, and other varied and wildlife rich habitats. For me this place really is something special.
Usually I've found myself gravitating to Leighton Moss predominantly every time I visit, its hard not to, but recently I took a trip with my sister to investigate the area inside out as best we could in three days. We knew there were secrets to unlock and treasures to find. Here are a few..I will post fully part 2 shortly when I am able....

I have never before seen a wood so extensively carpeted with wild garlic. It is fair to say that you have to have wandered through an area of wild garlic to truly appreciate the pungent aroma that filled the air around us. Fogarth wood is private access but can be viewed from the public footpath running along one side.

A taster of other places...

Looking towards Arnside

 Limestone Pavement (c)Helen Williams

 Yet to be identified: Damselfly

Warton Crag: Orchids...

I have also never seen orchids flourish in such numbers. Spring in Britains woodlands is really something special.

Part 2, coming soon...

Coloring Black and White images

I'm interested in black and white images at the moment. Adding coloration to black and white images is image dependant I feel. It doesn't always work, so I found a couple of old images I thought might suit. The backgrounds were already quite monochromatic so turning them into black and white proved to give slightly more impact. In the case of the mandarin duck I also tried to lightly suggest some colour in its reflection.