St Sunday Crag, Patterdale at dawn, Lake District

THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTOGRAPH

I was staying just outside Glenridding, and decided that I really wanted to capture views of Helvellyn, and especially, Striding Edge, in the dawn light. So I got up absurdly early and hiked up the trail that leads from Glenridding, up the edge of Helvellyn. As I walked I watched the sky, hoping that the early morning clouds would break and allow the sun to wash over the land. But clouds have their benefits, as I was about to discover. I looked south east, across Patterdale and saw the crest of St Sunday Crag lit by the morning sun. It was so dramatic it took my breath away. I got this photo before the clouds closed in. I carried on up to Striding Edge, but it was covered with dense fog by the time I got there. So often in the Lake District it isn't the glorious sunlight that gets your attention, its the amazing interplay of light and shadow on the hills.