Low water

I've been on a recce to Widdop Reservoir in preparation for taking a group of A level students from Titus Salt School on a creative field trip there soon.

Despite the ferocious downpours we've had recently the reservoir is lower than I've seen it for ages.
So here's a view you'd never normally be able to take as you'd be well under water.

A few minutes after taking this photo the ground suddenly gave way and we sank up to our knees in cold peaty mud, so venturing onto the shore is not something I'd recommend.  For a moment I thought we were going to disappear into the Grimpen Mire, it was scary.

All sorts of interesting textures and colours have been revealed by the retreating water, big sheets of golden red stone and lumps of disintegrating wood.

The lichens on the dam wall still look amazing but the micro landscape of moss I photographed much earlier in the year has mostly been dessicated.  This is what it looked like in late January:

Now the little green pincushions are mostly shrivelled. Its strange to be surrounded by all these signs of dryness, whilst struggling to keep my camera out of the rain and getting soaked by walking through damp ferns and rushes.  There's just no predicting whats in store from one week to the next.