I’ve been photographing Castle Dyke, near Ashcombe, Devon, for a couple of years. It is a ‘slight univallate hill fort’ believed to date to the iron age. I have now lost count of how many visits I have made, no doubt because my house lies barely a mile away from it, but also because it has a ‘pull’ that I cannot resist. This kind of hill fort is relatively uncommon nationwide, but not in Devon. It is quite wide, but not spectacular, and I do wonder how many people continue to walk near it (perhaps even through it) without knowing what it is.
I will at some point publish many more images of the site, but I am writing this initial blog piece to share how magical this place can be on a slightly misty morning, very soon after the Autumn Equinox. I wandered around for two hours with the place to myself, making ‘straight’ exposures as well as several multiple-exposures, which this place lends itself to very willingly. I am not attempting here to record the look of the land, but the feel of the place: the gentle early shift of leaf tones from yellow-green to the subtlest amber; the blue early morning light starting to warm a little; the webs absolutely everywhere, clinging to all they can. There is no intense sharpness to any of these images, no deep blacks or stark contrasts, because in reality a misty Autumn morning contains none of those things. I walked around in a kind of bright but hazy, web-filled trance, and my two hours flashed by in seconds as I obsessed over what to include, and whether I could exclude anything. This place.











I’m not a photographer, so probably cannot appreciate well enough the technical expertise in these images, but as a nature lover – and someone who knows this landscape – oh my can I appreciate the beauty shown here. And as a nature writer, I can also appreciate the tone of Terry’s words… the ‘feel’ of the place is indeed captured by his images.
Interesting that he is working here at a time of vibrational (one might also say spiritual) balance – the Equinox. And the Autumn Equinox to boot – light and dark equal, with dark gaining: the time of deepest introspection.
Thank you for posting these.
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Thank you Daphne, I hoped you’d ‘get’ these – and knew you would! I’ll be making a book of Castle Dyke photographs at some point, but have hundreds of images already, so it will take a while. And yes, what a magical time of year… Thanks again!
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A lovely series of photographs.
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Thanks for looking and commenting Alastair, much appreciated, hope you’re well.
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