Not quite equal amounts....

Yesterday I had my day planned out in advance, a friend had told me of a waterfall up a feeder beck higher up the Dale that was worth the walk for some photographs so seeing as I was heading that way I would devote a couple of hours to the waterfall and then spend the rest of the day fishing.....except it didn't quite turn out as intended!

I arrived at the village and parked the car getting there early to avoid the walkers as I knew the car parking is very limited and that at least I could have the waterfall to myself for some photographs without having to worry about others around me. The walk to the waterfall was a nice gentle slope upwards for about a mile, nothing too strenuous and I found it very easily, the rocks with the morning rain were like sheets of ice, so great care was needed when setting up my tripod & gear.

With recent rains & the beck having a good flow of water on it made for good results as you can see from the first photograph.








I was just about to collapse everything & head back to the car when this couple appeared  & we got chatting, they informed me that there were further waterfalls higher up the ravine a total ascent of 600ft but were definitely worth the climb to the very top falls. My photography head took over and my fishing head got parked for slightly longer than I had anticipated, so off I set in the direction they had indicated.

The next set of falls I came to were smaller in comparison to the ones I had set out to photograph, but still quite nice in scenic terms.

Continuing to head upwards I came to the next set, the prettiest of them in my personal opinion.

Leaving these falls behind the small track got steeper and muddier and with only a set of walking shoes on I was getting dirtier by the minute, but I was anticipating that it would be worth it,  so onward & upwards through the trees and the mud pools to finally I could hear the falls but they were still obscured by the trees, heading along the side of the bed, slipping & sliding in the mud I came to a spot where I could finally get to see the falls & sure enough they were worth the scrambling through the undergrowth and fallen trees.

The beck had revealed its secrets to me and I was glad that I had made the effort to see them, albeit it my foot attire wasnt that appropriate for the conditions, & due to this I had missed out at least another 2 or 3 smaller waterfalls on route to the top but these can be re visited at a later time when Im more appropriately dressed. On the descent back to the car I stopped along the way for some macro shots of the flowers which covered the woodland floor.

Tiny forget me not

and speedwell's

By the time I had headed back to the car and got my camera gear away it was well into the afternoon and I was famished so needed to take a break for something to eat.

The short drive from my current location to my chosen fishing grounds took around 20 minutes but I had bitten deep into my fishing time as I had promised the wife I would be home at a certain time.

Looking over the bridge I could see surface movement of fish rising to flies so that was it no doubt I was fishing even if only for an hour.

The first thing to be spotted was what the fish were rising too.

Blue winged olives but I could be mistaken as a few seem similar in appearance.










So hunting through my dry fly box for a suitable imitation I started my  hash dash fishing session.

It didn't take too long until the first fish albeit a splashy rise took my artificial.









The next fish lead me a merry dance before my leader got caught up in some overhanging willows and yep you guessed fish gone, the air turned slightly blue for a few short seconds! retrieving the remainder of the cast another fly and another fish covered.

Smaller but just as beautiful and totally wild, I couldn't ask for anything more.










another small fish covered and another small fish hooked before it was time to leave the river & head home.

Not quite the time split I had planned for my day but it was worth the extra time in the morning for the photographs