I have been meaning to head to Dartmoor for ages to expand my coverage. Being from Plymouth originally I saw Dartmoor on many occasions as a boy and can always remember how picturesque the granite and moss covered forests were. I often see this in images by photographers I follow such as Alex Nail and Adam Burton which inspires me to head south. I have been trying to decide where to venture to first for ages and today I was torn between man-flu and photos. I finally decided to venture to the Church of St Michael De Rupe on Brentor but time was really tight.
I decided to go for it and it was looking good for a while. I saw some amazing scenes as I headed down the A386, some almost tempted me to stop but I was determined to get to Brentor on time. Unfortunately I then got stuck in traffic, which meant I missed sunset by about 5 minutes. I pulled into the car park quickly grabbing my gear determined to get at least one or two scouting shots ready for my return. The photographer that I passed at the bottom of the hill must have thought I was insane heading up to the tor as everyone else was done. (I hope he got some nice shots whoever he was!)
It was surreal heading up the tor at a brisk pace while trying to say upright due to the ice covering the ground but I pushed on, figuring that I could try for some astro-photography shots with the silhouette of the church at least. Sadly the cloud started to come in but I took some photos from different spots and pushed on. This photo of the church is one I am quite happy with. I love the depth that the grass and granite adds, and I can see after scouting around why so many people shoot it from this side. I am going to head back real soon and leave myself bags of time to get there and to explore other areas.
