Lynchcombe Steps
Today I got up crazily early to go on a walk around Lynchcombe nature reserve before dawn. I’m a volunteer warden on this Somerset Wildlife Trust reserve which I regularly walk to check on its condition and look out for anything rare. Typically little happens, there are no rare plants or animals. To me, and many others, what makes this reserve very special are its views across the Somerset Levels.
I was not hoping for a distant shot of mist across the levels. Instead my plan was the sunrise looking east towards Deerleap. As we approach the spring equinox I new the sun would rise in the east. I wanted a picture looking down through the line of sycamores at the top of the reserve near Cooks Fields.
What I had not planned for was that the sun would rise behind the Mendip TV mast a few miles away. A 1000ft mast is interesting and is a prominent part of the Mendip skyline. But it was not the look I was going for.
The weather forecast had promised a clear morning but it turned out to be far more overcast. Instead of the brilliant light of a new dawn we got a round orange disc barely shining through the mist on the horizon. This was a godsend as it meant I could wait for the sun to move away from the TV mast then line up the mast behind a tree to hide it from shot.
Lynchcombe before dawn
The fence between Lynchcombe and Cooks Fields
Cooks Fields and Deerleap as the sun appears over the Mendip horizon
Lynchcombe Sunrise
Lynchcombe Sunrise
The TV mast is hidden behind the straight tree trunk to the left of the sun. From this view point the mast is nearly as tall as the trunk.
