A lovely sunny day, almost mild, and when @shepherdmanswife returned home from a shopping trip with her mother (I would love to have joined my wife and mother-in-law for some retail therapy, but you know how it is – dogs to walk and so on…) she suggested a late afternoon walk on Bradgate Park in Charnwood Forest in the north of the County, not too far away. The plan was to find some photogenic deer, maybe a co-operative stag that would stand proud, silhouetted against the gigantic red disc of the setting sun. You know the sort of thing. The odds of finding a mature stag standing due west of us at precisely 5.03pm, the time of sunset in this part of the world, were somewhat slim, and were reduced further by the steady stream of Sunday ramblers heading back to the car park. Nevertheless we headed up “Old John”, the hill that is the high point of the park, where we did see a distant herd of deer on the shady side of the hill. Not quite was @shepherdmanswife was after, and so she set up her tripod, which wobbled in the strong and very cold wind, to photograph a stag-less sunset. The dogs and I retired a few yards away to the shelter of a lower dry stone wall to watch the sunset from the shelter of some trees.
Love the narrative - and the photo is a stunner. I love Bradgate Park and keep telling myself I should do the walk to Old John instead of just following the main path along the stream towards the cafe. Great views from up there. It's on my list of visits when I'm back in South Derbyshire full time.
I can't wait for the time to change next month. I get to drive into sunsets for a few weeks on my way home from work. Until than I'll enjoy them on 365. Thanks.
