Upper Eskdale is the wildest and the most spectacular valley
in the Lake District, at least in my opinion. And now my good friend Terry
Abraham has made a video about it that’s just come out on DVD. The video features
local mountain guide David Powell-Thompson on three walks in the area – day
trips on Harter Fell and Hard Knott and a two day trip with a high camp on Esk
Pike and Bowfell.
As expected from Terry the Lake District looks spectacular
with wide sweeping shots of the landscape and quite a few dramatic aerial views.
The highlights are the beautiful dawn and dusk shots from the camp near Esk
Hause but there are also splendid scenes of the lush greenness of the Lake
District in summer on the Harter Fell walk and the chilly snowy landscape of
Hard Knott in winter. In just three walks in one area every aspect of the Lake
District fells is captured by Terry, showing the huge contrasts that occur
during the year.
David Powell-Thompson proves an amiable and knowledgeable
companion as he describes the walks and the magnificent views from each summit
along with wide-ranging comments covering geology, mining, local history,
Sherpa Tensing, Beatrix Potter and more. He also goes bouldering on the Samson
Stones and visits Charnley Crag Cairn.
For anyone who loves the Lake District this is a superb DVD
that will bring back many memories and inspire you to visit the hills again. It’s
also a joy for the increasing number of Terry Abraham fans and a worthy
addition to his growing body of work. Highly recommended.
The DVD will be £14.99, available from the end of October from www.stridingedge.com and their Amazon UK store 'OutdoorsIndoors'.
Note: I am of course
biased, having made two videos with Terry myself and appeared in his hugely
successful Life of a Mountain: Scafell Pike – winter camping in Upper Eskdale
in fact. That said, I think he is one of the most original current outdoor film makers and gives a cinematic feel to treasured landscapes and brings out their real glory. Having had nothing to do with this video whatsover it was a real pleasure to be able to watch it simply as a fan.
I'll probably buy this DVD even though my DVD player is in storage! Hopefully the film will be shown at the upcoming KMF? I met Terry at the bar at the KMF a couple of years ago and he seemed like a really good bloke. The quality of his films is stunning. The sort of quality you'd think would require a huge crew with an equally huge budget.
ReplyDeleteUpper Eskdale is my favourite valley, in fact I'll be camping there soon. I loved introducing my hillwalking buddy to the area a few years ago... I told his wife it would be a special surprise and not to tell him my plans. He was gobsmacked and on the walk was constantly commenting on the "wonderful amphitheatre of mountains" etc. Ive never heard him talk so much!
Ive seen David Powell Thompson in some other Striding Edge DVDs and his enthusiasm is infectious. There is a part of me though that selfishly hopes Upper Eskdale remains 'secret'.
PS
ReplyDeleteYou can see the teaser clip/trailer on YouTube.