Sheep and Ice in Keldholme | The Yorkshire Dad of 4

Favourite Photos – January 2021 – Landscapes

Time to get this blog current once again and write content that I care about. So, I am going to be posting some monthly roundups of my favourites photos that I have taken during the past month. January was a busy one with my camera so I shall be posting a further two blogs with family and dogs as the respective themes.

I am not a dedicated landscape photographer. For one, when i am shooting landscapes I usually have the dogs with me and thus this limits where I can go and how long I spend in one place finding the right shot. But, I do enjoy capture great landscapes right here in North Yorkshire. And, thanks to the UK lockdown 3, I have taken quite a few locally.

Sleigholmedale

Sleightholmedale in North Yorkshire | The Yorkshire Dad of 4

One of my favourite local places to walk is in the valley of Sleightholmedale. This dale is the middle section of the valley of Hodge Beck (a tributary of the River Dove), below Bransdale and above Kirkdale.

I walk out on my own with all three dogs following the wooded path to the valley bottom. To the right I could see this wonderful vista bathed in early morning light that I just had to stop an capture.

Keldholme Weir

Keldholme Weir | The Yorkshire Dad of 4

The weir at Keldholme in North Yorkshire is one one of my regular dog walking routes along the River Dove and somewhere I find to be very photogenic in the early morning light – just as I capture it here.

I have struggled to find much information about this weir other than that there must have been some form of a weir in this location since there has been a mill at Keldholme (that the mill race from the weir served) since pre-Doomsday. You can read more here.

The weird collapsed in 1989 and after much deliberation (and working out who was liable for the cost) it was rebuilt in the summer of 1990. The mill actually closed in 1947 so it hasn’t had a functional purpose for some time.

Frozen Sheep

Shep and Ice in Keldholme | The Yorkshire Dad of 4

Sticking with Keldholme in this photograph near to what was one a priory and home to Cistercian nuns. The nunneru was founded during the rein of Henry I by Robert de Stuteville. There is very little recorded about this nunnery other than to say that there was some unpeaval in the 14th century as to who should be elected Prioress.

This land is the home to this small flock of tups (rams used for impregnating female sheep). On this particular icy morning after some recent heavy rainfall their field had developed a large pond and frozen over. The early morning light and the reflections in the ice caught my eye.

Sunset over Snow on the North York Moors

North York Moors Sunset on Snow | The Yorkshire Dad of 4

Just before the start of the new national locking in England I took the dogs up to the snow on the North York Moors. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was setting making for this glorious shot looking south-west (ish).

Young Ralph’s Cross in a Snowy Sunset

Young Ralph's Cross in the Snow | The Yorkshire Dad of 4

This shot of Young Ralph’s Cross was taken on the same day as the previous photo. I was driving home and realised it would make a great shot. I ditched that car and grabbed this shot as the sun was setting behind the cross on his little friend.

You Ralph’s Cross is the very same cross that features on the logo for the North York Moors National Park.


I hope you enjoyed my favourite landscape photos. Check out my favourite family photos from January 2021.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.