Sunsets

One of the great marvels of creation happens every day whether we are able to see it or not. Often in Britain our view of it is blocked by clouds, so when we are afforded on opportunity to see the sunset it is all the more special. When a sunset is partially obscured by clouds a display of truly breath-taking proportions can result that is all the more precious for its brevity. Last week I mentioned that I had seen the sun set while at the top of Fairfield in the Lake District in 2006. That remains the only time I have been at the top of a mountain and seen the sun set, and it was only because I’d terribly under-anticipated how long the walk would take. The picture below was taken after eight o’clock in the evening, a time when everyone else would have left the fells long ago. The only other time I have been at the top of a Lakeland Fell at sunset is last summer when I camped at the top of Harter Fell, but it was too cloudy to see the sunset, which is a pity as being at the top of a mountain when the sun is setting is a fantastic feeling. Below the diverse colours of the sunset is range upon range of hills silhouetted against the cloud-obscured sunset.

Even better than seeing a sunset from the top of a mountain is seeing the sun set above the sea. Later that year I was at the seaside port of Oban to see the sun set at a quarter to ten at night. This time I was not alone as the western tip of Oban was crowded with people eager to see the spectacle. Slowly the sun crept towards the horizon with the sky gradually becoming a deeper shade of red as the light from the sun reflected off the high clouds and filled the sky from end to end. Eventually and disappointingly, the great display ended as the sun disappeared behind the Morvern Peninsula and out of our sight. This is one of the best sunsets I have ever seen, however those around me were saying that it wasn’t as good as the sunset from Oban the day before. How I wish that I’d seen that!

I have a better chance of seeing a sunset while walking in the winter as the sun sets so much earlier. This next picture was taken at 4.35 on 29th December in 2012 at the end of a long wet day in the Lake District. It is all the more special because it was the only time during the whole week in the Lake District that I saw the sun and even then I just missed it as it disappeared behind the fells north of Coniston. It is not as stunning as the other pictures as the sky-filling reds are absent but what makes this picture special is the way the sun brightly lights some of the clouds while the retreating rain clouds were still dark and ominous. Great sunsets often owe more to the clouds that they do the sun as it is the light reflecting off the clouds that produce the best effects.

I was prompted to write this article after seeing some stunning sunsets at home over Christmas, but when I set out to try and photograph some of them I was always left disappointed. Sunsets are by their nature fleeting and, unless you are in the right place at the right time with a good camera in your hand, you will be disappointed. I often went out with my camera onto the country lanes near my house but I was always too late to get a satisfying picture. Early in the New Year, however, I was finally able to get a picture that I was happy with, from the top of a low hill overlooking the south-west Leicestershire countryside. It shows that sunsets are very generous as you can see them wherever you are; you don’t need to be in the Lake District or the west coast of Scotland to see a wonderful sight.