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A Foggy Morning at Cracks Hill

by Damien Walmsley Posted on
Crack's Hill, near Crick, October, 2025

Cracks Hill is near the village of Crick, just over the border from Warwickshire. My daughter lives in Houlton, close to Crick, and I was visiting her when the weather forecast predicted thick fog for the morning.

Crack's Hill, near Crick, October, 2025
The contrast between the tree with no leaves and one with full foliage.

I drove over and walked across the fields, along the canal, and up to Cracks Hill. The fog was dense, and visibility was low. I had brought my tripod, which allowed me to capture some excellent photographs at long exposures with my camera.

Crack's Hill, near Crick, October, 2025
On the edge of the hill a tree is isolated in the fog.

The images I liked most were of the cobwebs on the canal bridge, with mist and moisture delicately hanging on the strands. The combination added a sense of mystery to the scene. The area around Cracks Hill is very pretty, and although much of the usual landscape was hidden, I was able to take some wonderfully atmospheric pictures of the trees.

Crack's Hill, near Crick, October, 2025
Cobwebs on either side of the metal parts of the canal bridge.
Crack's Hill, near Crick, October, 2025
The shadows of the canal bridge reflected in the water.

The fog in the countryside contrasts with that seen in the city. Here is a blog when the fog settled on Birmingham.

A foggy start to the day in Birmingham
Categories blog

Cricks Wood and Cracks Hill

by Damien Walmsley Posted on
Sunset, Cricks Wood and Cracks Hill, Northamptonshire

On one side of the M1 is Warwickshire, on the other is Northamptonshire. Most of the time, I am in Warwickshire visiting my daughter and so Rugby is my final destination. Google maps is a wonderful tool for browsing and looking for new places to visit. Often, I use canals as my compass and it was following the Grand Union canal along Google maps that I was intrigued not only by Cracks Hill but also the surrounding area. I discovered the Friends of Cricks Wood web site and learnt about the good work being done by the community there. Close by is Cracks Hill which was formed by a retreating glacier during the last ice age. Running through this area of natural beauty is the Grand Union Canal. This looked like a good place to photograph especially if the conditions were just right. The one ingredient that is needed is good light and on an evening in December, it looked as if there would be a good sunset. I packed my camera gear and set off to the woods. On arrival, I spent some time in the Jubilee woodland as the sun was setting. The colour on the leaves in the light at the end of day was something to behold.

  • Sunset, Cricks Wood and Cracks Hill, Northamptonshire
    Evening light on the leaves.
  • Sunset, Cricks Wood and Cracks Hill, Northamptonshire
    The trees looked wonderful
  • Sunset, Cricks Wood and Cracks Hill, Northamptonshire
    Even the bare trees have beauty about them.
  • Sunset, Cricks Wood and Cracks Hill, Northamptonshire
    Drops of moisture on pine needles reflect the sunlight.

The next place to visit was the summit of Cracks Hill. It was not disappointing and I was pleased that I had brought along my Canon D5 Mk4 with tripod. The windmills were fascinating to watch at such a distance and at a height. I was also taken by a lone tree on the side of the hill. Needless to say the tree featured in a few photographs. So it was a successful day and I made my way back to the car.

Sunset, Cricks Wood and Cracks Hill, Northamptonshire
The soft light on the surrounding countryside
Sunset, Cricks Wood and Cracks Hill, Northamptonshire
The colours of the sunset from Cracks Hill.
Sunset, Cricks Wood and Cracks Hill, Northamptonshire
Loving the Windmill silhouette.
Sunset, Cricks Wood and Cracks Hill, Northamptonshire
A lone tree on Cracks Hill

As I reached the bridge over the Grand Union, I met a dog walker and I let him pass. He moved onto the bridge and started walking into the embers of the sunset. I fumbled but I got my Fujifilm x100v just in time to capture a picture of the walker on the bridge. The resulting picture was dark but I used my editing suite to bring out the colours of the sunset. So part capturing the scene and then relying on a preset edit to produce the scene that I observed over that bridge and far away.

Sunset, Cricks Wood and Cracks Hill, Northamptonshire
Over the Bridge and far away. On the Canal bridge over the Grand Union walking towards Cricks Wood

The final part to this series of photographs is the selection of the walker over the bridge by England’s Big Picture. It was my second feature of the year on the BBC site. I was very pleased with the outcome.