What time do people arrive on Sunday?
People arrive after 3.30pm and before 6.30pm – dinner is served at 7pm, with a camera surgery beforehand.
How long can I stay?
Any length on time from 4 nights to 2 weeks – over 98% of our guests stay for 6 nights commencing on Sunday afternoon and leaving after breakfast on the following Saturday. With the four night option people arrive on Sunday afternoon and stay until Thursday morning, thus going out with John on Monday and Wednesday.
When is the best time to come?
What colours do you like, they change all the time:
- January – we are not open
- February – possible snowy tops, cold, rusty coloured fells, very clear air
- March – snow drops and rusty coloured fells
- April – daffodils and first signs of Spring
- May – bluebells, May tree blossom, lovely early morning shots & sunsets, fresh bracken begins to appear
- June – fields of buttercups, lovely early morning shots & sunsets
- July – very green & warm, lovely early morning shots & sunsets
- August - very green & warm, early morning mists
- September – purple fell tops from the heather
- October – colours starting to change, lovely oranges – better later in month
- November – colours changed, rusty fells, orange & red trees
- December – we are not open
What is included in the price?
Full board, en-suite accommodation, excursions, camera surgery, photographic coaching & tuition, superior quality surroundings. The only things not included any alcoholic drinks.
Do you take animals - especially dogs?
No – however, there is a Dog B&B at the local kennels which is also the local vet.
How long are the walks?
The walks are generally no longer than 4 miles, sometimes much less, but taken at photographers pace of under 1 mile per hour.
How difficult are the walks?
We balance the walks on 3 main criteria, the fitness of the guests in any week, the weather and the season. We do not take people on the fells unless they are capable of doing so.
Do I need walking boots?
All of the walks are done on footpaths, which may be uneven, and therefore we always recommend walking boots to protect ankles and for their water resistance.
What days do you walk?
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the other days i.e. Sunday, Tuesdays and Thursdays are left to the guests own discretion, but we provide recommendations as to where to go for great photographs. The walking days can be changed should the weather be unsuitable for walking.
I have a strange diet, can I be catered for?
Gail will cater for the majority of diets; all food is home cooked and therefore can be modified accordingly. Will cook for vegetarians, coeliacs, low fat, low cholesterol, diabetics.
My partner is not a photographer – can they come to?
Yes, we get a number of non-photographic partners; they are very welcome but pay the same as the photographer. The workshops are very intensive and guests are working with John till at least 10.30 each evening so it can be quite lonely for non photographic partners.
Do you develop films?
No, we have now moved to digital content based on customer demand, and the prohibitive costs and time it takes to develop in preparation for viewing each night.
What about Digital?
We fully support Digital Photography at all our holiday workshops. We have digital download facilities, our lecture room is fully equipped and used nightly to project the images and provide constructive feedback.