Evening Walk at Charlton Down

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Stile by an old horse chestnut tree on the Cerne Valley footpath
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 1 – A stile by an old horse chestnut tree on the Cerne Valley footpath near Charlton Down seen in fading evening light.

Everything looks different on a country walk seen in late evening light. Budding horse chestnut trees with fast-opening sticky buds and crumpled new leaves are silhouetted against the clear moonlit sky. White blackthorn blossoms in the hedgerows and rows of cut maize stubble reflect the last rays of the sun. Blue-green shoots of spring wheat can still be made out in the fields as the sun disappears; and trees by the stream retain a faint glow when the sun finally goes down. In the quiet of the dusk, the burbling of the river mingles with birdsong and the dark surface water riffles and eddies over beds of water crowfoot as it makes its way downstream.

Opening sticky buds of a horse chestnut tree catching the last rays of sunlight
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 2 – Opening sticky buds of a horse chestnut tree catching the last rays of sunlight along the Cerne valley Trail near Charlton Down.
Maize stubble in late evening light
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 3 – A patch of maize stubble glows in the last of the light in a field by the Cerne valley Trail near Charlton Down.
Stile in a hedgerow leading from pasture to wheat field
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 4 – A rural scene of a stile in a hedgerow leading from pasture to wheat field in the Dorset countryside
View of spring wheat field and hedgerow at dusk
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 5 – View of spring wheat field and hedgerow at dusk in the English countryside
Blackthorn blossoms in an English hedgerow glowing in the light of the evening sun
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 6 – Blackthorn blossoms in an English hedgerow glowing in the light of the evening sun
Thin twigs of blackthorn with blossoms viewed against the night sky with moon
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 7 – Thin twigs of blackthorn with blossoms at the top of the hedgerow viewed against the night sky with rising moon.
Field of spring wheat just as the sun disappears below the horizon
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 8 – The details of a field of spring wheat can still be made out as the sun disappears below the horizon along the Cerne Valley Trail.
New shoots of spring wheat
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 9 – The blue-green blades of new shoots of spring wheat can still be discerned in the fading light along the Cerne valley Trail.
River view just as the sun goes down
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 10 – View of the River Cerne looking upstream just as the sun goes down. The tracery of branches in the tree bending over the river still retains a tinge of golden light from the setting sun.
Dark swirling waters of a river at dusk
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 11 – The surface texture of the water in the River Cerne at dusk seems dark and intense.
Dark swirling waters of a river at dusk
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 12 – The dark swirling waters of a the River Cerne at dusk seem to bubble and boil as they flow over Ranunculus beds.
Dark swirling waters of a river at dusk
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 13 – Dark swirling waters of a the River Cerne at dusk form small whirlpools and eddies as the flow hits the bends
Bare branches of horse chestnut tree with leaf buds against an evening sky with moon
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 14 – Bare branches of horse chestnut tree with leaf buds against an evening sky with the rising moon
Folded horse chestnut leaves emerging from a sticky bud
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 15 – Folded horse chestnut leaves emerging from a sticky bud
Leaves unfurling from a horse chestnut sticky bud
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 16 – Leaves unfurling from a horse chestnut sticky bud.
Bare branches of a horse chestnut tree with opening leaf buds silhouetted against the late evening sky
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 17 – Bare branches of a horse chestnut tree with opening leaf buds silhouetted against the late evening sky
Opening leaves on a horse chestnut tree viewed in silhouette against the clear sky at dusk
Evening Walk at Charlton Down 18 – Opening leaves on a horse chestnut tree viewed in silhouette against the clear sky at dusk along the Cerne Valley Trail near Charlton Down

16 Replies to “Evening Walk at Charlton Down”

  12. How beautiful! Love the silhouette of the chestnut leaves against the sky. I can just imagine all the smells arising from the earth – beautiful!

    Like

  15. Thank you, Jo. It is particularly good to see the chestnut tree starting again with fresh unsullied Spring leaves. For several years now they have been attacked and spoilt in summer with infestations of chestnut leaf miner moths that cause dark brown dead patches on the leaves where they tunnel.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Thank you, Aidy. Next time I go out to walk in the evening I must start out earlier and catch more of the special light – the sun went down all too fast.

    Like

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