A photographer said she hopes her fifth book will promote a perhaps under-appreciated part of the country’s natural landscape.
‘The North Pennines’ is a book of photographs taken by 65-year-old Garrigill woman Helen Shaw, who said she fell in love with the area after moving up and wanted to showcase its beauty.
It’s also her first book to be entirely picture-based; she explained more about it: “The North Pennines is such a diverse area, I wanted to capture the essence of it, going out in all seasons.
“It’s famous for the flora, and for some of the wildlife – all the springbirds, and this area has 80 per cent of England’s black grouse population, so I needed to capture that.”
She added that there’s a lot of industrial history seen in the area as well in the many small towns and villages, which she captured.
“I love this area, and people don't know about the North Pennines, there's so much beauty and pretty villages here.
“I want to introduce people to this fantastic area.”
A particular highlight for Helen was climbing to the top of Cross Fell, the Pennines’ highest point.
“I was really proud to do that – I’m fairly old and I’ve got a bad knee.
“Seeing a black grouse on a lake in the spring was another highlight.”
Born in Lancashire, she worked in the south of England for many years after she turned 18, then returned up north to live in the Forest of Bowland for 16 years, which was the subject of her first book.
She said she and her partner moved up to Cumbria around three years ago as property was more cheap and available, but has loved the area for its beauty and charm ever since.
The book was the subject of a talk and signing by the author in Brampton on May 21, after being published last month, which Helen said went 'really well', and resulted in several sales.
For more information about the author and the book, which is published by Merlin Unwin Books, visit https://www.malkinphotography.co.uk/books.
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