FEBRUARY 2024 · ADVENTURE
Black Daren Camp
Hatterrall Ridge, Wales
The Black Daren landslip on Hatterrall Ridge is post-glacial: the slope gave way at some point after the ice left, and has been settling ever since. What it's settled into is a field of boulders and scree, each rock lichen-covered, moss filling the gaps between them, gnarled trees growing where they can find purchase in the rubble. The whole formation has an age that's visible in the texture.
February. Thick mist. I camped on the slope among the boulders, which meant solving the puzzle of where a tent peg actually holds in ground that's partly rock, partly saturated peat. The constraint was useful: it slowed everything down and made me look carefully at the terrain rather than just walking across it.
The constraint was useful: it slowed everything down and made me look carefully at the terrain rather than just walking across it.
Black Daren — February 2024
Sheep are everywhere on this ridge. A herd on the hillside, brown wool against green grass, unbothered. They outnumber the walkers significantly. The aerial view of the landslip terrain from the drone showed the exposed rocks and sparse vegetation, the scale of the geological event legible from height in a way it isn't from ground level — the whole formation visible as a scar on the slope, the boulder field extending much further up and down than you'd estimate standing in it.
From inside the mist, the valley is a vertical grey plane with rocks emerging from it. A bare tree standing in the fog, the moss-covered boulders at its base, the landslip debris spread across the slope behind. The detail shot of a single lichen-covered rock shows the orange and yellow and grey of the growth, the same organisms occupying the same rocks here that they occupy everywhere on this ridge — patient, indifferent, thorough.
A gnarled tree growing among lichen-covered boulders, the branches describing the same bent-and-twisted character that wind and weight produce in exposed places. Close-up of a twisted trunk emerging from moss and rock. The ancient geological formation is the context for everything growing on it.
From the summit the next morning, after the mist partially lifted: a lone figure on the rocky crest, the vast Welsh valley stretching to the horizon. Dark storm clouds separating layers of landscape at dusk. The ridge line doing what it does in every season, which is divide the air.
Camper with backpack setting up camp on exposed ridge overlooking green valley
Herd of sheep grazing on hillside with rolling Welsh landscape beyond
Lone hiker on misty ridge with tent visible below, rocky outcrops emerging from mist
Bare tree standing on misty hillside scattered with moss-covered rocks and landslip debris
Aerial view of landslip terrain with exposed rocks and sparse vegetation on steep slope
Close-up of sheep herd on hillside, brown wool coats standing out against green grass
Vertical valley shrouded in thick mist with rocky terrain and sparse moss-covered stones
Exposed landslip valley with weathered trees, reddish soil, and scattered rocks across slope
Aerial view of landslip formation with exposed rock layers, moss-covered slopes and scree
Dramatic aerial view of campsite with white tent nestled in remote Welsh valley
Overhead view of tent camping on steep landslip terrain with moss, rocks and sparse vegetation
Close-up of lichen-covered rocks emerging from mist on ancient landslip formation
Detailed view of moss-covered rocks and vegetation on exposed geological landslip formation
Tent pitched on exposed ridge with dramatic valley landscape and sky visible beyond
Mountainside ridge revealing undulating landscape below with dramatic cloud formations
Rocky outcrop on ridge crest overlooking vast Welsh valley with distant hills
Lone hiker standing on rocky summit with expansive landscape stretching to horizon
Mountaineer silhouetted on misty ridge with steep slopes dropping into cloud below
Ridge slope showing exposed moss-covered rocks with pyramid-shaped peak rising above
Dramatic sky with dark storm clouds separating layers of landscape at dusk
Weathered stone surface with bright lichen and moss creating textured natural patterns
Close-up of boulder field on misty hillside showing scale of ancient landslip rocks
Rocky terrain with moss-covered boulders and scree scattered across steep slope
Hiker on misty ridge with tent visible near rocky outcrops shrouded in cloud
Campsite on moss-covered ridge with tent and rocky formations dissolving into mist
Misty slope with scattered rocks, bare tree and evidence of ancient geological upheaval
Gnarled tree growing among lichen-covered boulders on dramatic landslip terrain
Close-up of twisted tree emerging from moss and rocks on ancient geological formation
Valley landscape with scattered trees and sheep, misty atmosphere on exposed moorland
Sheep on exposed moorland with misty trees and overcast sky, isolated on hillside