Story
Beauty of Buttermere
October arrives and suddenly it’s as if nature has tipped its palette—the fells explode in crushed bronzes, reds, golds and umbers. I can think of no better place to witness it than here in the Vale of Buttermere. For me, this is real Lakeland.
Photographed with my panoramic camera using a natural perspective lens, the scene unfolds in richness and detail. And tucked quietly in the middle of it all is one of my favourite fell farms—Gatesgarth.
Running right to the lake’s edge beneath the iconic Buttermere Pines, Gatesgarth Farm is home to Robert Wilkinson’s flocks of purebred Herdwicks. He’s the kind of shepherd born to these fells, knowing every corner of his high ground: Fleetwith Pike, Haystacks, Honister Crag, High Stile, Red Pike… each gathering here takes days, not hours. Try imagining the work it takes to fetch your sheep from each of those. It’s hard graft. A skill passed down like scripture—from shepherd to shepherd, dog to dog.
And so I lingered long after the shutter was pressed—watching his hoggs graze the inbye pasture, soaking up the beauty and the quiet dignity of it all. Buttermere is never the same twice. Light, cloud, season and soul shift together, and on this autumnal evening, everything felt and looked just right.
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