Bite-Size Blog Post #85 - Heather Hunting on Birch Tor

A Parched Landscape

When I first photographed Birch Tor earlier this year, I was sure it was going to make a great location during heather season. It’s in an area that is well known for heather, with locations such as Hookney Tor and Grimspound being firm favourites of mine.

Returning for the first time during this year’s heather season, I was disappointed to find there was very little heather around the tor. It’s not that there isn’t any in the surrounding landscape, but there simply isn’t enough close to the tor to make for an interesting composition.

I put this down to the lack of rain and an unusually long spell of hot summer weather, which has left the ground looking parched and distinctly unphotogenic. Returning one evening, during what should be the peak of heather season, I again found the landscape looking bare and dry.

It’s not just the lack of heather. The absence of the lushness I would normally expect at this time of year takes something away from the experience of photographing this wonderful tor.

But I don’t want to end on a gloomy note. Despite the challenging appearance of the landscape, spending a summer evening on Dartmoor is a pleasure and never a waste of time. There is always something to see, even when the conditions aren’t quite what I had hoped for.

In fact, this visit has only reinforced my feeling that Birch Tor has more to give. It might not be heather this year, but I’m already looking forward to seeing how the landscape transforms when autumn arrives.

Birch Tor, Dartmoor National Park - Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 22mm, f/13, 1/8 sec.