For some reason I tend to link the difficulty of getting to a location to the quality of the resulting photograph. So, although visiting the two-mile avenue of beech trees along the B3082 was high on my list, I somehow didn’t expect too much from the results.
The avenue began life in 1835 when 731 trees (365 on one side and 366 on the other) were planted on a newly built road between Wimborne Minster and Blandford Forum. It was said to have been an extravagant gift from a Dorset architect to his mother. Sadly some of the trees have had to be felled for safety reasons and remedial surgery carried out on many more. For the long-term, the National Trust is planting an avenue of hornbeams to replace the beech avenue, chosen because they will give the same seasonal colour and shape as the beech trees but are more tolerant of difficult conditions.
The alarm went off at 4.30 on my first morning in Dorset and with this easy location planned for before sunrise, I didn’t have too many worries. My biggest problem throughout the entire stay actually revolved around parking my car near the seafront in Weymouth. The B&B was excellent and they even upgraded me to a double room in case it might help with my badly sprained ankle. Sadly there was no on-site parking and I was given a permit for the streets in that area. Naturally, I was always the last one back at the end of a busy day, so got the last spot at ever-increasing distances away from my base. That first morning I was unfamiliar with the local roads and wondered if I could even find where I had left my little car after Kimmeridge Bay the night before.
Thankfully it didn’t take too long and I was heading north not long after 5.30. I had done plenty of homework, examining videos on YouTube to find the most photogenic trees. I was pleased to discover that the best appeared to be a short walk from a small car park. Arriving well before sunrise, I was initially pleased to see mist over the fields, but equally horrified at the amount of traffic – even at that early hour. I found my chosen spot, set up the tripod and waited for a bit more light and then it dawned on me. While I was waiting, I could photograph the light trails as well.
Not long after, I wasted several shots while trying to get the trees without any traffic. My exposure was a full 15 seconds and it was amazing just how quickly they could zoom past when I thought the road was clear.
Next I picked up the camera still on the tripod and crossed the road as carefully as possible. I wanted a closer shot this time and yet even with the tree trunks making a seemingly impenetrable wall, light from passing headlights still caused problems. I finally got what I wanted as can be seen in the image featured at the top.
