Buttermere Lake Lone Tree
The Buttermere Lone Tree is a single birch standing on the northern shoreline of Buttermere, partly submerged in the water depending on lake levels. It is one of the most photographed trees in the Lake District, and for good reason this little tree is just begging to be photographed! The tree sits right on the water line with a clear view down the full length of the lake toward Fleetwith Pike and Haystacks. Getting there is easy. From the car park in Buttermere village, take the path to the left of the Fish Inn and walk about ten minutes to the northern shore. You will not have any trouble finding it. Sunrise is the best time to shoot here, especially from autumn into winter when the sun comes up behind Fleetwith Pike and lights up the sky. In winter, the dead reeds around the shoreline add warm golden tones to the foreground, and when water levels are high the tree floods slightly, which opens up more interesting compositions at the base. The challenge is getting still water for reflection photography. Buttermere sits in a valley surrounded by high fells, which helps, but it is exposed to westerly winds and random gusts that will break up your reflections without warning. Perfectly calm conditions are genuinely rare here, so if you get them, make the most of it. Get low to emphasize the tree and frame the branches against the sky. The 7 km lake shore path that circles the entire lake is worth walking too. It passes through Burtness Wood on the eastern shore, where a short rock tunnel was carved in the 19th century, and reaches the Sentinels at the southern end, a cluster of Scots pines with the same Fleetwith Pike backdrop that works well with a longer lens. (Buttermere, Cumbria, England)
