monsdal dale, Littonfields and tideswell photography workshop
Photograph waterfalls, dis-used tunnels and rolling dales up until sunset. Finish the day by photographing ‘The Cathedral of the Peak’ in the setting sun.
Monsal DALE, Littonfields and TIDESWELL PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
CAPTURE WATERFALLS, ROLLING DALES AND DIS-USED TUNNELS and an impressive church at sunset
22nd June 2025
14:30 – 22:30
4 People Max
complimentary Transport provided from meeting point
Easy Difficulty ( i )

Meet at Little Longstone
Start: 14:30
£150
(£40 Deposit)
Join me on June 22nd for a packed day of photographing the Peak District including the beautiful Monsal Dale, Littonfields and Tideswell.
June can be a tough time for photography. The days are long, the hours are unsociable, and the light can be harsh throughout the day. However, join me on this workshop, and we will have plenty to photograph in the day with a twist at the end to capture something a little out of the norm!
First off, we will head to Monsal Dale and practice both long exposures and high ISO techniques. We will head down to the weir* in the dale where the River Wye crashes and tumbles, and this is where we will practice long exposures with the use of filters. Next, we will get out of the sunlight and head to the dark Monsal Tunnels. Here we can practice super long exposures using a tripod to really pull the detail out of the tunnels as well as shooting handheld, experimenting with high ISO’s to see the effects it has on our images. Depending on which way we walk, there could be a steep, well pathed descent down to the weir and a flat walk to the tunnels. We will have to return the same way.
*Please note at the time of writing the weir has limited access and will be judged again closer to the time. If not accessible, we may look for alternatives close by such as Lathkill Tufa Weir.
After this, we will pop to somewhere like Littonfields . From here we have patchwork fields of drystone walls and typical farming scenes. Depending on how the local farmer feels, he may have also mowed some of the fields which can add texture and detail to the scene.
We will then move on to Peter’s Stone for sunset, officially the last place in the UK where humans were hung and exhibited. Rather gruesome but fortunately very picturesque nowadays. This impressive little dale gets fantastic evening light but due to being low down falls into shadow fairly early, allowing us to quickly nip to our final spot for the day.
Once have finished at Peter’s Stone we will nip down the road to an overlook above Tideswell which gives a fantastic view of ‘The Cathedral of the Peak’ which makes a great subject during sunset, if we are super lucky we may even get a colourful sky.
What if the weather is poor? Don’t worry, unless it’s torrential all day, I have plenty of locations that suit a variety of weather and with my experience, you will still get to the best locations possible and you will still get some great images, for example waterfalls are brilliant for those overcast days. As we are in the UK, we see more grey than we do yellow and I am well adapted to getting us to the best spots if we need to change itinerary. This may even include chasing the light, with my knowledge of how the weather works in certain areas and using forecasts, webcams and other tools on the day to help us make those decisions, which I will share with you. We will spend a lot of time working on technique and composition and most of the day is designed to work up until that hopeful sunset so you have the skills to get the best you can at the end of the day. So even if we don’t get the weather or even that sunset you will have learnt a load of new skills, even if you are a more advanced photographer which you can take away with you and use on your next photographic outing.
We will meet to do a meet and greet with myself and the other photographers at 14:30 before heading down into Monsal Dale to shoot the waterfalls and tunnels.
We will break for food around 17:00 and if time allows, look at some of my images on a laptop to discuss basic processing techniques within Adobe Lightroom. After this we follow the itinerary until way past sunset. The day will conclude around 22:30 after shooting Tideswell’s church in the blue hour.
Upon booking, you will be sent an order confirmation email which includes meeting details, kit-list, discount codes and a questionnaire for you to fill out. This questionnaire just allows me to get information about you, so I can plan the day appropriately for the whole group.
Throughout the day we will look at techniques such as focusing, use of tripod, use of filters vs exposure blending, composition, working with the light and more.
I am more than happy to discuss other more advanced techniques on 1-2-1 basis as well as to the group, depending on what is beneficial.
The day is tailored around you as much as possible, and I strive to give each of you on the course for that day the best day possible. At the end of the day, you will have hopefully learnt new techniques and taken away some imagery you will be proud of. I am a friendly and relaxed tutor and I welcome you to keep in touch with me after the course to ask me any questions you may have looked over on the day. I have also created a Facebook client area where you can keep in touch, share your photos and keep in touch with other attendees from the day.
There will be a maximum group size of 4 meaning there will be plenty of 1-2-1 time. I will be on hand throughout the day for any questions and my focus will be on ensuring you have the best day possible.
There is a £40 deposit required to secure your place on this workshop, with the balance due no later than 6 weeks before the workshop.
What’s Included?
- Technical tuition
- Advice
- Transport from meeting point
- Introduction to post-processing
I can also provide
- Tripod
- Set of Kase filters
What You Need
- Suitable outdoor clothing (No jeans or trainers)
- Camera with spare battery(s) and SD card
- Walking boots
- Tripod (Can also loan)
- Food & Drink
- Transport to meeting point
- Personal insurance if applicable
Good to have
- A selection of lenses
- Remote Shutter
- Filters
- Camera manual
Difficulty Description
Below is an explanation of the difficulty for the workshop. It will also largely be dictated by your own perception and also your previous experience in this kind of environment. The rating is a rough guide and in context to the type of workshop e.g. a hill-walking workshop moderate is different to a standard day workshop moderate. I have tried to explain more about the day in the description above also.
This workshop is listed as easy. Most people should be ok to attend and complete these workshops but please read on so you can understand the terrain. Most locations will be approx. 15 minutes from the car with returns to the car between locations. However you may be covering some steep ground over mixed-terrain. Some footpaths may be paved, however please also expect natural trails of a stable surface where you may encounter natural and unavoidable features such as rocks, tree roots, mud etc. It is unlikely we will be off the beaten track and these paths will be well used and popular. Once we arrive at our photography location we may be off the main path and as such extra care must be taken with any potential hazards. I will advise if I can see any hazards and if you are unsure, please ask. On these workshops, while the locations are easy on their own, we will inevitably walk a fair distance over the course without realising and you can expect to walk anywhere between 3 and 6 miles in a day.