December in Dorset: low sun, long shadows.
Maiden Castle, Dorchester. Full moon before sunrise.
No towers and turrets, but a monument to living in this place. The long bulk of the massive hill fort looms. Cold air in your nose; you see a few sheep, some dogs and dog walkers, early joggers running up the hill.
You climb to where the path, steep and white-chalk slippery, leads down and up again between the earth bank rings. These ridges clothed in grass were once stripped bare, to be seen from far away, startling white or glowing pinkish in the rising sun.
Walking a narrow path across the broad green top, you wonder how it must have been to wake up in this bitter cold.
The hilltop catches every wind, but then there were enclosing fences, and the shelter of round houses warmed by fire. Perhaps, like tipis of the plains, they all faced east towards the rising sun and away from the prevailing winds. There would have been the smell of smoke and cattle, and many people.
A lone jogger runs the far ridge outlined against the sky.
When you reach that place and climb and walk along the top the other way, the low sun is already yellowing the grass. A shadow strides along a shadow ridge as if it wants to meet you at the corner.
Maria Donovan 
Wonderful photos, Maria!
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Thanks, Becky – True photographers probably get out to catch the dawn more often than I do. This was an exception!
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I imagine that all times of the day can offer their own advantages!
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Apparently there is a Golden Hour when the sun comes up and goes down when the light is warmer. Can’t see it at all this morning!
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But now you know what you’re looking for:)
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Evocative photos, Maria! I love how you move through this landscape and imagine the past. Like a Hilary Mantel novel, like your own historical fiction. xx
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Lovely of you, Sarah. It’s such an evocative place!
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This is one of those places I’ve had on my list of ‘must sees’ for a long time, and now I’m adding ‘at dawn’ on a clear day. The photos are lovely, but your words evoke a mood, too. Beautiful. Thank you for sharing them.
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Thank you, Cath. Maybe one day we could meet up there! I’m playing with some historical story ideas at the moment so … getting into the mood is part of that. Thanks for the lovely comment.😊
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How nice that would be! Good luck with the story. 😃
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Such beautiful atmosphere, Maria. Reminds me of years ago when I first read historical fiction, Mary Stewart’s Merlin trilogy, which for me had a similar sense of place.
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Nice that you said that, Gretchen, as I’m working on some historical fiction too … Thank you!
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My pleasure – I look forward to reading it!
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