Capturing the Art of Nature
Alton, Ontario & Region (Day 11)
North of Brampton is the small village of Alton, these images are from our travels and stay in the Millcroft Inn.
Category
Ontario Adventures
2009
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Our last few days in Port Stanley were spent hiding in our room out of the wet weather. Then our drive to Alton yesterday was mostly a busy day, though we saw some lovely sights, I tend to focus on getting to the destination and not take photos. A shame really as I would not likely find those scenes again. But today was shaping up to be a decent one for photography so I packed up my gear and put a new battery in the gps and set out. I decided to head south towards the Brampton area as the escarpment criss-crossed this area and I was hopeful I would find a number of opportunities. I had spotted an interestingly named town on the map and I was anxious to see it.
The initial part of the drive saw me head through a few scenic areas with tourist stops but as of yet I wasn't inspired to stop and grab a few shots. I knew that once I did get started I would soon find an unending supply to capture but so far it was a slow beginning. As I made my way south, I travelled through a few small towns that all looked like they would be worth a return visit but today I just kept driving. Before too long I came to the town of Terra Cotta. The name itself was interesting and the river running through it finally broke through my inspiration block and I was out of the car taking pictures at the side of the road.
The Little Credit River looked lovely as it crossed the highway and travelled along the edge of the town. I would have liked to walk it for some distance but it seemed to be in the midst of private property so I made do with a few shots from the roadside. Now that I had found my first captures I checked the map and found some back roads leading to the Silver Creek Conservation area. So I set out to find the road and make my way through the countryside. This area is actually quite rugged with many steep drops and rises as the roads make their way across a wide broken section of the escarpment. Unlike the Grimsby area where the escarpment is a single cliff face, here the region is broken up with numerous ridges reclaiming the same elevation gain time and time again, much like a wrinkled Kleenex. It was quite a pleasant surprise to find so many small valleys and creeks within such a short distance. It makes for an unending supply of variation, each isolated from the others and unique in character.
I finally arrived at the conservation area and enjoyed a lovely view of Silver Creek and the colourful hillside as it wanders between two ridgelines of the escarpment. After driving to the ridge over-looking the creek I discovered that I had arrived at a crossing of the Bruce Trail. The weather was good and the area looked inviting so I parked the car and set out on the trail in a north-easterly direction. The trail at this point is at the top of a ridge and offered a few spots looking down on the creek. Unfortunately most of the viewpoints were over-grown so they didn't offer much for panoramic photos. The trail made its way over rough stone that was well weathered over the years. Being Fall, the trail was covered in leaves which made its own beauty and I was able to get a number of shots of the trail itself. I tried a side trail that looped back to the main one but half way along I lost my way due to the trail being covered by the leaves. Fortunately it was only a short distance from the main trail and I cut across the distance and was soon back on the main path and heading back to the car. There were quite a number of couples and families with dogs out walking the trail which seemed to make it all the more inviting.
After I had worn out the limits of my back I returned to the car and set off back to the Inn. I decided to drive through the small town of Erin and saw many people milling about having recently left their church services. I stayed on the main road where I saw a number of interesting stores to explore some day but I didn't see any photo ops here. Soon I was back at the Inn where Carolyn and I set out to find a place for a late lunch.
After lunch at the second mill in the town we returned to the room and I went out to capture some shots of the mill dam and waterfall. Though not a very high drop it did have a decent flow of water and I spent some time trying to capture a decent image of it. I was badly hampered by the lack of a neutral density filter which left me unhappy with the images I took of the falls. I will definitely need to make it a priority to get a filter. Once done at the falls I wandered the grounds of the inn for a bit and then returned to the room to get a bit of rest before dinner. It was a good day and opened a new area of interest for me in Ontario. I will need to return here next year to see more of the region.
So the stay in Ontario was nearly done and I was able to get out on 5 days for picture taking. Perhaps not as many as I would have liked but the colours this year were great and the trip was a success. I guess I will just need to return next year, and find some more sights to explore.