In June, we walked from the Little Asby Hawthorn in the east all the way to the Wasdale Oak in the west. Each day we woke at one tree and walked to the next where we camped – they were long days but we were not short of light – which is why we called our journey the Light Walk.

To do the same journey over the winter solstice would have been too difficult, and with only seven hours of daylight each day we would have found ourselves walking in the dark and being with the trees only in darkness. So instead of walking the full 130km we altered our plans. We drove between the seven different locations, and walked to each of the seven trees, camping as close as we were able and staying with the trees for sunset and sunrise. We wanted to witness the coming and going of light at the darkest point of the year and finish as the days were beginning to become lighter.

As it was with the Light Walk, we planned our dark walks carefully. The blog we posted before leaving was In Anticipation of the Dark … and when we emerged from seven long nights of darkness and some staggering shows of light and beautiful moments of wonder when time seemed to extend, we posted another blog: Back from the Dark Walks. Another will follow when we have had time to sort through our images and notes.