Everyone had arrived by 6.00pm on Wednesday. Due to building work going on at the Howe Keld, this holiday had been moved to another nearby hotel - very comfortable!

We talked about the holiday and the group's expectations, then headed out to eat at the Red Fort Indian Restaurant.

It was a very good place to eat. The food was really nice and it was a good way to gently get to each other.

After the meal we walked back to the hotel and everyone let me see their cameras.

We also looked at the different groups of cameras and I introduced aperture and we had a look at how this works.

After breakfast we spent more time looking at aperture, and set our cameras so that we could control the aperture (both digital and non-digital).

This was how we were going to take pictures today - autumn photos playing with depth of field. Sounds fancy but is actually not complicated once you understand the principles!

We walked down to the lake and along the shore to Ashness.

The plan had been to take the ferry from there to Nichols End then walk back, but with our rate of progress as we stopped to take photos, it was 1.30 before we reached Ashness!

There was plenty to photograph - including a beautiful rock sculpture that we came upon.

The light on Cat Bells was stunning, and photos down the length of the lake showed the misty Borrowdale fells in the distance.

When we got back the hotel we downloaded the pics and looked at what been taken.

It had been a good day - taking pictures using aperture and autumn as a theme. Here are some of the photos...

The Kings Arms was busy, so rather than wait we ate at the Golden Hill - a good Chinese restaurant recommended by the hotel.

Again after breakfast we talked about aperture in relation to the shutter speed. Today we would work with just the shutter speed and use lines to improve our pictures.

Again the weather was very good. We walked from launch dock to High Brandelow and then took a boat back.

Women had fun finding linear features to incorporate into their photos, and there was lots of light and shadow between the clouds...

We had a great day. In the evening we ate at The Kings Arms. There was a great selection of meals on offer. When we got back to the hotel we looked at the day's photos.

Everyone was pleasently surprised at the photos they had taken, and felt they were starting to get to know their cameras.

Today we set the camera to manual and set both the aperture and shutter speed.

We were also look at patterns. These pictures were really fun and it's amazing what everyone sees.

We walked to Castlerigg stone circle. Though it was possibly a little harder than the previous 2 walks, it was well worth it.

The weather turned cold once at the stones and the clouds lowered, but it didn't rain.

Luckily we had set off early to allow for an early dinner and to give us more time to look at our photos in the evening. We ate at 5.30! But it was a good plan. Everyone was pleased with the day's results.

We ate at the Lemon & Lime - a Mexican restaurant, and had a very enjoyable evening.

Some people did not walk today as they had a way to travel or had to catch a flight bus.

The rest of us had a shorter walk from Brandlehow to Lodore. It had rained in the night and some places were inaccessible due to the river flooding.

Still, it gave us plenty of new views and photo opportunities.