Dales and Dolomites with Jackie and Graham Poynter
Jan 25th, 2012 by Malcolm Bowditch
‘Dales and Dolomites with a botanical twist’ - this was the title of a fascinating talk given at the club on Tuesday 24th January by Graham and Jackie Poynter. Quite apart from being good photographers, Graham and Jackie are enthusiastic and knowledgeable botanists and this talk gave us an opportunity to enjoy this combination of skills when they illustrated their talk with great images of mainly – but by no means exclusively - plants and wild flowers that they have found and photographed in the Yorkshire Dales and in the Dolomites in Italy. The ‘twist’, or link, between the widely separated locations was Reginald Farrer, a remarkable man who lived in the Dales but who also wrote a book on the botany of the Dolomites. Quotes from this book were supported with photographs taken by Graham and Jackie during their time in the Dolomites when leading groups on walks. These walks focus on the incredibly beautiful and varied wild flowers that occur so abundantly within this fabulous World Heritage site.
But there was so much more. We learned, for example, that the name Dolomites was derived from that of one D G de Dolomieu, a French mineralogist, who was passing through (possibly on his way to Rome - who can tell, it was a long time ago) when he discovered a dominant mineral in the rock of the mountains that he took home with him and identified as calcium magnesium carbonate. Hence this mineral is now known as dolomite and the mountain range as the Dolomites.
This was an evening with something for everyone and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Thank you both, very much!
Malcolm Bowditch
I would like to say how much I enjoyed the presentation on The Yorkshire Dales & The Dolomites. Breath taking scenery.
I was lucky enough to take a day trip to The Dolomites from Lake Garda in 2009 and was captivated. It was the highlight of my holiday. It was kind of Jackie & Graham to point out where I had taken my photograph from and in which direction I had pointed my camera. I loved my trip so much I have always felt I would love to go back, thank you both for taking me there.
Kath
I have always been an admirer of Graham’s and Jackie’s photography and to see more than their normal one or two offerings at points cup was a real treat.
The added skill of tying it all together with a well researched and fascinating narrative, tying in the threads of history, botany and geography into a seamless story, was a real bonus.
Thank you both and I look forward to your next adventure.
Colin