In the first part of my Madeira travel photography series, I visit the magical Fanal Forrest.

On the north side of Madeira Island, there’s a place where you can walk among ancient trees and in the right conditions, somewhere that looks like a fairy tale scene.

The Fanal Forest is somewhere I’ve wanted to visit for a long time – it’s a spectacular old-growth forest that’s often shrouded in mist and fog.

It’s truly a photographer’s paradise, offering a chance to capture amazing-looking trees in spectacular conditions and in this video I share this experience with you.

These laurel trees covered much of southern Europe centuries ago but have become a rare landscape in the world. Madeira is one of the few places where these forests still exist along with the Azores and the Canary Islands.

Situated at over 1000 metres above sea level, the forest is quite often shrouded in fog but is notoriously difficult to predict.

During my visit to Madeira, I visited the forest on three occasions and I was lucky enough to experience those magical conditions on every visit.

In the video, I talk about my experience of visiting the forest and provide some landscape and outdoor photography tips and tricks to make sure you get the best out of your visit.