Ok I didn’t stick to the brief in that I used more than one charcoal pencil and I didn’t even leave the house. I did have to draw from this beautiful reference of Ben Bulbin and maybe the Donegal hills (home) in the background. I tried using lighter charcoal for the distance and darker for the foreground. I experimented with grey pastel paper as a base.  I will put what you said into practice next time I’m out sketching. GRMA!