Tarn Hows, Lake District, Summer
Summer is upon us.
Summer is upon us.
It’s been a month without any rain, and the temperatures are now consistently in the late teens/early 20s. Rivers and lakes are starting to dry up.
Before things got too crispy and baked, we took a free evening out to Tarn Hows via Tom Gill. Always a good walk, and provides an alternative route to the popular destination that is Tarn Hows. It involves hiking up alongside Tom Gill, occasionally veering off the path to take in a couple of waterfalls. However, they were both almost completely dry.
Tarn Hows was looking incredibly lush and resplendent in its summer finery. One of those evenings that makes you glad to be alive.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Sony FE 28–70mm f3.5–5.6 OSS zoom lens. RAWs developed in Lightroom for iPad, then edited and finalised in Affinity Photo for iPad.
Tarn Hows, Lake District, Summer 2023 by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
From the upper path around Tarn Hows’ eastern side, my eye catches this fence as a leading line down to the tarn and the Langdale Pikes beyond.
Gorgeous evening light bathes the land and Coniston fells in golden light. In the shade, Herdwick sheep continue their blissful nibbling of the growing grass.
The upper path soon joins the lower one, where we would return back around Tarn Hows. The Grasmere and Fairfield fells peak above the woodland around the tarn.
A panorama, made from 5 vertical images stitched together left to right. I wanted to get all of the dead trees in the frame with the path leading into the distance.
We exited Tarn Hows west via a minor road, and then too came off this road onto a public bridleway, giving us glorious valley views of the Coniston fells.
The road that takes us back home.
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Lawson Park, Coniston, Lake District, Autumn
We had opportunity this weekend to visit somewhere a little different.
We had opportunity this weekend to visit somewhere a little different.
As we move from Summer to Autumn—with the increase in stormy downpours apparent—the quality of light improves drastically. But before the legendary Lake District autumnal colours arrive, we’re in peak fruit and berry harvesting season. What better way to observe and learn about growing fruit and vegetables than a tour of Lawson Park above Coniston Water?
A small dwelling has been sited on Lawson Park since the 14th century, when the Cistercian order of monks at Furness Abbey emparked the land here and leased out their building to charcoal burners for use in iron smelting.
The ownership of the building and land has changed hands multiple times over the centuries. By the late 1800s and early 1900s, a succession of tenant farmers lived in the farmhouse, kept livestock and worked the hard uneven land around Lawson Park. The last tenant farmer here vacated the property in the 1950s. England’s Forestry Commission bought the property and house in 1947. Liverpool Community College leased the house from the 1970s for use as outdoor and agricultural educational visits.
By 2000, Grizedale Arts director Adam Sutherland leased the farmhouse with his partner Karen Guthrie. At that time the place was little more than a spartan stone house filled with bunk beds including no central heating. They began the process of renovating the farmhouse and creating the gardens that now lushly surround the area, including the help of Japanese rice farmers in 2007.
It’s a fascinating story and I felt very honoured to have the opportunity to photograph it.
Photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–3.8 zoom and Laowa 9mm f2.8 prime lens. RAWs converted with Capture One for iPad, developed in RNI Films, and finished in Affinity Photo for iPad.
Lawson Park, Coniston, Lake District, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Karen Guthrie, Residential Warden of Lawson Park. It’s her learnings and vision that have shaped the gardens and land around Lawson Park into the thriving, sustainable, and environmentally-friendly place it is now.
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Grizedale Forest, Lake District, Spring
Welcome to Grizedale Forest.
Welcome to Grizedale Forest.
After a morning of joint optician appointments, the day was looking fine and ripe for some hiking. Where would we go? Lisabet suggested Grizedale Forest, which I immediately leapt on. She’s never been to the area, and the last I visited was so long ago that I cannot summon any memories of the place.
Grizedale Forest can be found south of the famous Lakeland village of Hawkshead, in between the lakes of Windermere and Coniston Water. If you’re curious about the name it originates from Old Norse, the language of the Vikings. “Grize” comes the Old Norse gris, meaning a “boar” or “pig”, and “dale”—from the Old Norse dalr—means “valley”, giving us “valley of the pigs”. The area stretches over 24 km² and features a number of trails for walkers and cyclists, small tarns and fells, and a fully-featured visitor centre.
We parked some distance away at Moor Top, hiked into Grizedale village, and hopped onto the Carron Crag Trail, with the aim of reaching the summit of Carron Crag at 314 m (1,030 ft).
The hike vastly exceeded our expectations and the views from the summit of Carron Crag were outstanding. The Coniston fells looked incredible and we could even make out a highly localised hailstorm falling over Seat Sandal!
Another crackin’ day.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my three prime lenses: a Samyang 35mm f/1.2, a Laowa 9mm f/2.8, and an adapted Pentax SMC 55mm f/2.0. Developed using RNI’s Kodachrome film profiles.
Tarn Hows, Lake District, Autumn
Our new jam is sunrise hikes.
Our new jam is sunrise hikes.
After summiting Loughrigg Fell as the sun rose up last weekend, we ventured out for another sunrise hike. This time we started from Yew Tree Tarn near Coniston, and hiked up through the woods in a ravine called Glen Mary to find a delightful succession of waterfalls called the Tom Gill falls. Following the gill, you eventually pop out at Tarn Hows, where we were greeted with crystal-clear reflections and the sun rising up above the surrounding fells.
We took the Tarn Hows circular trail anti-clockwise to hitch up onto the crags above the tarn known as the Howgraves crags. Lots of cuddly Herdwick sheep were happily grazing around the crags here. We then rejoined the trail anti-clockwise before exiting at its northwestern junction towards the Cumbria Way. This takes you back towards the A593, north of Yew Tree Tarn, where we followed the path alongside the road before returning to the car.
Incredible views, peaceful sounds, gorgeous light, and cuddly sheep. What’s not to love?
All photos shot on a Fujifilm X-T2 with my new Samyang 35mm f/1.2 lens using a customised Classic Chrome film profile.