The Northern Reaches of Lancaster Canal, Cumbria, Spring
A wet Bank Holiday weekend finally gave way to a glorious evening.
A wet Bank Holiday weekend finally gave way to a glorious evening.
With little time off left, we decided on familiar jaunt that nevertheless is always a pleasure to do: Lancaster Canal’s Northern Reaches.
The Northern Reaches is a part of Lancaster Canal that’s cut off from the rest of the UK’s canal network. In the 1960s, the construction of the M6 motorway north of Carnforth bisected the northern section of the Lancaster Canal, isolating the Tewitfield terminal and leaving the disconnected remnants of the canal to be reclaimed by the natural environment.
For this simple hike we elected to take the route south from Millness Bridge to where the M6 cuts off the canal near Duke’s Bridge. This route offers foliage galore, waterfowl, insect heaven, and fantastic views towards the imposing shape of Farleton Knott.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Sony 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS zoom lens. RAWs developed in Lightroom, tonemapped in Photomatix, and finalised in Photoshop.
The Northern Reaches of Lancaster Canal, Cumbria, Spring by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The section of the trail between Millness Bridge and Moss Side is rather muddy and greasy, especially after all the rain we’ve had. However, once you emerge from the tunnel at Moss Side, this lovely view to Farleton Knott finally opens up.
A swan couple, busy feeding from the bottom of the canal, their fresh-faced cygnets milling about aimlessly.
Across the canal, this horse impassively stairs at us.
Nearer Duke’s Bridge, a load of local cows have found their way to the canal for a wee drink.
I zoomed in tight on this beaut, giving us The Eye.
My favourite view anywhere on the Northern Reaches of Lancaster Canal. I managed to capture this reflection of Farleton Knott as the sun started to dip behind us.
A little further up a small gap in the overgrown foliage allowed for another composition of Farleton Knott.
The low evening light catching the tops of the foliage and the bridge. A delightfully idyllic scene.
This dark and shaggy horse posed for me near Marsden Farm underneath Farleton Knott. Couldn’t say no, really.
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Sedbergh Meadows, Cumbria, Summer
British weather has returned to its unpredictable norm since the heatwave.
British weather has returned to its unpredictable norm since the heatwave.
This has made getting out for good long hikes—either during the weekends or in the evenings—difficult. We’ve had periods of torrential downpours, almost monsoon-like.
Britain gets more tropical by the year.
Finally, yesterday evening, an opportunity arose to vacate Kendal for a nice hike around Sedbergh and its gorgeous meadow fields underneath the Howgills.
The good light didn’t last long… but it was long enough.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using a Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–f3.8 zoom lens. RAWs converted in Capture One for iPad, developed in RNI Films, finalised in Affinity Photo for iPad.
Sedbergh Meadows, Cumbria, Summer by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The walk begins up Castlehaw Lane, which takes you up and around the shoulder of Castlehaw Tower. Sedbergh is full of ancient buildings, some better preserved than others.
Soft light on this tree trunk provides an irresistible scene for me to capture.
Further up Castlehaw Lane lots of wild vegetation lined the track, including something more unfamiliar and almost “alien” to us. Turns out this is Elephant Garlic, or Allium ampeloprasum var. ampeloprasum. Closer relative of leek than garlic, apparently. Never seen one before.
Beyond Castlehaw Lane and Howgill Barns, the track becomes little more than a vague depression across the fields. The views also open up tremendously, here showing a clear view towards Garsdale in the Yorkshire Dales.
What turned out to be the last of the evening’s light finally appeared, illuminating the fields, trees and fellside. It was very localised though, and the Dentdale fells were still dark with rain clouds.
A variety of cross-breed upland lambs glow in the evening light. They stared at us curiously, incessantly baaing and warning each other.
The light quickly started to fade but the views were still spectacular.
At Ghyll Farm we cut the usual long hike short as the light was fading. A vague path bisected through the fields towards Underbank, which we took. Along the way, beautiful strong horses were peacefully grazing the meadows.
A brave Texel yow approaches us for a closer look.
The famous Herdwick. Just look at that Teddy Bear-like face.
From Underbank we located an ancient lonnin (country lane), which heads all the way back to town. You can almost picture a shepherd guiding their flock along the lane.
An almost timeless scene.