Wasdale & Wastwater, Lake District: A Winter Series
A famous Wasdale peak, Yewbarrow (628 m/2,060 ft), with the only road going in and out of the valley curling its way towards the fell’s foot.
There’s something special about the Western Lake District for me…
Because the area is naturally more difficult to access, on account of all the mountains, the Western Lakes tends to be more unfrequented whilst still containing some of the most epic scenery in all of the Lake District.
Lisabet and I took a short 1-week break at the beginning of February to recharge, after what turned out to be a somewhat hectic Christmas “break”. We stayed in a tiny little village south of Cockermouth town called Deanscales, and our home was a 17th-century converted farmer’s cottage, complete with stone floor, beamed ceilings, thick walls and more.
In most ways, it was the perfect place for us to recuperate.
Thankfully, the weather turned increasingly beneficial for us as the week progressed, and so one day we made our way towards the southwestern area of the Lake District, to what I consider to be my favourite place in England: Wasdale.
Wasdale hosts a few claims to fame: it features England’s deepest lake (Wastwater, 258 ft), England’s highest mountain (Scafell Pike, 978 m/3,209 ft), and possibly England’s smallest church (St. Olaf’s). The view from near the foot of Wastwater towards Wasdale Head was also once voted Britain’s Favourite View.
We took our time around this incredible place, visiting the powerful Ritson’s Force, the perfectly glaciated Mosedale, and of course checking out all of the views and compositions of Wasdale’s various fells and peaks.
Please enjoy this series of Wasdale and Wastwater in the winter. I hope my love of this place is conveyed in these photographs.
Feel free to tap/click on each image for a bigger view, and to download any for personal use as a desktop/phone wallpaper.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 with a Fujinon XC16–50mm f/3.5–5.6 OIS lens. Editing and colour grading all my own.
The iconic pyramidal peak of Great Gable (899 m/2,949 ft), from near Lingmell House.
The Wasdale Head Inn, formerly the Wastwater Hotel, which has served travellers for over 200 years. The Pillar range of fells loom above.
Ritson’s Force, named after the Wasdale Head Inn’s most famous historical landlord, Will Ritson. The falls were very much in spate, their sound thunderous and their colour a wonderful hue of aquamarine.
The upper part of Ritson’s Force, which begins life in the crag wall of Pillar above Mosedale. “Force” comes from the Old Norse foss, meaning “waterfall”.
Looking down from the upper section of Ritson’s Force. I really wanted to capture the water’s incredibly clarity and colour, as well as its power as the falls cut through the gill.
A shot of the light emerging from the overcast sky, which hit the slopes of Lingmell as we climbed back out of the gill containing Ritson’s Force. I tried to use the trees as a framing device.
My wonderful Lisabet, looking tiny in the face of Pillar’s (892 m/2,927 ft) sheer southern wall. A small band of light escaped from the clouds behind us to hit the wall.
Making our up the side of the Mosedale valley, with the hulking crags of Red Pike (826 m/2,710 ft) in front of us. Another beam of light from the clouds behind us scans down the crags.
The full view of Lingmell (807 m/2,648 ft) from high up the side of Mosedale. The Scafell peaks, though much taller, sit behind Lingmell and were cloaked in cloud.
Zooming in from Mosedale to shoot some of that gorgeous light escaping the clouds and hitting the slopes of Lingmell and Scafell. I also loved framing the shot with all these diagonal lines crossing up and down.
The full extent of the peaceful Mosedale valley, looking towards the crag wall of Pillar. Mosedale is a tributary valley that branches off the main Wasdale valley, and is a beautiful example of a smooth glaciated valley.
Great Gable (left) and Great End (right, 910 m/2,990 ft) catching some of the brief light shows above Wasdale.
The View that was once voted Britain’s Favourite View, shot from roughly halfway along Wastwater’s northwestern shore, with my little Lisabet exploring the waters.
The Wastwater Screes is a sheer wall of crag that plunges straight into the dark lake of Wastwater. An awe-inspiring sight, no matter when you see them.
As the sun started to set, more light escaped from underneath the cloud shelf and a beam scraped along the face of Buckbarrow (423 m/1,388 ft) as we neared our car. Wasdale still hosts these Victorian-era sign posts that I find so endearing.
Looking back at the old sign post as another beam of light hits one of the many crags that surround Wastwater.
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