Swindale, Lake District, Spring
We finally got the opportunity to explore one of the Lake District’s “hidden” valleys.
I’ve had Swindale bookmarked in my Pinterest for years now. What drew me to the area was looking at maps of the valley’s head, appropriately called Swindale Head. Here you can find a series of cascades and waterfalls dropping down 300 ft of crag, known as Forces Falls.
Reality, thankfully, was much better than any map or Google Image Search.
Swindale is not the easiest valley to find, and I suspect most people near the area venture either to Ullswater or Haweswater. Certainly, driving up the A6 through Shap, you’d have no idea of Swindale’s existence, especially as the valley is well obscured by Rosgill Moor and Ralfland Forest.
The valley is part of RSPB Haweswater and aspects of it are being “restored” to more natural features ever since 2012. In 2016, the beck running through the valley was “rewiggled”; previously, the beck had been straightened a couple of hundred years ago to prevent the flooding of hay meadows. This had knock-on effects—as man’s meddling in nature does—primarily with salmon and trout that were no longer able to spawn in the straightened and now-fast flowing river. Once the beck had been rewiggled, salmon returned to spawn, and the diversity of the beck’s flora and fauna continues to improve.
After negotiating the myriad of minor country roads, we arrived near Swindale Foot Farm to park at the small lay-by. Then it was a simple task to follow the road, which increasingly became a gravely lane, all the way into the valley towards Forces Falls at the head of the valley.
Photographically, conditions were challenging. The weather was changeable, with frequent waves of misty drizzle washing over us from the fells. This meant I had to keep getting the camera in and out of the bag; the camera body can take the rain fine, but none of my lenses are weather sealed.
I’m happy, nevertheless, with what I did manage to capture, but I’m eager to explore the valley further once again, when conditions are more favourable. Swindale is remote, silent, and so very beautiful.
All photos shot 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. The images were made 80% in-camera using a customised Velvia film simulation, with minor edits afterwards in Lightroom and Affinity Photo
Swindale has its fair share of small roadside stone barns, which I always find to be rather photogenic.
Further down the valley, the views start to open up revealing Gouther Crag on the left and Selside in the distance.
Probably my favourite tree in the whole valley. Overhead, another wave of misty drizzle starts to sweep in.
Past Truss Gap, on our way down the valley towards Swindale Head Farm, the views across Swindale completely open up, revealing our first glimpse of this beautiful gash in the fellside. It’s name? Hobgrumble Gill. What a brilliant name.
The “road” here gradually transforms into a proper country lane, lined with trees, mosses, lichens, and flowers of all kinds.
A gorgeous little beck running down the side of the valley. Believe me when I say I had to reduce the saturation in this photo.
The top of the little beck on the other side of the lane.
This is near Swindale Head Farm. Now the lane becomes loose pitch and stone as we make our down to the valley bottom, turning south.
We weren’t the only ones in the valley. Resting at the bottom of Forces Falls were a small group of hikers on their 3-day Fell Pony Trek. Nice scene, isn’t it?
My main disappoint with this hike into Swindale was not being able to get better compositions of the various waterfalls of Forces Falls. That’s because the rain had saturated the grass and rocks alongside the falls, making them all super slippy, so I couldn’t get close enough to get the type of composition I wanted.
These two compositions of the falls will have to do for now. Next time, I’ll think about maybe bringing my wellies to get into the various pools for better waterfall shots.
A tighter crop of the beautifully named Hobgrumble Gill, which tumbles 170 m down the side of Selside, carving out this gash as it does.
And, just as we start to head back out of the valley, the rain stops and the sun makes an appearance. Never mind.
The crag of Ewe Close, catching a little bit of the light that was emerging from the thinning clouds.
Gouther Crag, from behind the trees.
The flood plains of Swindale, now able to flood naturally as the river’s been rewiggled.
The twin crags of Gouther Crag on the left and Outlaw Crag on the right. Though perhaps the majority of people don’t know Swindale, enthusiast rock and boulder climbers know of the valley purely for these crags.
As more light breaks through the clouds it highlights the contours of the valley floor as well as Hobgrumble Gill.
Sometimes you just have to wait and watch as the light moves and changes.
Swear Gill, lined with bright yellow gorse, and the crag of Trussgap Brow.