Ribblesdale, Yorkshire Dales, Summer
It finally feels a bit more like summer.
It finally feels a bit more like summer.
After one of the wettest summers I can remember, a bright weekend was looking up. Both feeling the need to soak up some VitD and get some miles in, we made our way once again into the Yorkshire Dales. It’d been a while since we visited the beautiful Ribblesdale area around Stainforth so we plotted a good 10km circular, taking in Catrigg Force, the Winskill Stones Nature Reserve, and Langcliffe.
The views above Stainforth and Langcliffe were just wonderful, and it was nice to explore Winskill Stones, somewhere we’d never been to before. We also came across the Craven Lime Works, which we had no idea existed, and explored a massive Hoffmann kiln!
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Sony 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS lens. RAWs developed in Lightroom, merged in Photomatix, and edited and finalised in Photoshop.
Ribblesdale, Yorkshire Dales, Summer by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The Pennine Bridleway from Stainforth up to Catrigg Force is short, but steep. Quickly it allows for wonderful views across Ribblesdale towards the fells above Feizor.
At the top of the bridleway, a small trail veers off towards the wooded gorge that houses Catrigg Force. In the distance, the unmistakeable shape of Pen-y-ghent.
Even though water levels were low, Catrigg Force and its setting is always an impressive sight.
We were able to clamber right to the pool of the waterfall for some closer compositions.
Probably one of the best shots I’ve ever got of Catrigg Force.
Back onto the bridleway, we made our way towards the Winskill Stones Nature Reserve. Turning back, this zoomed in composition of a typical Yorkshire Dales barn with Pen-y-ghent looming caught my eye.
A glacial erratic! In the Dales, the most famous erratics are the Norber Erratics, but it was ace to find another one in Ribblesdale. This glaical erratic boulder is “Samson’s Toe”, approximately 8 foot high and balances upon limestone stilts. Because the limestone has been sheltered from the rain, they have not eroded away. The boulder was deposited here at the last Ice Age 12,000-13,000 years ago.
Oh look, Ian takes another photo of a drystone wall. But they’re so cool! And, in this photo, really aid composition. In the distance are the cliffs of Attermire Scar.
With the clouds racing above, the light was constantly drifting and sculpting the landscape around us. This solitary tree, surrounded by walls, with the fells in the distance made for a captivating scene.
We clambered up around the Winskill Stones Nature Reserves seeking extensive limestone pavements. Whilst they weren’t as sizeable as the likes of Malham Cove, they nevertheless made for nice compositions, especially towards Pen-y-ghent.
We located Henside Lane, which takes you rather steeply back down to Ribblesdale and Langcliffe. In the far distance I noticed the light illuminated Stainforth village nestled in the valley, with dark Ingleborough looming above. I zoomed in all the way to 240mm for this wonderful scene.
Nearer to Langcliffe another pocket of light blasts the face of Stainforth Scar. A gate and some drystone walls helped frame the composition with Stainforth Scar and Upper Ribblesdale.
Bonus
Just north of Langcliffe, making our way back to Stainforth, we came across the former Craven Lime Works area. Here we were free to explore this massive Hoffmann Kiln, such a cool experience! There was no way my Sony, handheld, would be able to do this place justice, so the above image is a quick iPhone snap. Definitely have to come back here with my Sony mounted onto a tripod!
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Aysgill Force, Wensleydale, Yorkshire Dales, Summer
It finally got me.
It finally got me.
Four years since the COVID-19 Pandemic, I got the disease.
Thankfully—in a way—as a Type-2 Diabetic, I’ve had more COVID vaccines and boosters than your average person. As a result, my symptoms were minor and I came out the other side unscathed. My other half, unfortunately, had a worse time with it.
Once we were both recovered and clear, it was time to actually get out and enjoy some of this British summer that had finally arrived i.e. stopped raining for long enough.
Mindful not to push too hard on our recently attacked lungs, we plotted a nice little circular from Hawes in Wensleydale, Yorkshire Dales, to the little village of Gayle and further to a waterfall we’d both never visited before: Aysgill Force.
A glorious summer’s day greeted us and conditions couldn’t have been nicer. There’s nowt like the Yorkshire Dales in t’summer.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Sony 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS zoom lens. RAWs developed in Lightroom, merged in Photomatix, and edited and finalised in Photoshop.
Aysgill Force, Wensleydale, Yorkshire Dales, Summer by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Heading south out of St. Margaret’s Church onto the Pennine Way, the characteristic barns and fields segmented by drystone walls, oh so typical of Yorkshire, comes into view. Above is the peak of Wether Fell (614 metres/2,014 ft). There’s an old Roman Road that traverses right over the summit.
St. Margaret’s Church flying the St. George’s flag, the Pennine Way serving as a leading line into the composition. In the distance are the High and Low Clints of Stags Fell.
At Gayle, a field full of flowers gives us pause to consider a characteristic Yorkshire Dales scene.
Just south of Gayle it’s enough to find the trail that leads down the woodland right alongside Gayle Beck. A little further on, Aysgill Force comes into a view, a beautiful curtain or veil of a waterfall set in a small yet deep gorge.
A cluster of Meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria, make for lovely foreground interest with the veil of Aysgill Force behind.
Clambering back out of the gorge and back north across all the farmland (whilst batting off horseflies), a view over Hawes towards Stags Fell presents itself, which I dutifully shoot.
A true Yorkshire composition: Sheep, barns, copses, and drystone walls.
Near Gayle Mill, Lisabet and I clamber down alongside the old stone for some shots around Gayle Beck. I get low underneath for this shot towards Gayle Mill and Wensleydale fells beyond.
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Crook o’ Lune, Lancashire, Summer
Lancashire has little treasures of its own.
Lancashire has little treasures of its own.
Thinking away from the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District, we decided instead to explore more quiet parts that the Lancashire countryside has to offer. Situated on the north-western edge of the Forest of Bowland, within the Lune Valley—and not too far from Lancaster—one can find the Crook o’ Lune area.
The Crook o’ Lune is named so literally. As the River Lune winds southwest from Kirkby Lonsdale down a wide and flat valley, the Lune valley, it makes a couple of sheer winding bends as it navigates around small hills flanking the valley. The sharpest bend is the Crook. From the hill above the crook one can enjoy expansive views east all the way up the valley, and even make out the unmistakeable shape of Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales. This view was made famous by J. M. W. Turner’s Crook of Lune, looking towards Hornby Castle, painted c. 1818.
We enjoyed a solid 6.4 km circular route from Bull Beck Picnic Site, taking in all the sites and sounds on an otherwise overcast day. Dramatic clouds followed us throughout the route, and I’m sure I could get even better photos with more complementary light.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Sony 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS zoom lens. RAWs converted in Lightroom, edited in Photomatix, and finalised in Photoshop.
This is the old Station House that was once part of Caton railway station. The station was opened in 1849, and closed in 1961, with the last passengers on the line being served until 1966. This station house survived and is now a private residence. The railway line passing by here has been dismantled and converted into a footpath and cycleway, which we took to make our way towards the Crook o’ Lune.
Passing over the eastern viaduct, we made a small detour to the Crook ‘o Lune picnic site. It’s from here that one can enjoy variations of Turner’s view that he famously painted. An explosion of summer flowers served as my foreground interest for this composition.
The famous view of the Crook o’ Lune, ringed by wildflowers with the shadow of Ingleborough looming in the distance. The steep hill to the left, View Field, is what contributes to the sudden change in direction of the Lune.
Retracing our steps, we crossed back over the old railway viaduct to locate the footpath alongside the river. At the river shore, families and dogs played around in the water with the Caton Lune Bridge standing above. This is a Grade II listed road bridge. The original bridge at this spot was built privately in 1806. It was a stone structure with three arches, nicknamed "Penny Bridge" because of its toll. By 1880, this original bridge had suffered structural damage. As a result, the current Caton Lune Bridge was built in 1883. Like its predecessor, the new bridge features three arches, but it's made of sandstone ashlar.
At my lens’ widest point of 24mm, I was able to capture both the Eastern Viaduct and the Caton Lune Bridge. The East Viaduct has five spans and was built in 1849 to carry the “Little” North Western Railway over the river. Like I mentioned earlier, the railway line was fully closed by 1967 and has since been converted into a footpath and cycleway. It underwent major repair and refurbishment in 2013.
Now on the riverside footpath, a view zoomed in from atop the waterworks bridge—which carries the Thirlmere Aqueduct—shows the distinctive profile of Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales.
Looking back at the Waterworks Bridge, originally built in 1906 to carry the Thirlmere Aqueduct over the Lune. The Thirlmere Aqueduct conveys water from Thirlmere, in the Lake District, all the way down to Manchester. At the left of the bridge you can see a series of pillars. There are various stone blocks dotted about those pillars which have inscribed on them flood markings of various historical flood levels. There was also one for Storm Desmond, which occurred in December 2015, that I have intimate experience of. See the image below, my attempt of a reconstruction of where the flood level came up to as indicated by the stone.
In other words, Storm Desmond turned the entire Lune Valley into a lake.
Closer to the Lune’s shore we could make out the characteristic peep! sounds of Oystercatchers, Haematopus ostralegus. I quietly crept towards the water and zoomed in to my lens’ full 240mm reach to snap these two Oystercatchers.
Over the course of eons, the Lune has scoured away the foot of View Field hill, revealing millions of years of historical geology.
On the return leg back to Bull Beck picnic site, dramatic and foreboding clouds build up over the Bowland fells. A bend in the river, complete with glassy reflections, made me stop and attempt a composition.
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Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, Summer
In most seasons, Kirkby Lonsdale is lovely.
In most seasons, Kirkby Lonsdale is lovely.
But during summer, it’s impossibly pretty.
The last couple of weeks my focus has primarily been helping the Better Half recuperate after double Carpal Tunnel Relief surgery, hence the lack of content on this website. But, with the removal of stitches on the horizon, a gorgeous weekend was looking promising, so we made our way to beautiful Kirkby Lonsdale for a gentle walk around the town and its environs.
It’s hard to take a bad photo of Kirkby.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii, using my Sony 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS zoom and Rokinon 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC prime lenses. RAWs developed in Lightroom, edited in Photomatix, and finalised in Photoshop.
Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, Summer by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
One of the more iconic views of Kirkby Lonsdale, shot from near the top of Mitchelgate. Some of these cottages have been standing here since the late 17th century. Interestingly too, large parts of Mitchelgate in the early and mid-1900s were considered slums, and there was talk of taking some of these buildings down.
On the right, the Sun Inn, which has been around since the 1600s at the intersection of Market Street and Church Street. It retains a lot of its original features such as the overhanging first floor support by these huge limestone pillars.
This little area down Red Dragon Yard and Mill Brow is known as Swine Market because, historically, that’s what this area was. The pillar structure is the Old Market Cross, formerly located at the junction of Main Street, Market Street, and Mill Brow. It was relocated to Swine Market in 1822. The steps and crowning ball were a later addition.
Opposite Swine Market is a small road known as Horse Market because, again, historically this is what it was. Some of the houses down here still have horse insignia on plaques above their doors; again, some of these houses have been around since the late 1700s.
Tucked away from Mill Brow, Red Dragon Yard, and Horse Market is this gorgeous old property. I can’t find mention of it anywhere on the world wide web. The stone panels on the first floor have intricate masonry decorations too. I wonder what the history of this property is.
Looking down Mill Brow as it steepens, another wonderful view opens up towards Gragareth (627 m / 2,057 ft). Historically this fell formed the boundary between the West Riding of Yorkshire and Westmorland; there’s still a drystone wall up there that follows the old county boundary.
Another classic Kirkby Lonsdale view: Old Manor House on Mill Brow, with the Leck and Barbondale fells in the distance. And of course, during the summer, the House’s gardens burst into colour.
Old Manor House dates from around 1700, probably incorporating parts of an older structure.
Around Devil’s Bridge, cows were chilling and gently grazing on the full pastures around the river. A proper bucolic scene I wanted to capture.
Kirkby’s famous Devil’s Bridge, dating from around the 12th or 13th centuries. For centuries this was one of the few bridges for miles that crossed the River Lune. Nowadays modern traffic is diverted over Stanley Bridge from where this photo was shot. On a hot summer’s day you’ll always find people milling about the bridge, jumping into the river (even though they shouldn’t) and genuinely enjoying the natural delights around here.
From Devil’s Bridge, people swim and play in the river, and picnic on the rocks. What better way to enjoy a gorgeous summer’s day?
Stanley Bridge from Devil’s Bridge. Stanley Bridge is now what carries motor traffic over the Lune.
We took the riverside path along the Lune. Near the island, where the Lune temporarily splits in two, we stopped and hushed as we spotted a Grey Heron across the river. It was carefully watching the water, so I happily zoomed in tight and made a few compositions of this magnificent bird.
Further along the Lune and set back from the river, Lunefield Farmhouse demands your attention. A 19th century stone-built former coach house, it’s now been restored as holiday accommodation for up to 8 people.
At the end of the riverside path before heading up the Radical Steps, glassy reflections in the Lune make me stop and nab a composition of this trio of trees.
Up and beyond the Radical Steps, I equip my 14mm ultra-wide lens and frame this composition of St. Mary’s Church using the old gateway. Parts of the church date from Norman times.
Near where we parked our car, just outside of town, is Underley Lodge, a former gatehouse to the Underley Estate, now private tenanted accommodation.
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Conistone, Yorkshire Dales, Summer
Time for somewhere new.
Time for somewhere new.
The weekend was looking massively busy in Cumbria, what with the Appleby Horse Fair, Dave Day, and the Great North Swim, amongst other things. So with a cool and windy Saturday in stall, we head east once again into the Yorkshire Dales to explore somewhere new, to us: Conistone.
Conistone is a tiny idyllic village in Upper Wharfedale, across the valley from Kilnsey and its famous Kilnsey Crag. Although we’ve meandered around Grassington and Kilnsey before, we’d never ventured around the Conistone area of Upper Wharfedale. What we found were two incredible and fascinating geological wonders: Conistone Dib—a dry and steep gorge—and the Conistone Pie, an isolated limestone crag outcrop that, yes, resembles a pie.
Due to the high winds, conditions and light were changeable, which made shooting all the more challenging and fun.
And some of the views we got from around the pie were just… something else.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Sony 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS zoom and Rokinon 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC prime lenses. RAWs were developed in Lightroom, edited in Photomatix, and finalised in Photoshop.
Conistone, Yorkshire Dales, Summer by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The centre of Conistone village, looking impossibly idyllic. A few homes here had datestones from the mid-17th century.
Heading immediately east out of the village, a footpath can be picked up that takes you up the first part of Conistone Dib, known as Gurling Trough. Delicate flowers pepper the grasses around the trail. Our excitement builds.
Thousands of years after retreating glaciers and meltwaters have finished their work, life clings on in this gorge in beautiful ways.
The gorge winds its way uphill, in increasingly tight channels. Now we’re in summer, foliage and wildflowers adorn every possible nook and cranny. Up ahead, Lisabet gawps at the stunning walls of the gorge.
The only way up and out of the gorge, a tiny person-wide chute, evidence of where prehistoric water would’ve raged through this gorge.
Looking back down the chute, I picture in my mind how gallons of water would’ve created enormous forces as it was squeezed through this tiny gap.
After popping out from the squeeze at Gurling Trough, you are presented with this glorious view of the dry valley of Conistone Dib. To the right is the imposing crag of Bull Scar.
Further up the valley our next squeeze presents itself. A characteristic drystone wall acts as a leading line all the way towards the next gorge.
Halfway up the dry gorge of Conistone Dib. An old drystone wall leads the way up, as does the ankle-breaking loose limestone scree.
Near the top, Lisabet stops to photo some flora that her eagle-eye spotted. Two trees act as a kind of “gateway”, marking and maybe even guarding the exit.
We scramble our way up and out of the gorge, but not before I turn back around and nab this composition from behind one of the “guardians”, using them to frame the gorge back downstream.
From the top of the Dib, looking perilously down to the gate and the dry gorge below that we scrambled up.
From above the Dib, multiple trails criss-cross each other towards a multitude of destinations. We took a small diversion around the top of the gorge, and found this stunning composition of Conistone Dib gorge, with the Upper Wharfedale fells beyond.
Our next destination was to find the Conistone Pie. From the Dib, it didn’t take long to locate and follow the path northeast. We soon clambered towards the Pie, and I immediately scouted around its circumference, snapping compositions of its wonderful limestone crags with views towards the far reaches of Upper Wharfedale.
The views from the top of Conistone Pie! Not bad, eh?
My 24-240 mm zoom lens allowed me to really zoom in tight and crop in on these more intimate landscapes my eye can spot.
Another long zoom composition, showing the characteristic upland fell farming landscape of the Yorkshire Dales; land parcelled off with drystone walls. I waited as slivers of golden light scanned across the landscape, and picked my moment when the foreground barn was illuminated.
From the top of the Pie you can even make out, across the valley, the impressive sheer face of Kilnsey Crag, a famous and challenging climb.
At the full 240 mm zoom, I pick out the farthest reaches of Upper Wharfedale as golden evening light scans across the dale.
Before descending back down towards the village, I sought a composition that “described” the Conistone Pie well. This was the best I could do. You can see why it’s called a pie!
From the pie we retraced our steps towards the top of Conistone Dib and located the main path, called Scot Gate Lane, which takes you all the way back down to the village. Along the way, lambs and their mums bleat and scamper away from us, but not before I was able to zoom in and capture this timeless scene.
Nearing the bottom of Scot Gate Lane, an unusual yet welcome and unfortunately rare cacophony of sounds surrounded us: Curlews! I had never heard so many. As they cried and whistled around us, the low evening low picked out this incredible scene of Conistone Dib and the valley floor of Upper Wharfedale.
Back at the village, the evening light drenches the old buildings in soft amber.
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Sedbergh, Yorkshire Dales, Summer
It’s summer! Y’know what that means? Wild flower meadows.
It’s summer! Y’know what that means? Wild flower meadows.
We’re rather fortunate to live where we do, sandwiched between abundant nature. You can take your pick of beautiful places to see wildflower summer meadows. A particular favourite is Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales.
But I can also recommend the Sedbergh meadows underneath the Howgills.
We usually start this hike from Sedbergh town itself, but this time we started from Straight Bridge, walking away rather than into the sun.
Sedbergh is pretty enough anyway, but in the summer it becomes positively idyllic. And the meadows around the town were filled with wildflowers.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Sony 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS zoom and Rokinon 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC prime lenses. RAWs developed in Lightroom, edited in Photomatix and Photoshop.
Sedbergh, Yorkshire Dales, Summer by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Following the path alongside the River Rawthey, a beautiful field full of buttercups stopped us in our tracks.
So did these mushrooms. These are possibly Dryad’s Saddle, or Cerioporus squamosus.
A Kendal Rough Fell yow enjoying the summer sun in the meadows.
A pair of geese, following each other around the fields.
New Bridge, which is quite a funny name given that it was built in the 1700s. A lush scene framing this gorgeous structure.
There’s plenty of horses about at the moment as travellers make their way to the Appleby Horse Fair. One particularly shaggy fella posed for me in a field full of flowers, and I couldn’t say no.
After a brief pit stop and refreshment in Sedbergh town, we continued the hike. The trail circumnavigates Castlehaw and climbs up the hillside underneath the Howgills. A very dry Settlebeck Gill provides a leading line in between these gnarly old trees.
Out into the open, fields full of flowers surrounded us. Passing clouds temporarily darkened the summit of Knott, whilst sheep and their lambs happily graze on the meadows below.
Further along the trail, a field of curious bullocks idly stare at us as we made our way towards Ghyll Farm.
Just before you reach Ghyll Farm the trail narrows into a beautiful little lane, surrounded by hedgerows and old trees. It created a natural frame that I made a composition of.
Beyond Ghyll Farm, you continue southeast towards Stone Hall, a Grade II* listed building. Formerly a farmhouse, it dates from 1695.
Between Stone Hall and Ellerthwaite, the wildflower meadows just got better and better. One particular field was absolutely chock full of them. I nabbed a shot of Lisabet admiring the buttercup fields, a timeless scene.
We spotted this old tree, host to a load of bracket fungi, so I equipped my ultra-wide lens in order to make a composition of the tree, the fungi, the buttercup meadow and the Howgills. Success!
The cloud cover was beginning to thicken, but pockets of sun still broke through. A distant scene looking south towards the Dent fells made me zoom right in.
At Ellerthwaite we came across this magnificent field full of buttercups. I spotted these tracks winding through the field and waited for the sun to burst through, illuminating the field whilst the distant hills darkened under the clouds.
Beyond Buckbank the trail follows the trees above the River Rawthey back to Straight Bridge. Another beautiful meadow lined with farm tracks, with Lisabet ahead, gave me my final composition.