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
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Lancaster Canal, Cumbria, Spring
Today was a little more low key.
Today was a little more low key.
The last time Lisabet and I walked the “Northern Reaches” of Lancaster Canal was back in May/June of 2020. You should check those posts out for more of the history of Lancaster Canal, with greater detail about the Northern Reaches.
After a day around Grizedale Forest, we felt a simple walk alongside some of the Northern Reaches of Lancaster Canal was in order. In particular, the section from Millness to Duke’s Bridge, with Farleton Knott in plain sight, is stupendously pretty. And the weather didn’t disappoint either.
All photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 using a Samyang 35mm f/1.2 lens with a Marumi Super DHG circular polariser attached. Developed using RNI’s Kodachrome film profiles.
Part 2: Lancaster Canal’s “Northern Reaches”, Cumbria, Spring
The final stretch of Lancaster Canal.
The final stretch of Lancaster Canal.
In case you haven’t seen it you should check out my first photo blog about the Lancaster Canal, which contains the history of this iconic and important canal system.
The following day Lisabet and I decided to revisit the canal’s “Northern Reaches”, this time heading north from Millness Bridge (Nº 164) in Crooklands instead of south. This stretch is the final waterway of Lancaster Canal, which ends at Stainton somewhat abruptly. There are ambitions to re-water the canal for a quarter of a mile north of Stainton towards Kendal, and work has begun on repairing and upgrading Stainton Aqueduct after Storm Desmond wreaked havoc in December 2015.
All photos shot on a Fujifilm X-T2 with a 16–50mm f/3.5–5.6 lens using a customised Classic Chrome film simulation.