Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, Autumn
Here’s something a little different.
Here’s something a little different.
Every September volunteers for Heritage Open Days organise events and open up usually private buildings to celebrate the culture and heritage of England. Best of all, all of these events and visit are free.
We did some scouting on the Heritage Open Days website and found that a lot of usually closed off/private buildings in Appleby-in-Westmorland were opening up for talks and tours of these historical buildings. Armed with an ultra-wide 14mm lens and my steady 28–70mm, we set about to explore and document.
It turned out to be a fascinating morning and afternoon. Appleby-in-Westmorland is already steeped in history, and has managed to retain a lot of its architectural heritage. Being able to enter some of these buildings, some of which were 400+ years old, and document them as best I could was a joy and an honour.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Sony FE 28–70mm f3.5–5.6 OSS zoom and Rokinon 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC prime lenses. RAWs developed in Capture One, then finalised in Photoshop.
Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
This is the study room of the Colour Makers House, on High Wiend in Appleby. This building was rebuilt in 1677 CE and has the datestone to prove it. It is currently undergoing a full refurbishment.
The kitchen, retaining the original range and oven, complete with oak beams.
The building has become home to a unique Artist Colourman's Shop making pigments and paints from naturally foraged earth and rocks from Northern England. A gentleman there was demonstrating techniques used for over 4,500 years.
Inside the Council Chamber of Appleby’s Moot Hall. “Moot” comes from the Old English word mōt, meaning a meeting place. The Moot Hall was built in 1596 CE. Unlike many similar Moot Halls up and down the country, Appleby’s is rare in that it’s still used for its original purpose as a Council Chamber. The walls are lined with paintings and photos of all the mayors that have served Appleby over the centuries.
Appleby Moot Hall is also one of the earliest purpose-built Moot Halls in England. It’s had alterations made in the 18th and early-19th centuries, and was recently restored in 2022.
The Crown & Cushion, formerly listed as the Crown and Cushion Hotel and Wilson's Stores, was probably constructed from an earlier building in the mid-1700s.
The way to St. Lawrence’s Church. It retains a significant amount of its architectural heritage, with an early 12th century foundation in addition to a reset Norman entrance and the lower parts of a defensive Norman west tower.
St. Lawrence’s Church includes a 13th-century porch, and a 14th-century nave and aisles, restored in the 17th and 18th centuries with 19th and 20th century alterations.
St. Lawrence’s bridge, built in the late 19th century to replace a much earlier structure. Every May/June Appleby sees thousands of people from the Gypsie/Traveller community, who come from all over the UK and Ireland for the Appleby Horse Fair. A custom at the Fair is to take their horses down to the Sands, pictured above, and into the River Eden where the horses are washed.
Looking up the historic Boroughgate from the near the junction with Low Wiend. Now that Sunday Service was finished, it was time to check the interior of St. Lawrence’s church.
Inside the church, medieval traceried Gothic screens with a variety of stained glass window illustrations attest to the historical interest of this building.
The nave of the church. The pews were installed in the 1700s, and the nave ceiling was plastered in the early-mid 1800s.
Ascending Boroughgate, our next stop was St. Anne’s Almshouses. Inside the courtyard we were delighted with what we found; a different world tucked away from the ongoings of the main road.
St. Anne’s Hospital was founded by Lady Anne Clifford in 1653 CE and for more than 350 years, ageing, widowed, or single ladies have lived there rent free. The upkeep of the almshouses has been paid for by Holme Farm, which was gifted by Lady Anne for the benefit of the almshouse.
There is space to the rear where the ladies were each given a strip of land on which to grow their own produce.
The grounds include a small private chapel, which retains some original 17th century fittings and wall paintings.
The coat of arms over the archway belongs to Lady Anne and her mother, and the others around the yard represent Lady Anne's noble connections.
I was amazed at how immaculately kept these 350+ year old almshouses were. A true testament to their original purpose.
In the mid-1800s, one of the houses (number six) was demolished to create a wider opening from the courtyard to the rear gardens; the former communal hall was converted to a house by way of replacement.
At the top of Boroughgate is High Cross, a 17th-century stone Tuscan column on a square base and with a square top. It bears the inscription "Retain your loyalty Preserve your rights". A windvane was added on top in 1936.
Further south from Boroughgate, beyond Appleby Castle, is Castle Bank House. Privately owned, we were allowed a wander of the grounds, stables, and art gallery. Built in the 18th century, these stables were particularly fine.
The walled garden below the house was chock full of bugs and insects enjoying all the flowers and plants.
Slap bang in the middle of the walled garden, an apple tree, brimming with fruit.
We took the minor road north east from Castle Bank House and over the River Eden via a footbridge. Halfway across the bridge, Bongate Mill caught our eye. An 18th century former corn mill.
Across the bridge and by the riverside we could see that there were river gauges. This means that, yes, you can technically ford across the river in your car to continue along the “road”. No thank you.
The appropriately named Rock Cottage, built on top of a giant crag of red sandstone.
Near the old Church Institute buildings, we spotted this wee little door built right into the sandstone crags along the road. What is it’s purpose? What is it for? Who knows?
A final shot looking down the historic Boroughgate towards St. Lawrence’s church, before making our way back to the car.
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Mallerstang & Smardale, Cumbria, Summer
The British summer heatwave has arrived.
The British summer heatwave has arrived.
I took the opportunity for a long overdue stay over at my Dad’s, so that we could enjoy a lovely wander in the glorious British sunshine during the weekend.
After considering the potential busyness of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, we agreed to two outings: the first in the beautiful Mallerstang valley, and the second in Smardale.
Technically Mallerstang falls in the Yorkshire Dales these days, but it is often ignored in favour of some of Dales’ more popular southern hotspots. Smardale, especially Smardale Gill, is a remote and deep valley just outside Kirkby Lonsdale. It features a gorgeous viaduct crossing the valley, the Smardale Gill Viaduct.
In between each excursion, we visited Kirkby Stephen for delicious food.
A crackin’ weekend.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–f3.8 zoom and my Laowa 9mm f/2.8 prime. RAWs developed in Capture One for iPad, finished in Affinity Photo.
Mallerstang
Parking up near Aisgill in Mallerstang, I can never ignore this road’s view towards Wild Boar Fell.
Not a bad view if you’re on the Settle–Carlisle line, eh?
Our goal on this hike around Mallerstang was to get onto the Pennine Bridleway and eventually towards the Water Cut sculpture. Along the way, we diverted to get a view of Hell Gill Force, which with the lack of rain looked rather pitiful.
Happy cows staring quizzically at us from across the beck.
A dry Hell Gill Beck reveals the riverbed formations its been carving. Further up the beck as you go up the fellside, the river has cut an impressive gorge that I’d like to explore one day.
Various parts of the Mallerstang valley have been fenced off from livestock, allowing meadows to flourish full of flowers.
Up on the Pennine Bridleway! This is a section of the bridleway known as A Pennine Journey, once walked and described by famed walker Alfred Wainwright.
An oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus), unusually high up and inland compared to its preferred breeding grounds near the coast.
As well as oystercatchers, and plenty of sheep, circling above us were Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus), noisily warding us away from their chicks/nest.
Our destination comes into view, and the panorama starts to open up.
This sculpture, found on the Pennine Bridleway, is called “Watercut” by Mary Bourne. The watery gap that divides the sculpture utilises the changing sky to echo the ever-changing flow of water.
It’s hard to resist playing with the cut for photographic compositions.
Across the valley, Wild Boar Fell rises steeply into the sky at 2,323 ft (708 m) high.
The Pennine Bridleway continues down the valley, with Mallerstang Edge above. We elected to trace our footsteps back to the car.
Swarth Fell and the many gills that cut into its fellside.
Smardale Gill
After refuelling with drink and food at Kirkby Stephen, we parked up at Smardale to walk through the nature reserve towards the epic Smardale Gill Viaduct.
Flies followed and pestered us all the way. Nevertheless, Dad managed to spot and nab a superb photo of a toad, and we finally reached the viaduct, granting us views such as this.
Smardale Gill Viaduct was built in 1861, crossing the Pennines to carry coke to the iron and steel furnaces in the Barrow area and West Cumberland. It carried the railway 90 feet (27m) high above the valley and was constructed of locally quarried sandstone. The viaduct has 14 arches of 30 feet span, and a total length of 553 feet (c170m).
High above us, passing clouds created gorgeous gradients of light and shadow across the fellsides.
In the distance is Green Bell, one of the Howgills near Ravenstonedale.
The line was closed in 1962, after British steelmaking finished. For over twenty years the viaduct stood disused, deteriorating from lack of maintenance and exposure to the weather. British Rail wanted to demolish it but instead Eden District Council listed it. In 1989 the Northern Viaduct Trust was setup and in the Autumn of 1992 it was formally handed over to the Trust as a permissible footpath. It has required repair work numerous times since, and still does.
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Mallerstang & Smardale, Cumbria, Summer by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Glencoe, Highlands, Autumn
Glencoe is a place that fills me with total awe every time I visit.
Glencoe is a place that fills me with total awe every time I visit.
Whether we’re heading towards the Isle of Skye or venturing further north towards Torridon and beyond, I always appreciate a “pit stop” around this epic place.
Glen Coe is an east-west valley of volcanic origin and is perhaps world famous for the Three Sisters of Glencoe. These are the three “peaks” that rise suddenly from the valley floor, like giant knuckly fists punching the sky.
In reality, the peaks are actually spurs jutting out from the main mountain range of the area, which is hidden by the Three Sisters: Bidean nam Bian (pronounced BIT-yan nam BEE-an, meaning “peak of the mountains”, 1,150 m/3,770 ft). The Three Sisters in question are, from east to west: Beinn Fhada (692 m/2,270 ft), Gearr Aonach (689 m/2,263 ft), and Aonach Dubh (892 m/2,926 ft).
There’s more to Glencoe than the Three Sisters though. There is, of course, one of Scotland’s most famous sights: the “Buachaille”, or Buachaille Etive Mòr (pronounced BOR-kaleh etiv MOO-or, meaning “The Great Herdsman of Etive”, 1,021 m/3,351 ft). From the east the mountain presents itself as an almost impossibly perfect pyramid and is an arresting sight on the way to Glencoe.
Glencoe and the surrounding area is a challenge to portray its mood and scale accurately. I hope I have achieved some semblance of my autumnal experience here.
All shots taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using both my Samyang 35mm f/1.2 and Laowa 9mm f/2.8 lenses. Shot using a customised Pro Negative Standard film profile.
After leaving the car and clambering down the valley I found this interesting glacial erratic, which I tried to line up for a composition with two of the Three Sisters: Aonach Dubh (right) and Gearr Aonach (left).
A family play by the calm waters of the River Coe. The giant 10 km ridge in the distance is Aonach Eagach, which rises to 967 m/3,175 ft and borders the northern side of the valley.
It’s possible to clamber right down into the valley bottom of Glencoe, which near its eastern end forms a steep and deep gorge. With my ultra-wide 9mm lens I was able to get a more unusual perspective looking from the gorge towards the top of the Gearr Aonach.
A true autumnal scene of Glencoe, looking westwards with Gearr Aonach and Aonach Dubh on the left and Aonach Eagach on the right.
Trying to capture the mosaic of colours on the valley floor, looking centrally towards Gearr Aonach.
Previously in my photographic exploits I’ve always found it hard to capture all three of the sisters. With my ultrawide 9mm lens, I was astounded to be able to capture this composition.
Heading back out of Glencoe and towards Glen Etive, where the River Coupall joins the River Etive, there are a series of wonderful falls and cascades surrounded by seriously vibrant autumnal foliage. One can nab some particularly delicious compositions involving the Buachaille here.
A tighter composition of the giant pyramidal peak of the Buachaille, featuring some of the wonderful autumnal foliage around the Coupall/Etive river junction.
This peak is Stob a’ Ghlais Choire (995 m/3266ft), which marks the eastern end of Glen Etive.
Deepdale, Lake District, Winter
Winter has arrived.
Winter has arrived.
We’ve been watching as temperatures in Cumbria have steadily dropped from the tens to near freezing point.
By around the 3rd December snow started to fall across the high fells of the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, followed by some ground level snow on the 4th.
Lisabet and I ventured straight into the Lakes on the Saturday to see if we could get some snowy mountain action whilst the snow was still around.
A lot of it had melted in the dale bottoms, resulting in some delightful cascades and waterfalls, but we were happy to see a fair bit of snow still clinging to the higher peaks of the Lake District.
We hiked into Deepdale, a small tributary valley off Patterdale, just north of Kirkstone Pass. The nice thing about Deepdale is you’ll rarely find a lot of people there. The not-so-nice thing is that the hiking can be laborious, as there’s not much of a path through the valley and there’s a fair bit of bog to navigate.
But what awaits you at the head of Deepdale is the magnificent hulking form of Greenhow End, a beautiful fell.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using both my Samyang 35mm f/1.2 and Laowa 9mm f/2.8 lenses. Photos shot using a customised Pro Negative Standard film profile.
Booting up. Love that anticipation and excitement when you’re getting ready for a hike, thinking about what scenes and light awaits you.
There were plenty of Herdwicks around the valley bottoms, fattening up for the winter. Probably all now pregnant, too.
Deepdale is quite a desolate and featureless valley, save for the wonderful crags at its head. There are a few glacial erratics lying about, though, that you can play with compositionally. I found this large boulder with a clear crack running through it, which I used in this focus-stacked photo to point towards Greenhow End.
Another group of rocks and boulders housed this little pool that I framed in another composition towards Greenhow End. A single frame shot at f/22 with my ultra-wide 9mm Laowa lens.
A tighter composition of the magnificent Greenhow End, with some gorgeous late-afternoon winter sun light.
I found another large boulder with some interesting moss, lichen, and trackline markings.
Another boulder I found had this very interesting crack running right through that, from certain angles, sort of reminded me of PacMan…
Heading back out of the valley I found more interesting arrangements of boulders to utilise compositionally, also positioning Deepdale Beck as a leading line towards Angletarn Pikes.
A tighter 35mm composition of Angletarn Pikes allows me to also features some of the old barns and farm houses of Wall End.
My lovely Lisabet, capturing a composition of one of her favourite stone bridges.
Herdwicks have such characterful faces.
Camasunary, Isle of Skye, Autumn
As well as revisiting old favourites of ours on Skye, we also wanted to check out unfamiliar territory across the island.
As well as revisiting old favourites of ours on Skye, we also wanted to check out unfamiliar territory across the island.
A new, to us, hike we bookmarked was located on the Strathaird peninsula of Skye, perhaps more widely accessed for getting to Elgol. We did revisit Elgol again, but on the way back we stopped at a parking layby near Kirkibost for a hike up and over the Strathaird peninsula towards an isolated little bay called Camasunary.
This hike ended up being the best thing we did on the Isle of Skye.
Camasunary is the Scots form of the Scottish Gaelic Camas Fhionnairigh, which means “Bay of the White Shieling”. This implies that this bay, in times past, was once used as summer grazing for livestock, when transhumance farming was more common.
As we had spent time around Elgol for sunrise, our hike to Camasunary was still early in the morning, which provided us with dazzling displays of light and shadow on some of the most epic scenery we’ve ever seen.
Photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 primarily using a Samyang 35mm f/1.2 with occasional backup provided by my Laowa 9mm f/2.8. I used a customised Pro Negative Standard film profile.
We couldn’t have asked for better conditions as we began our hike from the layby at Kirkibost. Here, a long lenticular cloud hovers above Nead an Fhìor-eòin (334 m/1,095 ft).
One of my favourite Skye mountains, Blà Bheinn, is more famously viewed from the shore of Loch Slapin. But from this hike the mountain’s fin-like southern ridge is more prominent, and I managed to snap this shot as the peak caught some morning light.
As we crested the summit of the trail, views of the Black Cuillins started to open up and our excitement levels shot through the roof.
The view of Camasunary Bay from the summit of the trail. Holy moly, what a view! The mountain to the right is Sgurr na Stri (494 m/1,620 ft), definitely one of the smaller peaks on Skye but its position above Loch Coruisk means the view from its summit is perhaps one of the finest in Britain (and one I hope to see myself one day). To the left, catching the morning light, is Gars-bheinn (808 m/2,650 ft).
As we began following the trail down to Camasunary Bay we were faced with the massive southern face of Blà Bheinn (928 m/3,044 ft) high above, glowing gold in the morning sun. We also weren’t the only ones enjoying this hike.
Bright slivers of golden light streak across the various faces of the Black Cuillins. In my head, the Lord Of The Rings theme music plays incessantly.
A particularly strong burst of light breaks through the low clouds as I shot this view across Loch na Creìtheach. The hill on the left is Sgùrr Hain (420 m/1,377 ft) and the crown-like summit in the distance is Sgùrr nan Gillean (966 m/3,170 ft), one of Skye’s most famous peaks. Its name translates from Scottish Gaelic as “peak of the young men”.
We finally arrived at the flat bay of Camasunary. There’s three buildings on the bay; two of them are bothys (one old and disused, another freshly constructed). The building pictured, though, is a private house. I’m not sure if it’s still in use or not; it looked in various states of disrepair. You have to admit, it’s a cracking spot for a house.
This is the old Bothy, located at the western end of Camasunary Bay, close to the beach, with Sgurr na Stri above. In 2014 it was reclaimed by the private owner of the Bay, and a newer bothy was constructed back at the eastern end of the Bay. If you don’t know, a bothy is a basic building or shelter and usually left unlocked, available for anyone to use free of charge. They’re quite common in the mountainous areas of Scotland, but you do find them in places like the Lake District too.
Heading back up the trail, I couldn’t resist one last look back at this stunning view of Camasunary Bay.
As we made our way back to the car at Kirkibost the clouds got angrier and occasional spits of rain signalled the end of our luck with the light and weather this day. However, another burst of light from behind us illuminated this solitary tree, which I lined up with the pyramid peak in the distance that was also catching the light.
Staffin, Isle of Skye, Autumn
When you think of Skye, do you think of dinosaur fossils?
When you think of Skye, do you think of dinosaur fossils?
Probably not.
Much like Cornwall’s famed Jurassic Coast, Skye has its own version at An Corran beach, Staffin, on the Trotternish Peninsula.
In 2002 a local couple walking along An Corran spotted a slab of rock with a fossilised footprint embedded. Experts later identified it as originating from a small ornithopod, a bipedal running dinosaur.
Further excavation revealed more dinousaur footprints, the largest being around 50 cm long and originally made by a creature similar to a Megalosaurus. They were dated to around 160 million years old, making them the youngest dinosaur remains in Scotland.
An Corran is also home to one of the oldest hunter-gatherer sites in Scotland, which dates to around the 7th millennium BC.
Not only is An Corran home to a treasure trove of history, it also features some weird and fantastical geology, which primarily caught my eye for compositional reasons.
These photos were made from two separate visits, which explains the drastically different light conditions.
Shot on a Fujifilm X-T2 with a Laowa 9mm f/2.8 lens using a customised Pro Negative Standard film profile.
Below the cliffs of the northwestern point of An Corran, Staffin, one enjoy beautiful views back towards the Quiraing.
At Breun Phort, east of the Staffin Slipway, a raised bed of clints and grikes offer seemingly limitless compositions for my wide angle lens to devour.
A simple composition showing off the tetris-like structure of the raised rock bed at Breun Phort, looking back towards the 50 ft cliffs that dominate the An Corran coast.
Untold millennia of waves have sculpted the layers of rock along An Corran, revealing curved strata and standing boulders behind.
Two giant boulders lean on each other. In the distance are the mountains of Torridon and Applecross.
A glacial erratic remains perched on the raised bed of rock at An Corran, Staffin.
More glacial erratics perched on sculpted formations. In the distance, to the left, are the two cliff faces of Sgeir Bhàn.
A reflection of the solitary perched glacial erratic, using the strata beneath it as a leading line.
Two separate glacial erratics, which two me almost look like they are in “conversation” with each other.