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
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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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The Castles of Lllandeilo, South Wales, Autumn
We’re in South Wales for a fortnight!
We’re in South Wales for a fortnight!
It feels great to relax and have a proper break from the severely challenging year we’ve had.
Arriving at our holiday property Friday evening—after a gruelling 5-hour drive in the lashing rain—we woke up Saturday deciding to explore the area nearby where we’re staying around Llandeilo.
Llandeilo is a small town on the western edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. It’s proper bonny. Evidence of Roman occupation from around 74AD has been discovered here; later on, the settlement was named after a famous Celtic monk—Saint Teilo—with the Welsh word llan meaning a church or monastery, hence the name Llandeilo (pronounced Shan-DAY-loh).
Owing to the long and rich Christian and royal history in the area, there are lots of castles nearby. We explored just two of them: Dinefwr and Castell Carreg Cennen, both impressive in their own right.
After Friday’s insane amount of rain, conditions on the Saturday were thankfully dry and epic.
All photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–3.8 zoom and Laowa 9mm f2.8 prime lenses. RAWs converted using Capture One for iPad, developed and finished in Affinity Photo for iPad.
The Castles of Llandeilo, South Wales, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Dinefwr Castle
Below the Dinefwr estate woods, beautiful autumn light and foliage wraps this gorgeous house.
Inside the keep of Dinefwr Castle (pronounced din-EH-vor). The advantage of a 9mm ultra-wide lens is that you’re able to capture a massive field of view in tight compositional situations like this.
Despite being largely built in the 13th century, a lot of the castle is still standing tall and strong.
It’s easy to see why a castle was built here. It’s position on a hill allows for extensive views over the Twyi valley.
It’s possible to climb up the battlements for even more extensive and panoramic views. Autumn colours are just starting to appear in South Wales at the moment.
Up on the highest point of the ruins, looking over the battlements and keep across the Twyi valley on a cloudy and windy day. Truly moody.
The winding stairway leading up is narrow and challenging, especially as the steps themselves are smooth and insubstantial. Amazing how much smaller people were back then.
There’s been a castle at this site since the mid-12th century, but most of present ruins can be attributed to the work of Rhys Gryg in the early 13th century. The castle came into English hands by the end of the 13th century courtesy of King Edward I of England.
By the end of the 15th century the castle came into the hands of Sir Rhys ap Thomas, who began the process of rebuilding and improving the castle. Sir Rhys was a favourite of King Henry VII, largely due to Rhys’ crucial involvement in the Wars of the Roses.
In the distance to the right you can see the turrets of Newton House, built in the 17th century with massive renovations in the 19th century. Around the time of Newton House’s construction, Dinefwr Castle was modified to serve as a summer house.
The castle and its environment were relatively quiet, with most people opting to check out Newton House instead, further to the north. As such, Lisabet and I had ample opportunity to properly explore and photograph the site.
Within the Dinefwr Estate woodland, I spied some gnarly trees covered in moss and quickly sought to make a composition of this gorgeous scene.
The sun appeared from the clouds once again, bathing this house in the woods in autumnal light.
Newton House and its turrets, a wonderful autumnal and historic scene.
Castell Carreg Cennen
For our second trip for the day, we drove south east of Llandeilo into the Brecon Beacons National Park. Here one can find the impressive ruins of Castle Carreg Cennen, perched atop a high and might limestone crag above the River Cennen.
Rather then head straight into the ruins, Lisabet and I opted to scout around the shoulders of the crag. That’s how we found this ridiculous scene, with the castle perched on the limestone crag and a sheer 300ft drop down.
During our afternoon visit here the weather was much more inconsistent, alternating between brilliant bursts of light and sudden downpours. Whilst I was negotiating my way through the ruins, the sun once again burst through the racing clouds, illuminating this scene.
Castell Carreg Cennen was built in the 12th century, much like Dinefwr Castle, and similarly was claimed by the English through the conquest of King Edward I of England. These days the castle and its land is privately owned by the farm underneath it.
Frankly, one of the most stupendous and visually arresting castles I’ve ever seen.
Back at the farm beneath the castle ruins, a small herd of English Longhorn cows came to graze. Incredible creatures.
A beautiful shaggy coat with those imposing curling horns.
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Conic Hill, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs, Scotland, Autumn
We’re back in Scotland, bayBEEEE!
We’re back in Scotland, bayBEEEE!
It feels so good to be back. Especially during the height of autumn, clearly the best time of the year.
We’ve had to contend with a variety of low pressure weather systems waving across the British Isles this week. This doesn’t seem to be easing. So, this morning, we got up and out to Balmaha. We wanted to get a hike up to the summit of Conic Hill (361 m/1,184 ft) before the forecasted rain storm arrived.
Thankfully conditions were favourable for long enough for us to enjoy the short, yet steep, hike up to Conic Hill and enjoy its amazing views.
All photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Laowa 9mm f/2.8 and an adapted Pentax SMC 55mm f/2.0 lens. Developed using RNI Films’ Kodachrome film profiles.
Newlands Valley, Lake District, Summer
On the Sunday following the Saturday, we threw caution to the wind and visited the Lake District for a solid hike.
On the Sunday following the Saturday, we threw caution to the wind and visited the Lake District for a solid hike.
Signs were looking good that, for a Sunday morning, the Lake District wasn’t looking too busy (use Safer Lakes to check the busyness of Lake District car parks). We drove to Keswick and plotted a hiking route from the town onto the Cumbria Way towards the Lingholm Estate, where we’d pause for refreshment. Then we’d continue on the Cumbria Way towards the foot of Catbells, and break off into the Newlands Valley, terminating at Little Town and circling back all the way to Keswick.
All in all, about 16 km and 25,000 steps. Pretty good.
It was a stupendously beautiful day in the Lake District, and the Newlands Valley in particular was looking absolutely incredible.
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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 lens. Images were made 80% in-camera using a customised Velvia film simulation, with minor edits afterwards in Lightroom and Affinity Photo.
Cunswick Fell, Lake District, Summer
Sometimes, as an Englishman, you just need to have a proper English Countryside experience.
Sometimes, as an Englishman, you just need to have a proper English Countryside experience.
For one reason or another, I’ve not been feeling 100% mentally and emotionally this week. Saturday arrived as a glorious summer’s day. We knew the Lake District would be absolutely heaving with people. Instead, we opted for a local 9km walk around the Cunswick Fell area.
It was just the tonic. The sun was warm, but a gentle cool breeze made things comfortable. The fields and meadows were bursting with tall grasses and wildflowers. The atmosphere was crisp and the distant fells were clear as a bell. One of the those hikes where you can’t take a bad photo and makes you feel truly grateful.
All photos taken 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. Images were 80% made in-camera using a customised Velvia film simulation, with minor edits afterwards in Lightroom and Affinity Photo.