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.
Lancaster Canal’s “Northern Reaches”, Cumbria, Spring
Over the years I’ve learned that the UK’s canal system is fascinating.
Over the years I’ve learned that the UK’s canal system is fascinating.
Built primarily as a means to quicky transport raw materials and goods between major manufacturing towns and cities, these days the UK’s canals are largely used for leisure and tourism purposes.
Lancaster Canal was originally proposed in the mid-18th century as a way to link up the prosperous port of Lancaster with the growing port of Liverpool. Ships delivering goods between the Old and New Worlds (Europe and the Americas respectively) were getting bigger, and navigating the tricky Lune Estuary into Lancaster was becoming increasingly problematic.
In 1819 the new Lancaster Canal section between Preston and Kendal was completed, but never linked via the waterways towards Wigan where all the coal came from (a “temporary” tramroad was constructed that linked Preston to Walton Summit, 5-miles south of Preston, from which the canal continued to Wigan. Eventually the tramroad was made permanent). Lancaster Canal flourished, mostly transporting coal from the Wigan area northwards, and moving wool and limestone from Kendal southwards.
This domination ended with the advent of the railways, particularly the Lancaster–Carlisle line as it promised the transportation of goods beyond Kendal. By 1885 the Lancaster Canal Company ceased to exist and the railway line was bought by London & North Western Railway Company.
The railways themselves then came under threat with the advent of cars and roads. By 1944 canal traffic to Kendal ended, the section between Stainton and Kendal was gradually dewatered, and the last two miles of the canal in Kendal was filled in. During the 1960s the development of the M6 motorway north of Carnforth split the Northern Reaches of Lancaster Canal, which terminated Lancaster Canal at Tewitfield and left the remaining unlinked sections of the canal to be reclaimed by nature.
Lisabet and I recently explored a small section of the Northern Reaches of Lancaster Canal via its old towpath; from Crooklands at Millness Bridge to Duke’s Bridge right underneath the imposing stature of Farleton Fell. It’s fascinating to trace the old route of the canal, the places where it’s been cut off from the main canal system, and to observe the ways nature has been reclaiming the waterway.
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.