Wetheral, Cumbria, Summer
The heatwaves have returned.
After a pretty damp July, at least in Cumbria, we’ve recently experienced temperatures approaching 30°C. Lisabet and I decided to take advantage of this Glorious Return Of Summer by paying my Dad another visit.
The last time we visited my Dad was towards end of June, where we enjoyed a delicious BBQ followed by a wander around some of the less-visited parts of the Lake District. At least, that was the plan. Unfortunately I suffered one of the worst hayfever attacks I’ve ever experienced, which somewhat marred the day and we cut it short.
Yesterday we decided to attempt Round 2, now that I had been inoculated after a month-long course of Corticosteroids. Thankfully, things went a lot better.
Here are the photos from that day, where we explored the impossibly pretty Wetheral village, near Carlisle.
All photos shot on a Fujifilm X-T2 with a Fujinon XF 18–55mm f/2.8–4.0 lens and a Marumi DHG Super Circular Polariser attached. Photos are 95% SOOC, with minor edits made using Fujifilm X RAW Studio.
My Dad’s ridiculously lovely farm cottage (Velvia, ISO800, f/3.4, 1/2500sec. @ 18mm)
Wetheral Parish Church. The Church contains a life-size sculpture by Joseph Nollekens of 'Faith'. In the late 18th century the sculpture cost £1,500, which makes it near to £2 million today (Velvia, ISO800, f/3.7, 1/2500sec. @ 31.5mm)
Corby Bridge, also known as Wetheral Viaduct, which carries the Newcastle–Carlisle railway (Velvia, IS800, f/3.7, 1/2000sec. @ 32.9mm)
At Wetheral the River Eden has created quite an impressive gorge, surrounded by ancient woodlands. We saw loads of people playing about in the river on this beautiful day, and why not? (Provia, ISO800, f/3.0, 1/2500sec. @ 18mm)
A short walk from the village alongside the River Eden, one can find some man-made caves carved out of the gorge walls. They were said to used by the monks as early as the 14th century as places of refuge during border warfare (Astia, ISO800, f/3.0, 1/50sec @ 18mm).
Local legend goes that these cells were carved out of the gorge rock by Constantine, a younger son of a Scottish monarch (Astia, ISO1600, f/2.8, 1/25sec. @ 18mm)
No idea what this is or why it’s in an ancient woodland… (Provia, ISO800, f/3.0, 1/20sec. @ 18mm)
Dad, navigating the steps back out of the caves (Astia, ISO1600, f/3.0, 1/30sec. @ 18mm)
This is Impatiens glandulifera, also known as “policeman's helmet”, “bobby tops”, “copper tops”, and “gnome's hatstand”. Originally native to the Himalayas, now classed as an invasive species (Velvia, ISO800, f/4.0, 1/100sec. @ 55mm)
There were a lot of bobby tops by the River Eden (Provia, ISO800, f/3.4, 1/200sec. @ 18mm)
This is dotted loosestrife (Lysimachia punctata), native around Southeast Europe and the Caucasus, it grows well on rough and damp ground (Velvia, ISO800, f/3.6, 1/400sec. @ 35.8mm)
And then we exited the woodland and… wow. Flowers everywhere (Velvia, ISO800, f/3.2, 1/2500sec. @ 25.4mm)
Just me, Lisabet, and me Dad. A tranquil scene (Velvia, ISO800, f/3.2, 1/2500sec. @ 18mm)
Climbing away from the river back up to the country lanes, we came across two very curious horses (Shire? Clydesdale? Couldn’t say). They were cute, we made friends (Astia, ISO800, f/3.2, 1/800sec. @ 18mm)
The way back to Wetheral, all the way through the fields (Velvia, ISO800, f/4.0, 1/800sec. @ 55mm)
There’s been a Benedictine Priory in Wetheral since the 1100s, but nowadays only the Gatehouse remains, which was probably built in the 1400s. These days it’s looked after by English Heritage (Velvia, ISO800, f/3.6, 1/1000secs. @ 39mm)
Post-walk, it was back to Dad’s for some BBQ goodness (Provia, ISO800, f/4.0, 1/100sec. @ 55mm)
Getting everything set up… (Provia, ISO800, f/3.6, 1/200sec. @ 32.9mm)
My Dad’s cooler than your Dad (Provia, ISO800, f/4.0, 1/200sec. @ 55mm)
Let’s eat! (Provia, ISO800, f/3.2, 1/250 sec. @ 27.7mm)