Eggerslack Wood & Hampsfell, Cumbria, Autumn
The weekend arrived and it finally stopped raining.
To celebrate, Lisabet and I explored somewhere often overlooked by us and perhaps many others. Heading west from Kendal towards Barrow-in-Furness lies the coastal town of Grange-over-Sands.
It’s a proper bonny little place, with a reputation in Cumbria of being almost exclusively inhabited by pensioners, which is saying something as Cumbria itself has an older demographic than the national average. In fact, Cumbria’s 65+ population is 32% higher than the average in England, whilst the 15–64 demographic is 5% lower than the English average.
Above Grange-over-Sands is a small hill known as Hampsfell. Lisabet and I have never hiked up there before, and we were delighted with what we found! Expansive 360º views, limestone pavements, and a lovely woodland beneath the fell.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–3.8 zoom and Laowa 9mm f2.8 prime lenses. RAW files were converted in Capture One for iPad, developed in RNI Films, and finalised in Affinity Photo 2 for iPad.
Eggerslack Wood & Hampsfell, Cumbria, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Near the entrance to Eggerslack Wood, we found a cottage completely surrounded in superb autumn foliage. It’s not much of a composition, but I couldn’t resist shooting it.
Eggerslack Wood reminds me a lot of Serpentine Wood in Kendal, and it’s not surprising. Both are woodland growing from a limestone landscape, with a similar biome.
The last of the year’s autumn foliage in Eggerslack Wood, burning bright on an unseasonably warm November day.
Climbing steeply up and out of Eggerslack Wood, we found ourselves on the slopes of Hampsfell. And a happy find for me: limestone pavements!
A solitary tree rises high from the limestone landscape.
Though nowhere near as extensive or as complete as somewhere like Ingleborough or Malham, the site of these sections of beautiful limestone pavement was truly welcome.
A got incredibly low and close to the limestone pavement in order to record the lines and light towards the tree. The final photo was made up of four f8 shots at different focal lengths, focus stacked together for sharpness throughout the frame.
Higher up the fell, more glacial erratics and tor-like features revealed themselves to me for more tantalising compositions.
Even below the summit, the views across Morecambe Bay were extensive. You can even pick out the flat-topped summit of Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales, 30+ miles away.
Climbing up and around the shoulder of Hampsfell, a crystal-clear view of the Coniston Fells in the Lake District made us both gasp.
This structure at the summit of Hampsfell is Hampsfell Hospice. It was constructed in 1846 by the Vicar of Cartmell to provide shelter and relief for weary travellers crossing the fell. It does enjoy extraordinary 360º views.
Limestone glacial erratics, windswept trees and the Lake District fells on a ridiculously warm November day.
The trifecta of tree, boulder, and fells.
No series of photos in Cumbria is complete without featuring the local sheep.