Ambleside, Lake District, Winter
Temperatures have plunged.
The nigh persistent rain of November and December has given way to a sub-zero climate and clearer conditions. Much better.
With a bright Saturday forecast, Lisabet and I ventured into the heart of the Lake District and major tourist hotspot, Ambleside. We wanted to do two walks: one, a small circular of Stock Ghyll Force, the other bigger hike up to High Sweden Bridge.
Despite being in the middle of a blisteringly cold winter in the Lake District, Ambleside was as busy as ever. This town never gets any rest.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my SMC Pentax-M 28mm F3.5 and SMC Pentax-M 55mm f2.0 prime lenses, plus my Vivitar “Series 1” 70–210mm f2.8–4.0 zoom. RAWs developed in Lightroom, edited in Photoshop.
Ambleside, Lake District, Winter by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
A misty shot from the top of Stock Ghyll Force. Made by stacking five landscape 28mm shots, top to bottom, for a wider field of view.
The classic view of Stock Ghyll Force, currently in its more barren winter finery.
After stopping for delicious hot brews at Force Cafe, we followed the trail back down to the town. By the side of the road, this still life-esque scene revealed itself to me, and so quickly I quickly nabbed a composition.
From the town centre, it’s easy enough to find the route to the High Sweden Bridge trail. Given the direction of the low sun, we opted instead to take the trail anti-clockwise, which we’ve never done before, to get more side light.
The old packhorse bridge itself, with my Lisabet providing a nice colour contrast as she strolls across it. As I’ve mentioned on this site elsewhere, the name “High Sweden Bridge” might seem unusual, given this is located in the Lake District, England. The “sweden” aspect originally comes from the Old Norse sviðin (pronounced “swee-thin”), the past participle of svíða, meaning “to burn” or “to singe”. In this context, it refers to the clearing of land by burning.
Looking up Scandale, admiring the light beams scanning across the face of High Pike (656 m/2,152 ft).
Heading back down the higher eastern side of the Scandale valley, I equipped my 70–210mm lens for some tight and distant compositions. Fully zoomed in, I was able to pick out the mist clearing from the summits of the Langdale Pikes, on the right, and Bowfell on the left.
My 70–210mm also has a macro mode, which I used to try and capture these beautiful and tiny Cladonia pyxidata lichen.
Lake District sheep get all the best views.