Stanley Ghyll Force, Lake District, Spring
After a sobering return from a beautiful week in the Highlands, it was time for a beautiful little jaunt in Eskdale.
After a sobering return from a beautiful week in the Highlands, it was time for a beautiful little jaunt in Eskdale.
I was also due to hang out with me Dad again. After arriving at Dad’s, he suggested checking out Stanley Ghyll Force, one of the Lake District’s largest waterfalls. I were game for that!
Stanley Ghyll Force is located in Eskdale, a gorgeous valley in the southwestern corner of the Lake District. The last―and only―time I visited Stanley Ghyll Force was back in 2017. I know this because I shot the waterfall with a Sigma dp0.
Back then, I was all on me own attempting to navigate a tricky gorge. However, on that occasion, I was able to get right to the bottom of the falls for some cracking.
A lot has changed in the intervening 5-6 years. For a start, you can’t get to the bottom of the falls anymore. The path has eroded and collapsed to the point that it’s too dangerous. Instead, the Lake District National Park have created an alternative route that scales up the sides of the gorge so that you can get above the falls. In addition, they’ve also cut back hectares of invasive rhododendron and constructed a fantastic viewing station above the gorge.
We enjoyed some fantastic light, and I had a grand day out with me Dad.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28‒105mm f2.8‒3.8 zoom, Super Ozeck 80mm‒210mm f4.5 zoom, and Laowa 9mm f2.8 ultra-wide prime lenses. RAWs developed in Capture One for iPad, edited in Affinity Photo 2 for iPad.
Stanley Ghyll Force, Lake District, Spring by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The gorge that contains Stanley Ghyll Force is wonderfully mossy and vibrant. Here, a pocket of light illuminates a boulder field exposed in the woodland.
We passed a small tributary beck that was catching some wonderful light in the gorge.
Eventually, the glory of Stanley Ghyll Force came into view. This was as close as we were allowed to get to it. Still some absolutely crackin’ light flooding into the gorge though.
After hiking up the new path made by the National Park, we found the new viewing station to check out the views it offered. And… wow. A sheer 150ft drop pulls your down the gorge and towards Stanley Ghyll Force. What a sight.
We followed the return track back down to the valley. As we did, me and Dad spotted some incredible light playing out on the distant Eskdale fells, and stopped to shoot photos like crazy.
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Talkin Tarn Country Park, Cumbria, Autumn
It was me Dad’s birthday at the weekend!
It was me Dad’s birthday at the weekend!
To celebrate, we all enjoyed a lovely wander around Talkin Tarn, east of Carlisle, before treating Dad to lunch.
The last time we were at Talkin Tarn was around November 2017. I only remember this because I had just bought a Sigma dp0 Quattro, and this walk was my first opportunity to put it through its paces. This was also back in my tripod days.
My tastes and shooting style have evolved significantly since then, but I still have a deep fondness for Sigma and their Foveon sensor cameras.
All photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–3.8 zoom lens. Images were made 95% in-camera using FujiXWeekly’s Super HG Astia recipe, then finalised in Affinity Photo 2 for iPad.
Talkin Tarn Country Park, Cumbria, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The woods around Talkin Tarn were holding on valiantly to the last of this year’s autumn foliage.
Though the rest of Cumbria was looking gloomy and wet, here in northeast Cumbria conditions were bright and dry.
Through the woods to get the last of this area’s autumn foliage.
Looking back at the woods and enjoying the play of light, before carrying on around the more open section of the tarn walk.
It was nice to see plenty of water fowl enjoying the tarn, no doubt somewhat desensitised to the presence of humans. There were your regulars such as Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) and Mute swans (Cygnus olor), but also Coots (Fulica atra) and Moorhens (Gallinula chloropus).
A beautiful Mute Swan, practically glowing in the morning light.
The tarn is glacial in origin, formed around 10,000 years ago after the last Ice Age. Some of the woods around the tarn are ancient.
There were plenty of other folk enjoying the light, conditions, and scenery around the tarn.
We detoured slightly from the main tarn path to explore some of the woodland above the tarn. Of course, Lisabet has a keen eye for woodland fungi.
A thoroughly pleasant day was had by all.
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The Elidir Trail Falls, Powys, South Wales, Autumn
Our last full day in South Wales.
Our last full day in South Wales.
We’d previously enjoyed some waterfall action at Cwm Rhaeadr near Llandovery. But that was just one waterfall, even though it was a mighty one.
Deep in the heart of the Brecon Beacons National Park one can find Waterfall Country, home to a myriad of waterfalls. Easily the most popular trail around here is the Four Falls Walk, which we’ve done before way back in 2018. However, word is that this particular trail has become even busier.
Instead, for our last full day, we elected to walk the Elidir Trail. Somewhat less busy but the waterfalls are no less impressive.
We were not disappointed, and beautiful light for woodland and gorge walking aided us for our final day.
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 in Capture One for iPad, then developed and finalised in Affinity Photo for iPad.
The Elidir Trail Falls, Powys, South Wales, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The Elidir Trail gorge heads upstream where it forks into two distinct sections. The shorter branch is a simple diversion to the viewing point for the main waterfall of the area, called Sgwd Gwladys. After a day or two of rain, the gorge was wet and the atmosphere was moist. Thankfully, that resulted in beautiful soft reflected light in this autumnal scene.
An ultra-wide composition of Sgwd Gwladys, and possible one of the greatest waterfall photos I’ve ever managed to shoot. A dead tree provided nutrition for a whole collection of fungi, serving as my foreground interest with Sgwd Gwladys gracefully rushing over a shelf in the distance.
We gingerly navigated the slippery and mossy boulders to get as close to the falls as possible whilst the light shining down into the gorge was still complementary. Rusty autumn leaves provide colour contrast in the foreground.
Further up the main gorge created by the River Neath (or Afon Nedd), a group of early-20s lads examined a potential swimming and diving spot.
Autumn in a micro scene, as the afternoon sun pierced the clouds above for a particularly strong burst of light.
Here the gorge and river widens up, allowing more autumnal light to pour into the scene on these two cataracts.
Towards the top of the Elidir Trail an almost impossibly perfect autumnal waterfall scene emerges as we clamber down the gorge to gawp at Scŵd Ddwli.
The name of these falls, Scŵd Ddwli, translates roughly to “gushing falls”, which we found to be wholly accurate. Around the edge of the plunge pool, rusty autumnal leaves had gathered making for a lovely composition.
Though we neared the end of the Elidir Trail, and the clouds had gradually covered the gorge, we got a final explosion of light from the late afternoon sun, shooting beams across the falls.