Hawes, Yorkshire Dales, Summer
A Bank Holiday Monday meant a day out with me Dad.
A Bank Holiday Monday meant a day out with me Dad.
After heading down to Kendal to meet me we decided to let his new car “stretch its legs”, so head east into the Yorkshire Dales. A wander around Hawes and the beautiful Upper Wensleydale was in order.
It’s been a while since I’ve wandered around Hawes, and I was stunned by how busy and seemingly thriving it was. Hawes has always been popular with bikers anyway, but beyond the regulars there were scores of people enjoying the sights of what Hawes has to offer.
We timed it well, too. Not long after leaving Hawes via Blea Moor Road and the Ribblehead Viaduct, the heavens opened and the rain fell.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Sony FE 28–70mm f3.5–5.6 OSS and Vivitar “Series 1” 70–210mm f2.8–4.0 zoom lenses. RAWs were developed in Lightroom for iPad using RNI Films’ Kodachrome film profiles.
Hawes, Yorkshire Dales, Summer by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Hawes was so busy that we couldn’t find any parking within the town. We had to stop outside the eastern end of the town. Thankfully, that afforded us views down Wensleydale like this.
A proper bucolic northern English scene, with the characteristic golden sandstone buildings of Hawes with the crags of High Clint in the distance.
One of Hawes’ most well-known scenes. Gayle Beck flows north from Sleddale and through Hawes town centre, dropping here as a beautiful series of falls.
One of many independent shops in Hawes, some have been here longer than others.
Hawes has an almost timeless aspect to it, save for the bright blue bins of course. No matter where you look, you can always see the fells of Upper Wensleydale.
There were plenty of crochet sheep and yarn bombing all around Hawes, raising funds for Great Yorkshire Ambulance.
Look at these fantastic woollen renditions of Wallace and Gromit! Wallace & Gromit is a stop-motion animation franchise, and Wallace became well-known for his love of Wensleydale Cheese. It can be argued that the renewed interest in this cheese, courtesy of Wallace & Gromit, was what saved the Wensleydale Creamery from bankruptcy.
I couldn’t resist immortalising this timeless scene. I wonder how long they’ve been going for?
We wandered up the road towards Gayle to take in a loop of the town and get some higher vantage views of it. Here, the road points the way towards Wether Fell (614 m/2,014 ft).
The cap of Yorburgh with a pair of trees point towards it.
The well-maintained path takes you around the back of Hawes and opens up the views from above it. Here, the path serves as a leading line past St. Margaret’s Church and over the buildings of Hawes, with the nub of Smuker Hill, part of Lovely Seat, visible.
I love capturing timeless rural scenes like this. Hawes makes it very easy.
Taking the little back yards of Hawes makes you feel like you’ve stepped back in time.
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Howgills & Yorkshire Dales, Winter
The week leading to these photos and this post has been… frustrating.
The week leading to these photos and this post has been… frustrating.
On Monday my left shoulder grew progressively stiff and painful. By the evening I was in a lot of pain and I ultimately did not get a second of sleep. Looks like I did another one of my favourite Fit-During-My-Sleep-And-Discolate-A-Limb-Whilst-Shredding-Muscles.
So most of this week has been spent fighting pain and keeping the shoulder immobilised. Apart from the constant pain and lack of sleep being exhausting, it’s also boring.
By the weekend, I’d finally got my pain levels under control and was starting to regain movement in my shoulder. Sunday arrived bright and clear, with blue skies promising a beautiful day. Lisabet took us for a drive through Sedbergh and the Yorkshire Dales, occasionally parking up for short walks and photo snaps. I really needed it.
All photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Fujinon 23mm f/2.0. Images developed using RNI Films’ Velvia 100F emulation.
One of my favourite views of the Howgills can be shot from the A684, as you crest the hill past Lily Mere. It felt so good to finally see a clear blue sky after all the storms we’ve endured.
Happily there’s a couple of lay-bys alongside this part of the A684 where one can park and snap some glorious photos. Onwards into the Yorkshire Dales.
Beyond Sedbergh and heading further into the Yorkshire Dales, another viewpoint of the Howgills can be obtained, now looking at their southeastern profile. This is a little area known as Tom Croft Hill.
Further into the Yorkshire Dales, closer to Hawes, we stopped off at the small layby near Holme Heads Bridge for a wee jaunt to check out the beautiful Cotter Force. It was lovely to see the waterfall with a decent amount of water flowing through it.
Everywhere we look, signs of spring are arriving.
When you’re in the Yorkshire Dales, you can always count on an abundance of bare stone barns dotted about the land.
We skirted around the town of Hawes and hopped onto Blea Moor Road, which ultimately takes you to Ingleton and back onto the A65. Views of the magnificent fell Ingleborough entice you all the way along the road.
The area around the Ribblehead Viaduct was jammed with cars. Thankfully, we managed to find a small space to park up and snap some photos of this incredible architectural feat, situated underneath the highest peak of the Yorkshire Dales, Whernside.
Whernside’s eastern face, with a smidge of snow still clinging on. Barely a cloud in the sky.
A Car Drive Around The Dales
It’s not very often that I’m stricken down with the Common Cold but it’s happened this year and has knocked me for six.
I’ve been sick since Thursday this week.
It’s not very often that I’m stricken down with the Common Cold but it’s happened this year and has knocked me for six.
But today, the clouds and rain cleared up and the light was glorious. So Lisabet, being the godsend that she is, offered to drive us around some gorgeous scenery, just so we could get our dosage of being in nature. She’s wonderful like that. We drove from Kendal towards Sedbergh, passing the Howgills along the way and taking shots of the late afternoon light hitting them. Then we turned south from Sedbergh towards Hawes, right in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales, before driving the wonderfully scenic Blea Moor Pass back to Ingleton and home, complete with epic sunset.
Shots taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 with a Fujinon XC 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS lens. Accompanied by a lot of snot.