Arnside, Cumbria, Summer
I hope everyone had a lovely Summer Solstice.
I hope everyone had a lovely Summer Solstice.
When it comes to nature and the Summer Solstice, Lisabet and I are fortunate to have a variety of options on our doorstep. With a clear and cloudless evening ahead we decided on the expansive views offered at Arnside.
Arnside is a proper bonny seaside village located on the banks of the Kent Estuary, which eventually spills out into Morecambe Bay. Arnside features a ½ km long viaduct that carries trains across the estuary, and Arnside Tower; a peel tower, built in the 14th/15th century. Another curiosity is the Arnside Bore, a very fast rising tidal bore that occurs most high tides. People often watch the bore from the shoreline, marvelling at the faster-than-walking speed of the tide as Morecambe Bay refills the Kent Estuary every high tide.
For our evening, we just took a gentle meandering stroll along the shoreline of Arnside, enjoying the light and scenes as the sun set on the longest day of the year.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Sony FE 28–70mm f3.5–5.6 OSS zoom and Rokinon 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC prime lenses. RAWs were developed in Lightroom, processed in Photomatix, and finalised in Photoshop.
Arnside, Cumbria, Summer by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The gentle curves of the Arnside shoreline catches the golden sunset light, serving as a leading line towards the Arnside Viaduct and the distant Lake District fells beyond.
Probably my favourite shot of the evening. A small channel in the sand provides a nice leading line towards the sunset as onlookers from the pier enjoying the solstice.
Beached buoys provide a nice foreground subject as the sun gently sinks behind the fells.
A tighter composition focusing on this tidal channel as it reflects the fiery sunset light.
Back on the road, I equip my ultra-wide for this composition in the dying light of the day.
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Scout Scar, Lake District, Spring
2022 has been fuckin’ wild so far.
2022 has been fuckin’ wild so far.
But finally, things are a bit happier. Family members that had been in hospital for separate issues are now home and recuperating.
It’s been stressful, and there have been somber conversations.
Let’s hope the 2nd half of 2022 improves.
We’ve got my Better Half’s sister staying with us for a while. She, too, is a photographer, and considerably more established and talented than me. Today, the sun rose and a glorious spring/summer’s day was upon us. We all, keenly, felt the need to be out in nature. What better way than to explore our own back garden as it were? Up to Scout Scar we go!
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my three prime lenses and a new lens (more on that further in the post): a Fujinon 23mm f/2.0, a Laowa 9mm f/2.8, and an adapted Pentax SMC 55mm f/2.0. Developed in Lightroom, finished in Affinity Photo.
Heading up Helsington Laithes, a scene of serene summery simplicity.
How about this for r/RuralPorn?
Finally, up the back of Scout Scar and over its spine to enjoy the extensive views across the Lyth Valley towards the Lake District fells.
A lone tree growing out of the limestone acts as a nice “signpost”, pointing at the Lake District fells.
I never get tired of the sheer drop from the cliffs of Scout Scar.
Looking back south. The atmosphere was so clear that we could easily make out the Kent Estuary, which leads out to Morecambe Bay, with Arnside Knott above it.
The Kentmere and Longsleddale fells using the limestone cliffs as a leading towards them.
I think this is one of the bigger vertical drops along Scout Scar, highlighted by the tiny people waltzing along the top.
I think these might Helianthemum nummularium, or Common rock-rose. They apparently prefer dry, base-rich soil, and as limestone—which is what Scout Scar is made of— contains a lot of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3), an alkaline material, this would make sense.
I can tell I’ve not been up Scout Scar much during the late spring/summer, because I had no idea there were so many beautiful flowers along the cliff tops! My ultra-wide angle lens had a lot of fun.
A 3-shot vertorama featuring the nick and drop of Hodgson’s Leap with the Lyth Valley and the Lakeland fells beyond.
It’s so good for the brain to see everything looking so green again.
Beyond the nick of Hodgson’s Leap, Lisabet and her sister were motoring on ahead, heading towards the Mushroom. In the distance, the Kentmere fells, clear as a bell.
View after view after view. It’s hard to pick just one.
The Lake District fells, with the Langdale Pikes in the centre, shot from the summit of Scout Scar, which is crowned by the Mushroom shelter.
Back down the back of Scout Scar, with the Howgills looking lovely.
After we made it back to town and refuelled with coffee and lunch, we browsed some of the charity shops. In the window of Oxfam, I spotted a Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f/2.8–f/3.8 zoom “macro” lens, made for the Pentax K/Ricoh mount. I already have a Pentax SMC 55mm f/2.0 with the relevant adapter to mount on my Fujifilm X-T2, so this zoom lens would work too. It included the box case, plus manual and beautifully made leather pouch case. And all for £30! So I nabbed it! And the above is a shot using my new lens, zoomed in all the way to 105mm. Bargain!
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Scout Scar, New Year’s Day, Lake District, Winter
Happy New Year everyone! Here’s to a joyous and—hopefully—more globally positive 2022.
Happy New Year everyone! Here’s to a joyous and—hopefully—more globally positive 2022.
The weather has been… weird. In fact, the UK set a new temperature record for New Year’s Eve, reaching as high as 16.5ºC. That is uncharacteristically warm. Temperatures maintained their elevated levels on New Year’s Day, too, but high winds also arrived. After a decent lie in, Lisabet and I decided on a local favourite to enjoy the first day of the new year: Scout Scar.
The last time we went up Scout Scar was almost exactly a month ago, and conditions could not have been more different. For New Year’s Day we took the time-honoured route up Captain French Lane and onto Brigsteer Road, following that all the way to the back of Scout Scar. Then, it’s a simple exercise of following the trail up the gentle slope of Scout Scar all the way until you reach it’s precipitous drop down to the Lyth Valley.
The wind was roaring all around us and views were obscured by haze and low cloud covering the Lake District fells. However, the sun was trying its hardest to burst out in between the rushing clouds. There were other sounds that were less familiar as we approached the summit… more rhythmical, and human. Turns out that Drum Nation Kendal had arrived at the summit for a joyous New Year’s Day drum performance on the fell.
Unexpected? Absolutely. But very awesome.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using two of my prime lenses: a Fujinon 23mm f/2.0 and an adapted Pentax SMC 55mm f/2.0. All images made in-camera using a customised Classic Chrome recipe, with finalisations made in Apple Photos, Pixelmator, and Darkroom.
Heading up one of the steeper roads in Kendal, Captain French Lane.
Crossing over the A591 via Brigsteer Road, cars struggling to drive straight in the powerful crosswinds.
Looking back to Kendal, and you barely make out the slopes of Benson Knott, Kendal’s most prominent fell.
The Scout Scar landscape is one of limestone and sparse clusters of small trees.
Plenty of other folk were heading up Scout Scar for a New Year’s Day yomp, despite the roaring wind.
As we crested onto the plateau of Scout Scar, it became clear there was an immense light show occurring over the Lyth Valley and the Kent Estuary.
My lovely Lisabet, fighting the storm near the cliff edge at Hodgson’s Leap to nab some crackin’ light.
The swirling clouds, full of moisture, suffused the sunlight, and drenched the winter limestone landscape in golden light.
Away from the sun, the view north along Hodgson’s Leap to the “mushroom” on the summit of Scout Scar is always a good ‘un.
The sun catches the cliffs of Scout Scar briefly, whilst the Lyth Valley and the the Lakeland Fells remain shrouded in dark foreboding clouds.
We work our way north along the cliffs of Scout Scar, taking in whatever views we could find, and generally enjoying the dramatic conditions.
It’s a long way down…
A reminder of what was happening behind us. A lot of the Lyth Valley was still flooded after recent downpours.
Our ears prick up at a more unfamiliar sound near the Scout Scar summit. Was that… drumming?
Why yes, yes it is!
Drum Nation Kendal, the epitome of fun, competing with the wind on volume.
Everyone was having so much fun.
Gathering round for the finale.
One last look at the spectacular light show over the Lyth Valley and Kent Estuary.
The legacy of Postman Pat in Kendal. Did you know?
Arnside, Cumbria, Summer
I’ve been guilty of overlooking Arnside in the past.
I’ve been guilty of overlooking Arnside in the past.
Lisabet and I have visited Arnside many times, largely for its chippy, but also because it’s the nearest place for us to access the coastline. It’s at Arnside where the River Kent becomes the Kent estuary and drains into Morecambe Bay. Much of the coast around the village of Arnside is therefore mostly comprised of mudflats and quicksand.
But there is so much more to Arnside, once a busy port. For a start there’s Arnside Knott (159 m/522 ft), which Lisabet and I decided to hike up recently. In comparison to the Lakeland fells it’s really not that big, but Arnside Knott makes up for it with incredible panoramic views. The knott is made from limestone, like a lot of rocky outcrops around Morecambe Bay, and features windswept trees bent into weird and fantastic shapes.
Arnside Knott is also surrounded by dense woodland, which we explored. After enjoying the views from Arnside Knott we descended the steep tracks down to Far Arnside, then followed the coastal path back to Arnside courtesy of a narrow, winding, and undulating track with incredible views and amazing coastal woodlands.
All photos shot on a Fujifilm X-T2 with a 16–50mm f/3.5–5.6 lens using a customised Classic Chrome film simulation.
The way up to the summit of Arnside Knott.
Windswept trees looking like they’ve been blasted by a shockwave, shot from the near the summit of Arnside Knott and the views it enjoys.
Lisabet’s happy place: the sea. The shore at Far Arnside is made of smoothed limestone scree, which makes glittering and trickling sounds when the waves lap over it.
The start of the coastal path from Far Arnside back to Arnside. The views across Morecambe Bay get better and better.
Families enjoying the craggy shore near Far Arnside.
My lovely Lisabet, in her element.
A couple enjoy a swim in the sea of Morecambe Bay. In the distance, across the bay, you can make out Grange-over-Sands in Cumbria.
The woodland around the coastal path from Far Arnside to Arnside is largely made up of Ash (Fraxinus excelsior). However, these Ash trees are unusual in that they grow tall and skinny, rather than broad and spread out.
Gorgeous coastline that I never knew existed around Arnside.
Where we came from, looking back towards Lancaster and even making out the sloping hills of the Forest of Bowland.
Arnside Knott above the landscape.