Feizor, Yorkshire Dales, Spring
I don’t explore the Yorkshire Dales enough.
I don’t explore the Yorkshire Dales enough.
After finally getting over my post-Skye mourning and depression period, it seemed like spring finally arrived in Northern England.
Aware of how busy the Lake District would be, we instead ventured east to the Yorkshire Dales. We quickly realised that we hadn’t explored the Feizor area of the Dales in a long time, like maybe 7-years or so. Time to fix that.
Feizor (pronounced “FAY-zer”) is a tiny l’al hamlet between Austwick and Settle, and easy to miss. Home to a few houses, a farm, and the famous Elaine’s Tearoom, rising high above the hamlet are the limestone fells of Pott Scar and Smearsett Scar. These were the focus of the day’s hike and exploration.
Pott Scar and Smearsett Scar were beautiful examples of limestone karst landscapes, but they also offered immense views to either the back of Ingleborough or the shapely Pen-y-ghent.
A super day.
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 developed in Lightroom, then tweaked and finalised in Photoshop.
Feizor, Yorkshire Dales, Spring by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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Trotternish Peninsula, Isle of Skye, Scotland, Spring
The last series of photos from our Skye spring 2024 trip.
The last series of photos from our Skye spring 2024 trip.
There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to post these, because it concludes in a way that we’re no longer on Skye.
And that is always painful.
For this post, I’ve assembled a rag-tag of photos taken from around Skye’s Trotternish peninsula that didn’t really fit in with other posts. This includes:
Duntulm Bay, with the epic ruins of Duntulm Castle perched on top of cliffs of volcanic sill
The ridiculously clear views we got from near the Flodigarry coast, across the sea to the Torridon mountains on the mainland
I hope you enjoy these photo as much as I enjoyed seeing and taking them.
All photos shot on my Sony α7ii using my Pentax SMC 28mm F3.5 prime lens and Vivitar “Series 1” 70–210mm f2.8–4.0 zoom lens. RAWs developed in Lightroom, then edited and finalised in Photoshop.
Trotternish Peninsula, Isle of Skye, Scotland, Spring by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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Oronsay, Isle of Skye, Scotland, Spring
We’ve only been to the tiny isle of Oronsay once before.
We’ve only been to the tiny isle of Oronsay once before.
This was back in autumn 2020, before the 2nd pandemic lockdown happened.
Conditions on that occasion were cloudy, flat, and grey. But still, the scenery and views were stunning and we vowed to return again.
And so we did, this time with bright spring skies. A world of difference!
Oronsay can be found in Loch Bracadale, along with lots of other little islands, sandwiched in between the Duirinish and Minginish peninsulas. It’s possible to access Oronsay on foot via a tidal causeway consisting of ankle-breaking fist-sized rocks.
Though only 44 acres in size, it features cliffs 240 ft high, which means it offers incredible views to either the cliffs and hills of the Duirinish peninsula, or the cliffs and Cuillins of the Minginish peninsula.
We didn’t see another soul.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Pentax SMC 28mm F3.5 prime and Vivitar “Series 1” 70–210mm f2.8–4.0 zoom lenses. RAWs developed in Lightroom using RNI Films’ Kodachrome film profiles, edited and finalised in Photoshop.
Oronsay, Isle of Skye, Scotland, Spring by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland, Spring
For our 1st full day in Skye, we gradually eased ourselves in.
For our 1st full day in Skye, we gradually eased ourselves in.
Driving 7–8 hours can take it out of you.
So, with pleasing light conditions, we aimed straight for arguably the island’s main settlement, Portree. There’s a fairly well-known hike one can do from Portree, known as the Scorrybreac circuit. You head northeast out of town, take the coastal path below the cliffs of Ben Chracaig, navigate around the corner at Sgeir Mhòe, and follow the coastline towards Toravaig, with magnificent views down the Sound of Raasay and the cliffs of Sìthean a’ Bhealaich Chumhaing. Then it’s a question of hiking up the sharp ascent to Ben Chracaig and onto the path and road back down to Portree.
The views and light around the walk were stunning. Glamaig of the Red Cuillins was coated in snow and clear as a bell.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Pentax SMC 28mm F3.5 prime lens and Vivitar “Series 1” 70–210mm f2.8–4.0 zoom lens. RAWs developed in Lightroom, then edited and finalised in Photoshop.
Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland, Spring by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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Staffin, Isle of Skye, Scotland, Spring
The sheer variety along Skye’s coastline is ridiculous.
The sheer variety along Skye’s coastline is ridiculous.
Basalt columnar cliffs? Billion-year old boulders? White sand? Knife-edge sea stacks? Waterfalls? Sea caves? Skye’s got it all.
And—at An Corran, Staffin—there is the “Jurassic coast”.
As I’ve mentioned on this site before, Staffin’s An Corran gained national attention in 2002 when a local couple walking along the coast noticed a large three-toed lizard-like footprint in a slab of rock. Further exploration uncovered additional dinosaur footprints. Turns out that were likely produced by a creature akin to a Megalosaurus. These fossils are estimated to be around 160 million years old, which makes them the most recent dinosaur relics found in Scotland.
This is the main draw of An Corran. But for us, we were more interested in the cliffs and the coastline.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Pentax SMC 28mm F3.5 prime lens. RAWs developed in Lightroom, then edited and finalised in Photoshop.
Staffin, Isle of Skye, Scotland, Spring by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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The Quiraing, Isle of Skye, Scotland, Spring
It’s so hard to ignore the Quiraing when you’re on Skye.
It’s so hard to ignore the Quiraing when you’re on Skye.
Comprising the northernmost aspect of the Trotternish peninsula landslip, the Quiraing is a true marvel. It features sheer cliffs 150 m tall, emotive and otherworldly geological formations such as the Prison, the Needle, and Table, as well as individual peaks formed from ancient landslips such as Cleat and Bioda Buidhe.
We approached the Quiraing from two separate sides. On one day we took the short and steep route into the Quiraing via Flodigarry, the eastern side. On another day we returned and hiked the more conventional tourist route. Both offer equally astounding scenes.
One day, we’ll be able to walk the entire Quiraing, in all its treacherously steep glory.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Rokinon 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC and Pentax SMC 28mm F3.5 prime lenses. RAWs developed in Lightroom, then edited and finalised in Photoshop.
The Quiraing, Isle of Skye, Scotland, Spring by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0