Lingmoor Fell, Lake District, Winter
I’ve been wanting to get into the snowy mountains for a while.
I’ve been wanting to get into the snowy mountains for a while.
As I’d accrued a fairly significant amount of flexi-time at work, I used it to take a mid-week day off and headed into Lake District.
Lingmoor Fell is a small hill I’ve had my eye on for quite some time. It’s only a modest fell, standing at 469 m (1,540 ft) a.s.l., but what it lacks in height it more than makes up with the sensational views it offers. Lingmoor Fell’s isolated position in the Central Lake District—separating Great Langdale from Little Langdale—means some of the finest panoramas in all the Lake District can be found on this small fell.
Though I ultimately didn’t feel confident or skilled enough to properly summit Lingmoor in the current sub-zero temperatures, I nevertheless managed ascending the fell’s shoulders and obtained some absolutely crackin’ photos.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–3.8 zoom and Laowa 9mm f2.8 prime lenses. Shot using the camera’s Classic Chrome film simulation, edited in Capture One for iPad, and finished in Affinity Photo 2 for iPad.
Lingmoor Fell, Lake District, Winter by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The start of the walk ascends the fellside from Elterwater village, through winding country roads that have become a winter wonderland, totally frozen.
After navigating the country roads and Sawrey’s Wood, you soon emerge onto the open fellside with wonderful views across Great Langdale towards the Grasmere fells.
The tiny village of Chapel Stile in the Great Langdale valley, with the rusty, craggy fells looming high above in the morning winter light.
Lots of quarrying has happened around the slopes of Lingmoor Fell, and continues to this day (though on a much smaller scale). I sneaked into this disused quarry largely for the icicles.
The old miner’s track provided a clear way up the fell. The day was crisp and bitingly cold, with the moon clear above. My destination was the peak illuminated by the sun.
It didn’t take long before I came across the Lake District’s famous sheep, Herdwicks. The path continued up to the left.
Herdwicks are such posers. They know they’re pretty.
Up on the shoulder of Lingmoor Fell the views instantly open up in all directions. Here the rusty bracken and crags of Lingmoor Fell provide a nice contrast to the distant wintery views of Ambleside and the Kentmere fells.
Over the wall, towards Grasmere, Fairfield can now clearly be seen with a dusting of frost on its flat summit.
Herdwicks graze upon the scant vegetation of a crag. The ridge of Lingmoor Fell is totally lined with this drystone wall, making it easy to navigate along the fell.
I turned away from summiting Lingmoor Fell as the path quickly become a long sheet of ice. Instead, I skirted around its shoulder towards some disused quarries. Here, Wetherlam and Swirl How revealed their wintery magnificence to me.
I took a water break near this crag and started crawling around it with my ultra-wide angle lens, looking for compositions involving those beautiful wintery mountains.
This one’s probably the best of the bunch.
Heading back down the old miner’s track, I catch a glimpse of one the axe-like peaks of the Langdale Pikes, and line up a composition.
Not a bad place for a cottage, eh?
Back on the winding country roads towards Elterwater village.
What a crackin’ day.
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Coldstones Cut & Almscliffe Crag, North Yorkshire, Spring
Yorkshire’s a beautiful county, isn’t it?
Yorkshire's a beautiful county, isn't it?
Living in Kendal as we do, we enjoy closer access to the Yorkshire Dales, an area in North Yorkshire we love dearly. But there's plenty more outside of the Dales.
Pateley Bridge, where we stayed at recently, is situated in the Nidderdale AONB, which lies outside of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It's a stunning area in its own right. A 10-minute drive west of Pateley Bridge takes you up onto the moorland where can visit the incredible Coldstones Cut construction.
Further south of Pateley Bridge, near North Rigton, one can find the impressive Almscliffe Crag, a cap of millstone crags and rock formations sitting on top of a small hill. It's popular with rock climbers and boulderers, not to mention a walker's paradise.
On this particular occasion, we visited both areas on a beautiful yet hazy spring day.
All photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my three prime lenses: a Fujinon 23mm f/2.0, a Laowa 9mm f/2.8, and an adapted Pentax SMC 55mm f/2.0. Images made 80% in-camera using the Astia film simulation, then finished off in Lightroom and Affinity Photo.
Coldstones Cut
The entrance to Coldstones Cut, 400m above sea level.
Looking back down the "street" entrance of Coldstones Cut, the sun beaming right at us. Lisabet decided to go full Instagram Mode.
A 5-shot panorama of the view from one of the many view areas at Coldstones Cut. The construction overlooks the imposing Coldstones Quarry, the last remaining quarry in the area that was once dominated by a multitude of limestone quarries. It's estimated the quarry has 15-20 years of productivity left, after which it will be left to green over and return to nature.
Beneath Coldstones Cut and its quarry one can find the ruins of Toft Gate lime kiln. Limestone dug from the hill above was heated by fires in the kiln to produce quicklime for local agriculture through the 19th Century.
Almscliffe Crag
After exploring Coldstones Cut and appreciating the art and views, we ventured south near North Rigton. Here one can enjoy quick access to the imposing Almscliffe Crag.
Though not that busy, and certainly not in Lake District terms, there were still plenty of people milling around the crags. Mostly rock climbers.
Crags and rock formations like these inspire me to whip out my 9mm ultra-wide lens for some unusual and fantastical compositions.
As the crag is made of harder millstone rock, the hill it sits on is isolated from the rest of the land. This helps offer extensive and panoramic views, no matter where on the crags you are.
I appreciated the grit and determination of these rock climbers. I certainly couldn't do it.
Leading lines, curves, and textures ahoy. My happy place.
Lisabet and I clambered around the various nooks and crannies in between the crags, finding interesting views and compositions to photo.
I enjoy getting into precarious situations for those "hard to find" compositions and views.
I shot this primarily for the way the rocks seem to point at the road, which then zigzags off into the distance.
Directly beneath the crag that marks the highest point of the hill.
On the top, the crags have been smoothed out by millennia of erosion from wind and rain.
People cherishing the experience and moment in their own way from the top of Almscliffe Crag.
It's all starting to look beautifully verdant.
A couple and their pooch enjoy the summit views that stretch out for miles and miles.
Hodge Close Quarry, Lake District, Summer
Time for something a little different.
Time for something a little bit different.
The Lake District is obviously world famous for its natural splendour; the lakes, fells, tarn, waterfalls, and everything in between. But beneath the surface of this picture of paradise lies thousands of years of man-made work.
Mining has been a feature in the Lake District landscape for hundreds of years. Copper, graphite, lead, slate… you name it, it’s probably been found and mined for. One of the bigger historical industries in Lakeland was slate mining; I say “historical”, slate mining still occurs at Honister Pass, inside Fleetwith Pike.
Slate was mined extensively in and around the Coniston area, too, particularly in the 19th century when Lake District slate was in demand for “roofing Britain”. Three miles north of beautiful Coniston, one can find one of the biggest leftover workings of slate mining in the whole of the Lake District: Hodge Close Quarry.
Lisabet and I have been meaning to find and explore Hodge Close Quarry for quite some time now. Lisabet’s been before, but many moons ago. I, on the other hand, have only ever had Google Images and Pinterest to go on. We parked up in lay-by just north of Yew Tree Tarn and follow the easy trail northwest, clearly signposted for Hodge Close Quarry. Along the way, one can enjoy frankly spectacular views of the Langdale Pikes and Central Fells of the Lake District. This was an aspect of the hike I had no idea of!
Arriving at Hodge Close Quarry, and taking careful note of all the warning signs, we were greeted by a cavernous scar in the earth; sheer walls dropping 150 ft into a dark pool, itself a depth of around 150 ft. What a wonder; and what work man has performed!
We spent a good couple of hours around the quarry, shooting compositions in the gorgeous evening light. And there was no hardship in retracing our steps back to the car, as the light just better and better.
One of the most beautiful evening walks in the Lake District I’ve had for a while.
All photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my three prime lenses: a Samyang 35mm f/1.2, a Laowa 9mm f/2.8, and an adapted Pentax SMC 55mm f/2.0. Images made 75% in-camera, with RNI Film’s Kodachrome film profile applied afterwards.
The way up to Hodge Close Quarry, via a bridleway known as Smithy Brow. Probably literally named.
I couldn’t tell you what this piece of farming tech is called, but it certainly looked long abandoned.
The first of many delightful scenes available from Smithy Brow. Taking in Lingmoor Fell (469 m/1,539 ft), Pike of Blisco (705 m/2,313 ft), and Bowfell (902 m/2,959 ft).
The view looking towards the northeast, taking in Seat Sandal (736 m/2,415 ft) and Dollywaggon Pike (858 m/2,815 ft).
That wonderful towards the northwest once again, shot near one of the disused farm barns alongside Smithy Brow.
Freshly clipped (sheared) Swaledale sheep, enjoying the grassy offerings around High Oxen Fell.
The area between High Oxen Fell Farm and Hodge Close Quarry is densely wooded and filled with ferns.
Just a lovely scene involving the Lake District’s famous dry stone walls and a knobbly coppice.
Nearing the quarry, we pass through a load of holiday cottages that enjoy spectacular views of the Coniston fells. They were probably all mining buildings once.
The first sight you see of Hodge Close Quarry. Quite the drop, eh? 150 ft down to the dark pool below. A young couple perched on top of the crag gives you a sense of scale.
Thankfully, with my 9mm ultra-wide lens at hand, I was able to capture immense compositions that could feature both the dark pool and the sheer walls of the quarry, all at once.
We scanned along this western edge of the quarry, shooting along the way as the light gradually faded along the top of the crags.
It’s easy to feel weak in the knees when capturing the sheer drop down…
We skirted around the southern and eastern edges of the quarry, nabbing compositions of the chasm with the Langdale fells in the distance.
This is the view the aforementioned young couple would’ve enjoyed.
We joined the Holme Fell trail northwards, looking to reconnect with the Smithy Brow bridleway back to the car. Lush carpets of fern everywhere gives a real “jungle” vibe to this scene.
The setting sun was providing beautiful deep tones of orange when peaking through the canopy and hitting the trees.
Peeping through the head-height ferns for this composition of Black Crag.
My lovely Lisabet, always the perfect accompaniment to any hike.
High Oxen Fell Farm, now property of the National Trust courtesy of Beatrix Potter. Probably built in the 1600s.
The nice thing about retracing the route back was enjoying the views in reverse with even better light.
Low Oxen Fell and Great How, with the gentle sunset light pulling out the contours of the landscape.
What a scene! What light!
Basking in the golden glow.
Layers and layers.