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.
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.
Did you like these photos?
Walltown Crags, Northumberland, Autumn
There’s so much history in the UK that it can sometimes be hard to separate the work of man from nature.
There’s so much in history in the UK that it can sometimes be hard to separate the work of man from nature.
With a beautiful autumnal weekend on the horizon, Lisabet and I set out to meet up with my Dad for a hike somewhere new: Walltown Country Park in Northumberland.
Two things piqued our interest in this place. Firstly, there’s a great section of Hadrian’s Wall to explore here. And secondly, an art sculpture—known as APERTURA—was set up near the wall as part of celebrating 1,900 years since Hadrian’s Wall was built. Isn’t that astounding?
We couldn’t have asked for better conditions. The day was bright, but not harsh; crisp, but not cold; colourful, but not garish. The staff and volunteers at Walltown Country Park couldn’t have been more helpful and friendly, and exploring this section of Hadrian’s Wall and its turrets was absolutely fascinating.
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 ultra-wide prime lenses. RAWs converted in Capture One for iPad, developed in RNI Films, and finished in Affinity Photo for iPad.
Walltown Crags, Northumberland, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Did you like these photos?
Cunswick Scar, Lake District, Summer
After a wet week, it was nice to get up on the fells above Kendal.
After a wet week, it was nice to get up on the fells above Kendal.
On the Sunday, Lisabet had a series of obligations to attend to, so I took the opportunity for a solo hike. As Kendal sits in a valley (Kent + Dale, that is, “the valley of the river Kent”), it is flanked east and west by small fells. On the western side of the valley the ground gently rises up before terminating in a series of limestone cliffs plunging down to the Lyth Valley. The main fell here is Scout Scar, a local favourite, but a smaller sibling can be found further north: Cunswick Scar.
On this occasion my route to the summit was a fairly standard one: head up through the winding paths and roads through Kendal to the Helsfell Nab path. Follow the path all the way up and around Helsfell Nab, cross the bridge over the A591, and continue on the gently rising trail all the way to the summit cairn of Cunswick Scar.
A beautiful summer’s day.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–f3.8 lens. RAWs converted in Capture One for iPad, developed in RNI Films, finished in Affinity Photo for iPad.
Cunswick Scar, Lake District, Summer by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Did you like these photos?
Sedbergh Meadows, Cumbria, Summer
British weather has returned to its unpredictable norm since the heatwave.
British weather has returned to its unpredictable norm since the heatwave.
This has made getting out for good long hikes—either during the weekends or in the evenings—difficult. We’ve had periods of torrential downpours, almost monsoon-like.
Britain gets more tropical by the year.
Finally, yesterday evening, an opportunity arose to vacate Kendal for a nice hike around Sedbergh and its gorgeous meadow fields underneath the Howgills.
The good light didn’t last long… but it was long enough.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using a Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–f3.8 zoom lens. RAWs converted in Capture One for iPad, developed in RNI Films, finalised in Affinity Photo for iPad.
Sedbergh Meadows, Cumbria, Summer by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Did you like these photos?
Gowbarrow, Lake District, Spring
Spring has changed very quickly in the UK.
Spring has changed very quickly in the UK.
A couple of weeks ago temperatures barely rose above 10ºC, often settling in at around 5–7ºC. Within the last week, temperatures have suddenly risen to 15ºC with clear skies and barely a breeze. Today, the weather nearly hit 20ºC.
Spring is very weird in the UK these days. That gradual transition from winter to spring doesn’t seem to happen anymore. Instead, after months of sub-5ºC conditions and plenty of rain, you’ll get a week in March or April where it feels a switch has been flicked and temperatures suddenly leap 10 degrees.
Weird.
Well, with a rare free day in current circumstances, Lisabet and I decided to get up early and head to Ullswater for a steep but rewarding hike up Gowbarrow Fell. The last time we visited this fell was back in April of 2021. The weather could not have been more different.
Thankfully, on this occasion, all of my batteries were fully charged and working. What a glorious morning’s hike we had.
All photos shot 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. Images made 80% in-camera using the Velvia film simulation, then finished off in Affinity Photo.
Helsfell Nab, Kendal, Cumbria, Spring
This weekend, it really feels like Spring has arrived.
This weekend, it really feels like Spring has arrived.
Temperatures rose to the mid-teens, finally, and the skies have cleared up. The daffodils are out in full, and this year’s lambs are alternatively dosing in the sun and sucking at their mums.
Despite everything going on in the world—globally, locally, familially—Lisabet and I managed to get out for a good walk in the local area. I’ll never take living in Kendal for granted; 10 minutes out from the front door, and I can be hiking up the fellside with vast views in every direction.
I am very, very fortunate.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Fujinon 23mm f/2.0 and my adapted Pentax SMC 55mm f/2.0. Images developed in Lightroom, finished in Affinity Photo.