Mallerstang & Smardale, Cumbria, Summer
The British summer heatwave has arrived.
The British summer heatwave has arrived.
I took the opportunity for a long overdue stay over at my Dad’s, so that we could enjoy a lovely wander in the glorious British sunshine during the weekend.
After considering the potential busyness of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, we agreed to two outings: the first in the beautiful Mallerstang valley, and the second in Smardale.
Technically Mallerstang falls in the Yorkshire Dales these days, but it is often ignored in favour of some of Dales’ more popular southern hotspots. Smardale, especially Smardale Gill, is a remote and deep valley just outside Kirkby Lonsdale. It features a gorgeous viaduct crossing the valley, the Smardale Gill Viaduct.
In between each excursion, we visited Kirkby Stephen for delicious food.
A crackin’ weekend.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–f3.8 zoom and my Laowa 9mm f/2.8 prime. RAWs developed in Capture One for iPad, finished in Affinity Photo.
Mallerstang
Parking up near Aisgill in Mallerstang, I can never ignore this road’s view towards Wild Boar Fell.
Not a bad view if you’re on the Settle–Carlisle line, eh?
Our goal on this hike around Mallerstang was to get onto the Pennine Bridleway and eventually towards the Water Cut sculpture. Along the way, we diverted to get a view of Hell Gill Force, which with the lack of rain looked rather pitiful.
Happy cows staring quizzically at us from across the beck.
A dry Hell Gill Beck reveals the riverbed formations its been carving. Further up the beck as you go up the fellside, the river has cut an impressive gorge that I’d like to explore one day.
Various parts of the Mallerstang valley have been fenced off from livestock, allowing meadows to flourish full of flowers.
Up on the Pennine Bridleway! This is a section of the bridleway known as A Pennine Journey, once walked and described by famed walker Alfred Wainwright.
An oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus), unusually high up and inland compared to its preferred breeding grounds near the coast.
As well as oystercatchers, and plenty of sheep, circling above us were Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus), noisily warding us away from their chicks/nest.
Our destination comes into view, and the panorama starts to open up.
This sculpture, found on the Pennine Bridleway, is called “Watercut” by Mary Bourne. The watery gap that divides the sculpture utilises the changing sky to echo the ever-changing flow of water.
It’s hard to resist playing with the cut for photographic compositions.
Across the valley, Wild Boar Fell rises steeply into the sky at 2,323 ft (708 m) high.
The Pennine Bridleway continues down the valley, with Mallerstang Edge above. We elected to trace our footsteps back to the car.
Swarth Fell and the many gills that cut into its fellside.
Smardale Gill
After refuelling with drink and food at Kirkby Stephen, we parked up at Smardale to walk through the nature reserve towards the epic Smardale Gill Viaduct.
Flies followed and pestered us all the way. Nevertheless, Dad managed to spot and nab a superb photo of a toad, and we finally reached the viaduct, granting us views such as this.
Smardale Gill Viaduct was built in 1861, crossing the Pennines to carry coke to the iron and steel furnaces in the Barrow area and West Cumberland. It carried the railway 90 feet (27m) high above the valley and was constructed of locally quarried sandstone. The viaduct has 14 arches of 30 feet span, and a total length of 553 feet (c170m).
High above us, passing clouds created gorgeous gradients of light and shadow across the fellsides.
In the distance is Green Bell, one of the Howgills near Ravenstonedale.
The line was closed in 1962, after British steelmaking finished. For over twenty years the viaduct stood disused, deteriorating from lack of maintenance and exposure to the weather. British Rail wanted to demolish it but instead Eden District Council listed it. In 1989 the Northern Viaduct Trust was setup and in the Autumn of 1992 it was formally handed over to the Trust as a permissible footpath. It has required repair work numerous times since, and still does.
Did you like these photos?
Mallerstang & Smardale, Cumbria, Summer by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
