It’s nice to revisit the more quiet parts of the Dales.
Parts of the Yorkshire Dales, and most of the Lake District, can get very busy during the summer. Thankfully there are still plenty of places in the Dales that see very little traffic.
One of my favourites is Mallerstang.
Made up of only a few scattered hamlets and farming settlements, the valley is hemmed in by Mallerstang Edge on one side and the shapely Wild Boar Fell on the other.
Not only is the landscape gorgeous, there’s a decent bit of history. Our walk on this occasion took in the ruins of the well-visited Pendragon Castle as well as the less-visited ruins of Lammerside Castle.
And a crackin’ day for it all too.
All photos taken on my iPhone 17 Pro Max. RAWs developed in Lightroom, then edited and finalised in Photoshop.
Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire, Summer © 2026 by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Two trees next to Pendragon Castle offered a lovely frame and view towards Wild Boar’s Fell pyramidal shape, as seen north of it.
A wider composition, taking part of the old ruins of Pendragon Castle with Wild Boar Fell framed between the trees.
An ultra-wide composition takes in the full scale of the ruins of Pendragon Castle. The legend goes that the castle was built by Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur. In actuality, the castle was built in the 1100s by Ranulph de Meschines, during the reign of King William Rufus.
After enjoying the atmosphere of the ruins it was time to locate the Pennine Bridleway towards our next destination. I snapped this composition for scale with my lovely Lisabet taking a snap and the Mallerstang wall of fells rising above in the distance.
A good part of the western side of Mallerstang is made of limestone. As a result there’s a couple of old abandoned lime kilns dotted around the landscape.
Looking back at where we came from, Wild Boar Fell just peeking above the moorland.
Our destination: Lammerside Castle, with a sliver of light breaking through the thick clouds and scanning across the rolling curves of the landscape.
Another look back at where we came from, before crossing the field towards Lammerside Castle. To the right is the bulk of Birkett Common, and in the distance is the wall of Mallerstang Edge.
Carefully avoiding the bullocks resting near the ruins, we clambered up the hillside above Lammerside Castle for a break and some food, additionally shooting compositions as the light changed played with the scene.
Lammerside Castle is strictly speaking a medieval tower house, built during the 1100s or 1200s by the Warcop family. It was abandoned during the 1500s.
Heading back to Pendragon Castle, the light increasing improved. I made this composition of the Penine Bridleway as Wild Boar Fell re-emerged above the moorland.
The ruins of Pendragon Castle, bathed in light, nature slowly reclaiming it.
Golden light picks out the creases and folds of the landscape as the wall of Mallerstang Edge rises above in darkness.
