This year, I finally managed to pull off my goal to visit the Lake District in the North of England. However this post covers a detour to a place called Ingleton. It was a road trip that was testing and frustrating at times however the results were worth the relatively minor inconveniences. Six and a half hours is how long it takes to get to the Lake District from London. It's a long drive but manageable (if stopping off for the night in Nottingham for me). This blog is one of two parts, the first covers Ingleton falls.
The Lake District was a place neither of us had explored I was keen to get there. So when my cousin aka Chief navigator decided to detour us to the Yorkshire Dales to tick it off her bucket list I agreed but was skeptic. This meant leaving the lovely motorway and cutting through some towns, with traffic and roadworks etc. I was miserable about this choice. I moaned, complained and moaned again (Sorry) I was keen to see the Dales it was not at the expense of speed. Being stuck in traffic was not my intention I just wanted to arrive a quickly as possible.
Fortunately we got to a place called the Yorkshire Dales according to the map. After learning the guest house could not check us in at 2pm we diverted to a place called Ingleton and followed directions to a sign for waterfalls. It was a good diversion and the detour through this route was a blessing in disguise. A place I never would of met if I had gone the route I wanted to go.
I shortly discovered a photographic competition, being completely ignorant of the size of the trail, I thought I could scout out the place then return when the lighting was better. I was wrong, we were walking for over 4 hours, there was no way I was going to do that again after a long car journey. It was half way through that I decided to just go for it and utilise whatever lightening conditions I had. I honestly regretted not having my tripod (left in the boot), it really would of come in handy to use slow shutter speeds at the falls. But such is life, you have to be willing to adapt, this is literally a skill I definitely need to improve in.
The sections of the trail were varied in appearance, the first part was Swilla Glen. This was essentially a peaceful stream. As it was partially in the shade I made the most of it. We also spotted a money tree, not really picturesque in my opinion, however it seemed to be consisting of 2p, 10p coins that has been hammered into an old tree trunk in a likeness of an armadillo coat of armour.
The first fall was called Pecca falls. It was at this point where a mountain rescue volunteer came rushing down, stating if we had seen a casualty that had fallen down the rocks. Fortunately we had not, neither had the group near us. I was beginning to see this place was no joke. Worried that he had missed the casualty he radioed in, stating where he was and what he had done to locate this injured soul. Only to be told the casualty was with the team getting into the Land Rover. I felt bad for him, the trail is quite challenging and steep, he had been rushing to locate the person in the heat in vain. However the person was alive and being treated, I guess that was more important. We continued nevertheless, reassured that we did not have to assist in a life or death situation.
It was at Thornton Force that I was faced with a dilemma? There were potential lovely photos to be taken, but it meant going calf deep in water minimal. The water feature had rocks covered in algae and most importantly rocks that were not stable. With thousands of pounds of equipment, one slip on the very unstable footing would be all it took to bring an uncomfortable beginning of what was meant to be an adventure. Should I take the risk or not? After a brief assessment, I figured if I was careful I could hold the camera and navigate the slippery rocks whilst wading in the water in the shallow part.
I was now in the place I wanted to be, ready to get fabulous shots. Blaqpix Photography took over and it was on, this was now my studio. I started getting candid shots of everyone at the water feature. Fortunately they did not mind and continued as normal. I was also approached by a young lady to snap her at the falls professionally. I was not expecting an impromptu photo shoot (with the exception of my cousin) not wanting to miss out on the action Anna's younger sibling who kept photobombing got in on the action and got some shots by the falls. It is always good to network. By the end of this part I had literally ran out of business cards. Here are some of the images I took.
We continued on the trail, parched and dehydrated it was a lifeline to see an ice cream van. We knew it would be overpriced, but we didn't care we needed refreshing. We continued on with new strength from the ice creams consumed. We arrived to the waterfall at Beezely. Now this is were it got interesting. There was an edge where we weren’t allowed to go but went anyway (me and the Liverpudlians). We climbed over the fence and proceeded to where there was a small cliff edge over the water pool. For the young adults this was a great place to dive and jump in the water. For me it was a great place to capture images of this. It was quite dangerous however no one got hurt.
These youngsters were very creative, they essentially dammed the waterfall for each other, then releases it as one slide down the waterfall. I was quite impressed with their creativity. I would of never thought of sliding down a waterfall, sounds too scary to me.
It seemed like a lifetime but we eventually finished the trail. Arriving in the town centre, where the trail came to an end and we were able to get refreshments at reasonable prices and rehydrate. The highlights of this adventure would not of been possible without my chief navigator, so shout out to my little cousin. Here are some of the images I will be submitting for the competition. I decided to have four categories, nature, abstract, landscape and people.
Sometimes great things can come out of inconveniences. This trip is a classic example, we got stuck in traffic and could not check in, but we got an experience of a lifetime. A little risk here and there reaped some excellent rewards.
In my next post on this series I will be showing the pictures and stories from my trip to the Lake district. The catch is you will need to wait 2 weeks. Please feel free to comment in the box below, subscribe and share on social media.
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