Lake District Landscapes - Cockley Beck Bridge

[caption id="attachment_1480" align="aligncenter" width="950"] Under Cockley Beck Bridge[/caption]

Landscapes

Hunting for more Lake District landscapes again!

This place is a little more involved to get to than some of the other places we've been, in the Lake District, but is definitely worth the effort.

Landscape photography can be all consuming but you need to stay safe in remote areas so check for local advice before setting off, if it has been snowing or the weather is particularly bad as, I believe, the passes can be closed for safety. Also, if your clutch is "dodgy" be careful on the passes!!

Driving down from Wrynose Pass, where Wrynose Bottom meets the road to Hardknott Pass, will bring you to Cockley Beck.

A picturesque stone bridge crosses the River Duddon here. When the river is flowing well it produces a nice cascade right under the bridge that can't be seen from the road.

Feet wet for this one.

 

The Shot

We crossed the bridge and parked up, I climbed over the wall and down to the river to get this shot of the cascade.

The light was difficult on this one so this shot is a composite of three shots (brackets) to make the most of the landscapes beyond the bridge. It was hand-blended using luminosity masks and colour-range masks before being polished in Nik Color-Efex

 

Links

Wikipedia information on Cockley Beck

Info on walkthefells.net

Cockley Beck Farm & Cottage

Check out one of our other Lake District Posts from Birks Bridge

 

Getting there ...

Lake District Landscapes - Birks Bridge, Duddon Valley

Birks Bridge

[caption id="attachment_953" align="alignleft" width="200"] Birks Bridge[/caption]

We came across Birks Bridge, and the gorge it spans, purely by chance as we drove through the Duddon Valley hunting for landscapes, en-route to shoot at another location. It was raining and we'd been up early so we pulled over in the small "layby" next to the bridge to crack open the flask of coffee.

It had been raining all night and we could see the River Duddon was in full spate so, after coffee, we decided to take a look over the bridge. The water gushing through the gorge was much deeper than we had expected, a crystal blue colour in places, and the cascade from upstream was impressive.

Landscapes

So, out came the gear and we set up for a quick shot. I had convinced myself that I could climb down a small path to a ledge, on the upstream side, just under the bridge, for a dramatic angle. In reality it was probably just a fox track and would have been dangerous (and Jill wouldn't let me), so we settled for the safety of the bridge.

 

 

[caption id="attachment_954" align="alignleft" width="200"] Birks Bridge Mono[/caption]

 

A tight crop focussed on the upstream cascade just before it passed under the bridge and produced one of our favourite printed landscapes.

 

What's your favourite - Colour or Black 'n' White??

A7r, f11, ISO 125, 47mm, 0.5 secs

 

Colour and mono prints available in our shop

 

 

 

 

birks bridge, landscape, lakes, lake district, water, river, duddon valley, duddon, print

Links

National Trust - Birks Bridge

Wild Swimming - Birks Bridge

If you like our Lake District landscapes then check out another post - Lake District Landscapes - Skelwith Bridge

 

Getting there ...