January has been freezing and storm-ridden.
It’s a month not many are fans of, as it seems to drag on endlessly. But, hark!, February has arrived, and a bright Saturday revealed itself to us. Where to go?
I’ve had a hankering for some limestone pavement action so, after a bite in Ingleton, we made our way into the Dales at Chapel-le-Dale to hike up to, and around, the Southerscales Nature Reserve.
Some 300+ metres below the summit of Ingleborough, one can find a variety of limestone pavements exposed by millennia of erosion. Among, and within, the “clints” and “grikes” of the limestone pavements, you can find all manner of nationally rare flora and fauna.
It’s another world here, where every step must be carefully considered lest you slip and snap an ankle or, worse, find yourself tumbling down an exposed pothole. Speaking of, we also made a small detour towards a nearby cave, Great Douk, a well-known beginner-friendly cave. On this occasion we decided not to clamber down the chasm towards the cave entrance, as the going underfoot was rather slippery and muddy. Another time.
Conditions were hazier than expected, with the wind growing increasingly blustery as the afternoon went on. However, that also made for some lovely light, picking out all the beautiful forms and shapes of the limestone, with Ingleborough constantly wrestling with the clouds.
A gorgeous afternoon.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Sony 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS lens. RAWs developed in Lightroom, merged in Photomatix, and edited and finalised in Photoshop.
Above the path towards Great Douk Cave, we spotted a nice outcrop of exposed limestone making for a nice composition. The woodland you can to the left is what surrounds the chasm that houses Great Douk Cave. In the distance is the long ridge of Simon Fell that leads to the main top of Ingleborough.
Up on the clints and grikes of Southerscales Scar, my lovely Lisabet spots a composition with these three trees and Whernside looming in the distance. A burst of low afternoon light casts gold on the scene and picks out all the beautiful forms and textures of the limestone pavement.
We clambered up onto the next plateau and a drone-esque composition reveals itself to us. The full expanse of this part of Southerscales Scar becomes apparent, with Whernside—the Dales’ tallest peak—rising up and tussling with the clouds. The Yorkshire Dales, in all its rugged beauty.
Above and east of Southerscales Scar, another small section of bog and limestone pavement is available at Douk Cave Pasture. This area sits right above Great Douk Cave. It’s a weird sensation to think that, below your feet and underneath all these clints and grikes, is a myriad of cave systems.
I was having too much fun finding spots where the clints seem to point towards particularly deep grikes. Shooting right into the sun is always tricky, so I made sure to take multiple exposures.
The last deep grike I could find, with more of Ingleborough’s unmistakeable shape being revealed from the clouds. Give it several thousands of years and these grikes will become new potholes down into the caves.
Back near the car at Chapel-le-Dale, I take one final look back at the magnificent Ingleborough and the cloud shelf sitting on top. Crackin’ scenes to round off a lovely day.