With so much horrible wet weather around lately, let’s celebrate a recent rare clear sunny day and how I made good use of it… I set off on foot from my Lancaster home and walked along the southern bank of River Lune joining the old railway line to Glasson Dock. This is a really lovely walk, a good five miles, but gloriously flat and relatively mud-free under foot.
Flooded and frozen.
The embankment between river and flooded fields.
Flooded fields still very much in evidence on the edge of the city. Don’t forget the one third/two thirds rule for the horizon to give a well balanced photo. The gate gives a focal point and the fence leads the eye into the image. Of course it wouldn’t have been so interesting without the lovely shades of blue.
A startling amount of debris deposited by the swollen river.
I was struck by the mini tsunami-like debris of wood and litter washed up where the river had flooded, some of which would make for great firewood. A man with a van was spotted gathering it!
Access for ducks or fool-hardy ice skaters only here!
The only bridge over the old railway is this neat brick one near Conder Green, which makes a nice feature to use in illustrating the route. I love snapping dappled sunlight, which provided additional interest in the foreground.
Bikes and walkers are now the only traffic along the old railway.
Turning back to face north, the Alps-like Lake District mountains covered in snow stand out well on the horizon. My powerful zoom gives the illusion that they are much nearer than they are. The camera can does lie!
Zooming in on the Lakeland fells.
Steaming solar panels.
Flowering very early.
Keep your eyes open for anything unusual. I was intrigued by steam rising from newly installed solar panels in a field beside the path as the frost melts. Confused gorse beside the path gave a surprising and far too early display.
The old railway bridge at Condor Green.
Arrival at Condor Green means you’ve almost reached the end of the track at Glasson Dock. The old railway bridge can make a pleasant spot for a photo here, with a great view over the estuary.
From Glasson Dock, an attractive little port, if you’re feeling energetic there’s another 3 miles of pleasant (sometimes muddy) walking up the towpath of the canal branch to Galgate. And in this case canals can have hills; there are five locks!
The picturesque Glasson branch of the Lancaster Canal.
Be very careful pointing the camera towards the sun and never if using a zoom lens. I stuck to wide angle for this pleasing shot looking across the canal.
I loved the way the sun caught the tops of the reeds and reflected on the water. So I decided to take a closer look and using a slightly higher viewpoint, got a perfect contrasting backdrop against the dark bank in the shade opposite. Tricky to expose correctly to capture the detail and worth a few shots at different settings.
Glinting in the sun.
Swans in parallel.
A pair of mute swans are a graceful feature of many canals. I always look for a something more interesting or unusual and liked the two swimming in close parallel. The grey beak and darker plumage of the younger swan looks curiously monochrome next to the parent.
I hope you have enjoyed my latest Rambling with this sunny stroll and picked up a few handy tips on the way. Comments always welcome and more coming soon!