A notable feature of the Yorkshire Dales, are the many traditional old stone built "Cow Houses", that you will see dotted across almost every field, as shown in SHOTS 1 and 2 below. These "Cow Houses", or "Cow'uses" as the locals prefer to call them and which is pronounced as a 'Cowuzzez' in the local dialect. Date back to the mid to late 1700's and are thought to have replaced the much older, wooden built thatch roofed barns, from the late 1300's, as well as the Tudor period.

The Cow Houses (or Laithes as they also became known), were designed as a two level structure, where the hay to feed the cattle, could be dried and stored in the upper level of the building, with the cows themselves and the heat that they generated, being housed in the lower level overnight. Then when the cows came back out in the morning, to graze on the fresh meadow grass during the day. The farmer would then use the manure they had produced overnight, to fertilise his hay fields. And is the reason why all of these barns, were built in the middle of the farmer's fields, so that they would be right next to where the muck spreading needed to take place.

It is said that there are over 6,200 traditional stone built Cow Houses, still standing throughout the Yorkshire Dales, with many of them still being used for their original purpose.

Tip: If you are coming up to Scotland from the South of the UK, then you will most likely find yourself driving North up the M1 motorway, then onto the A1(M) and the A1, heading further North to Scotch Corner. Where after arriving at the Scotch Corner services and treating yourself to some 'Road Food', of a large cheese burger meal with fries. You will then take a left onto the A66 heading West towards the M62, before continuing North across the border into Scotland and the M74.

So if you do indeed find yourself driving this route, as most of you probably will, then instead of just spending all day in the car, driving along monotonous motorway, after monotonous motorway. Why not take this short photographic detour to bypass the A66, that I am suggesting to you now. So you can break up your journey and allow yourself some 'quality' time with your camera, along the way. In one of the most beautiful, unmodernised and photographic areas of England?

Trust me I know, how as a landscape photographer, you will be so glad you took this short detour on your way up to Scotland and for which I will let you thank me later.

So getting back to this detour and why I think you should take it. The main reason, is that it is probably going to take you all day to drive up to Scotland and by the time you get here, all the best light will have gone. So adding a couple of hours onto your journey, in the middle of the day when the light is still good, is a total no brainer and is why we always take this detour, whenever we make this long journey home.

Or, you could even make your brief visit to the Yorkshire Dales, into an overnight stay (or two) and give yourself at least a full day, photographing all across these rolling, windswept moors and wide open meadows.

Where you will find, lots of old stone barns dotted around the fields (as shown above in SHOT 1), tumble down farm houses, waterfalls, ancient bridges and old stone walls etc. As this really is the best way to add some photographic sparkle, back into this quite often tedious journey, when driving all the way up to Scotland from England. And I know of what I speak, as this is a detour we have driven many times over the last two decades. Either after visiting family down in England, or when driving back home to the Isle of Skye, from our regular bird watching trips down to Norfolk.

So what we do, is we book a one night stay in a motel near to Dumbarton (you will get a clue which motel we use, when you look at the Map view link below). We then take the day driving up from England and through the Yorkshire Dales. With the intention of arriving at the motel around 8pm in the evening, after treating ourselves to a very tasty 'Fish Supper', from Andy's Golden Fry Chip Shop, Map view, Street view, Direct link (and no, Andy isn't paying me to say this).

In England you would ask for 'Fish and Chips', but in Scotland it's called a 'Fish Supper'.

A friend of mine from England, recently went into a 'chippy' in Scotland and asked for "Fish and Chips". The guy behind the counter scowled at him and said "you mean Fish supper don't you?" "OK" my friend asked, "what's in a Fish Supper?" The guy behind the counter said "Fish and Chips"...

We can then take our time the following day, as we continue heading North past the shores of Loch Lomond, then through Glen Coe and finally all the way up to the Isle of Skye.

So what do I think is the best time of year to be in the Yorkshire Dales for photography?

Well I think it is the same as the best time to photograph up here in Scotland and that is in autumn, winter, or early spring. In autumn you obviously have all the colour of the foliage, with enormous old oak and chestnut trees, standing proud across the landscape. In winter, you have the snow and ice and the monochromatic effect that can have on the scenery. In spring, you get all the spring flowers and new born lambs frolicking around in the fields. But even in summer, you will still have the many fast flowing tree lined rivers, with herds of sheep and cows etc., lazily munching on the meadow grass, as they wander around aimlessly waiting to be photographed.

In fact any time of year can be good for photography in the Yorkshire Dales and you will be amazed at how it can all start to look, very much like a Constable painting, in every direction you look. Which can actually make it quite difficult photograph, just because there are so many compositions, you will want to photograph at the same time.

I know, I am now making it sound like a fairytale landscape, full of photographic delights. But you will just have to see it for yourself to believe it, as it really does have that 'fairytale' quality about it. Especially on cold mornings, with mist swirling up from the various rivers and waterways. So perhaps the best way I can describe the Yorkshire Dales to you, is to say that it is peaceful, unmodernised, rural, rustic and just like the rest of England must have looked like, several hundred years ago.

How to get there: Drive up the M1, then the A1(M) and A1 heading North, until you reach junction 53 on the A1 and turn off for the Scotch Corner Services and the A66 heading towards Richmond, Map view, Street view.

Now leave the motorway to your left and drive up to the roundabout and take your second left exit onto the A66, Map view, Street view.

Then once on the A66, drive for 3.5 miles, until you see a sign on your left for the B6274 heading for Gilling West 1 mile and Richmond 4 miles and take this left hand turn, Map view, Street view.

Then continue on this road for 2 more miles, until you reach a junction with the B6274 and keep to the left at the junction, as you now take the B6274, Map view, Street view.

Continue heading for Richmond on the B6274, until you reach a junction with the A6108 and take the A6108, Map view, Street view.

Then drive on for another 12 miles heading towards the village of Reeth (from Richmond), first on the Victoria Road, then the Reeth Road and then on the A6108. Until you reach a 'Y' junction with the B6270, heading off to your right and towards the village of Reeth, Map view, Street view.

Now drive through the village of Reeth and continue on along the B6270 for another 5 miles or so, until you reach this unofficial parking area on your left, near to the village of Gunnerside and the view over a flat bottomed valley, with several nicely placed stone barns for you to photograph, Map view, Street view. As shown in SHOT 1 above.

This parking space is only large enough to safely accommodate one vehicle, so if there is someone there before you, then you will have move on to another location, as there really isn't anywhere else to park in the immediate vicinity. Although you could drive down the hill for a half mile or so to the next village, to find somewhere to park there and then walk back up to this viewpoint.

So assuming you have been able to park here, you will see over the low stone wall at the side of the road, where there are several stone barns dotted around the valley floor below you. So it is then just a matter of trying to frame up a composition, by walking a short way up and down this road, so you can select what you think is the best view of the scene below you. Which as you can see in SHOT 1 shown above, I went for a 'near/far' type of composition, using two of the barns, framed strategically within the shot.

This near/far compositional technique, is a very old trick in landscape photography (and painting). Whereby you can add in some repetition into your shot, simply by having two of same type of objects within the frame, but on opposing thirds. With one nearby to you and the other one far away.

This isn't one of those annoying rules of photography by the way and isn't a technique that you should always try to achieve in every photograph that you take. But if you see it and you you can use it, then why not, because it always seems to work.

Then having taken your shots of the old barns etc., continue heading North West on the same B6270 road for another 8 miles, until you reach this view of yet another stone building on you right, near to village of Greenlands, Map view, Street view.

But again, I will have to put my annoying 'old man' hat on for a moment here and tell you, that you will probably have to search around for somewhere safe to park for this shot and walk back to this viewpoint to photograph it, as shown in SHOT 2 above. But wherever you do find to park, please do so considerately and think about other road users and especially working farmers with their tractors etc. So don't block off this road, which is very narrow at this point and also quite busy with traffic.

Once you have parked, if you then walk back to the top of this small hill, you will find there is a gap through the trees at the side of the road, that is big enough to shoot through and frame up this shot, as a vertical/portrait. I also think, that all these old stone buildings, seem to look good in black and white - you might disagree of course and there is nothing wrong with that. But to my eye, they look old and from a much earlier time in our history and using a monochrome palette, really seems to emphasise that.

Then carry on the same B6270 road heading West for another 8 miles, until you reach the River Swale and the upper and lower Wain Wath Falls over on your right, as shown in SHOT 3 above and SHOTS 4 and 5 below.

You can't actually see the falls from the Google street view link I am showing you here, but believe me it's there, just behind those trees to the right, Map view, Street view.

Parking here can also be tricky, especially if there are other people around. But if nobody has arrived here before you, then you will find there is just enough space for your vehicle, if you park on the right side of the road on the top of the small bridge, that you will now see in front of you. But you will have to tuck your vehicle tight into the stone wall on your right, to make sure you are not causing any problems to other road users.

I must have been here to photograph the Wain Wath falls, at least a dozen times over the years and perhaps it is just because I am very lucky, but we have never had any problems parking here. Although I do have to admit, we do tend to do most of our driving through the Yorkshire Dales, at times that are well outside of the normal tourist season. So I cannot say what it is like here in the height of summer. But I do imagine it gets quite busy, or at least as busy as it can get, when parking is so limited.

Having now parked, if you walk down the road in the direction you came up, you will see a wooden gate (which is a very tight fit to get through, especially when carrying all your camera gear), that leads down to the upper part of the Wain Wath falls. Then once through the gate, you will see some steps down to the side of the river and a small, flat viewing area in front of the falls. So walk down to the flat area and set up your tripod, as near as you can to the front edge of it and throw on your wide angle lens.

For the first view of the upper falls, as shown in SHOT 4 above. I used my 16-35 wide angle zoom for a single shot and then cropped the picture later, into a horizontally pano. I did this, because I knew it would get me the result that I wanted and at the same time, allow me to crop away any blown out pixels from the sky in the top of the shot. As well as to allow me to take, a much longer exposures of the scene than I could otherwise hope to achieve.

But for SHOT 5 shown immediately above and for this particular visit to the falls, I used my 24-105 zoom, for a five shot vertical orientation pano, swept from left to right. I did this so I could zoom right into the detail of the falls, yet still capture what appears to be, a wide angled view of the scene. I then blended and cropped the 5 shots into a pano using Photoshop, then into a three part triptych and which my wife would now like me to print big and hang on our living room wall.

If you then walk a little further down the the bank of the River Swale and away from the upper falls, you will come to the lower falls, as shown in SHOT 3 above. These lower falls are not quite as photogenic in my opinion. Although if you frame your shot in a certain way, by getting down low, you can capture both of the falls in a single shot. And if you are really brave and the river is not too high and you have your wellington boots with you. Then you could even step out into the middle of the river, by using that large natural stone slab to stand on, which you can see in the bottom right of SHOT 3 above.

There is actually a second gate further down the road away from the upper falls, which will also give you access to the lower falls, should you prefer to use it.

After photographing the falls, if you continue on about half a mile further, as the road bends around to the left. You will arrive at this view of an old tumbled down farmhouse, as shown in SHOT 6 to the right. But which is now on the left side of the scene, as you look back down road from the way you came in, Map view, Street view.

For this shot and for SHOT 7 below, there is absolutely nowhere to park safely, on this single track road. However you could do what I did and let your partner drop you of at this point, while they carry on driving up the road and then come back for you around 20 minutes later. This way you get plenty of time to take your shots and the road is still kept fully open for other traffic.

SHOT 7 below, was taken from the exact same location as the old tumble down farmhouse, shown here on the right. But instead of looking back down the road from which we came in, I am now looking up the road in the opposite direction - both of these shots were taken hand held by the way.

Then carry on driving West for another 7 miles or so and over the top of the moor (which is a great place for a picnic, with 360 degree views). Until after dropping down a long winding steep hill, you will come to a view, of a small stone built building on your left, Map view, Street view. As shown in SHOTS 8 and 9 below.

You will then find, that there is plenty of space to park off road for this location. With enough room to park several vehicles, on the left side of the road near to this old stone building. As it stands there alone on the moor, just waiting for you to photograph it.

So what are you waiting for? Jump out of your vehicle and get to it..!

At first sight, you might think this is just an old, abandoned building, as shown in SHOT 8 below right and SHOT 9 below left. But it isn't and is still very much in use by the farmer to this day. Where I imagine he uses it for various farming purposes, such as for the care and husbandry of his flock. Where he may gather them in together during spring, to inoculate them against various pests and diseases etc., before releasing them back out onto the moor.

But whatever he or she uses it for today, it does mean this building has not been abandoned and is still very much in use. So if you get here and he/she is using it, then you will either need to ask their permission to photograph close into the building, or come back later when there is no one there.

But in saying that, I have driven past this scene dozens of times over the years and never seen anyone or their animals near it. Yet on my last visit, when I went into the old cobbled stone courtyard, at the front of the building. It was obvious that this building had recently been used. Due to me having to watch my step, as I tiptoed my way around lots of piles of fresh sheep poop, that was lying around everywhere, outside of the main cobbled area.

For SHOT 8 shown on the right, I walked a little way back up the hill we had just driven down, so I could capture a slightly elevated view of the old building, as it faded out into the fog rolling down from the moor behind it. I did this to give the old building, a feeling of remoteness and isolation and to emphasise the passage of time.

Oh and the fog, was absolutely freeeezing!

Then on another visit to this location, on a much warmer and sunnier day. I decided to get into the area around the old building and shoot it close in. The result of which, you can see below in SHOT 9.

I do not know how old this building is, but I would guess by the fact it has a stone slab tiled roof, must mean it has got to be well over 300 years old and full of photographic character, as a result.

When you first get here, you might be disappointed by its size, as it is tiny. But please don't be, because as you can see form SHOTS 8 and 9, it has huge photographic potential well above its size and is definitely worth your time to photograph.

Having now photographed your way through the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, if you wish to get back onto the M6, to continue your journey North to Scotland. Then continue heading West towards the village of Nateby. Then turn left onto the A685 heading towards Tebay and the junction with the M6. Then turn North and resume your journey up to Scotland. But now with a big, wide, satisfied grin on your face.

Tip: The way I process my images into black white, like you see here on the left.

This is an idea I have developed over the years, that works quite well on most images. Not for all of them I must admit, but more often than not it does seem to work ok.

So as all black and white images rely on contrast detail. The trick I find, is to get as much colour contrast into the image as you can, before converting it to mono. So to prepare an image for black and white, I will try to push adjacent colours as far apart from each other as I can.

So what exactly do I mean? Well let's say I have a slightly darker red, a medium red and a slightly lighter red next to each other. Which if I can push all of these reds further apart from each other, than they originally were. I can more easily increase the amount of contrast between those colours, in the final black and white image.

So what I do, is I push the colour contrast of an image, all the way up to a point, where the shot begins to look truly awful in colour. But when I then apply a black and white filter to it in Photoshop, these bright garish colours, will then turn into a much wider separation of tones, than they would have done from the original colour image.

So all I am saying, is make your colour image as super colourful as you can, before converting it to black and white and which you can do in a variety of ways. For instance, you could try pushing up the vibrancy in Photoshop, or by going into curves and tweaking each of the colour channels. Or you could use plug-in's such as Nik Filters, or Topaz labs etc. Either way, just go over the top with your colours, to expand their tonal differences and separation, as much as you possibly can. Then convert it to black and white.

Unfortunately I cannot give you a bullet proof list of steps to take here, or a Photoshop action that will do it all for you. As each image will require different amounts of colour enhancing, to get the best result when converted to mono. But once you have done this a few times, you will soon learn what works for you.

But either way and for the best results, don't just convert your colour image straight into black and white, without substantially increasing the intensity of the colours first.

Final thought: This photographic detour I am suggesting you take, to break up your journey to Scotland. Covers only a tiny part of the Yorkshire Dales in total and just one route through it. As you cross over from one boring motorway in the middle of the country, to another boring motorway on the West. So if you like what you see as you drive through here and I am sure that you will. Then perhaps like us, you should consider spending a full week in the Yorkshire Dales (in autumn?). To explore it in a lot more detail.

Exif information for each of the numbered shots shown throughout this chapter

--1 - Canon EF70-200/2.8L IS USM, 1/120 Sec, f/11, ISO 100, Focal Length 200mm, taken on 16th Oct at 14:01

--2 - Canon EF70-200/2.8L IS USM, 1/160 Sec, f/13, ISO 200, Focal Length 100mm, taken on 16th Oct at 14:37

--3 - Canon EF16-35/2.8L USM, 1/15 Sec, f/16, ISO 320, Focal Length 16mm, taken on 16th Oct at 15:18

--4 - Canon EF16-35/2.8L USM, 30 Sec, f/16, ISO 100, Focal Length 20mm, taken on 16th Oct at 15:01

--5 - Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM | Art, 1/5 Sec, f/16, ISO 250, Focal Length 95mm (5 shot vertical pano), taken on 12th Feb at 12:44

--6 - Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM | Art, 1/80 Sec, f/11, ISO 350, Focal Length 43mm, taken on 9th Mar at 13:48

--7 - Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM | Art, 1/80 Sec, f/11, ISO 200, Focal Length 62mm, taken on 9th Mar at 13:56

--8 - Canon EF16-35/2.8L USM, 1/120 Sec, f/2.8, ISO 250, Focal Length 35mm, taken on 9th Mar at 15:27

--9 - Canon EF16-35/2.8L USM, 1/15 Sec, f/16, ISO 100, Focal Length 16mm, taken on 2nd Oct at 17:16