If you’re looking for great photographic locations in Ulverston and the surrounding area, local photographer, Adam Kappa, offers some insider knowledge on 5 of the best places for photography in the town.
Hoad Hill
I frequently visit Hoad Hill to take photographs. From there you get a mixture of views over Ulverston, towards the Lake District, across the bay and you can often see wildlife along the way.
It’s an easy walk and there are a few different routes you can take, so you always see something different.
If you want to photograph the stars, I would recommend waiting until after midnight as that’s usually when the lights on Hoad go out. As soon as they go off, the stars are instantly more visible (it obviously has to be a clear, starry night). It’s like a light switch for the stars.
I recently made a video about a trip out doing night photography, you can watch it here. The clouds rolled in this time, but it was still fun to experiment.
Ulverston Canal
I tend to go to the far end of the canal – Canal Foot – for photographs, as I like looking over the water and at the bird life. The swans are pretty friendly here, you often get a decent sized group of them.
You can also get some good shots while walking along the canal, it’s a mile long on a flat path, so it’s an easy walk. Along the way you can see the old bridge/buildings from when the canal was in use. You can also see quite a bit of wildlife: swans, ducks, geese, cormorants and, apparently, otters. You have to be up early to see them and, not being a morning person, I’ve had to take other people’s word for it. I’ll see them one day.
The Flan
Slightly out of town but a nice little walk up onto the hill, the Flan, offers stunning views across the South Lakes. The main fells you can see from here are the Scafell range and Coniston. I haven’t had the right light to take the best shot yet, but it may require a telephoto lens to focus on the fells.
Facing the other direction, you have Hoad on your left, then the town with the bay behind it and to the right of that you have views of Swarthmoor and then Barrow.
Events
There’s often a event going on in Ulverston. They cover everything from gardens, Dickensian festivals to cycling events, so you will be able to find something that interests you.
If you’re looking to get into photography, events are great places to gain experience and build up your portfolio; photographing people (it’s where I started), working out what they’re going to do next and the best way to photograph them. Maybe the events are looking to hire a photographer, give them an ask. If not, do your own thing and photograph what is of most interest to you.
Birkrigg Common
The Common is about 2 miles out of Ulverston. It’s a hill covered in tracks and bracken, so it’s a good place to go for a walk plus there are great views in every direction. To the north you can see Ulverston town with Hoad above it and the fells of the Lake District behind it. On the south-east side of the Common there is an old stone circle and there is a nice view of Bardsea and the bay behind it. This is near to a sea wood as well, which is a great place to shoot when the bluebells and wild garlic are flowering.
