Brock Crags

The principal “river” in Patterdale between Ullswater and Brotherswater is Goldrill Beck. That’s it there, just right of centre and to the left of the “holiday village” of Hartsop Fold. But compare it to the map, which shows the beck hugging the road, hidden by the trees of low Wood. In the late 18th-century, the beck was canalised, made straighter between embankments in an attempt to drain the fields and make them more productive. The beck became fast flowing with uniform depth and a lack of natural features made them a poor wildlife habitat. And the high embankments actually prevented the fields from draining into the beck and so became boggy and reed-filled. This was done in many of the valleys of the Lake District, but Goldrill Beck also had a particular issue for Goldrill Beck as its canalised route alongside the A592 caused it to continually undercut the road. This was particularly bad during Storm Desmond The National Trust, in conjunction with the Environment Agency, Natural England and Cumbria County Council have undertaken a project to restore Goldrill Beck to a more natural course with features such as gravel bars, riffles, and meanders. The parlance is to re-wiggle the rivers although in the case of Goldrill Beck it seems to be one big loop but at the lower end of the loop the beck is split into multiple channels where it joins Angletarn Beck. The old river channel has been partially filled so that it may act as an overflow pond at times of high rainfall. Ahead, on skyline, are the twin summits of Angletarn Pikes. To the left the deep gash of Dubhow Beck with the cottage of Dubhow and its foot. It’s just occurred to me that the online mapping below will eventually be updated to show the new river system, so for posterity here is a link to the 1920 O.S. Map, Link For sources see my blog Link

The car park at Cow bridge has that essential quality of anywhere I choose to leave a vehicle - it's free. Consequently, it is also likely to be full very early in the morning. Today we won, and this footpath is the one that led us onwards (and eventually upwards) up Dovedale to a traverse of Fairfield (a mountain I seem to have climbed or descended in pretty much every available direction).

The conceptualisation of a footpath being "to" or "from" a location depends on the direction of travel of the person doing the describing. Today we had started at Cow Bridge to ascend Fairfield via Dovedale, so this photo looking back qualifies as a "from" Cow Bridge. Equally, it passes Hartsop Hall before heading upwards and these could have been "to" if looking the other way, whilst Brothers' Water is definitely a "past" whichever direction one is walking.

Hause Gate is the bridleway which enables walkers to stay on the east side of Goldrill Beck, away from the main road. However, whilst the route to the photographer's left continues to Hartsop for both walkers and riders, the continuing path towards Patterdale is for those on foot only, while the bridleway cuts back and crosses the beck via Menneting Bridge. Cyclists or equestrians desperate to reach Patterdale without encountering heavy weekend traffic must turn off a little earlier and make a 230m ascent to Boredale Hause before dropping even more steeply back towards Ullswater. There is also a permissive path heading up-valley to the left on the far side of the bridge, but this is not signposted prominently to attract attention.

The Nab is a Wainwright, and so many walkers wish to climb it. It is on Access Land, and so legally accessible. It is also in a deer forest, and access from Martindale (to the north) is not allowed. So the accepted practice is to visit Rest Dodd (usually from Hartsop to the west), follow the wall on its northern flank (clearly seen here) to its end, and then just follow the 1-mile ridge (very easy, but usually boggy) to The Nab. You probably return the same way. As a personal observation, I think our problem is too many deer rather than too few, so I question the need to protect them.

"Settlement site which covers an area of ca 2 acres with the usual arrangement of circular huts and enclosures. One irregular enclosure has well-preserved orthostats of unusual size, many of which stand 3 ft above the ground. The principal enclosure is sub-divided into 2 main divisions, each with a clearly marked entrance on the E, whilst the walls 7-8 ft in thickness are considerably wider than the walls of the village. The part of the village which lies S of the beck shows only traces of a few huts. It is suggested that there may have been an enlargement or rebuilding of the village on more than one occasion (S1048, S1361). See the RCHM 1936 Westmorland (S1389 p. 166-167). The monument is a Romano-British enclosed stone hut circle settlement located in the remote valley of Bannerdale, on a sloping shelf either side of Heck Beck which runs through the site. It includes an enclosure wall 0.9m - 1.4m wide and 0.6m high which is visible at the south-west, north and north-east sides of the settlement only. A mound of large outcropping rocks is incorporated into the wall in the north-west side adjacent to which is a re-entrant or inwardly pointing entrance. South of Heck Beck, and within the enclosure wall, are 3 hut circles having internal diameters of between 1.4 - 7.3m. Immediately north of the beck is an area of irregular small enclosures, with a well-defined entrance of flat stones through the enclosure wall, within which are 5 hut circles with internal diameters between 1.5-6.4m. At the north-eastern end of the site 3 sub- rectangular enclosures, two of which have entrances defined by large, flat stones, have been constructed against the internal side of the enclosure wall. Close by are 2 hut circles with internal diameters of 6.2 and 4.5m. Dominating the north-eastern end of the settlement is a well preserved irregular enclosure with walls up to 7.3m thick constructed of stones standing up to 0.9m high. This enclosure is sub-divided into 2 main parts, each with clearly marked entrances on the east, and is thought to indicate a rebuilding and/or enlargement of the settlement. A modern drystone wall running across the monument is excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath it is included. The monument is a good example of a R-B enclosed stone hut circle settlement which exhibits several phases of occupation and activity. Its earthworks survive well, preserve considerable detail of the layout of the site, and will facilitate further study of Romano-British settlement patterns in the area (S905, S904)." ‘Heritage Gateway - Results’. 2012. Heritagegateway.org.uk <Link > [accessed 15 October 2022]

Two fell walkers are on the 567m summit of the northern and highest pike. This was viewed from the hillside on the west side of Brothers Water.

Brothers Water is in the background.

Looking north from the path to Angle Tarn.