Heckgill Mire

Coastal Marsh, Saltings in Westmorland Eden

England

Heckgill Mire

Heckgill Mire is a coastal marsh and saltings located in Westmorland, a historic county in the northwest of England. Situated along the coastline, this unique ecosystem is home to a diverse range of plant and animal species, making it an important area for conservation and scientific study.

The mire is characterized by its wet and marshy conditions, resulting from the accumulation of rainwater and sea tides. This creates a habitat that supports a variety of vegetation, including reeds, rushes, and grasses. These plants play a crucial role in stabilizing the marshland and providing shelter and food for numerous species of birds, insects, and small mammals.

The area's proximity to the coast also contributes to the presence of saltings, which are salt marshes formed by the deposition of salt from tidal waters. These saltings provide a unique habitat for specialized plants that can tolerate high salt concentrations. The mire is also home to various species of wading birds, such as curlews and redshanks, which feed on the abundant invertebrates found in the marshes.

Heckgill Mire is recognized as an important site for wildlife conservation and is protected by local and national authorities. Efforts are made to maintain the delicate balance of the ecosystem and protect it from human encroachment and pollution. The site also serves as a popular destination for nature enthusiasts and birdwatchers, offering opportunities to observe and appreciate the rich biodiversity of this coastal marsh and saltings.

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Heckgill Mire Images

Images are sourced within 2km of 54.416532/-2.3867747 or Grid Reference NY7402. Thanks to Geograph Open Source API. All images are credited.

The Fat Lamb

Roger Cornfoot

Quarry, Ash Fell Edge

Mick Garratt

Limekiln, Wharton Fell

Mick Garratt

Pudding Howe Hill

Mick Garratt

Looking down to shakeholes on Wharton Fell

The Dent fault lies between the photographer and the tarn in the distance, and Carbonerfous strata have been bent up against the fault to lie almost vertically - BGS sheet 40, Kirkby Stephen, shows the dip as 80° beneath my feet. The extensive line of shakeholes lies above the Great Scar Limestone at 310m, and water sinking here probably comes out of springs to the north, to flow into the River Eden. Just beyond the wall, beneath the crowded tree shelters of new plantings, the underlying geology is the somewhat older Ashfell Sandstone formation which is impervious, but the tarn itself and much of the marshy ground is on glacial till so the bedrock is not exposed at all.

Andy Waddington

Sheepfold on Greenlaw Rigg

The sheepfold has been built in a deep sheltered hollow, but behind and to the left is a big pile of limestone partly grassed over, suggesting that something else is going on here besides just sheltering livestock. No antiquity or mining is indicated on the map just here, but there are a number of pillow mounds, cairns and tumuli within two or three kilometres to the northwest and northeast, and old mine workings just across the Eden valley. Perhaps these are related.

Andy Waddington

Moor Pot

From the SW, a quite substantial stream has formed and cut down into the drift. If it continued, it would form the headwaters of High Intake Gill, but at this point, its path has crossed a limestone bed (most probably the Underset Limestone) and formed a substantial sink. The weather has been quite wet and there's quite a lot of water disappearing here with no sign of the sink backing up. The Underset Limestone is quite a thin bed, but because the limestone dips so steeply this close to the Dent Fault, the waters are likely to emerge from springs in the Eden Valley perhaps as much as 150m lower. That's a lot of depth potential for a system so far from the usual haunts of cavers, I am surprised there's no sign of the sink having been the subject of exploration attempts by digging.

Andy Waddington

Gated entry to property at Ellergill

Ellergill is a farm lying to the west of the A683. The wall with its gateway lies beyond a small area of moorland which is classified as access land under the year 2000 CROW Act.

Trevor Littlewood

Lowland Bristol VRT on the A683 approaching the Fat Lamb Country Inn

This image was captured on the regular Cumbria Easter Rally service to the Fat Lamb Country Inn near Ravenstonedale. As shown on the destination screen, Swinton is a village in Berwickshire, Scottish Borders. This photograph was taken during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020/21/22.

James T M Towill

Leyland Atlantean at the Fat Lamb Country Inn

A Leyland Atlantean in Ribble National Bus Company (NBC) livery at the Fat Lamb Country Inn. This photograph was taken during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020/21/22.

James T M Towill

Leyland National approaching the Fat Lamb Country Inn

New to Cumberland Motor Services in April 1979 and originally working out of Workington depot, it is now under the care of Workington Transport Heritage Trust. This photograph was taken during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020/21/22.

James T M Towill

Leopard on Egdale Lane

A Leyland Leopard in Highland Scottish livery powers up the incline to the Fat Lamb Country Inn near Ravenstonedale. This photograph was taken during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020/21/22.

James T M Towill

Leyland RT nearing the Fat Lamb Country Inn

A Park-bodied Leyland RT approaching the Fat Lamb Country Inn at the terminus of services from Brough during the Cumbria Easter Rally 2022. This photograph was taken during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020/21/22.

James T M Towill

A pastoral scene by Egdale Lane

Despite a slight haze, a beautiful morning in the Eden Valley. This photograph was taken during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020/21/22.

James T M Towill

AEC Reliance arriving at the Fat Lamb Country Inn

WJC (Wee John's Coaches) AEC Reliance arriving at the Fat Lamb Country Inn from Brough on the first morning of the Cumbria Easter Rally 2022. This photograph was taken during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020/21/22.

James T M Towill

View towards Tarnmire

Anthony Parkes

Tarn Sike Dam

The tarn is first shown on the 1957 O.S. Map, see Maps.nls.uk. (2022). View map: NY70SE - A (includes: Kirkby Stephen; Mallerstang; Nateby; Ravenstonedale; Whart...) - Ordnance Survey National Grid Maps, 1940s-1970. [online] Available at: Link

[Accessed 26 Jun. 2022]. It seems to have been created by damming up the Tarn Sike. ‌

Mick Garratt

Lake near Tarn Mire

The lake, which is unnamed on OS maps, is fed by numerous small streams originating from surrounding springs and is contained by a small dam. The outflow is Tarn Sike, though not to be confused with the SSSI of the same name situated a few miles NW. This Tarn Sike becomes Scandal Beck which flows through Ravenstonedale and Smardale Gill on its way to join the River Eden.

David Robinson

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Heckgill Mire is located at Grid Ref: NY7402 (Lat: 54.416532, Lng: -2.3867747)

Administrative County: Cumbria

District: Eden

Police Authority: Cumbria