![derwent-water](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Derwent-water.jpg)
Borrowdale is a valley and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the
English Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
in the
Borough of Allerdale in
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
, England. It lies within the
historic county boundaries of
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
. It is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' to distinguish it from
another Borrowdale in the historic county of
Westmorland
Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...
.
Geography
The valley rises in the central
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
, and runs north carrying the
River Derwent into the lake of Derwentwater. The waters of the river have their origins over a wide area of the central massif of the Lake District north of
Esk Hause
Esk Hause is a mountain pass in the English Lake District, England. It is where the paths from Eskdale, Borrowdale, Langdale and Wasdale all meet. Esk Hause is a first step to reaching higher summits, such as Scafell Pike, Great End, Esk Pike and ...
and
Stake Pass
Hill passes of the Lake District were originally used by people in one valley travelling to another nearby without having to go many miles around a steep ridge of intervening hills. Historically, in the Lake District of northwest England, trave ...
. These origins include drains from the northern end of
Scafell
Scafell ( or ; also spelled Sca Fell, previously Scawfell) is a mountain in the English Lake District, part of the Southern Fells. Its height of makes it the second-highest mountain in England after its neighbour Scafell Pike, from which i ...
,
Great End
Great End is the most northerly mountain in the Scafell chain, in the English Lake District. From the south it is simply a lump continuing this chain.
From the north, however, it appears as an immense mountain, with an imposing north face r ...
, the eastern side of the
Dale Head
Dale Head is a fell in the north-western sector of the Lake District, in northern England. It is 753 metres or 2,470 feet above sea level and stands immediately north of Honister Pass, the road between Borrowdale and Buttermere.
Topo ...
massif, the western part of the Central Fells and all the
Glaramara
Glaramara is a fell in the English Lake District in Cumbria. It is a substantial fell that is part of a long ridge that stretches for over six kilometres from Stonethwaite in Borrowdale up to the important mountain pass of Esk Hause. Th ...
ridge. Near
Rosthwaite the side valley of Langstrath joins the main valley from Seathwaite before the combined waters negotiate the narrow gap known as the ''Jaws of Borrowdale''. Here it is flanked by the rocky crags of Castle Crag and
Grange Fell
Grange Fell is a small fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria, situated in the Borrowdale valley overlooking the villages of Grange in Borrowdale and Rosthwaite.
Topography
The fell has a summit plateau which consis ...
. The valley then opens out around Grange before the river empties into Derwentwater, overlooked by
Catbells
Cat Bells is a fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria. It has a height of and is one of the most popular fells in the area. It is situated on the western shore of Derwentwater within of the busy tourist town of Keswick. I ...
,
Skiddaw
Skiddaw is a mountain in the Lake District National Park in England. Its summit is the sixth-highest in England. It lies just north of the town of Keswick, Cumbria, and dominates the skyline in this part of the northern lakes. It is the ...
and
Walla Crag
Walla Crag is a fell in the English Lake District, near Keswick. The fell is a short walk from Keswick and overlooks Derwentwater.
Topography
The crag is the terminal cliff on a short ridge running north west from Bleaberry Fell, dropping abo ...
.
Most of the mountains at the head of Borrowdale, including
Scafell Pike
Scafell Pike () is the highest and the most prominent mountain in England, at an elevation of above sea level. It is located in the Lake District National Park, in Cumbria, and is part of the Southern Fells and the Scafell massif.
Scafell Pi ...
and
Great Gable
Great Gable is a mountain in the Lake District, United Kingdom. It is named after its appearance as a pyramid from Wasdale, though it is dome-shaped from most other directions. It is one of the most popular of the Lakeland fells, and there are ...
, are part of the
Borrowdale Volcanic Group
The Borrowdale Volcanic Group is a group of igneous rock formations named after the Borrowdale area of the Lake District, in England. They are Caradocian (late Ordovician) in age (roughly 450 million years old). It is thought that they represent t ...
, a geological development from the
Ordovician
The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...
period.
The
B5289 road
The B5289 is a road in the Lake District, England. It lies in the county of Cumbria, and is an important traffic artery in the Lake District.
Route
The road starts in Keswick and passes alongside Derwent Water. At the southern end of the lake ...
runs down the full length of the valley, and at the southern end crosses the
Honister Pass
Honister Pass is a mountain pass in the English Lake District. It is located on the B5289 road, linking Seatoller, in the valley of Borrowdale, to Gatesgarth at the southern end of Buttermere. The pass reaches an altitude of , making it one ...
to
Buttermere
Buttermere is a lake in the Lake District in North West England. The adjacent village of Buttermere takes its name from the lake. Historically in Cumberland, the lake is now within the county of Cumbria. Owned by the National Trust, it forms p ...
. At the heart of the valley is the village of
Rosthwaite, other Borrowdale villages include
Stonethwaite
Stonethwaite is a small village in the Lake District in the English county of Cumbria, historically part of Cumberland, it is situated in the valley of the Stonethwaite Beck, a side valley of Borrowdale, and within the Lake District National Pa ...
,
Seatoller
Seatoller is a settlement in Borrowdale in the English Lake District. Historically part of Cumberland, it lies on the B5289 road at the east foot of the Honister Pass, and to the south of Derwent Water. The nearest town to Seatoller is Keswic ...
,
Seathwaite, and
Grange
Grange may refer to:
Buildings
* Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906
* Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682
* Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery
Geography Australia
* Grange, South Austral ...
.
Governance
Borrowdale is within the
Copeland UK Parliamentary constituency and the
North West England European Parliamentary constituency.
Trudy Harrison
Trudy Lynne Harrison (born 19 April 1976) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Copeland since the February 2017 by-election. It was the first time Copeland had elected a Conservative MP sinc ...
is the
Member of parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
.
Before
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
for the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
its residents voted to elect
MEP's for the
North West England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
constituency.
For
Local Government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
purposes it is in the ''Keswick
Ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
'' of
Allerdale Borough Council
Allerdale is a non-metropolitan district of Cumbria, England, with borough status. Its council is based in Workington and the borough has a population of 93,492 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 96,422 at the 2011 Census.
The Bor ...
and the ''Keswick Division'' of
Cumbria County Council
Cumbria County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria in the North West of England. Established in April 1974, following its first elections held the previous year, it is an elected local government body respon ...
.
Borrowdale has its own
Parish Council; ''Borrowdale Parish Council''. The civil parish of Borrowdale covers a considerable area around the valley, including the southern half of Derwent Water. It includes the settlements of
Grange
Grange may refer to:
Buildings
* Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906
* Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682
* Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery
Geography Australia
* Grange, South Austral ...
,
Rosthwaite,
Seathwaite,
Seatoller
Seatoller is a settlement in Borrowdale in the English Lake District. Historically part of Cumberland, it lies on the B5289 road at the east foot of the Honister Pass, and to the south of Derwent Water. The nearest town to Seatoller is Keswic ...
,
Stonethwaite
Stonethwaite is a small village in the Lake District in the English county of Cumbria, historically part of Cumberland, it is situated in the valley of the Stonethwaite Beck, a side valley of Borrowdale, and within the Lake District National Pa ...
and
Watendlath
Watendlath is a hamlet and tarn (a small lake) in the Lake District in the English county of Cumbria, historically part of Cumberland,
Watendlath is owned by the National Trust and sits high between the Borrowdale and Thirlmere valleys at abo ...
. It lies entirely within the
Lake District National Park
The Lake District National Park is a national park in North West England that includes all of the central Lake District, though the town of Kendal, some coastal areas, and the Lakeland Peninsulas are outside the park boundary.
The area was desi ...
.
At the time of the
2001 census, the parish had a population of 438 people, living in 137 households.
The 2011 Census showed that the population had declined to 417 residents among 128 households.
Economy
The valley is currently a tourist location with hotels,
guesthouses,
holiday cottage
A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottag ...
s,
bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...
s,
youth hostel
A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ba ...
s and
campsites. It caters to lowland visitors as well as
hill-walkers.
Sometime before 1565 (some sources say as early as 1500), a major deposit of
graphite
Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...
was discovered near the
Seathwaite hamlet in Borrowdale parish.
The locals found that it was useful for marking sheep. The graphite was pure and solid, and it could easily be sawn into sticks; the
pencil
A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand.
Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail ...
industry was born in nearby
Keswick. The graphite find remains unique.
In literature
In the first of
Sir Hugh Walpole
Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (13 March 18841 June 1941) was an English novelist. He was the son of an Anglican clergyman, intended for a career in the church but drawn instead to writing. Among th ...
's series of four novels ''Rogue Herries'' about the Herries family, Borrowdale is the site of a fictional house called ''Herries'', the home of Francis Herries, the protagonist of the novel. Subsequent novels in the series are also largely set in Borrowdale. The valley and its surrounding mountains are described in sympathetic detail.
Walpole himself had a house at Brackenburn, Manesty, overlooking Derwent Water from 1924 until his death in 1941. Hazel Bank Country House was the fictional home of Rogue Herries and birthplace of Judith Paris. Walpole was a friend of the Simpson family, who owned Hazel Bank. This is where Walpole found the inspiration for the "Herries Chronicles".
See also
*
Listed buildings in Borrowdale
Listed may refer to:
* Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm
* Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic
* Endangered species in biology
* Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historical ...
*
The Bowder Stone
External links
Cumbria County History Trust: Borrowdale(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)
References
{{Authority control
Valleys of Cumbria
Civil parishes in Cumbria
Allerdale