Glenridding is a village at the southern end of Ullswater, 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 ...

. The village is popular with mountain walkers who can scale England's third-highest mountain, Helvellyn, and many other challenging peaks from there.

Etymology

The name Glenridding is generally agreed to be

Cumbric Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the souther ...

in origin, with the first element being ''*glinn'', 'valley', and the second being ''*redïn'', 'ferns, bracken' (cf.

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

''glyn rhedyn''), giving a meaning of 'valley overgrown with bracken'. First recorded as ''Glenredyn'' in around 1290, the name's present form is thought to have been influenced by the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

element ''ridding'', 'clearing'.

Geography

Glenridding is in the

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 ...

of Patterdale. On 6 December 2015,

Storm Desmond Storm Desmond was an extratropical cyclone and fourth named storm of the 2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season, notable for directing a plume of moist air, known as an atmospheric river, which brought record amounts of orographic rainfall to ...

caused extensive and devastating flooding to the village, with torrential rainfall and rivers bursting their banks. Four days later, more rainfall caused rivers to burst their banks once again, leading to even more flood damage to businesses and homes in the village. Following the floods the community set up a Flood Action Group who continue to work on recovery and resilience measures to reduce the risk of future flooding.

Community and culture

Each year, on

Easter Monday Easter Monday refers to the day after Easter Sunday in either the Eastern or Western Christian traditions. It is a public holiday in some countries. It is the second day of Eastertide. In Western Christianity, it marks the second day of the Octa ...

, a duck race is organised by the local mountain rescue team to raise funds. The village also has a rich sporting history, particularly in the traditional Lakeland sport of Fell Running and each September the Helvellyn Triathlon is held at Jenkins' Field by the shores of Ullswater, at one time considered the toughest triathlon in the UK.

Amenities

The village has accommodation including two youth hostels and camping sites.

Glenridding House Glenridding House is a Regency era building in Glenridding on Ullswater, constructed between 1807 and 1814. It was a private summer villa until about 1860 and then became a guest house. It has recently been fully restored and is now a country hou ...

provides luxury bed and breakfast accommodation. There is also a tourist information centre, Ullswater Information Centre.

Greenside Mine

Above the village is the site of the former

Greenside Mine Greenside Mine (sometimes referred to as ''Greenside Lead Mine'') was a successful lead mine in the Lake District of England. Between 1825 and 1961 the mine produced of lead and of silver, from around 2 million tons of ore. During the 194 ...

, once the largest

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

mine in the Lake District. Lead ore was discovered in the 18th century and the site was mined from the second half of the 18th century until the mine closed in 1962. Without the mine, the houses and economy of Glenridding and the surrounding area would not have existed.*

Ullswater Steamers

Glenridding is home to the

Ullswater 'Steamers' Ullswater 'Steamers' is a boat company which provides leisure trips on Ullswater in the north-eastern part of the English Lake District. It is based in Glenridding, Cumbria. Founded in 1855, it currently operates five diesel powered vessels betw ...

, a leisure boat trip company which operates five vessels from the pier at Glenridding. The company was founded to provide a transport link for goods from Glenridding to Pooley Bridge and onwards to Penrith.

Glenridding in popular culture

The village and surrounding area was used to film the TV drama series '' The Lakes,'' and has also featured in a scene in

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

References

External links

Cumbria County History Trust: Patterdale with Hartsop
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)
Video of the Glenridding to Glencoyne Bay walk

Lake District Walks - Glenridding

Glenridding War Memorial Information

Glenridding Community Flood Group Website
{{authority control Villages in Cumbria Patterdale