Longsleddale () 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
South Lakeland
South Lakeland is a local government district in Cumbria, England. The population of the non-metropolitan district was 102,301 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 103,658 at the 2011 Census. Its council is based in Kendal. It includes ...
district of the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
county of
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 ...
. It includes the hamlet of Sadgill. The parish has a population of 73. As the population taken at the 2011 Census was less than 100, details are maintained in the civil parish of Whitwell and Selside.
The valley is bounded to the west by
Kentmere Pike
Kentmere Pike is a fell in the English Lake District, rising between the valleys of Kentmere and Longsleddale. It is the highpoint on the ridge between Harter Fell and Shipman Knotts.
Topography
The western Kentmere slopes fall over the rough ...
and
Shipman Knotts
Shipman Knotts is a fell in the English Lake District in Cumbria, England. It reaches a height of and is situated in one of the quieter areas of the national park, north-east of Kentmere village. Although not one of the best-known Lake Distric ...
, one arm of the ''
Kentmere
Kentmere is a valley, village and civil parish in the Lake District National Park, a few miles from Kendal in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. Historically in Westmorland, at the 2011 census Kentmere had a population of 1 ...
Horseshoe'', and to the east by Sleddale Fell and its summits of
Grey Crag
Grey Crag is a fell in the English Lake District. It stands to the east of Longsleddale in the Far Eastern Fells.
Topography
North of Sadgill, the valley of Longsleddale narrows considerably with walls of crag on either side. Grey Crag is ...
and
Tarn Crag; one of several Cumbrian hills named Great Howe is on the east of the valley above Sadgill.
The
River Sprint
The River Sprint is a river in Cumbria, England with its source high up on the south-facing side of Harter Fell. It flows into the River Kent just to the south of Burneside.
The first two miles of the river is made up of a series of short ...
starts on the slopes of
Harter Fell and
Branstree
Branstree is a fell in the Far Eastern part of the English Lake District. It overlooks the valley of Mardale and Haweswater Reservoir.
Topography
A circuit of high fells surrounds the head of Mardale, beginning at High Raise in the north ...
, and flows south through the valley before joining the
River Kent
The River Kent is a short river in the county of Cumbria in England. It originates in hills surrounding Kentmere, and flows for around 20 miles (32 km) into the north of Morecambe Bay. The upper reaches and the western bank of the estuary ...
to the north of the town of
Kendal
Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
.
Half-way between Garnett Bridge and Sadgill, Ubarrow Hall is a mediaeval
pele tower
Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standing ...
, reduced in height, adjoining a 17th-century farmhouse.
Haweswater aqueduct
The aqueduct carrying water from
Haweswater Reservoir
Haweswater is a reservoir in the valley of Mardale, Cumbria in the Lake District, England. Work to raise the height of the original natural lake was started in 1929. It was controversially dammed after the UK Parliament
The Parliament ...
to
Heaton Park Reservoir in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
follows the line of Longsleddale underground on the east of the valley, and crosses Stockdale Beck by a pipe bridge. Construction of the aqueduct was started in the 1930s and finally completed in 1976. Survey columns can still be seen on
Branstree
Branstree is a fell in the Far Eastern part of the English Lake District. It overlooks the valley of Mardale and Haweswater Reservoir.
Topography
A circuit of high fells surrounds the head of Mardale, beginning at High Raise in the north ...
,
Tarn Crag, and Great Howe below
Grey Crag
Grey Crag is a fell in the English Lake District. It stands to the east of Longsleddale in the Far Eastern Fells.
Topography
North of Sadgill, the valley of Longsleddale narrows considerably with walls of crag on either side. Grey Crag is ...
. The tunnel is about 2m by 2m in section, and the water flow is by gravity. Between Haweswater and Manchester the tunnel only deviates from a straight line by less than .
Possible railway route
When the directors of the
Lancaster and Carlisle Railway were choosing its route in the 1840s, one possibility considered was a route through
Kendal
Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
and along Longsleddale, with a 2-mile tunnel under the Gatescarth Pass into
Mardale
Mardale is a glacial valley in the Lake District, in northern England. The valley used to have a hamlet at its head, called Mardale Green, but this village was submerged in the late 1930s when the water level of the valley's lake, Haweswater, ...
and thence towards
Bampton. This route had the support of the Kendal Committee of the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway; other alternatives under consideration included a line over a barrage across Morecambe Bay and round the Cumbrian coast, routes bypassing
Shap
Shap is a linear village and civil parish located among fells and isolated dales in Eden district, Cumbria, England, in the historic county of Westmorland. The parish had a population of 1,221 in 2001, increasing slightly to 1,264 at the 2011 ...
to the east and west, and the Shap summit route finally chosen.
After a lengthy Parliamentary inquiry the longer and steeper route over Shap Fell was chosen.
Thomas Bouch
Sir Thomas Bouch (; 25 February 1822 – 30 October 1880) was a British railway engineer. He was born in Thursby, near Carlisle, Cumberland, and lived in Edinburgh. As manager of the Edinburgh and Northern Railway he introduced the first roll-o ...
was approached to be an adviser on the Longsleddale route and if this route had been chosen, in all probabilities Thos. Bouch would have been appointed as the civil and railway engineer. Bouch was the engineer for the
Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway
The Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway (CK&PR) was an English railway company incorporated by Act of Parliament on 1 August 1861, to build a line connecting the town of Cockermouth with the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) West Coast ...
and rose to fame in later years, for it was his design of the Tay Railway Bridge that was destroyed in a severe storm.
The gradient of the Longsleddale route would have been somewhat less than the 1 in 70 gradient of the climb up and over Shap Fell, and the use of banking engines could have been reduced if not entirely eliminated.
It has been said that the Longsleddale route, "had it ever been built, would have been as dramatic and awe-inspiring as any in Britain".
Recreation and community
In 1974, an Outdoor Pursuits Centre was founded by Jim McVeigh as an access point for young people, from in and around Manchester, to the great outdoors. Over the years, this has extended to young people from all around the country. Unlike many outdoors centre in the UK, this is staffed and operated solely by volunteers. The centre's
Adventure Activities Licensing Authority
The Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA) is the licensing authority for outdoor activity centres for young people in Great Britain. Since 2007 it has been part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the government body charged with ...
licence allows staff to run
outdoor activities
Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activiti ...
including:
rock climbing
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
,
caving
Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology i ...
, ghyll scrambling (
canyoning
Canyoning (canyoneering in the United States, kloofing in South Africa) is a type of mountaineering that involves travelling in canyons using a variety of techniques that may include other outdoor activities such as walking, scrambling, climbin ...
),
hillwalking
Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much uncultiv ...
and
archery
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...
.
There are few community buildings in Longsleddale. There is one village hall that is known as the Community Hall and one church - St Mary's - which is near the centre of the valley and is open every day. Services are on the second and fourth Sunday of each month at 10.30am.
The village was the inspiration for the fictional village of Greendale in the BBC children's television series ''
Postman Pat
''Postman Pat'' is a British stop-motion animated television series first produced by Woodland Animations. The series follows the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman who works for Royal Mail postal service in the fictional village of Greendal ...
''.
Ecology
The River Sprint is designated a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(SSSI) along with other tributaries of the River Kent.
Longsleddale Woods are designated an SSSI. Yewbarrow Woods were acquired by the Lake District National Park in the 1980s in order to maintain and secure the site. In 2015 the Authority put it on the market along with some of its other properties.
Geology
Slate used to be quarried in the valley. A site called Wrengill was the largest quarry.
The
Stockdale Shales is a geologic formation in the area near Longsleddale.
Gallery
File:Longsleddale2 290807.jpg, Looking north up Longsleddale
File:Church Longsleddale.JPG, The small parish church of St Mary, Longsleddale
File:Track up to Harter Fell.JPG, The Track up to Harter Fell, the River Sprint runs down the valley to the left of the track
File:Longsleddale - geograph.org.uk - 130672.jpg, Longsleddale. Looking north-east from the bridleway to Staveley, across the valley to Swinklebank.
File:Yewbarrow-hall-longsleddale.jpg, Ubarrow Hall
File:Longsleddale - geograph.org.uk - 677399.jpg, Longsleddale, sun on Goat Scar
See also
*
Listed buildings in Longsleddale
References
External links
Cumbria County History Trust: Longsleddale(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)
Longsleddale Community WebsiteLongsleddale Outdoor Pursuits Centre Website
{{Cumbria
Civil parishes in Cumbria
Valleys of Cumbria