The Lyth Valley is on the edge of 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 ...

in Cumbria, England. It gives its name to an

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

(one of 45 in

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 ...

). The valley is sheltered by limestone hills and enjoys a relatively mild micro-climate for northern England. It is noted for its

damson The damson () or damson plum (''Prunus domestica'' subsp. ''insititia'', or sometimes ''Prunus insititia''),M. H. Porche"Sorting ''Prunus'' names" in "Multilingual multiscript plant names database, University of Melbourne. Plantnames.unimelb.ed ...

orchards.

Literary associations

Mrs Humphry Ward Mary Augusta Ward (''née'' Arnold; 11 June 1851 – 24 March 1920) was a British novelist who wrote under her married name as Mrs Humphry Ward. She worked to improve education for the poor and she became the founding President of the Women' ...

in her '' Helbeck of Bannisdale'' celebrated the valley in springtime, with its "mists of fruit blossoms. For the damson trees were all out, patterning the valleys".Quoted in G. Lindop, ''A Literary Guide to the Lake District'' (London 1993) p. 20 * Margot Robert Adamson, the

Scottish Renaissance The Scottish Renaissance ( gd, Ath-bheòthachadh na h-Alba; sco, Scots Renaissance) was a mainly literary movement of the early to mid-20th century that can be seen as the Scotland, Scottish version of modernism. It is sometimes referred to as ...

poet, wrote of this "Wide silent valley/Beneath whose scree-faced hill the sea birds call". *

Alfred Wainwright Alfred Wainwright MBE (17 January 1907 – 20 January 1991), who preferred to be known as A. Wainwright or A.W., was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume ''Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'', published ...

maintained that "The supreme joy of the Lyth valley is its annual springtime renewal", with damson blossom "appearing as white puffs of smoke all over the valley".

Drainage

The flat bottom of the valley was originally bog, but it has been drained for the benefit of farmers. In recent years there has been controversy about the cost of the pumps which keep the valley drained. For some years the pumping has been funded by the

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

, but the Agency decided that its resources would be better deployed on more significant problems in the area. The creation of an

Internal drainage board An internal drainage board (IDB) is a type of operating authority which is established in areas of special drainage need in England and Wales with permissive powers to undertake work to secure clean water drainage and water level management withi ...

has been discussed as an alternative. The Agency committed itself to keeping the pumping stations in operation until 2020 to allow more time for a decision on how water level management would to be organised in future.

Ecological implications

There have been objections from environmentalists to a drainage regime which does not take account of the valley's contribution to biodiversity. It is argued that a less intensive drainage scheme would benefit wildlife, and still allow farming or

paludiculture Paludiculture is wet agriculture and forestry on peatlands. Paludiculture combines the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from drained peatlands through rewetting with continued land use and biomass production under wet conditions. “Paludi” ...

. In 2014 it was reported that 35 ha of wetland habitat was being created in the Lyth Valley on the edge of the Sizergh estate. The project received funding from

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

as part of a higher level stewardship scheme. It was hoped to attract

bittern Bitterns are birds belonging to the subfamily Botaurinae of the heron family Ardeidae. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive than other members of the family. They were called ''hæferblæte'' in Old English; the word "bittern" ...

and other wildlife.

References

{{coord, 54.29943, -2.84220, display=title Valleys of Cumbria Wards of Cumbria