The Whillan Beck is a river in the west 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 the English 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 ...

. Administratively, the whole of the course of the Whillan Beck lies in the civil parish of Eskdale and the unitary authority of Cumberland. The Whillan Beck has its source at an altitude of in the outflow from

Burnmoor Tarn Burnmoor Tarn, on Eskdale Fell in Cumbria, England, is one of the largest entirely natural tarns in the Lake District. Its waters flow into Whillan Beck at the tarn's north-eastern corner, which immediately turns south and flows into Eskdale, j ...

, a natural tarn that sits at the foot of Scafell. It flows into the River Esk at Beckfoot, near the village of

Boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is cle ...

, at an altitude of . The beck descends vertically in a horizontal distance of . It drains much of the water falling on Scafell, either via the tarn or by a number of streams that join it further downstream, and has a

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of . In its lower reaches, the Whillan Beck powers the

Eskdale Mill Eskdale Green is a village in Cumbria, England, 10 miles west of Coniston. Historically in Cumberland, it lies off the A595 road and is one of the few settlements in Eskdale. Main sights The village is centred on the small St. Bega's Church ...

, a

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

corn mill in Boot. It then flows under the track of the narrow gauge Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway just before its Dalegarth terminus, and as a consequence the railway has named one of its steam locomotives after the beck. 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 ...

defines a Whillan Beck water body, including its catchment area and tributaries. In 2022, this water body was classified as having a good ecological status. File:Bulatt Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 795957.jpg, The outflow from the tarn File:Waterfall, Whillan Beck - geograph.org.uk - 2066913.jpg, Waterfall above Boot File:Ravenglass train at Dalegarth Station - geograph.org.uk - 268335.jpg, Railway bridge at Dalegarth File:Whillan Beck from Beckfoot Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 3587088.jpg, At Beckfoot

References

{{reflist, 30em Eskdale, Cumbria

Whillan Beck The Whillan Beck is a river in the west of the Lake District National Park in the English county of Cumbria. Administratively, the whole of the course of the Whillan Beck lies in the Eskdale, Cumbria, civil parish of Eskdale and the Cumberland ( ...