The Newlands Valley is in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. It is regarded as one of the most picturesque and quiet valleys in the national park, even though it is situated very close to the popular tourist town of Keswick and the busy A66 road.
The valley forms part of the civil parish of Above Derwent, within the Borough of Allerdale.
The earliest signs of human settlement in the valley have been found at Ullock, where evidence of a Bronze Age burial site has been found. The remains of a Celtic workshop were also found at Portinscale. Viking herdsmen arrived in Cumbria after 800 AD. Many of the present day place names in the Newlands valley have their origins from these early Norse settlers. The valley area was originally called Rogersat or Rogersyde which was derived from the Old Norse “Roger-Saetr”, which translates as Summer pasture belonging to Roger. The present day Newlands valley settlements of Keskadale, Skelgill, Birk Rigg, High Snab and Uzzicar all have their name origins from the early Viking settlers.
The name “Newlands” did not come into being until after the 13th century when it was used to describe the usable new land which had been created at the foot of the valley between Portinscale and Braithwaite by the draining of a large swampy and marshy area. At the start of the 14th century the rents paid by the tenant farmers in the valley started to rise steadily as the cultivated areas were extended and the population increased. Some of the families in the valley have lived in the area for hundreds of years, with the Fischers, Tickells, Thwaites, Graves and Maysons all mentioned in the manorial records from the 15th century and still living in the valley in the 20th century. [1]
The valley has a minor motor road that traverses its entire length; it starts at the village of Braithwaite on the A66 and continues over Newlands Hause to Buttermere. Another road starts at the hamlet of Portinscale (also on the A66) and joins the route from Braithwaite near the village of Stair. The valley is thinly populated, consisting mainly of farms and tourist accommodation. Stair is the main settlement in the valley and is the location of the Newlands Adventure Centre and the Swinside Inn, which is the only pub in the valley and is situated one kilometre to the north of Stair. Demolition began in 2006 of Rigg Beck, the well-known "purple house" on the main Braithwaite–Buttermere road; this large Victorian house was for many years a source of cheap accommodation for visitors (including Ted Hughes, Tenzing Norgay, Doug Scott, Tom Courtenay and Bob Hoskins). The building was destroyed by fire on 30 June 2008. [2] In its place now stands a new house built from grey stone. [3]
Further up the valley is the hamlet of Little Town, which has been made famous by the writings of Beatrix Potter, whose 1905 children's book The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle is based in the area and opens with the line "Once upon a time there was a little girl called Lucie, who lived at a farm called Little-town. She was a good little girl--only she was always losing her pocket- handkerchiefs!". [4] Little Town consists of a farm and a few cottages, and is the site of the small whitewashed Newlands Church, which was originally built in the 16th century but had fallen into disrepair by the 19th century. It was gradually rebuilt over a number of years and was re-opened in 1885. The stained glass window on the east wall dates from 1845, while the south facing window is a memorial to a World War I soldier.
This chapel was visited by William Wordsworth in May 1826, inspiring him to write a stanza in his poem “To May”, the full poem being on display in the chapel. In 2000 the chapel underwent restoration. [5] Little Town used to have its own school – before it was closed in 1967 – as well as its own pub, which closed and was converted to farm buildings many years ago. Skelgill, on the slopes of Catbells, is a farm dating back to the 14th century, which includes a 12-bedded camping barn for visitors. The most southerly habitation in the valley is Keskadale farm, a traditional sheep and beef cattle farm, which has been in the Harryman family for generations and also offers tourist accommodation. [6] For car drivers, the Newlands valley ends at Newlands Hause at a height of 333 metres (1093 feet), where there is a car park at the foot of the slopes of Robinson; the Moss Force waterfall can be seen coming down from the fell. From the hause, the road descends steeply to Buttermere.
The Newlands Valley was extensively mined and quarried for many centuries; lead, copper, silver and even gold have been extracted over the years. The most famous mine in the Lake District is situated in Newlands. This is the Goldscope mine, on the lower slopes of Hindscarth near Low Snab farm, which has operated since the 16th century. It yielded such large amounts of lead and copper that it was called “Gottesgab” (God's Gift) by the German miners brought over to develop the mine in its early days. The mine closed at the end of the 19th century, not because it was exhausted but because the mine's main shaft had gone so deep it had become uneconomic to pump the water from it. Other well-known mines in the valley are Barrow lead mine, on the slopes of Barrow, which closed in 1888; the Yewthwaite lead mine, which occupies a small valley between the fells of Catbells and Maiden Moor and ceased production in 1893; and the long-closed Dale Head copper mine, established by German miners in Elizabethan times.
The scenery of the Newlands valley consists of farmland in the valley bottom and soaring fells above. Fells that have their foot in the valley include Barrow, Causey Pike, Catbells, Ard Crags, Knott Rigg, Maiden Moor, High Spy, Dale Head, Hindscarth and Robinson. The quality of the fell walking is very good; the Newlands horseshoe is a 14-kilometre walk, starting and finishing at Little Town, with over 1,000 metres of ascent, taking in most of the 2,000-foot peaks at the head of the valley. [7] On the steep slopes of Ard Crags above Keskadale farm is Keskadale Oakwood, which is an ancient oak and alder woodland, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation. It has an area of 50 hectares and has been fenced off for an initial period of 15 years to encourage natural regeneration and keep out grazing animals. [8]
Dale Head is a fell in the north-western sector of the Lake District, in northern England. It is 753 metres or 2,470 foot above sea level and stands immediately north of Honister Pass, the road between Borrowdale and Buttermere.
Robinson is a fell in the English Lake District, its southern slopes descending to Buttermere, while its northern side is set in the Newlands Valley. Paths lead to the summit from the village of Buttermere, from the nearby summit Dale Head and from various locations in the valleys to the north.
Grasmoor is a mountain in the north-western part of the Lake District, northern England. It is the highest peak in a group of hills between the villages of Lorton, Braithwaite and Buttermere, and overlooks Crummock Water.
Cat Bells is a fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria. It has a height of 451 metres (1,480 ft) and is one of the most popular fells in the area. It is situated on the western shore of Derwentwater within three miles of the busy tourist town of Keswick. Its distinctive shape catches the attention of many visitors to the Lakes who feel compelled to climb to the summit after seeing it from the viewpoint of Friars' Crag on the opposite side of Derwentwater. The Lake District writer and walker Alfred Wainwright acknowledges the popularity of Cat Bells among fellwalkers of all abilities by saying:
"It is one of the great favourites, a family fell where grandmothers and infants can climb the heights together, a place beloved. Its popularity is well deserved: its shapely topknott attracts the eye offering a steep but obviously simple scramble."
Crag Hill is a mountain in the North Western part of the English Lake District. It was formerly known as Eel Crag; however, the Ordnance Survey now marks Eel Crag as referring to the northern crags of the fell. It is not to be confused with another Crag Hill lying on the border of North Yorkshire.
Causey Pike is a fell in the English Lake District. It is situated in the Newlands Valley, 5 kilometres south-west of the town of Keswick. Even though it has a modest height of 637 metres (2,090 ft) it is one of the most distinctive fells when viewed from the Derwent Water and Keswick area due to its distinguishing summit "knobble" which catches the eye. The fell is one of 214 fells described by Alfred Wainwright in his series of Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells: Causey Pike features in Book Six, The North Western Fells.
Hindscarth is a mountain between the valleys of Buttermere and Newlands, in the north-western part of the English Lake District. The fell's name is derived from two words from the Old Norse language, Hind and Skarth, and means the pass used by the red deer.
Above Derwent is a civil parish in Cumbria, England, to the west of Derwentwater and Keswick. It lies entirely within the Lake District National Park.
Ard Crags is a fell in the Lake District in Cumbria, England, it is situated in the Newlands Valley just off the minor road between Keswick and Buttermere. The Ordnance Survey officially records the fell's altitude at 581 metres (1,906 ft), considerably more than the approximate 1,860 feet (570 m) that Alfred Wainwright attributed to it in his Pictorial Guide to the North Western Fells, published in 1964 well before the advent of satellite mapping. Ard Crags is situated close to other higher fells such as Causey Pike and Eel Crag and can be easily overlooked. However, viewed from certain points in the Rigg Beck or Newlands valley area it presents a clearly defined and pyramidal shape which catches the eye.
Outerside is a fell in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. It is located 6 kilometres west of Keswick in the north western part of the national park and is a smaller member of the Coledale group of fells with a height of 568 metres. The fell is part of a ridge on the southern side of Coledale which descends from the higher fell of Scar Crags and continues over the neighbouring smaller fell of Barrow before reaching the valley at the village of Braithwaite.
Scar Crags is a fell in the north western part of the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria. It is one of the Coledale group of fells situated seven kilometres south west of Keswick and reaches a height of 672 metres (2,205 ft).
Maiden Moor is a fell in the English Lake District, it stands 6 km south of the town of Keswick and is part of the high ground that separates the Newlands Valley and Borrowdale, it has a modest height of 576 m (1,890 ft) and so fails to be mentioned on many UK mountain lists but it does have a separate chapter in Alfred Wainwright’s Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells.
High Spy is a fell in the English Lake District it is situated on the ridge that separates the Newlands Valley from Borrowdale, eight kilometres south of Keswick.
Sail is a hill in the English Lake District, lying between Derwentwater and Crummock Water.
Knott Rigg is a fell at the head of the Newlands Valley in the English Lake District. It is situated some 8+1⁄2 kilometres south west of Keswick and has a modest height of 556 metres. Its name is derived from the Old English language and means “hill on a knobbly ridge”. Because of its moderate height, the fell fails to be listed on any significant hill lists but it does merit a separate chapter in Alfred Wainwright’s Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells.
The North Western Fells are a part of the Cumbrian Mountains in the Lake District of England. Including such favourites as Catbells and Grisedale Pike, they occupy an oval area beneath the Buttermere and Borrowdale valley systems. The North Western Fells are characterised by soaring east-west ridges and an absence of mountain tarns.
Newlands Beck is a minor river of Cumbria in England.
Newlands Church is a 16th-century church situated less than 500 metres west of the hamlet of Little Town, Cumbria, England in the Newlands Valley of the Lake District. Its exact date of origin is unknown, but a map of 1576 shows a "Newlande Chap." on the site.
Rigg Beck is a minor river of Cumbria in England.
Above Derwent is a civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It contains 16 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. All the listed buildings are designated at Grade II, the lowest of the three grades, which is applied to "buildings of national importance and special interest". The parish is in the Lake District National Park, and it includes the settlements of Braithwaite, Thornthwaite, Portinscale, Stair and Little Town. Parts of the parish are agricultural, and much of it consists of fells and mountains. All the listed buildings are in the settlements and the valleys. Most of them are, or originated as, houses, farmhouses, and farm buildings. The other listed buildings include churches, war memorial and a bridge.