Aira Force

Ullswater is the second largest and arguably the most beautiful lake in England. The approach from Kirkstone Pass brings you to the small village of Glenridding. Since the closure of the nearby Greenside lead mine, the village is heavily reliant on the tourist industry. The area is very popular with hikers, particularly as a starting point for the challenging Helvellyn Ridge, incorporating Striding Edge and Swirral Edge.

 

Approximately two miles from Glenridding is Aira Force, possibly the most frequently visited waterfall in the Lake District.

Aira Force, thundering between the two packhorse bridges

 Aira Beck, the source of the falls, originates high on the slopes of Stybarrow Dodd. When it reaches the upper packhorse bridge it cascades 70 feet over moss strewn rocks, sending spray high into the air.
 Standing on the lower bridge makes for a great photo opportunity on a sunny day, when a rainbow is often visible in the spray. Not on this occasion however, it being a very overcast day.
Many visitors start the circular route from the National Trust car park located on the A592. Most are content to walk just as far as the stone bridges, enjoying the woodland paths on each side of the tumbling waters.

We chose a different starting point for our walk. Turning left onto the A5091 just before entrance to the falls there is a small, free car park, near the village of Dockray.





 We accessed the falls near to the top bridge and made our way up towards High Force. 
The view from here was simply beautiful.

 Heavy rain in the days before our visit meant Aira Beck was in full flow and the noise was deafening!

I  was hoping to realise one of my ambitions, namely to see a wild red squirrel. No luck on this occasion unfortunately, however this little robin gave us a beautiful serenade.

We crossed over the bridge and headed down the opposite side of the falls. There were very few people up here although I'm sure in the summer months that will definitely not be the case!

In the 1780's the Howard family of nearby Greystoke Castle owned a hunting lodge near to Aira Force and landscaped the area below the waterfall, planting over two hundred specimens of trees.

 

 

 
There is a mysterious story attached to the area which you can read about here...

I hope you've enjoyed the photos & thanks for visiting!

St. Peter's Church Finsthwaite and High Dam

St. Peter's Church is in the tiny village of Finsthwaite, near Newby Bridge in Cumbria. It has an unusual steeple structure and dates from around 1873, when it replaced an earlier building.

The church is accessed through a traditional lychgate, bordered by two ancient yew trees.

Historically, the lychgate formed part of the church. During funerals, the clergy would meet the corpse and part of the service would be read before burial. Some lych gates contained large flat stones called lich-stones upon which the shrouded corpse was laid.
Inside there are several beautiful stained glass windows, mosaics and a wooden beamed ceiling.

 The church also features a beautiful and intricately painted vaulted ceiling.

Outside, old gravestones lean this way and that, against a typical Lakeland backdrop.  One of the gravestones is connected to a possible Royal mystery, the occupant of the grave being known as "The Princess of Finsthwaite", alleged to be a daughter of Bonnie Prince Charlie, no less.

Nearby is the Stott Park Bobbin Mill, a working museum which illustrates the industrial heritage of the area. The mill supplied many of Lancashire's cotton mills with bobbins made from locally sourced ash trees, which were coppiced to provide a constant supply of wood to the mill.

Today the former mill is a popular tourist attraction between Easter and November. Visitors can watch bobbins being made using 100 year old methods and original machinery.
Nearby Finsthwaite Tarn was dammed in order to drive the water wheel which powered the mill. Now known as High and Low Dam, there is a popular and easy circular route around the tarn, the beginning of which is marked by a large wooden bobbin topped by a relief map of the area.

The inscription reads:
“This is the water that turned the wheel that spins the lathe, that shapes the wood, to make the bobbin, to wind the thread, that wove the wealth of Lancashire. These are the trees, that cut by man, will sprout again, feed Stott Mill, to make the bobbins to earn the pay, that fed the folk of Finsthwaite”.


 A short uphill walk through oak, birch and conifer woodlands bordered by rushing streams, brings you first to Low Dam. We walked on a bright but cold day with some snow on the ground and frozen branches near the water's edge.

 

 We decided to follow the path clockwise around the tarn....

 

  The tarn was partly frozen and very tranquil, making for great reflections.

 

Continuing uphill, we soon reached High Dam...

It was so peaceful here, up until this point we hadn't met a single person. Every so often there was a bit of chainsaw noise from the nearby woods, but apart from that it was blissfully silent. There were some weird and wonderful patterns frozen into the water.

 This one puts me in mind of The Shard.
 






 We found a lovely place to have our sandwiches and coffee...

 The Dam wall was within view in one direction, while across the water we could see the path we had recently walked.

 

  Continuing our walk we came into a clearing from which we had a great view of the snow topped fells in the distance.

 Soon we found ourselves  back at the car park.

On our way back home we stopped to admire some Highland cows, wonder if we had spotted a UFO and take a last photo of the gorgeous Lake District fells.

Read more about "The Princess of Finsthwaite" ...here

Read more about Stott Park Bobbin Mill .... here

Thanks for visiting, I hope you've enjoyed the photos, which can be viewed full size by clicking on them.