Newlands Valley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Newlands Valley is located within the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England at the approximate grid reference of NY235204. 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.
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[edit] Settlements
The valley has a minor motor road which 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 includes 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).
Further up the valley the hamlet of Little Town consists of a farm and a few cottages, and is the site of the small whitewashed Newlands Church which was rebuilt in 1843. This church 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 church. 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. For car drivers, the Newlands valley ends at Newlands Hause at a height of 333 metres (1093 feet), where there is a car park underneath the slopes of Robinson; the Moss Beck waterfalls are well seen coming down from the fell. From the hause the road descends steeply to Buttermere.
[edit] Mining
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, located on the lower slopes of Hindscarth near Low Snab farm, which has operated since the 1500s. It yielded such large amounts of lead and copper that it was called “Gottesgab” (God's Gift) by the German miners who were 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, located 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, which was started by German miners in Elizabethan times.
[edit] Landscape and scenery
The scenery of the Newlands valley consists of farmland in the valley bottom and soaring fells above, giving a landscape of tranquil beauty. 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 3,000 feet of ascent and taking in the 2,000-foot peaks at the head of the valley.
[edit] External links
- 360 degree panorama from Newlands Church
- Report on demolition of Rigg Beck
- Photographs of Newlands Valley
