Category: Eskdale
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Mediobogdum: A Harsh Posting for Rome’s Auxiliaries
It was not my first visit to Mediobogdum, better known as Hardknott Roman Fort, but it was the first time the weather allowed me to see it properly. The forecast had promised worse, yet the skies shifted restlessly, throwing sudden light and shadow across the valley of the River Esk, a green quilt of fields…
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Nab Gill: The Lost Industry of Eskdale
Cross the little packhorse bridge by Eskdale Mill in Boot, glance left, and you will see stone ruins that have long been forgotten. The remains stand upon a loading platform, above the overgrown site of Boot railway station. These are the offices and works of Nab Gill Ironstone Mine, named after the great cleft high…
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Stand-off in Eskdale
A stand-off on the path below Harter Fell. The lead yow stood her ground until I raised the camera, then broke into a dash that set the rest of the flock thundering up the fell. The Lakes is quintessential sheep country, and the sheep that defines it is the Herdwick. Wiry and stubborn, they seem…
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Peat storage hut, Birker Fell
I came across this ruin on the descent of Harter Fell. The Scafell range of fells provide a stunning backdrop. It is one of 35 huts that have been identified in the Eskdale area that were used for the storage of peat turves. Its date of construction is unclear, certainly post-medieval but it was still…