Haweswater in Drought

• A delightful lakeside path
• A reservoir history lesson
• Quiet & peaceful

Haweswater is one of my favourite lakes. The views are fantastic, the path on the western shoreline one of the best in the Lakes and their is a fascinating history surrounding the drowned villages of Mardale Green and Measedale. However my enthusiasm for Haweswater is more to do with the tranquility and peace of the Mardale Valley only found elsewhere in Wastwater. The quietness comes from a combination of steep mountain sides, lack of villages and hamlets and its inaccessibility. I have heard Haweswater described as a dead lake due to the artificial raising of the lake in 1940 but for the walker that has provided a wilderness epitomised by the nesting Golden Eagles in Riggondale. The western shoreline path is considerably more attractive than that on the eastern shore but I found a few sections on the road increased the enjoyment considerably. The road is not busy and particularly nearer the dam itself the road becomes a bit of a heaven from the unnecessarily stroppy obstructiveness of United Utilities. I always seem to visit Haweswater in drought conditions and this was no exception, the ghostly village of Mardale Green revealing itself although I do like the story that the church stone was used to help build the dam.

Recommend: Try and imagine what the valley was like before it was dammed in 1940. Odd.

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© Crown copyright 2010 Ordnance Survey. Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

OS Map:	O/S 1.25,000. OL5 The English Lakes North Eastern Area
Start Point:	507161. The small hamlet of Burnbanks is the best starting point followed by the inspired and beautiful west bank of Haweswater
Terrain:	The track on the eastern shore is intermittant but does exist till just short of the dam
Eating & Drinking:	I find the Mardale Inn, 1/2 way along the west shore a rather uninspiring place, it was dead when I was there last and they were just about to shut it up on a summer's evening. Better to go to the Romany Inn at Bampton
Similar Walks Nearby:	The ‘Other’ Borrowdale Exploring the Swinside Valley Twin Peaks of Longsleddale
Places to Stay: