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Alcock Tarn

Small body of water near Grasmere
Alcock Tarn
Name Meaning Alcock's pool[1]
Name Origin English surname
Type Areally scoured (glacial)
Enlarged by dam
Max. Depth 2 metres (6½ feet)
Surface Area 0.70 hectares (1.73 acres)
Surface Elevation 365 metres (1,190 feet)
Access Footpaths
Topo Map OL7 Explorer
Coordinates 54.462209 , -3.0057301
OS Grid Ref. NY349078
what3words wages.enforced.excavated
Photo Gallery Alcock Tarn/Photo gallery
Photo gallery of Alcock Tarn

Alcock Tarn, also known as Allcock Tarn, is a small body of water on a fairly level, but small shelf on the upper reaches of Heron Pike, high above the village and lake of Grasmere. It lies at an elevation of 365 metres (1,190 feet) and has a depth of around 2 metres (6.5 feet). It’s location gives a feeling of isolation; an open and somewhat featureless environment that affords expansive views across the valley to neighbouring fells. The ridge here is a fine example of areal scouring of the bedrock surface from the last glacial period; ice moving slowly over long periods of time, carving the many features we see today as tarns and pools.[2][3]

Historically, the tarn has had several names. Ordnance Survey named it Allcock Tarn in 1899, but it has also been known as Grey Crag Tarn, and Butter Crag Tarn, due to it’s proximity to the nearby Crags of the same names.[1] In this instance, the word Butter may derive from the British chieftain Boethar, who had a stronghold on the prominence of Burtharlyp Howe in Grasmere.[4] It is Grasmere resident, Mr Alcock of The Hollins, today known as Hollens Farm, who, during the late 19th century, built a small stone and earth dam at the southern end, and stocked the tarn with brown and rainbow trout.[5][6] The tarn is larger today than its original size as a result of the dam.

Celebrated landscape artist and resident of Grasmere, William Heaton Cooper (1903 – 1995), describes Alcock Tarn in his book, The Tarns of Lakeland thus:

It is a modest and pleasant sheet of water, a mirror of the distant sky as one looks southwards towards the lowlands, Windermere and the sea, and it is set among rolling grasslands interlaced by numerous sheep trods. After a few days of hard frost without wind this tarn, being shallow and above the thousand-foot level, gives some of the earliest skating of the winter in a very pleasant setting. For myself, I would say that the most interesting thing about Alcock Tarn is what you see from it, especially as you look down on the valley and village below and can pick out each house and each turn of road and river, following the Easedale Valley up through field and farmland and out to Near and Far Easedale and the broad plateau of High Raise against the sky.[6]

There are two main routes up to Alcock Tarn: from Dove Cottage to the south, and the historic Swan Inn from the northern end of Grasmere. A third route, being much longer, starts from Rydal Mount and ascends Nab Scar, perfect for the energetic with a penchant for steeper climbs. Walking time to the tarn will vary considerably based on route taken, physical fitness, and how many photos you take on the way! The first and second routes are of similar length. For these you should allow a minimum of an hour each way to enjoy the scenery on the way up...and down! It is the route that passes by Dove Cottage that entertains a particularly interesting story.

Heaton Cooper explains that the Hollins was once owned by the Harwood family, of which Mrs Harwood had some form of disability. It would appear that in his wisdom, or maybe at his wife's request, Mr Harwood built a road to the tarn so that Mrs Harwood had the freedom to ride her pony cart there. It was at the tarn where she would entertain her guests at a small summer house with a picnic tea.[6] On a warm summer's day it is not difficult to immagine how thoroughly pleasant that would have been, especially with the views on offer across the valley. The road Mr Harwood had built, no doubt at great expense if it was indeed constructed, is more like a track by today's standards, but the route to the tarn is fairly uncomplicated, hard wearing, and encounters no major issues along the majority of it's course. Shortly after the initial incline, and before the route zig-zags up one of the steeper sections, there is a small unnamed tarn. It appears on the Ordnance Survey map, and upon first viewing it is clearly artificial. It lacks any particular interest other than its a quiet little sun trap. For what purpose it was used for is unclear, but I guess someone, somehwere will know. The route also crosses a beck from Alcock Tarn, the outflow of which passes through the dam at its southern fringe. Whilst there are no major drops along the course, the sound of water coursing it way through the landscape is pleasant, and after a rainy spell provides a couple of photographic opportunities. In short, the views this route provides outweigh any effort involved.

Heron Pike is part of the Fairfield group of fells, and Wainwright's Eastern Fells. It offers a lengthy walk along its spine via its parent peak, Great Rigg, all the way to Grisedale Tarn. Another much smaller body of water, more like a pond, is Dockey Tarn, approximately 500 metres (1,640ft) south-east.

The fell side from Dove Cottage up to and including Alcock Tarn, a total of 69.41 acres (28.09 hectares), is owned by the National Trust, who acquired the land on 22 January, 1943.[7]


Alcock Tarn with bur-reeds looking towards Stone Arthur, Great Rigg and Butter Crag (front centre), and the slope of Heron Pike to the right.


Alcock Tarn looking towards Butter Crag, Heron Pike, and the peak of Great Rigg to the left. Taken from an elevated area on the western edge of the tarn.


View looking south-southeast, taken from a small rocky peninsula on the western edge of the tarn.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Whaley (2006) p.4
  2. Smith (2014) p.37
  3. Smith (2014) p.63
  4. Cooper (1960) p.133
  5. Blair (2003) p.26
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Cooper (1960) p.134
  7. Alcock Tarn – National Trust Land Map Access 31 May, 2023.

Sources

  • Blair, Don (2003). Exploring Lakeland Tarns: A Complete Guide. Revised Edition. Lakeland Manor Press. Keswick, Cumbria.
  • Cooper, W.Heaton (1960). The Tarns of Lakeland. London: Frederick Warne and Co. Ltd.
  • Smith, Alan (2014). The Smaller Lakes and Tarns of Lakeland. The Landscapes of Cumbria No.6. Rigg Side Publications. Keswick, Cumbria.
  • Whaley, Diana (2006). A Dictionary of Lake District Place-Names. English Place-Name Society. School of English Studies, University of Nottingham.
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