.jpg) |
||
| Easedale Tarn | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name Origin | Old Norse | |
| Type | Cirque (glacial) | |
| Inflows | Multiple (nameless) | |
| Outflows | Sourmilk Gill | |
| Max. Length | 480 metres (1,574 feet) | |
| Max. Width | 300 metres (984 feet) | |
| Max. Depth | 21 metres (69 feet) | |
| Surface Area | 10.60 hectares (26.18 acres) | |
| Surface Elevation | 279 metres (915 feet) | |
| Access | Footpaths | |
| Topo Map | OL7 Explorer | |
| Coordinates | 54.469273 , -3.0694096 | |
| OS Grid Ref. | NY307087 | |
| what3words | trainers.tones.prettiest | |
| Photo Gallery | Easedale Tarn/Gallery | |
Easedale Tarn is set amongst the backdrop of fairly steep-sided crags that offers the walker a pleasant scene upon arrival. The view across the tarn is a wide, open basin, with Eagle Crag, Blea Crag, Slapestone Edge, Tarn Crag, and Greathead Crag all seamlessly blending in with one another to give the appearance of a continuous ridge from the northern periphery to the south-western extremes. These craggy peaks provide the viewer with photo-worthy opportunities to capture the entire catchment of this somewhat irregular-shaped, but no less intriguing, cirque tarn.
Etymology
The word Easedale comes from the Old Norse personal forename Ási and Old Norse dalr meaning dale or valley, plus the word tarn, which has roots in the Old Norse word tjörn meaning a small mountain lake, pond or pool. A literal translation of Easedale would be Ási's valley.[1]
Geography
Four inlet becks feed the tarn. The main one, from the south-west, comes "down from below the great hands of rock that form the south wall of High Raise", whilst another comes from Castle Howe, and another "spending most of its journey under the scree that falls from Tarn Crag."[2] There are multiple small water sources, seemingly plentiful enough to supply the tarn year round, where perch, eels and brown trout and are happy to call home.[3] Although how they got there has been debated, with possible resolutions being spawn carried by birds, simply someone saw reason to stock the tarn, or possibly both.[4][note 1]
Unlike other cirque tarns, Easedale Tarn actually contains two basins; the deeper basin on western end and a shallower basin, located near the outlet by the unusually large moraine.[5] The southern aspect of the cirque is clearly less pronounced and more of a gentler, morainic slope. This is not the classic cirque-feature shape where three sides are usually steep and fairly circular, with a moraine that is relatively low in comparison. Here, the moraine is quite extensive and raises either side of the outlet at Sourmilk Gill. Artist William Heaton Cooper (1903 – 1995) calls these a "complex system of moraines" where the continuous flow of water has "carved a channel, and falls over boulders and through mossy banks" where it playfully "spreads out all its white loveliness in a pattern of feathery falls and bubbling rock pools."[2] This indeed, sounds beautifully poetic and reality, depending on what time of year, is a just description. The prominences at the outlet offer superb views in every direction. Cooper also describes Easedale tarn as a place most enjoyed in more clement weather:
For Myself, I find that the tarn and its combe look best on days of hazy sunshine, when the atmosphere can give a feeling of distance to the surrounding crags that, on a clear day, seem to enclose and almost overpower this mountain corrie. But then I always prefer space and light on a mountain to the darkened hollows so beloved of earlier and more romantic writers on the district.[6]
The tarn can be walked around in its entirety. On the southern side, the main bridleway forms a thoroughfare to Codale Tarn and the heights of Blea Rigg. This we have found to be relatively dry and in good condition, although there are several wet areas as it crosses the becks or other minor water sources that flow into the tarn. Continuing on this path will instead take the walker to a cairn on High Raise at 762 metres (2,500 feet). If continuing round the tarn, the bridleway meets the minor path past the south-western corner. It’s not immediately apparent there is another path at this juncture, but on the Ordnance Survey map, and OpenStreetMap it is clearly marked. Even during the summer months, the western side can become boggy. The path on the northern side hugs the edge of the tarn. Extensive bracken growth covering most of the path can make it difficult, but not impossible, to follow. From this section of path, heading eastwards, it is fairly obvious in which direction to follow with the peaks of the moraine in the distance. Each way around the tarn would be equally enjoyable to the first-time visitor; its simply personal preference at the time.
.jpg)
.jpg)
The refreshments hut
A visitor to the tarn today would not be aware that a small hut, built of Stone sometime in the 19th century by Robert Hayton of Grasmere, was positioned on the moraine, near Sourmilk Gill. Thousands of people ascend the route to Easedale Tarn every year, and more than likely every one of them without local knowledge of the tarn will be unaware that there once stood this unassuming little building, originally used to shelter ponies and their riders. Heaton Cooper describes the scene where "such an expedition was thought to be a considerable adventure, as it could well be when skirts trailed on the ground and their owners rode side-saddle."[4] A period in history where women were breaking away from the rigid social norms and expressing an interest in exploration.
When Robert died in 1888, it was his daughter Ann Wilson, who let the hut for five shillings a year. The hut was on common land, part of Grasmere Common, so notable on the Ordnance Survey maps of today. Although Robert had built the hut, it belonged to the commoners of Grasmere. A gentleman known by the name "Swanny" Wilson had been busy providing refreshments by way of "sumptuous teas at a shilling a head"[7] to passers-by, keeping the track in good repair and free from flooding, and even renting a boat out to those who wished a jaunt on the tarn for good measure. By the 1930s, Heaton Cooper recalls that during his lifetime, he remembered the hut being used by Irishman, Michael O’Brien, who sold mineral water and entertained his guests by bending six inch nails with his bare hands; a great party trick if ever there was one. By the late 1950s to early 1960s, the hut was in a state of disrepair, ruined by vandals.
It was a sad end to a charming little place, perched high in the fells. It was later demolished and the stones used to erect a windbreak and cairn.[8] The location of the hut was probably the glacial large boulder next to the path as you enter the basin from the gill. An interesting article describes the hut and its proprietors in more detail. This long gone Victorian fellside refreshment stop was, indeed, unique. Sadly, we don't have any photos of the hut or the grisly-bearded proprietor, but the linked article has some excellent original photos, along with some quotes from contemporary sources of the time. Reading those brief stories and looking at the photos brings the history of the hut to life, and standing in the spot in which it was once resided, it is easy to see why it was built in such a beautiful, if somewhat isolated, landscape. Today, visitors to the site in their Gortex outdoor wear, Camelbaks and picnic lunches are a far-removed from the traditional outdoor pursuits of our Victorian ancestors and the buildings they left behind, some like this hut, now committed to history.
Sourmilk Gill
The walk up besides Sourmilk Gill can be a little strenuous at times, but nothing major that cannot be tackled by most people with general fitness. The views are impressive from many points along the way. With its proximity to Grasmere it can get busy, certainly during clement weather, Bank Holidays and throughout the summer months. Even wet weather doesn’t deter those keen to ascend the route with no one around, enjoying the eerie silence to themselves, and who can blame them? Halfway up the climb is one of the main drops of Sourmilk Gill Waterfall. This is a superb place to stop off for a few minutes and soak up the views as you start to ascend. As you would expect, the waterfall is impressive with continued rainfall, but in the heat of summer it can be little more than a trickle. That said, long exposure photography can still capture some impressive shots. There are several other minor falls along the route; mere pools in the summer, but torrents in the winter.
.jpeg)
As soon as the dark blue shimmer of the tarn's water comes into view, you are immediately aware of how picturesque this place really is, even in all aspects of Lakeland weather. From fair weather visitors to veteran fell walkers, all will appreciate the natural beauty abounded in this huge glacial hollow, which, given its size, can still give the appearance of being closed in. The interior is lacking trees of any kind, but nearly all the lower slopes are abundant in swathes of bracken. Water lilies will grow in the more sheltered south-western corner of the tarn, however, it is generally too deep, and its windswept nature means very little vegetation will grow here.[3]
On the other side of the ridge at Slapestone Edge, the smaller, more intimate Codale Tarn, also a cirque tarn, can be included as an addition to this 'there and back' walk.
Martineau's guide
The following is quoted from Harriet Martineau's Complete Guide to English Lakes.
The water and the track together will shew him the way to the tarn, which is the source of the stream. Up and on he goes, over rock and through wet moss, with long stretches of dry turf and purple heather; and at last, when he is heated and breathless, the dark cool recess opens in which lies Easedale Tarn. Perhaps there is an angler standing besides the great boulder on the brink. Perhaps there is a shepherd lying among the ferns. But more probably the stranger finds himself perfectly alone. There is perhaps nothing in natural scenery which conveys such an impression of stillness as tarns which lie under precipices: and here the rocks sweep down to the brink almost round the entire margin. For hours together the deep shadows move only like the gnomon of the sundial; and, when movement occurs, it is not such as disturbs the sense of repose; — the dimple made by a restless fish or fly, or the gentle flow of water in or out; or the wild drake and his brood, paddling so quietly as not to break up the mirror, or the reflection of some touch of sunlight, or passing shadow.
If there is commotion from gusts or eddies of wind, the effect is even more remarkable. Little white clouds are driven against the rocks, — the spray is spilled in unexpected places; now the precipices are wholly veiled, and there is nothing but the ruffled water to be seen: and again, in an instant, the rocks are disclosed so fearfully that they seem to be crowding together to crush the intruder. If this seems to the inexperienced like extravagance, let him go alone to Easedale Tarn, or to Angle Tarn on Bowfell, on a gusty day, and see what he will find.[9]
.jpg)
Notes
- ↑ From William Heaton Cooper's book, Tarns of Lakeland, on page 172 he describes remembering the Postmaster at Waterhead, a chap called Fred Gould, cycling around with a canvas bag of canisters that contained baby trout. He had stocked many tarns, but no one knew which. Sir James Paton, in 1925, stocked Easedale Tarn with 500 Loch Leven trout. However, at the time of writing he mentions Fred Mason, a postman at Grasmere who fished there regularly, believed there to be none of them left. This was prior to the book being published in 1960.
References
Sources
- Blair, Don (2003). Exploring Lakeland Tarns: A Complete Guide. Revised Edition. Lakeland Manor Press. Keswick, Cumbria.
- Cooper, W.H. (1960). The Tarns of Lakeland. London: Frederick Warne and Co. Ltd.
- Martineau, Harriet (1855). A Complete Guide to the English Lakes. Windermere: John Garnett
- Parker, John (1977). Cumbria: A Guide to the Lake District and its County. Edinburgh: John Bartholomew & Son.
- 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.