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Sourmilk Gill, also known as Sour Milk Gill, is one of three gills of the same name. This gill is located in the Easedale Valley near Grasmere. It drains from Easedale Tarn, and is tributary of Easedale Beck, which itself is a tributary of the River Rothay. The water cuts deep into the ravine in several places, and opens up and becomes more shallow in others. There are several cascades, not all visible from the path, which strays from the gill for most of the route.
Etymology
Sourmilk Gill has been known by several different variations, all not too dissimilar to one another. Some use sour and milk separately, other uses comprise the compound word sourmilk. Gill has also been spelt ghyll, which is common throughout Lakeland.
The word Sourmilk comes from three elements. The first, from Old English sūr and/or Old Norse súrr, both meaning sour. The second comes from Old English meolc, which is milk, and the third element, from Old Norse gil, meaning ravine or gully. With regards to the Lake District, gill pertains especially to a ravine with a stream, and sometimes just refers to the stream itself.[1] This particular Sourmilk Gill (Easedale) was also known as Churnmilk Force by the romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge and diarist Dorothy Wordsworth. Similarly, Sourmilk Force was also in use around the same time.
The name is generally alluded to the "frothy whiteness" of its cascades. William Green (1819) describe it thus: "Sour Milk Gill, the sparkling water fall[sic] seen on the left, issues from Easedale Tarn. After heavy rains it pours down the mountain's side in a splendid volume, like molten silver, and in a most fascinating object."[2] Harriet Martineau (1855) very briefly describes it by saying "....the foaming cataract which is seen all over the valley, and is called Sour Milk Ghyll Force. The water and the track together will shew him the way to the tarn, which is the source of the stream."[3] Jonathon Otley (1834), from his A Concise Description of the English Lakes and Mountains describes it further with:
...."Easdale Tarn, which is one of the largest mountain tarns, seated in the western branch of Grasmere vale among rocky precipices, of which Blakerigg, or Blea Crag, is the principal. Its stream — from its frothy whiteness called Sourmilk Gill — is a striking object from the road."[4]
"Sourmilk Gill is a name applied to some mountain torrents, on account of their frothy whiteness resembling Butter-milk from the churn. We have Sour-milk Gill near Buttermere, Sour-milk Gill in Grasmere, and Sour-milk Gill near the Black-lead Mine in Borrowdale. The above enumerated are some of the most noted of the falls: but tracing the mountain streams into their deep recesses, they present an inexhaustible variety: smaller indeed, but frequently of very interesting features."[5]
Route to Easedale Tarn
The walk begins across flat ground on the valley floor, offering views of Greathead Crag and Helm Crag. Ascending near Sourmilk Gill can be a little strenuous at times, but nothing major that cannot be tackled by most people with general fitness. This is not a big climb by any stretch of the imagination, however, there are some slightly steeper sections that will certainly allow for time to pause and enjoy the views along the way. With its proximity to Grasmere, the route can get busy, certainly during the warmer, sunnier weather 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 (above photo). This is the best place to get some waterfall photos as its the first time the path runs closely along side it. After this the paths moves away from the gill when it levels out a little. However, the waterfalls here are a superb place to stop off for a few minutes and relax by the soothing sounds of cascading water. With a tripod and shutter release, some beautiful long exposure photos can be taken, even when the water is a mere trickle. The photos here were taken with an iPhone, so even with limited photographic gear, fairly pleasing photos of the falls can be achieved. The waterfall, however, is impressive with continued rainfall. There are several other minor falls along the route; mere pools in the summer, but torrents in the winter.
The route flatten out a little, with a slight incline all the way to the top. The path joins the gill again nearer the top where there are a series of small cascades over large boulders. These form part of the glacial debris deposited by the flow of ice during the Last Glacial Period. As you approach the moraine, the dam formed by glacial debris, the outflow of Easedale Tarn is the start of Sourmilk Gill, although the water catchment started higher up with the crag above Codale Tarn.
Sourmilk Gill elsewhere
There are two other Sourmilk Gills in Lakeland. One is at Seathwaite, at the head of the Borrowdale Valley, and the other is located south-east of Buttermere, the outflow draining from Bleaberry Tarn.
References
- ↑ Whaley, Diana (2006). A Dictionary of Lake District Place-Names. English Place-Name Society. School of English Studies, University of Nottingham. p.315.
- ↑ Green, William (1819). The Tourists New Guide. Vol. 1. Kendal: R. Lough & Co. p.400.
- ↑ Martineau, Harriet (1855). A Complete Guide to the English Lakes Windermere: John Garnett. p.51.
- ↑ Otley, Jonathon (1834). Concise Description of the English Lakes. Fifth Edition. Keswick: Jonathon Otley. p.34.
- ↑ Otley (1834) p.46.