Hayeswater is an upland lake that is often seen from the fells,
occasionally visited if you have time when passing, but seldom
circumnavigated.
This day I fancied an upland walk in an area I hadn't been
to for ages, somewhere for the dogs (and me possibly) to get
a swim this hot day,
yet it should have a specific reason to make this walk desirable
over any other.
That reason was that I wanted to see the effect of re-naturalisation
of the lake and the valley after the old weir had been removed.
Parking was at the top car park in the village
of Hartsop.
I had my doubts about space because I had just
driven through Glenridding whilst the 'Ullswater Way One-Day
Challenge' was in mid-flight.
The place was thronging with sponsored walkers,
visitors, refreshments tents, extra facilities and marshalls.
My saving grace was the fact that the Kirkstone
Pass was shut for major road works and there were no visitors
arriving from Ambleside.
After all, a quiet parking area was something
positive coming from the road closure, apart from hopefully
an improved road !
A quiet car park and therefore a quiet track
with few walkers,
as I set off past the extensive sheep folds
that would be full of 'pink'
sheep at clipping time.
Decisions . . . left or right ?
Left takes you up to the Water Board buildings
and eventually Brock Crags and Angle Tarn Pikes
or right which is the old farm and water board
track to Hayeswater.
The old leat and water wheel foundations that
supplied power to the Hartsop Mine,
the entrance to which is hidden on the opposite
bank, under the shadow of the lower of the two trees.
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I was expecting a classic old field barn on the way
up
but this shiny new one was slightly unexpected.
In 2017 The National Trust built
a small hydro-electric
power station
utilising the water from Hayeswater Gill.
The barn is a well disguised new-build,
(the supply pipe for which is presumably sunk in
the trackway)
and the water outlet of the scheme is the dark square
in the bank opposite.
This would allow all the water extracted for generating
to return back into the river from whence it came.
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The old barn still exists and looks remarkably
similar to when I last saw it some ten years ago
Dougal looks across to The old Water Board treatment
house down in the valley.
Hayeswater Lake ceased to be a working reservoir
in 2004 and the property was emptied and sold to a private buyer.
It was in use as a private
camp house for a while, but it seems it is currently
on the market if you want to buy it.
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There's a steep ascent path to Angle Tarn
adjacent to the wall in the picture above and left.
That would be a tough route to climb on a hot day
like today.
However when taking a closer look at the original
photo
I found the two people I had seen climbing past the
boulders,
two thirds of the way up to route!
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Back to my walk
and this track is also climbing steadily,
up towards the top of the valley
that holds the lake I'm aiming to see today.
The Knott Summit features on the skyline ahead.
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A new bridge has been constructed, next to the
vehicle crossing point of the river.
Rather than crossing the bridge I stayed on
this bank in order to check out the weir I spotted in the river
bed.
Here water flowing down the river will spill
over into the hydro-pipeline collection point,
but only once the main river supply has been
ensured.
Up ahead is the gap where the old reservoir
dam used to be.
First built in 1908 to provide drinking water
for Penrith, the dam had a long history
but it was removed
in 2014 when the lake became a natural mountain tarn once
more.
This was my picture taken on a walk here in
2010
Now it is all cleared and the water level has
dropped about 2 metres as a result.
Still, it didn't stop five youngsters going
for a dip, watched by the myself and the walker . . . and investigated
by Dougal !
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All traces
have gone, apart from the odd patch of concrete. |
I decided to cross here
to make it an anticlockwise walk around the lake. |
The drop in water level has left a noticeable
scar but it has re-naturalised reasonably well in the last nine
years.
The final water's edge is still subject to the
rise and fall of the lake level during wet weather so is still
clear of gravel,
but the area behind has re-grown with natural
vegetation.
The old path up the valley still exists and
in places climbs high above the water.
However one hundred years of being covered in
water has meant the head of the lake has lost all its vegetation.
A panoramic shot from the old wall which enters
the lake just left of the centre of the valley.
The gravel area was reasonably firm but beyond
the wall, where the Hayeswater Gill enters the lake.
Here the bed of the old lake becomes a lot softer
and more muddy, especially close to the water's edge.
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The dogs
don't mind the pebbles and enjoy a swim despite the
geese. |
The other side of the
wall starts to make their legs change colour slightly. |
Crossing the valley, the pools and water course of the river
seemed full of minnows
though to catch a good picture of these fast moving young
fish proved slightly more problematic.
Back to gravel as I walk down the eastern shoreline.
The dogs had another swim which cleaned them up nicely and
I joined them as they said the water was nice and warm !
After an invigorating rub to warm up (never trust the dogs
when they say the water is warm)
we continue on . . . back to the foot of the lake.
After crossing the footbridge I head back down the track
towards the car.
The weather was beautiful today which allowed clear views
of the Helvellyn Fells across
the wooded top of the Hartsop-above-How ridge.
That triangular peak is not Catstycam but Gavel Pike, just
below the summit of St Sunday Crag.
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After an interesting walk on a hot day
I thought it best to support local industry
and provide the Brothers Water Inn
with some extra business,
after all the closure of the valley road
would have meant little other passing traffic.
The welcome pint of amber nectar was accompanied
by a rather nice lunch before the dogs and I returned
home.
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