19 - South Cumbria Low Fells : Description

Physical and functional links to other National Character Areas

The South Cumbria Low Fells border onto the Howgill Fells, Yorkshire Dales, Bowland Fringe, Morecambe Bay Limestones, West Cumbria Coastal Plain and Cumbria High Fells NCAs. The South Cumbria Low Fells have strong physical, ecological and cultural links with the Cumbria High Fells, and both are within the eroded dome of the Lake District massif.

The Cumbria High Fells form the dramatic backdrop to the South Cumbria Low Fells, rising abruptly from these gentler southern fells. From open, high land, there are panoramic views of the surrounding uplands and over the lowlands and estuaries of Morecambe Bay. To the west lie the Duddon Estuary and the west coast, and to the south lie the limestone ridges and valleys surrounding the broad expanse of Morecambe Bay, into which the NCA’s rivers flow. To the east there are views of the extensive tract of upland landscape comprising the high, rounded hills of the Howgill Fells, the Yorkshire Dales and the Bowland Fells.

The low fells, ridges and valleys of the NCA radiate in a north-south orientation from the eroded central dome of the Cumbria High Fells, with the principal water source for the major lakes and rivers of the South Cumbria Low Fells originating from this high ground to the north. The major lakes of Coniston Water and Windermere dominate the glaciated valleys, along with numerous smaller lakes and tarns. The rivers flow south from the higher uplands into Morecambe Bay. The River Lune originates in the Orton Fells NCA, at Ravenstonedale, and dominates the eastern extent of the South Cumbria Low Fells NCA as it flows south through the Lune gorge and broadens out into Lonsdale. The internationally designated River Kent and its tributaries, the Sprint and Mint, have their headwaters in the Cumbria High Fells NCA, from where they flow south, through Kendal, and enter Morecambe Bay in the Kent Estuary. The rivers Gilpin and Winster drain the low fell country between Kendal and Windermere, and pass through the Morecambe Bay Limestones before reaching Morecambe Bay. Rusland Pool flows south into Morecambe Bay, through Grizedale Forest, the Rusland Valley and into the River Leven.

The NCA provides many goods and services to areas beyond its boundaries: it provides timber and wood fuel from its extensive woodlands (including the large public forest estate holding in the area, as well as Grizedale Forest), agricultural products, drinking water, regulation of rainfall runoff and carbon sequestration.

The South Cumbria Low Fells today

South Cumbria Low Fells is characterised by undulating low fells and ridges, which are dissected by the two major lakes of Windermere and Coniston Water in the central section, and by minor river valleys throughout. The small valley slopes and ridges are, in many places, covered with extensive stretches of coniferous and broadleaved woodland, in particular in the Grizedale area. The rivers are generally fast-flowing over rocky beds, and lined with trees.

From these often confined valleys of enclosed pasture and woodland, there are glimpses of the backcloth of the higher Lakeland Fells to the north, and the surrounding limestone lowlands and Morecambe Bay to the south. To the east of Kendal, and the north and west of Ulverston, the landscape is more open, fields are medium to large in size, and they are bounded by well-maintained limestone walls. Woodland is less frequent in these areas, and vegetation is generally limited to small copses and belts of semi-natural trees and shrubs along watercourses. Weather and views are constantly changing, with the seasons marked by the bluebell woods in spring, the purple summer heather, the oranges of autumn trees and bracken, and the snow-clad fells in winter.

The area is underlain by the mudstones, siltstones and sandstones of the Windermere Group of Silurian age. While these are relatively hard rocks, they are less resistant to erosion than the Borrowdale Volcanic rocks to the north, and form a gentler, rolling landscape. The erosion by glaciers moving slowly southwards has created long, straight, U-shaped valleys, with craggy, knoll-like outcrops; large lakes, notably Windermere and Coniston Water, now occupy the ice-scoured valleys. Windermere has an indented shoreline, creating many attractive bays along the wood-lined banks. Esthwaite Water, designated as a Ramsar site, is a mesotrophic waterbody and is one of the most productive lakes in the Lake District. The site supports a rich assemblage of pondweeds and the diverse aquatic invertebrate fauna includes a number of species with restricted distributions in Britain.

The main rivers all rise in the higher land to the north, and flow south through the NCA to drain into the Duddon Estuary or Morecambe Bay. Rivers and streams are generally fast-flowing over rocky beds and lined with trees. The River Kent SAC flows from the Cumbria High Fells NCA through Kendal, and into the north-eastern part of the South Cumbria Low Fells NCA. The river is designated for its water crowfoot beds and important populations of white-clawed crayfish, bullhead and freshwater pearl mussel.

Land above 300 m is more rugged in character: a diverse pattern of heathland and rough grassland is interspersed with rocky outcrops, small tarns and becks, and stretches of bracken. Woodland and trees are infrequent at these higher altitudes. The elevated open land on the tops of the ridges provides striking long-distance views northwards, towards the Lakeland Fells, and also to Morecambe Bay in the south. The undulating fields, often of species-rich grassland, are bounded by drystone walls with rocky outcrops. The fells and valleys contain extensive areas of semi-natural habitats of high visual and nature-conservation importance, including internationally important mires, raised bogs and ancient woodland, forming an intricate mosaic of habitats along with grass fell, heathland, fens and grazed pasture. The area incorporating Subberthwaite, Blawith and Torver Common, in the west of the NCA, is internationally designated as an SAC for its mires. With over 200 mires across the hilly plateau, this site contains some of the best examples in the UK. The Duddon Mosses, also in the west of the NCA, make up a complex of internationally important active and degraded raised bog, which crosses into the West Cumbria Coastal Plain NCA.

Woodland cover ranges from extensive conifer plantations and some mixed and broadleaved plantations, to several areas of semi-natural broadleaved woodland and copses on steep stream sides and knolls. Woodland is more extensive in the central and western parts of the area, with broadleaved and ancient semi-natural woodland concentrated in the area between Windermere and Coniston Water, along with the Forestry Commission-managed Grizedale Forest. Parkland is often associated with the shoreline estates of the main lakes, most of which developed from the late 18th century. The slopes and crags of the Yewbarrow Woods SAC contain internationally important yew groves in association with old sessile oak woods. In the east and far west of the NCA remnants of ancient semi-natural woodland do exist, but tree cover is generally limited to coniferous shelterbelts. Oak is the dominant woodland tree species on deeper soils, with areas of ash and hazel dominating limestones. Alder is more local in ‘flushed’ ground and along stream sides, with birch occurring at higher altitudes. Juniper is also present in some areas. The ancient semi-natural woodlands are a potential stronghold for the hazel dormouse.

Farmland consisting of improved, undulating pasture with groups of mature trees and small woodlands located on the edges of the principal lakes, and several large country house estates all give a parkland character to some areas. The presence of historic field systems, bounded by drystone walls of locally sourced materials, reflects the area’s importance as relatively productive pasture land in comparison with the thinner soils to the north. Land cover is principally undulating pasture for grazing and silage, within irregular and semi-regular fields that mostly pre-date the 18th century. More rectilinear fields (resulting from later enclosure and reorganisation) are a feature of the central and south-western areas, increasing in scale towards the east. The characteristic rocky knolls and slopes of the area mainly comprise unenclosed acid grassland and bracken cover, with patches of upland calcareous grassland along the narrow line of the Coniston Limestone in the west and around Kendal. The unenclosed rough grasslands of the fells are generally used for sheep grazing.

Population is relatively low, with villages and hamlets located in the valleys and on the lower slopes of the fells. Larger settlements developed at the towns of Windermere and Bowness in the 19th century, in response to demand for tourist facilities, and contain many Victorian buildings constructed from thinly-bedded Silurian slate walls and roofs, or rendered and then painted white. Kendal is a significant market town, granted a charter in the 12th century, and serving the many villages surrounding it. Hawkshead is a smaller settlement, which consists of a core of traditional 18th-century slate buildings and narrow streets, and a collection of Victorian additions. Many smaller villages and hamlets in the area typically consist of a farm, workers’ cottages, a pub and a church or chapel. Many of these settlements no longer consist of farming communities, rather their character is now considerably influenced by second homes, the presence of tourist facilities such as caravan sites and hotels, and bungalow developments. Local geology is reflected in the vernacular architecture of farmsteads, walls and older buildings, with slate, granite, sandstone and limestone all used as construction materials – depending on the bedrock. Roads form an intricate pattern, undulating and twisting through the landscape to serve the scattered villages and farmsteads. Often lined with hedges or scrubby vegetation, and individual mature trees including ash, oak and hazel, the lanes appear to be an integral part of the landscape.

The area is a major tourism destination, with visitors attracted by the lakes, woodlands, upland landscape, semi-natural habitats, cultural and historic heritage, and the richness of recreational opportunities such as lakeshore access at Windermere, which provides for sailing, canoeing, rowing and swimming. The numbers of seasonal visitors to the area, and particularly the visual impact of vehicular traffic and water-based recreational activity on Windermere, have a significant effect on the way in which this landscape is perceived in the summer months.

The Lake District has been nominated as a prospective World Heritage Site for the influence that its natural environment and traditional farming have had on writers and artists, on the Picturesque, Romantic and conservation movements, and on the birth of the National Trust. John Ruskin and Beatrix Potter were particularly influential in the formation of the conservation movement in England, as well as living and working in the area. The open fells have retained a sense of tranquillity and remoteness.

The landscape through time

While the South Cumbria Low Fells create an immediate contrast with the rugged Lake District mountains to the north, the geology of the South Cumbria Low Fells and Cumbria High Fells are unified by their common origin as a deeply eroded dome of ancient rocks. Marine sedimentary grits and fissile mudstones of Silurian age underlie the South Cumbria Low Fells. The folded and fractured nature of these rocks provides evidence of earth movements and pressures in the crust between 400 and 300 million years ago. The varying hardness of the Silurian rocks, along with glacial, fluvio-glacial and periglacial processes, contribute to the complex topography of the area. The slow, southward movement of glaciers during the Quaternary period has created long, straight U-shaped valleys now occupied with large, deep lakes such as Windermere and Coniston Water. Glacial tills coat valley sides and slopes, with fluvio-glacial and recent deposits of sands and gravels on valley bottoms. To the south-east of the area there are significant drumlin fields, creating a ‘basket-of-eggs’ topography.

Because the soils of the area are relatively fertile in comparison with the thinner cover on the fells to the north, or over the limestones to the south, the land has supported farming – probably continuously – since Neolithic times. The presence of historic field systems, settlement patterns – some from medieval times – and evidence of several deer parks in the area, underline its importance as productive pasture land. By the 12th century, the influence of the church and monasticism had increased, and the monasteries of Furness Abbey and Cartmel Priory controlled much of the farmland in the area. They also made a useful contribution to the economic development of the region.

To the north-east of Dalton, in the Furness area, iron ore deposits were exploited by local monastic houses and an early foundry for the smelting of iron was established at Backbarrow near Newby Bridge, using coppice timber as a source of fuel. The steady development of the wool trade from the 13th century onwards resulted in extensive sheep grazing on the fells. In the later part of the 17th century, the prosperity of the farming community reached new heights due to the demand for wool and other textile products, and resulted in the construction of the large farmsteads and churches that are still located throughout the area.

By the 17th century industrial buildings had become a significant component of the landscape, especially bloomeries, bobbin mills and potash kilns around Grizedale and Furness Fells. Such industries were strongly dependent on woodland management techniques (timber production, coppicing and standards) and their associated charcoal burning, leading to woodlands becoming a significant feature across large areas of the central and western low fells. Iron ore deposits have been mined in the area since medieval times, with industrial development continuing in the 17th and 18th centuries, with the smelting of copper ore.

Increased prosperity in farming (particularly cattle rearing) and the southern Lakeland industries (spinning and weaving) left a lasting imprint on buildings and the landscape: many scattered villages and isolated farmsteads were rebuilt in stone. Some of these date from the 16th century, but most relate to a period of rebuilding between 1650 and 1750. This was initially evident in houses and farmhouses, and then in the development (from the mid-18th century onwards) of overwintering buildings for cattle and the building of multifunctional barns that are characteristic of the area. Local rocks are seen in the vernacular architecture of the farmsteads: slate, granite, sandstone and limestone have all been used for walls, depending on the underlying bedrock.

Farm amalgamation between 1750 and 1820 coincided with the introduction of more hardy sheep breeds, and led to the development of characteristic yeoman farmhouses and larger farmsteads. The grazing of sheep and cattle on common land and in-bye land, and the co-operation within communities to do this across unenclosed fells, have created a distinctive and important local land management and cultural system that continues to evolve today. The increase in farm size is also reflected in the size and patterns of rectilinear field boundaries: small to medium in scale in the centre and south-west, and larger to the east – except in the close vicinity of villages, where older patterns persist. This is particularly notable along the rising ground east of the Lune, where surviving earthwork boundaries (associated with possible settlement remains at Holme and Killington) are believed to date from the medieval period.

Changes in agricultural practices have led to the loss, or poor management, of some of the NCA’s characteristic habitats, such as species-rich grassland, lakes, rivers, wetlands and heathland. The high national demand for timber in the first half of the 20th century resulted in large areas (4 per cent of the area) being planted with conifers, such as at Grizedale, with many areas contiguous with native woodlands. After the Second World War farming techniques were intensified and the workforce declined. Patterns of grazing changed, with a decline in cattle and an increase in sheep on the fells leading to habitat deterioration. There has been a gradual reduction in sheep numbers since the introduction of agri-environment schemes and the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, which linked payment to environmental enhancement.

Kendal has served as the principal market town since the 12th century, growing in size alongside other settlements in response to the demands of tourism since the mid-19th century. Significant economic and cultural changes occurred during the Victorian period, in response to the Romantic movement: people were influenced to seek quiet recreation and country air, famously popularised by William Wordsworth and John Ruskin.

The development of the railways, particularly the spur from Kendal to Windermere in 1844, led to the towns of Windermere and Bowness rapidly increasing in size to accommodate tourism needs. The area has the most significant grouping of rural villas in Britain, many of which developed with parkland: these range from late-Georgian villas to Arts and Crafts houses of the early 20th century. The downturn in agricultural profitability in the late 20th century has led to a diversification into tourism activity and a rise in second homes. The availability of public and private transport has continued to influence an increase in visitor numbers.