1.
Derwent Reservoir (Derbyshire)
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Derwent Reservoir is the middle of three reservoirs in the Upper Derwent Valley in the northeast of Derbyshire, England. It lies approximately 10 miles from Glossop and 10 miles from Sheffield, the River Derwent flows first through Howden Reservoir, then Derwent Reservoir and finally through Ladybower Reservoir. Between them they provide practically all of Derbyshires water, as well as to a part of South Yorkshire and as far afield as Nottingham. Derwent Reservoir is around 1.5 miles in length, running broadly north–south, with Howden Dam at the northern end, a small island lies near the Howden Dam. The Abbey Brook flows into the reservoir from the east, at its peak the reservoir covers an area of 70.8 hectares and at its deepest point is 34.7 metres deep. The Industrial Revolution and urbanisation of the 19th century created huge demand for water in the cities of the East Midlands. The proximity of Sheffield and its neighbours to the Upper Derwent valley were thus factors in the decision to dam the valley to create the Howden and Derwent reservoirs. The neo-Gothic solid masonry dam was begun in 1902, a year after the construction of Howden was begun, the huge stones that formed the walls of the dam were carried along a specially created railway from the quarries at Grindleford. Over 1,000 workers lived in a specially constructed self-contained town called Birchinlee or Tin Town, one of the metal huts was preserved and moved to the village of Hope, where it is now a hairdressing salon. The workers that died during the building of the dam were buried in Bamford Church, the filling of the reservoir began in November 1914, and overflowed for the first time in January 1916, with the water almost immediately passing into supply. The dam can support a total of 9.64 million cubic metres of water, only two years after the dams completion in 1916, it was decided that the flow from the reservoir was insufficient to support the surrounding population. As a result, between 1920 and 1931 the rivers Alport and Ashop were also diverted from the Ashop valley into the reservoir using tunnels, the diversion helped hold back water during the construction of the Ladybower Reservoir to the south, which was constructed between 1935 and 1945. Near the southern end lay the newly opened quarry at Bole Hill near Grindleford, between the Howden and Derwent dams the present road was built over the top of the railway. After supplying well over a million tons of stone the Bole Hill quarry was closed in September 1914, the section between the mainline railway at Hope and Yorkshire Bridge was relaid in 1935 to aid the construction of the Ladybower dam, but closed again in 1946. The majority of the land around the reservoir is owned by Severn Trent Water, the woods consist predominantly of larch, pine, and spruce conifers, with the remaining third mainly sycamore, beech and oak. The hills of the Peak District are given over to the pasture of sheep, the moorlands and gritstone edges are criss-crossed by footpaths open year-round other than during selected shooting periods. During the Second World War the reservoir was used by pilots of the 617 Squadron for practising the low-level flights needed for Operation Chastise, today there is a commemorative plaque to 617 Squadron on the dam, and one of the towers on the dam houses the Derwent Valley Museum. Occasional flypasts of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at the reservoir are also staged to commemorate the events during the war
2.
Lake District
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The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests and mountains and its associations with the early 19th century writings of William Wordsworth and the other Lake Poets. It is located in the county of Cumbria, and all the land in England higher than 3,000 feet above sea level lies within the National Park, including Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England. It also contains the deepest and longest bodies of water in England, respectively Wast Water, the Lake District National Park includes nearly all of the Lake District, though the town of Kendal and the Lakeland Peninsulas are currently outside the park boundary. Its aim is to protect the landscape by restricting unwelcome change by industry or commerce, Most of the land in the park is in private ownership, with about 55% registered as agricultural land. Landowners include, Individual farmers and other landowners, with more than half of the agricultural land farmed by the owners. The National Trust owns about a quarter of the total area, the Forestry Commission and other investors in forests and woodland. United Utilities owns 8% Lake District National Park Authority The National Park Authority is based at offices in Kendal and it runs a visitor centre on Windermere at a former country house called Brockhole, Coniston Boating Centre, and Information Centres. Much of the land has statutory open access rights, which cover around 50% of the park. The lakes and mountains combine to form impressive scenery, farmland and settlement have altered the natural scenery, and the ecology has been modified by human influence for millennia and includes important wildlife habitats. However, in 2016 the English Lake District bid for World Heritage Status was submitted to UNESCO in the category of cultural landscape, a decision is expected in 2017. In December 2009, Natural England proposed extending the National Park in the direction of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and this would include land of high landscape value in the Lune Valley. The proposal was opposed by Cumbria County Council who said it would lead to less democratic control, a public inquiry was held into the proposals, which required a decision by the Secretary of State. The decision to recommend approval was announced on October 23,2015, the precise extent of the Lake District was not defined traditionally, but is slightly larger than that of the National Park, the total area of which is about 912 square miles. The park extends just over 32 miles from east to west, the Lake District is one of the most highly populated national parks. There are, however, only a handful of settlements within this mountainous area, the towns of Keswick, Windermere, Ambleside. Villages such as Coniston, Threlkeld, Glenridding, Pooley Bridge, Broughton-in-Furness, Grasmere, Newby Bridge, Staveley, Lindale, Gosforth, the economies of almost all are intimately linked with tourism. Beyond these are a scattering of hamlets and many isolated farmsteads, some of which are tied to agriculture
3.
Water cycle
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The water cycle, also known as the hydrological cycle or the hydrologic cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. In doing so, the water goes through different forms, liquid, solid, the water cycle involves the exchange of energy, which leads to temperature changes. For instance, when water evaporates, it takes up energy from its surroundings, when it condenses, it releases energy and warms the environment. The evaporative phase of the cycle purifies water which then replenishes the land with freshwater, the flow of liquid water and ice transports minerals across the globe. It is also involved in reshaping the geological features of the Earth, the water cycle is also essential for the maintenance of most life and ecosystems on the planet. The sun, which drives the cycle, heats water in oceans. Water evaporates as water vapor into the air, ice and snow can sublimate directly into water vapour. Evapotranspiration is water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil, the water vapour molecule H 2O has less density compared to the major components of the atmosphere, nitrogen and oxygen, N2 andO2. Due to the significant difference in mass, water vapor in gas form gains height in open air as a result of buoyancy. However, as increases, air pressure decreases and the temperature drops. The lowered temperature causes water vapour to condense into a liquid water droplet which is heavier than the air. A huge concentration of these droplets over a space up in the atmosphere become visible as cloud. Fog is formed if the water vapour condenses near ground level, as a result of moist air, air currents move water vapour around the globe, cloud particles collide, grow, and fall out of the upper atmospheric layers as precipitation. Some precipitation falls as snow or hail, sleet, and can accumulate as ice caps and glaciers, most water falls back into the oceans or onto land as rain, where the water flows over the ground as surface runoff. A portion of runoff enters rivers in valleys in the landscape, runoff and water emerging from the ground may be stored as freshwater in lakes. Not all runoff flows into rivers, much of it soaks into the ground as infiltration, some water infiltrates deep into the ground and replenishes aquifers, which can store freshwater for long periods of time. Some infiltration stays close to the surface and can seep back into surface-water bodies as groundwater discharge. Some groundwater finds openings in the surface and comes out as freshwater springs
4.
Cumbria
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Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbrias county town is Carlisle, in the north of the county, the county of Cumbria consists of six districts, and in 2008 had a population of just under half a million. Cumbria is one of the most sparsely populated counties in the United Kingdom, a large area of the south east of the county is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park while the east of the county fringes the North Pennines AONB. Much of Cumbria is mountainous, and it contains every peak in England over 3,000 feet above sea level, with Scafell Pike at 3,209 feet being the highest point of England. An upland, coastal, and rural area, Cumbrias history is characterised by invasions, migration, notable historic sites in Cumbria include Carlisle Castle, Furness Abbey, Hardknott Roman Fort, Brough Castle and Hadrians Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. D. Based on inscriptional evidence from the area, the Roman civitas of the Carvetii seems to have covered portions of Cumbria, the names Cumbria, Cymru, Cambria, and Cumberland are derived from the name these people gave themselves, *kombroges in Common Brittonic, which originally meant compatriots. In the Early Middle Ages, Cumberland formed the core of the Brittonic kingdom of Rheged, for the rest of the first millennium, Cumbria was contested by several entities who warred over the area, including the Brythonic Kingdom of Strathclyde and the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria. Most of modern-day Cumbria was a principality in the Kingdom of Scotland at the time of the Norman conquest of England in 1066, in 1092 Cumberland was invaded by William II and incorporated into England. There were at least three sieges of Carlisle fought between England and Scotland, and two sieges during the Jacobite risings. In particular, the west-coast towns of Workington, Millom and Barrow-in-Furness saw large iron and steel mills develop, Kendal, Keswick and Carlisle all became mill towns, with textiles, pencils and biscuits among the products manufactured in the region. Later, the childrens writer Beatrix Potter also wrote in the region and became a major landowner and its strategic authority is Cumbria County Council. Local papers The Westmorland Gazette and Cumberland and Westmorland Herald continue to use the name of their historic county, other publications, such as local government promotional material, describe the area as Cumbria, as do the Lake District National Park Authority and most visitors. Cumbria is the most northwesterly county of England, the northernmost and southernmost points in Cumbria are just west of Deadwater, Northumberland and South Walney respectively. Kirkby Stephen and St Bees Head are the most easterly and westerly points of the county, at 978 metres Scafell Pike is the highest point in Cumbria and in England. Windermere is the largest natural lake in England, the Lancaster Canal runs from Preston into South Cumbria and is partly in use. The Ulverston Canal which once reached to Morecambe Bay is maintained although it was closed in 1945, the Solway Coast and Arnside and Silverdale AONBs lie in the lowland areas of the county, to the north and south respectively. Cumbria is bordered by the English counties of Northumberland, County Durham, North Yorkshire, Lancashire, the boundaries are along the Irish Sea to Morecambe Bay in the west, and along the Pennines to the east
5.
Lake
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A lake is an area of variable size filled with water, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land, apart from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, and therefore are distinct from lagoons, Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams, which are usually flowing. Most lakes are fed and drained by rivers and streams, natural lakes are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones, and areas with ongoing glaciation. Other lakes are found in endorheic basins or along the courses of mature rivers, in some parts of the world there are many lakes because of chaotic drainage patterns left over from the last Ice Age. All lakes are temporary over geologic time scales, as they will fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin containing them. The word lake comes from Middle English lake, from Old English lacu, from Proto-Germanic *lakō, cognates include Dutch laak, Middle Low German lāke as in, de, Moorlake, de, Wolfslake, de, Butterlake, German Lache, and Icelandic lækur. Also related are the English words leak and leach, none of these definitions completely excludes ponds and all are difficult to measure. For this reason, simple size-based definitions are used to separate ponds. One definition of lake is a body of water of 2 hectares or more in area, however, others have defined lakes as waterbodies of 5 hectares and above, or 8 hectares and above. Charles Elton, one of the founders of ecology, regarded lakes as waterbodies of 40 hectares or more. The term lake is used to describe a feature such as Lake Eyre. In common usage, many bear names ending with the word pond. One textbook illustrates this point with the following, In Newfoundland, for example, almost every lake is called a pond, whereas in Wisconsin, the majority of lakes on Earth are fresh water, and most lie in the Northern Hemisphere at higher latitudes. Canada, with a drainage system has an estimated 31,752 lakes larger than 3 square kilometres and an unknown total number of lakes. Finland has 187,888 lakes 500 square metres or larger, most lakes have at least one natural outflow in the form of a river or stream, which maintain a lakes average level by allowing the drainage of excess water. Some lakes do not have an outflow and lose water solely by evaporation or underground seepage or both. Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for power generation, aesthetic purposes, recreational purposes, industrial use. Globally, lakes are greatly outnumbered by ponds, of an estimated 304 million standing water bodies worldwide, 91% are 1 hectare or less in area
6.
Keswick, Cumbria
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Keswick is an English market town and civil parish, historically in Cumberland, and since 1974 in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria. The town, in the Lake District National Park, just north of Derwentwater, among the towns annual events is the Keswick Convention, an Evangelical gathering attracting visitors from many countries. Keswick became widely known for its association with the poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge, together with their fellow Lake Poet William Wordsworth, based at Grasmere,12 miles away, they made the scenic beauty of the area widely known to readers in Britain and beyond. The town is first recorded in Edward Is charter of the 13th century, among the later scholars supporting the cheese farm toponymy are Eilert Ekwall and A D Mills, and Diana Whaley, for the English Place-Name Society. Evidence of prehistoric occupation in the area includes the Castlerigg stone circle on the fringe of the town. Neolithic-era stone tools were unearthed inside the circle and in the centre of Keswick during the 19th century, the antiquary W G Collingwood, commenting in 1925 about finds in the area, wrote that they showed Stone Age man was fairly at home in the Lake District. In Roman Britain Cumbria was the territory of the Carvetii, as the site of the western part of Hadrians Wall, it was of strategic importance. Such nearby settlements as can be traced from the era of the Romans, many local place names from the period, including that of the River Derwent, are Celtic, some closely related to Welsh equivalents. The former, the pupil and friend of St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, lived as a hermit on an island in Derwentwater, now named after him. Kentigern, who lived and preached in the area before moving to Wales, is held to have founded Crosthwaite Church. Keswicks recorded history starts in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria in the seventh century, but Northumbria was destroyed by the Vikings in the late ninth. In the early tenth century the British Kingdom of Strathclyde seized the area, and it remained part of Strathclyde until about 1050, when Siward, Earl of Northumbria, conquered Cumbria. In 1181 Jocelyn of Furness wrote of a new church at Crosthwaite, Keswick, founded by Alice de Romilly, the Lady of Allerdale, in 1189, Richard I granted the rectory of Crosthwaite to the Cistercian order of Fountains Abbey. During the 13th century, agricultural land around the town was acquired by Fountains, the latter, already prosperous from the wool trade, wished to expand its sheep farming, and in 1208 bought large tracts of land from Alice de Romilly. She also negotiated with Fountains Abbey, to which she sold Derwent Island in Derwentwater, land at Watendlath, Keswick was at the hub of the monastic farms in the area, and Fountains based a steward in the town, where tenants paid their rents. Furness also enjoyed profitable rights to the extraction of iron ore, Keswick was granted a charter for a market in 1276 by Edward I. This market has a history lasting for more than 700 years. According to local tradition these stout walls and the entrances to the yards were for defence against marauding Scots
7.
Portinscale
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Portinscale is a village in Cumbria, England. It is situated close to the shore of Derwentwater and within the Lake District National Park. It is some 1.5 miles by road from Keswick, for administrative purposes, Portinscale lies within the civil parish of Above Derwent, the district of Allerdale, and the county of Cumbria. It is within the Copeland constituency of the United Kingdom Parliament, the village covers approximately 0.15 square miles. At the 2011 census the population totalled 560, the name of the village means the harlots hut, deriving from the Old English portcwene and Old Norse skáli. The scholar Eilert Ekwall cites an early spelling of the name as Portquenscale. The antiquary W G Collingwood, commenting on a find at Portinscale. The remains of the workshop of a prehistoric tool-maker were discovered in 1901 by workmen digging out a fish-pond near the village, a later find was a mould dating from about 1400, used to make crucifixes for the use of religious pilgrims. From medieval times until the 20th century, according to records at Carlisle Castle, the main road from Keswick to Cockermouth ran through Portinscale until a bypass was built in the 1960s. In 1911 there was controversy about the county councils proposal to demolish the bridge carrying the road across the River Derwent. There had been a bridge on the site since c. 1210–16, although the date of the structure under threat in 1911 is unknown, rawnsley and Sir Robert Hunter of the National Trust led the opposition to the councils proposal. They were supported by The Times, The Manchester Guardian and the Royal Automobile Club, the old bridge survived for another 43 years, until it was damaged beyond repair by floods in December 1954. The village hall was opened on 10 October 1925, next to the hotel is Derwent Hill Outdoor Education and Training Centre. This has been owned by Sunderland City Council since 1962 and it is a residential centre offering courses for children and young people, leadership and management training, conference facilities and group accommodation. On the edge of Portinscale is Derwent Bank, a house built as Finkle Street House in 1785. Just outside the village are two country houses designed by Alfred Waterhouse, Fawe Park, built in 1858, and Lingholm. The former is close to the Nichol End stop of the Keswick Launch Companys Derwentwater ferry service, Collingwood, W G. Lake District History
8.
Lochmaben
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Lochmaben is a small village and civil parish in Scotland, and site of a once-important castle. It lies four miles west of Lockerbie, in Dumfries and Galloway, the first inhabitants may have lived in crannogs in the lochs. By 1160, the Anglo-Norman de Brus family had become the Lords of Annandale, when the Prince became King David I of Scotland, in 1124, Bruce obtained from him the Lordship of Annandale, and great possessions in the south of Scotland. By the 15th century the Lordship was in the hands of Alexander Stewart, following his death in 1485 it, and the castle of Lochmaben, were annexed to the Crown by Act of Parliament dated 1 October 1487. At some point in the 13th century the Bruces built a castle, probably a Keep, at Lochmaben, the remains of which now lie under a golf course. It is claimed that King Robert I of Scotland was born there, however, this claim is relatively late, it cannot be ruled out, but his birthplace was more likely Turnberry Castle. Bruce certainly battled the English over this area during the Wars of Scottish Independence, the English King Edward replaced the castle with a much sturdier structure at the south end of Castle Loch around 1300 and its remains still show the massive strength of its defences. In 1605 the Depute Lieutenant of the Borders, Sir William Cranstoun of that Ilk, was Keeper of Lochmaben Castle. Lochmaben remained important and had a turbulent history until some time after the early 17th century by which time the castle had seen its last siege and was gradually abandoned, the town had prospered and become a Royal Burgh in 1447, and a Royal Charter in 1579. Its importance waned with the peace that was to become the norm, the town is well found with a broad main street and the town is set in rolling countryside. The railway came in 1863, with Lochmaben a stop on the Dumfries to Lockerbie line and it closed to passengers in 1952 and to freight in 1966. There is also a doctors surgery, Lochmaben Primary School is one of the largest in Annandale. The school moved to new premises in 1982 and it also has an 18-hole golf course surrounding the Kirk loch on the edge of the town. Lochmaben has 3 main lochs, Kirk Loch, Castle Loch and it also has 2 smaller lochs, The Blind Loch and the Upper Loch. The town’s lochs thrive with both sailing and fishing taking place throughout the year, in some years in winters of prolonged frost curling has taken place on the frozen lochs, mostly the Kirk Loch. A 53-mile long-distance walking route called Annandale Way running through Annandale was opened in September 2009, the route passes through Lochmaben and along the bank of Castle Loch. It offers interesting walking from Lochmaben on a day walk basis, there are 2 convenience stores at each end of the town. Several successful businesses are also in the town and the town is once again thriving with many houses planned to be built over the ten years
9.
Cat Bells
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Cat Bells is a fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria. It has a modest height of 451 metres but despite this it is one of the most popular fells in the area and it is situated on the western shore of Derwent Water within 3 miles of the busy tourist town of Keswick. Its popularity is deserved, its shapely topknott attracts the eye offering a steep. The fells unusual name may well have come from a distortion of Cat Bields meaning shelter of the wild cat, the fells name is sometimes written as Catbells. Cat Bells is the last fell on the ridge separating Derwent Water from the Newlands valley and it rises due south from Hawse End, reaching the summit in two distinct steps. The lower top is named Skelgill Bank, beyond the summit of Cat Bells is the steep sided depression of Hause Gate, before the ridge broadens and twists south westward to Maiden Moor. The Cat Bells ridge is an example of the Buttermere Formation, nearly all ascents of Cat Bells start from Hawse End at the foot of the northern ridge, there is car parking here but the spaces soon get taken on busy summer days. Hawse End is also served by the Derwent Water Motor Launch, the summit is all rock with many loose stones lying amid the small outcrops. The view from the top of Cat Bells gives a panorama which is dominated by the aerial view of Derwentwater. Bassenthwaite Lake, the Newlands Valley, Skiddaw and Keswick all show well to the north, although Cat Bells is renowned as a family fell it does have some dangers especially from the disused lead mines on its slopes. The Yewthwaite mine, which is on the side of the fell has extensive spoil heaps. Many of the shafts were open and dangerous but most have now been blocked off. The Brandlehow and Old Brandley Mine worked a lode for lead ore on the Derwent Water side of the fell, all three mines ceased production in the 1890s. A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, The North Western Fells, Alfred Wainwright ISBN 0-7112-2459-5 The Mountains of England and Wales, John and Anne Nuttall, ISBN 1-85284-037-4
