Hardknott Pass
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Hardknott Pass is a
hill pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migrat ...
between Eskdale and the
Duddon Valley The Duddon Valley is a valley in the southern Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. The River Duddon flows through the valley, rising in the mountains between Eskdale and Langdale, before flowing into the Irish Sea near Broughton in ...
in the
Lake District 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 (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
National Park,
Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The
tarmac Tarmac may refer to: Engineered surfaces * Tarmacadam, a mainly historical tar-based material for macadamising road surfaces, patented in 1902 * Asphalt concrete, a macadamising material using asphalt instead of tar which has largely superseded ta ...
-surfaced road, which is the most direct route from the central Lake District to West Cumbria, shares the title of steepest road in England with
Rosedale Chimney Bank Rosedale Chimney Bank or just Chimney Bank is a hill pass that carries a minor road between Rosedale Abbey and Hutton-le-Hole in the Ryedale district of the North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire, England. The tarmacked highway shar ...
in
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
. It has a maximum gradient of 1 in 3 (about 33%).


Etymology

The pass takes its name from
Hard Knott Hard Knott is a fell in the English Lake District, at the head of Eskdale. Geology Rhyolitic lava-like tuff of the Bad Step Tuff forms the summit rocks with the dacitic lapilli-tuffs of the Lincomb Tarns Formation to the north west. Border ...
which is derived from the
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
''harthr'' (hard) and ''knutr'' (craggy hill).


Geography

A
single track road A single-track road or one-lane road is a road that permits two-way travel but is not wide enough in most places to allow vehicles to pass one another (although sometimes two compact cars can pass). This kind of road is common in rural areas ...
runs between Eskdale in the west to the edge of the neighbouring
Wrynose Pass The Wrynose Pass is a mountain pass in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England between the Duddon Valley and Little Langdale. Etymology The unusual name of the pass is taken from that of the adjacent Wrynose hill, also called W ...
in the east. On the western side is Harter Fell and the remains of
Hardknott Roman Fort Hardknott Roman Fort is an archeological site, the remains of the Roman fort ''Mediobogdum'', located on the western side of the Hardknott Pass in the English county of Cumbria. The fort was built between 120 and 138 on a rocky spur, and was ini ...
( above sea level). The Hardknott Pass stands at a maximum elevation of . The road descends steeply at a gradient of 30% (1 in 3) into the Duddon Valley. At the eastern end of the pass is Cockley Beck farm, built in the 1860s and owned by the
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
. The route from Hardknott leads eastward towards the
Wrynose Pass The Wrynose Pass is a mountain pass in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England between the Duddon Valley and Little Langdale. Etymology The unusual name of the pass is taken from that of the adjacent Wrynose hill, also called W ...
and
Ambleside Ambleside is a town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lakes, Cumbria, Lakes, in Cumbria, in North West England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Westmorland, it marks the head (and sits on the east side of the northern ...
. The pass is described as one of the most challenging roads in Britain. A series of
hairpin bend A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal hai ...
s make visibility difficult in various places, and the road surface is in poor condition and slippery when wet. The pass is often closed in winter due to ice that makes the route impassable for vehicles. Traffic ascending the pass has priority as advised by the
Highway Code ''The Highway Code'' is a set of information, advice, guides and mandatory rules for road users in the United Kingdom. Its objective is to promote road safety. The ''Highway Code'' applies to all road users including pedestrians, horse riders ...
. The challenging 1 in 3 gradients, steeper than the mountain stages of European bicycle races including the
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
and the Giro d'Italia, draw endurance cyclists. It is part of the annual
Fred Whitton Challenge The Fred Whitton Challenge is a charity cyclosportive event held annually in the English Lake District, in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, Cumbria's air ambulances, the mountain rescue service and various youth cycling projects. It is held in me ...
, a 112-mile ride around the Lake District. An "average" cyclist who was trained over six weeks for a 2019
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, its international sports unit, it operates two ...
documentary called ''England's Toughest Climb'' failed to complete the route.


History

A road over the pass was built by the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
around AD 110 to link the coastal fort and baths at
Ravenglass Ravenglass is a coastal village in the Copeland District in Cumbria, England. It is between Barrow-in-Furness and Whitehaven. Historically in Cumberland, it is the only coastal village in the Lake District National Park. It is located at the es ...
with their garrisons at
Ambleside Ambleside is a town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lakes, Cumbria, Lakes, in Cumbria, in North West England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Westmorland, it marks the head (and sits on the east side of the northern ...
and
Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
. The Romans called this road the Tenth Highway. The road fell into disrepair after the Romans left Britain in the early 5th century, becoming an unpaved
packhorse A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...
route used to transport lead and agricultural goods. By the early Middle Ages, it was known as the Waingate ("cart road") or Wainscarth ("cart pass"): there is an 1138 record of a party of monks traversing it in an oxcart.''
The Countryman ''The Western Mail'', or ''Western Mail'', was the name of two weekly newspapers published in Perth, Western Australia. Published 1885–1955 The first ''Western Mail'' was published on 19 December 1885 by Charles Harper and John Winthro ...
'', v.51-52 (1950), 309
Hardknott pass and its surrounding area fell within the domain of the Lords of
Millom Millom is a town and civil parish on the north shore of the estuary of the River Duddon in southwest Cumbria, historically part of Cumberland, England. It is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, about north of Barrow-in-Furne ...
, being situated between the headwaters of the Esk and Duddon. Grazing and hunting rights were given to the monks of
Furness Abbey Furness Abbey, or St. Mary of Furness, is a former Catholic monastery located to the north of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The abbey dates back to 1123 and was once the second-wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the coun ...
by the Lords of Millom in the 13th century, which they held until the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536–41). In the 1880s an association of hoteliers, the English Lake District Association, financed improvements to the road in the hope of encouraging tourist excursions by carriage; by 1891 the scheme was judged to be "not the success that was anticipated". Nevertheless, the route had some popularity with cyclists and early motorists, with the
Cyclists' Touring Club Cycling UK is a trading name of the Cyclists' Touring Club (CTC), which is a charitable membership organisation supporting cyclists and promoting bicycle use. Cycling UK is registered at Companies House as "Cyclists’ Touring Club", and is cov ...
1911 ''Guide to North-West England'' describing the old coach road as "difficult going West, cruel coming East".CTC ''Guide'', 1911, p.116. The first motor vehicles were taken over the Hardknott and Wrynose passes, from the Eskdale side, in 1913."Over the worst hills in England", ''Autocar'', 12 July 1913, 49-53 In 1936, the
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
Highways Committee considered, and rejected, a proposal to make the pass more accessible to motorised vehicles by laying down a new road surface and making other improvements. However, during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the
War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
used the area for tank training, completely destroying the existing road surface. After the war the damage was repaired and the road tarmaced. A decade after the local government had rejected opening the highway to vehicles, the war's legacy had inadvertently created a direct motor route between Ambleside and Eskdale for the first time. The courses of the Roman and modern roads are not identical. The Roman highway is to the north of the modern road on the western side of the pass and to the south on the eastern side.


See also

*
List of hill passes of the Lake District Hill passes of the Lake District were originally used by people in one valley travelling to another nearby without having to go many miles around a steep ridge of intervening hills. Historically, in the Lake District of northwest England, trav ...


References

Citations Sources * * * {{refend


External links


Visit Cumbria – Hardknott Pass
Roads in Cumbria Mountain passes of the Lake District Scenic routes in the United Kingdom Roman roads in England