Coledale is a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

in the northwestern region of the Lake District in

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. ...

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 ...

Geography

Coledale is a narrow U-shaped valley running approximately north-east towards the Derwent Valley floodplain and the village of

Braithwaite Braithwaite is a village in the northern Lake District, in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies just to the west of Keswick and to the east of the Grisedale Pike ridge, in the Borough of Allerdale. It forms part of the ...

at the northeastern end. The valley river

Coledale Beck Coledale Beck is a minor river running through Cumbria in England. Course The beck rises north east of Eel Crag, where Pudding Beck meets Birkthwaite Beck. From there, Coledale Beck runs east north east through Coledale, between Grisedale Pike ...

feeds into

Newlands Beck Newlands Beck is a minor river of Cumbria in England. The beck rises on Dale Head and flows northwards through the picturesque Newlands Valley, past the settlement of Little Town and between Braithwaite and Portinscale before flowing into Basse ...

and is fed by small streams from the valley sides and head, including Birkthwaite Beck, and Pudding Force. At the head of the valley a large rock formation is found named Force Crag, which forms a waterfall 'Low Force' as Pudding Beck passes over it. The valley is ringed by peaks popular with tourists ('' Grisedale Pike'', ''

Hopegill Head Hopegill Head is a fell in the English Lake District in Cumbria. It is located nine kilometres (5½ miles) west of the town of Keswick and is well seen from the B5292 road which crosses the Whinlatter Pass. Topography Hopegill Head is the ...

'', ''

Coledale Hause 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 ...

'', ''

Crag Hill Crag Hill is a mountain in the North Western part of the English Lake District. It was formerly known as Eel Crag; however, the Ordnance Survey now marks Eel Crag as referring to the northern crags of the fell. It is not to be confused with an ...

'' (formerly ''Eel Crag''), ''

Sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails ma ...

'', ''

Sail Pass 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, trave ...

'', and ''

Outerside Outerside is a fell in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. It is located 6 kilometres west of Keswick in the north western part of the national park and is a smaller member of the Coledale group of fells with a height of 568 metre ...

'') forming a horseshoe ridge walk known as

Coledale horseshoe The Coledale horseshoe, or Coledale Round, is a semi-circle of fells surrounding Coledale in the Lake District, England. It provides excellent ridge-walking over the fells. Due to the topography, there are multiple variants of the horseshoe with ...

or 'Coledale round'.

Force Crag Mine

Coledale's most notable feature is Force Crag Mine; the buildings, spoil heap and associated structures of which are practically the only sign of human influence in the upper valley. Mineral workings may date back to 1578 in the valleyForce Crag Mine - the last working lead mine in the Lake District
Stuart Abbott ''ulsa.org.uk'' Significant workings did not begin until the 1800s with lead and silver being mined until 1865, ending with a drop in the price of lead rendering it uneconomic. Later

Barytes Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate ( Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), a ...

was mined, with 5300tons of ore being produced up to 1879 when again market forces led to production ending. The mine was worked on and off with various changes in operation, and under different owners, with lead, barium and zinc ores being extracted. In 1990 a collapse in the mine led to it being closed, and ownership passed to 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 ...

. There were two workings of the mine, the ''low'' and ''high'', and as of 2015 the mill of the mine still stood. The building is a

Scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

and the mine is a site of special scientific interest. The buildings can now be visited by appointment through the national trust. As well as an aerial ropeway for transporting ore to the mill built in the late 1930s the mine also operated a small narrow gauge railway in the mine, utilising diesel and battery powered locomotives, one of which (

Wingrove & Rogers Wingrove & Rogers Ltd of Kirkby, Liverpool, England, was formed in 1919 by Major Charles William Wingrove M.C. (1889-1976) and William Rogers (b1891) to manufacture control gear for electric vehicles. In the 1920s they diversified into variable ...

Battery loco) is now at the Springfield Agricultural Railway, three 2 ft gauge wagons from the mine are to be found at the Moseley museum in Redruth Cornwall.

References

External links

{{commons category, Coledale, Cumbria
Force crag Mine
Images from inside the mine, ''www.mine-explorer.co.uk''
Diagram of Force Crag Mine levels and workings
''aditnow.co.uk''
Force Crag Mine
detailed history ''forlornbritain.co.uk''
Park and Stride - Eel Crag from Braithwaite
Coledale horseshoe walk and history of mine, ''www.bbc.co.uk''
Force Crag Mine informationopening times
at the National Trust Valleys of Cumbria Lake District

Geography

Force Crag Mine

References

Further reading

External links