This is the middle of the three bridges that cross Gatesgarthdale Beck on the Buttermere side of Honister Pass. It is found at a height of 750ft asl.

St Thomas's Church, Selside, built 1838 with a tower added in 1894. The tower is oddly broad, and entirely open to the old nave. There was a chapel here a hundred years earlier that was built in a burial ground

I'm sure this was once a delightful bridge found in the most unlikely of places, and although it is definitely a little worse for wear these days, it's still a nice one to discover.

The actual stone section of the bridge is marooned in the middle of the St John's beck and linked to the riverbank only by modern wooden sections. When I first came to this bridge my initial thought was did the beck used to be much narrower or did the bridge used to have three arches.

Unfortunately I don't have any information of this church.

This remote valley was once home to a community of Premonstratensian Canons. The Premonstratensian order was founded in the 1120's. Like the Cistercians, they wore white habits and built their monasteries in remote places. Living a contemplative monastic life, the canons also served as priests in nearby parishes.

The Abbey itself was founded in about 1200 by a local baron called Thomas, son of Gospatric, who granted the canons land beside the River Lowther.

There are actually two bridges here, an older one which is fenced / walled off, presumably for our safety, and a newer one built in 1904 which now forms part of an extended lay-by since the main road was widened and diverted around this section. Both bridges are within tripping distance of the main A591, but sufficiently hidden to be seen from a speeding car.

The older one is the more appealing of the pair, not least because of its connection to the poet William Wordsworth and his involvement in a "road traffic accident" as we would now call it.

In 1856 the Whitehaven - Keswick - Lancaster coach hit the Wordsworth's gig at Rough How Bridge.
The following was reported in the Cumberland Pacquet:-

I suppose the name Millennium Bridge says it all as far as the history of the bridge goes. The bridge is found on a lovely section of path alongside the river on the eastern side of Grasmere.

Fusedale is a lovely Lakeland Valley, generally free of people and steadily gaining height from Howtown more or less to the ruins near Brownthwaite Crag. The clapper bridge shown here is found near Cote Farm and in itself makes for a short easy walk. It also marks the spot where you leave the road and head onto the open fellside of the valley.

The authorities proudly announce that 1 million people visit Tarn Hows every year. Personally I don't believe it, but whatever the number is, I'm sure only a fraction of the visitors ever take the short de-tour to look at Tom Gill Waterfall. Part of the reason could be because people simply don't know the falls are there or if they know they're there, perhaps they don't realise how close they are.

Many of the more impressive waterfalls in the Lake District are definitely out of reach for the none fell walking visitor. Tom Gill, on the other hand is within easy reach for anyone with the ability to tackle a short, steep (ish) incline; easily enough to get within a few feet of the bottom of the falls.

If it were possible to be blindfolded and winched in here from the underside of a helicopter, you've be forgiven for thinking you'd just entered some remote jungle in South America or Borneo or some such spot. Despite the overgrown appearance of this gorge however, the reality is that you're only a short walk from the beautiful Lake District valley of Eskdale.

To get close to the main fall you must walk along a narrow ledge on the left hand side of the gorge. When the ground is wet and slippery, the faint hearted or those with unsuitable footwear would be best advised to view it from a distance. Anyone with a head for heights can catch a glimpse of the waterfalls and the gorge from above by heading up to the rock ledge which acts as a viewpoint. Be warned though, this is a dangerous place with a 150ft sheer drop!

I thought of this idea purely by accident while I was using a map to make myself a list of the churches I still needed to visit. I was thinking to myself, that had they been marked a bit more distinctly then it would have made the job a much easier. It was then that I had one of those "penny dropping" moments; if it would would make this easier for me, then perhaps other people may find it useful as a tool not only to see at a glance how churches, tarns Etc are distributed throughout the Lake District, but to open the page for chosen place.

Each entry in the directory database is marked on the map with a red flag. To open a specific place, simply click the flag.

For the time being I've only created overview maps for churches and tarns. As more articles are added to the other categories I will create additional maps.

Glossary of 'church' terms

click the picture to open the glossary of church terms page.

Calendar of updates

To view a greater selection of website updates open the "Calendar of Updates" page. Not only does this include additions to the directory, but it has details of walking updates.