Haweswater Reservoir

When it was decided to seek for a new watershed, our attention was first directed to the moors round about Bleasdale, some ten miles north of Preston, but the prospective supply was not sufficiently large.

We then turned our attention to Hawes Water in Cumberland, the property of Lord Lonsdale, and appointed a deputation to inspect this lake.

We dined and stayed all night at Lowther Castle, and drove to the lake next morning.

We came away much impressed with the quality of the water and the cleanness of the watershed, as there were no peat mosses or boggy lands to discolour the water.

Mr. Deacon, our young water engineer, had however a more ambitious scheme in view.

He proposed to impound the headwaters of the Severn in the valley of the Vernwe.

The battle of the watersheds, Hawes Water versus the Vernwe, was waged furiously for several years.

The committee made many visits to the Vernwe, taking up its abode at the Inant Shooting Lodge, a very picturesque spot, now submerged, standing at the western end of the lake.

What a place to DNF.

Up until the descent to Haweswater, I was having a great adventure.

First attempt at 100 miles.

I trained hard, recce'd the course, oh, numerous trips from Cornwall to The Lakes and done-

When it was decided to seek for a new watershed, our attention was first directed to the moors round about Bleasdale, some ten miles north of Preston, but the prospective supply was not sufficiently large.

We then turned our attention to Hawes Water in Cumberland, the property of Lord Lonsdale, and appointed a deputation to inspect this lake.

We dined and stayed all night at Lowther Castle, and drove to the lake next morning.

We came away much impressed with the quality of the water and the cleanness of the watershed, as there were no peat mosses or boggy lands to discolour the water.

Mr. Deacon, our young water engineer, had, however, a more ambitious scheme in view.

He proposed to impound the headwaters of the Severn in the valley of the Vernwe.

The battle of the watersheds, Hawes Water versus the Vernwe, was waged furiously for several years.

The committee made many visits to the Vernwe, taking up its abode at the Inant shooting lodge, a very picturesque spot, now submerged, standing at the western end of the lake.

Now, you say nature has become our most crucial story, and you've always written fiction rooted in real places.

Um, your very first novel, Haweswater, was set in Cumbria, where you grew up.

What can fiction offer that nonfiction doesn't?

It's a really difficult question, but you know, there are so many nature writing panels now.

The water is of a most beautiful color and admirably transparent.

I took the opportunity of being at Shap to ride to Haweswater, a lake some miles to the westward.

The road thither leads for some distance along the side of a hill, which commands an exceeding fine view of Ponton Vale to the left.

It is several miles in length of an oblong figure, all cut into enclosures of a charming verdure and scattered in the most picturesque manner, with villages, clumps of wood, houses, bridges, trees, et cetera.