Wasdale

{{about||the lesser-known Wasdale on the east of the Lake District|Wasdale Horseshoe}}

Wasdale ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ɒ|z|d|eɪ|l}}; traditionally {{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ɒ|s|ə|l|,_|ˈ|w|ɒ|ʃ|d|ə|l}}){{cite book |last=Dickins |first=Bruce |author-link=Bruce Dickins |date=1950 |title=The Place-names of Cumberland |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xzII98xt5-UC |location= |publisher=The University Press |page=390 |isbn=}} is a valley and civil parish in the western part of the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. The River Irt flows through the valley to its estuary at Ravenglass. A large part of the main valley floor is occupied by Wastwater, the deepest lake in England ({{convert|258|ft|m|abbr=off|disp=or}}).

Geographical features

{{wide image|Wasdale screes.jpg|1000px|Panorama of the Wasdale screes, Illgill Head in the centre, Whin Rigg on the right.}}

On the south-eastern side of the lake are very steep screes below the summits of Whin Rigg and Illgill Head which are more accessible on the far side. The head of the valley is dominated by the Great Gable and Scafell Pike, the highest peak in England, which, along with Scafell, Kirk Fell and Yewbarrow, surround the small community of Wasdale Head. Wasdale is famous amongst rock climbers as the home of British rock climbing. A classic route is Nape's Needle on Great Gable.

Settlements

At the hamlet of Wasdale Head is St Olaf's Church, one of the smallest churches in England.

Further down the valley are the villages of Strands and Gosforth.{{Citation needed|date=August 2016}}

Fells

Clockwise from the north-west:-

Sty Head Pass

Etymology

The name came from Old Norse Vatnsdalr = "valley of the water".

The alternative spelling "Wastdale" existed through much of the nineteenth century.British Newspaper Archive - a search achieves numerous hits{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/completeguidetoe1855mart|title=A complete guide to the English lakes|last=Martineau|first=Harriet|last2=Banks|first2=William|last3=Aspland|first3=Theophil Lindsey|last4=Ruthven|first4=John|date=1855|publisher=Windermere : John Garnett ; London : Whittaker and Co.|others=Harold B. Lee Library}}

Civil parish

The civil parish of Wasdale was historically a chapelry called Nether Wasdale within the larger ancient parish of St Bees. Nether Wasdale became a separate civil parish under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866.{{cite web |title=Nether Wasdale Civil Parish / Chapelry |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10066773 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=10 April 2023}} The name of the civil parish remained Nether Wasdale until 2000, when it was changed to Wasdale.{{cite web |title=Database of Local Government Orders: Cumbria |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20221201173638/https://www.lgbce.org.uk/resources/database-of-local-government-orders/north-west/cumbria |website=Local Government Boundary Commission for England |publisher=The National Archives |access-date=10 April 2023}}

Due to the low resident population of the parish there is no parish council, with the area instead having a parish meeting.{{cite web |title=Wasdale Parish Meeting |url=https://councilportal.cumbria.gov.uk/mgParishCouncilDetails.aspx?ID=413 |website=Cumberland Council |access-date=10 April 2023}} The low population also means that since the 2011 Census separate population statistics for the parish have not been published.

Gallery

File:Wasdale from Wastwater 1.JPG|Wasdale from Wastwater

File:Wasdale from Wastwater 1.JPG|Wasdale from the shores of Wastwater. Yewbarrow is on the left, Great Gable in the centre and the Scafell range on the right.

File:Westmorland cairn Great Gable.jpg|The view from the cairn put up by the Westmorland Brothers to the SW of the summit of Great Gable - "The finest view in the district".

File:Wast Water in the evening.jpg|Wastwater in the evening

File:Scafell massif enclosures.jpg|Scafell massif from Middle Fell

File:Illgill head from middle fell.jpg|Illgill Head from Middle Fell

File:Wastwater, Yewbarrow and Great Gable - geograph.org.uk - 1546772.jpg|View from Wastwater

References

External links

[http://www.cumbriacountyhistory.org.uk/township/eskdale-and-wasdale Cumbria County History Trust: Eskdale and Wasdale] (nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)
[http://www.cumbriacountyhistory.org.uk/township/netherwasdale Cumbria County History Trust: Nether Wasdale] (nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)
[http://www.wasdaleweb.co.uk/ Wasdale website]
[http://www.fellwalk.co.uk/waspics.htm Photos of Wasdale]

Category:Valleys of Cumbria

Category:Civil parishes in Cumbria

Category:Cumberland (unitary authority)