Dubwath Silver Meadows |

The site of the Silver Meadows Reserve in the Embleton valley is a left-over from the last ice age. A shallow lake left here when the ice retreated, gradually transformed into the wetland we have today.
As the ice retreated, sand and gravels were left behind. They formed a natural barrier across the eastern end of the valley, forming a shallow lake. Over the last 10 000 years or so, this has almost filled in with sediments from the local streams. Many of the plants growing here now have helped this process along, leaving the wetland we see today which is barely above the level of Bassenthwaite Lake...

At Castle How, (near the Pheasant Inn, just beside this reserve) is the site of an ancient British Hill-Fort and on Elva Plain, near Higham Hall, are the remains of a stone circle. There are strong links all over this area of Norse settlements. Bassenthwaite translates from the Norse "Batsuns thwaite" meaning "clearing" and "Dubwath" is "ford across the mire", which is literally correct.
The wetland here was too nutrient-poor and wet to grow crops, so ancient peoples, including Norse and Celts, grazed their livestock. It was also a valuable source of fuel (wood and peat), game and other resources such as wild plants for culinary and medicinal use. By using the land in this way, the local people prevented colonisation of the wetland by trees, shrubs and coarser vegetation, allowing diverse plant communities and their associated animal life to develop.
It's this same habitat that (with help from dedicated local volunteers, farmers and conservation groups) you can still see today at Dubwath Silver Meadows.

Download a more detailed history of Dubwath Silver Meadows

History continued: Transport (and flooding) near Dubwath

An 18th Century map Map by James Clarke 1787: West is at the top. You can see the pattern of fields and trees if you look closely. We left it this way as otherwise all the writing would be sideways!

a more recent map The map shows the site area at present, at about the same scale. (Courtesy of Open Street Map)