Brothers Water
Encyclopedia
Brothers Water is in the Hartsop valley and is a small lake in the eastern region of the English
Lake District
, in the county of Cumbria
. Once called Broad Water, it lies at the northern end of Kirkstone Pass
, affording picturesque views on the descent towards Patterdale
.
Dorothy Wordsworth
, having left William
sitting on Cow Bridge, walked beside the lake on 16 April 1802, delighted with ‘...the boughs of the bare old trees, the simplicity of the mountains, and the exquisite beauty of the path...the gentle flowing of the stream, the glittering, lively lake, green fields without a living creature to be seen on them.’ The lake is not among the most popular of the National Park, being shallow and full of reeds. Water lilies bloom in July, providing colour.
The name Broad Water was changed in the 19th century after two brothers drowned there.
To the north east of Brothers Water is the village of Hartsop
, which has several 17th-century stone farm buildings and cottages. Some of the buildings still contain spinning rooms where villagers would have made their own clothing, selling any surplus in the local market towns. The word Hartsop
means "valley of the deer", which would have lived in the woodlands of the lower areas of the surrounding fells.
A walk through woodland skirts the western shore. From its northern end the walk leads to Patterdale. Southward it heads over Kirkstone Pass to Ambleside
.
On the western side of Brothers Water is Hartsop Hall
. The 16th-century building passed to Sir John Lowther
in the 17th century. The village of Hartsop
lies near the northeast corner of the lake. Brothers Water may be classified in either of two ways: as one of the Lake District's smallest lakes or one of its largest tarns.
The lake is home to a trout
population and harbours a rare species of fish, the schelly
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
, in the county of Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
. Once called Broad Water, it lies at the northern end of Kirkstone Pass
Kirkstone Pass
Kirkstone Pass is a mountain pass in the English Lake District, in the county of Cumbria. It is at an altitude of .This is the Lake District's highest pass that is open to motor traffic and it connects Ambleside in the Rothay Valley to Patterdale in the Ullswater Valley - the A592 road. In places,...
, affording picturesque views on the descent towards Patterdale
Patterdale
Patterdale is a small village and civil parish in the eastern part of the English Lake District in the Eden District of Cumbria, and the long valley in which they are found, also called the Ullswater Valley....
.
Dorothy Wordsworth
Dorothy Wordsworth
Dorothy Mae Ann Wordsworth was an English author, poet and diarist. She was the sister of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the two were close for all of their lives...
, having left William
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
sitting on Cow Bridge, walked beside the lake on 16 April 1802, delighted with ‘...the boughs of the bare old trees, the simplicity of the mountains, and the exquisite beauty of the path...the gentle flowing of the stream, the glittering, lively lake, green fields without a living creature to be seen on them.’ The lake is not among the most popular of the National Park, being shallow and full of reeds. Water lilies bloom in July, providing colour.
The name Broad Water was changed in the 19th century after two brothers drowned there.
To the north east of Brothers Water is the village of Hartsop
Hartsop
Hartsop is a small village in the English Lake District. It lies in the Patterdale valley, near Brothers Water, Hayeswater and Kirkstone Pass.It consists of 17th Century grey stone cottages, like so many of its neighbours. Hartsop retains its historic image, in that, in common with a number of...
, which has several 17th-century stone farm buildings and cottages. Some of the buildings still contain spinning rooms where villagers would have made their own clothing, selling any surplus in the local market towns. The word Hartsop
Hartsop
Hartsop is a small village in the English Lake District. It lies in the Patterdale valley, near Brothers Water, Hayeswater and Kirkstone Pass.It consists of 17th Century grey stone cottages, like so many of its neighbours. Hartsop retains its historic image, in that, in common with a number of...
means "valley of the deer", which would have lived in the woodlands of the lower areas of the surrounding fells.
A walk through woodland skirts the western shore. From its northern end the walk leads to Patterdale. Southward it heads over Kirkstone Pass to Ambleside
Ambleside
Ambleside is a town in Cumbria, in North West England.Historically within the county of Westmorland, it is situated at the head of Windermere, England's largest lake...
.
On the western side of Brothers Water is Hartsop Hall
Hartsop
Hartsop is a small village in the English Lake District. It lies in the Patterdale valley, near Brothers Water, Hayeswater and Kirkstone Pass.It consists of 17th Century grey stone cottages, like so many of its neighbours. Hartsop retains its historic image, in that, in common with a number of...
. The 16th-century building passed to Sir John Lowther
John Lowther, 1st Viscount Lonsdale
John Lowther, 1st Viscount Lonsdale, PC, FRS , known as Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet, from 1675 to 1696, was an English politician....
in the 17th century. The village of Hartsop
Hartsop
Hartsop is a small village in the English Lake District. It lies in the Patterdale valley, near Brothers Water, Hayeswater and Kirkstone Pass.It consists of 17th Century grey stone cottages, like so many of its neighbours. Hartsop retains its historic image, in that, in common with a number of...
lies near the northeast corner of the lake. Brothers Water may be classified in either of two ways: as one of the Lake District's smallest lakes or one of its largest tarns.
The lake is home to a trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
population and harbours a rare species of fish, the schelly
Schelly
The schelly is a designation for four populations of freshwater whitefish in the English Lake District, Cumbria. The native populations of this fish inhabit the Brothers Water, Haweswater, Red Tarn and Ullswater, and occupy a total area of about 20 square kilometers...
.