Duddon Valley
Encyclopedia
Lake District National Park
The Lake District National Park is located in the north-west of England and is the largest of the English National Parks and the second largest in the United Kingdom. It is in the central and most-visited part of the Lake District....
in 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...
, England
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...
. The River Duddon
River Duddon
The Duddon is a river of north-west England. It rises at a point above sea level near the Three Shire Stone at the highest point of Wrynose Pass . The river descends to the sea over a course of about before entering the Irish Sea at the Duddon Sands. For its entire length the Duddon forms the...
flows through the valley, rising in the mountains between Eskdale
Eskdale, Cumbria
Eskdale is a glacial valley and civil parish in the western Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. It forms part of the Borough of Copeland, and has a population of 264....
and Langdale, before flowing into the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
near Broughton in Furness. In its lower reaches it is bounded by the Furness Fells
Furness Fells
The Furness Fells are those hills and mountains in the Furness region of Cumbria, England. Historically part of Lancashire, the Furness Fells or High Furness is the name given to the upland part of Furness, that is, that part of Furness lying north of the line between Ulverston and Ireleth...
and Harter Fell.
The part of the valley near the village of Ulpha
Ulpha
Ulpha is a small village and civil parish in the Duddon Valley in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. It forms part of the Borough of Copeland. At Ulpha a road leaves the Duddon Valley to cross Birker Fell to the valley of Eskdale...
is marked as "Dunnerdale" on Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
maps, and upstream towards the village of Seathwaite is Hall Dunnerdale. The name "Dunnerdale" is often used as a synonym for "Duddon Valley", but many people, including Alfred Wainwright
Alfred Wainwright
Alfred Wainwright MBE was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, published between 1955 and 1966 and consisting entirely of reproductions of his manuscript, has become the standard reference work to 214 of the fells of the...
, prefer the name "Duddon Valley" and consider that Dunnerdale as a valley is properly the small valley above Broughton Mills
Broughton Mills
Broughton Mills is a village in Cumbria, England....
that contains Dunnerdale Beck. It is this tributary valley that has given its name to the "Dunnerdale Fells", which are between Broughton Mills and the main Duddon Valley, and to the civil parish of "Dunnerdale with Seathwaite", which includes the valley of Dunnerdale Beck as well as the main length of the River Duddon
River Duddon
The Duddon is a river of north-west England. It rises at a point above sea level near the Three Shire Stone at the highest point of Wrynose Pass . The river descends to the sea over a course of about before entering the Irish Sea at the Duddon Sands. For its entire length the Duddon forms the...
. Interestingly, advertisements for holiday cottages at Hall Dunnerdale describe the cottages as being "in the Duddon Valley".
From the top of the valley, steep motor roads lead west over the Hardknott Pass
Hardknott Pass
Hardknott Pass is a pass that carries a minor road between Eskdale and the Duddon Valley in the region of Cumbria, England, in the Lake District National Park...
to Eskdale and east over the Wrynose Pass
Wrynose Pass
The Wrynose Pass is a mountain pass in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England between the Duddon Valley and Little Langdale.-Road:...
to the Langdale valleys. A less steep pass to Eskdale over Birker Fell
Birker Fell
Birker Fell, also known as Birker Moor, is an upland wilderness area in the western portion of the Lake District National Park, in Cumbria, England. Rather than being formed of one single high peak, the fell is a broad, undulating area, approximately 6 km square, with numerous crags and...
leaves the valley at Ulpha, with extensive views of the Scafell range.