Seatoller Wood, Sourmilk Gill & Seathwaite Graphite Mine

Location Quiz Nearby Places Biology Geology Land ownership

Seatoller Wood, Sourmilk Gill & Seathwaite Graphite Mine is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) within Lake District National Park on the slopes above Seathwaite in Borrowdale, the valley of the River Derwent. The woodland is exceptional because of the lichen and liverwort species found there and the Red Squirrels that live there.

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Location

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Nearby Places

Seatoller

Seatoller is a settlement in Borrowdale in the English Lake District. Historically part of Cumberland, it lies on the B5289 road at the east foot of the Honister Pass, and to the south of Derwent Water. The nearest town to Seatoller is Keswick, which is situated approximately 7 miles to the north. Seatoller was the destination of a regular walkers bus in the 1960s and 1970s which left Carlisle each Sunday at 07:30 giving access by public transport into the heart of the lakes. The hamlet consists of a farmhouse, two bed and breakfasts, a tea shop and two rows of cottages.

Hiking Landmark

Honister Slate Mine

The Honister Slate Mine in Cumbria is the last working slate mine in England. Quarrying for Westmorland green slate has been taking place in the area since the late 17th century. Apart from the mining it is also a popular tourist attraction in the Lake District National Park.

Historic Site Landmark

Lake District

The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region and national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mountains, and for its literary associations with Beatrix Potter, John Ruskin, Arthur Ransome, and the Lake Poets. The Lakeland fells, or mountains, include England's highest: Scafell Pike, Helvellyn and Skiddaw. The region also contains sixteen major lakes. They include Windermere, which with a length of 11 miles and an area of 5.69 square miles is the longest and largest lake in England, and Wast Water, which at 79 metres is the deepest lake in England. The Lake District National Park was established in 1951, and covers an area of 2,362 km2, the bulk of the region. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017.

Hiking Landmark

Seathwaite, Cumberland

Seathwaite is a small hamlet in the Borrowdale civil parish of Cumberland, Cumbria, North West England. It is in the Lake District near Scafell Pike and 8 miles southwest of Keswick at the end of a minor road that heads southwest from the hamlet of Seatoller, which is where the B5289 road begins its steep climb up the pass to Honister Hause on the boundary between Borrowdale civil parish and Buttermere civil parish. The nearby Seathwaite Fell takes its name from the hamlet and lies about 1.1 miles to the south-southwest of it. The name derives from a combination of the Old Norse words sef and thveit and may be taken to mean "clearing in the sedges". The name, then spelled Seuthwayt, first appeared in written records in 1340.

Hiking Landmark

Grey Knotts

Grey Knotts is a fell in the English Lake District. It is situated one kilometre south of the B5289 road as it crosses the Honister Pass. It is well seen from mid-Borrowdale as it rises above Seatoller. Grey Knotts reaches a height of 697 metres and is part of a ridge which ascends from the woodland behind Seatoller and continues south-west and then south for four kilometres to Great Gable. The fell's name really only applies to the summit rocks, but has been adopted for the entire fell with the high ground in this area, locally known as Seatoller Fell on Ordnance Survey maps.

Hiking Landmark

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Biology

Tree species in Seatoller Wood include sessile oak, ash and wych elm. More than 180 species of lichens have been found in this wood including Lobaria pulmonaria, Hypotrachyna laevigata and species from the genera Arthothelium, Bacidia, Leptogium and Lopadium (Arthothelium orbilliferum, Sticta canariensis, Leptogium burgessii and Lopadium pezizoideum). Liverwort species are from the genera Radula and Adelanthus. Moss species include Hylocomium umbratum and Leucobryum juniperoideum. Wilson's filmy fern has also been recorded here.

Geology

Rock outcrops are from the Borrowdale Volcanic Group from the Ordovician period and show evidence of how volcanic rocks have been transported by streams. Seathwaite Graphite Mine is an important site for understanding mineralisation of graphite.