2023 UK Lake District – Day 9

Our first stop on Friday was the Langdale Boulders (also called the Copt How boulders), a site that contains (very faint) rock art that dates to prehistoric times.

I can’t see it in this photo, but below that descending crack, but to the right of the vertical crack, there is a circular mark.  Most of the marks at this site are on the boulder facing us down below.

A close-up.  The marks are at the bottom.

Another view.

I think there are supposed to be some ‘cup’ marks on this side as well.

You’ve heard of curious minds.  This is a curious mound.

Some day when this tree falls, I wonder what will be found beneath it.

I just liked the light and the shadows.

This is the overall site, as seen from near the road.  The ravine at the distant right is Stickle Ghyll, which we climbed down on Day 8.

Next up was the Hardknott Roman Fort.  Patty shot this out the car window as we were descending on the west side of Hardknott Pass.  The fort is below and off-screen right.  The slope at left is the northwest slope of Harter Fell (2129 ft).  The stream to right is Hardknott Gill.  It flows off-screen right into the River Esk, which continues west and opens into the Irish Sea at Ravenglass at top right.

Patty also shot this from the car window a little lower down from Hardknott Pass.  The Hardknott Roman Fort (which the Romans called Mediobogdum) is at the bottom right.  It was built between 120 and 138 AD, during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian.  It is 375 ft square.  Ravenglass, the town on the coast where the Romans built a fort called Glannaventa, is beyond that hill in the left distance.  The Romans called the road from Ravenglass, up through Hardknott Pass and on to Ambleside the 10th itr.  The Hardknott fort shows up well on the satellite view on Googlemaps.  Little remains of the fort at Ravenglass.

This is the sign near the entrance.

This is the northeast gate of Hardknott Roman Fort.  It was probably the main entrance.

This is looking back east from Hardknott Roman Fort back towards Hardknott Pass.  The one-lane road through the pass is considered to be the steepest a on one of the most treacherous in Britain.

This is looking west into the fort from the vicinity of the northeast gate.  The structures before you are the foundations of two adjacent granaries, whose wooden floors were elevated to provide ventilation, and also to protect the foodstuffs from vermin.  Just beyond the granaries is the Principia, the headquarters building for the fort.  Beyond that is the Praetorium, the residence of the Commandant.  The rest of the fort contained wooden structures to house up to 500 soldiers.  The hill in the far distance is Muncaster Fell, which is just to the west Ravenglass.

This is from the northern corner, looking southeast, showing the granaries and the Principia.

This is from the northern tower, looking southwest.

This is from the northern corner looking southeast, towards Hardknott Pass.

This is looking southeast, into the fort, the interior of which is at lower elevation, from outside the northwest gate.

This is looking north, up the Esk Valley, from inside the north tower.  The major peaks in the distance are Slight Side (2500 ft), Sca Fell (3163 ft.), and the highest mountain in England, Scafell Pike (3209 ft).  I urge you to zoom in on those mountains!

Patty and I outside the northwest gate.

This is looking north, showing first the Praetorium (Commandant’s house), the Principia, and then the granaries.

Just another stunning view.

The Esk River is hidden by the line of trees at center.  Note the size of the Lorry at bottom right.

I don’t even know where this guy came from.  He just appeared, standing there on the southwest wall.

Just think about it.  Eighteen centuries ago, a Roman soldier stood guard on this stone for hours per day.  Whatever happened to that soldier?

This gives you an idea of how much of the wall has been reconstructed.

A description of the Praetorium.

A description of the Principia.

This is looking out the southeast gate.  Can you see the Roman guard standing there?

The north tower.

From Hardknott, Mary drove us to Broughton-in-Furness, where we had a nice lunch at the Old King’s Head.

From lunch, Mary drove us to the ruins of Furness Abbey, a huge former Catholic monastery located north of Barrow-in-Furness.  Again, the satellite view of the site in Googlemaps is useful.

The original Abbey dates to the year 1123.  In 1537, under orders from King Henry VIII, the Abbey was destroyed as part of the English Reformation.  This layout shows many of the key features that had been built over time.

This is from a placard at the Visitors Center (Yes, there is a charge for admission.).

This view is facing south-southeast.  The structure behind Patty is the gate to the cemetery, which extended back along the left side of the building.  The walls that are reinforced are the Presbytery, also called the Chancel or Sanctuary.  The High Altar is at the left end in this view.  The portion on the right extending forward is the north end of the Transept, which forms a cruciform at the front of the church.  The north end of the Transept contained 3 small chapels along the left wall.

This is inside the north end of the Transept, looking north.  Beyond the pillars on the right were the entrances to the 3 small chapels.

Here, Andreas and Patty are walking towards the south end of the Transept.  The Sanctuary is on Patty’s left, and the Sacristy, or Vestry, is about to be on Andreas’s left.  Beyond that are two more small chapels.  The stairway ahead leads to the monk’s second-floor Dorter, or Dormitory.

This structure is called the Sedilia, built into the south wall of the High Altar, where officiating priest and assistants would sit during portions of the Mass.  This area of the church was built in the early 15th century, 500 years ago.

Carved sandstone?  Incredible!

This is a doorway leading from just outside the Transept (on left from this position) into what used to be the covered walk that ran along the east side of the Cloister.  On the left is a Book Closet, the entrance to the Chapter House (a meeting room), and another Book Closet.  The Dormitory was on the second floor on the left.

I think this might be looking in.

This view is looking east from near the west end of the Nave.  There used to be a wall along the left side of this paved aisle.  The grassy area on right is the center of the Nave, and there was another aisle, also separated from the Nave by pillars, on the right.

This is looking east across the Cloister.  The taller structure on the left is the south end of the Transept.  The two dark chambers straight ahead are the Book Closets.  The entrance between them leads to the Chapter House.  And the windowed area above is the Dormitory.

This is looking north across the Cloister.  The taller structure at left is all that remains of the tower, which at one time stood 131 ft tall!  The Transept is at the far end on the right.  All that remains of the Nave is what you see straight ahead.

This is a stream (Mill Beck) that ran under several of the buildings on the east side of the complex.

Here the Dormitory is on the second floor on the left.   The Chapter House is on the right.

This is inside the Chapter House, where meetings were held.

This is what remains of the monk’s Infirmary, which was built in the early 14th century.  Of the three facing doorways, which opened into the Infirmary Hall, the left two lead to the Service Buttery, which is where food would be offered to patients who were still mobile.  The left opening had access to the kitchen beyond and the food cellar bellow.  The second opening from left is where the sick patients would enter and exit.  The third opening on that face is the entrance to the Infirmary Chapel.

This is the east end of the Infirmary.  The section on the left is the Chapel.  The octagonal pattern on the ground at left is the outline of the detached kitchen.  The outline of the path leading into the building on the right is the path from the kitchen to the Service Buttery, where the patients would be served.

This is the stream, showing where it ran under the Infirmary’s detached kitchen (bordered grassy area at center).

This is looking in the east window of the Infirmary Chapel.

This is the south face of the Infirmary Chapel.

This is looking out the small north-facing window in the Infirmary Chapel.

This is looking at the ceiling of the Infirmary Chapel.  It’s 600 years old.  Jaw-dropping!

This is looking out the east window of the Infirmary Chapel.

This is looking out one of the south-facing windows of the Infirmary Chapel.

This is just a detail that I found somewhere.