Map - Google
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 157257
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The Vale of Lorton is a sequence of valleys leading from Cockermouth towards Keswick. In one of the lushest, prettiest parts of the Northern Lakes, the valley contains the lakes Loweswater, Crummock Water and Buttermere. At the end of the valley you can get to Keswick via Honister Pass and Borrowdale. From Lorton, Whinlatter Pass takes you through Whinlatter Forest, with its Visitor Centre to Braithwaite near Keswick.
There are many excellent walks in this area, including to the waterfall at Spout Force.
In the village of Lorton is St Cuthbert's Church, which is worth visiting. Lorton Hall consists of a 1663 living range attached to a pele tower. It is not open to the public, but can just be glimpsed over the wall surrounding it.
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and the River Cocker on the left. |
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Also in the village behind the site of the original Jennings Brewery, is 'Wordsworth's Yew Tree'. The Lorton Yew, which featured in a BBC program about Fascinating Trees, was immortalised in a poem by William Wordsworth, 'Yew Trees'. Not long after the poem was written, the tree, which had a 27 foot girth, was reduced to a mere 13 foot by a storm. The tree is however, still standing, and shows little sign of the storm damage to the trunk. It grows on the bank of Hope Beck, behind the Village Hall. The Cockermouth Mayor's Chair is made from the wood of the broken half of the tree. The tree is at least 1000 years old.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, preached here under the yew tree, between 1752 and 1761. George Fox, the founder of the Quakers, also preached here to a large crowd that included soldiers from Cromwell's army.
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towards the Lorton valley and Loweswater |
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Photo by Ann Bowker, 9 Nov 2005 |
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then Melbreak and Hen Comb, from Carling Knott. Photo by Ann Bowker, 9 Nov 2005 |
Aerial photos by Simon Ledingham.
Select to see the full text of Wordsworth's poem 'Yew Trees'.
Related Links :
| Cumbria Main Menu
| Cockermouth Menu
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Page last changed 5 Apr 2008.