Wrynose Pass

Wrynose Pass lies on a narrow, minor road that twists and turns from Little Langdale onward to Cockley Beck. Here, after plunging to Wrynose Bottom, the road forks. One arm leads south through Dunnerdale; the other fork connects with Hardknott Pass, where the road heads westward through Eskdale.

Wrynose is part of the old Roman road named the 10^th iter. It served the troops stationed at Hardknott Fort, and bits of the old road remain running alongside the present one. The unusual name, Wrynose, comes from 'pass of the stallion' and referred to the fact that the steep gradients (up to 1 in 3) needed a well-muscled horse to attain the top.

From Little Langdale the road sandwiches its way through the isolated and unsettled reaches of the Lakeland and Furness fells and climbs to its 1281-foot high summit. At the top is the Three Shires Stone. This denotes the boundary where three original counties once came together (pre 1974): Lancashire, Westmorland, and Cumberland.

Views are far-reaching and dramatic. Southward is Coniston Old Man, while to the north are the Langdale Pikes. Both the River Brathay and the River Duddon have their origin at Wrynose.

The Wrynose Pass road is off the A593 near Skelwith Bridge.

The National Trust and a number of private companies run tours over Wrynose and Hardknott for those who prefer not to drive the difficult road.

Photos courtesy of Barbara Ballard and Tony Richards

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