Mungrisdale

In the hamlet of Mungrisdale is one of several churches named for St Kentigern (St Mungo to the Scottish people), a Celtic missionary. The tiny, low church, supposedly founded by the saint himself, c552, is an early Georgian (1756) chapel with a three-tiered pulpit. The bell in the bellcote is dated 1481 and is thought to have originally been at Greystoke. The former vicarage now serves as a B&B, while, next door, a former butching house now serves as a parish meeting house.

The hamlet's name comes from St Mungo and the Norse "grisdair" meaning "valley of the pigs". The church, a pub, a 16^th century inn, and a few cottages are about all the hamlet holds. Many farms in the area date back to the 17^th century, still retaining the datestones over their doorways.

Mungrisdale is noted for its views, lying as it does on the eastern edge of the Caldbeck fells. Nearby Bowscale Fell with its tarn and Blencatha are the most notable. Bowscale Tarn, lying mostly in shadow, is rumoured to hold two immortal trout that speak to each other. Wainwright in his Northern Fells guide claims the old bridge path from Mungrisdale following Bowscale's southern flank is the easiest route to a 2000-foot summit in Lakeland.

Blencathra (Saddleback) is a famous mountain for walking. There are three ridges and the valleys lying between them that all offer routes to the summit.

Mungrisdale, a tiny hamlet in the northern fells on the banks of the Glenderamackin stream, is a good starting point for walking the fells.

Location Map of Mungrisdale
Located 7 miles northeast of Keswick, off A66

Photos courtesy of Graeme Dougal and John Dawson

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