Ulpha Cumbria the Lake District.

Ulpha village north of Broughton in Furness Cumbria

Ulpha

(See also Duddon Valley)

Ulpha means the wolfs hill. The village, in the Lake District National Park, is situated in one of Wordsworths favourite valleys, the Duddon.

The construction date of St John the Baptist church in Ulpha is not known, but the east window is thought to date from the 17^th century. The churchs windows are plain glass. Constructed of stone, the buildings exterior and interior are white. Two bells hang from the turret at the entrance. 17^th and 18^th century wall decorations include Queen Annes royal arms. The entrance is marked by a slate-roofed lych gate. Wordsworth wrote of the church:

"Kirk of Ulpha to the pilgrim's eye
Is welcome as a star, that doth present
Its shining forehead through the peaceful rent
Of a black cloud diffused o'er half the sky;
. . . . . . . .
How sweet were leisure! could it yield no more
Than mid that wave-washed churchyard to recline,
From pastoral graves extracting thoughts divine
Or there to pace, and mark the summit's hear
Of distant moonlit mountains faintly shine,
Sooth'd by the unseen river's gentle roar."

A Methodist chapel provided another place of worship. A post office/general store serves local needs. At one time there was a manor hall here, but it fell into ruin. Sea trout and salmon are fished in the nearby Duddon river. A shepherds meet is held the second Saturday in November. A packhorse bridge marks the former boundary between Cumberland and Lancashire.

Location Map of Ulpha
Ulpha is on a minor road from the A595, four miles from Broughton in Furness.

Photos courtesy of Andy Wallace and Tony Richards

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