Heading south from Ullswater to Windermere, we drove over the 1500-foot Kirkstone Pass. the stark Ullswater Valley is famous for its old dry-stone walls, built without mortar.
Back in the 18th century, the British parliament passed a series of “enclosures acts,” which allowed private ownership of what had been communal farmland. Landowners began squabbling about boundaries and set about establishing clear property lines with stone walls.
But because the walls were expensive, the feuding landowners began collaborating and sharing the costs.. and they began getting along.
To this day, these fine walls still define the valley’s family farms. If you look carefully, you can see “sheep creeps” – small holes in the walls to allow sheep to be moved conveniently from one field to the next.
At the summit, we stopped to enjoy the view and check out the Kirkstone Pass Inn – it was actually open this time unlike last August. it is a 500-year old coaching stop.
The steep road just over the crest that we took down is called “The Struggle” for the work it took for those long-ago coaches to climb it.
