Haweswater is the long, steel-blue reservoir that the Coast to Coast meets at the foot of the steep Kidsty Howes descent on Stage 5 — the point where the route finally leaves the Lake District's high fells for the gentler miles toward Shap. It looks like a natural lake, but it is a drowned valley with a sombre story. In the early 1930s Manchester Corporation, thirsty for water, built the great Haweswater Dam (completed in 1935) — the first hollow-buttress dam in the world — raising the level of a small natural lake by about 29 m and flooding the dale of Mardale. Beneath the water lies the lost farming village of Mardale Green, with its 17th-century Dun Bull inn and the church of the Holy Trinity; the buildings were demolished, the dead were exhumed from the churchyard and reburied at Shap, and the community was scattered. In times of severe drought the falling reservoir reveals the ghostly stone walls, field boundaries, the old packhorse bridge and the lane of the vanished village — a haunting sight that draws visitors and photographers. The surrounding fells and the RSPB reserve at the dale head are among the wildest in the eastern Lakes.
Highlights
- A reservoir with a drowned village beneath it — the lost community of Mardale Green, flooded in the 1930s
- The ruins, walls, lane and old packhorse bridge of Mardale Green re-emerging from the water in severe droughts (notably 1976, 1995, 2018, 2022)
- Haweswater Dam — completed 1935, the first hollow-buttress dam in the world
- The RSPB Haweswater reserve at the dale head, long home to England's last golden eagle in neighbouring Riggindale
- The shoreline path the route follows after the dramatic Kidsty Howes descent — the gateway out of the high Lakeland fells
- Red deer on the surrounding fells and a genuinely wild, lonely valley
At a glance
| Period | Reservoir (dam completed 1935); drowned village |
|---|---|
| Stage | 5 — Patterdale to Shap |
Take care
- The lakeshore path is long and undulating with some rough, rooty sections — tiring at the end of the longest day on the walk
- This is the back end of a very long Stage 5; pace water and daylight carefully and consider an overnight at Burnbanks or Bampton
- Reservoir water is not for drinking, and the steep ground above the shore can be slippery
- Limited facilities and patchy mobile signal around the reservoir
History
The valley of Mardale was a remote farming community at the head of a small natural lake until the early 20th century, when the growing city of Manchester sought new water supplies. The Haweswater Reservoir Act of 1919 authorised a dam, built through the late 1920s and completed in 1935, which raised the water by about 29 m and submerged the dale. The village of Mardale Green, including the Dun Bull inn and the church of Holy Trinity, was demolished; the church's last service was held in 1935, the bodies in the churchyard were exhumed and reburied at Shap, and salvageable stone was reused (some in the dam's draw-off tower). Whole farms and a way of life were lost beneath the water. The reservoir, owned and operated today by United Utilities, still supplies the north-west of England, and the story of 'the lost village' has become one of the most evocative in the Lake District.
Myth & legend
In severe droughts, when the reservoir drops, the stone walls, the foundations of farms and the lane of the lost village of Mardale Green rise again from the mud — a haunting, much-photographed reminder of the community that was sacrificed for the city's water.
Geology
Haweswater fills a glacially over-deepened trough gouged by ice through the tough Borrowdale Volcanic rocks of the eastern fells, then artificially dammed and raised. The steep, craggy slopes of Kidsty Pike, Harter Fell and Mardale Ill Bell that ring the dale are andesitic lavas and volcaniclastic rocks erupted around 450 million years ago; the floor of the drowned valley, exposed in droughts, shows the soils, walls and structures of the farmed land now beneath the water. The dam itself, a pioneering hollow-buttress design, sits at the lower, north-eastern end.
Wildlife & nature
The head of Haweswater is an RSPB reserve and one of the wildest corners of the eastern Lakes. Riggindale, just above, was for decades the territory of England's last resident golden eagle (a lone male into about 2015–16); peregrines, ravens and buzzards still patrol the crags, and ring ouzel and wheatear breed on the fells. Red deer roam the slopes above the water, and red squirrels and pine martens occur in the woods of the wider area. The shoreline and inflowing becks hold dipper and grey wagtail, and the surrounding fells carry heather, bilberry and hardy upland grasses grazed by Herdwick sheep.
The view
After the steep plunge down Kidsty Howes, the route meets the long sweep of Haweswater filling its glacial valley beneath Harter Fell, Branstree and Mardale Common — a wild, lonely, big-skied scene very different from the busier central Lakes. The water can be brilliant blue in sun or leaden under cloud, and the encircling fells are steep and dramatic. In drought, the exposed shoreline and the re-emerging ruins of Mardale Green add a melancholy, otherworldly quality that is unforgettable.
Photography
When the reservoir is low, the re-emerging walls, bridge and lane of Mardale Green are a uniquely poignant subject — check water levels before relying on it. Otherwise shoot the long view down the reservoir to the head of the dale, the dam and draw-off tower at the lower end, and red deer on the fells above. The descent from Kidsty Howes gives fine elevated shots of the water in its valley. Early and late light models the surrounding fells best.
When to visit
Late spring to early autumn (May–September) gives the safest, longest-daylight conditions for the long Stage 5. The drowned village is most likely to appear in prolonged summer or autumn droughts, when reservoir levels fall — it cannot be relied upon and is absent in normal or wet conditions. Autumn brings rich colour to the dale-head woods and rutting red deer; winter is stark, with snow on the high fells and short daylight. Spring is the time for breeding raptors and waders at the RSPB reserve.
Getting there
The reservoir is remote. A narrow road runs along the eastern shore to the car park at Mardale Head, but there is no through route and very limited public transport; the small hamlet of Burnbanks sits near the dam at the lower end. The stage runs from Patterdale to Shap, with Penrith the nearest rail hub and bus links to Shap; check current services (note the A592 Kirkstone Pass closure affecting Patterdale-side buses). Most Coast to Coast walkers reach the reservoir only on foot, off the fells.
Where to stay
There is no accommodation on the reservoir itself. Burnbanks, the little hamlet near the dam reached after the Kidsty Howes descent, and nearby Bampton offer limited B&B options useful for splitting the very long Stage 5. Patterdale/Glenridding at the start and Shap at the end have the main choice of inns, B&Bs, hostels and campsites. Book ahead in peak season and use baggage transfer to lighten the long day.
Food & water
Carry enough water for the whole high crossing and the long shoreline miles — the reservoir is a drinking-water supply and is not for drinking, and there are no facilities along most of its length. Becks running off the fells into the reservoir can be used if treated or filtered. Refill at Burnbanks/Bampton if staying there, or push on to Shap.
Safety
The main risks here are fatigue and time: this is the tail end of the longest, most committing day on the walk, so manage daylight, food and water carefully and consider breaking the stage. The lakeshore path has rough, slippery sections, and the steep ground above the water demands care. Do not enter the reservoir. Mobile signal is patchy. In an emergency dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue (Patterdale or Penrith teams); for non-urgent medical advice call NHS 111.
Accessibility
The Coast to Coast shoreline path is a long, rough, undulating route with rooty and rocky sections and is not wheelchair- or buggy-accessible. The eastern-shore road to Mardale Head allows vehicle access to a car park and some easier shoreline strolls for those not on the C2C, but the through-route walked by the trail is rough fell-and-shore walking. Dogs are welcome under close control; keep them leashed near livestock, ground-nesting birds and the RSPB reserve, and out of the reservoir.
Visitor tips
If there has been a long dry spell, check Haweswater's level before you arrive — when it is low, the re-emerged ruins of Mardale Green are one of the most moving sights on the whole walk. Treat the shoreline miles with respect: they come at the end of the longest day, so start Stage 5 early and consider an overnight at Burnbanks or Bampton. Look up to Riggindale and remember it held England's last golden eagle. Carry plenty of water — the reservoir beside you is undrinkable.
Listen: the audio guide
The full narration of this stop's audio guide, in text.
At the foot of the steep descent, the ground levels and the mountains release you, and there before you lies a long sheet of steel-blue water, stretching away between quiet, wooded slopes. This is Haweswater — and it is not a natural lake at all. Beneath its calm surface lies a whole lost valley, and a village that once was: Mardale Green, drowned nearly a century ago so that a distant city could drink. The lake you see was created in the 1930s, when Manchester Corporation threw a great dam across the valley to secure water for the growing city far to the south. It was no ordinary dam — it was the first hollow-buttress dam in the world, a bold piece of engineering for its day. But behind the wall, the rising water did something irreversible. It flooded the valley of Mardale and swallowed the farming community of Mardale Green: its cottages and fields, its little church, and the old Dun Bull inn where shepherds had gathered for generations. Before the waters came, the buildings were demolished, and the dead were carefully exhumed from the churchyard and reburied elsewhere. A whole living valley was emptied, then submerged, to fill the taps of a city its people would never see. Walk the shore now and look closely. First, the shape of the reservoir itself — long, straight and steep-sided, a different creature from the natural lakes of Lakeland; its very regularity hints that human hands made it. Second, watch the waterline along the banks, where a pale, bare margin of stone and grass shows how far the level rises and falls. Third, look up to the surrounding fells, still wild and high, holding the valley much as they always did. Fourth, notice how quiet it is here — few roads, few houses, a hush that feels heavier than ordinary peace, as though the place remembers. And fifth, in a dry summer, scan the exposed margins near the head of the lake, where, when the water falls low enough, the past comes back to the surface. For that is the haunting story of Haweswater. In times of severe drought, when the reservoir shrinks and the level drops, the drowned village rises again. Out of the mud emerge the stone field walls, the foundations of the farms, the line of the old lane, and the arch of a packhorse bridge that once carried travellers across the valley floor. For a few strange weeks, Mardale Green returns to the daylight — a skeleton of a community, laid bare, before the rains come and the water closes over it once more. It is one of the most photographed and most poignant sights in all the Lakes: a whole way of life, sacrificed for a city's thirst, refusing quite to disappear. There is one more piece of wildness to carry from this place. In the fells above Haweswater, England's only wild golden eagle once held its territory — the last of its kind in the country, soaring over these very waters. That, too, is now a memory, but it deepens the sense that this is a valley of last things: the last village, the last eagle, the last of the high Lake District as the walk turns east. And turn east it does. From the shore of Haweswater the Coast to Coast leaves Lakeland behind for good, striking out across gentler, greener limestone country toward the broad Eden valley. Ahead, among green nature-reserve slopes, waits the elegant striding arches of Smardale Gill Viaduct — a very different monument of stone and human ambition. Look once more across the still water, and think of the lanes, the fields and the quiet hearths that lie forever beneath it. Walk safe.
Common questions
How old is Haweswater & Mardale Green?
Haweswater & Mardale Green dates from the Reservoir (dam completed 1935); drowned village period.
How do I get to Haweswater & Mardale Green?
The reservoir is remote. A narrow road runs along the eastern shore to the car park at Mardale Head, but there is no through route and very limited public transport; the small hamlet of Burnbanks sits near the dam at the lower end. The stage runs from Patterdale to Shap, with Penrith the nearest rail hub and bus links to Shap; check current services (note the A592 Kirkstone Pass closure affecting Patterdale-side buses). Most Coast to Coast walkers reach the reservoir only on foot, off the fells.
Is Haweswater & Mardale Green accessible?
The Coast to Coast shoreline path is a long, rough, undulating route with rooty and rocky sections and is not wheelchair- or buggy-accessible. The eastern-shore road to Mardale Head allows vehicle access to a car park and some easier shoreline strolls for those not on the C2C, but the through-route walked by the trail is rough fell-and-shore walking. Dogs are welcome under close control; keep them leashed near livestock, ground-nesting birds and the RSPB reserve, and out of the reservoir.
When is the best time to visit Haweswater & Mardale Green?
Late spring to early autumn (May–September) gives the safest, longest-daylight conditions for the long Stage 5. The drowned village is most likely to appear in prolonged summer or autumn droughts, when reservoir levels fall — it cannot be relied upon and is absent in normal or wet conditions. Autumn brings rich colour to the dale-head woods and rutting red deer; winter is stark, with snow on the high fells and short daylight. Spring is the time for breeding raptors and waders at the RSPB reserve.
Is there food and water at Haweswater & Mardale Green?
Carry enough water for the whole high crossing and the long shoreline miles — the reservoir is a drinking-water supply and is not for drinking, and there are no facilities along most of its length. Becks running off the fells into the reservoir can be used if treated or filtered. Refill at Burnbanks/Bampton if staying there, or push on to Shap.
Where can I stay near Haweswater & Mardale Green?
There is no accommodation on the reservoir itself. Burnbanks, the little hamlet near the dam reached after the Kidsty Howes descent, and nearby Bampton offer limited B&B options useful for splitting the very long Stage 5. Patterdale/Glenridding at the start and Shap at the end have the main choice of inns, B&Bs, hostels and campsites. Book ahead in peak season and use baggage transfer to lighten the long day.
What should I know before visiting Haweswater & Mardale Green?
If there has been a long dry spell, check Haweswater's level before you arrive — when it is low, the re-emerged ruins of Mardale Green are one of the most moving sights on the whole walk. Treat the shoreline miles with respect: they come at the end of the longest day, so start Stage 5 early and consider an overnight at Burnbanks or Bampton. Look up to Riggindale and remember it held England's last golden eagle. Carry plenty of water — the reservoir beside you is undrinkable.
Is Haweswater & Mardale Green safe to visit?
The main risks here are fatigue and time: this is the tail end of the longest, most committing day on the walk, so manage daylight, food and water carefully and consider breaking the stage. The lakeshore path has rough, slippery sections, and the steep ground above the water demands care. Do not enter the reservoir. Mobile signal is patchy. In an emergency dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue (Patterdale or Penrith teams); for non-urgent medical advice call NHS 111.
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