The rivers in Ullswater flow through hill farms, wood pasture, alongside roads and through busy tourist villages, feeding the landscape as they go. Unfortunately, the valley’s rivers are in trouble and consequently so are many of the roads, communities and habitats that surround them. These waterways respond rapidly to rainfall and pose a flood risk to settlements downstream. The valley has suffered three major storm events in the last ten years and the catastrophic impact of Storm Desmond in 2015 got us thinking that little bit harder about how we can work with nature to make the valley more resilient.
We have developed plans for a new Ullswater Rivers Scheme. The scheme will work to slow the flow of these rivers by reconnecting them with the floodplain - allowing the wider landscape to absorb the effects of the weather. Creating rivers and floodplains which are governed by natural processes will result in improved flood resilience, water quality and habitats.
Across the Lake District it is common to see rivers running in straight, walled channels, having been historically modified. The rivers throughout the Ullswater valley are no exception. In the first phase of this scheme our plan is to work with partners including the Environment Agency, Natural England and Cumbria County Council to restore Goldrill Beck to a more natural course where it currently follows the A592 between Cow Bridge and Menneting Bridge. This will move the river away from the road, allowing it to spill onto surrounding land belonging to Howe Green and Beckstones farms during periods of high rainfall.
This approach will:
Keep checking back below for regular updates from the project team on how the scheme is progressing. We're looking forward to sharing this exciting project with you as each stage unfolds.
14 August 2023
The Riverlands project is growing.
Until now, the Riverlands project has been focused on projects two distinct valleys in the Lake District; Ullswater & Borrowdale. But now, Riverlands is expanding its reach to find more rivers in need of our help across the whole of the Lake District. It's a big patch! But the team is excited by all the potential and possibilities.
To follow our progress, check out our new web page at Riverlands in the Lake District.
31 July 2023
Today is World Ranger Day which celebrates the work of rangers across the globe. It is estimated that there are half a million rangers supporting nature, wildlife and public access. The Riverlands Team is incredibly lucky to not only work with the amazing rangers in the National Trust, but also to have our very own ranger on the team.
We couldn’t have delivered the Riverlands projects without our ranger colleagues – from planting trees to digging ponds or leading guided walks, they are the keystone that holds our projects together. So it’s with heartfelt thanks that we wish them all a happy World Ranger Day!
30 June 2023
The rivers in Borrowdale valley – famously England’s reputed wettest location – are in serious prolonged drought conditions. For the third year in a row the River Derwent which flows through Borrowdale has dried up almost completely – and it’s not the only river which is suffering in this summer’s prolonged drought. Across the Lake District, rivers are drying up and lakes are shrinking.
Often watercourses like the River Derwent dry up in drought because they have historically been altered from their natural course. Returning rivers to a more natural state can help make them act less like drains and hold on to more water, which also has benefits in times of extreme rainfall as it slows the flow downstream.
Becky Powell, Riverlands Project Manager says: “The Riverlands project has been working hard to deliver strategies which increase the resilience of our environment and communities to climate change. We have delivered projects across the Lake District, including in Ullswater where Goldrill Beck used to run dry, but is now still flowing despite the dry conditions. This not only helps the river and all the plants and wildlife which rely on it, but it also provides sustainable drinking water for livestock. Storing water in the landscape in this way not only makes it more resilient to drought and wildfire, but to flooding also.”
10 May 2023
This week is National Hedgerows Week, a chance to celebrate and promote the benefits of healthy hedgerows. Good hedges are incredible things; they provide fantastic homes for nature and wildlife, with blossom in spring feeding our pollinators and berries in autumn providing for the birds. They’re also an essential part of our response to climate change, sequestering carbon from the atmosphere as well as capturing eroding soils from more and more intense rainfall. But nationally, we have lost about 50% of our hedgerows in the last 100 years.
In Ullswater, we’ve supported the Ullswater Catchment Management CIC to plant nearly 5km of new hedgerows over the last 18 months, a fantastic achievement. And we know, from archaeological evidence and historic mapping that even more opportunity exists to create and restore more hedgerows across our landscape. Hedgerows are the stitches that hold the fabric of the countryside together and we hope to see more and more being restored, for the benefit of people and nature.
29 April 2023
This year, Riverlands has commissioned a ‘health check’ of all the rivers on National Trust landholdings in the Lake District. This will combine desk studies and modelling with walking over 200km of rivers carrying out field assessments.
We’re asking the surveys to tell us three key pieces of information; whether (and to what extent) the rivers have been modified from their natural form, how resilient the rivers are to climate change, and how easy or challenging it would be to restore them to a more natural form.
The project team will use this information to build a list of potential projects across Cumbria, and consider which projects are the highest priority. It’s a big task, and we expect it will take around 12 months to complete.
If you’d like to know more about this work, get in touch with the team at lakes.riverlands@nationaltrust.org.uk
21 February 2023
For two years we’ve been working with the Ullswater Catchment Management Community Interest Company to create lost hedgerows and woodpasture in Ullswater. These traditional landscape features bring a whole host of benefits, from providing habitats for birds and small mammals and increasing habitat connectivity, to slowing the flow of runoff to protect soils from erosion and prevent pollution reaching our rivers. Planting trees is also a critically important action we can take to combat climate change.
Working with the CIC, this project has restored and created 170ha of woodpasture and nearly 5km of hedgerows across Ullswater. In total, over 50,000 new trees have gone in the ground, a truly astonishing achievement! And it’s wonderful to think that, in decades to come, these trees will be providing homes for wildlife, mitigating climate change impacts, and enlivening the landscape. Thanks must go to our project partner, the Ullswater CIC, and our funders at the Green Recovery Challenge Fund.
22 January 2023
Today our ranger team were back at Goldrill Beck, planting 16 of the rarest native trees in Britain on the restored river floodplain – the black poplar. Black poplar are an important wetland tree species that belong to the wider willow family or Salicaceae. Once commonplace, they have been in steady decline since the mid-twentieth century when widespread draining of agricultural land across Britain greatly reduced the availability of their preferred wetland habitats. With help from a specialist from London, trees of an ancient local strain were sourced and brought on location.
There are only an estimated 7000 black poplars across the country, and of these only 3 were recorded in Cumbria. So it was an honour to plant these rare trees in the new wetland floodplain at Goldrill Beck, adding the finishing touch to the river restoration. Our sister project, Derwent Riverlands, planted another 16 trees on the Dunthwaite Estate near Cockermouth, making a total of 32 new black poplar trees introduced into the Cumbrian landscape.
16 December 2022
We’re delighted that our funders at the Green Recovery Challenge Fund have approved our request to fund more hedgerow and wood pasture creation in partnership with the Ullswater Community Interest Company.
We were already planning to plant over 4km of new hedgerows and create 170ha of wood pasture across Ullswater, but this additional funding will add another 2km of hedgerow and shelter belt creation to the project. We’ll also be supporting riparian planting along the riverbanks of Aira Beck, helping to stabilise the riverbanks as well as creating habitat ‘corridors’ for wildlife. Our thanks go to the Green Recovery Challenge Fund for supporting this important project.
5 December 2022
We’ve been back at Hartsop installing the final piece of the restoration design, the new bridge crossing across Caudale Beck. This small tributary feeds into Kirkstone Beck and takes an impressive flow when in spate. The existing crossing was found to be structurally unsafe, and so a replacement was drawn up as part of the river restoration design.
In the end, the new structure was relocated a short distance upstream. In large part this was driven by a desire to protect a beautiful, and very old, sycamore tree which was growing out of the foundations of the old bridge. If the new bridge had been in the same spot as the old, the new foundations would have meant felling the stately old tree – something we certainly didn’t want to see! So a new crossing point was discussed at length and finally agreed on several meters upstream; protecting the tree while maintaining this critical agricultural access route, a win for nature and farming.
30 November 2022
All the Riverlands work sits as part of the Cumbrian River Restoration Strategy; a partnership led by the Environment Agency and Natural England which aims to improve the habitats of rivers and catchments across Cumbria. Partners in the Strategy include the National Trust, Rivers Trusts, RSBP, United Utilities, Ullswater CIC and many more. Together, we have delivered over 100 projects across the Lake District, and so we were thrilled to hear that the partnership was nominated in 2022 for the European RiverPrize, an award which celebrates excellence in the management and conservation of rivers in Europe. As a group we ventured to the award ceremony, this year held in Vienna. Astonishingly, we won!
The partnership was up against stiff competition, with other finalists representing projects that worked across multiple countries in Central Europe, creating multi-national biospheres and running campaigns to protect the last truly wild rivers in Europe. It was truly humbling to have the work that we do in the Lakes recognised by such a prestigious award, and as a partnership we’ve been galvanised to continue this important work to conserve and protect the rivers in the Lake District.
You can read more about the European RiverPrize, including details of the other finalists, at riversymposium.com/european-riverprize
14 November 2022
Working in partnership with the Ullswater Catchment Management Community Interest Company, and with the generous support of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, we’re planning a busy winter planting season.
Working with 15 farms across Ullswater, we’ll be replanting lost hedgerows and recreating swathes of wood pasture to support a sustainable farmed landscape that is more resilient to climate change. In total we’re planting over 35,000 trees to create bigger, better, and more joined up habitats.
24 October 2022
That’s a wrap for the river restoration project at Hartsop – for now. In total we’ve improved an impressive 2.1km of river, but perhaps more remarkably the project has increased the total river area from 1850 m2 to a staggering 23,300 m2! That’s more than 12 times the river habitat existing now compared to before the project began, including flowing wetlands, widened tributary junctions, and improved quality of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
We do still need to return in December to complete the installation of a small bridge across Caudale Beck, and will of course be closely monitoring the performance of the project across the winter. Our thanks go to everyone who has been involved in supporting this project including our funders, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe Investing in Rural Areas.
11 October 2022
The old bridge crossing Kirkstone Beck has now been removed, freeing the river channel from it’s narrow constraint. The new bridge is twice the width of the original, so where the bridge had previously formed a pinch point and constricted the flow, the new structure more than doubles the carrying capacity of the river.
This offers flood alleviation benefits, as the risk of the river overtopping its banks is considerably lessened, but it also offers benefits for habitat and wildlife. A wide river has a much slower flow and lower energy, encouraging sediment to deposit which provides habitat and shelter for spawning and resting fish, including the critically endangered Atlantic Salmon.
28 September 2022
The work at Hartsop to widen the river channel is now mostly complete. We’ve recently captured some fabulous drone images which show the dramatic changes to the river here, clearly illustrating how much more room the river now has to move around and store water and gravels. What was once a single narrow river channel, is now a wider, meandering wetland complex, with a much greater diversity of habitats. We’ve particularly added areas of slower moving water, where gravel and fine materials can be deposited and provide habitats for fish to rest and spawn.
21 September 2022
Today the Riverlands team have been helping out on site at Hartsop, carrying out a fish rescue for a section of river which will be temporarily de-watered during construction. The fish rescue aims to catch all the fish in that section of river and relocate them downstream of the work, ensuring that they don’t get caught out in a dry riverbed. The fish are caught using electrofishing, a method which passes a mild electric current through the water to momentarily stun the fish, making them easy to spot and scoop out. Don’t try this at home though! It’s important that only certified professionals use electrofishing techniques, as they’re trained to prevent any harm coming to the fish.
5 September 2022
We’ve been working on the downstream end of the Hartsop project recently, where we’re aiming to encourage the river to spill out of its existing channel and form multiple waterways across the expanse of the Brothers Water delta. We’re doing this using what’s known as ‘large woody debris’ – in other words, large trees – which are placed into the existing river channel to force the water to go out and around when it comes up in a flood. The force of the water will cut new channels across the delta, forming valuable new wetland habitat and diversifying the landscape. The trees we’ve used were felled upstream as part of the river widening works, and it’s lovely to see them reused in the landscape where they once stood. It’ll be exciting to watch this area develop over the next few winters, demonstrating the significant impact a small change can have on the landscape.
30 August 2022
It was an exciting day at our Hartsop project today, as the first of the steels were installed for the replacement bridge across Kirkstone Beck. The existing bridge, which is both a Public Right of Way as well as the key access route to Hartsop Hall Farm, was badly damaged during Storm Desmond in 2015, and the temporary repairs made at the time have reached the end of their lifespan. The new bridge will therefore provide a long term replacement for this much-needed access route. It is also much larger than the existing bridge, which allows it to accommodate a wider river channel with the embankments set much further back than they are currently. The old bridge will be decommissioned and removed once the new one is completed.
22 August 2022
While marking out our construction works across the Brother’s Water delta, we’ve discovered a flourishing population of Devil’s Bit Scabious. These purple flowers are found in damp meadows and marshes from July to October, and attract a wide variety of bees, butterflies and insects. Most importantly, Devil’s Bit Scabious is the main foodplant for the endangered Marsh Fritillary butterfly. Once widespread across Britain, populations of the Marsh Fritillary have significantly declined across the twentieth century, in large part due to reducing wetland habitats which support the Devil’s Bit Scabious. Discovering the scabious across the Brother’s Water delta has therefore raised the exciting possibility that we could use the site for a reintroduction of Marsh Fritillaries. We need to do more research to confirm if the delta would be a suitable location for reintroduction, but we’re hopeful that the site can become a future stronghold for the endangered butterfly.
8 August 2022
Although they’re a bit hard to spot in this photo, the cows have been put back out on the fields at Goldrill Beck. We’re delighted to see them happily exploring the site and enjoying wetting their feet in the newly accessible river channel. The cows will help to increase biodiversity across the site, as their heavy feet break up the grasses and rush, trampling seeds into the soil and making space for new plants to grow through. It’s wonderful to see nature and farming working so well here, showing that river restoration and providing space for nature can also work in favour of farm businesses in the Lake District.
1 August 2022
This week at Hartsop, we’re working on sorting the spoil that’s come out of the excavations into larger and smaller materials. The clever bit of kit in this picture is doing just that, sorting the material using a perforated spinning drum which – in a similar way to a salad spinner – spins the smaller particles out through the perforations and leaves only the larger stone behind. The large stones and boulders will be used to build riffles and rapids in the river channel, while the medium size stone will form the new riverbed in the wider sections. Finally, the small fine materials will be used to dress the new embankments and form a gentle slope on the field side. Nothing is wasted, nothing taken away – it’s all reused and repurposed as part of the new river system.
26 July 2022
The work at Hartsop is progressing apace, with our contractors working on widening the river channel upstream of the bridge, as well as beginning construction of the new bridge abutments. The image here is a great illustration of why it’s important to do these sorts of river restoration projects, as it shows Kirkstone Beck (on the right) running completely dry. The water flowing on the left comes from a field drain, which is about 1 metre below the level of the riverbed. Maintaining the status quo isn’t a sustainable option in the long term for river like this, as they need intensive maintenance and currently aren’t benefiting anyone – not farming, wildlife, or people. Giving the river more space and reinstating natural features will mean that it needs little or no intervention to keep it flowing, providing space for wildlife to thrive and a predictable watercourse for farmers to work with and people to enjoy.
12 July 2022
Last week, work began to deliver our next phase of river restoration in Ullswater, on Kirkstone Beck above Brothers Water. Working with experienced contractor Cubbys Construction, we are setting back embankments to give the river more space, and introducing more natural features and processes into the river channel and across the Brothers Water delta. We’re also replacing two bridges, including the main access bridge to Hartsop Hall Farm. So far, work has focused on the upstream end of the project, stripping and saving the valuable topsoil and building the new embankments. While it might look a bit of a mess now, we’re very excited to see how the site bounces back and nature begins to thrive in these new habitats. Keep checking back to follow our progress!
16 June 2022
We’re delighted to see a wide range of meadow flower species are already beginning to colonise the fields at Goldrill. Before the river restoration, the fields were dominated by rushes and rye grass which outcompeted all other meadow species. This year, there’s a whole host of meadow flowers - including ox-eye daisies, ragged robin, meadow buttercup, meadowsweet and germander speedwell - flourishing across the floodplain. In time, we hope that even more meadow flowers will find a home at Goldrill.
10 June 2022
Today our wonderful ranger team spent the day readying the site at Goldrill Beck to welcome livestock again. The winter storms had left lots of debris across the site, including this large pile of fence posts. Thanks to the hard work from the rangers, the fields are now clear, safe and ready for a small herd of cows to return for the summer. Putting cows on the fields rather than sheep will encourage a mosaic of different plant heights and habitats, as the way they graze and trample the ground is different to sheep. Hopefully the cattle at Goldrill will enhance the biodiversity across the fields, and improve the habitats. So thank you to our rangers for all their hard work getting Goldrill ready to welcome the cows!
6 May 2022
This week the Riverlands project team attended the inaugural River Restoration in Practise training course, hosted by the Freshwater Biological Association. The course was based in Cumbria, and across three days the team visited five inspirational river restoration projects across the county. The field visits gave us an oversight of the wide variety of techniques that can be used to restore our river systems and catchments; from simple interventions like lowering embankments and reconnecting the river to the floodplain, to constructing entirely new meandering river channels. We even met some wonderful Highland cattle grazing a newly created wetland, and have come away inspired and enthused to make progress with our own plans!
22 April 2022
In summer 2022 we will be working on Kirkstone Beck and Caudale Beck, upstream of Brother’s Water. Our plans will see a variety of natural features introduced into Kirkstone and Caudale Becks, including riffles, rapids, and pools to increase the diversity of habitats in the rivers, as well as setting back some of the embankments to give these habitats more space to develop. This will create ideal environments for a range of animals and plants to thrive. We’ll also restore more natural processes across the delta as Kirkstone Beck enters Brother’s Water, encouraging the water to spill out of the river channel so a diverse and valuable wetland habitat can develop. We’re delighted to be working with Cubby’s Construction to deliver this project, and plan to begin work on the ground in late June.
15 March 2022
The Lake District National Park Authority has approved our plans for works on Kirkstone and Caudale Becks at Hartsop. These plans will restore some of the natural processes to the heavily modified rivers, and improve habitat in the Brothers' Water delta. We'll also be replacing a couple of bridges on the farm. Our next task is to appoint a contractor and undertake some preparatory work in anticipation of works starting this summer.
7 February 2022
This week (7th-13th February) is National Apprenticeship Week, and we’re celebrating the fantastic work of our apprentices! We currently have two apprentice rangers working on the Riverlands projects across the Lake District; Chloe (pictured), a Countryside Worker apprentice, and Thomas, a Water Environment Worker, both funded by the Green Recovery Challenge Fund. You may have also seen the work of our former apprentice Jade who has now graduated and is working as an assistant ranger based in Windermere. You can read interviews with Jade and Chloe, as well as other National Trust apprentices at www.nationaltrustjobs.org.uk/life-at-the-national-trust/Apprenticeships
15 January 2022
We’ve just submitted our planning application for a project on Kirkstone and Caudale Becks which we’re aiming to complete this summer. This piece of work won’t be moving the river like we did at Goldrill but instead we’ll be restoring some of the natural processes to the river through widening some of the embankments and adding features such as boulder rapids and woody debris. These works aim to reduce the flood risk to the surrounding land and improve the habitat for nature in the Brothers’ Water delta. The full application can be found on the Lake District National Park planning portal.
6 January 2022
Danny Teasdale from the Ullswater Catchment Management Community Interest Company was joined by volunteers this week to plant the first trees on a collaborative project between the Ullswater CIC and the Riverlands programme. Danny will be leading on the plans to plant 170ha of wood pasture and 4.6km of hedgerow across 16 farms in the Ullswater valley in the next 15 months, working with farmers to create new habitat for wildlife and improve flood mitigation within a working landscape with a long agricultural heritage. The works are funded by the Green Recovery Challenge Fund developed by DEFRA and it’s Arm’s-Length Bodies, and delivered by the National Heritage Lottery Fund in partnership with Natural England, the Environment Agency, and Forestry Commission.
22 November 2021
If you were watching The Lakes with Simon Reeve this week you will have seen our project manager Becky showing Simon around Goldrill Beck earlier this summer! We'd like to thank Simon and his team for joining us, it's great to be able to show some of our work to a wider audience. We also had a team from Land and Sky Media join us throughout the project and you can see the short film they have produced for us below.
7 October 2021
Thank you to local walker Jonathan for sharing this great shot of Brothers' Water and Goldrill Beck from earlier this week! The site is recovering really well and the last few days of rain have shown us that the new channels are functioning exactly how we wanted them to.
If you're interested in taking a closer look we will be running an open day on the site on October 23rd 11-3.30, with tours at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm. Car parks can be found at Cow Bridge on the A592 and at the top of Hartsop village, both just a couple of minutes walk from the site entrance on Cross Gates Lane, opposite Hartsop Fold Lodges.
2 September 2021
We were recently successful in a bid to the Government's Green Recovery Challenge Fund. The fund was developed by Defra and its Arm's-Length Bodies. It is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England, the Environment Agency and Forestry Commission. The grant will fund bridge works over Caudale Beck near Hartsop, support tree and hedgerow planting by the Ullswater Community Interest Company as part of natural flood management schemes, and fund two apprentice rangers who will work across the central and North Lakes.
13 August 2021
After 3 and a half months of construction, and many more of planning, the restoration works on Goldrill Beck are now complete! Approximately 1.8km of new channel has been dug, including meanders, splits, scrapes and backwaters, contributing to flood management in the valley and providing new habitats for our wildlife. We will be holding an open day later in the autumn for those who would like to visit the site. Whilst the work on Goldrill Beck has drawn to a close the Riverlands programme in Ullswater continues - keep an eye on this page for upcoming projects in the valley.
6 August 2021
Ebsford Environmental are wrapping up today, marking the completion of the construction works on the Goldrill Beck restoration. This weeks final touches have included re-seeding bare areas to support recovery of the site, the creation of several scrapes (shallow ponds) which will be great habitat for wetland invertebrates such as dragonflies, and tidying up the permissive footpath along the north side of the site ready for re-opening. The last of the fencing along the roadside will be going up early next week and then we’re all done!
23 July 2021
In addition to moving the position of Goldrill Beck a key part of this restoration is the construction of a series of features in the river channel such as pools, riffles and point bars, created using gravel recovered from the bed of the old beck. Gravel bars are areas where sediment will be deposited as it flows downstream creating habitat for invertebrates and young fish, whilst riffles are raised areas of the riverbed where the water is fast moving but shallow. As well as being a great spot for paddling riffles help aerate the river, increasing the amount of oxygen available in the water.
15 July 2021
We were recently visited on site by junior classes from Patterdale Primary for an end of term trip. Many of the children remember the impact of Storm Desmond on the local area and they had some excellent questions for our project team. They were even able to get hands on by helping to reseed one of the completed riverbanks - giving our contractors a head start! Reseeding the bare areas of the site is one of the tasks our contractors will complete before they leave the site next week, although this picture taken recently by one of our rangers shows that the site has already started to recover.
7 July 2021
Goldrill Beck has now been connected to it's new channels. Our contractors installed a range of sediment control measures, including silt nets and hay bales, in the new channel and further downstream before breaking through the banks at the top end. The downstream connection took place the next day allowing any silt churned up in the new channel to settle. The connection marks a major milestone for the project and we just have a few finishing touches left to do.
29 June 2021
Work in the wooded area of the Goldrill Beck site was planned for early May, however our contractors under-estimated the Cumbrian weather and the ground turned out to be too waterlogged for the machines! Specialist amphibious excavators were brought on to site in recent weeks and have completed the work here. They're a bit muddy at the moment but once everything has settled these channels will join Angletarn Beck in meandering through the woods creating a wet woodland habitat of the type once commonly found alongside our rivers.
25 June 2021
Last week’s fish rescue allowed us to see some of the species which make Goldrill Beck their home, including bullhead, minnow, eel (pictured), trout, lamprey and Atlantic Salmon. Several of these are key species for the River Eden and Tributaries Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) however their numbers are in decline. The gravel features and more gentle flow of the new channels will form better habitat for these species and hopefully contribute to their recovery within the Ullswater catchment.
17 June 2021
Our partners from the Environment Agency and a team of volunteers have joined us on site over the last couple of days for a fish rescue ahead of the connection of Goldrill Beck to its new channels. The Environment Agency have been electrofishing, which uses a mild electrical current to stun the fish so they can be caught and then moved by bucket to a nearby safe stretch of river. Temporary nets have been placed at either end of the beck to stop the fish returning so they won't be disturbed next week by work in the old river channel to prepare for the upcoming connection.
2 June 2021
We are looking for volunteers to help with a fish rescue on Goldrill Beck! Before the beck can be moved to its new position any fish within the current channel will have to be caught and relocated to a safe stretch of the river. The Environment Agency will be leading on catching the fish and we need volunteers to help move the fish by bucket to their new locations. The rescue will begin on the 16th of June at 8.30am, if you would be interested in helping please email Lakes.Riverlands@nationaltrust.org.uk for more details.
27 May 2021
Large artificial embankments are a key feature which has kept Goldrill Beck disconnected from its floodplain. These banks are now being reduced so they are level with the fields they border. When the river is high water can come onto these fields temporarily instead of being confined to the banked river channel which will slow the flow downstream. Rain and groundwater will also be able to drain directly into Goldrill Beck rather than having to rely on ditch networks in the fields. The material from these embankments will be reused on site to create various features in the new river channels.
19 May 2021
We are starting work on reshaping the banks of Goldrill Beck running from the A592 to Angletarn Beck. Once the project is complete part of this stretch will remain open as a backwater and reshaping these banks will help drain the woodland and provide better habitats for wildlife. The permissive footpath which runs alongside Goldrill Beck at this point will be closed for the next few weeks whilst the machines are working. If you are visiting please follow the diversion to an alternative route just up the road at Bridgend.
11 May 2021
Despite the wet weather last week our contractors have made good progress on digging the new river channel for Goldrill Beck – the first layer of soil has been stripped back so the new location and the scale of the work is visible on the ground. The tracks left by the machines as they move around site will be reseeded once the works are complete to aid recovery. If you’re visiting the area and get a good snap we would love to see them – you can share your pictures with us on social media using the hashtag #GoldrillBeckRestoration
19 April 2021
On Monday 26th April our contractors, Ebsford Environmental, will begin setting up their compound at Hartsop Hall Farm, there will be machinery moving into the compound area, through Hartsop village, or onto site through the access gate opposite Cow Bridge car park. Once the machinery is on site, there will be very limited movement outside of the fields where the works are taking place. The works are scheduled to last until late July, although this could be extended if there is bad weather. We will continue to keep you updated on our progress here however if you would like any information now or at any time during the works please feel free to ask one of the workers on site or email us at Lakes.Riverlands@nationaltrust.org.uk.
13 April 2021
Finding a tree a good home – 13 April 2021
The Riverlands project secured 500 surplus Oaks which have today been delivered to Danny at Ullswater CIC. These Oak trees were surplus on a big order and our friends from the Conwy Riverlands project contacted us to see if we could use them!! We are pleased to see Danny has already found them all new homes where they will play their part in boosting our local biodiversity.
17 March 2021
The Goldrill Beck river restoration project is about to get underway and our Riverlands project team have spent a sunny day on site, looking for the best locations for fixed point photography posts. We will be designing the posts and interpretation to encourage people to take photos and send them to us. These photos will be used to create an image-based record of the changes across the site over the coming years. We hope that gathering evidence like this will be a great way for people to feel involved and to find out more about the project.
18 February 2021
You may have noticed a lot of tree felling along the A592 recently. We have been felling trees affected by Ash die back disease to make sure the road is safe. We have also completed felling through the valley bottom fields. This is to get ready for our contractors, who will arrive on site in Spring, to begin works on restoring Goldrill Beck. While we don’t like to fell trees, it was necessary to ensure safe machinery access. We have taken care to leave as many trees as possible across the site and we will plant a new tree for every one felled. Where we do fell a tree, all timber will remain on site, providing vital deadwood habitat within the wet woodland.
5 January 2021
Well, what a year that was. Unfortunately our plans to begin work at Goldrill Beck last year were thwarted by the national lockdown. By the time we were ready and able to get things on the move again there wasn’t enough time to get the work completed safely during the in-river working window. Our plan now is to move ahead with the work this Spring – better late than never! Watch this space for more updates on our progress over the coming months.
13 January 2020
This week, technicians from AECOM are onsite at Goldrill to undertake some water and sediment sampling in the drainage ditches, the results of this sampling will ensure that we fully understand the existing ground conditions before the main work starts in May.
7 October 2019
Following a robust procurement process we have now appointed Ebsford Environmental as the contractor for our Goldrill Beck project. Ebsford Environmental are leading aquatic restoration contractors based in Yorkshire, their use of low impact technology and techniques allows them to provide sustainable solutions that minimise waste, lower impacts and respect our natural environment. We are really looking forward to starting work with them next spring.
1 August 2019
The Lake District National Park Authority has approved our plans for Goldrill Beck and work will start next spring (2020). This whole process has taken a little longer than we anticipated, which is why the work won’t happen this summer. We won’t be sitting idle over winter though; our next steps will be to appoint a contractor and to undertake some preliminary ground exploration work in preparation for work starting next spring.
16 April 2019
This week we received confirmation that the National Trust has been awarded a Water Environment Grant of £1.7 million to improve the health of two river catchments in the north-west and east of Cumbria – the Derwent and Ullswater. The Water Environment Grant, administered by Natural England, provides funding for organisations and land managers to improve the water environment in rural England. This is great news for the Ullswater Rivers Scheme as money from the grant will cover 84% of the overall cost of the Goldrill Beck project.
22 March 2019
This week we have begun our work thinning out trees in Dub How wood at Goldrill to make way for the new river channel to meander through when work starts in May. We are taking care to leave as many trees in place as possible and the felled birch, alder and willow trees will be left as valuable deadwood habitat, which is great for invertebrates. As part of the project we will plant new trees across the site, planting one tree for every one felled. Once the project is complete this area will become a wet woodland, storing water in times of high flow and providing a great habitat for wildlife such as otter, curlew, snipe and lapwings.
21 Feb 2019
Our work at Goldrill Beck is just one element of a larger sustainable land management plan that we have for Ullswater. Another part of the plan is Glencoyne Farm, where we are working with our farm tenants to do things differently; reducing sheep numbers and introducing cattle and horses to develop a more resilient landscape, favouring natural processes and tree regeneration. Home to almost 300 veteran trees, Glencoyne Park has a long history of grazing that goes back at least 800 years. Once part of a hunting estate owned by the Dukes of Norfolk, this land has been home to deer, sheep, cattle and horses for centuries. Today this tradition is continued by the farmers at Glencoyne Farm, who look after the sheep and cattle on this land, working to regenerate the native wood pasture. Shorthorn cattle have replaced sheep in some areas, as their selective grazing allows young trees to flourish, as well as longer grass and more dense vegetation to grow. This can act as a sponge to slow the flow of water across the land and reduce the risk of flooding. Maintaining the wood pasture will also help ensure wildlife habitats for generations to come.
31 January 2019
On the 25th January, we submitted the planning application for our river restoration project at Goldrill Beck. This will go out for public consultation, which can take up to 13 weeks. The design submitted in this application has been developed by AECOM, alongside consultation with key partners including (but not limited to) the Environment Agency, Natural England, Cumbria County Council, Highways, tenant farmers and FOLD. We have submitted supporting documents that assess the proposal’s impact on cultural heritage, flooding, trees and ecology. We’ve assessed the visual impact this might have on the valley, and how this connects with the Lake District’s World Heritage Status. Finally, we have submitted plans that describe how we will manage construction in this environmentally sensitive site. If you’d like to know more about the project, you can view our whole application on the LDNPA’s planning website or you can email us at lakes.riverlands@nationaltrust.org.uk
29 October 2018
We’re keen to share more detail about the Ullswater Rivers Scheme and to answer any questions you might have. We will be at Howe Green Farm on Thursday 1st November, 2-6pm and Saturday 10th November, 10am-2pm. If you have half an hour spare it would be great to see you. Parking at Cow Bridge Car Park.
The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) finances the EU's contribution to rural development programmes (RDPs).
This project is funded by the government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund. The fund is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency.
Environmental Agency is a public body sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, working to create better places for people and wildlife, and support sustainable development.
Natural England is the government’s adviser for the natural environment in England. They help to protect and restore our natural world.