broughton in furness...
This quiet but highly scenic part of the Lake District is exemplified by the beautiful Duddon Valley holding the silver thread of its majestic river.
From Cockley Beck at the head of Wrynose Pass the River Duddon begins a 13-mile (21 km) descent
tumbling over rocks, coursing through narrow gorges and plunging into deep pools.
About the area
History & heritage
The Duddon and Lickle valleys have a long history of occupation. Ancient field systems and ring cairns litter the landscape.
Art & culture
Not-for-profit gallery that promotes the work of local artists and craftspeople
Natural environment
Near Foxfield the River Duddon flows into the open expanse of its estuary and splits into several channels
What's on
The Duddon Valley Fell Race, a 22-mile circuit of the fells, starting and finishing at Seathwaite
Oddities
Frith Hall
The gaunt outline of Frith Hall (SD 189 916), high on the skyline at Ulpha Park, is all that remains of a Norman hunting lodge. By the mid 1700s it had become a packhorse inn with a reputation for lawlessness - its ruined walls standing testimony to runaway marriages, smuggling and suspected murder.
Bramwell Bronte
Bramwell Bronte (the wayward brother of the Bronte sisters) lived at Broughton House in 1840 for 6 months whilst tutor to the sons of a Mr Postlethwaite.
Riot
In July 1904 a riot took place between the landlord of the Newfield Inn at Seathwaite and drunken construction workers from Seathwaite Tarn reservoir. When the navvies were thrown out of the pub for unruly behaviour, they smashed windows around the village and then returned to wreak revenge on the pub. The landlord took his gun and fired on the mob, killing one and wounding another. At the trial, however, the magistrate ruled that the landlord had acted in self-defence and dismissed the case.
Blacksmith's Arms
The Blacksmith's Arms at Broughton Mills is the only pub in the Lake District listed in the national Inventory of historic pubs.
