# River Winster

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River in Cumbria, England

The river from the road to Hartbarrow

The **River Winster** is a river in the [English](/source/England) [county](/source/County) of [Cumbria](/source/Cumbria). The Winster was the boundary between the historic counties of [Lancashire](/source/Lancashire) and [Westmorland](/source/Westmorland). It has a relatively small catchment area; other streams flow parallel to it on either side.

The Winster is about 20 km or 12 miles long, and rises about 2 km south of [Bowness-on-Windermere](/source/Bowness-on-Windermere), between the hamlets of [Winster](/source/Winster%2C_Cumbria) and Storrs (the latter is on [Windermere](/source/Windermere)) and follows a southerly course, flowing past the settlements of Ludderburn, Hartbarrow and Bowland Bridge, before it is joined by Arndale Beck at Bridge House.

From there, the river continues through a valley between Whitbarrow and Cartmel Fell, flowing through Helton Tarn. It continues between the villages of Lindale and [Meathop](/source/Meathop), and finally flows into the [Kent estuary](/source/River_Kent) just downstream from [Arnside](/source/Arnside).

A former course of the river joined the Kent at Blawith Point, and as a result the peninsula of Holme Island often changed hands between Lancashire and Westmorland.[1]

## Packhorse Bridges

A [packhorse bridge](/source/Packhorse_bridge) is a [bridge](/source/Bridge) intended to carry [packhorses](/source/Packhorse) ([horses](/source/Horse) loaded with [sidebags](/source/Saddlebag) or [panniers](/source/Pannier)) across a [river](/source/River) or [stream](/source/Stream).[2]

There are two packhorse bridges on this river near [Winster](/source/Winster%2C_Cumbria). The Winster Bridge (1729 with 20th-century parapet) on the river at [54°19′37″N 2°54′08″W / 54.3269°N 2.9021°W / 54.3269; -2.9021](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=River_Winster&params=54.3269_N_2.9021_W_region:GB_type:landmark)[3] Another packhorse bridge (Probably 17th-century. Grade II listed[4]) is on a tributary of the River Winster at [54°20′27″N 2°54′18″W / 54.3408°N 2.9051°W / 54.3408; -2.9051](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=River_Winster&params=54.3408_N_2.9051_W_region:GB_type:landmark), adjacent to [A5074 road](/source/A5074_road).[5]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Holme Island](https://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/content/articles/2006/08/04/islands_holme_2006_feature.shtml), BBC Cumbria. Retrieved 11 September 2006.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ctphw_2-0)** ["Packhorse Cargo"](https://web.archive.org/web/20060617063345/http://cottontown.org/page.cfm?pageid=698&language=eng). cottontown.org. Archived from [the original](http://www.cottontown.org/page.cfm?pageid=698&language=eng) on 17 June 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Winster Bridge (That Part in Cartmel), Cartmel Fell"](http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-421178-winster-bridge-that-part-in-cartmel-cart). britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Grade II: buildings that are of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Pack Horse Bridge Beside A5074 a Quarter of a Mile North West of High Mill House, Crook"](http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-76397-pack-horse-bridge-beside-a5074-a-quarter-). britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 19 November 2012.

[54°12′10″N 2°52′15″W / 54.202814°N 2.870805°W / 54.202814; -2.870805](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=River_Winster&params=54.202814_N_2.870805_W_)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [River Winster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Winster) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Winster?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.