{{Short description|Hamlet in Cumbria, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Use British English|date=June 2025}} {{Refimprove|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox UK place | country = England | coordinates = {{coord|54.537222|-3.121389|display=inline,title}} | official_name = Watendlath | type = Hamlet | population = | population_ref = | civil_parish = [[Borrowdale]] | unitary_england = [[Cumberland (unitary authority)|Cumberland]] | lieutenancy_england = [[Cumbria]] | region = North West England | constituency_westminster = [[Penrith and Solway (UK Parliament constituency)|Penrith and Solway]] | post_town = KESWICK | postcode_district = CA12 | postcode_area = CA | dial_code = 017687 | os_grid_reference = NY274163 | london_distance = | static_image_name = Packhorse Bridge Watendlath.JPG | static_image_caption = [[Packhorse bridge]] at Watendlath | pushpin_map = United Kingdom Allerdale | pushpin_map_caption = Location in the former [[Allerdale]] district }} '''Watendlath''' is a [[Hamlet (place)|hamlet]] and [[tarn (lake)|tarn]] (a small lake) in the [[Lake District]] in the English county of [[Cumbria]], [[Historic counties of England|historically]] part of [[Cumberland]],
Watendlath is owned by the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] and sits high between the [[Borrowdale]] and [[Thirlmere]] valleys at {{convert|863|ft|m}} above sea level.
== Watendlath Tarn== Watendlath Tarn is fed by Bleatarn Gill from '''Blea Tarn''', {{convert|700|ft|m}} above, below [[Bell Crags]]. Water from Watendlath Tarn flows into the beck of the same name and eventually feeds [[Lodore Falls]], and ends up in Derwent Water.
The tarn is {{convert|7|acre|ha|spell=in|1|abbr=off}} in size, with a maximum depth of {{convert|56|ft|m}}. It was given to the National Trust by Queen Victoria's daughter, Princess Louise, in memory of her brother, King Edward VII.
Watendlath Tarn is stocked with [[Brown Trout|brown trout]] and [[Rainbow Trout|rainbow trout]] and is a popular [[fly fishing]] water, with wading and boat fishing used.
==Governance== Watendlath is within the [[Penrith and Solway (UK Parliament constituency)|Penrith and Solway UK parliamentary constituency]].
Watendlath has its own [[Parish councils in England|Parish Council]]; ''Borrowdale Parish Council''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://borrowdale.org.uk/|title= Borrowdale Parish Council}}</ref>
==Farm== [[File:Herdwicks Lake District.jpg|thumb|right|Herdwick sheep]] The traditional [[Lake District|Lakeland]] [[farm]] in Watendlath is rented out by the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] and, as is the case with Lakeland farms owned by the Trust, the herd of [[Herdwick sheep]] are owned by the Trust and not the farmer, changing hands with each tenant. This is part of the National Trust's policy aimed at ensuring this rare breed's survival.
Fold Head Farm house was used by [[Sir Hugh Walpole]] as the fictional home of Judith Paris in his Herries Saga of four novels published in the early 1930s
== Watendlath in poetry== Edmund Casson's poem ''The Wise Kings of Borrowdale'' mentions: :Watendlath's quiet nook. :A farm is there, and a slated barn, :And a waterfall, and a pebbly tarn; :And all the way to High Lodore :The banks of the beck are painted o'er :With red [[Epilobium|herb-willow]] and red [[loosestrife|loose-strife]].
== Packhorse bridge== One of the features of Watendlath is [[Ashness Bridge]], a traditional [[packhorse bridge]], "perhaps the best-known and most photographed packhorse bridge in the whole of England".<ref name="hinchliffe">{{cite book |title=A Guide to the Packhorse Bridges of England |last=Hinchliffe |first=Ernest |year=1994 |publisher=Cicerone Press |location=[[Milnrow]], Cumbria |isbn=1-85284-143-5 |page=53}}</ref>
In 2015 Watendlath's [[packhorse bridge]] was named 4th best bridge in [[England]] on which to play [[Poohsticks]].<ref>{{cite web | title=VisitEngland's guide to the best Poohsticks bridges | website=VisitEngland | date=2015-08-17 | url=https://www.visitengland.com/blog/expert-insights/august-2015/pooh-sticks | access-date=2021-08-30}}</ref>
== Access by road == Watendlath is reached by a minor road from the Borrowdale road (B5289). The single track unmarked road winds its way up over [[Ashness Bridge]], which is a traditional stone-built bridge and a very famous landmark. Motorists encountering any traffic coming in the opposite direction on the single track road must use the passing places that are provided. Near the bridge is a cairn to the Lakeland fell-runner [[Bob Graham Round|Robert Graham]], who in 1932 set a Lakeland 24-hour record of 42 tops, which was not equalled for 28 years.
== Dora Carrington == One famous painting of Watendlath is by [[Dora Carrington]] and this picture hangs in the Tate Gallery. [[File:Carrington farm.jpg|thumb]] During the period 1917–1921 Carrington's subjects were mostly intimate portraits and landscapes. The painting depicts Watendlath Farm, where the newly-wed Carrington spent a summer holiday with her husband and their friends in 1921. Among the guests was her husband's friend, [[Gerald Brenan]], with whom she developed a mutual attraction. The identity of the two figures in white is not known.
==Toponymy== The name came from [[Old Norse]] ''vatn-endi-hlaða'' = "water-end-[[barn]]".
==See also== *[[Listed buildings in Borrowdale]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *http://www.visitcumbria.com/kes/watend.htm *Dora Carrington, [https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/carrington-farm-at-watendlath-t04945 Farm at Watendlath], Tate Gallery
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[[Category:Hamlets in Cumbria]] [[Category:Cumberland (unitary authority)]] [[Category:Derwent (Cumbria) catchment|LWatendlath]]