Garsdale

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Garsdale

Garsdale shown within Cumbria
OS grid reference	SD746896
Parish	Garsdale
District	South Lakeland
Shire county	Cumbria
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Sedbergh
Dialling code	015396
Police	Cumbria
Fire	Cumbria
Ambulance	North West
European Parliament	North West England
List of places: UK • England • Cumbria

Coordinates: 54°18′05″N 2°23′29″W / 54.30141, -2.3913

Garsdale is a narrow populated valley in Cumbria, England. It is on the western slopes of the Pennines, between Baugh Fell to the north, and Rise Hill to the south. The main hamlet, called “The Street” lies on the A684 road, six miles (9 km) east of Sedbergh, and ten miles (16km) west of Hawes. The other hamlet in Garsdale is Garsdale Head, also called Hawes Junction, the old name for Garsdale railway station, after the former Wensleydale branch on the famous Settle to Carlisle railway.

Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and still part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Garsdale is within the South Lakeland local government district. Garsdale’s river, the Clough, is mainly shallow and rocky, with occasional pools large enough for swimming, though the water is always cold. It rises on the north-eastern slopes of Baugh Fell and flows through Grisedale (“The Dale that Died”) as Grisedale Beck until it becomes the Clough River at Garsdale Head. The A684 (Northallerton to Kendal) road follows the river for seven miles with frequent bridges in the upper part of the dale. At Longstone Fell (locally known, and spoken as "Langst'n Fell"), the main (former turnpike) road rises to a well-known view-point looking over the Howgill Fells, and the river descends to Danny Bridge, the site of a seventeenth century mill on the “old road”, before joining the River Rawthey near Sedbergh. The Sedgwick Trail, named after the well-known geologist Adam Sedgwick (1785-1873) runs along the Clough from Danny Bridge and highlights rock features along the Dent fault.

The permanent population of the valley is just over 200, with many of the 150 houses being derelict or used as second homes. The Anglican Church of St John the Baptist, built in 1861 next to the original mediaeval church, lies six miles from Sedbergh, between "The Street" and Garsdale Hall (which was once an inn but is now used as a farm store). There are also three Methodist chapels – Low Smithy and Garsdale Street, both in regular use, and Hawes Junction which has occasional special events. The only other public building in Garsdale is the village hall which was formerly the primary school.

Garsdale has eighteen working farms, most of them amalgamating several of the original smallholdings. Because of the high annual rainfall of up to 100 inches (2500 mm), crops other than hay and silage are almost impossible, so all farms are stock rearing, with just two small dairy herds. Pedigree Swaledale rams occasionally make high prices at Hawes Auction mart.

Famous people born in Garsdale include John Dawson (1734 - 1820), James Inman (1776 -1859) and John Haygarth (1740-1827)