MILLBECK FARM

GREAT LANGDALE

THE FARM

ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES

VISITORS

ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES

Millbeck is located beneath the Langdale Pikes (to the west) and Whitegill Crag (to the east) towards the valley head of Great Langdale.

GEOLOGY

Great Langdale is part of the Borrowdale Volcanic Series which ‘poured and shot out of the vents above Skiddaw Slates in Ordovician times, about 400 million years ago, and then Silurian slaty beds were laid down on top of them. ..The Ordovician and Silurian rocks were first submerged in the ancient Carboniferous sea about 280 million years ago, and were then uplifted into the desert environment of the Triassic period…the Carboniferous rocks haved been stripped off by wind and weather and water from the mountain heart… Much of the mineral wealth of the rocks is made up of the results of later changes – the intrusion into the Borrowdale rocks of later masses of igneous rock…’

‘The intensity and excitement of the Lakeland mountains and valleys is largely due to the intensity of glaciation and the effects of ice action on rocks of varying hardness…the cragginess…originatesfrom the contrast between hard upstanding bands of rock and intervening softer ones. In the country of the Borrowdale volcanics this cragginess is everywhere present on a bold scale…’ WH Pearsall, W. Pennington, The Lake District: A Landscape History, 1973, pp. 27, 30, 44, 45

SOIL TYPE(S)

‘Soils …are now all rather poor and acid, because in the course of the last ten thousand years, since the last glacial episode, the very high rainfall of this western mountain district has leached out of the soil most of the soluble mineral elements such as calcium…bracken on these fells indicates the presence of deep and comparatively well-drained soils of which the profile approximates to a brown earth.’ (Ibid, pp.121, 124)

Great Langdale valley bottom has a rich soil.

If you'd like to know more about Geology and Soil types in Grasmere; see WH Pearsall, W. Pennington, The Lake District: A Landscape History, 1973, chapters 2, 3, 7.

FAUNA

There are 50 different species of birds listed in the National Trust whole farm plan: these include peregrines, buzzards, and woodpeckers.

There are also red squirrels, Foxes and deer (14 hinds) established on the fell.

FLORA

There are rare orchids on Millbeck and River Marigolds.

ARCHAEOLOGY

The famous Langdale axe factory on Pike of Stickle and the screes below it is just above Millbeck. This was discovered in 1947 by Mr Brian Bunch while on a climbing holiday at Dungeon Ghyll. Radiocarbon dating has given 2730BC as the earliest production time. These were widely traded by about 2500BC in England and Scotland, the Isle of Man, and, in lesser volume, into Ireland.

There are a number of distinctive stones in the fields around Millbeck, some of which are marked as ancient monuments. Eric Taylforth believes these to be corners stones collected for building purposes and then abandoned.

DRY STONE WALLS & HEDGEROWS

Boundary walls are in a good state of repair. There is a constant need for upkeep and maintenance because of wind, frost, floods, and visitors. 150-200 metres of hedgerow have been planted and double-fenced.

VERNACULAR BUILDINGS & FEATURES

There are 8 traditional shippons, one of which has peg doors.

INCOME AND PAYMENTS

About £10k surplus a year which is produced by Field Head Farm, Hawkshead. This subsidises, along with visitor income, the herdwicks at Millbeck.

Millbeck Farm is part of an ESA scheme and is in receipt of:

Single Farm Payment

Hill Farm Allowance