The Roman Road from Watercrook to Ambleside, Margary 70f

A road that Margary strangely did not include in his book. If he had he would probably have numbered it 70f.

I have shown the route dotted on the location plan but in reality its route is now pretty definite. Only around Staveley is it currently evading detection. Topography dictates they would have not have followed a purely direct road but gone via the Staveley valley and the evidence we now have confirms this.

The lack of inclusion in Margary's book has not stopped speculation over the years as to its course. Probably the most recent attempts to trace the road were by Arthur Thornton (C&WAAS 1989) and JS & JA Andrews (C&WAAS 1991&92), the latter using the (controversial?) technique of dowsing. For the former there were some Lidar traces but not ones I would consider as sufficiently convincing. Regarding the Andrews route(s) - they found many variations - and, because I was very sceptical of dowsing, I did my searching of Lidar data before re-consulting their articles. The route I independently found from Kendal to Staveley is very similar (but not identical) to what they suggested. Beyond Staveley then routes diverge and their suggestion taking it over the sides slopes of Reston Scar appears somewhat implausible.

Also suggested in the past by both the above sources, is a fort near Broadgate but as we shall see, Lidar does not support that - but more on this later.

Lidar Image - Full Route

Pretty sensible route - a good compromise between directness and climbing. All the modern Lake District routes make use of the Staveley valley and the Romans were no different. Beyond Ings they chose a very direct route to Ambleside.

3D Lidar Image - Watercrook Fort

The urban sprawl of Kendal means that locating the initial course of the road is all but impossible now. There is perhaps the faintest trace of a road heading out of the north-west gate of the fort but the first real clue is at Stainbank Green - the name itself is a bit of a clue.

Lidar Image and Route Map - Watercrook to Staveley

The area around Stainbank Green is where we can first be definite about the road.

North of Underbarrow Road and the quarry, then the Roman agger becomes very clear and certain at Stainbank Green and both south and north of Kendal Bypass. There is also enough intermittent traces beyond Plumgarths and the B5284 to establish the line, which eventually merges with the A591 heading for Staveley.

Lidar Image and Map - Stainbank Green

Thanks to local detective work by Tom Barkas we can now be reasonably confident of the route at Stainbank Green. There is a popular footpath south of Brigsteer Road and the agger can be seen from it alongside the hedgeline - see below.

The road first shows as a cutting emerging from the housing estate. This aligns well with the next section at Stainbank Green and is typical of how the Romans reduced steep climbs.

The 4 arrows are where the following 4 images are located.

Note: Stainbank Green is erroneously called Stonebank Green on this OS map.

Stainbank Cutting

This curving cutting is the first visible evidence for the road coming up from the fort above Collinfield. The route up to here possibly would have zig-zagged to ease the climb so we cannot really draw a straight line from here back to the fort.

Image: Tom Barkas

Looking North towards Stainbank Green

The agger is very prominent alonside the hedgeline. Soil creep down the slope has reduced the width of agger visible but it is still clear what a large construction it was. On the low (east) side of the agger are a line of substantial stones - kerb stones probably acting as a revetment i.e. building the low side up. This is typical Roman engineering for dealing with side sloping ground.

Note: hte kerb stones were first spotted by Tom Barkas.

Image: DR

Stainbank Green, Upper Field

I spotted this when visiting to see Tom's discoveries for myself. Very clear across the field and the wall at the right rises up where it crosses the agger. Brigsteer Road is to the right hidden by the trees.

This stretch lines up with the farm track beyond Brigsteer Road (next image).

Image: DR

Blind Beck Valley, North of Brigsteer Road

The farm track heading north of Brigsteer Road towards the quarries has the necessary characteristics and represents the most practical way ahead. It is straight and beyond the first wall then it is on a large agger. As pointed out by Tom Barkas, here is the best route to cross the ravine of Blind Beck. Any lower down the hill (right) then it becomes much more of an obstacle. The farm track is relatively modern - it doesn't appear on old maps and took the easy option of using the Roman agger as its foundation.

Image: DR

View from Underbarrow Road back towards Blind Beck Valley

This is the reverse view from that above and was taken by William Peacock in May 2020 during a long dry spell. The original line of the road shows up as a parched strip where the modern track swings off line.

Image: William Peacock

3D Lidar Image - Cunswick Fell

This was the first real clincher for the initial line of the Road at Kendal. There is a very obvious agger heading towards the modern bypass road. It is even clearer in the DTM version but not as realistic!

The rocky Lake District terrain makes it clear why they headed in this direction for an easier route via Staveley. Why fight all the rock outcrops? It is surely no coincidence that both the railway and modern day highway heading for the Lakes take the same general route.

Roman Road passing Boundary Bank Farm

This is looking back towards Watercrook. Boundary Bank farm is to the right and this spot is before the alignment crosses Kendal Bypass..Tom's dog, Bruach, is guarding the road.

The wall in the distance by the trees humps over what must be the agger. Field boundaries and hedgelines are often where the agger survives best.

Image: Tom Barkas

Roman Road near Helsfell Farm

We are looking north towards Plumgarths. The agger is all but gone but the course of the road is very obvious with the grass having lighter shade of green. This is the same straight alignment from Boundary Bank but we have now crossed Kendal Bypass.

Image: Tom Barkas

Agger near Lanehead Kennels.

The probable agger of the Roman road has survived well in the corner of the field just before the alignment merges into the modern A591 at Lanehead Kennels. Beyond here tracing the road across Staveley becomes much more difficult.

Image: Tom Barkas

NEW- 2024
3D Lidar video fly-over along the road from Watercrook to Ambleside
Note: Set playback to HD for best quality

Lidar Image and Route Map - Staveley

Not a lot of evidence across Staveley but the Roman line must be close to the former A591.

Note: there is an underground pipeline across Staveley which provides several false clues!

3D Lidar Image - Broadgate & Mislet

This stretch heading past the west side of Broadgate came as a complete surprise to me. I had always assumed that the modern country lane from Ings over Mislet Brow was probably the line so this alignment of what appears to be classic Roman alignments was a shock.

Warning: in the vicinity is the Thirlmere Aqueduct which can give false clues! It crosses the Trout Beck at Thickholme Bridge.

Ings to Milset - Lidar and Route Map

Following a fabulous summer walk in 2021 at Mislet in conjunction the team at Staveley Historical Society (thanks to John and James) the line from Ings passing Mislet became a little more certain.

It would appear Ings bypass (pre-war) followed more or less along the line of the much much earlier Roman road but a faint trace on its southern side indicates the probable Roman agger

At Mislet it looks like a section of the lane to Heaning passing Mislet Farm is actually on the line with probably a short "captured" section. The road then heads up to Mislet Brow where an agger is clear (below). However, there is an alterantive option here so I have depicted a double route. I am starting to think the north-eaterly one is more likely.

Just before Moor Howe there is a surving section of the road in the field to the left (west) of Moorhowe Road. This field is known locally as the triangle.

Agger alongside Moorhowe Road, Mislet Brow,

Just beyond Mislet there is a prominent stretch of agger in the field to the east of Mislet Brow. There is a small gate in the wall where its possible to park - this length is just north of that spot. The gate indicates where underground water pipes from the Windermere stoarge tanks cross. James, the farmer from Mislet, explained the excavation for these pipes destroyed a length of agger which was not reinstated. I am not sure though is the correct line here - see above.

Image: DR

3D Lidar Image - Supposed Broadgate Fort

Without much supporting evidence this "fort" has almost been accepted by default. On the basis of the Lidar data then it has no real Roman characteristics and just appears to be a chance arrangement of field boundaries.

The long straight field boundary to its right is interesting though - enclosure act I assume.

Descent to Troutbeck

We are now beginning the descent to the Trout Beck Valley. The road will now have to swing upstream to facilitate an easy descent to the river.

Image: DR

Lidar Image and Route Map - Broadgate to Troutbeck

Beyond Mislet Brow, the Lidar alignment merges in with the modern lane (Moorhowe Road) and heads towards the Troutbeck valley.

The route is cleverly chosen to go through the pass between Allen Knott and the nameless high ground north of Moorhouse Road in a very direct alignment.

Crossing the Trout Beck Valley - Route Map

The valley of the Trout Beck is the biggest obstacle the road has to negotiate between Kendal and Ambleside. In was inevitable that to get down to the river and up the other side a route zig-zaggng down would be required and the route's genrally direct course would have to be sacrificed here. As usual a deviation upstream was the solution.

To get across the Trout Beck it would appear that Town End Footbridge must be close or on the Roman line as this is still the best place to get across this deep valley. There are twin footbridges today. This spot was devastated by Storm Desmond and the bridges and any trace of a rRoman formation near the river washed away.

2019 Update - the footbridges have now been rebuilt - see below.

Descent to the River Crossing Point, Troutbeck

Having crossed the A592 road then the line approaches the crossing point in a typical dog-leg. The line is the traditional one but the track was upgraded for construction traffic to get down to replace the lost bridges.When the work is grassed over it will look like a very convincing agger but we know better!

In this view we are looking back towards the A592 from the new foorbridges.

Image: DR

New Footbridges, Troutbeck

It is a delightful spot and the replacement footbridges are spectacular. The bridge parapets are huge - presumably as this must be a bridleway. The bridges have alledgedly been designed to survive a thousand year flood.

S.S. Frere (Britannia, 1982, P292) suggests this as the crossing point too. In 1982 he thought he could detect some remaining Roman features but sadly Storm Desmond has removed any trace now.

Image: DR

Ascent to Holbeck Lane, Town End Troutbeck

We are climbing up here to join Holbeck Lane along what is now a track. In this image we are looking back down towards Town End.

Lidar Image - Troutbeck to Ambleside

The last run into Ambleside might seem strange compared to the easy route the modern A591 takes but is much more direct and the Romans must have decided that the distance saved was worth the climbing. In the 3D view (below) it looks much more logical.

For the map of this stretch see below.

Route Map - Troutbeck to Ambleside

When plotted out the route is reasonably obvious - much more so than the oft suggested alternative via High Skelghyll.

Map: Bing Maps

Holbeck Lane - zig-zag descent to Briery Close

Very typical Roman zig-zags descending towards Briery Close. These are the zig-zags visible in the 3D Lidar image below.

Image: DR

Descent to Hol Beck Footbridge

Superb descent to cross the Hol Beck. This is a delightful spot and an ideal place to cross this vigorous stream. The road can be seen heading off to the left where it will emerge above Lowwood (see next image).

Image: DR

Above Lowwood

Amazing how level a course the road has here. The agger is to the right of the wall.

Image: DR

Approaching Dovenest

Here the agger swerves a bit to the right to negotiate a boggy patch by the wall. It is heading towards Dovenest, the white house in the distance.

Image: DR

3D Lidar Image - Road down to Ambleside

It was seeing this view that convinced me the route from Ambleside to Troutbeck via Wansfell Holme, Dovenest and Holbeck Lane was definitely the Roman line. It has all the characteristics and was obviously a short cut worthy of the climb.

Joining the A591

This is where the road comes down to join the A591 heading into Waterhead. Today it is a public footpath.

Image: GoogleEarth

Full Route Map

I think we now have a route with reasonable confidence for what must have been a strategic link road providing connections via Ambleside to the north via Dunmail Raise (Margary 741) or west to Ravenglass (Margary 740). Just the route around Staveley requires pinning down.

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Last update: April 2024

© David Ratledge