Yealand Redmayne and Deepdale Pool

In the village of Yealand Redmayne, which dates back to at least Viking times, is one of the remaining true wells in the Arnside and Silverdale AONB, with its cast iron pump still intact. Yealand Redmayne Well (location: SD 503 752 w3w///escaping.adding.sues) is tucked into a little recess around 200 meters down Well Lane. It is now used as a watering hole for passing dog walkers, and as a source of water for plants, insects and birds. However, it is a reminder that, for centuries, it would have been a place where people gathered and been essential to village life and well being.

Images: Janet Hargreaves

Getting there: There is limited on-road parking in Yealand Redmayne, but the 51 bus stops in the centre on Silverdale Road. Well Lane is at the junction of Silverdale Road and Footeran Lane a little to the south of the bus stop. A visit to this well could be combined with a local walk, taking one of the footpaths signed by the well. Alternatively if you walk back to the top of Well Lane and along Silverdale Road for a few metres the footpath to Deepdale can be seen.

Deepdale pool (location: SD498749 w3w///resurgent.echo.clouds) is a beautiful and mysterious place; it is well worth a walk to find it. It is at the bottom of a 50 ft depression in woodland to the northeast of Leighton Hall. The hollow is an uvala, or sinkhole, formed where limestone caves have collapsed.

Elizabeth Gaskill used Deepdale pool as a setting in the Novel ‘Ruth’ in 1853 – she writes:

‘there was a path down and they followed it; the ledge of rock made it almost like going down steps…. They went on a few yards, and then they came to a circular pool, overshadowed by the trees, whose highest boughs had been beneath their feet a few moments before’

She goes on to describe:

‘in the very middle of the pond the sky was mirrored clear and dark, a blur which looked as if a black void lay beyond’

That reflection has long since gone. One theory is that a large explosion at a munitions factory in WW1 caused the pond to become dryer. More recently, as part of a Limestone Heritage Project, funded by the HLF in the early 2000s, restoration was carried out where trees were winched from the pond area to open it up to water again. Time and nature have once more taken their toll and in the very dry summer of 2021, although the ‘pool’ can clearly be seen as a verdant round hollow at the very bottom of the dale, no water, nor even reeds, could be seen.

Deepdale Pool. Images: Janet Hargreaves

Getting there: Deepdale is on clearly marked public footpaths to the northeast of Leighton Hall and west of Yealand Redmayne. The route can be found on OS map 97.

Using public transport you can walk from Silverdale Railway Station, taking the footpath across Leighton Moss boardwalk towards Leighton Hall. Taking the shortest route this is around 1.5 miles from the station to Deepdale. There is a circular path around the pool that can be reached by two points. The southeast path is a steep climb down over craggy limestone. Good shoes or boots and care are needed if you take this path, and walking poles may help. The northwest path is easier!

The number 51 bus runs through Yealand Redmayne and footpaths into the woodland are clearly marked. Buses are not very frequent and timetables should be checked in advance.

Parking is extremely limited in the area. If you do come by car please park thoughtfully for other road users, farmers and local residents.

There is a café at the Leighton Moss RSPB visitors centre open 7 days per week. There are no shops or facilities in the Yealand villages, so it’s worth carrying a drink and snack if you are walking this area.

By Janet Hargreaves

Further reading:

Mourholme History Society. Yealand Redmayne 

Keer to Kent, Issue 55, Autumn/Winter 2004

Keer to Kent, Issue 72, Summer 2010