The Land of the Lune - Drakkar Press

54 Chapter 3: Western Howgills and Firbank Fell
only smile at the misguided attempts to add a touch of
glamour to the Howgills, and move on.
After Castley Wood, Chapel Beck passes through
what is, if anywhere is, the centre of the scattered
parish of Howgill, which gives its name to the whole
area. The Holy Trinity Chapel, built in 1838, presents
an unreasonably pretty picture, with its narrow windows
and its neatly shaped bushes and with the old mill,
school and cottages nearby. Below the chapel we see an
example of the work of the Lune Rivers Trust.
The maturing Lune runs deep below grassy slopes,
passing under the Waterside Viaduct, which is notable
for being the highest bridge across the Lune, 30m above
the heads of walkers on the Dales Way. Like the Lowgill
Viaduct, the Waterside Viaduct used to carry the Lowgill-
Clapham railway and is a fine structure, although here the
seven arches are of irregular size and the middle section
is of metal. Both viaducts are Grade II listed structures
Looking towards Arant Haw and Brant Fell
The Lune Rivers Trust (formerly the Lune Habitat Group)
was formed in 1997 to help protect watercourses, regenerate
habitats, and encourage the biodiversity of the Lune - and
its tributaries, for of course the Lune cannot be healthy if
its tributaries are not. The aim is to improve landscapes,
reduce erosion and safeguard water quality. The Trust is a
public charity aiming to develop coordinated programmes
of action involving farmers, land-owners, national parks,
government ministries, angling clubs, and anyone else with
a concerned interest in the Lune.
Some of the Lune’s problems are attributed to the
damage that sheep and cattle cause to riverbanks. Therefore,
as at Chapel Beck, the Trust has carried out a programme
of fencing and tree planting in order to stabilise the banks.
So far, some 60km of riverbank have been protected, to
benefit wildlife such as otters, water voles, kingfishers and
dippers, as well as fish populations. The Trust won the Best
Environmental award of the Lancashire Environmental
Fund in 2005 (although we are still in Cumbria here).
This is Chapter 3 of The Land of the Lune (2nd edition), http://www.drakkar.co.uk/landofthelune.html, Copyright © 2010 John Self