Ennerdale has an outstanding range of natural and cultural assets. The concept of 'wild land' in Ennerdale encompasses both the ecological and cultural history of the valley. The landscape attributes we see today are a result of mans ongoing relationship with the land, influencing the various attributes of flora, fauna and heritage features. The range of monuments and features within the Ennerdale valley demonstrates how the landscape has been influenced and altered by man for over 11000 years. Over five hundred individual archaeological sites have been recorded through survey work, many of which are of regional and national importance. Importantly Ennerdale is home to the most impressive collection of valley bottom Bronze Age (2000 BC to 800 BC) and Non Monastic mediaeval (AD 410 to AD 1600) Archaeology in the Lake District, and one of the most important in England.

As part of conserving the historic landscape of Ennerdale the Wild Ennerdale Partnership commissioned an Historic Landscape Report which was completed in 2006. Following on from this report an Archeology Management Plan (3.6mb zip) was produced up in 2007. This document is aimed at describing how the archaeological record in Ennerdale will be managed so that it is protected for future generations whilst allowing the valley to continue to develop and respond to change. This plan identifies 14 principal historic sites which will each have their own management plan and a monitoring schedule with each site being visited on a seven year rotation, two sites per year.

Monitoring Reports

Reports and pictures of Monitoring visits will be posted here annually, pictures are presented as a gallery with each picture numbered by the sites unique reference. Reports are presented as adobe acrobat files.

• September 2009 Report and pictures (1mb adobe acrobat file)
• October 2007 Report (adobe acrobat) and pictures (Powerpoint)

If you are interested in the archeology of Ennerdale and would like to enjoy visiting some of the features we have produced a pocket guide which you can print and take with you.

Principal Site Management Plans (sites map)

Completed plans

• EF II (Smithy Beck Bloomery)

• EF III and EF IV (Smithy Beck Long House Group)

• EF VI and EF VII (Woundell Beck Cairnfield)

• EF VIII, IX, X and XI (Gillerthwaite Settlements)

• EF XIII (Gillerthwaite Putative Vaccary)

• EF XIV (River Liza Enclosed Settlement & Cairnfield)

• EF XVI (Great Cove Shielings)

• EF I (Smithy Beck Cairnfield)

• EF V (Latterbarrow Cairnfield)

• EF XV (Dubs Quarry)

Plans yet to be produced

• Great Cove Iron Mines

• Ennerdale Water Bloomeries (Sites 90, 169, 170 and 181)

• Revelin Crag Shielings (Sites 159-161)

• Clewes Gill Iron Mines (Site 184)