Brothers Water

Brothers Water is a small lake in the Hartsop valley, in the eastern Lake District. It lies at the northern end of Kirkstone Pass, with views down towards Patterdale. Once called Broader Water, its name changed in the 19th century after two brothers drowned there. Dorothy Wordsworth walked beside the lake in April 1802, describing the bare old trees, the mountains, and the path’s beauty. She noted the gentle stream, the glittering lake, and the green fields without a living creature. The lake is shallow and full of reeds, with water lilies blooming in July. To the north-east stands the village of Hartsop, with 17th-century stone farm buildings and cottages. Some buildings still have spinning-rooms where villagers made their own clothing. The word Hartsop means ‘valley of the deer’, which once lived in the woodlands of the lower fells. A woodland walk skirts the western shore, leading north to Patterdale or south over Kirkstone Pass to Ambleside. On the western side of Brothers Water is Hartsop Hall, a 16th-century building now owned by the National Trust. The lake is home to trout and harbours a rare fish called the schelly. It may be one of the Lake District’s smallest lakes or largest tarns. The village of Hartsop lies near the north-east corner of the lake.