River Crake

The River Crake is a short river in the English Lake District. Its name probably comes from the Celtic languages and means rocky stream. It drains Coniston Water at its southern end and flows for about nine and a half kilometres south to join the upper estuary of the River Leven at Greenodd. The river lies in the historic county of Lancashire, though in an area that became part of Cumbria after the 1974 reorganisation of local government. Villages such as Water Yeat, Blawith, Lowick Bridge, Spark Bridge and Penny Bridge stand close to the river in the Crake Valley. The river also drains Beacon Tarn in the Blawith Fells above the southern end of Coniston.

The river once powered industries along its banks. In the 19th century a cotton mill and an iron foundry flourished here, using the fast flowing water to drive machinery. At Spark Bridge a bobbin mill made wooden bobbins for the Lancashire cotton industry, using water-powered lathes. The factory stayed open into the 1970s, generating electricity and turning lathes with Gilkes water turbines. Rising water charges from the North West Water Authority eventually forced it to close. Today no signs remain of these riverside industries.

The Crake is known for its salmon. According to Hugh Brogan, the river served as the model for the Amazon River in Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons series. In the novels the Allan Tarn at the river’s start became the Octopus Lagoon. The river’s rocky stream character and its link to Coniston Water give the valley a quiet, rural feel. Walkers can follow paths beside the water or visit the villages along its course.