More than thirty years ago I read several books on the history and industrial archaeology of the Lake District and was amazed to learn that the wonderful scenery was far from "natural". Industries of many types over many centuries have shaped what we see today.
Recently I have begun to refresh my memory on all that study, and to take it further. The Coniston copper mines interested me especially at first, and then other copper mining areas such as the Newlands Valley and the Caldbeck fells.
Eventually I hope to write something more extensive but in the meantime have started to produce some short pieces about Lake District mining on my Around-England sites. An early one of these is: Copper Mines in the Lake District
I hope these will be interesting and helpful to people interested in the story of how we come to have the Cumbria Lake District as it is. Even in areas like the mountains around Ullswater, close to villages such as Glenridding ad Hartsop, there are miles upon miles of tunnels in the hillsides, in this case mainly from lead mining.
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