What is Buttermere famous for?

Although Buttermere is a small, remote valley, it still attracts huge amounts of visitors, with the public voting the area as one of the best views in Britain. Alongside the natural beauty of the valley and its features contributing to the areas popularity, Buttermere also holds an extensive amount of history from its mining heritage to evidence of Viking settlements… 

  • Mining history and Honister Slate Mine

Slate mining on Honistor Crag was a popular business in Buttermere beginning in the 17th century. Mining was one of the main industries in the Lake District at the time, however declined over the years. Today, Honister Slate Mine is famous for being the last working slate mine in England. The site produce the iconic Westmorland Green Slate and have expanded the mine into a tourist attraction offering tours and adventure activities including England’s first via ferrata where visitors can scale a cliff path, originally an old miners track, on Fleetwith Pike. The mine is now award winning, claiming the ‘Best Tourism Experience in the Lake District’ award by Cumbria Tourism in 2011.

  • Honister Pass

One of the steepest roads in the country, Honister Pass is famous for being a narrow, steep mountain pass snaking up the fell side connecting the valleys of Buttermere and Borrowdale. It is one of Cumbria’s highest passes reaching a height of 1,167 feet.  The road is renowned for its scenic surroundings with Gatesgarthdale Beck flowing through the pass. It is a popular route for tourists visiting Honister Slate Mine and hikers starting routes to Great Gable or Dale Head.

  • ‘The Maid of Buttermere’

A local, teenage girl called Mary Robinson enhanced Buttermere’s fame in the 18th century, becoming known as ‘The Maid of Buttermere’ in writings by author and poet Joseph Budworth. Mary was the landlord’s daughter at the Village Inn, which is now known as the Fish Hotel. Budworth visited the inn during 1792 on one of his walks, researching material for articles and guidebooks he was writing. The poet was amazed by Mary’s beauty and included her as a tourist attraction in an article he wrote for a London newspaper and wrote about her in his guidebooks, comparing her to an angel. Mary became famous with many people travelling to Buttermere just to see her. William Wordsworth also wrote about her in his work The Prelude alongside 19th century author Melvyn Bragg who wrote a novel about the story of Mary’s life.

  • Viking history

Historians have evidence that a large a number of Vikings settled in Cumbria during the 9th and 10th centuries, with many names in the area originating from the Old Norse language. It is said that Norse leader, Jarl Buthar had a hidden stronghold in Buttermere during the 12th century where he conducted a resistance campaign against Norman invaders. It is believed he fought in a final battle at Rannerdale, between the Normans and the Anglo-Scandinavian-Cumbrians.

  • Alfred Wainwright

Wainwright had an impact in making Buttermere specifically famous through choosing Haystacks as his favourite Lakeland mountain and final resting place. Fell baggers and fans of Wainwright travel from near and far to visit Innominate Tarn on Haystacks where the author’s ashes are scattered. St James’ Church in Buttermere village has a memorial window for Wainwright, framing a view of Haystacks with a stone tablet set into the windowsill.