Mardale

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Mardale is a glacial valley in the Lake District, in northern England. The valley used to have a hamlet at its head, called Mardale Green, but this village was drowned when the water level of the valley's lake, Haweswater, was raised to form Haweswater Reservoir by the Manchester Corporation. Alfred Wainwright protested bitterly about the loss of Mardale in his series of pictorial guides to the Lakeland fells.

In response to the drowning of the village the Manchester Corporation provided an access road that runs for four miles along the south-eastern side of the reservoir to a car park at Mardale Head. From here ascents of the peaks surrounding the head of the valley, such as Harter Fell, High Street and Kidsty Pike may be made. There is also a hotel halfway along the road, the Haweswater Hotel.

The abandoned village occasionally re-appears when the water level gets low, only to disappear again when levels rise. This mysterious drowned and rarely visible village is the inspiration for the satirical newspaper the Mardale Times [(http://www.mardaletimes.com)]