Petteril Valley Park.
A Natural
History.
The River Petteril rises near
Greystoke at the north eastern edge of the Lake District National
Park. From there it heads north on its descent to the
Carlisle and Solway Plain.
Throughout most of its twenty
five mile journey it runs between the M6 Motorway and the A6 from
just north of Penrith, crossing under the M6 near Wreay.
From there it meanders
into the City between Harraby and Upperby and on into Melbourne
Park. The Petteril runs under the Warwick Road and through
the Stoneyholme Golf Course where it meets the River Eden.
The Petteril flows through what was
once the great Forest of Inglewood, the eleventh
century King William Rufus' hunting ground. Inglewood
sprawled from Carlisle to near Caldbeck in the south west, then
eastwards to just north of Penrith, and further eastwards onto the
River Eden, then northwards back to Carlisle in a giant
triangle. Timber from the Forest of Inglewood was repeatedly
used to rebuild the City after the border raids and incursions of
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
In 1400, The Bishop of Carlisle
instructed the waters of the Petteril to be diverted down the newly
dug Thacka Beck into Penrith to ensure that the towns people had a
supply of freshwater.
Over a hundred years ago, the
Petteril was the source of power for a number of mills in both in
Carlisle and on the outskirts. As the River snaked its way
past what was then Carlton village, it powered the Carlton Corn
Mill. The old mill buildings, the sluices and the mill race
are all still there next to the A6, just south of the City.
Further north, on a river terrace
below Low Woodbank Farm, between Upperby and Carlton, there once
stood the Woodbank Iron Works, again drawing its power from the
nearby River Petteril, the area is now farmed.
Continuing northward, near Gifford
Park, another weir served to divert the Petteril down a mill race
to the skinnery which once stood where Harraby Green Business Park
is now. The line of the old mill race is now
the access road to Harraby Green Business Park.
The Petteril runs underneath the A6
London Road at Harraby Bridge and under the railway into
Melbourne Park where once stood the Raven Nook Woolen Mill (off
Jesmond Street, Greystone Road) and Botcherby Mill. The river
continues north under the Warwick Road and into the Eden near
the suspension bridge which links Rickerby Park to St
Aidans Road.
Petteril Valley Park provides a
snapshot of the river's journey, and a quiet and
peaceful haven amidst the wildife on the outskirts of our
Great Border City.
The Petteril Valley can be accessed
from either Upperby Bridge off Petteril Bank Road, or through Dale
End Park off Welsh Road or London Road. There are pedestrian
entrances off Dale End Road, Woodsghyll Drive and Clifford
Crescent.
For all enquiries please
contact:
Carlisle City Council
Neighbourhoods and Green Spaces
Bousteads Grassing
Rome Street
Carlisle
CA2 5LG
Tel: 01228 817200