Huddleston's Shop, Stonethwaite Wood - Coast to Coast
More Articles in the Rosthwaite to Grasmere subsection
Stonethwaite Wood rises almost to the fell top. It is in the south east sector of this wood that Huddleston's Shop is located.
Huddleston's Shop, Stonethwaite Wood, Coast to Coast
Hidden deep within the old deciduous woods south of Stonethwaite, Huddleston’s Shop marks the remains of a post-medieval wood- and charcoal-trading site. The name refers not to a shop in the modern sense but to a woodland workshop and gathering place, once used for the exchange of timber and charcoal from the surrounding Borrowdale woods. Stonethwaite Bridge connects the village to this wooded slope at the foot of Knotts, where other remnants of industrial activity extend toward White Crag and Lingy End.
Huddleston's Shop Stonethwaite Wd
Huddleston’s Shop was once a woodland working site, where timber, charcoal, and peat were traded from the slopes below Knotts. Nestled within Stonethwaite Wood on the lower gradient of the fell, the area remains discernible from the Coast to Coast path as it threads between stone walls toward Eagle Crag — a narrow, time-worn route still edged with echoes of its working past.
Stonethwaite Wood Borrowdale
The south-eastern slopes of the wintery Stonethwaite Wood rise steeply toward Dock Tarn, threaded by an old path beneath Lingy End. Among the oaks and birches lie traces of Borrowdale’s post-medieval woodland trades — the cuttings and hearths of those who once gathered wood, peat, and charcoal in the shadow of Huddleston’s Shop.
Knotts above Huddleston's Shop
From the Stonethwaite Valley, the craggy outcrop of Knotts rises steeply above the wooded slopes of Huddleston’s Shop. The fell top forms the rugged crown of Stonethwaite Fell — a knuckled ridge of rock that catches the last light over Borrowdale, visible high above the leafless canopy below.
Knotts & White Crag Stonethwaite Wood
Knotts crowns the brink of the Stonethwaite Fell plateau, overlooking Heron Crag and the woodland once known as Huddleston’s Shop. Its rocky summit rises to 401 m, with White Crag — slightly lower at 380 m — lying just to the east. Beneath these crags, the slopes fall sharply through Lingy End into the narrow cleft of the Willygrass gulch, where the bare woods cling to the valley sides in winter light.
Huddleston's Shop
The name Huddleston (appearing on the 1863 Ordnance Survey) means a place where things are sold or where a person works.
Within the woodland lies a post-medieval hut complex — probably once a peat hut — with substantial revetment walls. It seems connected with the local woodland industries historically linked to Huddleston’s Shop. The remains sit just south of White Crag, a rocky outcrop that looms over the site.
Nearby are two ruined charcoal burner huts and several charcoal-burning platforms, reminders of an industry that once sustained the valley communities of Stonethwaite and Borrowdale.
Post Medieval Features
To the south-east of Huddleston’s Shop is a rock shelter made from natural slabs of stone, its entrance partly enclosed by a short wall — large enough for two people. Such structures lend weight to the “Shop” name, suggesting a place where peat or charcoal might once have been traded.
All around Heron Crag, Knotts, Huddleston’s Shop and Lingy End are many bields — simple drystone shelters built as windbreaks. Similar post-medieval remains can be found near Stonethwaite Beck at the foot of Knotts, where woodland trades once flourished
Stonethwaite Farm Borrowdale
A slate plaque outside Stonethwaite Farm recounts how the monks of Fountains Abbey were granted land here in 1195, creating a monastic vaccary — a dairy farm — that flourished for centuries. By 1211 the farm was thriving, though not without dispute: monks from Furness Abbey challenged the arrangement, prompting royal confiscation before the property was later sold back to Fountains Abbey for forty shillings.
Stonethwaite Bridge Borrowdale
Stonethwaite Bridge spans the beck that links the village to the wooded slopes where Huddleston’s Shop once stood. A plaque on the parapet records that the bridge was erected in memory of Gordon Hallworth, a 21-year-old member of the Manchester University Mountaineering Club who died from exhaustion during a rescue in January 1939. His name endures here, etched beside the waters he once helped others to cross.
Borrowdale Woodlands Management Plan
At the end of 2017, a ten-year management plan was approved for the Borrowdale woodlands, encompassing Huddleston’s Shop and surrounding areas.
The plan set out to:
• Thin conifer stands and replant native species.
• Create glades, rides, and clearings to improve forest diversity.
• Increase woodland area by at least 5%.
• Protect archaeological and historic sites for future access.
These works were intended to conclude by 2028, strengthening habitat variety and safeguarding cultural heritage within this ancient valley.
Recent Progrtess - Borrowdale becomes a National Nature Reserve (2024)
In May 2024, the Borrowdale rainforest — including the woodlands around Huddleston’s Shop — was officially designated a National Nature Reserve (NNR) under the King’s Series.
This upgrade expands protection across 721 hectares of oak, ash, and birch woodland, now managed jointly by the National Trust and Natural England.
New initiatives include:
• Boundary repair and habitat reconnection between fragmented woods.
• Grazing management and native species regeneration.
• Enhanced public access, interpretation, and archaeological safeguarding.
A detailed NNR management plan is currently in preparation with local farmers and communities, ensuring that cultural relics — such as charcoal huts, revetment walls, and peat shelters — are preserved alongside wildlife restoration.
While no report yet isolates progress at Huddleston’s Shop itself, the new designation ensures that every parcel of Borrowdale woodland now falls under coordinated ecological and heritage care.
Hiking the Coast to Coast trail guide
Hiking the Coast to Coast is a digitally enhanced eBook designed to accompany you on your journey along the Coast to Coast path. Available on Apple Books for iPhone, iPad and Mac, the guide includes:
• Mapping with interactive features
• Step-by-step route directions
• Hundreds of colour photographs
• Route conditions in different weather
• Historical and cultural points of interest
Whether you’re planning your trip or already on the trail, it’s a practical and beautifully illustrated resource to carry with you.
