<< Our Photo Pages >> Viking Timbers at St Olaf's Church Wasdale Head - Museum in England in Cumbria
Submitted by Anne T on Saturday, 20 May 2023 Page Views: 5942
Date UncertainSite Name: Viking Timbers at St Olaf's Church Wasdale Head Alternative Name: Wasdale Head Viking Longboat TimbersCountry: England County: Cumbria Type: Museum
Nearest Town: Egremont Nearest Village: Wasdale Head
Map Ref: NY18830869
Latitude: 54.467065N Longitude: 3.253866W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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St. Olaf's Church in the tiny hamlet of Wasdale Head claims to be one of the smallest in England with four roof trusses said to have come from Viking long ships, which seems rather unlikely. The churchyard is tiny and very poignant. Reading the grave markers, many of those buried here lost their lives on the surrounding fells, particularly Scawfell (old spelling).
According to the Carlisle Diocese website, the church was originally built in 1550 but had no dedication until 1977. It originally had an earth floor and few seats, although the more recent pews look as if the church will hold around 50 people. The roof trusses certainly look very old, although the roof has obviously been refurbished at some point in the fairly recent past.
There is only one road into Wasdale Head, running through Nether Wasdale village. Proceeding north east from Nether Wasdale, the road splits. The right hand fork running alongside Wast Water with its commanding views of the peaks beyond and the dominating scree slopes plummeting down into the waters of the lake; the left hand fork takes you up onto the hillside but joins the lower lake road approximately half way to Wasdale Head. Be warned, the road is one lane wide with passing places and very busy with traffic going in both directions. At some places there is a drop straight down into the lake below, but balances this with plenty of viewpoints with parking places. Parking is available around the village green at NY 18683 08551.
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