<< Our Photo Pages >> Copt Howe - Rock Art in England in Cumbria
Submitted by stu on Friday, 24 September 2004 Page Views: 26708
Rock ArtSite Name: Copt Howe Alternative Name: Langdale BouldersCountry: England County: Cumbria Type: Rock Art
Nearest Town: Ambleside Nearest Village: Chapel Stile
Map Ref: NY31400583 Landranger Map Number: 90
Latitude: 54.443224N Longitude: 3.059302W
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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Billythefish visited on 1st Jul 2019 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 4 Worrying deterioration since I last visited in 2013. The interpretation panel has gone so people are not aware of the rock's importance. The motifs were barely discernible due to a build-up of moss and lichen.
Anne T visited on 11th Aug 2015 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 4 Copt Howe (The Langdale Boulders): When we drove past here on the way to Mickleden further down the Great Langdale valley, we spotted the signpost to Copt Howe but the road was so narrow and busy there was no room to stop. On the way back it was now after 6pm and the roads were quiet apart from one or two cars and cyclists. We parked behind another car in what seemed to be a narrow lay-by almost opposite the gate into the field containing these boulders.
If I thought the Mickleden walk scenery was beautiful (if stark with its tall peaks scree slopes) then this view down the Great Langdale valley was spectacular – green, lush and with rolling hills in the distance. What a location.
The rock art was on the largest boulder which was lowest in the field, sitting below the outcrop in which a tree now grows in the middle of. A very rickety stile climbed the stone wall to the other side, although when I touched this it came away from the wall, so I opted to walk down to the gate lower down in the field.
The early evening light was conducive in helping the motifs spring out of the rock. A few of the ‘cups’ were similar to the double cups on the Twelve Apostles in Dumfries, these being formed through natural erosion rather than pecking. I compared the designs I could see to the interpretation board but couldn’t quite reconcile the two.
In walking back up to the car I went round the left hand side of the tree (facing the road) and spotted a large single cup mark in the centre of the face.
MikeS visited on 1st Jan 2000 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Fascinating piece of uninterpreted history. I think the heart-shaped group of dots on the (no longer available) interpretation diagram are probably a piece of modern graffiti. I don't recall seeing them when I visited the site, so many years ago.
I think the site may benefit from some professional archeological digging at of the base of the main boulder. It seems likely there may be other cup marks or art work currently covered by accumulated soil, etc.
DrewParsons h_fenton nicoladidsbury have visited here
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3 Ambience: 4.67 Access: 4
Park in the small parking bay across from the access pit to the site and walk 20 metres or so into the paddock to see the boulder. There is a detailed site sign there. The main panel is to the immediate left of the steps over the dry stone wall. Across that wall there are other cup marks on the back of the main boulder and on adjacent boulders.
For more information see Pastscape Monument No. 1342555 and Historic England List ID 1019434. Pastscape tells us: "2 Prehistoric rock art sites in Great Langale 250 metres south of Harry Place consisting of 2 very large boulders of Andesitic tuff a few metres apart. The carvings include concentric circles, chevrons, cup marks with rings and various unusual motifs".
The Journal of Antiquities also includes an entry for Copt Howe, Great Langdale, Cumbria, which includes a description and a photograph. The Journal adds: "Other rock carvings may well lie still undetected on the rocks around the Copt Howe area – just waiting for some intrepid rock-art enthusiast to come along and find them".
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