Little Salkeld Watermill

The water that powers the mill rises on Cross Fell, the highest point on the Pennines, just nine miles away and 3000ft high. The peat bogs on the top hold the water like a huge sponge, releasing it slowly and steadily - to date the mill has never run out of water.

In order to control the flow of water the we have a 'mill race' which takes a feed off the beck nearly half a mile upstream and is controlled by opening or closing a sluice gate at the weir where the mill race starts.

When the sluice is open the water flows down to the mill at an average of a million gallons every day before rejoining the beck below the mill. The beck joins the River Eden half a mile downstream, and runs into the river Eden and thence into the Solway Firth north west of Carlisle, some 25 miles away.