Action has been taken to protect one of Cumbria’s last working watermills.
Crowdundle Beck at Acorn Bank, near Temple Sowerby, feeds into the River Eden which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation.
The beck also provides a source of water power to a working Grade II* water mill.
As part of the work, a National Trust’s Riverlands project successfully replaced a damaged concrete-topped weir with a natural boulder cascade.
The boulder cascade will allow fish to move more easily up the river while safeguarding the supply of water.
The cascade was built using over 800 tonnes of gravel, cobbles and boulders which have been placed along a 45m stretch of river to create a series of cascades and pools.
It will better meet the needs of various species’ including key ones for the area, salmon, trout and the UK’s only native freshwater crayfish, the white-clawed crayfish.
The pools and shallows provide resting, hiding and spawning places for salmon and trout swimming upstream. And makes an upstream stretch of river, more accessible to the fish. Navigating weirs can leave fish injured and exhausted.
Riverlands project manager Rebecca Powell said: “We’ve worked closely with The Acorn Bank Watermill Trust, The Environment Agency and Natural England to make Crowdundle Beck better for nature whilst honouring its role in the industrial heritage of the estate.
“By building the new boulder cascade before removing the old weir, we’ve ensured the mill can operate as normal throughout the work.”
Bob Price, chair of trustees from the Acorn Bank Watermill Trust, which has looked after the mill since 2021, said: “It’s highly likely that milling has taken place on this part of Crowdundle Beck for at least 800 years.
“The mill is an important piece of Acorn Bank’s unique history. It is also one of Cumbria’s few operational water-powered flour mills.
“A small, dedicated team are involved in ongoing restoration, and later this year we will be repairing the second waterwheel.”
The project was funded by the Government’s Species Survival Fund, developed by Defra and its arms-length bodies. It is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency.
