![Roundthorn](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/07/17/TELEMMGLPICT000342935406_16895976148530_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=680)
The mysterious corner of Cumbria forgotten by holidaymakers
Visitors to the Eden Valley will discover a mysterious neighbour to the nation’s most-visited national park
![Roundthorn](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/07/17/TELEMMGLPICT000342935406_16895976148530_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Home to the UK’s most-visited National Park and widely considered a poster child for Britain’s overtourism crisis, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find any ounce of mystery in Cumbria.
But there are still places in this North Western corner of the nation that remain an enigma to visiting tourists – and a seductive invitation to head off the beaten track.
![Little Salkeld (pictured) is situated in the The Eden Valley on the outskirts of Penrith](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/07/17/TELEMMGLPICT000342218571_16895998750310_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqLoH7NlioJUgvNGxc7kNJh7QhCpsJmCWlSWt_yfzANGk.jpeg?imwidth=350)
The Eden Valley on the outskirts of Penrith is one such place – sitting in the shadow of the Pennine mountains and Yorkshire to the east, the famous Lakeland fells to the west and the wilds of Scotland to the north, it’s a pocket of Cumbria that tourism appears to have forgotten.
![Steam locomotive 'Scots Guardsman' with The Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express special at Armathwaite, Cumbria](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/07/17/TELEMMGLPICT000342219323_16895999818330_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq_4lZL6XGyKd1IzVfh-3zqkklW67ZKazFSUg_RL8azUI.jpeg?imwidth=350)
And despite being a lifelong Lake District visitor, somehow I’d also never heard about this vale of ancient villages, with its wild-salmon filled river and beautifully scenic railway line. So imagine my astonishment when I came across an account of a collection of faces carved into a sandstone cliff on the valley’s namesake river, and inscribed beside them, words paraphrased from Izaak Walton’s Compleat Angler, first published in 1653. Unable to find any certified explanation for their existence, it was the perfect excuse to venture into the unknown.
Undisclosed location
My mission to find the mysterious carvings began on the bridge at the centre of the small village of Armathwaite – one of the stations on the picturesque Settle-Carlisle Railway, which travels 72 miles through the valley and into the Yorkshire Dales. Armed with only a set of coordinates found online, I traversed the riverside path on the Coombs wood circular trail, through towering trees, lush with the colours of summer, accompanied only by the sound of my footsteps and bird song.
![Lucy Aspden with the Armathwaite Rock Carving](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/07/17/TELEMMGLPICT000342219099_16895997633550_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqzpnK1fqIf8AfXYjEGXVTop08y7QJ4BVgFhA8j6xy9Mc.jpeg?imwidth=350)
I followed the signed-posted route, until the path snaked away towards the edge of the river to the ruins of an old boat house, and there was no longer any obvious trail.
Switching to GPS, I scrambled through the undergrowth and around the cliffs towards the coordinates, tiptoeing along narrow ledges – the river lapping at my heels all the while, constantly threatening to block the route – and finally, clambering around a corner. Suddenly, I was nose-to-nose with a lifelike face in the rock.
Heart pumping, I squeezed under a mass of branches growing from the bank and emerged onto an alcove beach, and there it was – the inscribed text which had inspired my visit.
Beside the text was a date, 1855, and beside that, five faces – each roughly the size of a large dinner plate – and a small carving of a fish. The soft sandstone was the perfect canvas, and the sheltered cove had kept them perfectly preserved for more than 150 years. It was the most intriguing site I’ve ever seen – in Cumbria, at least.
Curious history
Although no official record exists, it’s widely believed that the carvings were created by William Henry Mounsey – a British army officer, local scholar and solicitor who was born in Carlisle in 1808.
After his time in the forces, he returned to his home county and was known to have a passionate interest in amateur archaeology. A mysterious character according to reports, he spoke fluent Greek, Latin, Persian and Welsh.
In 1850, he traced the course of the River Eden from the Solway Firth, on the border between England and Scotland, to its source in Mallerstang in the far east of Cumbria, setting up a monument there to mark the spot.
While there is no concrete evidence that the face carvings on the River Eden are his work, there are few other possible explanations. Some believe the faces to be self-portraits, and the text is in keeping with his usual style of writing, often in foreign languages or backwards.
From the tiny alcove, with just the ripples of the river for company, I admired his commitment. I’d been able to locate the spot with the help of modern technology, but 160 years ago it would have taken great determination to venture here. It’s an undertaking very few modern visitors to the great outdoors have the patience for, opting instead for the more easily accessed Eden Benchmarks: a series of 10 stone sculptures dotted along designated walking paths which follow the course of the river – one of which, ‘Vista’ by Graeme Mitcheson, is not far from Mounsey’s cliff face.
The mysteries of Eden
But these are not the area’s only hidden treasures. Head just 10 miles from Armathwaite, towards Little Salkeld, and you’ll find Lacy’s Caves, a series of five chambers reportedly carved into the red sandstone in the 18th century by workers at nearby Salkeld Hall. They were created, it’s said, for Colonel Lacy, who used to entertain guests and house ornamental gardens there.
![Little Salkeld Water Mill](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/07/17/TELEMMGLPICT000342929849_16895946895590_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Alternatively, visit the graveyard of St Andrews Church in Penrith, where you’ll find the Giant’s Grave – where it is believed Owen Cæsarius, king of Cumbria between 900 and 937 AD, is buried – or journey to just outside the village of Glassonby, where you’ll meet Long Meg and her daughters, a collection of more than 68 rocks believed to be one of the largest prehistoric stone circles in the country. Legend has it that they were once a coven of witches – named after local witch Meg of Meldon, who lived in the 17th century – turned to stone by a wizard from Scotland. If you walk the circle and count the number of stones correctly, put your ear to Long Meg and it’s said you’ll hear her whisper.
Lost in time
The villages of the valley, too, seem to exist in a time all of their own – a world apart from their high-profile cousins less than an hour’s drive west. These are pockets of rural Cumbria with little more than a Post Office, pub and village shop to welcome visitors. Bunting flies permanently across village greens, and locals chat over their garden fences, seemingly surprised to see curious visitors on a summer’s day.
![Langwathby village green](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/07/17/TELEMMGLPICT000342929945_16895953662330_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqwMJYxftKZExwjop9hyNEmQEwTyzLMKRxDe4NUIzb66I.jpeg?imwidth=350)
As I drove from Armathwaite to Langwathby, the car cruised down empty country lanes with uninterrupted views of the horizon, framed by the Pennines and Western Fells on either side. Within half an hour, I was back in Penrith, the buzz of the M6 motorway within earshot – the secrets of Eden behind me, and a curious story to share.
Need to know
Lucy was a guest of Roundthorn Country House in the Eden Valley, which has rooms from £144, including breakfast. For more information about the Eden Valley, its villages and how to get around visit visiteden.co.uk and visitlakedistrict.com.