Winster Valley
The Winster Valley is an unspoilt and tranquil area which offers the visitor some superb scenery.
Winster's meadows, rolling hillsides, dry stone walls and scattered dwellings, is entirely typical of the soft countryside of the southern fringe of the Lake District.
In common with the nearby Lyth Valley, which runs parallel to it, Winster is a damson growing area. Westmorland damsons are used primarily for making jam, punch and damson gin and wine.
The Westmorland damson is a member of the plum family, it is thought that the name originates from damascene when the trees were originally imported from Damascus during the Crusades. They burst into bloom in April, covering the orchards and hedgerows with snow white blossom. The fruit ripens in September.
The writer Arthur Ransome moved to the Winster Valley in 1925 and it was there that he wrote his famous 'Swallows and Amazons'. William Wordsworth also visited the area.
Ladderburn Moss, owned by the Lake District Special Planning Board, has pleasant picnic sites with excellent views from its highest points. The Winster area is rich in wildlife. Nuthatches, buzzards, and woodpeckers are a familiar site. Badgers, roe deer, foxes, and hares also inhabit the valley.
The village of Winster is a small and picturesque settlement, of whitewashed cottages of rough-hewn stone, which lies almost hidden amongst the folds of the wooded hillsides that border the upper reaches of the River Winster. A seventeenth century cottage serves as the village post office. The village church, Holy Trinity was built in 1875 and is a low building adorned by a bellcote and has some interesting stained glass windows. The Brown Horse Inn in the village, which was established in 1850, serves very good food.