what is Buttermere

Buttermere is a lake in the English Lake District in North West England. The adjacent village of Buttermere takes its name from the lake. Historically within the former county of Cumberland, the lake is now within the county of Cumbria. It is owned by the National Trust, forming part of their Buttermere and Ennerdale property.

Geography

The lake is 1.25 miles (2,010 m) by .25 miles (400 m) wide, and is 75 feet (23 m) deep.[1] It has an elevation above sea level of 329 feet (100 m). A place of considerable scenic value, it is situated towards the head of the valley of the River Cocker and is surrounded by fells, notably the High Stile range to the south west, Robinson to the north east, Fleetwith Pike and Haystacks to the south east and Grasmoor to the north west.

The village of Buttermere stands at the north western end of the lake, and beyond this is Buttermere's twin, Crummock Water. There is a path around the lake which is about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) long, and at one point runs through a rock tunnel beneath the locality of Hasness. Access is by road, from Cockermouth in the north west; from Borrowdale via the Honister Pass; or from Braithwaite and the Newlands Valley via Newlands Hause. Etymology There are two possible origins for the name "Buttermere":

One, that Buttermere means "the lake by the dairy pastures" (from the Old Englsh "butere mere")

Two, that it is the corrupt form of a personal name. Robert Ferguson asserts in his 1866 work, "The Northmen in Cumberland and Westmoreland" that Buttermere derives from the Old Norse personal name "Buthar", as in "Buthar's mere" (lake). This accords with local tradition which says that the valley of Buttermere was part of the holdings of an 11th century Norse chieftain called "Buthar" (sometimes spelt "Boethar"). Large numbers of Vikings settled in Cumbria during the 9th and 10th centuries and many names in the area are of Norse origin; streams are termed becks, from the Old Norse bekkr, mountains are 'fells' from the Norse fjall, waterfalls forces "fos", ravines 'gills' , valleys "dales" from the ON dalr, and small lakes are termed tarns which derives from tjorn, meaning teardrop.

See article on Buttermere at the English Lakes.com website.

History

From his hidden stronghold at Buttermere, it is said that Jarl Buthar conducted a campaign of running resistance against the Norman invaders, from the time of William the Conqueror's Harrying of the North in 1069 right up until the early 12th century. In 1072 King William set up a garrison at Carlisle, but the isolated garrison needed constant reinforcement and supplies. For almost half a century it's claimed that the Cumbrians fought a guerrilla war against the Normans, attacking supply wagons, ambushing patrols and inflicting great losses upon them in terms of money, matériel and men.

The extent to which Jarl Buthar is a semi-mythological figure is unclear. He is apparently mentioned in 12th century Norman documents, but much of his story appears to be based on local legend and archaeology, later enhanced by Nicholas Size's popular dramatized history (see below).

Jarl Boethar's campaign and a final battle at Rannerdale (c.f. Ferguson, "Ragnar's dale") between the Normans and the Anglo-Scandinavian Cumbrians led by the Jarl is the subject of a dramatized history by Nicholas Size, called "The Secret Valley: The Real Romance of Unconquered Lakeland" (pub. 1930)

Rosemary Sutcliff's YA novel "Shield Ring" (pub. 1956) imagines the lives of Jarl Buthar and his band of Cumbrian rebels, and their last stand against the forces of a Norman army under the command of Ranulf le Meschin, Lord of Carlisle and later Earl of Chester, nearly 50 years after the 1066 Norman Conquest of England. It was clearly inspired by Nicholas Size's history, which it closely follows.

Mary Robinson (1778–1837), known as the "Maid of Buttermere" and the subject of Melvyn Bragg's novel of that name, was the daughter of the landlord of the Fish Inn in Buttermere village.

呵呵　其实到了英国　好多人都说英国的生活无聊阿　乏味阿　其实我不觉得　我很喜欢这里　每到一个town就会有不同的感受　每到一个地方　都会有一种新鲜感　这次到了Buttermere　我有幸吃到了　当地人自己做的蛋糕　面包　果酱　黄油　还有羊肉　哈哈哈　这个幸福阿　没得说

这次去主要是爬了几座山　看了几个湖　还有几个瀑布　但是遗憾的是　早上由于山路不熟没能拍到火红的太阳生气　晚上也不想太晚下山　免得危险　于是放弃了日落　但是在hiking的过程中还是蛮幸福的

这次同行的都是认识了很久的powerapple上的网友　都蛮热情　风趣的　呵呵　

下次我们准备去GLYDER FAWR　:-)　拍雪山　如果我没有论文和presentation的话　时间富裕　我也会去　尽量拍一些片子给那些想旅游的朋友们看看　做个参考　拍的不好　见笑了　:-)

以下的照片是Buttermere的照片了