Over the beck

After Shap Abbey, the River Lowther meanders its way towards Rosgill, a hamlet on a steep lane that leads down to the river. There is a triple arched bridge here, but today we went in search of another bridge.

This is an old packhorse bridge – Parish Crag Bridge. To get to it you follow the Coast to Coast path from Rosgill and you soon reach a pretty spot with a rocky outcrop called Fairy Crag. The packhorse bridge here ,takes the Coast to Coast path over Swindale Beck to Shap. This beck is wide and fast-flowing, bringing water from the Haweswater fells. It empties into the Lowther at Rosgill.
 
The bridge is a listed building and is probably 17th Century, but it could be older than that and it almost certainly replaced a wooden bridge contemporary with Shap Abbey. The packhorse track was very likely used for the transport of fleeces, possibly to fulling mills or markets.
 
Notice that the bridge is built at a gradient joining two banks at different heights.