Return to
Whittle Wanderer|
Shap, Wet Sleddale, 'Withnail and I' film locations, Sleddale Hall, Cumbria. Mon 23 Oct 2006 |
|
|
|
|
|
With a planned evenings in Shap, Cumbria to attend a local history lecture I though I’d use the afternoon to explore Wet Sleddale area and see if I could find some of the filming locations for the 1980s film classic ‘Withnail and I’. |
 |
|
|
It was early afternoon when I arrived at the small car park by Wet Sleddale Reseroir. The weather was settled but overcast. I set off along the track on the south side of the Reservoir until I came to a dilapidated house. A path is shown crossing the field towards the river but it looked impassable due to boggy ground. The valley’s name of Wet Sleddale is not without merit. I headed for the river by a slightly different route and made it without incident. The first location I was looking for was where Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and Marwood (Paul McGann) went fishing with a shotgun (used by Withnail). I’d read that the location was in the river below Sleddale Hall, the actual location for Crow Crag. |
|
|
|
| I wanted to cover as much of the river as possible in case I missed it. I hadn’t gone too far before the old stone packhorse bridge appeared before me. I knew I’d got lucky as I recognised the bridge immediately. Once there I went through the wooden lift off gate down to the riverbank. I was easily able to stand on the spot where the camera must have been when Withnail finished his shotgun fishing. A good path leads up to the hall but I wanted to explore some more of the valley before crossing the river. More bridges are shown on the map further up the valley, but that doesn’t mean there are any. For a short way I was on delightful grass by the river then a very wet stretch which followed the wall. Strange areas of walled enclosures were up ahead. Some walls were high and some very high. I couldn’t figure out the purpose so continued upstream until I came to a wooden footbridge. | |
|
I crossed it and headed up the valley side to join the main path coming over from Swindale. The going was now very easy and I followed the path down towards Sleddale Hall. |
|
|
The hall was used as the fictional house Crow Crag which was Uncle Monty’s Lakeland retreat. If you’ve not seen the film I won’t be making any sense, so get the DVD and watch it. When I got there is was still fenced off as it was the last time I was here on 16th Mar 2006. Then it was covered in scaffolding and was being re-slated, but nobody was about. Now the slating is complete and still nobody was about. The building is still very dilapidated but with a new roof it would be possible to renovate it. |
|
|
|
|
|
In the farmyard can be seen where various scenes were filmed, including where Marwood emerges through the front door for the first time and sees the wonderful Lakeland scenery. In the film the view he sees is Haweswater, which is two valleys away. The view he would have actually seen is the one used on the cover of the DVD where Marwood is sitting on the grass and Withnail is standing. All the doors are timbered up but one window is open and it is possible to peer inside. It is a very depressing scene and the room has been gutted. I recognised the roof beams as the room where the kitchen scenes were filmed with the cast iron range used for drying boots and cooking a chicken on a brick! The oven is long gone, as is the sink and everything else in the room. It was too depressing to explore further so I rejoined the track and descended back to the stone bridge where the fishing scenes were filmed. This time I took the way marked path back to the car but I can’t say it was any dryer that the route I’d taken earlier. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
