Gormire Lake
Gormire Lake is a natural lowland lake that lies at the foot of Whitestone Cliff, a western escarpment of the Hambleton Hills in the North Riding of Yorkshire. It is within the North York Moors National Park. The lake is also known as the White Mere,[1] Lake Gormire, or more simply, Gormire. The name 'Gormire' translates as 'filthy swamp'.[2]
The lake is found just over a miles east of the village of Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe. It has no inflow nor major outflow of water. It is thought to be fed by an underground spring and drained by a limestone channel[3] so the water finds a way out through the base of the cliff face to the east of the lake.[4]
Geology and ecology
The lake was formed over 20,000 years ago by glacial erosion.[5] When an ice sheet pushed its way between the Pennines and the North York Moors, it bulldozed the soft earth away and carved the cliffs at Whitestone and in turn the mud leftover stopped the water's egress and formed the glacial lake.[6]
Gormire Lake as a result of this process is fourth largest of the natural lakes in Yorkshire; the other three being Hornsea Mere, Malham Tarn and Semerwater.[7] The lake was first designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1954; however, in 1985 the area surrounding the lake was incorporated into the SSSI status with the new area being 133½ acres.[8] The new designation incorporates the broadleaf woodlands of Garbutt Wood which encroach right up to the water's edge.[9]
Myths
The lake is the setting of several myths; one being of a knight known as Sir Harry Scriven who persuaded the Abbot of Rievaulx Abbey to let him ride his white mare (hence the White Mare Cliff as another name for Whitestonecliff). The knight and the abbot rode on from an inn and as they did so, it turned into a race. The abbot then changed into the devil, which caused such panic in the knight that he could not stop the horse and himself plunging into Gormire Lake from the clifftop. The devil was then seen to jump into the lake after them and the boiling effect of the devil in the water is what is said to have caused the darkness of the lake to this day.[10]
Other myths are that the lake is bottomless,[11] that the bottom of the lake is the entrance to hell, there is submerged village underneath the water and that a goose once disappeared in the lake to emerge in a well at Kirkbymoorside stripped of all its feathers.[12]
Gormire Lake is popular with wild swimmers as it has no streams feeding it so there is very little current and the waters are described as being 'warm'. Swimmers have reported that it is seething with leeches.[13] The Times named the lake as one of the 20 best lakes and rivers in Britain for wild swimming.[14]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Gormire Lake) |
References
- ↑ Walker, Peter N (1990). Folk tales from the North York Moors. London: Hale. p. 153. ISBN 9780709039754.
- ↑ Bagshaw, Mike (2014). North Yorkshire Moors (Slow Travel). Chalfont St Peter: Bradt. p. 27. ISBN 978 1 84162 548 5.
- ↑ Priestley, Mike (2 March 2007). "Lake Gormire, Sutton Bank". Telegraph and Argus. http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/leisure/taleisurewalks/1233120.Lake_Gormire__Sutton_Bank/. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ "Felixkirk". http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/NRY/Felixkirk/Felixkirk90.html. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ Start, Daniel (14 July 2013). "Time to take the plunge". The Yorkshire Post. http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/time-to-take-the-plunge-1-5850945. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ "Sutton Bank". http://www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/discover/geology/sutton-bank. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ "Sutton Bank" (PDF). p. 1. http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/sites/default/files/sutton_bank_easy_access_walk.pdf. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ SSSI listing and designation for Gomire
- ↑ "Ten of the best wild swimming spots in the UK". 6 August 2015. http://www.countryliving.co.uk/out-and-about/advice/a311/ten-of-the-best-wild-swimming-spots-in-the-uk/. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ "York: folklore of the North York Moors". The Telegraph. 7 April 2011. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8432823/York-folklore-of-the-North-York-Moors.html. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ "Meet the baleful eye of a 'bottomless' lake". Gazette and Herald. 19 May 2005. http://www.gazetteherald.co.uk/news/6660489.Meet_the_baleful_eye_of_a__bottomless__lake/. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ "Gormire Lake and White Mare Crag". http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/england/north-yorkshire/folklore/gormire-lake-white-mare-crag.html. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ Wilkinson, George (12 July 2008). "Sutton Bank". Gazette and Herald. http://www.gazetteherald.co.uk/leisure/countrywalks/3204267.Sutton_Bank/. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ↑ Start, Daniel (9 June 2018). "Dive in! 20 best lakes and rivers for wild swimming". The Times (Weekend supplement) (72557): p. 8. SSN 0140-0460.
- Catchment Data Explorer: Environment Agency
- Gormire Lake: British Lakes
