Rookhope, Killhope or Cashwell - the site of W.H. Auden's "The Watershed"?
A mystery surrounds The Watershed! Where was Auden standing when he saw the view that resulted in the poem? There are three likely locations: Alston Moor near Cashwell Mine, the one mine named in the poem, Killhope Cross , high on what's now the A689, the main road through the Northern Pennines, and Rookhope, the County Durham lead mining village that Auden often referred to in his poems and speeches. Read Lead Mining Land The Northern Pennines to find out what Judith and Chrissie think! Old maps and topography, the history of wayside crosses, the state of the lead mining industry when, in 1927, Auden wrote the poem, and of course, details in the lines themselves all offer clues.
Old Gang mIne & smelt mill, Swaledale: the evocative cover of Lead Mining Land The Northern Pennines
was AUDEN's 'The Watershed' close to one of these locations?
Bleak and windy: Alston Moor from the road near Garrigill, not too far from Cashwell MIne
Bleak and windy: Alston Moor from the road near Garrigill, not too far from Cashwell MIne
Bleak and windy: Alston Moor from the road near Garrigill, not too far from Cashwell MIne
Was the watershed near Cashwell Mine...
Rookhope from the washing floor of the old Boltsburn MIne looking north east
Bleak and windy: Alston Moor from the road near Garrigill, not too far from Cashwell MIne
Bleak and windy: Alston Moor from the road near Garrigill, not too far from Cashwell MIne
or close to Rookhope...
The sandstone cross at Killhope Pass on the County Durham and Cumbria border
Bleak and windy: Alston Moor from the road near Garrigill, not too far from Cashwell MIne
The sandstone cross at Killhope Pass on the County Durham and Cumbria border
...or was Auden standing on the road that became the A689?