Once upon a time, this glacial corrie at the head of Riggindale at @WildHaweswater had a tarn in it. It's called Sale Pot, which comes from the Old Norse and likely means 'willow pool'.

The centre of the corrie is definitely lower than the lip at it's entrance, and it's always a surprise to crest it and find there's no open water, other than in the network of drains that flow through its boggy bottom.

The oldest maps I can find show the tarn already gone. The drains are unquestionably not natural, running straighter and deeper than those in an intact bog would.

The drains strongly suggest that the tarn was intentionally drained, probably in order to access the peat than would have lain on its bed, the submerged remains of centuries of decayed plants. The peat is easiest to see now in the places where the red deer wallow.

Peat cutting was common in the #LakeDistrict. It was harvested in vast quantities as fuel for both domestic and industrial use. Evidence of peat cutting in Sale Pot is in the form cut peat edges like this one.

Peat cutting was a necessity of survival for people living up here, but it released huge amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, both as a result of it being burned, but also as the peat that remained dried out and reacted with oxygen in the air.

Society's needs have changed, and so, we're going to be looking at whether it might be possible to restore Sale Pot, blocking up the drains and perhaps restoring the lost tarn. This will benefit the climate and the wildlife and improve water quality.

What about the willow part, the Sale? There are a couple of montane willows clinging to crags on the corrie sides, along with other palatable species. There will need to be some big changes to deer and sheep numbers for these to recolonise any lost ground.

Tarns and willows may come and go, but shaping the land to provide for our needs is likely to be a constant. The trick is find ways to do so that provide for nature's needs too.