Craters North-West of Gunnerside

[Johannes]

Hello everyone,

I was hillwalking with a group from Durham University yesterday when I noticed a row of craters nort-west of Gunnerside. It seems unlikely that there would be artillery or bombardment exercises so close to the village, but then why would someone in the war have wanted to bomb Gunnerside?

[Lesley]

The craters you refer to north west of Gunnerside are almost certainly traces left by the extensive (and economically very important) lead workings which started to decline in the early nineteenth century.
They may be the vertical entrances to mine shafts, or they may be ventilation (or access) shafts leading up from the horizontal working levels.
The holes are often surrounded by a rim of spoil and re-filled with more spoil from the workings, giving the crater-like appearance you observed.
The image above is a section of a Google Earth aerial photo which may show the area you are referring to: the features are in a more or less straight line, following the seam of lead as it follows a fault line between the rocks.
It's not as exciting an answer as bomb craters, but it's potentially a lot more interesting!