Urswick Tarn
Urswick Tarn is under the management of Urswick Parish Council.
We work closely with the Environment Agency, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, and the Parish Residents to ensure we find the right balance to:
- Protect and maintain the Tarn
- Protect and encourage wildlife
- Provide a valuable amenity for people to use
| Fishing Boat Licences as of 1st May 2023 | FISHING | BOAT |
|---|---|---|
| RESIDENT DAY | £5 | £5 |
| RESIDENT ANNUAL | £15 | £10 |
| NON RESIDENT DAY | £5 | £5 |
| NON RESIDENT ANNUAL | £45 | £15 |
U13 FREE IF SUPERVISED BY ADULT PERMIT HOLDER
Boat Licences are unlimited, however the number of boats on the Tarn will be limited to 5 at any one time.
Please note that all Licences are for personal/individual use, are non transferable and cannot be used commercially.
All health and safety guidelines for deep water should be adhered to and use of the Tarn is at the Licencees’ own risk.
Tarn safety
Please note this is deep water
Lifejackets must be worn
Under 13 must be supervised by an adult
All Fishing and boating is at your own risk
Lifebelts are located at The Croft & The Landing
Byelaws are in place and can be viewed below
In emergency, dial 999
Bye Laws
Bye Laws are in force. The following Bye Laws specifically apply to all users of the Tarn:
- Fishing is allowed with relevant local and national permits
- Access for boating is controlled by licence and is at the users risk
- No more than 5 boats or crafts under sail are permitted on the Tarn at any one time
- It is recommended that all boats users wear life jackets
- Powered Boats and models of any kind are not permitted (exceptions may be agreed in advance through Urswick Parish Council in writing)
- Windsurfing is not permitted
- Diving is not permitted
About the Tarn
Urswick Tarn is a rare marl tarn and it covers an area of approximately 5.63 hectares with a maximum depth of approximately 12 metres. The tarn sits at an elevation of approximately 34 metres above sea level. From the southern end of the tarn its water is drained by Gleaston Beck which flows 7 km to Morecambe Bay and from there the water enters the Irish Sea.
The geology of the district is fundamental to this tarn
The district around Urswick Tarn is over limestone rocks dating from the Carboniferous Period around 337 million years before present. The majority of the water entering the tarn rises from springs located at its bottom and is therefore groundwater which has travelled from around the catchment area through underground passages dissolved within the limestone. The extent of that catchment is not currently known. The dissolution of the limestone means that the water entering the tarn has a high content of calcium carbonate and is what would generally be referred to as ‘hard water’.
The tarn is very rare
Because limestone dissolves in this way creating fissures, caverns and cave systems, some means must be present for retaining the water in the tarn and preventing it from soaking away as rain normally does over limestone country. In the case of Urswick Tarn, the means by which retention is achieved is not yet fully understood, but it may possibly be attributable to a particular feature in the strata of limestone immediately below the tarn. This limestone is known formally as the Urswick Limestone Formation and has within it a particularly thick band of shale known as the Woodbine Shale. In some instances shale bands are impermeable. The fact that water is retained at all, is one reason for Urswick Tarn’s rarity.
What is a marl bench?
When a body of water contains a high level of dissolved calcium carbonate, precipitation of that compound takes place during the summer months onto plants which are growing in the water. As the summer progresses, plants acquire a very noticeable encrustation of calcium carbonate and this settles to the bottom when the plants eventually die-back at the end of the summer. This results in a gradual build-up around the perimeter of the tarn and over many years accumulates to form a bench which slowly progresses inwards, thus reducing the area of the water body. Calcium carbonate accumulated in this way is known as marl and the bench is known as a marl bench. Bodies of water with marl benches are also rare and in the case of Urswick Tarn it has a marl bench that is well developed.