The three peel-towers (fortified houses) of Hazelslack, Arnside, and Beetham were supposedly built by three sisters of a knight who was distantly related to Robert the Bruce. Beetham Hall, a 14th-century peel tower, was once a powerful fortress, but it was besieged and captured during the English Civil War by the same troops who damaged St Michael's Church. All the towers have now become part of farm buildings.
In Underlaid Wood look for yew, which has needles of a dark green hue arranged spirally. In autumn, its red succulent berries attract a host of birds, in particular blackbirds and thrushes.
A good path through the beech, yew, and hazel comes to the base of a huge limestone wall and the Fairy Steps. These lead to a gentle slope and an even narrower stepped fissure; from the top of each rock stairway are magnificent views of Milnthorpe Sands and the Kent Viaduct strung out across the water.
Legend has it the fairies used the steps to escape from witches' cauldrons set up in Underlaid Wood. The steps are also on an old coffin route, as the people of Arnside had no church until 1866 and had to carry their dead to Beetham for burial.
In Beetham is the church of St Michael and All Angels. It stands close to the River Bela and still has Saxon stones within its fabric, as well as Norman arches and other features from the English Gothic period. In 1834 silver coins dating from the reign of William the Conqueror (1027–1087) were found here.
Inside, look for two badly damaged effigies — probably of Sir Robert Middleton of Leighton Hall and his wife Ann, daughter of Roger Beetham — which were defaced by a local mob and Cromwellian soldiers during the Civil War in the 17th century (the troops also damaged some of the priceless stained glass windows and stabled horses in the church).
The Dallam Tower Deer Park, which dates back to medieval times, is still managed for fallow deer. Built two and a half centuries ago, a deer house with its roof supported by pillars provides shelter for the herd.
Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.
