Why a Booktrail?
1935, 2000s: A flooded village, rediscovered years later
The Drowned Village
What you need to know before your trail
It’s the summer of 1935 and eleven-year-old Stella Walker is preparing to leave her home forever. Forced to evacuate to make way for a new reservoir, the village of Brackendale Green will soon be lost. But before the water has even reached them, a dreadful event threatens to tear Stella’s family apart.
An uncovered secret
Present day, and a fierce summer has dried up the lake and revealed the remnants of the deserted village. Now an old woman, Stella begs her granddaughter Laura to make the journey she can’t. She’s sure the village still holds answers for her but, with only days until the floodwaters start to rise again, Laura is in a race against time to solve the mysteries of Stella’s almost forgotten past.
Locations
Reset- England - The Lake District
- A: Penrith - Mardale Head
- B: Haweswater Reservoir
- C: Penrith - High Street
- D: Mardale Ridge
- E: Tarn Crag
Travel Guide
Welcome to the mysterious Lake District and the drowned village
This is inspired by a very real lake and lost village. Brackendale and Bereswater are Mardale and Haweswater in real life. Imagine going and discovering these mysterious places for real! The author was inspired to write a novel based on a village which was flooded to make a reservoir.
She was visiting Mardale Head with a friend where she read something about the destruction of Mardale Green to make way for the reservoir. Her friend suggested she write a novel based on it, and history was made.
The author and her friend climbed Riggindale Ridge and High Street and then Mardale III Bell as Laura and Tom do in the novel (albeit via differently named mountains and valleys)
“Haweswater has dried out on a few occasions over the years revealing the remains of Mardale Green.”
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Drowned Village
Destination: Lake District, Mardale Author/Guide: Kathleen McGurl Departure Time: 1935, 2012
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