History
The Romans originally built a road over the pass in the 2nd century to link the coastal fort at Ravenglass with their garrisons at Ambleside and Kendal. The Romans called this road the Tenth Highway. It reaches a height of 393 m (1,289 ft) at the top of the Hardknott Pass before descending steeply to the Duddon Valley and then ascending and descending the Wrynose Pass (also 393 m) on its way to Ambleside. The road fell into disrepair after the Romans left Britain in the early part of the 5th century, although it remained as an unpaved packhorse route throughout the centuries.
The War Office used the area for tank training during the Second World War and this completely destroyed the ancient track. After the war a decision was made to repair the damage and rebuild the road with a tarmac surface to give a direct motor route between Ambleside and Eskdale for the first time. However, the Roman route and the modern road do not generally coincide, the Roman route lying generally to the north of the modern road west of the summit, and to the south on the other side.
Read more about this topic: Hardknott Pass
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