Boot, Cumbria
Boot is a small village in Eskdale, Cumbria, in the Lake District of England. It forms part of the Borough of Copeland.
There are two roads from which to access the village, one of which is the Hardknott Pass and Wrynose Pass, Britain's steepest road; it is closed when icy.
The village of Boot has two pubs: The Boot Inn and The Brook House Inn; however The Woolpack Inn - Hardknott Bar & Cafe is only a short walk nearer to Hardknott Pass.
The Woolpack Inn has an adjoined brewery known as Hardknott Brewery.
The permanent population of Boot is 10–15, but can rise to between 90 and 120 in summer when the inn and local bed-and-breakfast and holiday cottages are full. These businesses survive on fell walkers, the passengers of the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, and holiday-makers from the nearby campsite and cottages. Also in the area is an old boarding house and a small church.
On the moorland around one mile north of the village are five stone circles known collectively as the Burnmoor stone circles.
On 2 June 2010, Boot became the centre of a search after a shooting spree in Cumbria. The killer, 52-year-old taxi driver Derrick Bird, was found dead in woods near Boot after a four-hour manhunt. He killed 12 people and injured 11 others.
