An Explanation

A fox will seek refuge from hounds or bad weather anywhere suitable - and sometimes not! Foxes spend a lot of time on the surface but when hunted, feel the need to breed or bad weather threatens they will seek shelter underground.

The natural geology of Lakeland lends itself to a range of refuges, from Borrans, usually associated with a high cliff or crag, to quarry spoil tips, field drains or earth banks. All these are recorded as having been used at some point in Lakeland hunting history.

Borran(s) is a Lakeland word. I don't know of the origin but perhaps it came with the Vikings, who invaded and settled after the Romans had left. It basically means 'stone pile'.

For thousands of years the crags (cliffs) of Lakeland left behind by the retreating ice have been exposed to the wind and weather. Rain trickled down the cracks and fissures, froze, thawed and froze again. This cycle went on until that particular piece of rock lost contact with the supporting cliff and fell to the base. Over the eons surprisingly large piles of rock accumulated beneath some crags. This perhaps may be a simplistic explanation but it should suffice.

These piles of rock are honeycombed with tunnels, and drops, chambers and ledges, an ideal sanctuary for a fox and a potential death trap for a terrier or terriers sent in to get them. Borrans are dangerous places. Apart from the ever present danger of stone fall from above, they are unstable and you are advised to keep away and observe from a distance. Some of the more 'notable' borrans have evidence of 'blocking' where over the years likely entrances have been sealed with stones and rubble. In writing this website I visited several.

There is nothing better on a summer's evening than to lay above a borran watching the cubs at play outside.