Swindale Beck is an upland tributary of the River Eden which runs through Swindale Farm, in the eastern Lake District. Here, the RSPB is working in partnership with the landowner, United Utilities (UU), to demonstrate sustainable land management. Like a great many watercourses across the UK, Swindale Beck has been heavily modified. It was straightened at least 160 years ago to create meadows which, at the time, allowed the valley’s people to farm more effectively.