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Poets' Corner
About the same time that Captain James Cook was charting the coastline of New South Wales in April 1770 there was an arrival of a boy baby, William Wordsworth, in the Lake District of England. He lived until he was 80 years of age – most of his life spent in the Lake District of Cumbria. William Wordsworth was just one of many poets and English literary giants who found poetic inspiration in the vast, beautiful, moody landscape where clouds wandered and floated on high o'er vales and hills of the inspirational, challenging countryside which is now under the protection of the National Trust. And the National Trust has another literary giant, Beatrix Potter, to thank for having vast tracts of hills and dales, farmland and rural cottages to protect. Her vision and generosity saw her bequeath her land to the Trust so it would remain unspoilt and undeveloped. But back to Wordsworth, well, he was here first. Born in Cockermouth in the ‘district’, William Wordsworth spent most of his childhood there. He attended school in the district and after a good education at Cambridge he travelled to Dorset with his sister Dorothy (a fiercely intelligent writer also and it was her observation of a host of golden daffodils that inspired her brother to write you-know-what). They met Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey and toured the Lake District together. Dorothy and William eventually moved into Dove Cottage in Grasmere. This little house is open to the public and is a fascinating home to view when you think that William, Dorothy, William’s wife Mary, three of his five children and Thomas de Quincey (a permanent guest) lived there. Walk around and wonder at where they all fitted when it was wet and rainy outside and everyone confined to the house! But I suppose with de Quincey’s and Coleridge’s penchant for ingesting copious amounts of opium there was a lot of ‘resting in one’s room’ and ‘thinking’. Extremely popular with mature travellers, standard Inside Passage cruises are quite affordable and present unforgettable experiences with a minimum of fuss. The largest ships can carry more than 2000 passengers in a variety of accommodation, from dark cabins deep in the hull to posh upper deck staterooms with portholes that usher in the lingering daylight of the northern summer. Whatever deck they occupy, all passengers on the larger ships can enjoy such on-board amenities as lavish 24-hour buffets, health spas, music revues, cinemas, and casinos. Going from ‘literary house’ to ‘literary house’ gives the visitor a wonderful opportunity to see the invigorating countryside – and what inhabits it here hasn’t changed a great deal since the late 1800s. Sure there are better roads, shopping centres and TV satellite dishes decorating ancient cottages, but big housing development was never on the agenda once Beatrix Potter and her mates started to buy up land and buildings in the early part of the 20th century. Potter’s aim was to leave the farms in good working order so that they could continue to grow and develop local agriculture. Small working farms were purchased to be managed so the Lake District would stay as it had been for hundreds of years. As well as its natural beauty and ambience as a holiday magnet, animals roamed (and still roam) the hills – cattle and sheep – all part of the historic charm and practical husbandry of the area. Back to William Wordsworth and a little trip to Grasmere, a charming village nearby to Dove Cottage, is worth a stop. Here is the famous Grasmere Gingerbread Shop (once a school that Wordsworth taught at briefly). Since 1854 Sarah Nelson’s secret recipe for the gingerbread has been baked daily on the same premises. This recipe has stood the test of time and seeing the queue of customers patiently waiting for the next batch you know it’s the real thing. Have a short stroll through St Oswald’s churchyard behind the shop and you’ll find the modest graves of William Wordsworth, his wife Mary and sister Dorothy. It had nothing to do with the gingerbread! Wordsworth moved to Rydal Mount in 1813 (the house is three km from Ambleside) and was there until his death in 1850. This is another fine home to explore. Much bigger than Dove Cottage and certainly of a lighter spirit, the home was rented to Wordsworth for years until he purchased it. The property has a splendid garden with many ‘rest stops’ to enjoy the serenity and the view. There is ‘Dora’s field’ which Wordsworth created and planted with daffodils in memory of his beloved eldest daughter Dora who died of tuberculosis in 1847. In between the 'literary houses’ look around and enjoy the changing aspects of the countryside and the lakes. Clouds scudding across the blue sky on a fine day cast magical and sombre shadows on the hills below and the brown, green and greyish patchworks squares of the valley are reflected in the water below. When the sun disappears the atmosphere shows the slate roofed homes and heavy, ancient trees as hardy old survivors in a timeless land. The lakes consist of Windermere (the largest), Coniston, Ullswater and Derwent Water. There is a large part of the Australian public of a certain age who remember the status of owning a ‘full’ set of Derwent coloured pencils. Those of us who had the small (set of 12) coloured pencils in those lovely, slim, pencil boxes with a picture of Derwent Water on the lid just never cut it as seriously cool in primary school in the 1950s. Ullswater has carried 'steamers’ since the 19th century. Visitors have enjoyed the beautiful lake with steam and post steam. The Raven and Lady of the Lake along with sister ships Lady Dorothy and Lady Wakefield are the way to still enjoy the scenery from the water. The boats cruise from Glenridding, at the southern tip of the lake, via Howtown, to Pooley Bridge at the north-east of Ullswater. You can take the steamer and combine the trip with a walk by taking the lakeshore path from Howtown back to Glenridding. The lake is surrounded by spectacular scenery and is crowned by Mt Helvellyn. Towering at 950m, this is one of the most climbed mountains in the Lake District. This valley was laid out in its present form during the last ice age when hundreds of metres of glacial ice carved a path through the various rock types. Nature’s nice work. Pottering around Beatrix Potter led a stifled and conservative life in London with her parents and spent her time drawing and painting – a lady’s hobby. Her love of animals and her talent for turning them into endearing characters made her independently wealthy as her books gained a popular following and sold well. She had visited the Lake District with her parents many times and loved the outdoors and the freedom the area gave her. Her first real estate purchase in the District was Hill Top, a working farm close to the village Near Sawrey. She became involved in the farming processes and went on a serious learning curve. This was just the beginning of an amazing, passionate land grab bought with publishing royalties by the author. Hill Top was used by Potter to write and to welcome her ‘book visitors’. It still retains a lived-in charm and has the garden that Jemima Puddle-Duck took her ill-fated eggs from! She continued to add property, buying land when it became available. In 1909 she bought Castle Farm and its fields (conveniently nudging Hill Top’s land). When Potter married William Heelis her friend and lawyer, they moved to Castle Cottage. Beatrix kept Hill Top exactly as it was and used it as a study – and that is as it is today for visitors to enjoy. Beatrix produced only four more books after her marriage. One of them The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse is set in the narrow streets of nearby Hawkshead. Hawkshead is a neat and compact village, stopped in time: cobbled streets, stout little pubs washed with white to reflect the sun or absorb a dull, grey lakes day, alleyways, arches and cottages used as backdrops for Potter’s book. The village is near perfect and resonates with the noise of the days when it was a bustling wool trading point. The Beatrix Potter Gallery is here in the old offices of William Heelis. Brantwood Ruskin had a passion for architecture and proclaimed that buildings should be sympathetic to their local environments and should be ‘organic’, using local materials. After he purchased Brantwood in Coniston he set about adding on to it and creating one of the loveliest homes of the district. It has a spectacular lakeside position and is perfectly situated to enjoy Lake Coniston and all who move on her waters. You can wander through the house and see the dining table set up for lively and stimulating conversation; look out the window of Ruskin’s Spartan bedroom, walk around eight distinctive gardens – or perhaps sit with your back to the wall of the house and gaze out over the tranquil lake and the craggy surrounding hills. Coniston is a sleepy place and easy for walking around without being jostled by too many other literary pilgrims. Lake Coniston is where Sir Malcolm Campbell and his son Donald attempted the world water speed record between the 1930s and the 1960s. Donald Campbell, fondly remembered by Australians for his time spent in South Australia and Western Australia, smashed the record several times and was tragically killed during a speed record attempt on Lake Coniston in 1967. In 2001 the wreckage of the Bluebird and Campbell’s remains were salvaged and laid to rest in the Coniston cemetery. District experience. Take your time and delve into every nook and cranny of this splendid corner of England and if it’s early spring you may just see daffodils . . . ‘tossed and reeled and danced, and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind, that blew upon them over the lake’. (Courtesy of Dorothy Wordsworth – every great male poet should have a great sister behind him!) Travel facts When to visit: The Lake District, Cumbria is England’s most exquisite natural wonder – it really takes your breath away with its beauty. And that’s why thousands of tourists descend on the district through the summer. Every hill and dale is covered with hoards of ‘walkers’. You’ll get knocked over if you stand still. Go at the beginning of spring, still a bit chilly with crisp days, bright blue skies and a host of golden daffodils crowding every garden. Autumn is okay – but the height of summer is not the time to go. Where to stay: There are hostels, hotels, camping grounds, resorts, manor houses and B&Bs galore – and plenty of rooms for everyone. The Waterhead Hotel in charming Ambleside looks like a traditional Victorian town villa from outside but inside it’s funky and fresh and has been given a boutique decor makeover – very nice. Visit www.elh.co.uk/hotels/waterhead Don’t miss: A wander around Ambleside with its Victorian townhouses and slate-fronted homes lining the main streets. There is an excellent bus service that criss-crosses the entire region of the district and Cumbrian Mountains. Buses link tourist attractions and at many of the ‘literary houses’ you’ll be dropped at the gateway. The main bus operator is Stagecoach, www.stagecoachbus.com. Pick up a free Lakesrider booklet from tourist offices or your accommodation. Visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/beatrixpotter Watch Miss Potter (out on DVD now). Read Lonely Planet’s Great Britain. |
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The inspirational, beautiful Lake District of England has produced some of England's finest artists and poets. Bev Malzard takes a literary look at three of the district's finest.