Day Eight - English Poet William Wordsworth homes - Dove Cottage & Rydal Mount
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look for Grasmere & Rydal, south of Keswick |
William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850) lived his entire life in the Lake District, except when he attended St. John's College, Cambridge.
Wm. married his childhood sweetheart Mary Hutchinson, and later, his sister Dorothy lived with them for the rest of their lives. The three were inseparable and took long walks almost every day. Only a short distance away from their second home, Rydal Mount, was a medium-sized lake called Rydal Water. Only a mile or so beyond that is where the incredibly scenic Langdale area begins (sample photos are below).
Wordsworth became the most well-known English Romantic poet of his time. He also authored an early guide to the Lake District, praising its inherent natural beauty. As might be expected, tourists read & responded, and began to pour in, on horseback, and in carriages, and shortly thereafter, on a new railway line to Kendall, at the south end of the Lake District.
Wordsworth was horrified, and had to live the rest of his life with the sense of irony whereby his popular guide book brought meaningful income, but was accompanied by an uncontrollable influx of tourists, signaling the end of the unspoiled wilderness he knew so well. He became an early conservationist, a political activist to keep the RR from coming further north from Kendall, which was a success for him.
Over the years, Wordsworth the poet became a dedicated admirer of Robt. Burns and an intimate friend of Sir Walter Scott, visiting him many times at Abbottsford, near Melrose, Scotland.
DOVE COTTAGE
Driving south from Keswick, first you arrive in Grasmere, where Wordsworth's earlier home, Dove Cottage, is located. It is currently in limited-access mode due to renovations, and they only had a 2 pm tour on offer. We signed up and then drove further south to Rydal, his later home.
RYDAL MOUNT
Rydal Mount seems modern, with good-sized rooms and large windows, well-lit.
Wordsworth built an impressive hillside garden which we enjoyed walking through in a light rain after we toured the house.
note - you can enlarge any part of a picture by left-clicking in and then out again.
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nearby creek |
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research building |
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Rydal Mount |
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fall berries |
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the garden |
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< William Wordsworth and & his wife Dorothy > |
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the study |
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Wm. & family read Scott's Waverly novels | ||
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original view of Rydal Water |
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portrait of Robert Burns |
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note that poet R. Burns' two sons became military officers |
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Wordsworth, recently painted by Hideyuki Sobue |
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scones in the cafe |
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wandering through an interesting garden |
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old shed |
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Rydal Water is nearby | ||
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last looks at Rydal Mount |
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what a setting ! | two Andrew Locking photos of nearby Langdale |
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see note |
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note - for years I've gone to Andrew Locking's hiking website and he is out walking a lot. His wife or others sometimes accompany him. Andrew's got a great feel for landscape photos, and often hikes in England's Lake District or the Yorkshire Dales & coastline, and at many European places. His photos of backyard birds and insects are superb. See www.andrewswalks.co.uk
GRASMERE & DOVE COTTAGE
After a coffee break at the Rydal Mount cafe, in a charming & rustic stone outbuilding, we drove back to Dove Cottage, and since we had extra time we walked into the tiny town of Grasmere, visiting St. Oswald's Kirkyard, where Wordsworth's family members are buried.
It was the rainiest day of the journey. My gore-tex jacket was soaked and radiating coldness. I may have been a layer shy of total comfort but at least kept dry. Back at Dove Cottage for the 2 pm pre-tour we had a historical lecture in an impressive library, and it was overly warm, so we all dried out.
Each of us had to wear a hardhat & reflective construction vest, to enter the Wordsworth family's earlier abode. The rooms inside Dove Cottage were small, with dark floors and low ceilings, poorly lit. It seemed primitive & claustrophobic.
Photos were not allowed, hey, no problem since there was essentially nothing to see, and we soon left.
note - you can enlarge any part of a picture by left-clicking in and then out again.
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Dove Cottage in the morning |
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afternoon walk to Grasmere |
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...in constant rain |
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old house |
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attractive river (Rothay) |
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shops near the Church |
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interior of St. Oswald's | ||
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see note below |
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in the Kirk yard |
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Wordsworth family graves | ||
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2 pm tour group |
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Dove Cottage |
note - this photo has been lightened in order to show the 'rough-hewn' wood structure in St. Oswald's.
We drove back to Keswick through some great scenery.
go to next page - Buttermere walk
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