Tag: lake
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Devoke Water
In the classic Monty Python sketch, John Cleese walks into The Cheese Shop and utters the immortal line: And I thought to myself, ‘a little fermented curd will do the trick’, so, I curtailed my Walpoling activities, sallied forth, and infiltrated your place of purveyance to negotiate the vending of some cheesy comestibles! The phrase…
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Gummer’s How
A few days in Eskdale in the Western Lake District. Very limited wifi so postings will be spasmodic. I bagged a new Wainwright yesterday, Gummer’s How, east of Windermere. At least I don’t recall climbing it before. It’s one of Wainwright’s “Outlying Fells” and certainly one of the easiest, a mere ½ mile from the…
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Loweswater
An opportunity to explore the Fellbarrow range of hills west of Lorton Vale. Neat and rolling fells with steep craggy eastern and southern sides. And another two Wainwrights bagged, Fellbarrow itself (416m high) and Low Fell (423m), although I must admit I ran over Low Fell not realising it was the high point. I really…
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Derwentwater
I wanted to post a photo of Castle Crag today, the smallest Wainwright, but I couldn’t find a decent image, just a long-range shot from Swanesty How near Grange. Instead, I found this photo of Derwentwater taken, by coincidence, on the same day as my photo of Honister Pass posted four days ago. It actually…
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Rydal Water
Today would have been the 250th birthday of William Wordsworth, arguably one of the greatest poets of the English language. Born in Cockermouth in 1770, both his own parents had died by the time he was 13. He was educated at the grammar school in Hawkshead and went to St. John’s College, Cambridge University in…
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Brotherswater
Originally called Broad Water (and before that Broader Water) it is generally accepted that Brotherswater was renamed after two brothers were unfortunately drowned in there on New Year’s Day around 1812 whilst skating on the frozen lake. Apparently underground springs flowing up from the lake bed caused patches of thin ice. I found this information…
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Clumber Lake and Church
The country estates of Clumber, Welbeck and Thoresby are known collectively as the Dukeries. Clumber was the seat of the Duke of Newcastle. It was a remnant of Sherwood Forest until he had the estate landscaped in the 18th-century. With an impressive circumference of eleven miles, The Duke created deer parks, woodland, gardens and had…
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Gormire Lake
A lap of Gormire this morning. Rain all the way down, and all the way back, but the sun broke over on the unfathomable lake, although Wikipedia says it’s 21 feet. Enough to cover the reputed village that lies at its bottom next to the gateway to hell. I saw none of its infamous leeches,…
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Whitestone Cliff and Gormire Lake
Looking down onto Lake Gormire near Sutton Bank. A place of myth and legend. In the distance is the elongated Jurassic outlier, Hood Hill with where Druids were said to have made sacrifices. Some say Lake Gormire was made when an earthquake swallowed up a whole town. The roofs of the houses and chimneys can…
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The Lake, Studley Park
John Aislabie first began to create the landscaped gardens of Studley Park around 1716 but it was only after he retired from Parliament under dubious circumstances that he was able to devote fully to the task. During his time as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Aislabie guided the bill through the House of Commons whereby the…