Highlights: Views from above lake Grasmere, historic tracks, coffin stone and handmade gingerbread!
Nature spotted: Heron and a young red squirrel!
As I’m on a roll with writing topical posts, (something I always aim for but rarely achieve!) I thought I would mark this Valentines day with a walk from mine and CB’s honeymoon. However, the romance doesn’t stop there. This wasn’t just any walk, this was a walk from the big cheese of the Romantics himself, this was a William Wordsworth walk!
My consistent references to ‘lonely clouds’ not only demonstrated my limited exposure to the works of this legendary poet but also highlighted my new wife’s (there isn’t an old one) exceptional patience when it come to the walking photographer!
It’s hard to find a walk in the Lakes that isn’t beautiful with gorgeous views and stunning scenery. This walk is no different. Maybe the difference with this walk is the sense of past, following the same rough tracks that others have walked for hundreds of years!
The walk starts and finishes in Grasmere, which made it into my top 5 list of most expensive places to park! The route is just under 6 miles and takes you round the lake (Grasmere), Rydal Water and on into Rydal. Rydal is where you can find Wordsworth’s home, Rydal Mount, which offers a good opportunity to take a break and gulp down a cuppa!
The trail then heads back to Grasmere via the ‘coffin route’. Before Ambleside had a church, coffins would be walked along this path all the way to St Oslwald’s Church in Grasmere. Just before you reach Grasmere, there is a large flat stone known as the ‘coffin stone’ where pallbearers would rest the coffin and catch there breath before continuing on into the village.
At the end of the coffin route you pass Dove Cottage, which was Wordsworth’s family home. Criminally (to some), we opted to remain ignorant in the ways of Wordsworth as we favoured some ginger bread and a pint. We vowed to read more Wordsworth as we tucked into some of Sarah Nelson’s gingerbread and supped on our Windermere Pale by Hawkshead brewery!
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