The Lake District: Not Just a Pretty Face
When most people picture the Lake District, they imagine stunning vistas, mountain air and blissful boat trips on still bodies of water. I was fortunate to grow up close enough to the area that regular day trips to the Lake District were possible during my childhood. Equally, what I remember the most from these trips are the beautiful views and long walks my parents would take me and my brother on (as well as the Grasmere gingerbread — we’ll come to this later).
The nature and scenery are not the only impressive and interesting thing about the county of Cumbria, however, the region is also full of history. In fact, the more you learn about its history, the more you realise that the landscape and its heritage blend into one in the Lakes and its impossible to separate its history from its geography. On my most recent visit, after not having been for several years, I decided to pay more attention to the history of the region to be able to appreciate the beauty of the Lake District from a new perspective.
The Lake District and the county of Cumbria’s history is long and varied, dating back to Stone Age people who used the area’s natural resources to build tools and stone circles, some of which can still be seen and visited today. Stone from the area has been found in Neolithic sites around the country, leading some to think that the Lake District was a kind of stone tool ‘factory’ for Stone Age peoples.
Over the centuries, the Anglo-Saxons, Romans and even Vikings left their mark on the area. When the Romans invaded, the Lakes were home to the Brigantes and Carvetii tribes, who eventually succumbed to Romanization, and Roman forts and archaeological remains are often open to visitors.
The Vikings, in particular, can still be seen in the landscape and culture. The Herdwick sheep, for example, that dot the landscape, were brought over by the Vikings as they used the fertile fields of Cumbria for farming. The language of the Vikings can even be seen in the names of places and mountains, for example, the ‘fell’ of Scarfell Pike comes from Old Norse fjell, meaning mountain.
Later on, the slate which gives the houses and buildings throughout the area their distinctive character, as well as the granite and other minerals that Cumbria is rich in, meant that the region came to be used as a centre for mining in the 16th century.
Tourism to the Lakes only really started after the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when overcrowded and polluted cities started to make people crave the fresh air of the countryside. In 1778, a priest named Father Thomas West wrote a Guide to the Lakes, listing the best beauty spots in the area, in the hopes that artists would be inspired to visit and paint the landscapes.
In 1951, the Lake District National Park was officially formed and today almost 16 million people visit the area every year, drawn to its natural beauty and cultural sites.
Grasmere
Just north of Lake Windermere is the small leafy village of Grasmere. Surrounded by hills and lush pastures, the quaint settlement features historic cottages, craft shops, and, unsurprisingly, quite a few tourists.
It’s one of the most nostalgic places from my childhood, as a frequent visitor to the sleepy town and its world-famous gingerbread shop, which I was sure to revisit on my recent return.
On the way to the Gingerbread shop, we passed through a small graveyard where at the far side a group of fairly unassuming gravestones are huddled together. In the image below you may be able to make out the markings ‘William Wordsworth 1850’ and ‘Mary Wordsworth 1859’ engraved on the bottom left gravestone. William Wordsworth was an English poet who was crucial to the start of the Romanticism movement. Wordsworth lived in Grasmere and other areas of the Lakes District for most of his life and his surroundings are clear inspiration in his poems which reflect themes of nature. For example, take the following lines from his most famous poem I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud:
“I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”
Wordsworth also wrote his own Guide to the Lakes and was part of a group called the Lake Poets, who were a group of Romantic poets living in the area that penned verses inspired by the stunning nature that surrounded them. These poets helped, and still help, to bring tourism to the Lake District as visitors flock to see the beauty they raved about.
If you’d like to learn more about Wordsworth on your trip to the Lakes, you can visit the lovingly preserved Dove Cottage in Grasmere where he lived between the years 1799–1808 or Rydal Mount, Wordsowrth’s home from 1813 to his death in 1850.
Arriving at the Grasmere Gingerbread shop, a queue spirals out onto the pavement where visitors wait excitedly for the famous treat. When it was our turn, my boyfriend bought a pack of 6 gingerbreads and I a jar of strawberry and ginger conserve. Inside the tiny shop, only 2–3 patrons can fit at a time as they’re served by assistants dressed in traditional clothing. The shop started in 1854 but previous to that the building had been the village school since 1630.
Next stop, Ambleside. A larger town on the banks of Windermere. The town is great for food (try the Apple Pie bakery or Zefferelli’s restaurant) and quirky shops, I particularly like those in the town which sell stones and minerals, such as the RockShop and Silver Moon, complementing the area’s geological history.
This town is likewise full of history and heritage. One historical part of the town which stands out, in particular, is the peculiar-looking bridge you may come across on the edge of the town centre. Simply called Bridge House, the quirky building was built by the Braithwaite family in the 17th family who used the dwelling to access their land over the river and store the apples from their orchards. The Bridge House has been the surprisingly sturdy home of many people and purposes over the years, including a tea-room, a cobblers, and even a family of 8, a baffling logistical situation. The tiny house has captured the attention of thousands, including famous English artists John Ruskin and JMW Turner, and it continues to be painted, sketched and photographed by visitors to the town.
Ambleside is also home to the remains of a Roman fort which is open to the public thanks to the National Trust. The fort was at one point home to 500 Roman soldiers and dates back to the time of Hadrian’s rule in England (CE 117–138). Archaeology has shown that the Romans also used the serene Lake Windermere for transporting goods and soldiers to other forts around the Lakes.
A first time for me on my recent visit was Wray Castle, situated a short drive from Ambleside and Windermere and again on the banks of Lake Windermere. The magnificent building is designed like a Medieval castle but betrays its real age (19th century) by its perfect preservation. When we visited the house in mid-June, there was a free exhibition on Antarctic exhibitions of the early 20th century on the ground floor of the house, the only floor which is accessible to the public. It doesn’t take long to get around the exhibit but the castle also boasts a woodland walk which spirals down to a clean and peaceful shingle beach on the lake, as well as an environmentally conscious and mostly plant-based cafe.
Wray’s history intertwines with the history of the Lake District in an integral way. The vicar of the castle’s own church, Hardwicke Rawnsley, would become one of the 3 founders of the National Trust in 1895, the organisation which has helped to preserve much of the Lake District’s historic estates and holdings.
Thirteen years earlier, another important figure in Cumbrian history visited the castle. Beatrix Potter was a holidaygoer at the castle when her parents rented out the sprawling mansion in 1882 and remained in contact with Rawnsley for many years after when he helped her to publish her debut children’s book The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
Beatrix Potter not only wrote the world-famous Peter Rabbit books, but also aided in the conservation of the Lake District, many claiming that she saved the survival of the species of the aforementioned Herdwick sheep. A wealthy woman, Potter procured approximately 4000 acres of land, which she left to the National Trust upon her death.
At Coniston, another small and unassuming churchyard holds the grave of one of the Lake District’s most famous former residents. Tucked right at the back of the cemetery and easily missable if you don’t know what you’re looking for is the rather beautifully decorated gravestone of John Ruskin. The art critic/historian and philosopher died in Coniston at his sprawling Brantwood estate, which nowadays is available to visit for the day or even overnight.
There is also a Ruskin Museum in Coniston town where you can learn more about the man. Also of interest at the museum are parts of the wreckage of the Bluebird K7, the hydroplane in which Donald Campbell died on Coniston water in 1967 whilst trying to attempt a water speed record. His body was recovered 34 years later and he was also laid to rest in Coniston Cemetery.
On our brief stop at Coniston, we also purchased some of the Lake District’s famous treat, Kendal mint cake. Originating in the town of Kendal, as the name suggests, this sugary mint sweet can be bought pretty much anywhere in the Lake District, as can other sweet snacks by the Kendal confectionary company Romney’s. Kendal mint cake is often known as a hiker’s snack as the sugar content can provide a quick energy boost to the mountain walker, touted by Romney’s as ‘the original energy bar’. It was even taken on the first known summit of Everest in 1953 by mountaineers Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Personally, I recommend the chocolate covered Kendal mint cake.
Thanks for reading!
Sources
A Brief History of the Lakes and Lake District Tourism — Lakelovers. [Online]
Available at: https://www.lakelovers.co.uk/blog/a-brief-history-of-the-lakes/
Grasmere Gingerbread Shop | The World’s Best Gingerbread. [Online]
Available at: https://www.grasmeregingerbread.co.uk/
Grasmere Village Conservation Area: Lake District National Park. [Online]
Available at: https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/planning/conservationareas/grasmerevillageca#:~:text=Why%20is%20Grasmere%20village%20special%3F&text=Origins%20as%20a%20settlement%20that,in%20the%20later%20medieval%20period.
History | Useful Information | TheLakeDistrict.org. [Online]
Available at: https://www.thelakedistrict.org/info/history/
History at Ambleside | Cumbria | National Trust. [Online]
Available at: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/lake-district/stagshaw-garden-and-ambleside/discover-history-at-ambleside
History of Wray Castle | Cumbria | National Trust. [Online]
Available at: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/lake-district/wray/history-of-wray-castle
Our Story — Kendal Mint Cake. [Online]
Available at: https://mintcake.co.uk/pages/our-story
