A Different Type of Research

Wordsworth's first view of Grasmere.

Ambleside's Roman Fort ruins

At the end of June, a group of adventurers will be joining me for a week to walk in the Lake District and learn about Wordsworth.  The walking portion of this Principia Lifelong Learning will be led by Chuck Wilcoxen, and I will be joining them at key points to lecture and discussion William Wordsworth.  (Chuck coaches Track and Field at the College, but he's also a children's book author.  Check out his book, Niccolini's Song.) But I am choosing the walks for their relation to Wordsworth and their scenic value.  Most of these walks I have taken in part, but I have felt the need to take the walks in full to make sure that they are reasonable.  So this past week, Chris and I tried several of them.

The first walk we tried is the one from Ambleside to Grasmere—except we did it in reverse for our convenience.  The group will be staying at the Ambleside Youth Hostel, so that location will be the starting point.  Nearby are the ruins of the Ambleside Roman Fort or Galava.  The walk will go past this site and then by pass the town to the main road.  From there, it will go through fields to Rydal Hall.  The group will visit Rydal Mount, Wordsworth’s last home, and then proceed along the Coffin Trail to Dove Cottage and to Grasmere.  The walk was very pleasant, and every time we turned around to see what the groups view would be, we were rewarded with beautiful views.

The second walk was one from Grasmere to Hawkshead along quiet “B” roads and paths.  The walk stops first at the point Wordsworth is thought to have first scene Grasmere.  Highlights along the way are Skelwith Bridge with it’s beautiful slate picnic tables along the river and views of Loughrigg Tarn.  The walk finishes with a wander past Green End Cottage in Colthouse, where Wordsworth boarded during the last half of his school years at Hawkshead, and then enters Hawkshead very near to the school.  

Next up will be a hike from Grasmere to Borrowdale, but we need a full day and an early start to do that hike.  We’ve done part of the hike—or at least in the neighborhood on the way up to Easedale Tarn. So far, I’m very pleased with the hikes and think the group will enjoy this introduction to Wordsworth’s Lake District.  Now that’s the kind of research to do on a bright sunny day!