Arts in the Lake District

The Lake District has attracted walkers, writers, poets and artists for a very long time. I’ve been staying in Rydal, a village home to Rydal Water (smallest lake in the Lake District), and situated between the villages of Ambleside and Grasmere. Rydal was also home to William Wordsworth, the poet, and his home Rydal Mount is just a mile down the road. There is a large field there he planted with daffodils after his daughter Dora’s death, aptly called Dora’s Field. Wordsworth’s original home where he lived with his sister, Dove Cottage, is in the other direction in Grasmere. He and many of his family members as well as Samuel Coleridge’s son are buried in the graveyard of St. Oswald’s in Grasmere, the church where I went to do rushmaking the first week I was here. Wordsworth was one of several Romantic poets who came to the Lake District.

Just down the hill from Wordsworth’s home is Rydal Hall, which has an amazing sculpture garden. I wandered through it one morning after a big rain. Some pieces are made from steel/metal and wool felting; the figures are made from steel chain.

The forest is sculptural in its mossy formations and the sculptures compliment or highlight the natural art.

Another day I took a bus farther away to the village of Hawkshead where Beatrix Potter’s 17th century farmhouse is, as well as a tiny gallery of her work. I visited the gallery to see the original sketches and watercolors she did based on her animals and the surrounding hills she loved. I also re-read Tales of Peter Rabbit while I was there since I really couldn’t remember some of the many animal characters she had created. She was a talented and prolific author and illustrator.

Last week was the beginning of the Lake District Music Festival. It is a lovely 2 1/2 mile walk to the village of Ambleside, and I got myself a ticket to hear the Carducci Quartet at the beautiful old church there. They were quite the foursome to listen to as I looked around at the very old stone walls. A group of us from Nab Cottage also got to hear a larger amateur orchestra practicing at Rydal Hall one night; it was very hard to believe they were amateurs. Any and all of these walks aren’t far from our favorite local pub, less than a mile from the cottage.