Page 203 - (DK Eyewitness) Back Roads Travel Guide - Great Britain

DRIVE 19: The Poetry of the Lakes 201

Far left The old stone bridge over the River
Greta at Keswick Left Dove Cottage, home of
celebrated Lakes poet William Wordsworth
SHOPPING IN GRASMERE
Sarah Nelson’s Grasmere gingerbread is
sold at Grasmere Gingerbread Shop,
in what was once the Lych Gate village
school where Wordsworth taught.
(Church Cottage, Ambleside, LA22 9SW;
015394 35428)

local rock, and was probably carried and outside are eight yew trees that EAT AND DRINK
here all the way from Scotland by the he planted. One now marks the grave KESWICK
glaciers of the Ice Age. It is traditional that Wordsworth shares with his wife, Square Orange inexpensive
to shake hands with a friend under Mary. Nearby are buried his sister Continental-style café-bar offering great
the stone and climb to the top. Dorothy, four of his children, Mary’s coffee, stone-baked pizzas and tapas. It
ª Carry along B5289 into Keswick. sister, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s also has indoor games for rainy days.
son, Hartley. Just beyond the village, 20 St John’s Street, CA12 5AS; 017687
7 Keswick on A591 there is free parking on the 73888; www.thesquareorange.co.uk
Cumbria; CA12 5JR left for Dove Cottage (closed 24–31 Fellpack moderate
A tourist magnet, this buzzy town has Jan; www.wordsworth.org.uk), home This small restaurant serves dishes such
as smoked haddock with hazelnut and
a stunning setting on Derwent Water, to William, and Dorothy from 1799 to parsley freekeh, roast chicken with
surrounded by the fells of Saddleback, 1808. Here, the poet enjoyed a golden pasta and pear sticky toffee pudding
Helvellyn and Grisedale Pike. age of creativity, and the whitewashed 19 Lake Road, CA12 5BS; 01768 771 177;
Attractions include the walls, flagged floors and www.fellpack.co.uk; closed Mon–Wed
beautifully situated dark panelling resonate dinner
Theatre by the Lake, with his presence. Here, Highfield Restaurant moderate
(www.theatrebythelake.com too, Dorothy wrote her With a menu that draws on local
with its professional Grasmere Journals. In seasonal produce, this place serves
Cumbrian beef, lamb and wild venison.
drama company and art 1802 William married The Heads, CA12 5ER; 017687 72508;
galleries. Alternatively, Mary Hutchinson, who www.highfieldkeswick.co.uk
take to the water in a Sign for local ice joined the household. GRASMERE
rowing boat or kayak, or on cream, Buttermere Guests included fellow poet
a cruise. East of town, on the Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and The Jumble Room moderate
This quirky restaurant with a changing
A591, stands the enigmatic Castlerigg novelists Sir Walter Scott and Thomas menu serves delights such as traditional
Stone Circle with distant views of de Quincey. The garden, a “domestic fish and chips as well as the more exotic
Skiddaw, Blencathra and Lonscale Fell. slip of mountain”, has been restored Persian lamb or Lebanese chicken.
With an astronomically significant to the semi-wild state planned for it Langdale Road, LA22 9SU; 015394
alignment, the circle of 38 stones by William and Dorothy. 35188; www.thejumbleroom.co.uk
holds a rectangle of 10 more and ª Follow A591 alongside glorious Below The enigmatic Castlerigg Stone Circle,
dates from around 3,000 BC. Rydal Water to Rydal Mount. one of the earliest stone circles in Britain
ª Head south on A591 to Grasmere.
The Hardy Herdwick
Incredibly enduring, Herdwick sheep
are native to the Lake District, where
they have grazed since the 12th
century or earlier. The meat is prized
by Cumbrian gourmets. It gets its
distinctive taste from a diet of fell
grasses and heather. The wool is
tough, wiry and long-lasting.

8 Grasmere
Cumbria; LA22 9SH
On the Wordsworth trail, Grasmere
has the sturdy little village church of
St Oswald’s. Inside, there is a glass
case holding the poet’s prayer book
Eat and Drink: inexpensive, under £25; moderate, £25–£50; expensive, over £50

198-205_Back_Roads_Great_Britain.indd 201 20/07/18 7:45 PM