What to See in England Part 40

GRASMERE AND RYDAL MOUNT

THE HOMES OF WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

=How to get there.=--Train from Euston. L. and N.W. Railway.

=Nearest Station.=--Ambleside (4 miles from Grasmere).

=Distance from London.=--260 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 6 to 8 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 39s. 0d. 25s. 2d. 23s.

Return 76s. 4d. 49s. 4d. 45s.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Prince of Wales Hotel," on lake, 1/2 mile from village. "Rothay Hotel," near church. "Red Lion Hotel," "Mossgrove" (Temperance), "Grasmere Hotel" (Temperance), all in village. No inn at Rydal village.

=Alternative Route.=--Train from St. Pancras. Midland Railway.

Grasmere is the name of a village and lake in Westmorland, about 3 miles north-west of Ambleside. The lovely village, beautifully situated at the head of the lake, has an old church containing the grave of Wordsworth.

Wordsworth's cottage (a charge of 6d. is made for admission) is only half a mile from the church. It is restored, as far as possible, to its condition in Wordsworth's day, and contains a number of relics of the poet's family. The lake, a mile in length, and surrounded by mountains, forms one of the most beautiful scenes in England. Wordsworth afterwards removed to Rydal Mount (two or three miles off), which place remains especially a.s.sociated with his memory. It is a somewhat remarkable fact that this quiet and thoughtful interpreter of nature was in the early years of his life, while going on a pedestrian tour through France, thrust into the early fervours of its great Revolution. Wordsworth's sympathy with the aims of the Gironde party might have cost him his life, for many of his friends in Paris suffered death, but happily circ.u.mstances caused him to return to England. It was his n.o.ble sister Dorothy, his constant and devoted companion, who met him on his return from Paris, broken-hearted, and induced him to return to nature.

Wordsworth's poetry was not appreciated for a considerable time, but he calmly wrote on, undismayed by the ridicule poured forth on the "Lake School of Poets," which included Coleridge and Southey, and gradually his calm and dignified descriptions of nature a.s.serted their rightful influence. After publis.h.i.+ng his greatest poem, _The Excursion_, the tide of generous appreciation set in. In 1843, Wordsworth was made Poet Laureate. His pure and fervent poetry was a protest against the diseased sentimentality of the age.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._

RYDAL WATER.]

THE LAKE DISTRICT

=How to get there.=--Train to Ambleside from Euston. London and N.W. Railway.

=Nearest Station.=--Ambleside (for visiting Coniston, Grasmere, Hawkshead, Patterdale, and Windermere).

=Distance from London.=--260 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 6 to 8 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 39s. 0d. 25s. 2d. 23s. 0d.

Return 76s. 4d. 49s. 4d. 45s. 0d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--At Ambleside--"Queen's Hotel,"

"White Lion Hotel," "Royal Oak Inn," "Robinson's Temperance Hotel."

=Alternative Route.=--Train from St. Pancras. Midland Railway.

Ambleside, situated in the very centre of the Lake District, is by many regarded as the most tempting spot in the whole region.

It is a long and straggling town of about 2000 inhabitants. The old church stands up the hill, in the more picturesque part of the town. The old ceremony of "rush-bearing," dating from the time of Gregory IV., is still, in a modified form, an annual function in Ambleside, which, with one or two Westmorland villages, can claim the custom as unique.

About a mile south from Ambleside is the northern extremity of Lake Windermere, 10-1/2 miles long, and varying in breadth from a mile in the widest part to a few hundred yards in the narrowest. The surrounding scenery is magnificent, of a soft and graceful beauty, which forms a wonderful contrast to the wild and sublime grandeur of other parts of the Lake District. There are a number of beautiful islands in the lake, which is very plentifully stocked with fish.

The little lake at Grasmere, a village to the north of Ambleside, is one of the gems of the Lakeland scenery; indeed, Grasmere is an excellent centre from which to visit some of the points of interest in the district. Wordsworth's cottage stands half a mile outside the village.

Within easy reach of Ambleside are Coniston village and lake, upon which a little steamer plies. Near the head of the lake is Coniston Hall, now a farmhouse, but for long the seat of the Le Flemings, a well-known Westmorland family.

Among the numerous other places of interest near Ambleside are Hawkshead, the scene of Wordsworth's school life, and a most charmingly picturesque village; Patterdale and the surrounding district; Langdale Pikes, Shap Fells, and Stockgill Force, a fine waterfall 150 feet high.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._

WINDERMERE.

It is ten and a half miles in length, and is surrounded by the most beautiful wooded scenery.]

ST. DAVIDS CATHEDRAL

=How to get there.=--Train from Paddington. Great Western Rly.

=Nearest Station.=--Haverfordwest (16 miles from St. Davids), thence by coach to St. Davids, past Roch Castle.

=Distance from London.=--To Haverfordwest, 261 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 6-1/2 to 9 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 42s. 0d. 26s. 3d. 21s. 0d.

Return 72s. 3d. 46s. 0d. 42s. 0d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Grove Hotel," "City Hotel," etc.

St. Davids, the most western town in Wales, is situated on the little river Alan, a mile from its mouth, near St. Davids Head, on the north side of St. Brides Bay. The place is now little more than a village, though in the Middle Ages it was a large city, the great resort of pilgrims to St. David's shrine. The city, which was the =Menevia= of the Romans, is almost as isolated now as it was in their days, the only available communication being by the daily mail-cart from Haverfordwest, and an omnibus twice a week during the season.

The modern "city" of St. Davids is a mere village, consisting of one princ.i.p.al street and two at right angles, with a fine old cross at their junction, but the chief attractions are its grand old cathedral and the ruins of its once famous Episcopal palace. The cathedral, originally built in 1176, is curiously situated in a deep dell, so that only the upper part of the lofty tower is visible from the village, and the close is entered by descending thirty-nine steps, locally known as the thirty-nine articles. The entrance to the close is through a fine old tower-gateway, 60 feet high, where the records were formerly kept and a consistory court held.

The west front of the cathedral, which has been well restored, is one of the finest features of the building. Among the more interesting objects in the cathedral are Bishop Morgan's throne, of remarkable workmans.h.i.+p; the fine rood screen, the work of Bishop Gower; Bishop Vaughan's beautiful Tudor chapel and monument; and the shrine of St. David.

The Bishop's Palace, on the opposite bank of the river, was one of the finest in the kingdom. It was founded by Bishop Gower in the fourteenth century, and, together with the cathedral, St. Mary's College, and other ecclesiastical buildings, was enclosed by a lofty wall having four gateways, of which only one remains.

In mediaeval days the shrine of St. David was regarded with great veneration, and was visited by William the Conqueror, Henry II., and by Edward I. and his queen.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _G.W. Wilson & Co._

ST. DAVIDS CATHEDRAL FROM THE NORTH-EAST.]

FURNESS ABBEY, LANCAs.h.i.+RE

=How to get there.=--Train from Euston. L. and N.W. Railway.

=Nearest Station.=--Furness Abbey.

=Distance from London.=--262 miles.