Ullswater

All's Water feels a little bit wilder, a bit more dramatic.

They also have the steamers, which are a lovely way to see the lake, and especially if it's good for walkers, because you can combine a boat journey with a lovely walk around the Ullswater Way.

Dermot Water's great if you're staying around Keswick.

The launches make it really easy for you to hop on and hop off around the lakes.

Passed Kirkby Shaw, Sir William Dalston's house at Acorn Bank, Winfield Park, Hart Horn Oakes, Countess Pillar, Broom Castle, Mr. Brown's large new house, crossed the Eden and the Emont with its green veil, and dined at three o'clock with Mrs. Buchanan at Penrith on trout and partridge.

In the afternoon, walked up Beacon Hill a mile to the top, and could see Ullswater through an opening in the bosom of that cluster of broken mountains which the doctor well remembers.

Winfield and Lowther Parks, et cetera, and the craggy tops of an hundred nameless hills.

These lie to the west and south.

To the east, Cross Fell, just visible through mists and vapors hovering round it.

October the first: a gray autumnal day, the air perfectly calm and mild.

Went to see Ullswater, five miles distant.

Soon left the Keswick road and turned to the left through shady lines along the Vale of Emont, which runs rapidly on near the way, rippling over the stones.

Just on our left is where Tim's car was found by the Mountain Rescue.

And in front of the car, you've got a massive body of water, which is Ullswater.

An anticipated assumption would be a car park with a large body of water, a member of the public's gone missing, surely they're in the water.

And to be honest, I can understand that that assumption would be made, but it is an assumption.

And then you say to Amy, oh, I'll meet you in blah, blah.

Let's say, I don't know, Ullswater.

And whatever, wherever, maybe somewhere a bit nearer.

And she turns up.

She was like a fruitful soil that imbibed the airs and dews of heaven, and gave them forth again to light in loveliest forms of fruits and flowers; but then she was often dark and rugged as that soil, raked up and new-sown with unseen seed.

She dwelt in a cottage whose trim grass-plat sloped down to the waters of the Lake of Ullswater: a beech-wood stretched up the hill behind, and a purling brook gently falling from the acclivity ran through poplar-shaded banks into the lake.

I lived with a farmer, whose house was built higher up among the hills: a dark crag rose behind it, and, exposed to the north, the snow lay in its crevices the summer through.

Before dawn I led my flock to the sheep-walks, and guarded them through the day.

Some unknown circumstance now induced his mother to send him from under her immediate tutelage, and we heard that he was about to visit Cumberland.

A thousand tales were rife, explanatory of the Countess of Windsor's conduct; none true probably; but each day it became more certain that we should have the noble scion of the late regal house of England among us.

There was a large estate with a mansion attached to it, belonging to this family, at Ullswater.

A large park was one of its appendages, laid out with great taste, and plentifully stocked with game.

This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.

Ullswater.

Those who do not choose to go as far as Penrith may, near the eighth mile post, turn off to the right.

bell fell a round green hill will be on the left to mattedale and into gowbarrow park which brings them upon ull's water about the middle part of it where it is seen to great advantage but here it muft be obferved that fome of the greateft beauties of the lake and fweetieft fcenes are entirely loft by this route dunmallet the greateft ornament of the lake with the whole of the firft great bend remain unfeen and much of the dignity of the lake is thereby deftroyed it is therefore better to ride on to the gate on the right that leads to dacre and over dacre common to the foot of dunmallet by this course every part of the lake will be viewed to the greatest advantage mr gray's choice of visiting this lake was from penrith up the vale of eamon a great autumnal day went to see ullswater five miles distant soon left keswick road and turned to the left through shady lanes along the vale of eamon which runs rapidly on near the way rippling over the stones to the right dalemane a large fabric of pale red ftone with nine windows in front and feven on the fide farther on hutton st john a caftle like old mansion of mr huddlestone's approached on mallet a fine pointed hill covered with wood began to mount the hill and with some toil gained the summit from hence saw the lake opening directly at my feet majestic in its calmness clear and smooth as a blue mirror with winding shores and low points of land covered with green enclosures white farm-houses looking out among the trees and cattle feeding the water is almoft everywhere bordered with cultivated lands gently floping upwards from a mile to a quarter of a mile in breadth till they reach the feet of the mountains which rife very rude and awful with their broken tops on either hand directly in front at better than three miles diftance place fell one of the bravest among them pufhes its bold broad breaft into the midft of the lake and forces it to alter its courfe forming firft a large bay to the left and then bending to the right descended dunmallet by a fide avenue only not perpendicular and came to barton bridge over the eamon then walk through a path in the wood round the bottom of the hill came forth where the eamon issues out of the lake and continued my way along the weftern fhore clofe to the water and generally on a level with it it is nine miles long and at wideft under a mile in breadth after extending itfelf three miles and a half in a line to the fouth weft it turns at the foot of place fell almoft due weft and is here not twice the breadth of the thames at london it is foon again interrupted by the route of helvellyn a lofty and very rugged mountain and fpreading again turns off to the fouth eaft and is loft among the deep refefles of hills to this fecond turning i purfued my way about four miles along its borders beyond a village fcattered among trees and called watermillock here mr gray leaves us and the greateft part of the lake unfeen and the moft picturesque parts undefcribed the laft bend of the lake is fpotted with rocky isles deeply indented with wooded promontories on one fide and rocks on the other antiquities before you quit the top of dun mallet obferve the veftiges of its former importance an area of one hundred and ten paces by thirty-seven furrounded with a fofs ftill vifible ftones of the rampart ftill peep through the grafs the well that fupplied the guard kept here was but lately filled up with ftones this fort muft have been of much confequence in guarding the lake and commanding the pafs and maintaining a connection between the garrifons of ambleside and brougham being five or fix miles diftant from the latter and nineteen from the former there are ftrong veftiges of a fquare fort on soolby fell which communicates with this and the camp at whitbarrow opposite to watermillock a cataract defcends the front of fwarth fell in martindale foreft at skilling nab a bold promontory the lake is contracted to a fpan but foon fpreads itfelf again both ways forming a variety of fweet bays and promontories after a reach of three miles it winds with a grand fweep round the fmoothieft breaft of place fell and making a turn directly fouth advances with equal breadth towards patterdale the weftern fhore is various drawing near the fecond bend the mountains ftrangely interceft each other behind many wooded hills rifes ftone crofs pike and over all fteep held vellen fhows his foverine head on the weftern fide yew crag a noble pile of rock fronts place fell where it weeps in a cataract to the lake gowbarrow park opens with a grand amphitheatre of fhining rock the floor of which is fpread with a foft green pafture once fhaded with ancient oaks to which many decayed roots bear witnefs fcattered thorns trees and bufhes vary the ground paftured with flocks herds of cattle and fallow-deer the road winds along the margin of the lake clear as a mirror at every turn renewing fcenes the fineft that can be imagined at the upper end of gowbarrow park the laft bend of the lake which is by much the fineft opens fcattered with fmall rocky iflands the fhors are bold rocky wooded and much embayed pafs newbridge the road winds up a fteep rock having the lake underneath you on the left from the top have a view under the trees both up and down the lake martindale fell a naked grey rock on the oppofite fhore rises abruptly from the water to an alpine height the effect is aftonifhing the rock you ftand upon hangs over the lake blue and unfathomable to the eye an island in the middle space has a beautiful effect this is the most romantic pleasing and terrible situation upon the lake especially if the wind blows the surges of the water against the rock below you the shores on both sides upward are very pleasing and the little decorating isles are scattered in the most exquisite taste and delightful order the ride along the banks since the repair of the road is charming the upper end terminates in fweet meadows furrounded on the right by towering rocky hills broken and wooded martindale fell is the oppofite boundary fkirted here with hanging inclofures cots and farms the principal feeders of the lake are grifedale beck on the weftern corner and goldrill beck which defcends from kirkfton fell they enter the lake in a freer manner than the feeder of derwent does and make a much finer appearance where they join the lake from the bridge in patterdale goldril beck serpentizes sweetly through the meadows and falls easily into the lake about the middle of the vale glen cairn beck descending from helvellyn joins the lake at airy bridge There is, from the top of the rock above the inn, a very charming view of the last bend of the lake, which constitutes one of the finest landscapes on it, and takes in just enough for a delightful picture.

On the other hand, it was off the tourist route 'cause it was at a dead end.

It wasn't somewhere you could drive like you can go up the side of Ullswater and up over Kirkstone Pass and go and visit Windermere and all those other lakes.

Mardale, it was a dead end.

They had to turn around and come back.

It's an amazing story really.

I think there's some interesting questions that arise from it.

I mean, one of the real curiosities, and you asked the question, Mark, was why is it that there was a national backlash against Manchester Corporation's development of Thirlmere? And there was a subsequent fight as well about Ullswater, and we featured that in a previous episode of this podcast.

Nothing really happened with Mardale.

It's fantastic.

Kendal, Ullswater, Windermere, all these

places.

I stayed up there once in a hotel, I think, for one weekend.