Monday, September 28th

We drove up to the North Lakes on stage one of the Wordsworth trail, and another house new to me.
Wordsworth Birthplace
Mummy and I went to Cockermouth years ago where we had 'won' a half-price break at a hotel there. No wonder the hotel had to promote itself in some way! It was terrible - the prawn cocktail and the roast chicken were the same temperature which was wrong for both (the menu probably tells you how long ago it was) and the grouting between the bathroom tiles and round the bath was black. We left after a single night and wended our way slowly south looking on our way for a B&B with vacancies - no easy task in the school summer holidays! We eventually found Mrs. Nelson at Townson Ground, East of Lake, Coniston whose establishment was everything the Cockermouth Hotel was not, and thus began my love affair with the Lakes.

I couldn't identify the terrible hotel on this visit (probably long since closed), and it struck me that the town was much perkier than it had been all those years ago - or maybe my whole view then was coloured by the hotel experience. Anyway I parked the car (not without difficulty) and we went to the Wordsworth Birthplace. As something of a connoisseur of museum education it seemed to me that someone had put a great deal of thought into interpretation and it was very easy to imagine the Wordsworth family at home there. The kitchen was particularly well done, and the young man (making a raised pastry rather slowly) had plenty to tell each of the visitors. Sadly, although all the food is real, they are not allowed to eat any of it because it is cooked in an 'unhygienic' kitchen over an open fire and 'health and safety' will not permit it. I see the point with pork or chicken which do not benefit from being kept for hours under unregulated conditions in a warm room, but surely there could be no danger from scones or seed cake?
Wordsworth House

After a snack lunch (at a pizza house which had run out of pizza dough so we had toasted sandwiches) we went on to Isel Hall. This house is only open for a few hours a week on Monday afternoons and I have never been in the right place at the right time before, so it was another first!
Isel (1)
The owner, Miss Mary Burkett, OBE, BA, FMA, FRGS, started by giving a talk about the history of the house sitting in a sheltered corner of the garden with views across to Skiddaw. As more people arrived she started over three times, but it was worth the delay. Then we were asked which three of us would like to go on the detailed history tour so I jumped at the chance, and it was indeed very detailed with a lady who knew her stuff and talked well and naturally about both the house's history and the artwork - especially the felt carpets and hangings (on which subject the owner is a world authority). Also on the tour was an American lady who is involved in writing a book about of pele towers, and we got to see a good deal of that part of the house and the subsequent alterations and additions. I could imagine the sort of remarks the presenters of several daytime house-hunting TV programmes would make about the heating and plumbing (especially after a visit to the definitely not designed for the public loo), but for a wonderfully eccentric and entertaining visit it was worth its weight in gold. I loved it.

Talking of eccentric - these carvings are dotted about the grounds; they are a pun on the name of the original family of Lawson - LAW (the sleeves of the lawyer's robe) SUN.
Isel
On the recommendation of the house's owner, we then went to see the Norman church, from which I took this view of the hall.
Isel (3)
The pink pele tower (a mistake, we are told, by the restoring architect) certainly stands out.

I took us back by a roundabout and scenic route through what I think of as 'Wild Lakeland': Joe is definitely anti any sort of foot exploration, even gentle strolls along lakes' edges, and drives on minor roads and passes are the best I can do. Not that I'm exactly into mountain walking myself, but I quite like the afore mentioned gentle strolls.