...in which we are joined by Kendal-based author and Windermere Lake Cruises skipper Robert Beale to dive into the deep history of boating on England largest lake. Rambling along the fine new path from Lakeside to Finsthwaite, we look back to Roman times and beyond to hypothesise about the first lake users. Moving into the medieval era, we consider the importance of Windermere to the monks of Furness Abbey, and the subsequent use of cargo boats to transport everything from slate and charcoal to limestone and gunpowder. Arriving in the tourist age, we reflect on the remarkable monopoly of the Furness Railway Company, with trains and boats ferrying huge numbers of people on lengthy Lakeland adventures. As we backtrack to historic fords and the River Leven 'dog hole', we learn about the role Windermere played during the two World Wars, before turning to matters more frivolous: the Tizzie-Whizie, the Crier of Claife and the possible genesis of Beatrix Potter's creative world.
Robert's book Lakeland Waterways is now out of print, but you may find it at second hand shops.
You can find Windermere Lake Cruises at windermere-lakecruises.co.uk
For more about the route we followed, see lakedistrict.gov.uk/aboutus/media-centre/latest-news/news-releases/new-route-makes-it-easier-to-enjoy-the-scenic-west-shore-of-windermere
Countrystride #65: The passionate sisterhood - Sisters and wives of the Lake Poets
Countrystride #64: Joss Naylor
Countrystride #63: Danny Teasdale - Ullswater after the storm
Countrystride #62: GRANGE-OVER-SANDS & Hampsfell
Countrystride #61: Norman Nicholson - Son of Millom
Countrystride #60: Wad - The wealth of Borrowdale
Countrystride #59: Rural visionary - John Dunning in the Westmorland Dales
Countrystride #58: Swaledale - Meadows & mines
Countrystride #57: Helvellyn
Countrystride #56: Life in the woods - Working the Rusland rainforests
Countrystride 55: Threlkeld - A story of stone & steam
Countrystride #54: Damsons of the Lyth Valley
Countrystride #53: The lost history of hill farming
Countrystride #52: Cumbria Way with Paddy Dillon
Countrystride #51: Skiddaw House - Loneliest house in England
Countrystride #50: The young people of Cumbria
Countrystride #49: Wainwright on Haystacks - An anniversary retrospective
Countrystride #48: Hadrian's Wall
Countrystride #47: Lakeland pilgrims
Countrystride #46: Cumbria in a campervan
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