...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 #44: Christmas past - A Wetheral wander
Countrystride #43: Shap & The Postman's Path
Countrystride #42: Cumbria on film
Countrystride #41: Harriet Martineau - The roving Laker
Countrystride #40: Bill Lloyd - Into the woods
Countrystride #39: Thirlmere - and the flooding of a valley
Countrystride #38: James Rebanks - English Pastoral
Countrystride #37: Hardwicke Rawnsley - Lakeland champion
Countrystride #36: A Walney Wander
Countrystride #35: The children's literature of Lakeland
Countrystride #34: Caring for the commons- A view from Newlands
Countrystride #33: A brief history of Cumbria
Countrystride #32: Lady Anne Clifford - First lady of Westmorland
Countrystride #31: Cumbrian folk music and the Back o'Skiddaw
Countrystride #30: Buttermere - Tales from the secret valley
Countrystride #29: Dorothy Wordsworth & women walking pioneers
Countrystride #28: Future farming – Six generations working the land
Countrystride #27: Bill Birkett - Lakeland legend in Langdale
Countrystride #26: Piers Gill - A winter's ascent with Mountain Rescue
Countrystride #25: Smugglers, bombs and Plague Dogs - A walk on Wetherlam
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