Wednesday 1 August 2012

The Nab at Rydal and Rydal Hall


Yesterday (Tuesday 31st July 2012).

Went up to Grasmere for the day and decided to have a walk back via Dove Cottage and over the Coffin route to Rydal. After passing the "Skater's Tarn or Wordsworth Tarn", a little further on decided to take a photo of Rydal Lake, and within the photo (above) you can also see to the right hand side the top of "Nab Cottage", earlier home to Thomas de Quincey good friend of William Wordsworth and essayist who wrote "Confessions Of An English Opium-Eater (1821). He later resided at "Dove Cottage" and also held the post of Editor to the "Westmorland Gazette". Also "Nab Cottage" was to later be the home of another romantic poet "Hartley Coleridge", the son of William's friend Samuel Taylor Colleridge. Hartley died in 1849 whilst at Nab Cottage with William Wordsworth at his side.

I also took photos of Rydal Mount (Wordsworth's later home), and also Rydal Hall (the former home of the "Le Fleming" family, and also a photo of it's fabulous "Mawson (designed) Gardens". Also I could not resist taking another photo of the "The Grot and the Waterfall" which has over the years been a "great inspiration" to many a famous artist.." Also the beautiful "Angel Stone" on display.

Later leaving the hall, followed the road down to the bottom and going passed the fabulous little church on the right hand side were "Wordsworth" attended each Sunday. Within this Church the front left hand pew has a "dedication - saying that this is the pew that William Wordsworth used".

We then crossed over the main road and took the back road alongside the river towards Ambleside noticing on the way a pair of deer, with the doe and buck resting up, and reasonably well camouflaged.