A terror of the dark when I was four Brought crawling creatures all around my bed; I’d lie awake, await the tiger’s tread, Smell spiders crammed behind the wardrobe door. Read more
Judith Wilshaw remembers a time when it was so cold that Windermere froze over so completely that skaters and cyclists traversed the lake and an ice yacht appeared. Read more
A poem kindly submitted by Barbara Colley...'We came to Cumbria in 1980, joined Friends of the Lake District and both of us admired all the work you and all the volunteers undertake. Read more
I'm from Texas, living temporarily in Newcastle upon Tyne, and I had the pleasure of camping out with my son near Lake Windermere. I was inspired by the view in the evening across the lake from Low Wray and I wrote this poem afterwards. Read more
Eleanor Broaders' ode to social media sensation, Kerry Irving, who posts videos of his dog walks in the Lakes every day. Read more
Andy Jones remembers a childhood in Caldbeck and the Eden valley and younger days in Mungrisdale. Read more
Eileen Stonebridge recalls many happy and educational visits to the Lakes over the years, including being a tour guide, and starring in a documentary by David and Jonathan Dimbleby! Read more
My father is a member and fell in love with the Lake District in 1940 at The Great Tower Scout Camp. He is now 91 and lives with my mum in deepest Oxfordshire but we miss the Lakes terribly. I was looking through some old photos and wrote this Ode to Lakeland. Read more
My name is Liane Belas, I live in Ingelheim in Germany and since I’m retired I write short stories and stories for children. Whilst working in Keswick, I fell in love with the Lake District. I do hope you like my poem Read more
Leonard was an influential pioneer of the outdoors and a conservationist. A founder member of Friends of the Lake District, he was also heavily involved in the foundation of the YHA, Ramblers or the CHA and HF as well as a prime mover in the national park movement. Read more
Strong, and with a wonderful temperament, fell ponies are a distinct and much-loved breed with a rich history; a hardy inhabitant of the Cumbrian fells for centuries and a vital resource for farmers, traders and miners. Read more
Sweet smells the morning air, As cool deep draughts are drawn, While yet the rolling mists, To ghostlike fellsides cling... Read more
Wan sunlight filters through The morning mist, But barely warms the chilsome air; Read more
Behind and above the Museum at William Wordsworth’s Grasmere home Dove Cottage we find the celebrated, and perhaps infamous, Rock of Names. Read more
In a talk given at Dove Cottage in Grasmere, Ian Brodie explored the origins of the term and our modern interpretation of what is understood by ‘natural beauty’. Read more