William Wordsworth spent most of his life in the English Lake District. The houses he lived in can be visited in Cockermouth, Grasmere and Rydal Mount (between Ambleside and Grasmere). The scenery of the Lake District inspired much of William Wordsworth's poetry. These two Wordsworth Walks visit sites of significance to William Wordsworth which are missed by many of the visitors to the Lake District.
Wordsworth Walk 1, Loughrigg Tarn
Loughrigg Tarn is south of Grasmere and west of Ambleside. It is best approached by taking A593 Coniston road from Ambleside and at the junction with the B5342 to Langdale turning right onto a minor road which in less than a mile reaches Loughrigg Tarn.
The walk around Loughrigg one is a pleasant one, less than a mile in length and with very little height gain. It is a hidden gem of the Lake District.
Wordsworth used to enjoy walking here and comparing the tarn to Lake Nemi the mirror of the Goddess Diana in the Alban Hills of Rome he wrote
"..And soon approach Diana's Looking-glass!
To Loughrigg-tarn, round clear and bright as heaven,
Such name Italian fancy would have given,
.....when an opening in the road
Stopped me at once by charm of what it showed,
The encircling region vividly exprest
Within the mirror's depth, a world at rest"
Wordsworth Walk 2, The Brothers Parting Stone Grisedale Tarn
A more strenuous walk, the route to the Brothers Parting Stone will take the walker into the high fells of the Lake District and will take the best part of a day to complete.
The weather in the Lake District can change quickly and anyone setting out to visit the Brother's Parting Stone should be adequately experienced and prepared for a day in the hills.
The route commences from the A591 a little North of Grasmere near to the Travelers' Rest Pub. The walker will then follow the Little Tongue Gill for approximately 2 miles and 1,500 feet of ascent before descending to Grisedale Tarn. A little beyond the outlet from Grisedale Tarn will be found the Brothers Parting Stone which marks the place at which on September 29th 1800 William Wordsworth saw his brother John for the final time.
John Wordsworth was a commander on the East India ship the "Earl of Abergavenny" which sank off Portland on the 5th Feb 1805 claiming the life of John Wordsworth and around 300 others.
William's poem was carved into the rock in the 1880s.
'Here did we stop; and here looked round
While each into himself descends,
For that last thought of parting Friends
That is not to be found.
Brother and friend, if verse of mine
Have power to make thy virtues known,
Here let a monumental Stone
Stand–sacred as a Shrine
William Wordsworth in the English Lake District
Further information about William Wordsworth and the sites associated with him in the Lakes District Reference: Some factual aspects of this piece have been taken from A Wordsworth Anthology, H Davies Collins 1974
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