Five Best Books About the Lake District
IT'S that time of year when you’re curled up with a good book and dreaming about holidays. So to get you into the mood, we’ve come up with our list of the five best books about the Lake District. Because this is where you’ll be coming on holiday, of course! It’s not been an easy task, to select just the five best books about the Lake District, because the choice is vast. So we have opted for one of the oldest books about the Lakes, one of the newest, one of the most famous guidebooks, a favourite children’s story, and a quirky pictorial guide. We hope you will tell us which are YOUR favourites.
The Illustrated Wordsworth’s Guide to the Lakes
1. The Illustrated Wordsworth’s Guide to the Lakes
When it was first published – anonymously – in 1810, the Guide to the Lake District by one of England’s best-loved poets, William Wordsworth, was the blockbuster of its time. It sold out almost immediately, and then went through five editions until the final one, published in 1835. During the poet’s lifetime, the Lake District was already established as a major tourist destination.
Wordsworth’s own concerns echo those we care about today: the impact on the environment, should lakes be dammed to make reservoirs, planting too many conifers without thinking about the impact on the landscape. And the proposed railway, which came to Windermere and which Wordsworth opposed because it might bring even more tourists. This is a beautifully-illustrated version, edited by Peter Bicknell, which first appeared some 30 years ago but is still in print today.
Sketching a Year in Lakeland
2. Sketching a Year in Lakeland
We reckon that this new, gloriously illustrated journal of an artist and writer’s year will win some awards this summer. Liz Wakelin lives in Ambleside, and her book is full of local colour. Not just the fells and the lakes, but the people, the shops, and especially the cafes. It’s a month by month account of her wanderings, the bike rides, the fell runs, and the innumerable pots of tea, all captured in pen, ink and watercolours.
Like us, Liz loves this landscape, and records both the sweeping mountain views and the tiny, intimate details of life here in the Lakes. Like the robin who came for crumbs of cake at the cafe at Rydal Hall, the flower petals of the wild garlic, the rhodendrons at Stagshaw Gardens, and the backpacks of a group of hikers heading up to the Fairfield Horseshoe. Every time we pick up this book, we see something new. It’s published by a local company, too, Inspired by Lakeland. It will surely go into your list of the five best books about the Lake District.
Wainwright's Eastern Fells
3. Wainwright's Eastern Fells
The Wainwright Guides to the Lakeland Fells cover seven volumes in all. Each one is a handy size that will fit in your rucksack, and each one has fascinating, illustrated detail that will bring to life every walk you ever do while visiting the Lakes. They need to be used alongside maps, of course, but they can be read on their own, especially after a wonderful holiday when the wit, and talent, of Alfred Wainwright will bring back many happy memories.
The very first of the books, published in 1955, is The Eastern Fells. And while we love them all (and we have copies here at Cedar Manor if you want to borrow one while staying with us) the book includes the most accessible of the Lakeland giants, Helvellyn. In fact, there are 26 pages dedicated to England’s third highest mountain, with a dizzying selection of routes to try, from both the east and the west sides of the mountain. You can get to the bottom of the climb by bus, right from our front gate, so you have no excuses now! The recent editions have been revised and updated by Chris Jesty, while retaining all of the original sketches and line drawings.
Swallows and Amazons
4. Swallows and Amazons
It’s astonishing to think that Arthur Ransome’s classic children’s adventure story, set on an island in a lake very like Windermere, was first published nearly 100 years ago. But it’s never gone out of fashion or out of favour. That’s because Ransome was such a master story-teller, who created great characters, and set them into the most wonderful landscape in the world. Too old for children’s stories? No, you’re not.
Ransome writes with wit and insight, so that his tales appeal to everyone from seven to seventy and beyond. His detail, about fishing and sailing and camping, has inspired generations of adventurers. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Swallows and Amazons film. That’s a scene from the film on the cover of the copy we found for you here. There will be celebrations in Lakes this summer. So remind yourself what an idyllic childhood feels like, and add this to your list of the five best books about the Lake District.
An Atlas of the English Lakes
5. An Atlas of the English Lakes
And here’s our quirky addition to the list of the five best books about the Lake District. It’s a volume of Pictorial Charts compiled from an exploration of the shorelines of the Lake District on foot and by canoe, by John Wilson Parker. The fabulous drawings are by the author, too, and it’s published locally by Cicerone.
It really is a unique atlas of detailed and definitive hand-drawn coloured charts portraying the 17 lakes that characterise our favourite national park. It includes more than 124 miles of shoreline for exploration by canoe or boat. And for ramblers, there’s more than 150 miles to trace on paths, tracks and minor roads. Many shoreline paths have been established in recent years.
Public transport and accommodation details are provided for each group of lakes, though as far as we know, the book hasn’t been updated since it was first published 20 years ago. Don’t worry about that; if you want to head out of any of the routes here, just ask us and we can give you the up to date information. The shorelines remain the same! And it’s a wonderful reminder of the Lakes for any visitor. You will easily find good quality used and second hand copies if you search the bookshops of the Lake District.
The Best Bookshops in the Lake District
And the best book shops
Here's our favourite bookshops in the Lakes, where you should be able to find these and many more wonderful titles:
Fred's Ambleside Bookshop 015394 33388
Sam Read Books, Grasmere 015394 35374
Verey Books, Pooley Bridge 01768486760
Bookends, Keswick 017687 75277
and for second hand and antiquarian books:
DaisyRoots, Grange over Sands 015395 38817