Day 23: Keswick Museum and snow on the Fells

As predicted, it snowed overnight. The town was simply very wet when I woke this morning, but the Fells were covered with a much heavier blanket of snow.

In between the rain there were squalls of sleet. I tried unsuccessfully to capture them on camera. In the end I made a little video. I hope it works in the blog. 

Alf went out on a reconnaiscence mission and, at 1.0 pm we set off to walk to the Keswick Museum. The River Greta was running very high.

To our disappointment, the complete set of lion's teeth mentioned in Sue's guide book were nowhere on display at the Museum. The attendants had no knowledge of the teeth. The Museum, however, had quite a lot else of interest. 

 A major attraction is the Keswick Musical Stones, lithophone or rock band. Unlike the one we saw in Coniston, visitors were encouraged to try it out.


It really was an amazing piece of work. The local examples are all from hornfels - a layer of sediment formed only on Skiddaw slate compressed on top of granite in geological movement some 399 million years ago. They are hard to find, and need to be of particular size and thickness to get the sound required.





This one was built by the Richardson family in the early 19th century and played for Queen Victoria in 1848.

It is displayed below a splendid case of a taxidermied bird of prey and its catch.

The earliest reference to the musical stones was in the late 18th century when Peter Crosthwaite, a local collector and eccentric, found six stones and spent six months collecting 5 more. This original set is also on display at the museum.











There are quite good collections of birds eggs, butterflies, insects, moths, stone implements and minerals.

There is also a cabinet of Robert Southey memorabilia, including a pair of his shoes. These are collectable because of Southey's poem Reflections on an old pair of shoes. which begins:
Thin and worn out! alas, my poor old Shoes!
My old companions! fellow-travellers
In many an up-hill, down-hill, dirty road!
Gone past all patching! gone beyond the reach
Of cobler, shoe apothecary's skill,
Or graduate master of the gentle craft.

A small room of the Museum is given over to the British mountaineer Joe Tasker who disappeared on Everest in 1982.

I was interested in his favourite books, which included T.S. Eliot's Selected Poems.













A macrame hanging by Betty Tasker pays tribute to the Everest climb.




The display includes an artificial rock, strung with a rope and cards. Visitors can open the cards and research the answers. Quite a good exercise for visiting school children.


 I was less impressed by the snow-suit draped over a non-functioning heater, representing, presumably, Tasker's body in the snow.

There is a magnificent pennyfarthing hanging from the ceiling.

 and a display of spinning wheels rather too high to examine.











A carved  wooden box invites you to open with care and prepare for a surprise.

Inside was a mummified cat.












There was also an item of Ruskin lace.








The current special exhibition at the Museum is a tribute to George and Ashley Abrahams, pioneering climbers and photographers of climbing from 1890. The exhibition features some of their photographs and some contemporary ones by Henry Iddon of 2016 climbers, using the same camera.historical photographs of Keswick. Some are fantastic, including a collection of climbing photos.

I photographed only a couple with reflections and angles that should guarantee they are not reproducible.




















I really loved this photograph of a Fellsman carrying his sheep.

The exhibition is well worth a look if you are in the vicinity.

We paid our own tribute to the Abrahams brothers by taking advantage of the photo opportunity presented by the exhibition. Christine and Eddie really missed out on a photo opportunity

From the Museum we walked back into Lake Street to the Skiddaw Hotel for a 3pm lunch. It is very pleasant sitting in their atrium watching the passing parade of people rugged up in wet weather gear.













Back at the apartment the rain continues and the Fells come into view and recede. There is still a fair covering of snow but it is gradually being washed away.






The forecast for tomorrow has been amended from rain to the sun appearing from behind the clouds and a maximum of 8C for our last day in the Lakes District.

Day 22: Beatrix Potter and Ullswater

It did indeed snow overnight. While there was no snow in the streets of Keswick, there was a good covering on the Fells.

By 9am the air was really clear and we decided to proceed with our excursion to Beatrix Potter's home and the Beatrix Potter Gallery. We picked Christine and Eddie up from their B&B at 10 and headed off to Hawkshead and the Beatrix Potter Gallery.

Hawkshead is dominated by the church - and lower down, in the lanes and squares, by 'authorised' Beatrix Potter merchandise.

 Inside the Gallery, on the ground floor, was an excellent interactive display that I spent some time viewing. It told the story of Beatrix Potter's life as well as exploring her collections of shells, butterflies, moths and dragonflies.

Upstairs was a display and collection of her paintings, drawings and other objects. I decided not to go up the steep, narrow staircase. 

While we stopped for tea and  coffee it hailed - covering the table outside the window of the teashop.










By the time we had travelled the two and a half miles to Hill Top, Beatrix Potter's house at Near Sawrey, the sun was out and the air clear.










The ground, however, remained pretty wet underfoot.

The part of the house open to the public is the section that she used as a studio. She apparently largely lived in the gabled extension  she built for that purpose.














I really liked the part of the house that is open to the public. It is surprisingly uncluttered. It is furnished with really beautiful single pieces of solid wooden furniture. It includes three spinning wheels of different kinds.

This room upstairs contains four enormous painting by her brother, Bertram












 and a few lovely pieces like this vase.

 Her four-poster bed has a pelmet and matching curtains that she embroidered herself.

















There are samplers that she seems to have collected, rather than worked.

I did not ask the attendant whether this triptych of ducks embroidered  (as far as I could tell) in silk, were stitched by Beatriz Potter herself.

She was, apparently, an accomplished needle-woman and was working on this needlepoint piece at the time of her death..

There are many revealing quotes throughout the house.












Her doll's house also provides insights into her imagination and creativity.

It was lovely to peek through the windows at life inside.


I had a quick look in the vegetable garden, which surely bore the stamp of Farmer McGregor.









I came away with the sense of a very complex, interesting and sophisticated woman.



While Christine, Eddie and I visited the house, Sue and Alf went for a walk. We had arranged to meet up at the Tower Bank Arms Pub for lunch.


However,  food at the Tower Bank proved to be rationed, and they had no more to serve when we arrived. We therefore waited out a bit more sleet and a flurry of snow before moving on.









We took the car ferry across to Windermere,

through Troutbeck
























and on to Kirkstone Pass, where we finally stopped for a very late lunch at the Kirkstone Pass Inn.

This was a welcome stop. We were by now quite hungry, it was starting to snow and the hostelry was warm and friendly.

By the time we came out, it had stopped snowing,  The view down the pass towards Windermere was still grey and misty, but in the other direction, towards Ullswater, was far more promising.





























There was still snow on the ground as well as the hills.








It was a truly lovely drive down to and around Ullswater. We were a triffle squished with 5 of us in the car. It was ccomfortable, but not conducive to taking photos. These were taken through the windscreen from the back seat. No amount of editing currently available to me removes the rear-vision mirror!

Back in Keswick we had a brief rest, watched the sunset and met up again in our favourite corner of the Pack Horse for a farewell celebration. I had coffee and ice-cream.






t

Christine and Eddie head home tomorrow. We have had a wonderful time together - so easy, and a lot of laughs. How lucky and blessed are we to be connected and able to get together.

The forecast for tomorrow is for snow all day. God speed and safe travel to Christine and Eddie. Sue, Alf and I plan on visiting the Keswick Museum.