The picture below of St. Oswald’s Church, Grasmere, is new to me today. This morning I was looking around one of the sites that I sometimes promote as a source of wall posters when I spotted a set of etchings that I’d never previously noticed.

Grasmere Church, etching by David Law

David Law (1831-1902) was a nineteenth century Scottish engraver and watercolourist. In his youth he served an apprenticeship as a steel engraver and was for many years employed as a map engraver in the Ordnance Survey.  In mid-life he decided to focus on artistic work and by his early forties was a frequent exhibitor at major art exhibitions throughout the UK. He was often commissioned to produce etchings for leading British art publications.

Among David Law’s etchings were several beautiful Lake District landscapes, especially in the Grasmere and Rydal area.

Framed copies are available by clicking here or on the picture above. These are “restrike etchings”, that is additional impressions from etched plates which survived intact after the original edition was published, in this case more than a century ago. The prints are hand-coloured to create high quality collector’s items.

I was about to write another blog article about Coniston Water, but was browsing through some recent entries on other people’s blogs when I came cross a marvellous description of a weekend on the water from travel writer and photographer Lucinda Manouch. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to put a link to it here for others to see.

Yes, I’ll eventually get around to writing what I’d planned for today, but for now you can enjoy Lucinda’s stimulating description of days on the water and camping at Coniston – and she didn’t restrict herself to the lake itself but also ventured a little way down the Crake, the river that flows out of the southern end of the lake and carries its water to the sea.

Swallow and Amazons (Coniston Water) – LucindaManouch.com
“… As we made the 3 hour trip to Cumbria I was still trying to decide which lake to visit. Some I had paddled before, some where just too small and some seemed a little tricky to get to. Then I saw Coniston water on the map and memories of playing Swallows and Amazons on the river as a child came flooding back. …”

By the way, if you have never read Swallows and Amazons you can get a copy here from Amazon.co.uk (no pun intended in referring to this bookseller).

The Lake District has been getting quite a bit of TV publicity recently.  We’ve seen a presenter “swim-hiking”, a hotelier doing an overnight two-length swim in Windermere – that is, the full length of Windermere and back – and although I am not an addict myself I understand that even Coronation Street has been showing a honeymoon by the lake. All of this is on top of the weather reports and recovery from the recent flooding.

Here, however, is an item that I’ve not seen anywhere else apart from the National Park web site, an important meeting tomorrow, 20th January :

Lake District National Park – Bassenthwaite Reflections

A pioneering nature reserve will be the focus of a public meeting to forge future action plans for the special wetlands area. The Lake District’s first reserve of its kind at Dubwath Silver Meadows, near Bassenthwaite Lake, will come under discussion at a gathering on 20 January. People will be asked for ideas and help in safeguarding the future of the seven hectare site which is managed by a local farmer for wetland flora and fauna. Heritage Lottery Fund backed Bassenthwaite Reflections …..

On the artistic front there’s a new exhibition starting at Brantwood, Coniston.

New Exhibition at Brantwood Coniston

Coniston artist Joy Grindrod says, “This Saturday is the start of my latest exhibition “Peat Light”, held in the Severn Studio at Brantwood, Coniston. There will be new work showing, many are of local scenes and some Scottish landscapes. It will be showing until 7th March …”

Some Interesting Links – Recent Items on Other Sites

• Britain’s big freeze in pictures: Derwentwater in Lake District turns to ice (telegraph.co.uk)
• Country diary: Lake District (guardian.co.uk)
• Fell walker swept away by avalanche survives (guardian.co.uk)
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Usually when I recommend a Lake District book it’s one that I already own myself. I prefer to do this so that the blog does not degenerate into an undiscriminating commercialism.

Today, though, I’m making an exception. Although I’ve seen and admired Mark Denton’s The Lake District: The Panoramas on a number of occasions, for some unaccountable reason I’ve never actually bought a copy. However, I’ve seen this book of remarkably beautiful photographs praised so many times that I’m putting it up here anyway.

This would make a marvellous gift for a friend or family member who loves the English Lake District, or even to introduce someone for the first time to this wonderful part of the country.

There’s no doubting that Mark Denton is an outstanding landscape photographer. He has worked not only on rural but also on city landscapes including books on Edinburgh and London.  You might also like to take a look at his Yorkshire volumes: Yorkshire Moors & Wolds and The Yorkshire Coast.

When I launched this blog just over eighteen months ago my plan was to start with the Lake District. I was also at the time developing a ‘non-blog’ site about the Lake District so that made logical sense, quite apart from the fact that along with Lancashire it’s the part of the country with which I have the closest personal connections.  Another piece of the plan right from the beginning, however, was to spread out more widely into the rest of England.

That time has now come. Although there have been occasional posts about other areas you should now begin to see a steady broadening. We’ll look at places in Lancashire and Yorkshire, with initially an emphasis on East Lancashire and West Yorkshire – the Pennine country.  From time to time we’ll look at my current home county of Nottinghamshire and cross the Trent at Newark Castle to explore parts of Lincolnshire. Places in Cheshire will get an occasional visit, and of course we’ll not forget those areas of Cumbria outside the National Park such as the Furness Peninsula.

This does not mean that the rest of the country will be completely ignored, but I don’t want to be overambitious. Let’s take the extension a stage at a time.  The North-East will get some attention, but anything comprehensive will have to come later.

In addition to expanded geographical coverage there will be a greater variety of posts. The descriptive articles will continue, as will occasional travel diary entries. There will be more items about books, and especially those that we have found unusually interesting, and not only new books but also older volumes now available only on the secondhand market.

We’ll link to newspaper sites when there are particularly interesting things happening, and also to official bodies such as the tourism agencies and national park authorities. The site has to pay its way, so there will be commercial components as well. For example, our own hotel booking service will continue to be available through the site, under the banner, Hotels.InBritain.biz; as its name implies this will extend beyond England to the whole of Britain – and actually far beyond our own islands.

To support all of this we’ll shortly be changing the layout and will be introducing a new indexing system to help people find their way around. During 2010 our target is to become one of the most popular sources of information about places to visit in our wonderful country, especially the northern counties.

So, watch this space.

Searching through old photos today I came across the following picture of Gondola by a jetty on Coniston Water. It was taken on a cloudy day more than twenty years ago, and is not the world’s best photography, but I think it captures something of the atmosphere of Coniston on many days of the year – cloudy and not so bright – all part of the fascination of the Lake District.

The Ruskin Museum has developed considerably over the years that I have known it. Nowadays it covers a wide range of local themes and deals extensively with the lives of two great men, from very different spheres of activity, associated with Coniston in the English Lake District.

John Ruskin, the eminent nineteenth century literary and artistic figure, lived for many years at Brantwood across Coniston Water from the village. Ruskin was extremely influential in his support of traditional craft industries. He is strongly associated with the small lace industry of the area, which is one of the museum’s themes. John Ruskin died in 1900 and is buried in the village churchyard (I put photographs of the Ruskin monument in an earlier post).

Donald Campbell was very different. He was a mid-twentieth century speed enthusiast, breaking world records many times both on land and water. Coniston was host to many of his water-speed record attempts, and it was here that he died when his boat Bluebird II somersalted at high speed. He is buried in the new area of the village graveyard.

The achievements of both men are extensively portrayed in the Ruskin Museum, tucked in behind the buildings of Yewdale Road. Other major themes are the ancient local industries of copper mining and slate quarrying, as well as the distinctive stone walls of the Lake District field and fells.

During summer months the Ruskin Museum is open from 10:00am to 5:30pm, but in the winter may have shorter hours so do check before travelling far.

When I first heard of the plan to broadcast this series of programmes on life in the English Lake District I did a search and the first thing that came up on Google was a page on the ITV.com website about a drama series called The Lakes, from the late 1990s.

It didn’t seem very appealing, especially if it was to be a re-run. But was it to be a new series on the same theme? After all, the last series was quite a success, capturing Bafta nominations and critical congratulation. So I thought I’d better do a search on the ITV.com website itself. Ah! That’s better! Not drama – at least, not fictional drama.

Starting with Episode 1 of The Lakes we’ll be seeing pictures of the lives of many people living and working in the Lake District during a busy summer season. I’m looking forward to January 4th, 8:00pm, ITV1.

In several earlier posts I have referred to Beatrix Potter, her association with the Lake District and her home at Hill Top Farm which is now in the care of the National Trust. In an earlier post about the day last year on which my wife and I found both of the National Trust’s Beatrix Potter locations closed I blogged about their incomprehensible policy of of having both the house at Hill Top and the Beatrix Potter Gallery in Hawkshead simultaneously closed every Friday.

However, not far away on the other side of Windermere, in Bowness, is The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction – open every day of the week, which especially for children who’ve been disappointed at Hill Top and Hawkshead is especially important on Fridays.

This Beatrix Potter attraction in Bowness-on-Windermere is the only one in the UK licensed by Peter Rabbit’s publishers. It is open almost all around the year, closing only on Christmas Day and for part of January. (Check their web site for the latest information on opening dates and times).

All 23 of the tales of Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddleduck, Squirrel Nutkin and the other animal friends are brought realistically to life indoors, even with the smells of the country farmyard.

In the “The Miss Potter Room” there is an introduction to the life of Beatrix Potter, both as Miss Potter and as Mrs Heelis with fascinating exhibits and films. You can also buy Peter Rabbit gifts and collectibles in the shop, and enjoy some good food in the Tailor of Gloucester tea room.

Special Beatrix Potter events are organised throughout the year, including Peter Rabbit Tea Parties (for which you are advised to book in advance).  As this item is posted in December 2009 the attraction’s website already has listed many events for 2010.

Recently I’ve posted several articles here with reference to Coniston. They’ve included one on visiting Coniston in the winter, another linking to our lake district site about the Coniston Coppermines, and yet another with photos of the John Ruskin monument in Coniston churchyard.

I was reminded again of Coniston yesterday when I picked up my copy of Practical Photography for January 2010. Out of the packet fell a 40+ page guide to landscape photography – “Landscape Answers”. Toward the end of the booklet is a section entitled, “Where can I shoot an iconic landscape?” Among the nine suggested locations is Coniston Water.

Absolutely right. A good choice. I can’t wait to get back there in a few weeks’ time. After all I must introduce my new camera to the Lake District at the earliest possible opportunity