From Windermere to Sedgwick

May 23, 2023 / Leave a Comment

(Above: memories of Ambleside fresh in our minds, we returned home to the environs of Kendal)

We have just needed the Silent Eye’s ‘Water-Circle+Cross’ weekend, which took place a forty minute journey away, on the shores of Lake Windermere, England’s largest lake.

The weekend had gone well; better than expected, in fact, and I will be writing up each of the days over the next couple of weeks. Our friend, Dean, had been staying with us and was due to return to northern Scotland on Tuesday, so we had time to relax for a couple of days and enjoy the ‘glow’ of an event that had exceeded expectations, especially the fulsome May weather, bringing us bright sunshine for each of the three days.

(Lake Windermere from Gummer’s How – our final walk of the workshop)

On returning to the house from the final journey – to the Gummer’s How peak, overlooking Waterside (photo above) we took Tess the collie out for a circular walk around Sedgwick and along a section of the river Kent.

Local landscapes tend to feel ‘flat’ after such excitement, but the quality of the light in the village made the ninety minute dog-walk very pleasant. The richness of the abundant local Hawthorn blossom was everywhere, and brightened the photos even further.

(Abundant with Hawthorn blossom, the first of the bridges was as dramatic as any of the sights near Windermere)

The open fields give way to the local forest, and the redolent greens of May deepen in the shadows.

(Above – according to local folklore, the arching leaves of this tree produce a canopy for the fairy folk in the forest…)

The forest behind us, we switch paths and descend to the banks of the river, one of the collie’s favourite places.

(Above: the gorge of the Kent takes on new brightness in May)

And then it’s a climb across two large fields and a small lane to regain the level of the old canal and the second of our ‘bridges to nowhere’ – Bridge No. 178.

(The collie’s nose and one of the old iron gates of the former gunpowder estate)

(Above: Bridge 178, resplendent with Hawthorne blossom)

The final section is a level path along the old canal, which – though drained – is still visible. Here is a good place to photograph the early evening sky and admire its changing spectrum of colour.