Copper Mines at Coniston

I suspect that the majority of people who visit the beautiful English Lake District in Cumbria think of it as a "natural" landscape. In reality, though, what we see now is the product of many centuries of interaction between the land and its human and livestock inhabitants.

One severely under-noticed factor is the impact of mining. All around the region there are the remains of mines. This is especially so in the Coniston area where in addition to slate quarrying there were at least four hundred years of copper mining.

Earlier this week, after a visit to the Mining Museum in Keswick I went back to something I wrote two years ago, edited it a little, and posted it on the Around-England blog: Coniston Coppermines.

Lost Railways of Cumbria

I'm just old enough to remember being able to catch a train from Ulverston to Coniston, or to Lakeside at the foot of Windermere. Having said that, however, I confess to some considerable surprise at discovering the extent of the railway network that surrounded the Lake District in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Lost Railways of Cumbria provides an excellent description of that past era in Cumbrian transport history. It will give hours of pleasure both to railway enthusiasts and to lovers of the Lakeland county.

A Lake District Walking Holiday Can Be WET

Visitors to the English Lake District need to be prepared for wet weather. Walks in the Lake District can be damp. It doesn't always rain, of course. Earlier this week I enjoyed a marvellous afternoon in the sun by Ullswater, and I once had the hottest holiday I can remember camping by the same lake. On the other hand I've known it to be very wet, and once blogged under the title, Four Seriously Damp But Totally Delightful Days Among The English Lakes.

If you're planning a Lake District walking holiday and wondering where you might walk if you happen to hit some damp days, take a look at this book:  "Lake District Wet Weather Walks" by Chris Mitchell.

My new site on Lake District Books

At the end of last week I launched a new site focusing on books about the Lake District. It starts off as a simple bookstore, with my selection of books and DVDs, and will grow steadily as I add blog posts to highlight individual titles and authors.

Take a look now at The Lake District In Books.

Brougham Castle, Penrith, Cumbria

Recently I've been visiting, photographing and writing about the castles owned by the 17th century Duchess of Pembroke, Lady Anne Clifford. Although Skipton Castle in West Yorkshire was her primary home, and today is still well-preserved, several of the others were in the Eden Valley in Cumbria just outside the Lake District boundary.

Pendragon Castle in Mallerstang, Brough Castle and Brougham Castle are all now in varying states of collapse and disrepair (although made safe for visitors) but in her day Lady Anne renovated them all. Appleby Castle is the best preserved of her major properties this part of the country.

Brougham Castle was her favourite, and it was there that she died (in her late 80s, a great age at that time). She was buried in Appleby church.

Several articles are on around-england.co.uk and in the meantime here is a picture of Brougham Castle by the River Eamont, a tributary of the Eden.

Dufton Pike in Late Evening Sun

A couple of days ago I posted on the Around-England blog a photo of Dufton Pike.   Tonight from the village of Brampton, near Appleby, using my phone because I had no camera with me, I took this photo of Dufton Pike against the backcloth of the North Pennines in the late evening sunlight.