Outfit used
1988 Ci Sprite Musketeer S 2003 Ford Focus Zetec TDdi
The weather may not be as fair as you would like and your feet are sore from walking the fells. Just for a day or two you want to swap robust exercise of the legs for a little diversion of the mind. It's time to explore some of the North Lakes' best cultural attractions, and take in some of the area's stunning scenery along the way.
As your car climbs the steep Dunmail Raise
– named after the fall of the last king of Cumbria – towards Keswick, it is easy to be distracted by the views in all directions and
I found myself stopping at various lay-bys
to take in the scene. Even though I've spent caravan holidays in the Lakes since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, I never tire of the
spectacle of the lakes and fells in the most beautiful corner of northern England.
Inevitably, it is those stunning stretches of water and the hills that draw millions of visitors to the Lake District every year, but look further and there is a wealth of cultural attractions to divert all ages. No yawning please, because culture doesn't mean old and dull; my first port of call is less than ten years old and is positively jam-packed with interest and entertainment.
The Theatre by the Lake in Keswick was opened on 14 December 1999 by none other than actors Dame Judi Dench and Michael Williams, and provides a purpose-built home to the arts on the shores of Derwentwater. It's a great location. I parked up in the pay and display car park, picked up an events leaflet in the theatre's foyer and walked down the hill to the water's edge where there are jetties surrounded by all manner of boats. On the day of my visit, the sun was shining, and countless people were there, soaking up the view. The theatre has some stiff competition from the stunning year-round show put on by Mother Nature, but inside it offers more than just
performances on stage.
The Theatre by the Lake is a magnet for anyone interested in the arts. Photographs and paintings fill the galleries, which are open throughout the day, and its programme of theatrical events, ranging from local talent to national stars, has helped to put Keswick on the cultural map.
I had already picnicked by the water's edge, but the café on the theatre's first floor offered additional refreshment and the chance to sit down and plan the rest of my day. I decided to leave the glitz of showbiz to see the largest pencil in the world – yes, really – which also has it's home in Keswick. Who would have thought that a small town in Cumbria would have the biggest pencil on the planet? But, sure enough, it does and it has the certificate from the Guinness World Record to prove it. For the statistically minded among you, the pencil measures 7.91 metres or 25 feet 11.5 inches – that's longer than my Sprite Musketeer.
Pencil production in Keswick has been around considerably longer than the Theatre by the Lake, with the first local pencil factory being established circa 1832. The production site is next door to the museum, although it is soon to relocate to a new purpose-built building some 20 miles away. However, the Pencil Museum, which is very much a landmark of the tourist trail, is staying put. I was greeted by the sight of a restored Morris van bearing the name of the pencil company. For a classic car buff like me it was reason enough to stop and take a photo before going in to discover the difference between my 2B and my HB.
There is more to pencils than meets the eye, starting from the earliest discoveries of graphite in nearby Borrowdale around the year 1500 to the factory today, which produces 60 million pencils in some 120 different shades. My visit coincided with a gaggle of school children giggling and quizzing the adults around them about the facts and figures of pencils. The young and young at heart can learn art techniques and follow a puzzle trail to test their knowledge on the pencils we use everyday. Old machines can be seen alongside modern displays, and the biggest giggle of all was to be had in the rather grandly named video theatre – in reality, a small dark room with three television sets – with a programme reminding us of the time when the USA spent a fortune on developing a pen that could work in outer space, while the Russians simply took, yes, you've guessed it, pencils!
Putting artistic materials to good use are the artists who, like me, have been drawn to the Lakes, and a favourite place for them to spend time is at the Heaton Cooper Studio. The studio is in Grasmere, south of Keswick, and displays many watercolour paintings by Alfred Heaton Cooper (1863-1929) and his son William Heaton Cooper (1903-1995), alongside work by present family members, in a small gallery overlooking the green in the town's centre.
Aside from the ever-changing watercolour exhibition, the gallery displays beautiful sculptures and ceramics. There is also an art shop to explore. It's an Aladdin's cave of artists materials, with no shortage of pencils. I found myself happily losing time in this small gallery, absorbing the colour, light and shade of some of the most simple, beautiful and accessible art forms in an equally accessible location.
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