Event Details

Christopher Donaldson and Ian Gregory explore some of the sensational stories and curious facts about early travellers in Cumberland and Westmorland from the period before the lakes became the Lakes.

Did you know that one of the first recorded climbs of Langdale Pikes was made by a disabled veteran? Or that it was once customary for fashionable ladies to ascend Skiddaw on side-saddle?

In this session we’ll explore some of the sensational stories and curious facts about early travellers in Cumberland and Westmorland from the period before the lakes became the Lakes. We’ll also spend some time considering how the accounts of early travellers map onto the terrain of the region. In the process we’ll reflect on how people’s perceptions of the fells changed with the passage of time.

We’ll also have the chance to think about the continuing relevance of the accounts of early travellers in the present day.