Canoe the View

Just off Rampsholme Island

Sunday 6th November saw us joining our Derwentwater Foreshore Project on a fantastic canoe trip round the islands on Derwentwater, we were accompanied by Jamie Lund ,National Trust archaeologist along with Karl and Paul from the Keswick Canoe Company who supplied our boats and equipment and didn't laugh too much at our clumsy paddling techniques!  ( I'm assured we got better as the day went on).

We set off from the foreshore, nine of us in five canoes and headed straight or as straight as we could manage for St Herbert's Island, the 7th century home of St Herbert. where Jamie showed us the site of the Chapel and told of how the island became a popular pilgrimage site in Medieval times.

Jamie entertaining us on St Herbert's Isle

From there we paddled on for a short stop just off Rampsholme , 'the isle of wild  garlic' the site of an ancient iron bloomery,a primitive iron smelting furnace,it was interesting to hear that the Wild Garlic which gives the island it's name is now becoming scarce due to large numbers of geese  grazing the island, I wonder is there a market  for  garlic infused goose?

Off we set again, a more dignified paddling style was developing by now, and  we were soon beaching the canoes on Lord's Island, once Jamie had explained the history and showed us some maps  it was fairly easy to imagine the manor house which stood on the island and  is believed to have been dismantled around the time of the English Civil War .

Sunset on Derwentwater

Our last island was the only inhabited one on the lake, Derwent island ,so landing was not possible.We allowed our canoes to drift slowly just off shore and whilst watching the sunset, heard all about the history of the island , it's use as a base for German miners in Elizabethan times and the exploits of Joseph Pocklington who bought the island around 1778 for £300 and set about building the house and many follies around the island including a porter’s lodge, a fort, a Gothic chapel-boathouse, as well as a standing stone and ‘druids circle’.

As darkness closed in we  paddled quietly back to the foreshore enjoying the  final stretch of a  wonderful couple of hours, I can't think of a finer way to spend a Sunday afternoon and look forward to next time.