What's On in Wordsworth Country

What’s On in Wordsworth Country APRIL – SEPTEMBER 2017

Talks, walks and activities this summer at Dove Cottage & the Wordsworth Museum

www.wordsworth.org.uk

Welcome Love of nature and love of humankind – a central idea through Wordsworth’s writing. One can lead to the other, being as they are, all part of the greater whole. In this programme we explore ways of coming closer to the natural world and to each other: from walking in the footsteps of the poets to sharing a Wordsworthian meal with friends in Dove Cottage.

We have planned talks, readings and workshops on a variety of topics related to our theme, as well as plenty of outdoor activities to take advantage of the light summer days. We hope that you will feel inspired to join us and take part, for ‘In this moment there is life and food for future years’ (‘Tintern Abbey’).

Exhibitions Our main exhibition theme continues to be ‘Wordsworth Country’, the story of how the lives and writings of the Wordsworths became synonymous with the lakes, mountains and waterfalls of the Lake District. Our exhibition reveals their links through guide books, maps and illustrations from 1800 onwards.

In addition we shall have a programme of shorter exhibitions touching on a range of themes, curated by different individuals and groups. These displays change quickly and often – our website is the best place to find out what is on and when.

Saturday Talks An impressive range of topics will be discussed in our popular Saturday talk series this season, starting with a trio of talks about Wordsworth and gardens in April and ending with an afternoon dedicated to the political connections of the Romantic poets.

2

We also celebrate the 200th anniversary of Coleridge’s Biographia Literaria, consider the effects of weather on Romantic writings, and learn more about the creative impact of walking and observing the world around us.

Dove Cottage Events An extra-special experience of Dove Cottage awaits at a number of events designed to help you get to know the house and garden better. Keen gardeners are sure to enjoy guided tours of the garden with our Head Gardener Sally, who has looked after the garden for many years. Join us after hours for a unique Museums at Night event where we will dine in Dove Cottage just as the Wordsworth family did when it was their home over 200 years ago.

To book please visit www.wordsworth.org.uk

Workshops To William and Dorothy Wordsworth, Dove Cottage and garden was a place of peace, tranquillity and freedom, where they could quietly contemplate their lives and their writing. Inspired by them, and the desire to find a moment of peace of our own in an increasingly busy world, we will be running mindfulness and tai chi workshops in the garden through the summer. Take some time to relax and reconnect with nature by joining us.

Walks In partnership with the Lake District National Park Authority, we are again offering a series of walks inspired by Wordsworth and his poems. There are three locations – Ullswater, Hawkshead, and Grasmere – and ten walks between March and September.

or call 015394 35544

All are led by experienced and friendly LDNP volunteers, with guidance and literary information from the Wordsworth Trust. There is no need to book and they are free to join, though boat fares and parking charges will apply.

Poetry Events We are also pleased to present several contemporary poetry readings this summer which focus on bringing you the best new voices of today in partnership with The Poetry Business.

We also look forward to a series of workshops exploring the relationship between words and music through poetry set to music.

3

FAMILIES Wordsworth Wednesdays at Brockhole

There is fun for all the family at Dove Cottage this summer, with events and activities for all ages and interests. There are three regular events which take place throughout the season:

Our Education team are taking their exciting and informative workshops to Brockhole, the Lake District National Park Visitor Centre, every Wednesday in the school holidays. There will be three sessions:

Terrific Treks In these guided walks, we explore the area around Dove Cottage and visit places the Wordsworth family knew and wrote about. We talk, draw and write about what we can see on our walk in our journals, especially the plants and wildlife and the dramatic landscape of the Lake District. Ideal for families with children aged 12 and under who like to be active. Please dress sensibly in appropriate clothing and footwear.

Family Fun On Thursday afternoons in the school holidays we explore life in Dove Cottage and the Lake District in Wordsworth’s time through creative art and crafts activities. This summer you can have a go at a wide variety of things, from making paper flowers to learning how to make a rag rug to constructing your own Dove Cottage from papier-mâche. These events are suitable for children aged 3+ with their families.

Rucksack of Rhymes 11.00am – 12.00pm In Rucksack of Rhymes we explore a short poem by Wordsworth, and a theme such as nature or wildlife, with a rucksack full of toys and games for children aged 6 months to 5 years to play with. We sing songs and rhymes and tell stories for 30 minutes, then play for another 30 minutes.

A 30 minute introductory talk for all ages highlighting special places in the Lakes through beautiful images and poems and showing what it would have been like for the Romantics 200 years ago.

Family Fun with Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum 2.00 – 3.00pm An interactive hour of craft activities, object handling and stories about the life and work of Wordsworth and the landscape of the Lake District. For children aged 3 and over.

See diary for dates and times.

4

Explore the Lake District with Wordsworth 12.30 – 1.00pm

To book please visit www.wordsworth.org.uk

or call 015394 35544

5

OUT & ABOUT IN CUMBRIA

DIARY

Sunday 9 April, 2.00 – 4.30pm Making the world go round: an exploration of passions, pains and poetry

In the Moment These regular sessions combine art and literature in innovative and engaging ways for people living with memory problems and their families and friends.

Local artists help and support the group in creating beautiful artwork in a fun, relaxing setting. The wonderful work produced has been displayed at museums, libraries and events around Cumbria.

A series of workshops with Lucy Crispin 4. Soul and spirit

Wordsworth Goes West

In addition to all the events we hold at Dove Cottage, we have a dedicated Community Outreach team offering activities and workshops across Cumbria: What are Words Worth?

Our small, friendly reading groups for people living with dementia, their friends and families, and anyone who enjoys poetry, tea, cake and conversation. The groups meet regularly in cafés and community halls around the county. Why not join us in Keswick, on the Solway and the Northern Fells, in Windermere or Kendal?

Come along for an evening of poetry, conversation and maybe even some live music as Wordsworth takes to the road. Bring along your favourite poems to share or simply enjoy hearing others read aloud. You’re also welcome to read your own poems. It is very friendly, good fun and not a bit scary! Please check our website for dates and locations.

Talks, Visits and Pop-up Poetry If you belong to a community group or society that would welcome a talk about the Wordsworths, or an event coming up which could do with a splash of poetry, we’d be delighted to join you. We also visit day centres, sheltered housing and retirement homes – wherever there are people who enjoy listening to, talking about or writing poetry. We can also arrange for groups to come and visit us at Dove Cottage.

APRIL

Wednesday 5 April, 11.00am Meet the Gardener A guided tour of Dove Cottage Garden with Sally Hall, Head Gardener Dove Cottage Garden, ‘the loveliest spot that man hath ever found’, was a tranquil, semi-wild space for William and Dorothy to meditate, read and compose some of their most famous works. Head Gardener Sally Hall, who has cared for the garden for nine years, will give an extra-special insight into the garden as it was then and is today.

The last of four sessions in a series exploring what we can learn from the literature of love. In public poetry and private letters, Wordsworth wrote about all sorts of loves and he had a deep conviction that poetry could help us live. Exploring his writing, alongside a wide range of poetry written across five centuries, this workshop will offer a space to reflect on what, and who, we love, and on how that is expressed in our words and our lives. All are welcome at this friendly and relaxed workshop, which will be facilitated

by Lucy Crispin. Copies of all texts discussed will be provided.

Foyle Room, £15

Dove Cottage Garden, free with admission

To find out more contact Susan Allen at enquiries@wordsworth.org.uk or 015394 35544.

6

To book please visit www.wordsworth.org.uk

7

DIARY

APRIL

Saturday 15 April, 9.40am A Host of Golden Daffodils A walk organised and led by the Lake District National Park

Fun for all the family at the Lake District Visitor Centre. See our ‘Families’ page for information.

It was while walking by Ullswater on 15 April 1802 that William and Dorothy Wordsworth first saw the daffodils which inspired his most famous poem.

Follow in their footsteps and see the daffodils for yourself, over 200 years later. Take the steamer from Glenridding to the legendary Aira Force waterfall, visit the site of the golden daffodils and return along the lake shore. This walk is graded easy and is 3.7 miles (6km), which should take approximately 4 hours. You are advised to wear appropriate footwear and bring a packed lunch. Dogs are welcome.

Brockhole, free with admission – parking charges apply

Ullswater Information Centre, Glenridding Free - boat fare and parking charges apply

Tuesday 11 April, 2.00 – 3.00pm Terrific Trek on Tuesday See our ‘Families’ page for information.

Meet outside the shop, free with admission Wednesday 12 April, 11.00am – 3.00pm Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole

Saturday 15 April, 9.00am A Fair Trade Walk

Thursday 13 April, 2.00 – 4.00pm Family Fun: Celebration Time

A walk organised by The Fig Tree, Garstang

Help us to celebrate William’s birthday and the arrival of spring in our creative craft session by making springtime birds, bugs and animals. Also find out what William’s favourite flower was and create a springtime collage. Activities for children age 3+.

This walk will develop a new branch of the original Fair Trade Way from Garstang to Keswick by tracing the route taken by slave trade abolitionist Thomas Clarkson from his home at Eusemere Lodge, near Pooley Bridge, when visiting his friend William Wordsworth at Dove Cottage. It will pass by the site of the daffodils that inspired ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ exactly 215 years to the day since William and Dorothy first saw them as they walked back from visiting Clarkson.

Foyle Room, free with admission

8

To book please visit www.wordsworth.org.uk

This walk is 16.5 miles long, starting at Heughscaur Close, Pooley Bridge, at 9.00am and finishing at Dove Cottage, Grasmere, at approximately 5.00pm.

There will be a special reception at Dove Cottage on arrival to celebrate the completion of the walk and the anniversary of an important date in Wordsworth’s history.

Heughscaur Close Car Park, Pooley Bridge, CA10 2NE, free Please contact the walk leader Bruce Crowther on brucecrowther300@gmail.com if you are interested in taking part

9

DIARY

APRIL

Tuesday 18 April, 2.00 – 3.00pm Terrific Trek on Tuesday

Saturday 22 April, 2.00 – 5.00pm ‘Of glory in the flower’

See our ‘Families’ page for information.

A series of talks by Michael Thompson, Jessica Fay and Brandon Chao-Chi Yen

Meet outside the shop, free with admission Wednesday 19 April, 11.00am – 3.00pm Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole Fun for all the family at the Lake District Visitor Centre. See our ‘Families’ page for information.

Brockhole, free with admission – parking charges apply Thursday 20 April, 2.00 – 4.00pm Family Fun: Celebration Time See Thursday 13 April for information.

Foyle Room, free with admission

Wordsworth’s deep affinity with the natural world and the Lake District landscape is widely known, and discussed, but this afternoon we will consider his relationship with manmade and cultivated outdoor spaces.

We are delighted to be joined by three excellent speakers who will talk on their own research concerning Wordsworth and gardens.

Saturday 29 April, 10.00am Mindfulness in Wordsworth’s Landscape A workshop led by Steve Johnson ‘A meditation rose in me that night upon the lonely mountain when the scene had passed away, and it appeared to me the perfect image of a mighty mind’, wrote Wordsworth in The Prelude. We will be reflecting on Wordsworth’s approach to mindfulness and contemplation, and developing our own in a workshop with Steve Johnson, a local mindfulness teacher.

Using mindfulness practices including meditation, mindful movement, sense awareness and connection to nature you will learn to engage more fully with your surroundings and develop skills that can improve your well-being and help with the demands of everyday life. There will be three workshops this year (April, July, October), and you can come to one or more as the exercises will change with the seasons. There is no set ticket price, donations welcome.

Jerwood Centre, donation

Michael Thompson, curator of the Focus on a Friendship exhibition in our Community Gallery this spring, will explore how lime trees planted by William Wordsworth in Leicestershire came to be recorded in a painting by John Constable.

Jessica Fay, University of Bristol, will speak on Wordsworth’s opinions on Picturesque aesthetics, at this time epitomised by the fashionable landscape gardens designed by ‘Capability’ Brown and his followers, and consider how Wordsworth’s opinions were shaped by the influence of the Beaumont circle.

Brandon Chao-Chi Yen, BARS Early Career Fellow at the Wordsworth Trust in 2017, will discuss Wordsworth’s use and portrayal of flowers in his writing, and the very personal meanings he attributed to them, such as the use of the daisies to represent his brother John.

Each talk will last around 45 minutes, refreshments will be provided.

Jerwood Centre, £10

10

To book please visit www.wordsworth.org.uk

11

DIARY

APRIL – MAY

Saturday 29 April, 10.30am Wordsworth’s Grasmere

Sunday 7 May, 2.00 – 4.00pm Celebrating Words and Music

A walk organised and led by the Lake District National Park

A series of workshops with John Fletcher

‘The earth is all before me’, declared Wordsworth in joy when he found himself walking alone towards Grasmere in 1799, and it was here that he made his home. Discover the village as he knew it, see the places he lived and wrote about, and visit his grave in the churchyard. This walk is graded easy and is 3.7 miles (6km), which should take approximately 2 hours.

Appropriate footwear is advised.

The interaction of words and music is mysterious, and there are no simple answers as to what makes a successful combination of the two. In this series of three workshops John Fletcher will be exploring the setting of English poetry to music by English composers such as Vaughan Williams, Quilter and Finzi.

Stock Lane Car Park, Grasmere Free - parking charges apply

Samuel Taylor Coleridge by Washington Allston © National Portrait Gallery

Saturday 6 May, 4.00 – 5.00pm Coleridge’s Literary Life A talk by Seamus Perry

Wednesday 3 May, 11.00am Meet the Gardener A guided tour of Dove Cottage Garden with Sally Hall, Head Gardener See Wednesday 5 April for information.

Dove Cottage Garden, free with admission

One of the greatest books of prose from the Romantic age was published in 1817. Coleridge’s Biographia Literaria is at once an autobiography, recounting with special vividness his relationship with Wordsworth, and a work of literary criticism, containing famous pages about Shakespeare and Milton, as well as a philosophical reflection on the nature of the human mind. It is a rambling and disorganised book, and most of Coleridge’s contemporaries, including Wordsworth, were deeply puzzled by it. What does it have to tell us, two centuries on, about human creativity, the value of poetry and, in particular, the genius of Wordsworth?

Find out from Professor Seamus Perry, Balliol College, Oxford.

Saturday 13 May, 9.40am In the Footsteps of Wordsworth A walk organised and led by the Lake District National Park ‘Ullswater, as being, perhaps, upon the whole, the happiest combination of beauty and grandeur, which any of the Lakes affords’, wrote Wordsworth in A Guide through the District of the Lakes. Follow in his footsteps and see if you agree.

If you enjoy poetry, why not look at it afresh in its artistic combination with music; if you love music, why not look more closely at the poems leading composers choose to set. We shall read the poems, listen to the songs, and share our reactions to them. This first workshop will focus on the poetry of Shakespeare and the First World War. Foyle Room, £10 per session or £25 for the series

Take the steamer from Glenridding to the legendary Aira Force waterfall and return along the lake shore.

This walk is graded easy and is 3.7 miles (6km), which should take approximately 4 hours. You are advised to wear appropriate footwear and bring a packed lunch.

Dogs are welcome.

Ullswater Information Centre, Glenridding Free - boat fare and parking charges apply

Jerwood Centre, £5 12

To book please visit www.wordsworth.org.uk

13

DIARY

MAY – JUNE

Thursday 1 June, 3.00 – 4.30pm Meditations in Dove Cottage Garden A workshop with Eileen Pun In ancient Chinese tradition practices such as Taiji (movement) & Qigong (breath) were developed to bring human beings into accord with nature, fostering a sense of inner integrity, or what can be recognised as the ‘inner happiness’ described by Wordsworth.

These meditative arts are also believed to engender ’the valley spirit’, a state of spontaneous creativity which has been sought and venerated by Chinese artists, calligraphers and writers for centuries.

Friday 19 May, 7.00pm Museums at Night: Dine in Dove Cottage

Thursday 1 June, 2.00 – 4.00pm Family Fun: Making Sounds with Wordsworth

An evening with John Crouch

If you take a moment to stop and listen when you are out and about in the Lake District, you’ll find it is a much noisier place than you might think. To complement an exciting new exhibition in the museum all about natural sounds we will explore sound in our own way by making some percussion instruments, playing some sound games and creating soundtracks to some of Wordsworth’s most famous poems.

Dove Cottage was the Wordsworths’ family home, where they lived, slept, ate and wrote for over 8 years. Inspired by the wonderful descriptions in Dorothy’s journal of daily life, food eaten and lively evenings spent with family and friends, we are setting a dining table in the houseplace and offering you the opportunity to come and experience a meal with friends in Dove Cottage for yourself. The food will be prepared and presented by local chef and food historian John Crouch. Places are strictly limited and must be booked in advance; if there is sufficient demand we may be able to add an extra evening.

Dove Cottage, £20 (including dinner and drinks) 14

Tuesday 30 May, 2.00 – 3.00pm Terrific Trek on Tuesday See our ‘Families’ page for information.

Meet outside the shop, free with admission Wednesday 31 May, 11.00am – 3.00pm Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole Fun for all the family at the Lake District Visitor Centre. See our ‘Families’ page for information.

Brockhole, free with admission – parking charges apply To book please visit www.wordsworth.org.uk

Foyle Room, free with admission

Eileen Pun, a Lake District poet and martial artist, will lead a series of five sessions exploring these practices this summer. Participants will be lead through simple physical and breathing exercises in order to develop mindbody coordination and overall wellness.

Each session will also include reflective, creative journaling and complimentary tea, with a special opportunity to sample a different Chinese tea each time. The relaxed and informal sessions are designed as a series, but each stands alone Participants are advised to wear loose fitting clothes with sufficient layers for the outdoors and comfortable lightweight shoes such as trainers.

No experience necessary, suitable for adults of any age. Advanced bookings preferred, drop-ins welcome. There is no set ticket price, donations welcome.

Dove Cottage Garden, donation

15

DIARY

JUNE – JULY

Saturday 3 June, 9.40am In the Footsteps of Wordsworth

Thursday 29 June, 3.00 – 4.30pm Meditations in Dove Cottage Garden

A walk organised and led by the Lake District National Park

A workshop with Eileen Pun

See walk on Saturday 13 May for information.

Dove Cottage Garden, donation

Ullswater Information Centre, Glenridding

Saturday 1 July, 2.00 – 4.00pm The Poetry Business Competition Winners’ Reading

See Thursday 1 June for information.

Free - boat fare and parking charges apply Sunday 4 June, 2.00 – 4.00pm Celebrating Words and Music A series of workshops with John Fletcher The second of three workshops exploring the relationship between poetry and music. The focus of this session will be poetry of the 15th and 16th centuries and poems of A.E. Housman. For full information about the series see Sunday 7 May. Foyle Room, £10 per session or £25 for the series Wednesday 7 June, 11.00am Meet the Gardener A guided tour of Dove Cottage Garden with Sally Hall, Head Gardener See Wednesday 5 April for information.

Dove Cottage Garden, free with admission Thursday 15 June, 3.00 – 4.30pm Meditations in Dove Cottage Garden A workshop with Eileen Pun See Thursday 1 June for information.

Dove Cottage Garden, donation

Saturday 17 June, 2.00 – 4.00pm Walking with Bewick, Walking with Keats A pair of talks by Peter Quinn and Meiko O’Halloran For Thomas Bewick, like Wordsworth, walking was much more than simply getting from A to B. In the art of Bewick, a 19th-century engraver, there are many scenes of walking and walkers based in early 19th-century northern England. Peter Quinn, Chairman of the Bewick Society, will show us how, for Bewick, a walk might be an entertaining adventure, indeed a literary metaphor for the changes brought about by the journey to adult life.

For Keats a walking tour of northern Britain was about extending his poetic powers through new experiences and the exploration of grander landscapes than London could offer. Drawing on Keats’s lively series of letters to his closest correspondents during his travels through the Lake District in 1818, Dr Meiko O’Halloran, Newcastle University, will consider how this journey changed the way he viewed the world and shaped the poetry he went on to write.

A contemporary poetry reading hosted by The Poetry Business The Poetry Business International Book & Pamphlet Competition was the first of its kind in Britain. Now in its 31st year, it has launched the careers of many successful poets, and the annual winners’ reading at the Wordsworth Trust has become an important date in the contemporary poetry calendar.

The four winners, chosen by Mimi Khalvati and Ian Duhig, will read a selection of their own work and the event will also feature poems from the first ever Wordsworth Trust Prize for a single poem, which will be chosen by the public from a shortlist published in March. The winners of both competitions will be announced on our website in late Spring.

Jerwood Centre, free

Tuesday 4 July, 10.30am Wordsworth’s Hawkshead A walk organised and led by the Lake District National Park William Wordsworth attended Hawkshead Grammar School from 1779 until 1787, and it was during these years that he first began composing poetry, taking inspiration from the countryside and wildlife around him. Discover the village and surrounding area through his eyes in this easy, 2.5 mile (4km) walk. The walk is expected to take approximately 1.5 hours, and appropriate footwear is advised.

LDNP Car Park, Hawkshead Free - parking charges apply

Jerwood Centre, £7.50 16

To book please visit www.wordsworth.org.uk

17

DIARY

JULY

Wednesday 5 July, 11.00am Meet the Gardener

Sunday 9 July, 2.00 – 4.00pm Celebrating Words and Music

A guided tour of Dove Cottage Garden with Sally Hall, Head Gardener

A series of workshops with John Fletcher

See Wednesday 5 April for information.

A walk organised and led by the Lake District National Park

The final workshop in a series exploring the special relationship between poetry and music. The focus of this session will be poetry of the 19th century about love, and poems of Thomas Hardy. For full information about the series see Sunday 7 May.

See walk on Saturday 13 May for information.

Foyle Room, £10 per session or £25 for the series

Dove Cottage Garden, free with admission Saturday 8 July, 9.40am In the Footsteps of Wordsworth

Ullswater Information Centre, Glenridding Free, boat fare and parking charges apply

Saturday 15 July, 3.00 – 5.00pm ‘St Swithun’s day if thou dost rain…’

A pair of talks by David Higgins and Tess Somervell ‘St Swithun’s day if thou dost rain For forty days it will remain St Swithun’s day if thou be fair For forty days ‘twill rain nae mare’ Many of us are familiar with this rhyme and the legend that if it rains on 15 July it will rain all summer. Whether you believe it or not, it seems like an appropriate day to celebrate the culmination of a project exploring the links between weather and Romantic writing with the University of Leeds.

Saturday 22 July, 10.00am Mindfulness in Wordsworth’s Landscape A workshop led by Steve Johnson The second of three workshops exploring mindfulness and meditation.

See Saturday 29 April for full information.

Jerwood Centre, donation

Thursday 13 July, 3.00 - 4.30pm Meditations in Dove Cottage Garden

Dr David Higgins and Dr Tess Somervell from the University of Leeds will join us to give this month’s Saturday Talk.

David will focus on the connections we can draw between Romanticism and modern day climate change. Tess will discuss real and imagined floods in Wordsworth’s experience, writing, and reading, and consider how his writing about floods is still relevant today, particularly in the Lake District.

There will be a number of other events and activities celebrating the great British weather taking place; more information will be available on our website closer to the time.

Jerwood Centre, £7.50

Sunday 23 July, 10.30am Wordsworth’s Hawkshead A walk organised and led by the Lake District National Park See walk on Tuesday 4 July for full information.

LDNP Car Park, Hawkshead Free - parking charges apply

A workshop with Eileen Pun See Thursday 1 June for information.

Dove Cottage Garden, donation

18

To book please visit www.wordsworth.org.uk

19

DIARY

JULY – AUGUST

Tuesday 25 July, 2.00 – 3.00pm Terrific Trek on Tuesday See our ‘Families’ page for information.

Meet outside the shop, free with admission Wednesday 26 July, 11.00am – 3.00pm Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole Fun for all the family at the Lake District Visitor Centre. See our ‘Families’ page for information.

Brockhole, free with admission – parking charges apply Thursday 27 July, 2.00 – 4.00pm Family Fun: Weaving and Rag Rug Making Old houses like Dove Cottage didn’t have modern luxuries like carpets and central heating to help keep them warm so people often used rag rugs and woven throws to cover cold stone floors. We still use them in Dove Cottage today. This afternoon we are going to explore the different ways of making them and then have a go ourselves.

Foyle Room, free with admission Thursday 27 July, 3.00 – 4.30pm Meditations in Dove Cottage Garden A workshop with Eileen Pun See Thursday 1 June for information.

Dove Cottage Garden, donation Tuesday 1 August, 2.00 – 3.00pm Terrific Treks on Tuesdays See our ‘Families’ page for information.

Meet outside the shop, free with admission

20

To book please visit www.wordsworth.org.uk

Wednesday 2 August, 11.00am Meet the Gardener

Thursday 3 August, 2.00 – 4.00pm Family Fun: Building Dove Cottage

A guided tour of Dove Cottage Garden with Sally Hall, Head Gardener

Wallpaper was very expensive in the Wordsworths’ time, and houses could be very cold, so Dorothy Wordsworth cleverly used old newspapers to line and insulate the walls of the children’s bedroom in Dove Cottage. We will have a look around Dove Cottage, and at the newspaper room, and then recycle newspaper in another exciting way by constructing our own Dove Cottages from papier-mâché. You can take them home to paint afterwards!

See Wednesday 5 April for information.

Dove Cottage Garden, free with admission Wednesday 2 August, 11.00am – 3.00pm Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole Fun for all the family at the Lake District Visitor Centre. See our ‘Families’ page for information.

Brockhole, free with admission – parking charges apply

or call 015394 35544

Foyle Room, free with admission

21

DIARY

AUGUST

Saturday 5 August, 2.00 – 5.00pm ‘Romantics – thou shouldst be living at this hour’ A series of talks by John Strachan, Jonatan González, Jonathan Quayle and Yasmin Solomonescu

2) Wordsworth and Spain Jonatan González, University of La Rioja, will talk us through how Wordsworth and his writings have been reimagined in Spain throughout history, particularly during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), and consider the theory and practice of reworking Wordsworthian texts across different cultures and periods.

Tuesday 8 August, 2.00 – 3.00pm Terrific Trek on Tuesdays

Tuesday 15 August, 2.00 – 3.00pm Terrific Trek on Tuesdays

See our ‘Families’ page for information.

See our ‘Families’ page for information.

Meet outside the shop, free with admission

Meet outside the shop, free with admission

Wednesday 9 August, 11.00am – 3.00pm Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole

Wednesday 16 August, 11.00am – 3.00pm Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole

Fun for all the family at the Lake District Visitor Centre. See our ‘Families’ page for information.

Fun for all the family at the Lake District Visitor Centre. See our ‘Families’ page for information.

Brockhole, free with admission – parking charges apply

Brockhole, free with admission – parking charges apply

3) ‘A crisis is now arriving, which shall decide your fate’: Crisis and Hope in Percy Shelley’s Poetry

John Thelwall by John Hazlitt © National Portrait Gallery

Romantic poets were clearly involved in the politics of their day; today we explore the continued importance of their writings in the context of 20thand 21st-century politics. We shall hear how Wordsworth’s writings were used in propaganda writings by political groups in the 1920s and ask what help the writings of Shelley and Thelwall can offer us for our own times.

1) Wordsworth among the Fascists Professor John Strachan, Pro ViceChancellor, Bath Spa University, will discuss a notable misuse of the English canon of poetry, and of Wordsworth in particular, by the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s as they contrived to see Wordsworth as a ‘National Socialist’ and use English literature for ‘proving the essentially British character of our creed’.

22

Thursday 17 August, 2.00 – 4.00pm Family Fun: Weaving and Rag Rug Making

Jonathan Quayle, Newcastle University, will explore how Shelley writes about political and social crisis in a number of his early poems, and reflect on his belief that, when faced with the threat of impending disaster, what we need is hope of meaningful social change.

See Thursday 27 July for information.

Foyle Room, free with admission Saturday 19 August, 10.30am Wordsworth’s Grasmere A walk organised and led by the Lake District National Park

4) ‘Thelwall! Thou shouldst be living at this hour.’

Yasmin Solomonescu, University of Notre Dame, will give the 2017 Thelwall Society Lecture. Her talk will shed new light on the poetic ramifications of Thelwall and Wordsworth’s meeting in 1797, a brief but powerful intellectual communion that marked each one’s writing for years to come. She will ask what lessons that intertextual conversation might hold for us ‘at this hour’.

Jerwood Centre, £10 (free to Thelwall Society Members)

See walk on Saturday 29 April for full information.

Stock Lane Car Park, Grasmere Thursday 10 August, 2.00 – 4.00pm Family Fun: Poetry Orienteering Orienteering is an exciting outdoor adventure where you have to follow clues and find your way around to solve a puzzle – it’s a bit like being a detective! Someone has hidden words from a poem all around Dove Cottage and Town End, and we need your help to find them and put them back together again. Can you follow the clues and complete the challenge?

Foyle Room, free with admission

To book please visit www.wordsworth.org.uk

Free - parking charges apply Tuesday 22 August, 2.00 – 3.00pm Terrific Trek on Tuesdays See our ‘Families’ page for information.

Meet outside the shop, free with admission Wednesday 23 August, 11.00am – 3.00pm Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole Fun for all the family at the Lake District Visitor Centre. See our ‘Families’ page for information.

Brockhole, free with admission – parking charges apply 23

DIARY

AUGUST – SEPTEMBER

Thursday 24 August, 2.00 – 4.00pm Family Fun: Building Dove Cottage

Thursday 31 August, 2.00 – 4.00pm Family Fun: Poetry Orienteering

Wednesday 6 September, 11.00am Meet the Gardener

Tuesday 26 September, 9.40am In the Footsteps of Wordsworth

See Thursday 3 August for information.

See Thursday 10 August for information.

A guided tour of Dove Cottage Garden with Sally Hall, Head Gardener

A walk organised and led by the Lake District National Park

Foyle Room, free with admission

See Wednesday 5 April for information.

Saturday 1 September, 2.00 – 4.00pm The Poetry Business New Poets Prize Reading

Dove Cottage Garden, free with admission

See walk on Saturday 13 May for information.

Foyle Room, free with admission

Saturday 26 August, 9.40am In the Footsteps of Wordsworth A walk organised and led by the Lake District National Park See walk on Saturday 13 May for information.

Ullswater Information Centre, Glenridding Free - boat fare and parking charges apply

Free - boat fare and parking charges apply

A contemporary poetry reading hosted by The Poetry Business

Thursday 28 September, 2.30 – 4.30pm Pop-up Poetry Café

The Poetry Business New Poets Prize is an exciting competition for young writers between the ages of 16 and 22 who submit a short collection of their own poetry to be judged by Andrew McMillan, winner of the 2015 Guardian First Book Award. There will be four winners, and part of their prize is to come to Grasmere for a special launch reading. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear some of the very best new young voices - they are the future of British contemporary poetry. More details will be available on our website closer to the time.

A celebration of National Poetry Day

Jerwood Centre, free

Tuesday 29 August, 2.00 – 3.00pm Terrific Trek on Tuesdays See our ‘Families’ page for information.

Meet outside the shop, free with admission Wednesday 30 August, 11.00am – 3.00pm Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole Fun for all the family at the Lake District Visitor Centre. See our ‘Families’ page for information.

Brockhole, free with admission – parking charges apply

24

Ullswater Information Centre, Glenridding

Thursday 7 – Saturday 9 September Heritage Open Days A special opportunity to see more of our collection

The theme of National Poetry Day 2017 is ‘freedom’, a word with a very personal meaning to us all. On this day we encourage you to think about it means to you, and to come and share your thoughts with us at our pop-up café. It will be an informal occasion to enjoy some lively conversation and share favourite poems with friends over a cup of tea and slice of homemade cake. Drop in any time during the afternoon.

Foyle Room, free

Heritage Open Days is a national festival of history and culture which encourages people to seek out hidden treasures and places in their local area. As part of the festival we will be offering tours of the award-winning Jerwood Centre, where we store and care for a collection of over 67,000 manuscripts, books and artworks, with the opportunity to see items not usually on display to the public. Tours will take place at regular intervals throughout the day on all three dates.

Jerwood Centre, free

To book please visit www.wordsworth.org.uk

or call 015394 35544

25

AT A GLANCE DIARY

JULY (cont.)

8 July

In the Footsteps of Wordsworth

9 July

Celebrating Words and Music

Meet the Gardener

13 July

Meditations in Dove Cottage Garden

9 April

Making the world go round: an exploration of passions, pains and poetry

15 July

‘St Swithun’s Day if thou dost rain…’

11 April

Terrific Trek on Tuesday

22 July

Mindfulness in Wordsworth’s Landscape

12 April

Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole

23 July

Wordsworth’s Hawkshead

13 April

Family Fun: Celebration Time

25 July

Terrific Trek on Tuesday

A Host of Golden Daffodils

26 July

Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole

15 April

A Fairtade Walk

27 July

Family Fun: Weaving and Rag Rug Making

18 April

Terrific Trek on Tuesday

27 July

Meditations in Dove Cottage Garden

19 April

Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole

AUGUST

20 April

Family Fun: Celebration Time

1 August

Terrific Trek on Tuesday

22 April

‘Of glory of the flower’

2 August

Meet the Gardener

29 April

Mindfulness in Wordsworth’s Landscape

2 August

Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole

Wordsworth’s Grasmere

3 August

Family Fun: Building Dove Cottage

MAY

5 August

‘Romantics – thou shouldst be living at this hour!’

3 May

Meet the Gardener

8 August

Terrific Trek on Tuesday

6 May

Coleridge’s Literary Life

9 August

Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole

7 May

Celebrating Words and Music

10 August

Family Fun: Poetry Orienteering

13 May

In the Footsteps of Wordsworth

15 August

Terrific Trek on Tuesday

19 May

Museums at Night: Dine in Dove Cottage

16 August

Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole

30 May

Terrific Trek on Tuesday

17 August

Family Fun: Weaving and Rag Rug Making

Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole

19 August

Wordsworth’s Grasmere

JUNE

22 August

Terrific Trek on Tuesday

1 June

Family Fun: Making Sounds with Wordsworth

23 August

Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole

1 June

Meditations in Dove Cottage Garden

24 August

Family Fun: Building Dove Cottage

3 June

In the Footsteps of Wordsworth

26 August

In the Footsteps of Wordsworth

4 June

Celebrating Words and Music

29 August

Terrific Trek on Tuesday

7 June

Meet the Gardener

30 August

Wordsworth Wednesday at Brockhole

15 June

Meditations in Dove Cottage Garden

31 August

Family Fun: Poetry Orienteering

17 June

Walking with Bewick, Walking with Keats

SEPTEMBER

29 June

Meditations in Dove Cottage Garden

1 September

The Poetry Business New Poets Prize Reading

6 September

Meet the Gardener

The Poetry Business Competition Winners Reading

7–9 September

Heritage Open Days

4 July

Wordsworth’s Hawkshead

26 September

In the Footsteps of Wordsworth

5 July

Meet the Gardener

28 September

Pop-Up Poetry Café

APRIL 5 April

15 April

29 April

31 May

JULY 1 July

26

To book please visit www.wordsworth.org.uk

or call 015394 35544

27

The Wordsworth Trust Dove Cottage, Grasmere Cumbria, LA22 9SH t 015394 35544 e enquiries@wordsworth.org.uk www.wordsworth.org.uk

Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum Open daily 9.30am – 5.30pm, last tour 5pm Please call 015394 35544 in advance to check your visit as these hours may be subject to change. We apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.

Parking is available for the duration of your visit. There is a small charge for parking (free to Friends).

Access Full access is available for wheelchair users to the Wordsworth Museum and Jerwood Centre, and level access to the ground floor of Dove Cottage only.

All Dove Cottage events take place on the ground floor.

Directions Find us on the A591, just south of the Grasmere roundabout.

@WordsworthTrust

Like us on Facebook

For more information or to book please visit our website www.wordsworth.org.uk or call 015394 35544. We advise that you pre-book all events, even the free ones.

Become a Friend of the Wordsworth Trust and be the first to know what’s on.

To find out more about priority booking and other benefits of being a Friend, visit our website or call us on 015394 35544.

Please note that a minimum number of participants is required for some events. Some events may be subject to change or cancellation. The Wordsworth Trust reserves the right to cancel events at short notice and to change admission charges advertised in this programme. © All images the Wordsworth Trust unless otherwise stated.

Grateful thanks to Lakes Weather Images for cover image.

Registered Charity 1066184

the sound of the lake district

Wordsworth Wednesdays 11.10am, 4.45pm, 9.30pm www.lakelandradio.co.uk