Please login or click here to join.
Forgot Password? Click Here to reset pasword
Dorothy Wordsworth (c.1771-1855, diarist, poet, sister of William ) referred to it as "..the glittering lively lake..".
The lake was once known as 'Broad Water' but its name was changed during the 19th century after 2 brothers drowned there. Owned by the National Trust, Brothers Lake is one of the smallest of the English Lakes at under half a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide. Not very popular with tourists as the lake itself is shallow, full of reeds, and no boating allowed, although this gives chance for water lilies to bloom in the summer months. The lake can be found at the northern end of Kirkstone Pass, towards Patterdale. To the south leads to Ambleside on the mighty Windermere. The village of Hartsop sits at the north-east corner of the lake.
The following is an extract from Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal , 16th of April 1802:
"Friday, 16th April (Good Friday).—... When we came to the foot of Brothers Water, I left William sitting on the bridge, and went along the path on the right side of the lake through the wood. I was delighted with what I saw: the water under the boughs of the bare old trees, the simplicity of the mountains, and the exquisite beauty of the path. There was one grey cottage. I repeated The Glowworm as I walked along. I hung over the gate, and thought I could have stayed for ever. When I returned, I found William writing a poem descriptive of the sights and sounds we saw and heard. There was the gentle flowing of the stream, the glittering lively lake, green fields, without a living creature to be seen on them; behind us, a flat pasture with forty-two cattle feeding; to our left, the road leading to the hamlet. No smoke there, the sun shone on the bare roofs. The people were at work, ploughing, harrowing, and sowing; lasses working; a dog barking now and then; cocks crowing, birds twittering; the snow in patches at the top of the highest hills; yellow palms, purple and green twigs on the birches, ashes with their glittering stems quite bare. The hawthorn a bright green, with black stems under the oak. The moss of the oaks glossy.... As we went up the vale of Brothers Water, more and more cattle feeding, a hundred of them. William finished his poem before we got to the foot of Kirkstone. There were hundreds of cattle in the vale.... The walk up Kirkstone was very interesting. The becks among the rocks were all alive. William shewed me the little mossy streamlet which he had before loved, when he saw its bright green track in the snow. The view above Ambleside very beautiful. There we sate, and looked down on the green vale. We watched the crows at a little distance from us become white as silver, as they flew in the sunshine; and, when they went still farther, they looked like shapes of water passing over the green fields."
in the county of Cumbria
(5.1 miles, 8.2 km, direction NE)Ullswater is considered by many to be the lake districts most beautiful lake. It is 7.5 miles of pure beauty, and as you approach it from any direction you will see why. Ullswater.....
a Picturesque Village in the county of Cumbria
(5.4 miles, 8.6 km, direction SW)This tiny stone village is beautifully set between the tranquil waters of Grasmere Lake and the jagged heights of Helm Crag and Nab Scar..
a Picturesque Village in the county of Cumbria
(5.6 miles, 8.9 km, direction S)Ambleside, meaning "Shieling" or summer pasture by the riverbank, lies next to the northern shore of Lake Windermere. A busy victorian town ideal as a base when visiting the Lake District..
a Picturesque Village in the county of Cumbria
(6.3 miles, 10.1 km, direction S)A village that is spread along an old valley road for around one and a half miles. Lots of charm and old cottages, surrounded by beautiful lakeland countryside. Beatrix Potter.....
in the county of Cumbria
(8.2 miles, 13.2 km, direction W)A place of great beauty, Watendlath's dramatic landscape inspired writer Sir Hugh Walpole to choose it as the setting for his Rogue Herries series...
All towns in Cumbria
Dove cottage in the Lake District is the former home of the poet William Wordsworth and is where he wrote much of his famous.....
..
I first saw the Lake District many years ago, when for eight out of my eleven day sojourn, it rained, and rained! None-the-less,.....
These famous pikes rise loftily above the village of Langdale, whilst below visitors can savour the wild and desolate beauty of.....
..
Follow PicturesOfEngland.com on social media and help share the beauty of England....
