After my tour of the Theatre by the Lake on Wednesday, I had a look round Keswick to fasten in my mind some of the settings that play a part in my current Lake District Mystery work-in-progress. These included the River Greta, which flows beside Fitz Park in a part of the town that I haven’t explored properly in the past.
After that, it was back to Windermere, and a walk up a fairly gentle slope to Orrest Head. This is the viewpoint from which Alfred Wainwright, famed for his walking guides to the Lakes, first fell in love with the area. And it’s easy to understand why that grumpy old man (as he seemed to many) was stirred to such emotion. It is a truly beautiful part of the world. After glimpsing Windermere through the trees on the way up, you have a terrific panorama.
I’m not – at present – planning a scene set at Orrest Head, but the magic of the setting certainly fires the imagination, and provides a dramatic reminder of why the Lakes exert such a magnetic appeal on so many people from around the world. In the Lake District Mysteries, I strive to avoid anything approaching a travelogue, but I am keen to try to capture something of the atmosphere of a beautiful part of the country. And the climb up Orrest Head provided me with fresh writing inspiration.
