Guide to the Lakes

by William Wordsworth, Ernest de Sélincourt (Editor)

Wordsworth's Guide to the Lakes gives a first-hand account of his feelings about the unique countryside that was the source of his inspiration. He addresses concerns that are relevant today, such as how the growing number of visitors, and the money they bring, would effect such a small and vulnerable landscape.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Philosophy, Poetry, 19th Century, History, Walking

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1835

About the author

William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was a major English romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their 1798 joint publication, Lyrical Ballads.

Wordsworth's masterpiece is generally considered to be The Prelude, an autobiographical poem of his early years, which the poet revised and expanded a number of times. The work was posthumously titled and published, prior to which, it was generally known as the poem "to Coleridge". Wordsworth was England's Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death in 1850.

Reviews

[Lydia Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for my university course. A breathtaking love-letter to the places with which I am not only most familiar, but in which I am most content. I felt as though Wordsworth and I were engaging in a reader-writer dialogue, sharing intimate secretes about the magnificent landscape we both love so much. Moreover, Wordsworth writes the lakes as much as the Lakes wrote him, their relationship rooted in mutual growth and codependency. A truly wonderful read for any Lakes-lover.

[Kristy W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a Wordsworth in 1835, which means it’s really lovely and really slow.

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Special book and fascinating. <3
Beautiful prose and descriptions.
Some controversial thoughts on how you should enjoy the lakes and who.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting more poetry and lyrical descriptions.

[Imaduddin Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple of noteworthy things:
1. The famous poet alludes to vegetation of the past, and how making the Lakes more accessible to the laity with trains, they'll be ruined
2. He says that to compare scenery with other scenery will dull your appreciation for what you have in front of you, but then (and before) spends pages on comparing the Lake District with Scotland, Wales and the Alps, with a view to proving that the Lake District is better.

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wordsworth comes across as something of a pompous old bore in this! I've always had mixed feelings about him as a poet, but I hadn't realised he wanted to keep his beloved lakes for his own class - reading his letters to papers complaining about the railway bringing the common people too near, I don't think I'd have liked him much as a man either.

[Dave Gerrard]

May be of interest as a historical document, especially with regard to establishing protection of the region from development.

Not particularly useful as a source of specific advice on where to go or what to see today.

[Lynn Rasor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look forward to a someday visit to the Lakes.

[Julia Koncurat · Rating 4 out of 5]

rip Wordsworth you would’ve loved the HOA

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh Wordsworth you and your Lakes. The passion this man has for these lakes and the area surrounding it is often amusing. The guide is great there is no denying it. The railway letters are my favorite though. He really dedicates so much work to explain the beauty of the area just to say that there is only a specific way to appreciate it and that common people just don't have the time. I wonder how many of us are worthy.

[Stephen Dawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone buying this book and expecting to get a good guide to the Lake District today is likely to be disappointed. But those looking for a fascinating account of the Lakes as seen from the perspective of the early 19th century is in for a treat.

The book is divided into a number of sections, some written at different times, and thus is somewhat disjointed: it describes the District for the tourist and then describes its natural and man-made landscape, with some outspoken criticism of the desecration of nature. There are two detailed descriptions of outings, recommended itineraries for tourists, and a 16-page exposition against the building of the Kendal and Windermere Railway. All of this is interspersed from time to time with bits of Wordsworth's poetry.

Although the early accounts of Ceila Feinnes and Daniel Defoe, and then Thomas West's Guide, had initiated tourism here, it was perhaps Wordsworth's Guide which led to the true popularism of the Lakes as a tourist destination (coupled with the railways, a battle which Wordsworth lost), a fascination which lasts to this day, and it is that perspective which makes this account so intriguing.

[Ralph Britton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in the edition 'The Illustrated Wordsworth's Guide to the Lakes' - edited by Peter Bicknell, 1984 (ISBN 0-86350-001-3)The illustrations, all from artists contemporary with Wordsworth, add a lot to the book, but the text is fascinating and much of it still helpful in appreciating the Lake District. After reading it I went for a walk round Grasmere and noticed the characteristic chimney pots he loved, square at the bottom and round at the top. His comments come from a man of unusual sensitivity who lived most of his life around Grasmere and thought deeply about the countryside and its people. Of course it has changed immensely, but it was already changing when he wrote it. This is no dull obligatory read, but an encounter with a rare, perhaps the first ever attempt in a guidebook, to give the reader a way to see the place Wordsworth loved.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The edition of this guide which I read is obviously a reprint and not a particularly good one - the lengthy preface references maps and illustrations, and neither are included. Further, the pages appear to have been photocopied, with no effort to remove the underlinings of some earlier reader and two pages are even missing.

Still, interesting to read, in Wordsworth's own words, lovely descriptions of the Lake District. He is opinionated to the point of entertaining.

[Jonathan]

None

[Tyler Stolt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wordsworth proves in this book that he is capable of crossing genres. Here he is geologist, anthropoligst, and poet.