Rocks and Rain, Reason and Romance: The Lake District - Landscape, People, Art and Achievements

by David Howe

David Howe tells the story of the Lake District, England's most dramatic landscape. Home to vistas of stunning beauty and a rich heritage, it is an area of England that fascinates, inspires – and has bewitched David for a lifetime.

With passion and an endless curiosity, he reveals how half a billion years of shifting ice, violent volcanoes and (of course) falling rain have shaped the lakes and fells that have fired the imaginations of the great sons and daughters of the area, the poets and the scientists. He shows that Lakeland is a seamless web where lives and landscape weave together, where the ancient countryside has created a unique local history: of farming and mining, of tightknit communities, of a resilient and proud people.

The Lake District is a place of rocks and rain, reason and romance, wonder and curiosity. And this book celebrates it all: the very character of Cumbria.

Praise for Wandering in Norfolk:

East Anglian Book Awards 2017, SHORTLISTED

"A real treat, and a perfect read for that comfortable armchair in front of the woodburner on a cold winter's day." Eastern Daily Press

"The pot pourri style is very effective ... thoughtful views on a variety of subjects and some beautifully written science lessons ... an excellent and well written book." Amazon reviewer

"Beautifully written, a joy to read." Amazon reviewer

234 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 28, 2019

Reviews

[Ruth Mackay · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the books Grandad brought me for my birthday and finished it just in time to add to my 2024 book total. Having lived on the edge of the Lake District since I was 7, I thought I knew a lot about it already, however this book was interesting and I learned something new. It mainly focused on those people who wrote about the lakes through poems, books, articles, drawings and how they admired the beauty around them. Turns out a lot of big names lived in and appreciated the lakes, this was less interesting to me, But the bit that really interested me was the history of the landscape and the geology, geography and how it’s been shaped by man latterly. A good read but some bits less interesting than others.

[Steve Chilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this as some background to my current writing project. It was interesting to see the connections the author made between the physical and the meta-physical. Some of people were ones I knew a lot about and some less. It might tempt me to follow-up on Wordsworth and some of his contemporaries. Read it quite quickly but it was somewhat lightweight.