EVENTS AT THE ARMITT

Come and join us at The Armitt as we read ‘The Great Hill’ by Daniel Errico and ‘Up on the Mountain’ by Peter Donnelly.
Once you’re feeling inspired by these stories, we’ll have a crafting session, where you’ll have the chance to create your own unique mountainscape collage using recycled materials and other zany bits and bobs. Scrunch, colour, glue, rip and tear to your heart’s content!
For kids (and adults) that love the outdoors, stories, art and everything in between.
Please note: this session is aimed at children 5-12 years old. The ticket price of £5 is per child. Any accompanying adults are free of charge.
Price: £5 per child. Accompanying adults free.

PhD candidate Liz Woodham talks about her research on how guidebook writers past and present have differed in their approaches to wandering the fells. With endless routes to explore throughout the Lake District, it should come as no surprise that the way the fells, hills and mountains of our local landscape have been described has differed from writer to writer over the years. Tying in with her PhD research and her finds in the Armitt’s very own archives, Liz explores the idiosyncrasies of each writer’s unique perspective, and how these perspectives merge to form a fully-fledged image of the surrounding landscape, with a particular focus on the much-revered Striding Edge.

Barry McKay gives his talk on shepherds’ guides in Cumbria. A history of the shepherds’ guides (Smit books) of Cumbria. With some account of the historic importance of sheep on the economic and social life of the lake counties.
The placing of ownership marks on animals dates back to pre-historic times, but it was not until the early nineteenth century that a systematic method of recording them was ‘invented’ by a yeoman farmer of Martindale. This illustrated talk discusses the method he adopted to illustrate the fleece, ear and horn marks of the flocks of sheep in part of Cumbria and traces the great number of revised and updated editions of his ‘Shepherds Guide’ that have appeared for both the Lake District and the Pennines and Yorkshire Dales. The method has, to a degree, also been adopted in parts of Wales and Scotland. In looking at these fascinating books – which are also ‘the ideal bedside book for insomniacs’ – we can learn a great deal about the largest population group in Cumbria: its sheep.

Penny Bradshaw, Associate Professor of English Literature at the University of Cumbria and author of A Literary Walking Tour of Ambleside (2021), will lead this three-hour literary-themed walk, with readings, around the environs of Ambleside. The walk will begin and end at The Armitt and along the way we will hear from a range of celebrated writers who visited Ambleside, from John Keats to Charlotte Bronte. We will also encounter the homes of many important literary figures who settled in this region, including Thomas De Quincey’s home in Ambleside and that of William Wordsworth at Rydal. By the middle of the 19th century Ambleside had become a hub of intellectual and imaginative pursuits, but it had also come to be at the centre of a Victorian vogue for ‘literary tourism’. During the tour, Bradshaw will offer insights into this important aspect of the town’s history and will share some of the responses it inspired in its literary visitors.
After the walk, there will be an opportunity for attendees to explore The Armitt Museum as part of the ticket.
NB: the tour will mainly involve walking along good footpaths but attendees are advised to wear suitable footwear and outer clothing.

We have teamed up with Blackdog Outdoors to provide a series of walking events in June as part of our “The Pull of the Fells” exhibition, which looks at the history of fell walking, rock climbing, and mountaineering in the Lakes, as well as the physical and mental wellbeing benefits of these activities. This first event will be a family friendly walk starting in Ambleside. On this walk we will pass Stock Ghyll before heading up to the higher fells. From here we will make a loop round Wansfell Pike, stopping to look at the views of Windermere before we head back down to Ambleside and The Armitt to finish.
There will be a 20% discount to the museum entry fees if you present the eventbrite eticket
Approx Activity Duration – 4-5 hours
Event Distance – 10 miles

Please note that this is a free walk

We have teamed up with Blackdog Outdoors to provide a series of walking events in June as part of our “The Pull of the Fells” exhibition, which looks at the history of fell walking, rock climbing, and mountaineering in the Lakes, as well as the physical and mental wellbeing benefits of these activities.

Starting from Ambleside this route crosses the River Rothay and follows the base of Loughrigg to Rydal Water. From here the route ascends to visit Rydal Caves then continues along Loughrigg Terrace with fabulous views of Rydal Water and Grasmere. After a short section of road we arrive in Grasmere, passing the Gingerbread shop before ascending past Dove Cottage to a secluded lookout point on White Moss Common, again with fantastic views of Rydal water with Loughrigg rising behind. Returning to the ‘coffin route’ we follow this to Rydal Mount with its pretty waterfall then follow a track through the grounds of Rydal Mount back to Ambleside.

There will be a 20% discount to the museum entry fees if you present the eventbrite eticket

18 June 8:30am-2pm

Tickets = Free

Approx Activity Duration – 6 hours approx

Event Distance – 9 miles and 1100ft of ascent

Tickets = Free
We have teamed up with Blackdog Outdoors to provide a series of walking events in June as part of our “The Pull of the Fells” exhibition, which looks at the history of fell walking, rock climbing, and mountaineering in the Lakes, as well as the physical and mental wellbeing benefits of these activities.
Starting from Ambleside we will ascend to the lower slopes of Loughrigg and head southwest passing Loughrigg Tarn. Circumnavigating Loughrigg we will take in fabulous views of both Grasmere and Rydal Water.
The route then follows Loughrigg Terrace where we will have a short diversion to explore Rydal Caves before crossing the river to Rydal Mount with its attractive waterfall. We will then follow a track through the peaceful grounds of Rydal Mount back to Ambleside.
There will be a 20% discount to the museum entry fees if you present the Eventbrite eticket
Approx Activity Duration – 5 hours approx
Event Distance – 7 miles and 1200ft of ascent

This walk will use an ascent of Wansfell Pike to illustrate the early development of mountaineering in the Lake District and elsewhere. Discover why adventurous men and women started to climb mountains in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. What did they hope to discover? And how did they make their ascents? Early mountaineers discussed will include the gothic novelist Ann Radcliffe, poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, diarist Dorothy Wordsworth, and intrepid Ambleside-based governess Ellen Weeton.

The ascent will be led by Professor Simon Bainbridge of Lancaster University, author of Mountaineering and British Romanticism.

The walk will take approximately 4 hours and involve 400 metres of ascent. There will be regular stops for readings and discussion. There is a good path up Wansfell but please ensure you have suitable footwear and outer clothing. Please bring a picnic or food to consume on the summit.

Time: Saturday 2nd July: 11am – 3pm

Tickets £12