Wordsworth's Coffin Route: from Rydal to Grasmere

    Walking has become my mindfulness exercise during the pandemic, lockdowns and the general stresses of life. I am now lucky to live in a walking-hotspot and I have been blessed with beautiful hikes and nature trails right on my doorstep. This blog will contain a record of some of my favourite walks, and how works of literature have inspired or enhanced these journeys. The way these walks are formed depends on the circumstances; sometimes I read at stop-off points as I walk, and sometimes I do not take a book with me, but there is a book or poem that has motivated a particular walk. 

Over the Christmas/ New Year break, I decided to take my Wordsworth Bible (my complete works of William Wordsworth*) and head to Grasmere from Rydal. Since moving to Ambleside this is one of my favourite trails to walk, and it is, relative to my Goth-ness, called the ‘Coffin Route’.

(I am also planning a mission to walk all of the coffin trails/corpse roads in England, but this has been somewhat halted due to the pandemic). 

This walk is normally very popular with tourists, as it connects two Wordsworth homes: Rydal Mount and Dove Cottage. Both of these homes are a delight to explore, and if walking this route when they are open, I would highly recommend visiting them both. Due to the current lockdown restrictions travelling is prohibited, so I was able to walk the Coffin Route and barely pass another soul. 

Now, admittedly, I could have taken a whole library with me on this walk. I could have taken a suitcase filled with Coleridge’s poems, Dorothy’s diaries and poetry, some Southey; the list goes on. But for this walk, my focus was William… and a tiny bit of Simon Armitage. 

I began the Coffin Route in Ambleside but did not take out my book until I reached Rydal. Here, I found a small nook to sit in and read the first few poems that I chose. These were:

• To M.H

• In the Woods of Rydal 

• Composed at Rydal on May Morning, 1838 

• To the Moon – Rydal 

• ‘Adieu, Rydalian laurels! that have grown’ 

• Written with a slate pencil upon a stone, the largest of a heap lying near a deserted quarry, upon one of the islands at Rydal 

• Inscription on a Rock at Rydal Mount – 1838

All of these poems, although common in their mentioning of Rydal, are unique and show many different sides to Wordsworth’s poetry. I think my favourite to read was ‘In the Woods of Rydal’, as I found a hide to sit in and read it as I sat amongst some woodland. 

             ‘Then peck or perch, fond Flutterer! Nor forbear 

        To trust a poet in still musings bound’

Rydal has many places to stop and read, whether it be in the quiet garden at Rydal Hall park, Dora’s Field next to the church, or by the side of the lake. I personally didn’t venture too far from the Coffin Route, but there are definitely plenty of reading nooks and viewpoints to explore in Rydal. As I left Rydal, I continued on the Coffin Route behind Rydal Mount. Here, there are often lots of flitting Robins that like to peck the ground after you have upturned the mud. Here’s a little one that greeted me: 

This section of the route looks out at a vantage point above Rydal Water and there are often sheep scattered about grazing, or looking at you with a knowing stare. Also, this part of the walk has an impressive amount of benches (perhaps spots that were once used as coffin rests) and so on hindsight the reading of the Rydal poems could have been spread out along this trail.

I did save one to read on this part of the walk, and it was ‘By the Side of Rydal Mere’, which I kept so that I could read it as I faced the lake. 

             ‘The wisest, happiest, of our kind are they

            That ever walk content with nature’s way’ 

As I reached Grasmere, I sat on my favourite bench at the end of the coffin trail and took out a different collection this time: The Unaccompanied  by Simon Armitage. The poem that I read is entitled ‘The Candlelighter’ which is a poem that describes leaving Dove Cottage and hiking up to Alcock Tarn, the path to which was on my left. I’m not going to dwell too much upon this as I have a separate walk planned for this poem, but it is a wonderful one to read that depicts the sights surrounding this part of Grasmere/Town End. I also read Wordsworth’s ‘Composed by the Side of Grasmere Lake’ as from this bench the lake is visible through the trees. 

As I descended the path into Town End, I headed for the Moss Hut at the Wordsworth Grasmere site. This walk also ends at Dove Cottage, the Wordsworth’s cottage in Town End, Grasmere. Admittedly I wasn’t quite sure if the hut was open to the public, but there was nobody about and I snuck into the outdoor area (mask on) for five minutes. 

Here, I read the rest of my chosen poems that I felt were apt to read in Grasmere, which were: 

• Departure from the Vale of Grasmere, August, 1803 

• To my Sister (not set in Grasmere but is a beautiful poem that depicts Wm and Dorothy’s bond) 

• Written with a pencil upon a stone in the wall of the house (an out-house), on the island at Grasmere 

• (an excerpt from) Home at Grasmere 

• A Cento Made by Wordsworth (published 1835, describing solitude)

It was an extremely personal experience to walk through the areas that inspired Wordsworth whilst physically reading the words that he wrote about them. This walk was a good one to do whilst it is quiet during lockdown, as usually this trail is quite busy! But when we are post-lockdown, both Rydal Mount and Dove Cottage will reopen, and visiting those sites would make the walk even more special. 

 *in this post, I will use ‘Wordsworth’ to refer to William Wordsworth only

Referenced works:

Armitage, Simon, The Unaccompanied (London: Faber & Faber, 2017)

Wordsworth, William, The Collected Poems of William Wordsworth (Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions, 2006)