Jacobites and Skiddaw

It’s Words by the Water time again, but this year neither of us could find a lot to interest us. In the end we decided to go to Bookcase Day, where books published by Carlisle Publisher Bookcase are introduced. And what a good day it turned out to be. We went to two excellent talks by local people. 
 
Michael Mullett talked about Penrith in the 18th century, when the town was prosperous and developing, but had a couple of clashes with the Jacobites. He is such a good speaker, in a rather old-fashioned way, and had the packed audience mesmerised. And of course I bought his book – the fourth volume of his history and he signed it with a fountain pen. He had brought his own blotting paper!
 
Stephen Matthews (the owner of Carlisle’s Bookshop, also Publisher and writer) talked about the early people to climb Skiddaw, from Ann Radcliffe to John Ruskin, and amused us with their accounts. So, my blip had to be Skiddaw and, as we emerged from the Theatre, the sun just rested on the well-trodden path going up, seen to the far right. All a bit different now from when it was a new and exciting thing to do and often done on horseback with a guide. I have been up several times and from Keswick the route is pretty boring. I can see now our two girls, when they were young, running up, well part of the way anyway.