Talk of Swallows and Amazons must have struck a chord with my DH as the other day he suggested a visit to Windermere and what used to be the Boat Museum. This has had a total redevelopment and is now called the Museum of Boats, Steam and Stories. The story bit sounded promising so off we went. The buildings are huge, impressive, stark and modern and rather beautiful, and situated on the shores of Windermere so that we could have stepped on to the Osprey, a restored Edwardian motor launch, and gone for a cruise. As it was grey and overcast and chilly we looked at the lake through the huge windows and stayed inside and drank good coffee.
I’m not a boaty person; for years I thought rowlocks was pronounced as spelled rather than rhyming with pollocks (note careful choice of word) so on our tour of the buildings I ignored information about the construction of boats and steam engines and was instead drawn to the stories of the people who owned the luxury boats on display. A rolling screen show showed old cine films and videos taken by amateurs, and DH saw familiar faces like Norman Buckley and Donald Campbell and was filled with nostalgia.
As well as grand boats humbler vessels were on display. Some had connections with Arthur Ransome, a man who really loved sailing. He wrote about the Swallows and Amazons, children who spent a summer sailing on a lake.
A boat owned by Wordsworth would have been a huge find, but I’m not sure he owned one. He he wanted to be striding over the fells rather idling on the water, although I have a vague memory from *A-level English that he had a profound experience when on a lake – but he may have been swimming not sailing.
I was fascinated by the crude rowing boat Beatrix Potter had had made from old planks. It had a flat bottom so that it could be taken on shallow tarns, and reflected the practical person she was, a redoubtable woman, not a cosy lady who wrote charming stories about cuddly bunnies. I’m sure she enjoyed a rabbit pie.
*Apologies to Miss Georgina Baker, Headmistress and English teacher
