Traveller's Guide to the South and Central Lakes

golakestravel.co.uk 55 Hawkshead Etching a Heart in the Lake District An extract of a Poem by Kirstie Pelling The heart shapes the journey. Like the poets before me, I record my love of The Lakes. Not in their words, or mine, but curves and fine lines on a map. Freehand at first. Without heed of contour, or traffic free trail. I trace Cupid’s shape in the space between Lakes. Before doing it for real. On an app. I tap GO on Strava, manoeuver my bike onto still, empty lane. I slice through light mist. Hill at my heels, I feel the ridges and fells. I know this terrain from paddling the arteries of the English Lakes; the Leven and Crake, where salmon and sea trout nibble on bait as fishermen scan the sky for rain. On Coniston’s bank it arrives in folds. In this flat white light, jetty holds horizon’s weight, before Brantwood takes shape; a firefly in the dusk. I inhale the woody warmth, drip-drop the day on Jumping Jenny’s floor while night falls outside, balancing on prickle of conker husk. In a smudge of track and a sludge of dark Hawkshead Hill appears, a last minute dash of hopes. Aching muscles battle the slope. And I win. Etching a Heart in the Lake District Poem ©Kirstie Pelling 2014 All Rights Reserved. No reproduction without authors permission. If you’d like to read the full poem go to the GoLakesTravel blog www.golakestravel.wordpress.com