“Found it! Oh no, maybe not …”
“It’s over here …”
“That’s not it. Look. The mountain’s in the wrong place.”
“If I lean over the river I think I’ve got it …”
This was the conversation ricocheting around the Cumbrian fells as three of us tried to pinpoint the exact place artist Joseph Farington had painted his watercolour of Rydal Bridge in the 1700s. Eventually we all agreed on roughly the right spot, though it seemed quite different today. What do your think?

Rydal by Joseph Farington
You see, the river seemed to have changed its course, the road is now in a slightly different place and we couldn’t see the fell because of the trees’ foliage and the mist from the drizzle … All part of the fun of the Wordsworth Trust’s Smartphone App, helping you to see more of the glorious English Lakes.
Back in 1769, a famous writer and poet called Thomas Gray went on a walking tour of the Lake District and wrote a descriptive journal about where he went and what he saw. It was the first example of modern travel writing with its vivid descriptions of the 18th century scenery. A few years later an artist called Joseph Farington used a copy of Gray’s journal to follow in his footsteps, painting the scenes that Gray had described.
Fast forward to the 21st century; John Murray, a publisher from London, inherited Gray’s original notebooks and decided to do exactly what Farington did almost 250 years before. He found the locations and took digital photographs of the views, illustrated in his book ‘A Tour of the English Lakes’. The words, pictures and photos inspired an exhibition at the Wordsworth Museum, Grasmere, called Pen, Paint & Pixels in 2013. Their App enables the visitor to go on a sort of treasure hunt in search of the actual sites.
Consulting the excellent App, which uses the latest Satellite technology, Google and Ordnance Survey maps, we then set off to find the next gem – Rydal Falls. What’s really good about the App is that there are copies of the original paintings and engravings plus often Grey’s descriptions and even hints on how to find the right spot. Our greatest challenge was the occasionally intermittent signal which sometimes meant a delay in getting info – but that added to the adventure! Not too far from Rydal Bridge we found the Falls, in one of the most delightful viewing positions you could imagine. I won’t spoil the surprise but believe me, it is an absolute treat – AND, it is virtually identical today to when Joseph Farington did this pretty sketch.
There are sites all over the Lake District including Bassenthwaite, Derwentwater and Borrowdale, Ullswater and Patterdale, to Windermere via Rydal and Ambleside. Read my review of the Pen Paint & Pixels Exhibition and go to The Wordsworth Trust site for more information.
For anyone interested in the history and culture of the Lake District this exhibition is a mustsee.Farinton’s pictures can be viewed on an excellent web site devoted to old manuscripts ahout the Lake District. //www.geog.port.ac.uk/webmap/thelakes/html/faring/fa01fram.htm
The beauty of Thomas Grays work was that it described the scenery and landmarks in detail, as opposed to previous works by writers such as Samuel Simpson or Richard Braithwaite (Drunken Barnaby), who tended to ignore the scenery and concentrate on weightier matters, such as who owned the land. or what the locals got up to on a Saturday night!
Thanks so much for sharing that link and your thoughts on this subject. The Lake District is truly one of the loveliest places on this planet and it is vital that we recognise its beauty, as did the discerning creatives of the past. And no doubt there will always be those who debate this forever more – with a continuing focus on Saturday night adventures 😉
This App sounds fascinating Zoe – can’t wait to try it for myself.
Part of the attraction of Cumbria, for me at least, is that it has resisted the urge to over develop, and it must be wonderful to see how nature has evolved over the 250 years without too much intrusion from man!
I’m off to share this gem with my website readers – thank you for highlighting it 🙂
When you are next in the Lakes Elspeth let me know and we can have a go at exploring some more of the sites! I think it is an excellent download for ANYONE interested in the Lake District, art and history as the App gives lots of background info as well as specific details on the Pen, Paint & Pixels pictures.
What a great idea! I shall be diving into my photos to see if I have photos of any of the sites. Will have to see if the app works on a rather ancient Blackberry! 🙂
Alvian
Let me know if the App works Alvina. Paul used an Android App on his Blackberry and it worked Ok, tho of course dependent on signal in the Lakes.
Wow what an insanely awesome idea for a day trip. I would love to do this at places around my hometown when I’m not traveling:)
Great. Another excuse to get out into the countryside. Succeed or fail, sure to have healthy fun
As you say Ian, a great reason to get out and about, though of course we need no excuse to wander about the Lakes 🙂