The President visits Carlisle

Attached to the side of the former Carlisle City Church in Lowther Street, Carlisle is this tablet to commemorate the visit of a President to the City.

As part of his ‘Pilgrimage of the Heart’ in 1918, President Woodrow Wilson visited the area where his mother, Janet (Jessie or Jeanie) Woodrow Wilson, was born. 

President Woodrow Wilson, was the 28th President of the USA.

Upon arriving in Carlisle, by train,  the President made his way to  The Crown and Mitre Hotel where he signed the freemen’s roll.

The party then visited Annetwell Street where he saw the site of his late grandfathers chapel.

Later in the day The President was asked to address those gathered at the Lowther Street Congretational Church by the Pastor Rev. Edward Booth.

A full description of the visit is available via The New York Times.

This was the second visit to the city.  His first was as an unknown tourist in the 1890’s.

The Presidential link to the City

Janet Woodrow, (his mother) was the daughter of the Rev. Thomas Woodrow and his first wife, Marion Williamson.

The Reverend Thomas Woodrow M.A., was a Scottish Presbyterian minister.  It is said he was the first of his family to leave Scotland in over 500 years.

He preached at a church in  Annetwell Street, Carlisle, between February 1820 and June 1835.

In 1836 the family emigrated to New York.

More about the Presidential visit to the UK

According to the US State Department of State President Woodrow Wilson also met with Met with Prime Minister Lloyd George and King George V during his visit to the UK between December 26-31, 1918.

Further information

Full Text of Woodrow Wilson and his life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eden Bridge Gardens, Carlisle

Walked and driven past thousands of times a day, the significance of these municipal gardens is largely unknown to the City’s inhabitants.

Situated on the north bank of the River Eden just off Eden Bridge is Eden Bridge Gardens, designed by the internationally renowned landscape architects Thomas H Mawson & Sons.

 

For some peculiar reason, these gardens have been known locally for many years as the “Chinese Gardens”. However, there is nothing Chinese in the design and anybody knowledgeable in the works of Thomas Mawson, knows that he was famed for his grand Italianate designs, still existing at many stately homes including Rydal Hall in Cumbria.

 

Built using unemployed labour in the depression of the 1930’s, under the supervision of the City Engineer, Percy Dalton, these gardens costs just over £3,000, the cost being kept down by the use of reclaimed materials. The white cove stone used to make the rest houses was taken from the old Eden Bridge parapets that were demolished during the bridge widening operations of 1930 to 1932. The sandstone used to build the retaining walls was taken from the old gaol in English Street and the crazy paving paths that run throughout the garden was taken from the old road, which used to pass over Eden Bridge.  All of this, long before the word “recycling” was even heard of.

Opened in 1933 by City Mayor, Councillor E.B Gray, the design featured the classic Mawson pergolas

and raised terraces overlooking lily ponds. Crazy paving and a simple rock garden completes the setting.  Most of the design work is likely to be attributed to Thomas Mawsons’ son Edward as Thomas was suffering from Parkinson’s disease and indeed died in November 1933.  This was possibly one of the last designs that Thomas Mawson may have contributed to.

 

Sadly these gardens are in disrepair, but a grant of £50,000 has recently been awarded by The Heritage Lottery Fund to help the City Council with restoration. Work will start in October 2008 by Carlisle City Council employees.

The scheme will see vital repairs, made to the rose pergolas and Lily ponds. The rock garden will be cut back and invasive species and weeds removed and the surrounding trees cut back to allow more light into the garden and create site lines through to the main Rose pergola. The steps, which connect the two raised terraces, are to be relaid and the crazy paving paths repointed. The work is expected to take six months to complete.

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Mawson Gardens Rydal Hall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rydal Hall is situated in the heart of the English Lake District with stunning views over the Rothay Valley, with the Fairfield Horseshoe and Nab Scar as a backdrop. Most of the building was constructed in the 19th century with certain parts dating back to the 16th century.

Now the Carlisle Diocesan Retreat and Conference centre, together with being home to the international Rydal Hall Community.

Seat of the Le Fleming family for more than 400 years, Thomas H Mawson was commissioned at the beginning of the Twentieth Cebnury, to create a series of Italianate terraces sweeping down from the main house.

The gardens fell into dereliction after the Second World War and in September 2005, with grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and others, work began to restore them to their former glory. The repairs to all the stone work, urns and finials are now complete whilst the herbaceous borders, vegetable garden and landscaped grounds are undergoing long term development.

Simple in layout with little area set aside for planting, the concrete balustrades and staircases take centre stage.  A large inset fountain dominates the terrace garden with five pergolas situated around the edge utilising the existing breathtaking landscape of the Lake district beyond.  

These features are typical of Mawson, who’s grand Italianate designs had become very popular at this time.  Simple looking though this may seem, the Italian attention to detail becomes evident almost immediately.  All of the spherical finnials around the balustrades appear the same, but closer inspection reveals a slightly different design on the corners and stairways.

A pair of Lions heads flank the stairway to the terrace garden from the side garden on the left.  This smaller garden also has its own herbaceous borders.

From the main terrace garden are stunning views into the landscape beyond, but go through the iron gates and descend the diagonal stairs and you are brought to a beautiful structure resembling a roman shrine, reaching the full height of the terrace.  Its columns adding a welcome break to the towering walls.

Attention to detail is even evident in the latch on the iron gate.  This design echoes that already existing on the house and keystones of the terrace walls.

A unique feature to the coping stones is the joint structure used to anchor them in place without the use of mortar.  Perhaps somebody knows if there is an architectural term for this and indeed if this a unique to Mawson.

Herbaceous borders are few but well planted, whilst vines and roses climb over one of the pergolas creating a tranquil seat below the main house, from which to view the surroundings.

Thomas H Mawson. Landscape Architect

Thomas Hayton Mawson is often described as ‘the leading landscape architect of the Edwardian era’. His work ranged from landscaped garden plans through to much larger projects such as civic parks and city plans. The bulk of his work dates from 1890 to 1920.

Mawson was born in 1861 in Scorton, south of Lancaster, The son of a Warper in a cotton mill. His father later went into business as a builder. Thomas obviously had an eye for fine architectural detail and developed an early interest in horticulture.

The death of his father in 1877, saw Thomas move to London where he worked for several landscape gardeners and nurseries. He married Anna Prentice in 1884 and moved to Windermere in the lake district in 1885, following their previous honeymoon there.  Here he set about establishing, what later became Lakeland Nurseries.  Within a few years, it was decided that Thomas’ fledgling garden design practice be separated from the nursery business, which was now run by his brothers Isaac and Robert.

One of Thomas’ most important early  commissions was the gardens at Graythwaite Hall near Sawrey (Cumbria), begun in 1889.

During the 1890s, Mawsons’ reputation grew and business flourished, the majority of his work being concentrated in the northern counties and Scotland. In 1898/99 he entered a short-lived but highly productive partnership with the talented architect/designer Dan Gibson. The pair designed the house and gardens at Brockhole, Windermere, now the administrative centre for the Lake District National Park Authority.

The success of the partnership gave Mawson the confidence to write and publish ‘The Art and Craft of Garden Making’ in 1900. Published by Batsford. This became a standard reference in its day, and was revised and enlarged in four succeeding editions. The publication also helped promote Mawson’s views on garden design and helped generate considerably more work and larger projects, necessitating the opening of a London office.

 

The early 1900’s saw Local Government boards promoting ‘works of public utility’, such as parks and civic gardens to alleviate unemployment. Thomas was successful in winning several of the “design competitions’, notably the parks at Burslem and Hanley, in Stoke. Such projects went beyond landscape architecture and into the realms of town planning.

Thomas soon became popular abroad and the most notable overseas project was the design for the Peace Palace Gardens in The Hague in 1908. His next publication ‘Town planning, Civic Art’ was published in 1911 and is now an exceedingly rare book.

In 1905/6, Mawson began work for his most important private client, Mr W H Lever, later Lord Leverhulme. To form a municipal park from 400 acres of moorland to the east of Bolton and design the garden at The Hill, Hampstead, which featured an 800 foot terrace and pergola overlooking the Common, described in Pevsner as “amongst the most impressive of their date in London”. These and other projects for Lord Leverhulme were of heroic proportions for their day.

 

By 1910, Thomas had been joined by his eldest son Edward (1885-1954), who had qualified after several years of architectural training in England and Paris. A talented architect and artist, Edward became the chief designer of the practice, particularly after the Great War, in which Thomas lost his son, James.

 

It was Edward who was responsible for revising the final edition of ‘The Art and Craft of Garden Making’ in 1926. By this time, Thomas was suffering the onset of Parkinson’s Disease, but was able to dictate his autobiography, ‘The Life and Works of an English Landscape Architect’, published in 1927. The frontispiece of the book bears his portrait by Sir Hubert Herkomer, dated 1913.  Mawson accepted the portrait as ‘payment’ for designing the gardens of Herkomer’s eccentric home (‘Lululaund’) in Bushey, Hertfordshire.

After his death, Mawson quickly lost recognition . Possibly due to changes in fashion and economy. Some say that it was because he had no definitive style, preferring to bow to customer demands, although it is quite evident when viewing his existing works that there are features which are “Mawsonesque”. Italianate terraces featuring balustrades, grand staircases, canals, water features and exquisite pergolas dominate the design with the planting taking second stage.

Mawson designed gardens have recently featured in TV programmes, with Monty Don was involved in the partial restoration of the garden at Dunira for Channel 4’s Lost Gardens in 1981, whilst in 2004, Chris Beardshaw’s Hidden Gardens featured Boveridge in Dorset. The most remarkable discovery of the latter programme was that whilst Mawson had laid out the gardens, Gertrude Jekyll had been consulted (most probably by post) as to the planting schemes. So perhaps without knowing it, these two heavyweights of Victorian/Edwardian garden design, never the best of friends, had unwittingly collaborated on a garden!

Chris Beardshaw’s Mawson-inspired ‘Boveridge Garden‘ won a Gold Medal at the 2006 Chelsea Flower Show.  Noel Edmonds purchased the Grade 1 listed mansion of Wood in Devon, and has pledged to restore the Mawson designed gardens, described in Pevsner as “one of his major achievements.”

In September 2006, author Elizabeth Kissack has published a biography of Thomas H Mawson. Another biography by gardening lecturer and writer Janet Waymark, is scheduled for publication in 2008.

Many of Mawson’s projects have been altered or destroyed, but notable examples remain at The Hill in Hampstead, Brockhole, Holehird, Langdale Chase & Rydal Hall in Cumbria as well as the Dyffryn Gardens in South Wales. Many of his civic schemes survive, including the parks in Stoke and Stanley Park, Blackpool and the Eden Bridge Garden in Carlisle which has just received a £50,000 heritage Lottery grant for restoration works to start in October 2008. The design and execution of the latter is probably owed more to his son Edward.

Following the closure of Thomas H Mawson & Sons in the early 1980s, an archive relating to Thomas Mawson was established by the Cumbria Archive Service in Kendal, and the material therein is available to view by appointment.

Our thanks to Chris Mawson (G Grandson) for the information and Mawson family archive images.
Chris has written an extensive history on his great grandfather and his site even contains images from design plates for projects that were never executed.

 

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Heritage Farm Equipment

Hidden in a corner off the main yard at Dalemain is an often missed snapshot of Cumbrian history.

To the left of the yard is a dark passageway with a pink sign above.  The sign reads 16th Century Great Barn. Agricultural and fell pony museums.

Going beyond the alley and up a flight of stairs you enter into a dark cavern of a room with all sorts of wooden and metal paraphernalia.

As your eyes get accustomed to the lack of light you realise that you have come upon a treasure trove of old farming implements and items from a long gone past.

An eclectic mix of items, seemingly stuck in a black hole as time has moved on.

Greeting us as we walked around on the creaky, quite flexible floor, sat astride a fragile metal frame, similar to that of an old childs pram was a wooden coffin.

It was a simple affair of a number of rough cut planks nailed together with a lid on. We do hope no one was in residence!

Pictures on the wall behind this exhibit indicate that Dalemain and possibly some of this equipment, had been used in a recent film based on the book  Jane Eyre  by Charlotte Brontë.

This collection of milk churns caught our eye next. These are often seen now with plants growing from them in gardens but they were for carrying milk from the farm to customer.  

The churns could often be seen on railway platforms throughout the country early on a morning awaiting transport to cities or around the country.

It is reported that churns were still being used upto the early 1970’s when road and rail tankers started to take over.

Looking into the body of the room you can see all sorts of heritage.  Hanging on the facing wall are some old paraffin lamps.  These used to be used to mark roadworks or other road hazards.  Flashing battery powered yellow laps are now used.

See how many items you can recognise?

At the far end of the vast loft is a museum to the fell pony.

The fell pony was used in many of the early Cumberland industries.

 With their placid nature and strong build they could be found at many mines  transporting goods across the fells or between villages moving goods and people.

In the museum you can see many awards from the local and county shows as well as equipment such as carriages, carts and assorted tack.

Her Majesty The Queen, is the Patron of the Fell Pony Society.  Her Majesty the Queen has owned, ridden and driven Fells since she was a young woman. She also breeds Fell ponies which carry the “Balmoral” prefix.

 

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St. Mary’s Church, Wreay

Documents exist which denote a church at Wreay since 1319, in the reign of Edward II, with letters from Bishop Halton writing to give permission for a Chaplain “to attend divine offices” on condition that he reside within the Chapelry. However, a flat-headed corbel arch from the reign of Edward I was found (now above the entrance to the boiler house) so the presence of a chapel or church could date much further.

Post reformation saw a dual purpose building, serving as both the chapel and schoolhouse. Following some improvements, this was consecrated by Bishop Fleming in 1739.

In 1840 the now delapidated church was rebuilt by Sarah Losh, a local daughter of one of our captains of industry, John Losh.

Sarah had the church built as a memorial to her sister Catherine and her parents, according to her own plan in the shape of a Roman Basilica, a rectangular building with an apse. (Multi-purpose and used by the first Christians for worship in the first centuries AD).

 

Sarah and her sister Catherine went on a “grand tour” of europe around 1817 and the features of the church are highly reminiscent of Italian and French architecture.  Building commenced in 1840 and was completed two years later in 1842.

 

The church is heavily adorned with symbolic ornaments, carvings and oriental motifs. One of the recurring themes is the conflict between life and death, light and darkness. The chrysalis and butterfly, a favourite motif, is the symbol of death and resurrection whilst angles triumph over dragons and bats.

Arrows, symbols of death, feature abundantly at the entrance to the church, both around the well and in the door itself and there is even an arrow lodged in the wall to the right of the organ.  

A simple but clever piece of carpentry allows the panels behind the arrows on the inside of the door to be dropped down, allowing in light and air.  Note the tiny wooden peg which holds the panel closed.

 

 

One of the other great features carved in stone, wood and alabaster around the church is the pinecone, a symbol of eternal life.

It is also thought that the arrows and pinecone may allude to the death of a close family friend, Major William Thain, a local hero who fought at Waterloo and was killed by an arrow in the Afghan war of 1842. Major Thain is said to have sent a pinecone to sarah before he died which she planted in the churchyard. However, the pine tree no longer exists.

 

Sarah succeeded in setting many of the villagers to work on her church.  The wood carving around the inside of the west door, which represents a gourd being eaten by a worm (from the book of Jonah in the old testament), was carved by her gardener and she is said to have sent the local stonemason, Mr Hindson, to Italy for a few months to improve his skills there.

 

On entering the church, one is taken aback by the breathtaking interior and the countless hours of work which must have been involved in every detail.

The tiny alabaster font to the right, has ten intricately carved panels, carved by Miss Losh herself, with a cover of silvered glass adorned with alabaster lotus flowers carved by Mr W.S. Losh (Sarah’s uncle). The earlier stone font dated 1738 has been placed outside the church door to the left.

Pews are a framework of oak with panels and seats of Spanish Chestnut. Two lecterns are carved in chestnut, on the north an eagle and on the south a pelican, both on pillars of Bog Oak.

Bog Oak is also used for the intricately carved pulpit, with a palm tree alongside to hold a candle.

Above the arch leading to the Apse is adorned with carved angles with the larger beautifully crafted archangels of the annunciation to either side.

 

A slab of green Italian marble forms the altar and is supported by two brass eagles, with carvings of Eucharistic corn and grapes at the base.

 

Unlike most of our churches there is no East Window, but rather an apse with fourteen pillars (sedilia). The spaces between the pillars forming thirteen seats.  Above them are the emblems of the twelve apostles with the lamb emblem of Christ in the centre.

 

 

Seven lamps of the spirit in yellow and orange glass burn behind the sedilia and above these pillars are small “fossil” windows, each painstakingly carved in a different design. The walls around the windows are adorned with decorations of lilies, passion flowers and acanthus.

The windows of this small church total 84 in number and are quite a study in themselves.

In the Sanctuary are the service books for 1842, with state prayers for King William and Queen Adelaide.

To the left of the church stands a Mausoleoum, a memorial to Sarah’s sister Catherine, containing an alabaster figure of her seated and holding a pinecone. This was the work of David Dubar, a Carlisle Sculptor.

Behind the mausoleum is a runic cross, erected in memory of Sarah’s parents. This is said to be a copy of the Bewcastle Cross.

Sadly, we are unaware of the name of her gardener and there is very little published information on the Stonemason Mr. Hindson and the Sculptor, David Dunbar, so if anybody is able to fill in these gaps, please let us know via the comments box at the end of this article.

 

Sarah is buried along with her sister Catherine in the Losh family burial plot to the left of the church.

 

 

 

 

 

To find out more about St Mary’s go to St. Mary’s website

A Gem of a Village

Just five miles South of the City of Carlisle, lies the small village or Wreay (pronounced Ree-a).

 It is thought that the name refers to its position on the river Petteril and originates from the old Norse Vra, meaning secluded nook or corner of land.

Varied spellings over the years have included Wrea, Wrey, Wray and of course Wreay, as it is known today.

The roads in, lead directly to a neat village green displaying a well presented notice board detailing the many interesting features of the village.

St, Mary’s Church flanking one side of the green may at first appear to be just another parish church, but a venture inside reveals breathtaking, architecture, carving and stone masonry.

 

 

The church was rebuilt in 1840-1842 by Sarah Losh as a memorial to her sister Catherine and her parents, reflecting her love of Italian and French architecture combined with an exuberant imagination.

 

A water pump opposite the church reveals a history dating back to Roman times.

During excavations at the church a tiled watercourse was discovered, the waters of which flowed all the way to Carlisle Cathedral.

St. Ninian, when traveling through Carlisle had remarked on the wonder of the fountain and the source of the water at Wreay.  

The aquafer below Wreay dictated the position of the crossroads around which the village has grown.

The villagers collected their water from this pump until the early 1930’s when the houses were connected to a mains water supply.

In 1988 the villagers replaced the pump with the one seen today, but sadly the water no longer meets health standards and the pump is chained.

 

Of the many trees around the village, the majority would appear to be oak and small signs around the village warn us to be careful as this is one of the rare habitats for the red squirrel.

A footpath from Wreay leads to Wreay Woods Nature Reserve,  following the course of a red sandstone gorge of the River Petterill.

The reserve is owned by Carlisle City Council and is managed by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust.

It is a semi-natural ancient woodland of mainly native broadleaved trees.

The river bank is mostly alder and in spring is covered with a bright carpet of wild flowers. A variety of bird species inhabit the reserve, including blackcap and long-tailed tit, dipper, grey wagtail and kingfishers.

Red squirrel and roe deer may also be sighted. A riverside footpath runs through the woods and continues up to Carlisle.

Around half a mile North East of the village stand the remains of a Roman fort on the banks of the river Petteril.

 

A public footpath through the village offers some picturesque views over the valley and leads over the railway, possibly the West Coast main line.

 

An interesting, detailed entry from Bulmer’s History & Directory Of Cumberland, 1901 can be found at the following website.

 

Josefina de Vasconcellos – in Cartmel

Cartmel is a small village in South Cumbria, with it’s own racecourse, a large school and in places narrow winding streets in South Cumbria.

The Priory at Cartmel was founded over 800 years ago by William Marshall, Baron of Cartmel, and Earl of Pembroke.

Amongst the wooden pews and warm welcome from the vicar and volunteers are a number of pieces of Art by the international sculptor Josefina de Vasconcellos.

Daughter of a diplomat, she lived with her adopted sons and husband in Little Langdale for many years. She was awarded an MBE in 1985.

Josefina died in 2005 at 100, leaving behind fine examples of her work throughout the world.

A number of her works are on display within Cartmel Priory.

More of her works can be found within Cumbria in the following places.

Ambleside
Workington
Carlisle
St Bees
Greystoke
Haverigg
Rydal
Maryport
Kendal
Keswick

Josefina studied at the London Polytechnic, the Royal Academy Schools, in Paris under Antoine Bourdelle, and in Florence. 

Age 20, she gained her first large commission, to create many items including an alter in the Church of St Valerie at Varengeville, Normandy.

She was also a  gifted musician, composer, poet, dancer and inventor.

Heavily influenced by her experiences of two World Wars she is responsible for many works of remembrance.

At St Bees’ School a work called The Hand was commissioned in 1955.

They fled by night – Mary and Joseph and the Holy Child, is an ideal sculpture for children, or those with limited sight or mobility to engage with.   Being only a few feet high and made of solid resin bronze you can pass your hands over the work easily without risk of damage.

The latest work featured in The Priory is The Young Martyr.

Within the base of a solid stone plinth is a lighted candle in a red glass holder. Topping the sculpture is a head behind solid bars. 

On one of the sides are words carved into the stone. They are the names of the Martyrs of Cartmel from 1537

As part of the BBC Cumbria Telling Lives series Linda, a retired Civil Servant,  tells here story of meeting Josefina in 1990 and the resulting sculpture.

Glasson and the Glasson Dock area – Lancaster

The village of Glasson is situated at the end of the Lancaster Canal, south of the City of Lancaster in Northern England.  It was a small farming hamlet known as Old Glasson and Brows-saltcote.

Development of the area was organised by the Lancaster Port Commission due to the difficulty of navigating the River Lune to the docks in Lancaster. They realised that a dock would help shipping and in turn increase the prosperity of Lancaster due to increases in trade.

Building was financed by Lancaster merchants and it needed two Acts of Parliament in 1738 and 1749 to allow the construction of the walls and quays.

The dock area was built by Thomas Morris in 1787.

He was a civil engineer and also noted for his work on the West India Export Docks on the Isle of Dogs in London.

The docks were connected by a branch to the Lancaster Canal in 1826.

Many of the buildings in the village were built in the 19th century, including the church (Christ Church).

The quay was connected to the railway network in 1883.

Built by the London and North Western Railway Company the railway operated until the closure of passenger services on 5th July 1930.

Goods traffic continued until 7th September 1964.

The trackbed of the disused branchline is now a linear park and cycleway called the Lancashire Coastal Way.

A number of pictures exist of trains moving nitro-chalk and other goods ready for transport.  This product was made in nearby Heysham and at Billingham in the North East of England. It was used as a fertiliser.

Some commercial use is still made of the docks however it is now tourists and pleasure craft that occupy most berths.

The area, in part, is operated by British Waterways Marinas Ltd.

Christ Church Glasson Dock

Built in 1840, Christ Church was expanded, with the inclusion of a chancel, in 1931-2.

The church sits adjacent to the towpath of the Lancaster Canal on the edge of the dock complex.

The church was built by the Lancashire architect Edmund Sharpe in 1840. It is in the Diocese of Blackburn

Edmund Sharpe became mayor of Lancaster in 1848–49 and played an important part in implementing the first Public Health Act in the area.

A number of war graves are situated in the cemetary.

Wildlife

The Glasson Branch of the Lancaster Canal in south Lancaster has been identified as one of the top ten places to see watery wildlife across British Waterways’ 2,200 mile network of canals and rivers.

Alongside an impressive variety of birdlife in the winter, the Glasson Branch of the Lancaster Canal affords lovely views across Morecambe Bay to the high fells of the Lake District .

The canal’s proximity to the sea means that gulls are present at all times, including Mediterranean and yellow-legged gulls.

Whooper and Berwick swans can sometimes be seen, together with over-wintering pink-footed geese.

Guides are available free from British Waterway’s offices, the customer service centre on 01923 201120 or visit www.waterscape.com

Walk, cycle or a day trip?

Many adventures can start or end in the area.

The Coastal Way is a 137 mile footpath following the coastline between Merseyside and Cumbria. The section running through Lancashire is called the Lancashire Coastal Way.

Here are a few websites we have found describing visits made by other people to the area and sources of more information.

• The Rossendale Ramblers have published photographs and text.
• Walks around Garstang and area.
• Dave and Edith Browns’ website photo walks. They did a walk here in 2007.
• Martlet Derbyshire accompanied by Myra, Iain and their bus passes.
• For the youngsters here is a worksheet to do whilst visiting the area
• The Lancaster Canals Trust have produced a virtual tour of the Glasson Branch
• Lancaster City Council have produced a cycling leaflet for the area

Many motorcyclists come to the area, maybe because of the promise of a hearty meal and cup of tea at the Lock Keepers Rest or one of the local hostelries.

Cafe d’lune has recently opened just outside of the dock complex offering a friendly welcome, home made cakes and a great place for a rest.

It looks like this place has been here a while. Can you add to the history as information on the web is sketchy?

Fishing

As long as you have a rod licence and a British Waterways permit, you can fish along the whole length of the Lancaster Canal.

Permits are available from the British Waterways Wigan office British Waterways, Waterside House, Waterside Drive, Wigan WN3 5AZ Tel: 01942 405700 Email: enquiries.northwest@britishwaterways.co.uk

If the lines don’t go tight then you could opt for buying the fish ready smoked from the nearby Port of Lancaster Smokehouse.

Established over thirty years ago, the company has retained and maintained the traditional methods of preparing and curing fish and meats of all kinds.

Specialities include haddock from the Western Isles of Scotland, cold smoked eels, dry cured backs of English bacon, black puddings as well as hickory smoked almonds and cashew nuts.

The shop is open 9am till 5pm on Mondays to Fridays and 10am till 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays. West Quay. Glasson Dock . Lancaster LA2 0DB . Tel 01524 751493 . Email: sales@polsco.co.uk

Further information

Gallery