Day 7 was the event I had been waiting for. We were traveling through the Lake District. We had hired a coach and a private guide and had four days to explore some of England’s most beautiful landscapes. Despite having been to the UK four times previously, I had never been to the Lakes. While it is a very popular tourist destination, it is not easy to access it without a car.
The Lakes is of particular interest to me because it is the home of one of England’s greatest poets, William Wordsworth. My academic research has focused on Wordsworth and the other Romantics. The Romantic poets, and Wordsworth especially, were known for their admiration or veneration of nature. I had read the poetry, and I had visited beautiful places, but I was not prepared for what the next four days would hold.
We had a private guide. He was pretty amazing. He had drive scientific teams in Antarctica, done geological work on volcanoes in Costa Rica, was an expert wood-worker, and the Lake District is his home. He also happened to be 72, had recently had two knee replacements, and was still in better shape than most of us. He knew every back road, could identify every rock, and kept finding us edible plants to try. In short, he was the perfect guide.
