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Unusual Aspects Of Lakeland

By Rod Booth

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Published: 04Oct2008
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The Lakeland Terrier is truly the canine glory of the Lake District. The fabled Lakeland Terrier is one of the oldest breeds of terrier dogs that are still employed. When Kennel clubs and stud books were not even thought of, the farmers of the Lake District developed the breed not as a hobby but as a necessary help in their farming life. Many terrier breeds that were developed have been forgotten, while the Lakeland Terrier's name and fame resounds the world over as the crowning glory of Lakeland farmers' breeding achievements!

The appellation, Lakeland, was added to the breed only in modern times. Formerly the breed was known as the Patterdale Terrier.

In days gone by, the Lake District had lot of foxes that marauded on the sheepfolds. The farmers would form a hunt with a couple of hounds and a large number of terriers. This hunt was not a mere pastime. It involved heroism and prowess on the part of men and beasts to get out in the open and comb the area for the foxes and destroy them.

The Lakeland Terriers' forays with man as a faithful combatant in the hunt are legendary. Some have paid the ultimate price in the subterranean fox holes; others have come out victorious bearing marks of combat on their bodies. The Lakeland Terrier's body is no wider than its head. This enabled them to crawl into the fox holes. With this frame they accomplished their dangerous mission for their master and earned for themselves a name in canine history.

The fierce courage of the Lakeland Terrier allowed it to scout some distance underground to reach for the fox: in doing so, one of them earned a place in history. Lord Lonsdale's terrier crawled 23 feet to get hold of a fox; getting it out again required three days of manual work! And some of these tenacious dogs have been rescued after ten to twelve days underground!

Although bred to work and having a history of many generations of work they are quick to adapt for shows. The terrier's gameness and courage may not be needed anymore, but it has a faithful and quiet disposition as a canine companion.

There are many other unqiue aspects to Lakeland. For example: there is a dark side to the Lakes' history: the slave trade! A trade in which many men from the Lake District made a profit in ways that perhaps even today we would rather not discuss.

Storrs Hall is one of the most spectacular hotels in Windermere. This Georgian Mansion was the work of the renowned architect, Joseph Gandy, and the possession of John Bolton, a Cumbrian who made a fortune for himself from the slave trade. He held regattas on the lake and entertained distinguished people, among them Wordsworth and Sir Walter Scott. Bolton's ownership of one of the best houses of England was a tribute to his involvement in the flourishing business of the slave trade at Whitehaven, a port on the Cumbrian coast.

A museum there, christened "The Rum Story", tells the story of how merchants of rum and spirits who lived in the Lake District owned plantations in the West Indies. Their ships brought huge quantities of rum, tobacco and sugar to Whitehaven. But behind the fine quality of the dark rum, the excellence of the tobacco, and the honeyed sweetness of the sugar, there was the blood, the sweat and the toil of the slaves.

One traveler who made a number of trips to the place in the days of slavery was William Wilberforce. He traveled from Hull (it took three weeks to reach there) and stayed in a rented house named Rayrigg. He was, of course, the man who lobbied for the abolition of slavery. Much of his work on antislavery legislation was inspired by his trips to the Lake District. It was his work that ultimately emancipated slaves in all parts of the British Empire.

Now let us away from the darker side of Lakes' history! The nostalgic association with the Windermere of Lake District far at home might have urged the early explorers, missionaries and settlers to christen the places they went with this romanticized Norse word. Consequently there are Windermeres in Australia and New Zealand, in the Bahamas, the US and Canada.

Perhaps geographical distance augmented a deep-seated craving for home? Australia has a whopping thirty four "Windermere" names. Victoria has eight Windermeres followed by Queensland which has seven. New South Wales has six, Southern Australia and Tasmania sharing five each. Western Australia has two Windermeres and Australian Capital Territory has a representative one. New Zealand has at least nine Windermeres.

These surprising statistics reveal how the migrant English carried the memory of the Lake District in their hearts even in the new land they made their home. The breathtaking sight of the Lake District's Windermere perhaps lingered in the minds of the pioneering Anglo-Saxon explorers and settlers, even in the remote Bahamas! So today we have a Windermere Island there! It is about five miles long and noted for its splendid beaches, a haven for all types of tourists.

The USA can boast of at least eighteen major locations or buildings that are named after Windermere. Canada has sixteen geographical features named after Windermere.

So, we can be sure of this: explorers, missionaries and settlers alike knew that the name Windermere stood for breathtaking visual beauty then, just as it does today!

The Lake District Guide contains hundreds of pages of information on Lakes hotels and other accommodation, as well as restaurants, walks, places to go and things to do. In fact, we have all the information you'll need for a great holiday in the Lakes. Find us at The Lake District Guide

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