I’m writing from Lakeland’s Ambleside

This holiday is making me tired

Lots to see, lots to do

(Quite comfortable at Hotel Vale View)

Lots more to do, lots more to see

Kodak is making a fortune from me!

Ambleside is really quite quaint

Just the resort for he who is a saint

Plenty of places to lodge and eat

And people greet you in the street

Three times I’ve been drawn to this base

(Something to do with magnets in my case!)

Ennerdale Water on a bright sunny day

Can easily take your breath away

Approaching it from a high position

I saw a red arable farm engine

Near to it two little lambs were at rest

The scene was quintessentially picturesque

On the road to Buttermere the car was tossed to and fro

But on the way I felt a kind of pleasure though

When I arrived I saw the grandeur landscape

Woods where you could get lost in and escape

Mighty mountains where you could go hunting

And views of the lake which were just stunning

Next stop is the western sea port Whitehaven

The water there was coloured blue but now brown is given

Its marina and surrounding buildings are clean and new

The people looked happy, rested and contented too

On one of the covered piers I saw two young lovers

If only I could share this epic holiday with others

Devoke Water, the jewel in Cumbria’s crown

Far away from any village or town

This is my absolute favourite tarn of all

“Gloria in excelsis Deo!”, I hear the angels call

Not a single man or woman in sight

Spirited away I could stay all night

And so to the deepest lake of all, Wast Water

For many it’s the best; none comes after

There is a handy shop near by this lake

Which stocks plenty of Kendal Mint Cake

Rain is not uncommon to The District

Meaning my photography here had a limit

At Ullswater on the day of my visit

I distinguished a different kind of spirit

Communication with people in the area

Was not the same as the rest of Cumbria

Got some cracking photographs from a hill

Including a passing jet aircraft until it was nil

Photography of StockGhyll woods and stream

Was in many ways a waterscape dream

The low lighting, the bridge and the waterfall

The flowing water with its rocks and all

I set up my tripod on rubble, soil and sand

And forget the clock with its flying hands

Ahh Rydal Mount, so beautiful, so handsome

William Wordsworth’s home in the age of Romanticism

What wonderful words must have leaked from his quill

Poetry and prose, and whatever was his will

Dove Cottage too is where the art did flow

Walking the fells with the family in tow

Click here for a musical version of Cumbria

Michael Bobb

August  2018