Left : Windermere Jetty | Top right : Daffodils by the lake | Bottom right : Theatre by the Lake
Our Cultural Concierge’s highlights of things to do in 2022
Few things are more reassuring that spring is here than a host of golden daffodils. William Wordsworth of course, famously recorded his delight with a stretch of ‘dancing’ and ‘laughing’ daffodils by Ullswater in 1802. Our excitement of spotting seasonal blooms still marks the oncoming of the seasons.
Soon after, our woodland, wilder open spaces and hedgerows will develop their blue haze as the humble bluebell comes out to welcome the early summer sun. At about the same time you can smell and see, the beautiful white wild-garlic ramson flowers. Then, throughout June, July, and August, immerse yourself in the joys of the wild flower hay meadows as they buzz with insects, butterflies and chatter with birds. Against nature’s backdrop we put on a calendar of traditional and contemporary events to make the most of the longer days and milder evenings. Here’s a small selection I’ve picked for your diary. The venues websites will give you the latest news, ticket sales and updates. Until 29 May you can see two remarkable manuscripts from William and Dorothy Wordsworth on display ay Wordsworth Grasmere for the first-time side by side. The British Library has loaned its unique manuscript of William’s extraordinary poem I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud to be displayed alongside the Wordsworth Trust’s
own copy of Dorothy’s Grasmere journal. Perhaps we have the Romans to thank for the daffodil being such an iconic image of spring. The Romans are known to have planted daffodils in memory of loved ones or comrades fallen in battle and probably brought daffodils to Britain from the Iberian Peninsula. Seek out all the stories of the Romans in Britain as we celebrate 1900 years since the building of Hadrian’s Wall. Until 12 June, you can see To the Edges of Empire and Uncovering Roman Carlisle at Tullie House Museum and explore their permanent Roman Galleries. To the Edges of Empire offers an intimate look at 11 Roman treasures illustrating the vastness of the empire including the earliest known souvenir from Hadrian’s Wall: the Ilam Pan, the Newstead Helmet, a phalera from Roman Egypt. Uncovering Roman Carlisle comes only months after the completion of the excavation of the Roman bathhouse site at Carlisle Cricket Club. The exhibition documents the excavation, looking at what was discovered through the stories of the people that found them.
