Walking with the Wordsworths and Friends: A Celebration of Lake District Wanderings

Presented by Wordsworth Grasmere, Lancaster University, and Trek Therapy.

As part of the YHA’s Festival of Walking, Wordsworth Grasmere are celebrating the walking of Dorothy and William Wordsworth and their friends with a film showing and a walking tour of Grasmere village, guided by William Wordsworth himself. And the YHA is providing free coffee and cakes for all who join the walks!

Film screenings

The films recreate the pioneering walks of the Wordsworths’ time, including those made by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Joseph Budworth, Ann Radcliffe, and Dorothy and William Wordsworth. They feature spectacular locations including Helvellyn, Skiddaw, Helm Crag and Morecambe Bay and illustrate the historic popularity of Lake District walking and its ongoing wellbeing benefits today.

The screenings feature six films, which range from five to thirty minutes each, and the programme lasts for approximately two hours plus a fifteen-minute break. There will be an optional 15-minute Q& A with William Wordsworth after each showing.

There will be two film screenings (same programme in each):

• 2.30pm at Grasmere Village Hall
• 7pm at Grasmere Village Hall

Guided walks

The walk around Grasmere will be guided by William Wordsworth (well…  an actor in the role of the poet) who will tell you about the village’s history and the literature it inspired, as well as reading his poetry. The walk will last for approximately two hours.

The walk will be run twice (same route and readings in each):

• 11am: Meet at Grasmere Village Hall. The walk will finish at 1pm at YHA Grasmere Butharlyp Howe, where free coffee and cake will be provided, courtesy of YHA.
• 2pm: Meet at YHA Grasmere Butharlyp Howe (free coffee and cake from 1pm, courtesy of YHA). The walk will finish at Grasmere Village Hall.

We encourage you to take the environmentally friendly option and travel by bus if you are able to do so (we are on the 555 and 599 Stagecoach bus route), or there are several pay and display car parks in Grasmere village.

Tickets are available through Wordsworth Grasmere or Barney’s Newsagents, Grasmere.

Tickets: The guided walks are free and include coffee and cake; the film screenings are £10 per person.