A slightly different geocache from the usual! Not the most difficult to find but it does contain little treasures you can keep. Created as part of a project with the Wordsworth Trust and Signal Film, this project is a celebration of the special places hidden on your own doorstep and finding adventure even when travel is limited or restricted.
The box contains original photographs and copies of poetry by William Wordsworth. Please feel free to take a poem or photograph and you are welcome to write about your favourite rivers and hidden places in the notebook.
About the walk:
The location is within the grounds of the Wordsworth museum so you will need to pay the normal admission fees to access the site. Please note the museum is only open from Tuesday to Saturday, 10am–5pm (last entry to Dove Cottage is 4.20pm & to the Museum is 4.30pm). It's hidden in a woodland that is relatively steep and without paving.
About the project:
William Wordsworth published ‘River Duddon, A Series of Sonnets’ in 1820. The work comprises of 34 sonnets mostly composed over a two year period. The river is a curious choice for such dedication and consideration. It meanders through the south-west of the Lake District for around 15 miles before reaching the Irish Sea and can be easily overlooked when compared to the surrounding landscape.
Regardless, Wordsworth had great affection for this stretch of river, an affection that was rooted in fond memories from childhood and subsequent explorations as an adult. The sonnets were well received and inspired others to explore the river and the surrounding Duddon Valley. Readers of his work often feel compelled to track the course of the rivers, to trace the route and to search for the physical embodiments of the poems.
In researching this project, I followed the same compulsion - I explored the route and obsessively tracked points of interest using paper maps and phone apps. However, the reality of the river began to feel increasingly remote as we entered an endless cycle of travel restrictions and lockdowns due to COVID-19.
This cache was placed to bring a little piece of the River Duddon along with one of my favourite rivers, Lowca Beck, into the woodland.