The Coffin Trail /Rydal Mount - The Wordsworth Way Multi-cache
The Coffin Trail /Rydal Mount - The Wordsworth Way
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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A gradual uphill walk finishing on a short climb for both caches approximately ¾ of a mile apart.
Rydal Mount takes its name from one of the mounts (mounds) formed by the ashes of beacon fires lighted to warn of invasion from the Scottish Borders.
When the Wordsworths arrived at their final home Rydal Mount, they had been severely battered by circumstances, still grieving the loss of two of their children and finally having a comfortable home to live in and some economic stability, Wordsworth having gained the position of Distributor of Stamps for Westmorland. Wordsworth never ceased working on the gardens – he had always believed that it was one of the callings for which he was most suited. At Rydal Mount he had enough land, time and money to work on the gardens and continued to do so for 37 years, almost half of his lifetime. The primary features being the 4 miles of terraces, where he could walk and compose out loud as was his style. He incorporated rock pools and orchestrated the water with stones, strategically placed to vary the sound of the water. There were also many stone steps between the terraces and inscriptions in stone, as he envisaged, would immortalise himself and his work. Although subsequent owners have changed the garden, it still retains its ‘Wordsworthian’ appearance further sustaining Wordsworth’s belief that stone outlasts human life and in the ‘bones’ of the garden his mark remains to this day.
The Coffin Trail runs along the northern boundary of Rydal Mount and was once the main route for traffic between Ambleside and Grasmere, before the lower road around the Lake was built. This ancient track became known as the Coffin Trail, named for the funeral processions when Grasmere was the only church and hence the only churchyard in the area. Wordsworth used the track, not only to traverse between Rydal and Grasmere, but also to walk and compose whilst enjoying the inspiring views across Rydal Water to Loughrigg. It is still a very popular track with walkers today, look out for the coffin stones where the coffin would be supported whilst the coffin bearers rested.
The co-ordinates on this listing will take you to the Coffin Trail cache and the co-ordinates for the Rydal Mount cache are in a a micro container.
Hint 1 is for the Coffin Trail
Hint 2 is for Rydal Mount
This series charts some of the milestones in the life of the poet William Wordsworth, the main Biography appearing on ‘The Daffodils’ cache listing only.
Caches in this series:
The Daffodils - The Wordsworth Way
W.W. Memorial/Mire House - The Wordsworth Way
The Old School/Blelham Tarn - The Wordsworth Way
Dove Cottage/Rock of Names - The Wordsworth Way
The Old Rectory/Allan Bank - The Wordsworth Way
The Coffin Trail/Rydal Mount - The Wordsworth Way
Dora’s Field - The Wordsworth Way
Grisedale Tarn - The Wordsworth Way
Diana's Looking Glass - The Wordsworth Way
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
1. Va n tnc va gur ebpx snpr.
2. Haqrearngu gur sebag bs n obhyqre.