Another Lakeland Christmas

We continued our recent tradition and spent Christmas in Kendal. In line with the rest of the UK, we had our fair share of rain over the festive period, but Al and I still managed to do a bit of walking in and around Kendal

Along the banks of the Kent

Panoramic view over Kendal, on route to ...

... Scout Scar

Barrowfield trigpoint - Flush Bracket S5672 - ranked joint 826th  in the "Triggy charts"

A walk through Serpentine Woods

... and along the Kent, just south of Natland

... then a refreshing pint in the Brewery

We also visited Keswick, where I took the opportunity to visit the world famous Pencil Museum

The first graphite ever discovered was in the Seathwaite Valley in Borrowdale near Keswick. It was found around 1500 by shepherds after a violent storm. They went out in the morning after the storm to check that their sheep were ok and found that a number of trees had been blown down. The subsoil had been torn away exposing some black material which they initially thought was coal - but it would not burn and the shepherds were at a loss as to what it was. They soon found out that the graphite was an excellent way to mark sheep.

The value of the material was quickly discovered and the Government took over the mines. Graphite - locally called "wad" - was transported to London and used as moulds for the manufacture of cannon balls

The first pencils were made in Keswick around 1558 - and soon a cottage industry grew up making artists' pencils.The basic principles of pencil making have remained the same over the centuries, although production methods have obviously changed considerably. Essentially, a colour or graphite strip is sandwiched between two pieces of wood then cut and finished into the shape required. This is now almost a fully automatic process whereas at one time every single stage was carried out by hand

In 1980 the then Managing Director realised that people were fascinated by the history of pencils and how they were made and the idea for the Museum was born. It was constructed in the former factory canteen building and advertisements were placed in newspapers seeking artefacts and memorabilia. The famous Pencil Museum van, a 1954 Morris J Type, was found hidden under rubbish in the warehouse, brought out and restored, it now has pride of place at the front of the Museum. In May 1981 the museum opened its doors.

More details of this fascinating museum, including this wonderful model of Tower Bridge made from pencils, can be found at Pencil Museum.

A Happy New Year to all