Nine Becks Path

Nine Becks Path, Ennerdale

I AM primarily writing about lonnings at the moment - that's the Cumbrian dialect word for a lane. It's all part of an art project celebrating these green paths and I am selecting those lonnings with a particular name (Billy Watson's Lonning, Low Lonning, Love Lonning etc). However, I can't ignore some of the other nicely-named footpaths, packhorse routes, drove roads, corpse roads and the like that you can find in Cumbria. Pictured is Nine Becks Path in Ennerdale. One end of it has been 'lost' temporarily as man does battle with some awful larch disease which - as usual - can only be fought by chopping the trees down. However, if you start at Low Gillerthwaite Youth Hostel in Ennerdale you've more chance of finding the path. Head up the forest road up the hill and a quarter of a mile there's a sharp bend so you double back on yourself. The path comes off that hairpin bend, going back towards Ennerdale Bridge. The start is not easy to see but once in the woods you should pick it up. I was expecting to cross nine becks but in fact found none - perhaps the dry summer is to blame, or the forestation of the area. It's a path that runs for about half a mile above and parallel to the 'main road' below. Watch your step though: some left over police tape ("Do not cross this line") suggests at least one walker has lost his footing on this steep incline.

Lonnings project launched

Billy Watson's Lonning, Harrington

ONE of the most successful events held at Florence Arts Centre, Egremont - and it was a talk about lonnings! A wet Thursday night saw 50 people crowd into the lecture room at Florence to hear me talk about my passion and to learn about a new art project based on these green lanes which criss cross the county. First, my thanks to everyone who came. And secondly, it's not too late to get involved if you missed the launch. I'm hoping we can hold an exhibition and/or other arts events celebrating lonnings - probably early in 2014. So all artists need to do is go out exploring the lonnings and then create something which helps share with others the beauty of these forgotten paths.

What is a lonning? A Cumbrian dialect term for a footpath (in the north-east they usually spell it 'lonnen'). So in a sense any footpath is a lonning. However, I'm concentrating on those specifically named 'something lonning'.

Where to find a lonning? You'll find very few named on maps (although they are usually shown as paths on OS maps). And you wont find many in the thousands of guide books or walking books either. They're usually only known to 'the locals'. However, I've compiled a Google Map of lonnings - but be aware some of these are just 'notes' and the precise location may not be known. Email me if you need help.

What do lonnings look like? You'll find many photos on my Flickr page. Some are very wooded and sunken paths but others are very wide open lanes. And yet others have already been turned into B-roads.

What do I do when I've finished my painting/photo/poem etc? Just email me and I'll line it up for the exhibition.

How else can I get involved? Lesley and I will be holding a series of lonning walks in October. You'll find details on the Florence Arts Centre website. This blog will be updated with news of lonnings and it's also worth keeping an eye on the Florence Facebook page.

Cumbrian Lonnings

ALL Cumbrians instinctively know what a lonning is. It’s a dialect word shared with our friends in the North East (although they tend to spell it “lonnen”).
The Lakeland Dialect Society defines a lonning as a lane, and when many lonnings were “upgraded” to roads in the 19th century they were often re-named lanes. Hence Rosemary Lonning in Whitehaven became Rosemary Lane.
There are tens of thousands of books detailing walks and footpaths in Cumbria but amazingly there isn’t one specifically on lonnings. So I donned my boots to explore this Cumbrian phenomenon.
It soon became clear that “lane” is not sufficient as a definition. Some lonnings are barely tracks in the landscape while others are wide enough for tractors and 4x4s. At first I thought “a route between A and B” might be a more encompassing definition, but some lonnings don’t go anywhere. Brownrigg Lonning, for example, beside St Bees’ railway station, is a delightful lonning but it’s a dead end. So perhaps a more accurate definition is “a route between A and Not-A”.
Lonnings can be divided into two categories: Fat and Thin. And at Maryport you’ll find one of each running almost in parallel. They start opposite Netherhall School. Fat Lonning is ‘fat’ enough for cars to drive up and down while Thin Lonning (its real name is Pigeonwell Lonning) is barely wide enough for one person. It makes for a lovely walk to go down Fat Lonning, turn south along the coast path, past the Roman museum and then return via Thin Lonning.
Since every green lane can be a lonning there must be thousands of them throughout Cumbria, but there are many which have specific names – and they are as rich and varied as the lonnings themselves. In Cumbria we have Thieves Lonning, Guards Lonning, Billy Watson’s Lonning, Tin Barn Lonning, Gipsy Lonning, Johnnie Bulldog Lonning and even a Ha Ha Lonning.
Mackenzie’s Lonning was so named because it was used by mineworkers going to pits owned by a Mr Mackenzie. It featured on the letters page of The Whitehaven News a few months ago and is perhaps what most people dream a lonning should be like: a sunken lane with long green tunnels of willow, bramble and ferns with a soft “pavement” of soil. It’s just one of the many woodland tracks to be found south of Cleator Moor.
It’s a ‘thin’ lonning more akin to Dorset’s Holloways and – as much as the romantics would like – it’s not typical of a Cumbrian lonning. Lovers Lonning at St Bees is perhaps more typical. Historical records show it has existed for at least 150 years but its route and even its name has changed over that period. Today it starts nowhere in particular and goes nowhere in particular – which does at least mean it’s untroubled by much in the way of pedestrian traffic.
It runs from the B5345 Egremont Road (which was itself once a lonning – Quot Yat Lonning – before being upgraded to a road) to the Nethertown Road. The route then seems to follow the old corpse road before turning down to Seamill Lane.
On either side of the lonning are dykes (hedges). Like most lonnings there are remnants of dry stone walls buried deep beneath the bramble and honeysuckle. These dykes are so tumbled-down they no longer serve any purpose. Sheep will happily jump over them, wander down the lonning then jump over to the next field. The only purpose now of the dykes is a haven for wildlife. Sparrows, greenfinches and wrens are among your companions down Lovers Lonning.
Maps rarely mention lonnings by name and rarer still are any signposts using their names. The best way to track them down is to ask long-time residents. However, you will find Low Lonning, near Gosforth, on Google Earth. It’s also on estate maps going back to the 18th century. And its age is apparent as soon as you walk down it. Park in Gosforth and walk up Leagate Brow on the Wasdale Road. You’ll find the start of Low Lonning marked as a public footpath on the right hand side. 
At first it looks disappointing but the mundane farm track ends a few yards on and a stile takes you into the lonning proper. Like Lovers’ Lonning, the route may be little used by humans these days but it is teeming with flora and fauna. It might also be called blackite lonning, for the dykes are weighed down with bramble.
What really makes Low Lonning stand out though are the occasional breaks in the side of the lonning which reveal stunning views to Wasdale and its iconic screes. And once you get to the end there’s a delightful walk past Hall Senna bridge to the Eskdale Road; then turn right back to Gosforth.
There are no statistics available but lonnings are probably an endangered species. A historic building dating back 200 or 300 years would almost certainly be listed but not so footpaths. 
People drive everywhere so they are little used now. Farmers and landowners chip away at the edges to widen them for farm vehicles. Or lonnings are ‘upgraded’ to bridleways, then by-roads and finally have Tarmac, pavements and street lighting.
There is a ray of hope. And it comes in the form of Wardle’s Lonning at Lowca. This country path to Distington was upgraded in the past to a B-road. But in 2009 the Distington bypass cut the road in half so it’s now a dead end, and Mother Nature is busy reclaiming it. Grass is beginning to poke through the Tarmac and one day it may return to being a ‘proper’ lonning. One that will definitely go from A to Not-A.

• See also my Google Map of Cumbrian Lonnings
• My book, Cumbrian Lonnings, is now available online
• And my Flickr pictures of Cumbrian Lonnings
• - This article originally appeared in The Whitehaven News of September 19th 2013.

Mapping out a theatrical treat

Review of Cartographers by Theatre by the Lake, Keswick.

KESWICK has a very good 700-seat theatre complete with roof. But why use that when you perform in nearby Cockshott Woods? In the pouring rain.
There was a purpose to this madness. Cartographers is a new play – written by Cumbrians Ian Hill and Kim Moore along with Lindsay Roden and Joe Ward Munrow – which focused on the subject of maps.
Around 50 hardy souls braved the cold and rain to walk round the wood. At various intervals there were ‘playlets’ look at different  aspects of cartography: a World War II evacuee drawing the streets of Newcastle on the ground to remind him of home; a middle-aged couple out walking as a therapy for the personal crisis they were facing and so forth.
The performers were the professional team from Keswick’s summer season and director was associate director Stefan Escreet.
Maps continue to have an appeal to artists and these writers delight in exploring the magic and mystery of them. “This is a map for getting lost” declares one of the characters while another contemplates the gaps between locations on the map. Others consider drawing a map of every birds’ nest or every spot where they have been happy – or sad.
The audience were forced to consider just what the purpose of a map should be. Should it  simply tell you where you are or can it be a map of where your life is going? Such mystical meanderings were given an extra dash of magic courtesy of singers and musicians who performed throughout the wood. Indeed, even the shouting of children from nearby Derwentwater seemed to be part of the performance.
Despite four writers being involved, each of the scenes beautifully merged with one another – each echoing the others. It was an enchanting piece of walking theatre which, at its climax, left the audience in the middle of this charming wood.
But how to get back to Keswick town centre? Now, if only we’d brought a map....

- Alan Cleaver

World Book Night at Florence

WE didn't have any books to give away on World Book Night but that wasn't going to stop us celebrating the event. And very kindly, Carlisle author Brindley Hallam Dennis - also known as Mike Smith (pictured) - came to give us a talk on all things 'booky'. A year ago he started Litcaff at Merienda's cafe in Carlisle (it meets on the third Wednesday of each month) and we can  only hope that he has lit another literary flame with his meeting at Florence. Brindley introduced us to the literary landscape of Cumbria - and some of the famous and less famous writers he has come across. The likes of HE Bates, Vivien Jones and AE Coppard were discussed during the two-hour event at Florence Mine, Egremont as well as advice on writing and getting published. It whetted our appetite for having a go ourselves. Mike is a teacher and we're hoping it will be possible to set up a creative writing course with him at Florence. And the seed of a "Litmine" was planted with regular meetings for those who want to write or just enjoy good writing. Watch this space!

LINKS:

BHDandme - Brindley's blog

Pewter Rose Press - where you can buy Brindley's books

Litcaff - the Carlisle literary meet-up

New Writing North - an essential website for writers
Liars League London
Florence Mine
Last Writes - a micro site devoted to the exhibition

Music and comedy in equal measure

Can a musical note reach so high that it gets stuck in the rafters? And can you play tennis with a musical note? (apparently you can). And what happens when a 'live' video feed of a band starts playing a different tune to the band itself?!
These and other questions were answerd by the New Rope String band when their Pythonesque view of the world was brought to Florence Mine, Egremont, Cumbria. And to a full house at Florence. This band obviously has a huge following with people coming from all over Cumbria to see them. It was easy to see why. Yes, they're accomplished musicians but it's the comic way they use the music that makes them so entertaining.
At one point they set up a video camera apparently showing a live feed of them performing on stage - but then their video selves started mucking about and going 'off script'. A fight even broke out between the real musicians and the video ones! Quite surreal but terrific fun.
Pete Challoner, Tim Dalling and Jock Tyldesley make up the band and demonstrate that being able to sing or play an instrument is only the first step in 'putting on a show'. This was live theatre at its best and a tremendous, energetic, mind-boggling night of entertainment.
The show was put on with the help of Arts out West and the New Rope String band are performing at other venues in Cumbria throughout May. Find out more at www.arts-out-west.co.uk.

Capturing the soul

PRIMITIVE civilizations used to believe that a photograph would capture part of your soul. It turns out they were right.
Proof is given at an exhibition at Florence Arts Centre, Egremont where  photographer Donna Brookes and others have put work on display.
Making The Usual Unusual is the title – and it does precisely what it says on the tin. Something as simple as a portrait of a young girl has been turned into something much more dramatic.
Donna – a Whitehaven photographer and, it would seem, part-time witch – does indeed appear to have captured some of the soul of her subjects. There’s a haunting, mesmeric quality about them. These are eyes that don’t just follow you round the room but stalk your mind for days afterwards.
Most ‘smiling family’ pictures today are tediously dull. You know the ones: taken against white backgrounds and with the requisite giant red ball in the foreground. They are pictures that tell you what everyone looks like but reveal absolutely nothing about the real person behind the smile.
One look at Donna’s work and her subjects shout their emotions at you with just a single glance.
Artists Fliss Watts and Iain Taylor are also exhibiting at Florence. These too are works that help you see the world in a new way. It’s an exhibition of breath-taking originality. Thank goodness. 

• Making The Usual Unusual runs at Florence until March 31. See www.florencemine.org