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This is Post Knott
overlooking Bowness Bay.
Doesn't look very much does it?
A craggy rock, in a field, with a seat to sit on.
It's not even the highest point around here.
A couple of hundred yards away is Brantfell.
A full 200 feet higher.
It's hard to believe that over a hundred years ago this was one of the
most popular tourist attractions in the Lake District.
So what is it about this seemingly insignificant outcrop of rock
that put it on the Victorian must see list?
To get the answer we have to start at the bottom of the hill, in Bowness.
In the days of Queen Victoria, Bowness was a fashionable resort.
In those days, attractions of the natural world such as caves, lakes and
waterfalls
were extremely popular.
Bowness doesn't have any caves. It's not big on waterfalls,
but it does have Windermere
England's largest lake,
and there are plenty of places from which to view it,
including the rocky outcrop that we know today
as Post Knott.
It isn't the best viewing point,
but it's very easy to get to
and that's why it's so popular.
This is Helm Road, in the middle of Bowness.
For wealthy Victorians it was far too long to climb on foot,
but not too steep for a horse and carriage.
A quarter of a mile up the hill is a right hand turn.
Walk along the road and then through this gate
not forgetting to shut it behind you,
and you reach a wide track running along the side of the hill.
It was built to enable tourists to reach the viewpoint at the top.
The wealthy took a carriage, paying the princely sum of one shilling for the
privilege
those who were not so wealthy
or just plain mean
enjoyed a leisurely stroll instead.
To make the journey is it easy and relaxing as possible
seats werel built into the wall at regular intervals.
Imagine the scene. A fine, sunny day, ladies with their parosoles, the men
finely dressed, strolling up the gentle slope to get a view of England's largest lake.
The carriage ride did not go all the way to the top
It stopped here, 100 yards short.
Once his passengers had got out,
the carriage driver
was faced with the problem of turning round. There was a simple solution.
A Victoria roundabout amongst the trees. It's still visible today,
and nowadays has a seat for you to enjoy the view.
While the carriage driver was turning his horses, the tourists did what they had
come to do.
Walk to the top
turn their back on the view
and get out their Claude Glasses.
The Claude Glass was an essential piece of kit for Victorian Tourists.
The idea was to stand with your back to the view
hold the glass in front of you, and look at the reflection of the view almost as
though you're looking at a painting.
Some Claude Glasses had coloured glass filters to simulate the different
seasons of the year.
Yellow for summer
blue for winter.
Having decided upon the best view, the Victorians would then commit it to paper
by sketching or even painting it.
Modern tourists do something very similar
We frame the view, just as the Victorians did
but instead of turning our backs and using a Claude Glass, we used the view finder on
our digital camera or mobile phone to identify the best shot.
"Click"
Then we simply take a picture.
Nowadays the trees spoil the view from Post Knott.
Of course you could climb the extra two hundred feet to the summit
of Brantfell.
But if you don't want to do
that than simply walk down the hill
to the seat next to the old carriage turning circle
Sit down, look between the trees
and enjoy this superb view of Windermere, with Loughrigg
and Fairfield as a backdrop.
just like the Victorians, you won't be disappointed