A Tour of the English Lakes

A Tour of the English Lakes in Pen, Paint and Pixels.

Back in 1769, a famous writer and poet called Thomas Gray went on a walking tour of the Lake District and wrote a descriptive journal about where he went and what he saw. It was the first example of modern travel writing with its vivid descriptions of the 18th century scenery.

A few years later an artist called Joseph Farington used a copy of Gray’s journal to follow in his footsteps, painting the scenes that Gray had described.

Just a few years ago John Murray, a publisher from London, inherited Gray’s original notebooks and decided to do exactly what Farington did over 200 years before. He found the locations and took digital photographs of the views.

Using this app, you can now find the locations where Gray wrote, Farington painted and Murray took his photos. The app contains an entry for each location painted by Farington and described by Gray, plus a map and a few hints to help you find the locations for yourself.

The words, pictures and photo's inspired an exhibition at the Wordsworth Museum, Grasmere, The Lake District, Cumbria, called Pen, Paint & Pixels. Why not come along and have a look?