The Cumbrian Mountains become a popular site due to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's collected works titled, A Walking  Tour of Cumbria. In August of 1802 Coleridge left his home set in Greta Hall, Keswick to leave for the Cumbrina Mountains. A week long journey that required lots of physical essertion and stamina to complete. Along the road, Coleridge took great care to jot down what he saw within his surrounding which included, drawings, maps, thoughts and scribbles. These pages can be found within one of Coleridge's famous notebooks (out of his 64) and can be found within the British Library.

The mountains themsleves are found through the Lake District in NW England which hold narrow valleys that extend throughout Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire.  Though these mountains are regarded beautiful in nature, some peaks are quite a feat with the highest peak known as, Scafell Pike ranging 978 meters from sea level. The range of these mountains is facinating, escpecially when they were found in such high regard by Coleridge. When Coleridge embarked on his nine day journey to the Lake District, he traveled all the way from the western to the eastern fringes of the area that was then known as the county of Cumberland.  Due to the long journey of Coleridge, his nights mostly consisted of staying at various farms across the county and establishing what he liked to call, " circumcursion" the process that Samuel idealized as a process to produce,  "cartographical" and even perhaps "pschogeographical" ideas or interpretations for his surroundings. 

On Coleridge's first day of the walk, it is estimated that he walked the equivilant of 15 miles. He first came through the Newlands Pass and later decended to Buttermere and there he stopped for a brief break at a local inn before continuing onward towards his destination to Floutern Cop were he rested for the night. This journey was not an easy one. Many admire the famous poet as he journeyed such a distance in only one day's time, despite his resting stops. One cannot help but admire Coleridges determination, dedication and inspiration for his future work. His ablility to be in tune with his surroundings while encompassing tough turrain is nothing less than admirable.  Another aspect of Coleridges feat was his light packing. Coleridge reliyed on very little to get him through this journey to enhance his senses and relationship within nature. When leaving for his extensive journey, he took only, " -the shank of a besom broom, for a walking stick, and a knapsack containing a spare shirt, cravat, two pairs of stockings, a book, paper and pens, tea and sugar, and an oil skin of somekind." (Peterson). This simplistic style of packing shares a lot of Coleridges countanance and his focus on creating a simplistic nine day journey. This is something that is a similar theme with other poets in the romantic era. Samuel didn't walk because he had too, he walked jsut for the pleasure of it, to atune his senses to the beauty that surrounded him. 

When looking deeper at one of Coleridges maps we can see that from it, it wasn't a map that he used as a guide but rather, a  space for which he was able to document the places he had already passed or was planning to reside in his travels. Even when attempting to hike the highest peak of Scafell Pike, Coleridge never had a mountain guide to assist him, nor did he know were he was to sleep every night. This minimalist style of living can definitley be seen in Coleridges works and his impressive journey through the Cumbrina Mountains has created a powerful lens for us to look through with the help of his notebook entrees.

Works Cited

"Chasing Coleridge" Woodsworth Grasamere,8 September 2020 https://woodsworth.org.uk/chasing-cooleridge

Hotchkiss, L Wilhelmina "Coleridge Beaumont and the Woodworthian Claims for Place" Vol 21, No 1 The Woodsworth Circle

Scanton, John. "Through Mountains To The Sea: On the A66 To West Cumbria" Places Journal, (2019).