Re: Shape of the lake


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TarBoard ]

Posted by Robert Dilley on January 28, 1998 at 17:02:29:

In Reply to: Shape of the lake posted by Robert Hill on January 28, 1998 at 10:31:49:

According to Ekwall (Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names) WINDERMERE comes not from winding, but from a (presumably Norse) individual VINAND -- so, Vinand's Lake. Anyway, Windermere doesn't really "wind", though it does have a bend (Coniston Water does not) at about Bowness which -- together with the islands -- prevent one from seeing the whole lake as one. From (e.g.) Loughrigg Fell you can see right down the upper lake to Long Island; from Gummer's Howe the lower lake, again to the islands off Bowness (I've got slides of both views). If you look at the ratio of length to breadth of the lake as depicted in the books, it is much closer to that of Coniston than Windermere. More deliberate confusion by AR, I suspect.
Incidentally, here in Thunder Bay, Ontario there is a Windemere Avenue, spelled without the middle R. I have no idea why.



Follow Ups:



Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail:

Subject:

Comments:

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL:


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TarBoard ]