Posted by Iain Hobbs on February 01, 2000 at 08:45:47 from 194.82.168.3:
In Reply to: Re: River Crake vs Pull Beck posted by Ian E-N on January 31, 2000 at 13:43:01:
The Pull Beck is in the North West Corner of Lake Windermere. It flows right past Huyton Hill. Up stream from its mouth is Pull Beck Swamp a former LAGOON surrounded by reed beds and now just a reedy patch of marsh. At the mouth of the Pull Beck, just as shown on "Up the Amazon River" was the boathouse for the Crossleys Launch "Daffodil" confirmed as far as can be, to have been the inspiration for the Beckfoot Launch. The geography matches AR's map of the Beckfoot estate. However as I'm sure you know there is no promontory as such next to Huyton HIll although a spit of land does hide the entrance to the Pull Beck from anywhere south of Waterhead. From the pier there you can see straight into the grounds of Huyton Hill and as in PP you could spot the tents on the lawn. All the information is there in SA and SD in AR's description. It has been confirmed to me that Dick and Dorothea's trip up the river took them to Ambleside, to get the cook-book. The reason for saying this is that AR sailed up there prior to writing WH to check it was possible. He used to make trips to the Ambleside area when he was a child. If you read my article on the Crossley Girls you will know that along with others I have been looking at this obscure area of the development of SA. We still don't know how AR knew the Crossleys but according to Abbot Hall Museum, AR's executors are sitting on the information that could tell us for certain. By the way Sir Kenneth Crossley owned Esperance and Huyton Hill. The sailing dinghy kept in the boathouse with the skull and cross-bones over the entrance belonged to his father. The skull and cross-bones is alas, no longer there. AR enhansed the water level on the Pull Beck, which is why most people mistake it for the Crake. The Pull Beck flows INTO the lake and not out of it like the Crake. It matches the text of SA and SD, There is evidence to link this area to AR, His drawing of the Amazon valley matches the present view of the Pull Beck Valley. You can see much of it from the Ambleside bus when it loops around Esthwaite Water. The Pull Beck Swamp is visible from there and further over you can see the exact view that AR drew. It matches right down to the position of the bends in the former river course and the surrounding hills.