Posted by andy bolger on October 22, 2000 at 10:03:01 from 62.7.44.207:
In Reply to: Pigeon Post Observations (not "oddities...") posted by Ed Kiser on October 22, 2000 at 04:12:01:
Ed you are very democratic, asking so many questions, we all get a chance to answer.
I'll confine myself to a few. Yes there are lots of old mines in the Lake District, AR's history of them is pretty accurate. Coniston was one of the centres as was Keswick in the North and Honister to the West. There were even some gold mines, Goldscope Mine is still marked on the map in the Newlands Valley which is the home of Lucy in the Tale of Mrs Tiggywinkle. To my knowledge, none of the mines is still working although there are a number of active slate workings. One is open as a visitor's attraction in the Coppermines Valley at Coniston. There are lots of books about the Lakeland Mines one has a chapter on Oscar Gnosseplos (PeterH. will no doubt corect my spelling) a.ka. Timothy or Squashy Hat.
An adit is a type of mine shaft, one that enters the hill more or less horizontaly rather thean vertically, if my memory serves me
"Thrutch" is a word used by British rock climbers it means "to make an uncertain and flailing progress upwards with the expenditure of much effort and no style or grace" climbers thrutch up chimneys i.e cracks in the rock just about wide enough to insert one's body into
This perhaps conveys the image of Beckfoot as a house where movement had become constricted due to an over abundance of painters, thruched says it much more neatly don't you think?
P.S. none of the names look real to me, I've always assumed that Dundale was the Duddon Valley also known as Dunnerdale