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SOUVENIR OF VISITS IN 1928/1937, color
print. Sweet Derwent Water of the English Lakes. "Her
gentle limbs did she undress And lay down in her loveliness."
Coleridge, who loved this above and similar scenes in the lakes
region. The quotation is from 'Christabel' by Samuel
Taylor Coleridge 1772-1834 In May 1928 Paul Harris set off on a
marathon tour of Britain and his first call was a long
anticipated visit to the Lake District. From Keswick, close to
Derwentwater and Coleridge's home at Greta Hall, he wrote to
Vivian Carter, the Secretary of R.I.B.I.:-"Rural England has
proven to be all that I expected of it; in many respects more
than I expected. Words are inadequate to express my admiration
of the countryside, the secluded nooks, the out of the way
paths, the unfrequented roads, the abundant flowers, the hedges,
songbirds, little villages, etc.
Moreover the courtesy with which I have
been received in Ayrshire and in the Lakes region of England has
been wonderful. Naturally the country and this land of
Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey and Ruskin have a strong appeal
to every lover of English literature, and the physical chorus
make a combination hard to beat." Besides admiring the
beautiful scenery, Paul Harris went to pay homage to his
literary heroes. It was not until 1937, that he returned to the
Lake District, when he was driven from Liverpool to Kendal and
thence to the shores of Lake Windermere. "The water and the
ranges of mountains in the background were still quite
discernible in the lingering twilight, although it was eleven
o'clock at night," Harris wrote.
Once again, he recalled in his account of
this visit, the many literary figures who had been inspired to
write by their love of nature here in the English Lakes. He was
able to revisit some favourite spots, Grasmere, Derwent and
Keswick, before returning to Kendal for an inter-club Rotary
meeting at midday on Thursday July 15, 1937.
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