Rydal Water is a small body of water in the central part of the English Lake District, in the county of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

. It is located near the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

of Rydal, between Grasmere and

Ambleside Ambleside is a town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lakes, in Cumbria, in North West England. Historically in Westmorland, it marks the head (and sits on the east side of the northern headwater) of Windermere, England's largest n ...

in the

Rothay Valley The Rothay is a spate river of the Lake District in north-west England. Its name comes from Old Norse and translates literally as ''the red one''. This has come to mean ''trout river''. It rises close to Rough Crag above Dunmail Raise at a po ...

.Parker, 2004, page 35 The lake is 1,290 yards (1.18 km) long and varies in width up to a maximum of 380 yards (350m), covering an area of 0.12 mi² (0.31 km²). It has a maximum depth of 55 ft (17m) and an elevation above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

of 177 ft (54m). The lake is both supplied and drained by the river Rothay, which flows from Grasmere upstream and towards

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in length, and almost 1 mile (1.5 km) at its wides ...

downstream. The waters of the southern half of the lake are leased by the Lowther Estate to the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

, whilst those of the northern half belong to the estate of

Rydal Hall Rydal may refer to: Places ;Europe * Rydal, Cumbria, a hamlet in the Lake District of England ** Rydal Mount, William Wordsworth's house in the Lake District ** Rydal Water, the lake upon which it is situated * Rydal Penrhos, a private school in N ...

. Navigation is prohibited, except for residents of Rydal Hall. Numerous walks are possible in the surrounding hills, as well as a walk around the lake itself, which takes in

Dove Cottage Dove Cottage is a house on the edge of Grasmere in the Lake District of England. It is best known as the home of the poet William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy Wordsworth from December 1799 to May 1808, where they spent over eight years ...

and Rydal Mount, both homes to

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's '' ...

, and Rydal Cave, a former quarry working. At the western end of the lake, steps lead to Wordsworth's Seat, which is considered to have been Wordsworth's favourite viewpoint in the Lake District. White Moss House, at the northern end of the lake, is believed to be the only house that Wordsworth ever bought. He bought it for his son Willie, and the family lived there until the 1930s. ''Nab Cottage'' overlooks the lake and it was once home to

Thomas de Quincey Thomas Penson De Quincey (; 15 August 17858 December 1859) was an English writer, essayist, and literary critic, best known for his '' Confessions of an English Opium-Eater'' (1821). Many scholars suggest that in publishing this work De Quinc ...

and

Hartley Coleridge Hartley Coleridge, possibly David Hartley Coleridge (19 September 1796 – 6 January 1849), was an English poet, biographer, essayist, and teacher. He was the eldest son of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. His sister Sara Coleridge was a poet a ...

, the son of

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lak ...

. Close by is the historic Rydal Hall.

Etymology

'Rydal' is " 'the valley where rye is grown', from OE 'ryge' and ON 'dalr' (possibly with encouragement from OE 'dæl'), hence the village and parish situated there....'Rydal Water' was formerly 'Routhmere', the lake of the Rothay, which runs eastwards through it.". "'Wæter' OE,'water' ModE the dominant term for 'lake'.... ON=

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

; OE= Old English.

In Art and Literature

In Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1838 is an engraving of a picture by George Pickering , which is accompanied by a poetical illustration by

Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. The writings of Landon are transitional between Romanticism and the Victorian Age. Her first major breakthrough ...

in which she expresses her homage to

Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's '' ...

Gallery

File:Rydalwater.jpg, Rydal Water seen from the summit of Nab Scar. File:Rydal Water.jpg, Eastern end of Rydal Water. File:RyWater.jpg, From Loughrigg, Lake District.

References

Bibliography

* Lakes of the Lake District National Trust properties in the Lake District Westmorland LRydal South Lakeland District {{cumbria-geo-stub