Derwentwater is perhaps the loveliest of the English lakes. Its compact form enables it to be taken in at one view. The picturesque variety of the steep wooded crags and green hills rising from its bank, and the grouping of its wooded islets are very beautiful. This view of the lake includes a fine mountain background. On “St. Herbert’s Isle” in the lake is the ruined cell of a hermit of the seventh century. Few lakes have so extensive shoals as Derwentwater. From a small boat one may look over the side “into the clear, amber water at the growing reeds, white spathes piercing the mud, green stems and hasty leaves unfolding ere they reach the upper air, or thin waving threads linking a tuft of foliage on the surface with unseen roots beneath. All kinds of pond life are creeping and swimming about.”
