Wander Lonely as a Cloud or simply Potter about at your own whim and fancy.

The choice really is yours this summer on a visit to the breathtaking Lake District.

For the land of Cumbria's two literary giants William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter - portrayed by Renee Zellweger in the enchanting Miss Potter film - is already drawing admirers both young and old to their former fell-side homelands.

My wife, Karen, and I are on a weekend break of rest and relaxation to The Lakes, which a colleague from Oop North' had already modestly described as possibly the Eighth Wonder of the World'.

True to his word, the scenery is quite simply jaw-dropingly stunning and the warm hospitality and no-nonsense local cuisine is sublime.

Based at The Rothay Garden Hotel in the picture postcard village of Grasmere, our room overlooked a swirling beck with the sun setting behind one of the many fells.

It is easy to see where William Wordsworth, Cumbria's most famous son, drew his inspiration for the likes of such poems, commonly known as Daffodils, which includes the immortal line I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.

Incidentally, Wordsworth's most famous poem has now been set to rap music to entice the younger generation to the Lakes.

"Part of our work is demonstrating how Wordsworth's poetry is relevant today and encouraging young people to enrich their lives by exploring his poetry in their own ways," said David Wilson of the Wordsworth Trust.

The following morning, we made the pilgrimage to St Oswald's church where Wordsworth once worshipped and is now buried with other family members in the graveyard under a yew tree. A plaque recalls Wordsworth's description of his beloved Grasmere as The Fairest Place on Earth.

A short walk away is the Poet Laureate's whitewashed home at Dove Cottage. It is here he wrote his best-loved poetry and shared his time with other literary friends.

Later in life, Wordsworth moved to nearby Rydal Mount, where his family home is also open to visitors.

The house, which now belongs to his descendants, retains a lived in, family atmosphere and has seen little change since Wordsworth and his family came to live there in 1813. Wordsworth's attic study which he used when he was Poet Laureate is a literary treat.

We opted for a walk linking the two properties sombrely known as The Coffin Trail. The 50-minute journey marks the path of medieval coffin bearers and includes stone stopping points where the pall-bearers would rest the coffins on their way to the churchyard.

Our trip to The Lakes also included a visit to Yew Tree Farm near Coniston. The tearooms set in the 17th century farmhouse were once owned by Beatrix Potter in the 1930s and feature in the delightful film Miss Potter. Hill Top, the farmhouse where she wrote and illustrated many of her famous children's stories about Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-duck and Mrs Tiggy-winkle is also nearby. More on the life of Potter can be found at The Armitt museum in Ambleside, confided to me, by the curator as "Possibly the Jewel in the Crown.' For me, any trip to The Lakes would not have been complete without a visit to Coniston Water where speed ace Donald Campbell perished while breaking the 300mph world water speed record in Bluebird. The Ruskin Museum chronicles the fact and the exhibition includes artefacts such as Bluebird's tailfin and a certain Mr Whoppit, a cuddly bear mascot which Campbell always took with him on his record-breaking attempts.

You can drink a toast to the record-chaser with a pint of Bluebird bitter or enjoy a cup of tea at the lakeside Bluebird café, where fading newspaper cuttings recall the tragedy which I remember watching on grainy black and white TV footage as a schoolboy in 1967.

3:11pm Thursday 11th October 2007

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