Unusually, this is the only Lake District drawing that features in the 2026 calendar – it’s been a busy year or two and I am not getting up north as often as I should. This shall change, someday! Meanwhile – there IS a Lake District drawing and if you’re a swimmer at Rydal Water, you may very well know this exact tree.
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“The Master Faffer”
Wet weather is particularly flattering to Rydal water: the rocks and wet tree trunks nearly black in the watery light, the background subdued, the end of the lake hidden and the islands just a shadowy presence out across the water. The colours are black, white and grey, with green highlights.
And it’s on days like this when wooded hillsides fade from view and nearby trees express their individual characters: some spreading, some growing up with enthusiasm, and one leaning entirely over the water, seemingly transfixed by its own reflection.
Wrapping its toes around a rock, it leans, defying gravity, stretching out to join us for a swim. Maybe tomorrow, it says, maybe if I just reach a little further, maybe one more twig. Maybe when it warms up, maybe if it stops raining, maybe I have too many leaves, maybe next year, maybe if I just touch the water first, just a little dip. It must have spent 200 years just, nearly, almost getting in the lake. May it continue to faff on the shoreline for centuries to come.
WaterDrawn 