Drive and Stroll, with Ron Freethy - today visiting Keswick

KESWICK is a lovely old town set snugly between the lakes of Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite, overlooked by the mighty bulk of Skiddow mountain.

This is splendid walking country but it gets very crowded in summer so the best period to see it is between November and April.

The walks around either of the lakes are well marked and those who fancy a spot of fascinating history can visit the Cumberland Pencil Museum, which is open throughout the year.

In recent years, the company which runs the museum has produced more and more coloured pencils and these are of such quality that they are used by film animators.

The next time you see the film The Snowman remember that it was coloured using pencils from this factory.

And the next time you use a pencil, please spare a thought for the history of this most fascinating instrument.

The lead in a pencil is not, in fact, lead but graphite. This is a pure form of carbon produced by a combination of volcanic heat and immense pressure exerted over millions of years.

These varying factors produced two types of carbon - one called diamonds and the other graphite. The varying forms are known as allotropes.

Diamond is the hardest natural substance in the world and graphite is very soft, which is why it has been used for pencils. There is a legend, probably with some truth in it, about some shepherds in Borrowdale round about 1500. They were sheltering from a violent storm in a cave when they discovered blocks of graphite.

It looked like coal and they tried to burn it but it would not catch fire. They then discovered that it stained their hands and was difficult to wash off. They therefore used it to mark their sheep.

The origin of the word graphite is interesting. It derives from the Greek word for writing. The Italians used it for writing and drawing and it was in Italy that the first pencils were produced.

Cumbrian graphite, however, proved to be the purest in the world. Borrowdale graphite was soon in demand for pencils, black leading and especially for lining the moulds used to make cannonballs. Prices went sky high during the 18th century, when the British government nationalised graphite and placed an excise duty on it. Many smugglers were transported or given periods of hard labour.

Pencils of various grades were needed to do different jobs.

Draughtsmen, carpenters, stonemasons, artists and "ordinary folk" like us had different requirements.

Pencils were graded from B (black and soft) to H (hard and grey). Grades went from 1B to 9B and from 1H to 9H. A general purpose pencil was graded HB.

The wood used to encase a pencil is from an American tree, the Florida cedar, which is related to the giant redwoods.

It has the scientific name of Juniperus virginiana and its timber gives a smooth finish which does not splinter.

All the graphite mines have now been worked out but the Cumberland Pencil Co Ltd still operates to full capacity and the quality of its products is world famous.

It is reached from the M6 and off at junction 40. Follow the A66 to Keswick, from which the museum is signed (telephone number 07687 72116).

Take the whole day over it and enjoy a stroll along the banks of Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite. Buy yourself a set of pencils and try your hand at sketching.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.