Robin Hood Riding Centre (Bassenthwaite)
Locality | |
---|---|
Coordinate | 54.684088, -3.199696 |
Adm. div. | Cumberland |
Vicinity | c. 500 m NNW of Bassenthwaite |
Type | Establishment |
Interest | Robin Hood name |
Status | Defunct |
First Record | 1976 |
By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2017-09-04. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2021-01-06. Includes information kindly provided by Julie Ann Johnson.
Robin Hood Riding Centre was located in a vicinity c. 2 km NE of Bassenthwaite Lake and c. 0.5 km NNW of Bassenthwaite village that is known as 'Robin Hood'.
A worn sign (at the coordinate 54.684637,-3.200442), at the side of a road named the Rake, between Robin Hood Holiday Centre and Robin Hood to the south, reads 'Robin Hood Riding Centre'. It is not clear when the riding centre was established or when it closed, but it was in full swing by 1976, as can be seen in an interesting clip from BBC Nationwide (1976), brought to my attention by Julie Johnson (see link under Videos below). It is mentioned in the Q&A column in the New York Times' travel section for 3. Jan. 1982, which includes this question from V.V. of Ville Mont-Royal, Quebec: 'I would like to take a pony trek in the Lake District of England. When is the best time to do this, and where can I get information to make arrangements?' The answer cites a British Tourist Authority brochure titled Pony Trekking and Riding which under Cumberland lists 'Robin Hood Riding Centre (Bassenthwaite, Keswick)' among several others.[1] This is all the evidence I have found online. In view of the state of the sign and the fact that buildings within 'Robin Hood' are now used for other purposes, it seems clear that the riding centre closed decades ago. The coordinates i have provided in the info box on this page are those of an outhouse within 'Robin Hood' which may have served as a stable for the ponies.
For Robin Hood-related place-names within or close to Robin Hood and the former riding centre, see Bassenthwaite place-name cluster.
Gazetteers
- Not included in Dobson, R. B., ed.; Taylor, J., ed. Rymes of Robyn Hood: an Introduction to the English Outlaw (London, 1976), pp. 293-311.
Sources
Maps
- 25" O.S. map Cumberland XLVI.16 (1900; rev. 1898)
- 25" O.S. map Cumberland XLVI.16 (1925; rev. 1923)
- 6" O.S. map Cumberland XLVI (1867; surveyed 1864-65)
- 6" O.S. map Cumberland XLVI.SE (1900; rev. 1898)
- 6" O.S. map Cumberland XLVI.SE (1900; rev. 1898) (georeferenced)
- 6" O.S. map Cumberland XLVI.SE (1926; rev. 1923).
Videos
- Facebook: BBC Archive – Nationwide (1976): Horse Proficiency Test at Robin Hood Riding Centre (Bassenthwaite).
Background
Also see
Notes