FULLY BOOKED: THE LIFE OF BUILDINGS: PAST PRESENT FUTURES

Higham Hall College Bassenthwaite Lake, Cockermouth, Cumbria, United Kingdom

In almost every town or village, there’s a building built, once upon a time, for a purpose that no longer exists. It might be a church without a congregation, a big house without a household, or an institution without an institute. What do, or could, we do with such buildings? This course will tell the 

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SUNDAY LECTURE: VISUAL ART, LANDSCAPE AND THE ANGLO-SCOTTISH BORDERS

Higham Hall College Bassenthwaite Lake, Cockermouth, Cumbria, United Kingdom

In this lecture, art historian and academic Ysanne Holt will share her current research on the cultural history of this region, exploring artists’ engagements with the landscapes of this cross-border region from the interwar period to the present. Those for consideration include Winifred Nicholson and William Johnstone in the earlier decades, Land/environmental artists of the 

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FULLY BOOKED: SOLWAY MARITIME HISTORY

Higham Hall College Bassenthwaite Lake, Cockermouth, Cumbria, United Kingdom

This course explores the rich maritime history and stunning landscapes of the Solway coast. With a programme of minibus-based field trips we will visit different harbours, historic quaysides and coastal sites stretching from Whitehaven in west Cumbria through to Dumfries in southwest Scotland. Fiona Stoddart Residential: £455 Non-residential: £330 (includes minibus trips)

FULLY BOOKED: MUSHROOMS, TOADSTOOLS AND OTHER FUNGI

Higham Hall College Bassenthwaite Lake, Cockermouth, Cumbria, United Kingdom

Our seasonal opportunity to develop fungi identification skills with a renowned expert. Minibus field trips: easy, but off-path walking. Collect and observe fungi in various habitats, examine finds, accurately identify with a range of keys for identification to both genus and species. For anyone interested in fungi, seasoned or unseasoned, with a wish to learn. 

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SUNDAY LECTURE: SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE: LIFE, LITERATURE AND IMAGINATION

Higham Hall College Bassenthwaite Lake, Cockermouth, Cumbria, United Kingdom

Famous as the author of The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge is one of the most intriguing and contradictory characters in English literature. He is also of course a leading figure among Lake District writers. This lecture will focus on Coleridge's achievements as a poet and thinker, in the context of his 

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GEOLOGY WITH ANNETTE MCGRATH: ROCKS, MINERALS, FOSSILS

Higham Hall College Bassenthwaite Lake, Cockermouth, Cumbria, United Kingdom

A thorough introduction to rocks, minerals and fossils through illustrated talks and hands-on practical sessions. You will have the opportunity to examine a museum-quality geological collection from around the world and scrutinise the inner secrets of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks down the microscope. A large selection of geological specimens, geological maps and books will 

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SUNDAY LECTURE: THE CULINARY CALENDER CUSTOMS OF CUMBRIA

Higham Hall College Bassenthwaite Lake, Cockermouth, Cumbria, United Kingdom

Until recently, the working class families of the farming, forestry and mining communities of Lakeland subsisted on a fairly simple diet, largely based on locally grown oats and barley. However, on feast days and other special occasions, this grainy monotony was enlivened by celebratory dishes, which often contained exotic spices and dried fruit. A Christmas 

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FULLY BOOKED: NORTH WEST FRONTIER OF ROME

Higham Hall College Bassenthwaite Lake, Cockermouth, Cumbria, United Kingdom

For four centuries, the Great Wall of Hadrian marked the North West Frontier of Rome, an empire so vast the south east frontier rested on the Euphrates. Even today, the mighty stride of the Wall as it marches along the summit of the Whin Sill constitutes Rome’s grandest, most ambitious and enduring military monument. This 

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SUNDAY LECTURE: A Shadow of Magnitude: Black Lives in the English Lake District, 1660–1870

Higham Hall College Bassenthwaite Lake, Cockermouth, Cumbria, United Kingdom

This lecture will document and consider the historical presence of people of African ancestry in Cumbria between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Building on the foundational research of regional archivists and historians, the lecture will dwell on the evidence that survives of these peoples’ lives and explain what that evidence reveals about Cumbria’s social makeup 

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FULLY BOOKED: INTRODUCTION TO BRYOPHYTES (MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS)

Higham Hall College Bassenthwaite Lake, Cockermouth, Cumbria, United Kingdom

An introductory course in which we will look at identifying some of the most common bryophytes. We will look at the main features that help with identification, collect some species from the grounds and practise using a key. We will use hand lenses and microscopes to appreciate the details of these tiny plants and get 

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