Benjamin Williams Leader (1831-1928)

Derwentwater is an oval shaped lake, three miles long by one mile wide, which lies between the Skiddaw Fells and the mountains known as the 'Jaws of Borrowdale.' Along with Windermere, Ullswater and Buttermere, Derwentwater remains one of the most popular and beautiful sites in the English Lake District to this day. The lake has several picturesque islands, Derwent Island, Lord's Island and St Herbert's Island, where according to folklore St Cuthbert's disciple of the same name, lived as a hermit. A mysterious transient 'floating island,' which is a mass of weeds transported by marsh gas, often surfaces near Lodore. The surrounding shores provide a pleasing combination of crags and wooded slopes.