Information & FAQs

Arrival on the 3rd
Check-in is from 4pm with refreshments available on arrival.
The first event on the programme will be the reception at 6pm, followed by dinner at 7pm.

Departure on the 8th
Breakfast will be at 7:30am
Check-out by 10am

Arrival on the 8th
Check-in is from 4pm.
The first event will be the welcome reception at Rydal Mount at 5:30pm, followed by dinner at 7:15pm

Departure on the 13th

Breakfast is at 8:15am
Checkout by 10am. 

Transport

We recommend flying to Manchester and then getting a direct train to Windermere. From here you can either take a bus or a taxi directly to Rydal Hall. The buses 555 to Keswick and 599 to Grasmere buses stop in Rydal, and run roughly every 20 minutes during peak times.

To research rail connections we suggest:
https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/

https://www.thetrainline.com/

Bus routes 555 and 599 between Windermere, Rydal Church, and Grasmere:
https://www.stagecoachbus.com/timetables

Payment

Payment is due by the second week of June.
We prefer receiving payment via bank transfer. Details for this will be on your invoice.

For international accounts and credit cards, we can take payment via paypal, but there is a £10 surcharge for this to cover fees. 

Presentations

All lectures and papers are as scheduled. Lecture slots are 1 hour and 15 minutes: questions should not continue after 10.30 a.m. or 9.45 pm. Panels with two 20-minute papers last 70 minutes and the changeover should take place 35 minutes into the session; panels with three papers last 105 minutes and the changeovers take place 35 and 70 minutes into the session. As a courtesy to fellow speakers and the audience, please ensure that you stick to the 20 minutes allotted to each paper presentation: our twenty-minute Hour Glass, Thomas the Tymer, will be vigilant. On days with walks and excursions, morning panels will finish to allow time to get lunch and prepare for the afternoon’s activities. Lectures and paper panels will be in the Rydal Hall Drawing Room.

There will be a projector linked to the WSC laptop. If you have a presentation for your lecture / paper, please send it in PowerPoint format to:
 

wordsworthsummerconference@gmail.com
 

Please ensure that you 1) include your name and paper title in the email's subject line; and 2) send it at least 24 hours before your presentation, so that the program runs smoothly. If you wish to connect your own computer to the projector, please bring your own adaptor. No adaptors will be provided. The projector has both an HDMI port and a RGB Input jack.

Printing

The conference organizers have no printing facilities at Rydal Hall, and Rydal Hall staff must not be asked to undertake photocopying: if you need a handout please bring sufficient copies with you (50 should normally suffice).

Walks

BOOTS: Please see our ‘Guidelines for Walkers 2026’ in the official programme for a description of the kind of mountain boots and clothing required for all A-walks and advised for all other walks. Low-cut approach shoes or all-terrain shoes are shoes, not boots, whatever their soles, and would invalidate our risk assessment policy if worn on fell-walks. There are shops for outdoor clothing and boots in both Grasmere and Ambleside.