Superb quality.

The narrative was pure poetry.

J S Boulton | Carlisle | January 2019

Eric Robson and his border collie Nell follow the River Duddon (forming the boundary between Lancashire and Cumberland) from its source near the Wrynose Pass to its outlet into the Irish Sea at Duddon Sands. This DVD is a kind of companion piece to "Wordsworth's Lakeland," an earlier Striding Edge title focusing on Wordsworth's lifetime love affair with the Lake District. Wordsworth wrote a series of 34 sonnets on the river, and as the walk progresses, Robson reads some of these evocative poems as we see images of the river and the surrounding area. The visuals do more than merely illustrate Wordsworth's descriptions; they invite the viewer to recreate and participate in the powerful poetic imagination inspired more than two centuries ago by the varied landscapes of this region. The visual/aural juxtapositions in the segments on Sonnets 9 and 32 are especially effective examples of this process. Along the way Robson provides insights into the area's industrial, agricultural, and community history, including an account of a memorable--and fatal--brawl involving navvies and an innkeeper at the turn of the last century, and a policeman particularly resourceful at recovering lost evidence. Robson's familiar dry wit is in evidence throughout: he assures us that his caution about keeping your feet dry when the river swells during bad weather is "the last nanny state warning" he'll offer. And in his refreshingly blunt manner he persuasively responds to the "rot" that industrial activity is always a blight on the Lakeland landscape. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Larry B | Ventura, California | October 2018