Rediscovered! The original Lakeland cottage that inspired Withnail and I. And yes, you can stay there...

It's part of the long-established lore of Withnail and I that the writer/director Bruce Robinson took inspiration from the time he actually did go 'on holiday by mistake' to the Lake District with a friend. It was in the winter of 1970 that Bruce and fellow struggling actor Michael Feast headed north in a 'fucked old Jaguar', and found themselves staying in a farm cottage far up a stony track, a mile from the road. Remembering the trip in the book-length interview Smoking in Bed: Conversations with Bruce Robinson, he didn't mince his words:

'The cottage depicted in the film was positively luxurious compared with what Mickey and I actually found when we arrived. It really was bucket by the bed with rain coming in and so cold you could hardly see.'

Burning furniture to keep warm, and killing a chicken to eat: both actually happened, according to Bruce. As did running outside with plastic bags on their feet to try to remedy the fuel and wood situation. Though he could remember the name of the (are you the?) farmer who owned the place — 'Parkin, which is where I got the name' — Bruce couldn't then recall the name of 'wherever it was — it wasn't called Crow Crag.'

In the film, Crow Crag was memorably played by Sleddale Hall in Wet Sleddale, near Shap. Much has been written about this wonderful place, and thousands upon thousands of photos have probably been taken of it by now, by the many Withnailers who have made the pilgrimage, not least those who attend the sold-out Picnic Cinema screenings of the film in the yard at the house every summer. (Though pilgrims should note that it is a private property, and not open to the public or available to rent... as yet.)

But where did Bruce actually stay on that fateful trip in 1970? Which house originally inspired Crow Crag?

Well, thanks to a detail tucked away in the marvellous new book Withnail and I: From Cult to Classic, we can now reveal exactly where it was that Bruce and Michael Feast ended up, and yes, it's still a holiday let, though now a very lovely one!

In the book — alongside interviews and memories from the cast, crew, and famous fans — there is all sorts of wonderful ephemera from Bruce's personal archive, including the first page of a letter he wrote to his then-girlfriend, the actress Lesley-Anne Down, about the 'holiday' he'd just had. He begins by describing the local area: 'In Pooley-Bridge, the nights are nightier — black is blacker, and cold is colder (I forgot — wet is wetter).' He goes on to describe getting to their accommodation, and there, in the letter, is this:

'Auterstone cottage sticks out like a boil on a troubled brow.'

A quick google reveals that Auterstone Cottage is part of Swarthbeck Farm, near Howtown. It overlooks Ullswater, and according to its website is, yes, up 'a long track which can be difficult in snow and ice.' But, it has 'wonderful views over the whole lake from the front.' Sounds lovely. To be fair, even Bruce conceded in his 1970 letter that 'the living room is a picture from a noddy book about cottages.' It appears that no one online has ever made the Withnail connection...

If you'd like to stay there yourself, you can find the details here. 

Why Bruce didn't suggest filming Withnail at the place that inspired it is an interesting question, which I'm not sure he's ever been asked. It's not as if Sleddale Hall is any easier to get to for a film crew, if anything, it's even further from a main road! Having said that, Sleddale Hall (which was found by Unit Production Manager Matthew Binns) was perfect for the film, and it's now hard to imagine Uncle Monty's being anywhere else. But! A film has been made at Auterstone, and a somewhat Withnailian one at that...

Paul is Dead is a short film about the Beatles, and rather than trying to sum it up, it's quicker if you just go and watch it. It's superb on every level, and I'm not just saying that because it was co-written and produced, not to mention production designed, by a friend of mine, Stuart Armstrong.

Here's the trailer:

... and you can watch the whole short here. It's now in development as a feature-length version at Polyrock Films.

The spooky thing is, Stu felt that the spirit of Withnail was with them from the start...

'As self-confessed Withnail and I superfans, Paul Is Dead writer/director George and I immediately drew inspiration from the film as soon as our co-writer Ben lit the flame of a comedy short based around the infamous Beatles conspiracy theory. It seemed like a perfect fit; not, that is, because George Harrison himself financed Withnail, but rather where else would one stage the death of Paul McCartney than on a 'musical retreat' in a remote cottage clung to the side of a Cumbrian fell. There was just something about our aim to create fictional versions of the well-loved Beatles through a flawed, ironic and pathetic lens which felt inherently Withnailian. Naturally, we arranged to recce the real life Crow Crag ASAP, and were soon shown around by the welcoming current owner Tim Ellis. However, we found the logistics of getting a film crew up to Sleddale Hall were just too inviable — and this was in 2018, so Christ knows how they managed it in the 1980s! It was at this point we naturally began discussing the making of Withnail, and found ourselves wondering where exactly Robinson took his fated, inspirational holiday — and I'm sure a passing 'wouldn’t it be cool if we ended up filming there' was thrown around. Next on our location scout list was Auterstone Cottage, on the other side of the far eastern Lakeland fells. 

Director George Moore adds, 'It immediately felt uncannily like we were living the full Withnail and I experience. The muddy trek up the mountainside was strikingly similar to the film’s impromptu bullring. A step out the door and you’re confronted with the huge, widescreen vista of the lake and fells below, just as Marwood is in the film.' 

Stu continues, 'We ended up shooting Paul at and around Auterstone, but not without running into a few issues, not least of which was a three-day snow-in thanks to the 'Beast from the East', during which we had to march our cast and crew on a six-mile round trip to Pooley Bridge to buy the last remaining potato, black pudding and fine wine on offer in the local post office. But we survived and made it, fittingly, back to London. The film then went on to enjoy great success on the festival circuit and, humbly, something of a cult status online — a privilege which can of course be attributed to the incumbent cultural real estate of the four lads from Liverpool, but one we’re glad to think is also a testament to the continued ability of Bruce Robinson’s masterpiece to inspire filmmakers such as ourselves. And how marvellous that we now have physical proof of the Withnailian heritage we had always hoped to imbue into Paul Is Dead.’

Yes Stu, it is marvellous! 

Auterstone Cottage: you now have your place assured in Withnail history... nay, British film history... nay British history. 

There should be a plaque, at the very least.

 

 

Save the Date! The 2019 Screenings of Withnail at Uncle Monty's

Crow Crag. The window on the bottom left is the window 'that faces look in at'.

The ever-wonderful people at Picnic Cinema have announced the dates for the 2019 screenings of Withnail & I at Crow Crag, aka Uncle Monty's, aka (in real life) Sleddale Hall at Wet Sleddale in Cumbria's Lake District. For those if you in the know, the dates and the on-sale date for the tickets is below. For those of you not in the know, have a read of this (lengthy!) blog entry from a few years back, which will give you the crack (as they say in these parts).

So, the all important dates are Friday 28th and Saturday 28th of June.
Tickets will go on sale on Thursday 21st February at 10am (and be aware, in previous years they have sold out in 20 minutes...)

For more info, and to sign up to Picnic Cinema's mailing list, go to:
https://www.edenarts.co.uk/projects/picnic-cinema

Watching Withnail At Uncle Monty's (Slight Return)

I've just got back from Sleddale Hall, aka Crow Crag, where a fine time was had by all last night watching a certain film.

It absolutely pissed it down yesterday morning, it's absolutely pissing it down as I type this, and the previous three nights of Withnailfest this year were all very damp but last night, and this morning, we had glorious weather, with only the merest hint of a shower.

Hats off once again to the fabulous team at Picnic Cinema, who outdid themselves for this extra-special 30th anniversary year, and of course to Uncle Tim, the owner of Sleddale Hall, for letting us all sit in his courtyard and shout rude words until gone midnight.

I didn't take any photos this year (if you're interested, have a look at my exhaustive, and exhausting, photo-feature from 2014) but here's one of me with Uncle Monty. I look pretty happy, as indeed I was, thanks to the lack of rain, and a few ales.

Balls to Monty.

Withnail at Uncle Monty's: tickets on sale date revealed!

The Picnic Cinema 30th anniversary screenings of Withnail & I at Sleddale Hall in Cumbria (aka Crow Crag, aka Uncle Monty's cottage in the country) on the 21st and 22nd of July 2017 are sure to sell out very, very quickly. Now, thanks to an advance email to subscribers of the Picnic Cinema publicity list, we now know exactly when these gold-dust tickets will actually go on sale:

FRIDAY 24TH FEBRUARY at 10am SHARP!

The link you'll need to bookmark is

RIGHT HERE

Good luck in nabbing one, Withnailers! With only about 100 tickets available for each night, you'll need to be fast.

Watch Withnail at Uncle Monty's on the 30th Anniversary!

The now-annual 'Withnailer Weekend' at Sleddale Hall, aka Crow Crag, aka Uncle Monty's cottage in the country, is already a legendary event.

It's a chance to watch the film at the very location it was shot: if you want to know more, just click the link above that says 'Watching Withnail at Uncle Monty's' to read/look at a frankly overlong photo-essay I did a few years back.

The event always sells out, but this year the tickets are bound to go super-fast, as 2017 is of course the 30th anniversary of the film's original release.

Picnic Cinema, who organise the whole shindig, have just this minute announced this year's dates:

FRIDAY 21st July 2017
SATURDAY 22nd July 2017

The tickets are not yet on sale, but to be notified as soon as they are, click on

THIS LINK RIGHT HERE

and click subscribe!

It Was 30 Years Ago Today... Withnail's Anniversary!

Exactly 30 years ago today, on August 3rd, 1986, a first time director, his crew and a few actors (not from London: one was and is a scouser, and the other grew up in Swaziland) gathered at Sleddale Hall near Shap in Cumbria, and rolled cameras for the first day's shooting of a little film called Withnail and I. The rest is history...

The Cumberland News, one of the local papers here in Penrith (Penrith!!) has done a great commemorative article, which you can read below...

Having been alerted to the anniversary, I checked in with REG himself to see if he had any plans. While he didn't reply as such (not as of this writing, at least) he did like my tweet, which in these parts is the equivalent of a benediction from the pope...

Withnail Returns to Crow Crag, aka Sleddale Hall!

Several hundred people have just had a delightful weekend in the country, thanks to the already legendary Picnic Cinema screenings of Withnail & I at Sleddale Hall, the location used for Uncle Monty's cottage.

Though I wasn't there this year (my experiences last year are commemorated in this epic post), I'm glad to see, via Picnic Cinema's Facebook Page that the fourth annual event evidently went off splendidly. Here's a selection of the photos that have been posted, some of which appear to have been taken from a very, very long selfie stick, or even, rather alarmingly, some kind of drone!

There were three screenings this year, all instant sell-outs. No doubt it'll be the same story in 2016, and indeed in 2017, which will be, believe it or not, the film's 30th anniversary!

Thanks should be given once again not only to the Picnic Cinema team who organise it all, but also for the kind permission given by Sleddale Hall's owner, Tim, to allow Withnail fans this ultimate pilgrimage. (And yes, the house is private property, so please don't be tempted to go trespassing around it the rest of the year!)

I'll close this post with a lovely bit of Withnailia, spotted on twitter earlier this week when it was posted by its creator, the fabulous artist Jonathan Edwards. While the original is in his sketchbook and not for sale (yes, I asked...) Jonathan is considering doing a print of it. Count me in if he does! His website is here, his online shop is here, and you can follow him on twitter @Jontofski or read his blog.

He's sitting down to enjoy his holiday...

2015 Withnail at Uncle Monty's Dates Announced! Plus, Queen Victoria RIP...

Danny and Monty together again for the first time! Photo from Picnic Cinema.

The news just in: Picnic Cinema have announced their dates for the insanely popular annual screenings of a certain film in a certain place: Withnail and I will be shown at Crow Crag, aka Sleddale Hall in Cumbria, on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 June 2015. The tickets will go on sale soon (just 100 for each night), and the best (only?) way to give yourself a chance of nabbing one is to sign up of Picnic Cinema's email notification list here. You can have a look at what it was like to attend this wonderful event last year here. It's highly recommended.

Changing the subject entirely, collectors of rare Victoriana might want to have a look at a rather lovely, and beautifully preserved Queen Victoria In Memoriam morocco leather bound (and boxed) Book of Common Prayer Withnail Books currently has on eBay (just click the link top right on this page to see this and a few other select goodies currently for sale).

Here are some photos, with more blurb below for those who fancy making an offer (and while it is a hefty asking price, do feel free to make an offer if it's up your alley... the worse that will happen is that I'll say no!)

Copies of this beautiful Queen Victoria memorial edition of The Book of Common Prayer, with Hymns Ancient and Modern very rarely come up for sale. One of the few references to another, long-sold copy online is here.

This is hand-numbered copy 131 from the 500 copy De Luxe edition, and is in remarkable condition.

The original outer presentation box (16 x 12 x 5.5cm) has a bit of sun fade and a cracked corner, but the baize-lined interior  is still doing its job of protecting the fitted leather case inside. The case has a few light marks, but is overall in very good+ condition. The solid silver button clasp is datemarked for Birmingham 1900, and was made by Charles Penny Brown. The interior is lined in cream moiré silk. The book inside is in, I hesitate to say it, near fine condition: it looks to have been barely handled. There are a couple of very light marks to the upper board, only noticeable if you really look for them, but as with the case, it's difficult to tell if this is actually a 'mark', or just variations in the original leather colour. The gilt page edges are still bright (a rather lovely detail is how the page edges are twin-toned, and turn to Royal Purple when looked at edge on). The book has gilt interior board edges and silk endpapers, and two silk page markers.

The title pages to the various sections read:
Special Forms of Service in Commemoration of Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria of Blessed and Glorious Memory.
To Be Used in All Churches and Chapels in England and Wales and in the Town of Berwick-Upon-Tweed.
Either on the Day of the Funeral, or on the most convenient Day within the Octave.
The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of The Sacraments, and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, According to the Use of The Church of England; Together With The Psalter or Psalms of David,… And The Form and Manner of Making, Ordaining and Consecrating of Bishops, Priests, And Deacons
 Hymns Acient and Modern For The Use in The Services of the Church.
Complete Edition.

Before Uncle Monty: A Glimpse At The History of Sleddale Hall

Seeing as last week's blog about the Picnic Cinema screening of Withnail & I at Uncle Monty's cottage proved rather popular, here are a few more photos which might be of interest.

Back in 2009, when the "horrible little shack" went under the hammer, the Telegraph talked to a former resident, and ran a few of her snaps of Sleddale Hall, aka Crow Crag, back in the 1950s...

Sitting on the step of the door used in the film. Ferrets almost certainly in that shed at the back.

Yes, he is the farmer.

Sleddale Hall, taken from the rear.

The article in the Telegraph ran as follows:

*********

More than two decades before it featured in the film Withnail & I, Sleddale Hall was home to the Harrison family. "My father farmed the valley but when the damn was built to make the reservoir we moved away," says Margaret Kuchczynski (Harrison). That was in 1965 - no one has lived there since.

Sleddale Hall was Margaret's parents first home. There was no electricity, and they got about by horse and cart. "We had two horses, both called Piggy," says Margaret. Groceries were delivered as far as Thorney Bank (Margaret's aunt and uncle's farm), over a mile away. "We collected them by pony and cart or Uncle Henry brought them up by tractor and trailer," says Margaret.

Their mother cooked on a big range, but also used a calor gas cooker and did the washing in a Calor gas fired tub with mechanised paddles to wash the clothes. "I can remember being taken to bed by oil lamp and my parents using candles too," says Margaret.

Over the past few years Margaret and her sister Heather have taken their own children back to Sleddale Hall, to see where their mothers were born. "It should be a family home again," says Margaret. "It would be such a shame if it was turned into a museum, after all it was a farm from 1722 until 1965 (over 240 years), and a film set for only one summer in the 1980s. We wish we could afford to buy it."

**********

The Harrison family, I'm guessing, were the ones who used to keep ferrets in the barn (see last week's blog). No doubt Margaret is happy to know that it is a home once again, albeit one that has several hundred rather drunk guests hanging around outside in the yard for one weekend a year...

For more information on the history of the house, plus lots of photos of the interior (taken back when it was in its semi-derelict state) this site is well worth a visit.

Watching Withnail at Uncle Monty's: A Night at Crow Crag, aka Sleddale Hall

It may only be in its third year, but the Picnic Cinema screening of Withnail & I at Sleddale Hall, the house used as the location for Uncle Monty's cottage, has already become a beloved institution.

There were three nights this year, all quickly sold out, each with 100 lucky fans coming on holiday by mistake for the evening, to watch the film, drink fine wines, and then be forced to camp in the farmer's field next door.

Arrival at Crow Crag. This shot got one of the loudest cheers of the night.

Crow Crag on Saturday evening, from (nearly) the same angle.

We were there for the Saturday, which after a damp Thursday and a full-on Withnail-authentic hurricane on the Friday, was a dry and fine evening, thank god. A wonderful time was had by all, and massive thanks are due to Adrian and the Picnic Cinema team for organising it all so brilliantly, The Foundry in Penrith for a very yummy barbecue, and especially to Sleddale Hall's owner, Tim, for allowing the hordes to descend.

Sleddale Hall has not been lived in properly since the 1960s. When Withnail filmed there, it was semi-derelict, and the production actually had to do it up a bit to make it look as uninhabitable as it did on screen! As well as the exteriors, which are seen from several angles, the interior of the house was used for all the ground floor rooms (only the bedroom scenes were shot elsewhere), so Sleddale Hall really is a 'character' in the film. Tim has been lovingly restoring the house and its outbuildings in the five years he's owned it, and though he's still got a ways to go, the results are already fantastic. It's very much a labour of love, and it was great to meet him and chat about it all on Saturday. More power to your elbow, sir! (I should add that the house is of course private property, so please don't try to visit uninvited!)

Anyway, here's a blow-by-blow 'Photo Essay' (or, some pictures what I took on my phone) of our delightful weekend in the country.

Approaching Wet Sleddale, just off the M6 about 12 miles South of Penrith, where Sleddale Hall is to be found, a couple of miles up a farm track. It's not called Wet Sleddale for nowt. The sky here is not usually this clear, believe me.

Shut that gate!!

Fans drove from all around the country, presumably not immediately after consuming a few ales.

The final approach is on foot. We brought wheelbarrows for all our camping gear. *smugface*

The view from the campsite, of Wet Sleddale reservoir. In the film, Marwood emerges from the house to see another lake entirely: the slightly more photogenic Haweswater. Yes, they cheated.

Sitting down to enjoy my holiday. As you can see, the 'campsite' is actually just a field, kindly provided by the farmer, which is on a rather steep angle. Later, this made sleeping in the tent interesting.

Walking up the hill towards Crow Crag.

No need to check out the fuel and wood situation, or buy eggs and things off the farmer: the food is already sorted.

... as is, more importantly, the booze.

The screen had been set up at the end of the courtyard.

"Those are the kind of windows faces look in at." That's the door used in the film, and the other side of those windows is the room with the range, where the chicken/boots are cooked.

The 'proper' front door is not used in the film, but the other side of those ground floor windows is the parlour where the late luncheon is eaten. Thanks to Sleddale Hall's owner Tim, the door and windows now have new, local sandstone surrounds.

Eden Brewery's Withnail-inspired beers were very much in evidence.

Here's the view behind the screen. A customer in the Little Shop last year, an old fellow who had never heard of the film, but knew the house well because his Uncle used to live there, assured me that ferrets used to be kept in this barn.

As the sky began to bruise, the audience arrived...

The back of the house, where Jake the Poacher is seen walking away, was also visited by most of the filmgoers.

Are you the farmer? Of course he's the fucking farmer.
Jeff Wode was also spotted in attendance.

The pre-film entertainment included the Picnic Cinema crew playing a couple of tunes. Here they are singing Psycho Killer.

There was also a quiz, which rather embarrassingly went down to a tiebreak which the Withnail Books team won. We shared the fine wines prize with the fellow tiebreaker teams, but held on to the other prizes...

By about 10.30pm it was finally dark enough to fire up the projector, starting off with some vintage cinema ads...

... before moving on to the main feature.

"My thumbs have gone weird!"

"Then the fucker will rue the day..."

"Chin chin!"

"I will never. Play. The Dane."

"SCRUBBERS!!!"

The first glimpse of Sleddale Hall.

Emerging the next morning. That cornicing on the wall to the left of the statue is actually plaster of Paris, and was added by the production. It was still there years later.

Walking through the archway to see the (false) view of Haweswater. I nipped through there during the film to have slash, but I don't think anyone noticed. That's the alleged Ferret Shed at the bottom of the yard.

Finding a raw potato. There's a patch of rhubarb there now (see photo below).

"Penrith. Penrith!!!" (It isn't, it's the other side of Bampton, several miles away, on the way to Haweswater.)

The red phone box is still there, a must-visit for every Withnail pilgrim.

"A crack at the Mick! These shall be my pleasure."

"A pair of blues." Though this sequence is set in Penrith, it was actually filmed in the Buckinghamshire village of Stony Stratford (now referred to apparently un-ironically on its own website as 'the jewel of Milton Keynes').

"Alright here?"
I said this earlier to the Picnic Cinema person as we were parking up in the farmyard. How we laughed.

A gratuitous Sleddale Hall shot.

... and another.

The van which will shortly be gottenintothebackof.

"This will tend to make you very high."

"I'll miss you Withnail."

THE END. A wonderful screening, in a none-more-perfect venue.

View from the tent door the next morning. We awoke at midge o'clock. They were *furious*, and ate us campers alive. Not what I'd been given to expect from the H. E. Bates novel I'd read. (This blog post is almost finished, honest.)

Where once Withnail found a potato, there's now rhubarb.

Sorry, that became a bit epic, but it was an occasion worth documenting for future generations I feel. Mind you, it will all be happening again next year, and one hopes for many years to come.

At the root of all this is a film made by Bruce Robinson and a bunch of dedicated people over 25 years ago, which is still loved by fans all over the world today. I don't know how many times I've seen it now, but each time, something different jumps out. This time around it was one of Danny the Dealer's lines. I'm not sure exactly what it means, but it's *deep*...

"Why trust one drug and not the other? That's politics innit?"