THE poems of William Wordsworth have inspired countless artists down the generations - and continue to do so.

The latest example of the timeless affection in which the work of the great Romantic is held is a new book put together by artists Mike Healey and Andy Wild graced by illustrations from 18 contemporary Lakeland artists.

Mike, a former associate director of the Oxford Playhouse and a BBC drama producer, said the aim of the book and other proposals in the pipeline (which includes a CD of the poems, some set to music) was to make the Wordsworth heritage more accessible to visitors, in much the same way as Beatrix Potter and Arthur Ransome have now become: "Our little book is a modest start to that process." he added.

Kendal-based Mike's last television drama was The Early Life of Beatrix Potter for BBC1, set in the Lake District and Perthshire and starring Helena Bonham Carter.

Boldly setting the scene, the book's front cover illustration is an abstract by Andy, inspired by a sequence from The Prelude in which Wordsworth recounts his crossing of the Alps on foot in 1790. At that time the ancient pass into Italy was little more than a steep, rugged donkey track.

Andy's acrylic painting captures the drama of the journey in a swirl of intense colours and fluid shapes.

Mike's contribution includes a photo collage and gouache based on a real dream he once had with the flying figure of a man in his pyjamas above an architectural floor and tranquil face of a woman sleeping in the foreground - all wonderfully surreal and resting opposite A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal.

The book is full of sumptuous, seductive images.

The poetry of Wordsworth's I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud is beautifully illustrated by Arnside artist Tracy Levine's golden and gorgeous I Wandered acrylic and mixed media painting.

The poem Composed upon Westminster Bridge is well-suited to Jamie Barnes' monochrome etching in which he unerringly and cleverly captures the grey, smoky feel of early 19th Century London.

And Sue David's monotype for Wordsworth's A Night Piece is a brilliantly evocative piece featuring a dominant yellow moon hovering within an electric blue world. Simple yet incredibly detailed is Lynn Hammel's woollen church, expertly crafted and accompanying The Reverie of Poor Susan.

The book concludes with an image of exceptional Kendal sculptor Danny Clahane's Tree of Life, inscribed with text taken from Wordsworth's masterpiece Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey.

William Wordsworth's Best Loved Poems book is available from Youdels Art Shop at Kendal, Framers in Kendal's Market Hall, Low Sizergh Barn or

from mike.healey@hotmail.com.