Victorian Collection
914.28
M366c
1858
L. Tom Perry Special Collections
Harold B. Lee Library
Brigham Young University
BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
3 1197 22646 4698
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COMPLETE GUIDE
TO THE
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COMPLETE GUIDE
TO THE
ENGLISH LAKES
BY
HARRIET MARTINEAU,
WITH FRONTISPIECE, TRAVELLING MAPS,
AND AN ACCOUNT OF THE FLOWERING PLANTS, FERNS AND MOSSES OF THE
DISTRICT, AND A COMPLETE DIRECTORY.
SECOND EDITION.
WINDERMERE : — JOHN GARNETT.
LONDON :
WHITTAKEE & CO, ; HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO. ; LONGMAN & CO. ;
• SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO.
UPP
PREFACE,
The Knoll, Ambleside,
March 12th, 1855.
It is now some months since I committed the
manuscript of this Lake Guide to the publisher's
hands; and now that the work is just ready to
appear, I am thankful to him for the opportunity
of saying, in this prefatory page, with what pride
and pleasure I have looked over the accessories
and embellishments with which, by his zeal and
spirit, and by the admirable co-operation he has
been so fortunate as to secure, my humble work
is elevated to a quality of real importance. When
I look at Mr. Ruthven's valuable geological
11. PREFACE.
Map, Mr. Aspland's beautiful illustrative Views,
so finely engraved by Mr. Banks ; and, again, the
Botanical contributions, so essential to the perfect
understanding of the Lake District, it seems to me
that the book has become, by all this aid, one
which may not only be in every tourist's hands,
but find a place on the library shelves of those who
have never visited, and may not contemplate visit-
ing, this district of England. At the same time,
the Directories, (a new feature in a Guide Book)
are likely to make it valuable to residents, who
need no guide to the scenery near their homes.
If my gratitude to my coadjutors causes me to
overrate the product of our labours, I shall not at
least be mistaken in saying that we have all done
our best to set forth a true presentment of a land
we love, in the hope of inducing and enabling
those who live in town or plain to know and love
it as we do. If any think that we have painted
it too fair, and that we love it fanatically, let
them come and see.
H. MARTINEAU.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
Page.
WINDERMERE ... ... ... ... ... 1
BOWNESS ... ... ... ... ... 8
Walk by Cook's House ... ... ... 13
Steamboat Trip ... ... ... 15
First Tour. To Furness Abbey and Coniston ... ... 20
Second Tour. To Patterdale and Ambleside ... 35
Third Tour. To Skelwith and Grasmere ... ... 47
A day on the Mountains ... ... ... ... 59
PART II.
To Keswick from Ambleside ... ... ... ... 69
Excursions from Keswick ... ... ... 76
I. Derwent Water ... ... ... 76
II . By Watendlath to Borro wdale and back by
Lodore ... ... ... 78
III. By Vale of Newlands to Scale Hill, and
back by Whinlatter ... ... 85
IV. Circuit of Bassenthwaite ... 90
V. Ascent of Skiddaw ... 92
VI. Ascent of Saddleback ... ... 96
PART III.
CIRCUIT OP THE LAKE DISTRICT.
First Tour. From Keswick by Patterdale to Ambleside 105
Second Tour. From Ambleside to Strands ... 108
11.
CONTENTS.
Page.
Thied Toue. From Strands and Wastwater to Scale Hill
Inn ... ... ... ... ... ... 120
Foueth Toue. From Scale Hill to Keswick by Honister
Crag ... ... ... ... ... ... 133
PART IV.
PASSES
AND MOUNTAINS.
Langdale from Borrowdale,
by the Stake Pass
147
Path to Easedale
... ... ...
... 150
Path to Esk Hause
... ...
152
Sty Head Pass, from Wastdale to Borrowdale
... 154
Ascent of Scaweell
... ...
159
Pass of Scarf Gap . . .
... ... ...
... 163
Grisedale
165
Ascent of Helvellyn
... ... ...
... 166
Coniston Old Man
... ...
169
Walna Scar
... ... ...
... 169
Hawes Water ...
... ...
172
Pass of Nanbield
... ... ...
... 176
Weather in the Lake District
179
PART V.
ELOWEEING PLANTS, EEENS, AND MOSSES.
Windermere and its Neighbourhood
Cumberland
.. 181
193
PART VI.
DIEECTOEY.
The postal address of the Aristocracy, Gentry, and Tradespeople
of the District.
INDEX.
Adventure on Esk Hause 118
Ambleside 43, 58, 218
Ancient Customs 140
„ Chimnies 14
Anecdote of Charcoal Burner 24
Angle Tarn 42, 107,147
Applethwaite, Cumberland, 95
„ Outline of Mountains, 95
Approach to Lakes 3
Ara Force 40, 106, 208
„ View of, facing Titlepage
Armboth Fells 71
Atmospheric Changes 14, 53
Barf (mountain) 91
Barrow House 78
Fall 78, 210
Bassenthwaite Lake 81, 90, 210
Beacon 13
Bewitched Cow 144
Birker Force 119, 210
Bishop Watson 9, 13
Biscut How 7
Black Cap (mountain) 147
Blackcombe, ditto, 59, 109, 209
Blacklead Mines 157
Blacksail 163
„ Adventures on, 128
Blakefell 129
Bleaberry Tarn 135
Blea Tarn 117, 149
Blea Water, High Street, 175
Blencathra (Saddleback) 209
Boats, instructions about 18, 23
Bobbin Mill 44, 49
Bowness, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20
Borrowdale 76, 78, 137, 184, xiv
„ Anecdotes of 79
„ Yews 158
„ Hawes 207
Botany 181
Bowder Stone 82
„ View of 154
Bowfell, 5, 50, 148, 209
Bowscale Tarn 103
Brackenthwaite xvii
Braithwaite 89, xiv
Brathay 5, 18, 46, 48
Bridal of Triermain 72
Brothers' Water 39, 210
Broughton Tower 109
Brougham Castle and Hall 173
Buttermere 78, 88, 133, 210, xv
„ Hawes 20?
Calder Abbey 124
„ Bridge 124
Calgarth 13, 45
Candlemas Settlements 142
Carrock Fell 208
Castle Crag 74, 83
Castlehead, Derwent 76
Castlehead, View from 79
Castlerigg, View from 79
Castle Eock 72
Cat Bells (mountain) 74, 209
Catchedecam 166
Char and Trout 19, 34
Charges at Hotels 8, 17
Charles Lamb on Skiddaw 95
Cheese (hard) 146
Christopher North 11, 62
Churning 144
Clappersgate 5, 13, 48
Climate 192
Cockley Beck 117
Codale Fell 151
Cold Fell 126
Coldfield (mountain) 39
Colouring of Foliage 10
Colwith Bridge and Force 116, 210
College, Windermere 5, 7
Cook's House 14, 35
Coniston Lake 27, 169, 210, viii
„ Old Man 5, 28, 30, 60, 169,
Copper Mine 170
Craig 7
Croft Lodge 5, 48
Crosthwaite Church 73, 85
Crummock Water 86, 210
11.
INDEX.
Cuckoo in Borrowdale 80
Curwen's Island 10, 11
Daffodills and Snowdrops 48
Dale Head xiv
Dale Management 145
Deepdale 65, 107
Deepening Lake 15
Derwent Lake 73 82, 210
„ View of 76
Eiver 82, 91, 147
Devoke Water 171
Dove Nest 17
Drainage 15
Drinking 162
Druidicial Remains, 98, 172
„ Legend of 96
Dunmail Raise 70, 51
Dunnerdale xvii
Duddon 109
Dungeon Ghyll 51, 210
Eagles 155
Eagle Crag 147, 154
Esedale Tarn 53, 151
Ecclerigg 17
Egremont 126
„ Traditions of 127
Elizabeth Smith 29
Elleray 4
Elterwater Powder Mills 18, 50
Ennerdale 127, 210, xvi
Enviable Abode 14
Eskdale 113, 115, xvii
Esk Hause 152
Esthwaite Water 30, 210
Fairfield 5, 10, 47, 60, 69, 209
Falcon Crags 84
Fell Foot, Langdale 117
Ferry, Windermere 11, 15, 31, 33
" Finest View in Westmorland 5
Finest View 13, 29, 50, 57
Fishing 10, 42, 53
Flintoft's Model 74
Floating Island, Derwent 77
„ „ Esthwaite
Foliage 11
Foxes 170
Fox How 58
Furness Abbey 20, 25
Gaitsgarth 135
Gaits Tarn 170
Ghost Stories of Souter Fell 99
Giant's Grave 173
Gillerthwaite 163
Glaramara 79
Glencoin 40
Glenderatera, river 104
Gowbarrow Park 39, 40, 84
Gowder Crag 84
Grange, Borrowdale 38
Grasmere, 51, 139, 166, 182, 210, ix
„ View of 51
Grasmoor 87, 209
Great End 116
Great Gable 131, 147, 209
Great Robinson (mountain) 86
Greta Bank 104
„ Hall 85
„ River 94, 104
Grisedale 165
„ Pike 181, 209
„ Tarn 165
Guides on Mountains 59, 69, 92, 161
Hanging Knotts 147
Hardknott 119
Harrison Stickle (Langdale Pike) 149
Harter Fell 174
Hartley Coleridge 54, 56
Hartsop 39, 107
Haunted House, anecdote of 71
Hawes Water 90, 210, 174
Hawks and Buzzards 64
Hawkshead 30, ix
Hawlghyll 116, 120
Hays Water 42, 107
Hayrick (mountain) 86
Helm Crag (Lion and the Lamb) 51, 69
Helvellyn 39, 51, 209
„ Ascent of 165
Heronry 55
Hesket Haws 172
Highest inhabited house in England 38
Highstile 86
High Street, 5, 36, 174, 176, 209
HiU Bell 5, 209
High Close 49, 149
High Crag 86
High Pike 209
Honister Crag 135, 209
„ View of 135
Hotels, charges at 10
Ibbotsholme 45
Irt, river 116
Keskadale 86
Kentmere 177
Keswick 74, xi
Kirkstone Pass 207
Khmiside xvi
Knotty Pike 174
KirkfeU 128
Knot Crag 104
Lakes, length, breadth, and depth of 208
Lamplugh Cross 132
Langdale 50, 116, 148, vii
„ Tarn 116
Pikes, 5, 14, 50, 60, 149, 209
Latrigg 94, 209
Lead Mines 165
Legberthwaite 72, xiv
INDEX.
111.
Legend of Ara Force 41
Levers Water 171
Lilly of the Valley 17
Ling Crag 87
Lingmell (mountain) 116, 121
Linthwaite Woods 88
Fell 102
Little Langdale 150
Long Meg and her Daughters 172
Loughrigg 5, 10, 18, 48, 49, 60
„ Tarn and Terrace 49
Lord Derwentwater 77
Lord's Island 77
Lord's Seat (mountain) 91, 209
Lorton 91
Lowdore Cascade 83, 210
Loweswater 132, 182, 210, xv
Lowman 94
Lowther Castle 174
Lowwater Tarn 170
Lowwood Hotel, 17, 60
Lyulph's Tower 40
Mardale 38, xvi
Measand xvi
Middlefell 116
Milbeck, Keswick 95
„ Langdale 149
Millbreak 87
Miller Brow (unsurpassed view) 13
Mists on Mountains 65
Miterdale 115
Mosedale 122
Mosses 189
Mountains, a day on the 59
height of 207
Museum 8, 74
Mylnbeck 7
Nab Scar 55, 60, 66
Nag's Head, Wythburn 70
Nanbield 176
Native Genius 81
Need Fire 144
Netherwastdale xvi
Newby Bridge 16, iii
Newfield Church iii
Newland Hawes 86
Nook 60
Orrest Head 3
Ouse Bridge 91
Passes 145
Patterdale 39, 84, 106, 165, xv
Pavey Ark 150
Peacock in Borrowdale 82
Peel Wyke 91
Penrith 172
Picturesque Farmsteads
PiUar 163, 209
Place Fell 32, 107, 165
Portinscale 85, xii
Pretty Scenery 15
Priest among the Shepherds 64
Professor Wilson 11, 62
Primitive Farms 49
Provisions for Pedestrians 59
Pull Cottage 17
Pullwyke Bay 17
Railway to Windermere 1
„ in Lake District 2
Rain Guages 64
Rampsholm, Derwent 2
Rannersdale Knot 187
Raven Crag, Yewdale 28
Rayrigg 13
Rectory, Windermere 9
Red Bank 51
Red Pike 86, 88, 209
Red Tarn 166, 210
Robert Walker, the wonderful 110
Roman Road 35, 176
Rosset Gill 152
Rosthwaite 79, 82
Rothay, river 18
Rotten Pulpit 149
Route to Lakes 1
Ruins by Moonlight 25
Rydal 55. 56, 57, 60, 121, 210
Santon Bridge 115
St. Cuthbert, anecdote of 76
St. Herbert, do 76
St. John's Church, Keswick 73
St. John's, Vale of 72
Sawrey 31, iv
Scandale Screes 39, 43
Scale Hill Inn 82, 133
Force 82, 87, 210
Scales, village of 98
„ Tarn 98
Scandale Beck 39, 43
Scarf Gap 163
Scawfell 116, 121, 209
„ Ascent of 159
Scott, Sir Walter, anecdote of 11, 69, 172
Screes 116, 120
Seathwaite 111, 118, xvii
Tarn 170
Seatoller 137
Seat Sandal, 70, 166
Seclusion, effects of 78
Smoking Lime 80
Sharp Edge 103
Shepherd's Crag 84
Shire Stones 117
Slate Quarries 50, 135
Skiddaw, 73, 92, 209
„ Ascent of 92
„ Forrest 94
„ View from 94
Skelwith Fold and Force 49
IV.
INDEX.
Solitude 53, 63
Sour Milk Ghyll Force 53, 135, 182
Southey 85
Spectral Mists 64
Sparkling Tarn 152
Squalls on Lakes 19
Stake 146
Stanley Ghyll 114, 182, 210
Statesmen, condition of 141
Station House, Windermere Lake 31
Station, Scale Hill 88
Steamboat Trip 15
Steel Fell 70
Stepping Stones 113
Stickle Tarn 149, 150
Stockghyll Force 44, 210
Stockley Bridge 157
Stock, river 38, 58
Stone Fences 61
Stonethwaite 147
Storm on the Mountains 129
Striding Edge 165
Storrs 11, 23
Stybarrow Crag 39
Sty Head 122, 155, 207
„ Pass 116, 154
„ Tarn 155
Styrups, getting out of 81
Superstitions 144
Swamps, fever and ague 15
Swan Inn, Grasmere 51
Swirrel Edge 166
Tarns, use of 150
Tempest on Mountains 64
Tent Lodge 29
The Knoll 58
The Lark 113
The Wood 7
Thirlmere or Leatheswater 71, 210
Thornthwaite 91, xiv
Threlkeld 72, xv
Tilberthwaite 171
Torver 109
Trout and Char 19, 34
Troutbeck 5, 11, 15, 35, 178, iv
Ulls water 35, 39, 40, 65, 106, 210
„ Outline of Mountains 106
„ View of
Ulpha, anecdote of manners 111 xvii
Ulverstone 25
Vale of St. John 72, xiv
Vicar's Isle, Derwent 76
Wall End 149
Wallowbarrow Crag 74, 77, 84
Walna Scar 169
Wanlas How 18
Wansfell 17, 60
Wastdale Head 121, 155, xvi
„ Eural Customs 122
Wastwater 114, 155, 210, xvi
View of 120
Watendlath 78
Waterspout 133
Waterfalls 208
Weather 179
Weatherlam 117, 171
Whinlater 89, 91
Whitelees (mountain) 86, 87
Whiteside (mountain) 87
Windermere Lake 10, 15. 32, 56 210
„ Outline of Mountains 5
„ Perfect view of 50
„ View from near Low Wood 17
„ View of, from near Storrs 11
Village of 6, i
Wordsworth's Grave 51, 55, 56
Wray Castle 5, 14, 17
Wythburn 71, 167, xiv
Yewbarrow 116, 121. 163
Yewdale 30, 171
TRAVELLING CHARGES.
During the season, the charges for carriages and drivers are
uniform, all over the district. It is probable that at other times
there may be some little diversity, depending on the amount of
custom ; but the traveller may rely on the prices here given as a
safe rule.
It must be understood that the drivers of the country cars and
other vehicles are dependent on the payment they receive from
travellers. The innkeepers charge for the carriage and horses
only ; and the payment of the driver is therefore an established
one, and not considered dependent on the pleasure of the traveller.
The rate is three-pence per mile outwards, — the return journey
not being charged for. Another way, in which I have myself
been accustomed to pay, is six-pence per hour, — the driver having
the benefit of the fraction left over. On excursions which occupy
a day, or several days, the driver's pay is five shillings per day.
The charge for a one-horse conveyance is one shilling
per mile. For a two-horse conveyance one shilling and six-
pence per mile. In case of a long stage, as for ten or twelve
miles there is a reduction to one shilling and four-pence. The
return journey is, of course, not paid for.
For conveyance to a certain point, there is no charge for food
for man and horse : but if there is any waiting at the end of the
drive, in order to return, the feed of the horses and the driver's
dinner will amount to about three shillings and six-pence. The
hire of a single-horse conveyance for the day is fifteen shillings,
and the driver's pay of five shillings makes it one pound a day,
exclusive of feed.
The tolls are invariably charged to the traveller.
A
COACH FARES AND ROUTES.
As the times of departure and other particulars are frequently
changed, the Tourist is recommended to provide himself with
Garnett's Time Tables, published monthly, which may be had of the
principal booksellers in the Lake District.
Coach fares are about three-pence per mile outside, and four-
pence-half-penny per mile inside.
The routes of the Coaches are
1. — From Windermere Railway Station to Ambleside, Gr as-
mere and Keswick, over which line several run daily during the
season.
2. — From Ambleside to Patterdale, Lyulph's Tower and
Penrith.
3. — From Ambleside to Coniston and Broughton-in-Furness.
4. — From Keswick to Cockermouth.
5. — From Keswick to Lyulph's Tower, Patterdale and
Penrith.
6. — From Keswick, via Greystoke, to Penrith.
Each of these of course perform the return journey.
CHARGES AT HOTELS AND PRIVATE LODGINGS.
During the season, which extends from May to November, the
charges are two shillings for breakfast, (including meat, fish, &c.,)
two shillings and six-pence for dinner ; and one shilling and six-
pence for tea. A private sitting-room is charged two shillings and
six-pence per day. In some cases servants are charged in the bill ;
we quote what may be considered the proper payments when
they are not : — nine-pence per day for waiter, — six-pence
per day for chambermaid, and three-pence per day for
boots. If the stay be longer than one day, the total payment
should be one shilling per day.
The charges for Private Apartments of a very good order, are
from ten to twelve shillings per week for each room, which
includes attendance. Sitting-room fire and the use of kitchen
fire are extra.
a2
ITINERARY OF EXCURSIONS
IN THE
LAKE DISTRICT.
Being a Competition to the subjoined Travelling Map.
FROM WINDERMERE,— TERMINUS OP THE RAILWAY.
NOTE. — These Excursions can be made from Botvness, with little variation
in the distance and route. Those marked * can only be accomplished on
foot or horse.
TOTAL
MILES.
5
9
13
18
24
26
H
26
13
7
24
1*
*2
2*
*li
25
25
Ambleside, — via Troutbeck Bridge, and Lowwood Hotel
, via Bowness, and steam yacht or boat on Lake
-, via Bowness, the Ferry, west side of Winder-
mere, Wray Castle, Brathay, and Clappersgate
Angle Tarn, — via Cook's House, east side of the valley of
Troutbeck, Kirkstone Pass, village of Hartsop and by
the mountain path ...
Ara Force, — via Cook's House, Troutbeck, the Kirkstone
Pass, Patterdale, and Ullswater
Bassenthwaite Lake, — via Ambleside, Grasmere, Dunmail
Raise, Thirlmere, and Castlerigg
Birker Force, — via Ambleside road to the Tollgate, Clap-
persgate, Langdale, over Wrynose and Hardknot, and
down Eskdale
Biscut How, — via Bowness road ...
Blackcombe, — via Bowness, Ferry, Esthwaite Water, Con-
iston, Torver, Broughton, and up the mountain
Blea Tarn,— via Ambleside road to the Tollgate, Clappers-
gate, Little Langdale, and Fellfoot
Blelham Tarn, — via Ambleside Tollgate, Clappersgate,
Brathay, and keep to left
Blencathra (Saddleback), — via Ambleside, Rydal, Gras-
mere, Dunmail Raise, Thirlmere, St. John's Vale, and
Threlkeld
Bowness, — via main road
, via Cook's House
, via footpaths, diverging from the Kendal road
at the top of Alishow, \ mile from the hotel
, via footpath through Rayrigg Wood, & Rayrigg
Borrowdale, — via Ambleside, Grasmere, Dunmail Raise,
Thirlmere, Keswick, and Derwent Water
Bowder Stone, Borrowdale, — See Borrowdale
A 3
FOE KOUTE
SEE PAGES.
6,45
7, 17, 44
7, 10, 19, 34
14, 35, 42,
107, 147
14.35,40,106
6, 45, 69, 90
45, 48,
116, 113, 119
7
7,11,
30, 28, 109
6, 45, 17,
48, 116, 149
6, 45, 48, 34
45, 69, 98
7 to 9
6, 13, 8
*7, 8
*6, 7, 8
6, 45, 69, 77
ditto
DISTANCES FKOM WINDERMERE.
TOTAL
MILES.
18
11
*30
5i
22
8|
i
2
11
12
*32
21
13
22
+24
Hi
12
11
9
*35
5
10
11
3
25
18
9
12
11
*16
7
9
*16
*8£
*6
10
*28
Bowfell,— via Clappersgate, Skelwith Bridge, Little Lang
dale, Fell Foot, Blea Tarn, and mountain path
Brathay, — via Ambleside road to the Tollgate, Clappers-
gate, and over Brathay Bridge
Brothers' Water, — via Cook's House, Troutbeck, and the
Kirkstone Pass
Buttermere, — via Clappersgate, Langdale, Fellfoot, Blea
Tarn, Borrowdale, Stake, and Honister Crag
Clappersgate, — via Ambleside road to Tollgate, turn to
the left, and over Rothay Bridge
Cockley Beck, — via Clappersgate, Skelwith, Little Lang-
dale, Fellfoot, and over Wrynose
Col with Force, — via Clappersgate and Skelwith Bridge...
Cook's House, — via Ambleside road
Coniston,— via Bowness, Ferry, Esthwaite Water, and
Hawkshead Hill ...
, via head of Windermere, Clappersgate, Brathay,
Borwick Ground, and High Cross
Crummock Water, — via Clappersgate, Little Langdale,
Blea Tarn, Stake Pass, Borrowdale, and Buttermere
Curwen's Island, — via Bowness and the Lake
Deepdale, — via Troutbeck and Kirkstone Pass
Derwent Lake, — via Ambleside, Grasmere, Thirlmere, &
Keswick
, via Clappersgate, Langdale, Blea Tarn, the
Stake Pass, and Borrowdale ..
Dunmail Raise, — via Ambleside Rydal and Grasmere
Dungeon Ghyll, — via head of Windermere, Clappersgate,
Elterwater, and Great Langdale
Easedale Tarn, — via Ambleside, and Grasmere
Elterwater, — via head of Windermere, and Clappersgate
Ennerdale, — via the head of Windermere, Clappersgate,
Langdale, Blea Tarn, the Stake, Sprinklng Tarn, Sty
Head, Wastdale Head, Black Sail, and Scarf Gap
Eskdale, — See Birker Force
Esthwaite Water, — via Bowness, the Ferry, and Sawrey
Fairfield, — via Ambleside and Rydal Forest ...
Fellfoot, Langdale, — via head of Windermere, Clappers-
gate, Skelwith, and Langdale ...
Ferry Hotel, — via Bowness
Furness Abbey, — via Bowness, Newby Bridge, & Ulverston
Gowbarrow Park, — See Ara Force
Grasmere, the church, — via Ambleside and Rydal
, via Bowness, the Ferry, Wray Castle, Brathay,
Loughrigg, and Red Bank
Hartsop, — See Angle Tarn
Haweswater, — via Cook's House, the first lane beyond the
How, Troutbeck, Kentmere, Longsleddale, Gatesgaxth
Pass, and Mardale
Hawkshead, —via Bowness, Ferry, and Esthwaite Lake...
via Clappersgate, and Brathay
Helvellyn, summit of, — via Ambleside, Grasmere, Dunmail
Raise, and Wythburn
High Street, summit of, — via Cook's House, and Troutbeck
to Troutbeck Park, and by the mountain path
Hill Bell, summit of, — via Cook's House, Troutbeck, and
the first lane bey ond the How ...
High Close, — via head of Windermere, Clappersgate, and
Loughrigg Fell
Honister Crag, — See Buttermere ...
FOB ROUTE
SEE PAGES.
45,48,
117, 147
6, 45, 48
7, 35 to 39
45, 48, 116,
147, 135, 133.
6, 45, 48
6, 45, 48,
116, 118
6, 45, 48, 116
6, 14, 35
7, 10, 30, 28
6, 45, 48, 30
45,48,116,
147, 135, 133
7,10
14, 35, 65
6, 45, 69, 76
45, 48,
116, 147, 76
6, 45, 69
45,48,50,148
6, 45, 52
45, 48, 50
45, 48, 116,
147, 152, 120,
163, 127
113, 115
7, 10, 31
60
45, 48, 117
7, 10, 32
20 to 27
40,106
6,45, 52
7,10,
32, 48, 62
39, 107
35, 174, 176
7, 10, 30
45, 48, 30
6, 45, 69, 165
14, 35,
174, 176
14, 35, 37
45, 48, 50
135
DISTANCES FROM WINDERMERE,
TOTAL
MILES.
Kentmere, — via Cook's House, Troutbeck, and the first
lane beyond the How
, via railway to Staveley, and up the valley
Keswick, —via Ambleside, Rydal, Grasmere, the Dunmail
Raise, Thirlmere, and Castlerigg
-, via Clappersgate, Langdale, Millbeck, Stake Pass
and Borrowdale
, via Ambleside, Grasmere, Easedale, and moun
tain path to Rosthwaite
Kirkstone Pass, — via Cook's House and Troutbeck
Langdale Chapel Stile, — via head of Windermere, and
Clappersgate
Langdale Pikes,— via Clappersgate, Langdale, and Mill
beck, and by the mountain path
Legberthwaite, — via Ambleside, Grasmere, & Thirlmere
Loughrigg, — See High Close
, via Bowness, Ferry, Wray Castle, and Brathay
Lowdore, — via Ambleside, Grasmere, and Keswick
Lowwood Hotel, — via Ambleside road
, via Bowness and the Lake
Lyulph's Tower, — See Ara Force ...
Mardale, — See Haweswater
Millbeck, Langdale, — via head of Windermere, Clappers
gate, Elterwater, and Great Langdale
Nab Scar, — See Fairfield
Newby Bridge, — via Bowness and road or lake
Patterdale, — via Cook's House, Troutbeck, Kirkstone
Pass, and Brothers' Water
Penrith, — via Troutbeck, Patterdale, and Ullswater
Portinscale, — via Ambleside, Grasmere, and Keswick
Red Bank, — See Grasmere, via Clappersgate...
Rydal Lake, — via Ambleside, on the main road
St. John's Vale, — via Ambleside, Grasmere, and Dunmail
Raise ...
Sawrey, — via Bowness and the Ferry
Scawfell, — via Clappersgate, Great Langdale, Millbeck, &
the mountain path by Angle Tarn
Seathwaite, Lancashire, — via Clappersgate, Brathay, High
Cross, Coniston, and Walna Scar
Skelwith Bridge, — via head of Windermere, and Clappers
gate, ...
Stanley Ghyll, — See Birker Force...
Thirlmere, — via Ambleside, Grasmere, and the Raise Gap
Troutbeck, the church, — via Cook's House
Ullswater, — via Cook's House, Troutbeck, and Kirkstone
Pass, and Patterdale
Ulverston. — via Bowness, Newby Bridge and Greenodd
Wastwater, — via Clappersgate, Langdale, Millbeck, and
the mountain path by Angle Tarn
Windermere Lake, — via Bowness. . .
, via footpath to Millerground
Wythburn — via Ambleside, Grasmere, & Dunmail Raise
FROM AMBLESIDE.
Angle Tarn, — via Kirkstone Pass, Brothers' Water, the
village of Hartsop, and mountain path ...
Ara Force, — via Kirkstone Pass, Patterdale, & Ullswater
Armboth, — via Rydal, Grasmere, and Dunmail Raise . . .
FOR KOTTTE
SEE PAGES.
14, 35, 177
177
6, 45, 69
45, 48, 116,
147, 79
45, 52, 79, 69
35,98
45,48,116,147
45, 48, 116,
147, 150
6, 45, 69
7, 45, 48
7, 10, 18, 34
6, 45, 69, S3
6,45
7, 10, 17
40
38, 175
45, 4S, 50, 149
55,60
7, 10, 15, 23
35 to 39
35 to 39, 172
45,^69 to 74
45 to 51
45, 55
45, 69 to 72
7 to 10, 31
45, 48, 50,
149, 159
45, 48, 28, 169
45, 48, 116
113, 119
45, 69 to 71
35 to 37
35 to 40, 106
20 to 25
45, 41, 149,
120
7 to 13
*6, 13, 10
45, to 69 71
43, 39, 42
43, 38 to 41
55 to 72
DISTANCES PROM AMBLESIDE.
TOTAL
MILES.
20
22
*24
8*
3
+19
5
5
20
20
13
2
6
*26
32
1
5
4
8*
10
+28
7
*14
41
*31
22
4£
5
7
5i
6*
Bassenthwaite Lake,— via Eydal, Grasmere, Thirlmere,
Castlerigg, and Keswick
Birker Force, — via Clappersgate, Skelwith, Colwith, Fell-
foot, over Wrynose and Hardknot, and down Eskdale
Blackcombe, top of, — via Clappersgate, Brathay, High
Cross, Coniston, Torver, Broughton, and up the hill...
Blea Tarn, — via Clappersgate, Skelwith, Colwith, Fellfoot
Blelham Tarn, — via Clappersgate, Brathay, and towards
Wray Castle
Blencathra (Saddleback), — via Eydal, Grasmere, Dunmail
Raise, Thirlmere, St. John's Vale, and Threlkeld
Bowness, — via turnpike road and Cook's House
via Waterhead, and Windermere Lake
Borrowdale, — via Eydal, Grasmere, Thirlmere, Castlerigg,
and Derwent Water
, via Grasmere, Easedale, and by the mountain
path
Bowder Stone, — See Borrowdale
Bowfell, — via Clappersgate, Skelwith, Colwith, Fellfoot,
Blea Tarn, and mountain path
Brathay chapel, — via Eothay Bridge, and Clappersgate
Brothers' Water, — via Kirkstone Pass
Buttermere, — via Clappersgate, Langdale, Fellfoot, Blea
Tarn, Stake Pass, Borrowdale, and Honister Crag
Calder Abbey, — via Clappersgate, Langdale, Fellfoot, over
Wrynose and Hardknot, Eskdale, cross Miterdale,
and Gosforth
Clappersgate, — via Eothay Bridge
Colwith Force, — via Clappersgate, and Skelwith
Cook's House, — via Waterhead and Lowwood Hotel
Coniston, — via Clappersgate, Brathay, and High Cross ...
, via Clappersgate, Skelwith, Colwith, and Tilber-
thwaite and Yewdale
Crummock Water, — via Clappersgate, Skelwith, the Blea
Tarn, Stake Pass, Borrowdale, and Buttermere
Curwen's Island, — via Waterhead and Windermere Lake
Deepdale, — via Kirkstone Pass and Brothers' Water
Derwent Lake, — via Eydal, Grasmere, the Dunmail Eaise,
Thirlmere, and Keswick
,via Grasmere Easedale, the mountain path,
Watendlath, and Lowdore
Dunmail Eaise, — via Eydal and Grasmere ...
Dungeon Ghyll, — via Clappersgate, Elterwater, and Great
Langdale
Easedale Tarn, — via Eydal and Grasmere ...
Elterwater, — via Eothay Bridge, Clappersgate, and the
Brathay Valley
Ennerdale, — via Clappersgate, Fellfoot, Blea Tarn, Stake
Pass, Sprinkling Tarn, Sty Head Pass, Wastdale Head,
Black Sail, and Scarf Gap
E skdale, — see Birker Force
Esthwaite Water, — via Clappersgate and Brathay
Fairfield, — via Eydal Forrest ... ...
Fellfoot, Langdale, — via Clappersgate, Skelwith, Colwith,
and Langdale
Ferry, —via Waterhead and Windermere Lake
via Clappersgate, Brathay, Wray Castle, and the
west margin of Windermere
FOB ROUTE
SEE PAGES.
55 to 75, 90
47, 116
47, 30, 27, 109
47, 116, 149
47,38
55 to 58
69 to 72, 98
45, 14, 8
18, 8
55 to 58,
69,77
55,51
82
47, 116, 147
47,
43,38
48, 116, 147
135, 133
48, 116, 113,
124
47
48, 116
45, 14, 35
48, 30, 27,
48,116,171,28
48, 116,
147, 135, 133
45, 15
43, 38, 65, 107
58, 69 to 76
58, 52, 78, 83
58, 52, 69
47, 50, 148
58, 52
47 to 50
48, 116, 147,
152,120,163
113, 115
47,30
59
47, 116
45,17
47, 14, 34
DISTANCES EROM AMBLESIDE.
TOTAL
MILES.
Furness Abbey, — via Windermere Lake to Newby Bridge,
Greenodd, and Ulverston
, via Clappersgate, Brathay, the High Cross,
east side of Coniston Lake, Blawith and Ulverston ...
Gowbarrow Park, — See Ara Force
Grasmere, the church, — via the turnpike road by Eydal...
-, via Rothay Bridge, under Loughrigg, Loughrigg
Terrace, and Red Bank
. via Clappersgate, Loughrigg Fell, & Bed Bank
Grisedale, — via Kirkstone Pass, and Patterdale
Hardknot, top of, — via Clappersgate, Skelwith, Fellfoot,
and Wrynose
Hawkshead, — via Clappersgate and Brathay
Helm Crag (Lion and Lamb), — via Rydal and Grasmere
Helvellyn, top of, — via Bydal, Grasmere, Dunmail Raise,
and Wythburn
High Street, — via Kirkstone Pass and the mountain path
High Close, — via Clappersgate, and Loughrigg
Honister Crag, — See Buttermere ...
Keswick, — via Rydal, Grasmere, Dunmail Raise, Thirl-
mere, and Castlerigg
, via Rydal, Grasmere, Easedale, mountain path
to Watendlath, and east side of Derwentwater
Kirkstone Pass, — via the old Church, and up the road
Langdale, Chapel Stile, — via Clappersgate and Elterwater
Langdale Pikes, — via Clappersgate, Langdale, Millbcck,
and the mountain path
Legberthwaite, — via Grasmere, and Thirlmere
Loughrigg, — See High Close
via Rothay Bridge, under Loughrigg, Lough-
rigg Terrace
Lowdore cascade, — via Grasmere Keswick, and Derwent
, via Grasmere, Easedale, the mountain path by
Watendlath
Lowwood Hotel, — via the road or lake
Lyulph's Tower, — see Ara Force ...
Millbeck, Langdale, — via Clappersgate, Brathay Valley,
Elterwater, and Great Langdale
Nab Scar, — See Fairfield ...
Newby Bridge, — via Waterhead and Lake Windermere...
-, via the turnpike road, Cook's House, and
Bowness
Patterdale, — via Kirkstone Pass, and Brothers' Water...
Penrith, — via Patterdale and Ulls water
Portinscale, — via Rydal, Grasmere, Dunmail Raise, Thirl-
mere, and Keswick...
Red Bank, — via Rothay Bridge, under Loughrigg, and
Loughrigg Terrace
Rydal Lake, — via the turnpike road
, via Rothay Bridge and under Loughrigg
St. John's Vale, — via Grasmere, Dunmail Raise and Thirl-
mere
Sawrey, — via Clappersgate, Hawkshead, and Esthwaite
Scawfell, — via Clappersgate, Great Langdale, Millbeck, &
the mountain path by Angle Tarn
Seathwaite, Lancashire, — via Clappersgate, Brathay, High
Cross, Coniston, and Walna Scar
Skelwith Bridge, — via Clappersgate, and Brathay Valley
FOE ROUTE
SEE PAGES.
15,25
47, 27, 25
43, 38 to 31
54
47,52
47 to 52
44, 38, 165
47, 116
47,30
54,51
54,69
44, 174, 176
47
135
54, 69 to 75
54, 52, 78, 76
44
47, 116, 149
47, 116,
147, 150
69
47
47,52
69 to 84
54, 52, 78, 76
45,17
43, 38, to 41
47, 50, 149
55, 60
15 to 18
45, 14, 8, 20
43,38
43, 38, 172
69,85
47,25
58,55
47,25
58, 69 to 72
47,30
47. 149, 159
47, 28, 169
47, 116
DISTANCES FROM AMBLESIDE.
TOTAL
MILES.
23
8
3
9*
24
*19
»!
Stanley Ghyll, — See Birker Force.
Thirlmere, — via Bydal, Grasmere, and Dunmail Raise ...
Troutbeck, — via lane at Low wood
Ulls water, — See Ara Force
Ulverston, — via Windermere Lake and Newby Bridge . . .
Wastwater, — via Clappersgate, Langdale, Millbeck, and
the mountain path by Angle Tarn
Windermere Lake, — via the turnpike road to Waterhead
Wythburn, — via Grasmere and Dunmail Raise
FOR ROUTE
SEE PAGES.
113, 119
58, 69 to 71
45,36
43, 38 to 40
15,25
:47, 149, 120
45
58, 69 to 71
7
23
16
10|
*15
7
5
21
9*
12|
*16
18
*10
6
14
*26
30
7
5
*27
19
21
10*
10
12
6
15
4|
6
FROM CONISTON.
Ambleside, — via High Cross, Brathay, and Clappersgate
Bassenthwaite Lake, — via Oxenfell, Loughrigg, Grasmere,
Thirlmere, and Keswick
Birker Force, — via Tilberthwaite, over Wrynose and Hard-
knot passes, and down Eskdale
Birk's Bridge, — via Tilberthwaite, Fellfoot, and Wrynose
Blackcombe, top of — via Torver and Broughton.
Blea Tarn, Langdale, — via Tilberthwaite and Fell Foot...
Blelham Tarn, — via High Cross and Wray Castle
Ara Force,— via Ambleside, Kirkstone Pass and Patter-
dale
Bowness, — via Hawkshead, Esthwaite Lake, Sawrey, and
the Ferry
via Brathay, the head of Windermere and
Cook's House
Borrowdale, — via Tilberthwaite, Langdale, Stake Pass,
Glaramara on the left, and Rosthwaite ...
Bowder Stone, Borrowdale, — via Stake Pass, &c.3
Bowfell, — via Tilberthwaite, Blea Tarn, Langdale Head,
and along the mountain path ...
Brathay Chapel, —via High Cross and Borwick Ground ...
Brothers' Water, — via High Cross, Clappersgate, Amble-
side, and Kirkstone Pass
Buttermere— via Tilberthwaite, Blea Tarn, Stake Pass,
Borrowdale, and Honister Crag
Calder Abbey, — via Tilberthwaite, Fell Foot, over Wry-
nose and Hardknot passes, Eskdale, cross Miterdale,
and Gosforth
Clappersgate, — via High Cross and Brathay ...
Colwith Force, — via Oxenfell, and Colwith Bridge
Crummock Water, — via Tilberthwaite, Blea Tarn, Stake
Pass, Borrowdale, and Buttermere
Derwent Lake, — via Tilberthwaite, Blea Tarn, Stake Pass
and Borrowdale
via Oxenfell, Skelwith, Loughrigg, Grasmere,
Thirlmere, and Keswick
Duddon Bridge, — via Torver and Broughton.
Dungeon Ghyll, — via Tilberthwaite, Blea Tarn, Wallend,
and Millbeck
Easedale Tarn, — via Oxenfell, Skelwith, Loughrigg, and
Grasmere
Elterwater, — via Oxenfell, and Colwith
Eskdale (foot of Hardknot), — via Tilberthwaite, Wrynose,
& Hardknot
Esthwaite Water, — via Hawkshead Hill, and Hawkshead
Fellfoot, Langdale, — via Tilberthwaite
30,47
28,49,69
28, 117
28, 117
109
28, 117
30,34
30, 47, 40
30, 47, 45, 14
28, 147
147
117, 147
30,48
30,47,39,106
117, 147, 135
30, 117 to 119
30,47
116
117
147, 137, 133
117, 147, 135
51, 69 to 75
109
28, 117, 143
28,69
28, 116, 50
28, 116,
30
28, 116
DISTANCES FROM CONISTON.
TOTAL
MILES.
Ferry, Windermere, — via Hawkshead Hill, Esthwaite
Water, & Sawrey...
Furness Abbey,— via Torver and Ulverston ...
, via Torver, Broughton, and per railway
Grasmere,— via Oxenfell, Skelwith Bridge, and Loughrigg
via Yewdale, Tilberthwaite, Blea Tarn, Dun-
geon Ghyll, Langdale, Elterwater, and Loughrigg
Hardknot, top of, — via Tilberthwaite, and over Wrynose
Hawkshead, — via Hawkshead Hill
Helvellyn, top of, — via Oxenfell, Skelwith, Loughrigg,
Grasmere, Dunmail Raise and Wythburn
High Street, — via Ambleside, Kirkstone Top, and thence
on foot nor th-east over the mountains
High Close, — via Oxenfell, Skelwith, and up Loughrigg
FeU
Honister Crag,— via Tilberthwaite, Blea Tarn, Stake Pass,
Borrowdale, and Buttermere road
Keswick, — via High Cross, Brathay, Clappersgate, Amble-
side, Rydal, Grasmere, Dunmail Raise, and Thirlmere
, via Oxenfell, Skelwith, Loughrigg, Grasmere, and
Thirlmere
, via Tilberthwaite, Blea Tarn, Stake Pass, and
Borrowdale
Langdale Chapel Stile, — via Tilberthwaite, Blea Tarn,
and Millbeck
Langdale Pikes, — via Tilberthwaite, Blea Tarn, and the
mountain path
Lowdore Cascade, — via Tilberthwaite, Blea Tarn, Stake
Pass, and Borrowdale
Lowwood, — via High Cross, Brathay, and Clappersgate...
Millbeck, Langdale, — via Tilberthwaite and Blea Tarn ...
Newby Bridge, — via Hawkshead, Esthwaite Water, and
Lake or road
, via Hawkshead, west side of Esthwaite
Lake, and Graythwaite
Patterdale, — via High Cross, Brathay, Ambleside, and
Kirkstone Pass
Red Bank, — via Oxenfell, Skelwith, and Loughrigg
Rydal,— via High Cross, Brathay, Clappersgate, Ambleside
, via Oxenfell, Skelwith, and Loughrigg Terrace ...
Sawrey, — via Hawkshead and Esthwaite Water
Scale Force, — via Tilberthwaite, Blea Tarn, Stake Pass,
• Borrowdale, Buttermere, and Crummock...
Scawfell, — via Tilberthwaite, Blea Tarn, and the moun-
tain path
Seathwaite, — via Tilberthwaite, and Wrynose
, via Torver, Broughton Mill, the river Duddon,
Dunnerdale andUlpha
, via Walna Scar
Shire Stones, — via Tilberthwaite to the top of Wrynose...
Skelwith Bridge, — via Oxenfell ...
Stake Pass, — via Tilberthwaite, Blea Tarn, and the moun-
tain path on the left of Langdale Pikes ...
Stanley Ghyll, — via Wrynose and Hardknot, and Eskdale
Thirlmere,— via Oxenfell, Skelwith, Loughrigg, Gras-
mere, & Dunmail Raise
Tilberthwaite, head of ...
Torver, — via west side of Coniston Lake
FOB ROUTE
SEE PAGES.
30 to 34
109, 25
109, 25
28, 49 to 52
28, 117, 148
28. 116
30
28, 48, 69
30, 43, 36
30,48
28, 117, 147
30, 47, 55, 69
30, 49, 69
28,117,147,80
28, 117, 149
28, 117, 151
28,117,147,78
30, 47, 45
28. 117
29,15
29,15
30,48,38,106
28,48
30, 47, 58
28,48
30
28, 117,
146, 133
28, 117, 159
28, 117
109, 111
169
30,48
28, 117, 147
117, 114
28, 48, 69
171
109
DISTANCES FROM CONISTOtf.
TOTAL
MILES.
18
+9
15
16
26
8
12
n
14
21
Ullswater, — via High Cross, Brathay, Clappersgate, Am-
bleside, Kirkstone Pass, and Patterdale
Ulpha, — via Walna Scar and Newfield in Seathwaite
Ulverston, — via Torver, Blawith, and Lowick
, via east side of Coniston Lake, Spark Bridge,
and Greenodd
Wastwater, — via Tilberthwaite, Wrynose and Hardknot,
down Eskdale and across Miterdale
Windermere Lake, head of, — via High Cross, Brathay,
& Clappersgate
Railway Station, — via High Cross, Brathay,
Clappersgate, and Lowwood Hotel
Wrynose, top of, — via Tilberthwaite
Wythburn, — via Oxenfell, Skelwith, Loughrigg,
mere, & Dunmail Raise
Yewdale, — via High Waterhead and 'Boon Crag
Gras-
FOE EOUTE
SEE PAGES.
30, 48, 38, 106
169, 111
109, 27
29,25
28,117,115
30,48
30, 48, 45
28, 117
30, 48, 69
28
17
+17
+22
2
+8
2
4
9
+17
+6
26|
5
+14
+10
ai
14
+27
FROM KESWICK.
Ambleside, — via Castlerigg, Thirlmere, Dunmail Raise,
Grasmere, and Rydal
, — via east side of Der went water, to Watend-
lath, by mountain path to Easedale, Grasmere and
Rydal ...
, — via east side of Derwentwater, Borrowdale,
mountain path to Langdale, Elterwater, and Clappers-
gate
Applethwaite, — via Great Crosthwaite
Armboth Fells, — via east side of Derwentwater to Wat-
endlath, and by mountain path towards Thirlmere ...
Barrow House, — via east side of Derwentwater
Bassenthw aite Lake, — via Portinscale
Blacklead Mines, — via east side of Derwentwater, Bow-
der Stone Rosthwaite, and Seathwaite
Blacksail, — via Derwentwater, Seathwaite, Sty Head
Tarn, Wastdale Head and mountain path.
Blencathra (Saddleback), — via Penrith road to Threlkeld
Bowness, — via turnpike road, Castlerigg, Thirlmere, Dun-
mail Raise, Grasmere, Rydal, Ambleside, and Cook's
House. — For Mountain routes see Ambleside
Borrowdale, Bowder Stone, — via east side of Derwent-
water ...
Bowder Stone, — see Borrowdale ...
Bowfell, — via east side of Derwentwater, Borrowdale,
Rosthwaite, Seathwaite, and Sprinkling Tarn
Bowscale Tarn, — via Penrith road under Saddleback and
Souter Fell, and by mountain paths
Braithwaite, — via Portinscale
Buttermere Lake, — via east side of Derwentwater, Bor-
rowdale, Seatoller, Honister Crag, and Gatesgarth . . .
Calder Abbey, — via east side of Derwentwater, Borrow-
dale, Seatoller, Sty Head Tarn, Wasdale, Strands,
and Gosforth
Castle Crag, — via east side of Derwentwater.
Castlehead, — via road to Borrowdale
Castlehill, — ditto
Castlerigg, — via Ambleside road ...
69 to 76, 58
78, 53 to 58
78, 147, 50,
116, 47
95
78,71
78
85, 90
78, 157
78, 157, 123,
128, 163
96
75. 55, 45,
13
78, 137
78
76 to 82,
118, 152, 148
98, 103
89
76, 132
76, 157, 154,
121 to 125
76
76
76
73
DISTANCES FROM KESWICK.
TOTAL
MILES.
Castle Rock, — via Ambleside road Castlerigg to the end
of Vale of St. John
Cockley Beck, — via Derwentwater, Borrowdale, Stake
Pass, Millbeck, Blea Tarn, Fellfoot, and Wrynose ...
Coniston Lake, — via Castlerigg, Thirlmere, Grasmere,
Loughrigg Fell, and Oxenfell ...
via Borrowdale, Stake Pass, Blea Tarn,
and Tilberthwaite
Crnmmock Water, — via Portinscale, and Swineside
Derwent Lake, — via Lake road ...
Druid's Temple, — via Castlerigg and lane on the left . . .
Dunmail Raise, — via Castlerigg and Thirlmere
Egremont, — see Calder Abbey
Elterwater, — via Castlerigg, Thirlmere, Grasmere, and
Red Bank
Ennerdale, — via Portinscale, Braithwaite, Scale Hill,
Loweswater, and Lamplugh ...
Eskdale, — via Derwentwater and road to Watendlath . . .
Fellfoot, Langdale, — see Cockley Beck
Furness Abbey, — via Bassenthwaite Lake to Cocker-
mouth and per railway
Gatesgarth, — see Buttermere
Gillerthwaite, — via Derwentwater, Borrowdale, Seatoller,
Gatesgarth, Scarf Gap, and mountain path by river
Liza
Gowbarrow Park, — see Patterdale
Grange, — via Derwentwater
Grasmere, — via Castlerigg, Thirlmere, and Dunmail Raise
via Borrowdale, Watendlath, mountain path,
and Easedale
Haweswater, — via Threlkeld, Gowbarrow Park, Lyulph's
Tower, north side of Ullswater to Pooley Bridge, and
Butterswick
Hawkshead, — via Castlerigg, Thirlmere, Grasmere
Loughrigg Fell, and Brathay ...
Helvellyn, — via Castlerigg and Thrispot
Honister Crag, — via east side of Derwentwater, Borrow-
dale, and Seatoller ...
Keskadale, — via Portinscale, and Swinside
Kirkstone Pass, — via Threlkeld, Gowbarrow Park, and
Patterdale
Langdale, — via east side of Derwentwater, Watendlath
and mountain path to Millbeck ...
Langdale Pikes, — ditto ditto
Latrigg, top of — via Penrith road to tollgate
Lead Mines, — via Castlerigg, across end of Vale of St.
John, and mountain path
Legberthwaite, — via Castlerigg on turnpike road
Loughrigg Fell, — see Hawkshead
Lord's Island, — by boat on Derwentwater
Lorton, — via Portinscale, Braithwaite, and under Whin-
latter Fells
Lowdore Cascade, — via east side of Derwentwater
Loweswater, — via Portinscale, Braithwaite, and Vale of
Lorton
Lowwood Hotel, — see Windermere Railway .
Lyulph's Tower, — see Patterdale ...
Mardale, — see Haweswater
FOB ROUTE
SEE PAGES.
72 to 75
76, 147, 116
73, 69, 61, 25
76t 147, 171
85
76
96
69 to 75
126
69 to 75, 50
85, 89,
121 to 132
78,84
90,25
135
78, 137, 135,
163
39, 84
78
69 to 75
78,53
135, 174
69 to 75
51, 48, 30
70 to 75, 165
78, 137
85
105
76, 147
76, 147, 151
92
74, 165
72 to 75
84, 89
78
69 to 75, 45
105
105, 174
DISTANCES FROM KESWICK.
TOTAL
MILES.
ti7
+14
29
20
8
28
18
1*
6
15
12
14
+15
15
9
+17
9
6
12
7
10
4|
3
4f
15
63
tl5
5
17
21
Martindale, — see Calder Abbey to Strands ...
Mosedale, — via Borrowdale, Seathwaite, Sty Head, and
Wastdale Head
Newby Bridge, — via Thirlmere, Grasmere, Ambleside, and
Windermere Lake ...
Ouse Bridge, — via Portinscale, Peel Wyke, and west side
of Bassenthwaite ...
Patterdale, — via Threlkeld, and Gowbarrow Park, Ara
Force, Lyulph's Tower, and Ullswater ...
Peel Wyke, — see Ouse Bridge
Penrith, — via Threlkeld, Gowbarrow Park, and Ullswater
via Threlkeld and Penruddock
8|
Portinscale, — via Cockermouth road
Rosthwaite, — via east side of Derwentwater, and Borrow-
dale
Rydal Lake, — via Castlerigg, Thirlmere, and Grasmere ...
St. John's Vale, — via Penrith road to Threlkeld
Scale Hill Inn, — see Crummock Water
Scarf Gap, — via Derwentwater, Borrowdale, Seatoller,
and Gatesgarth
Scawfell, — via Derwentwater, Borrowdale, Sty Head,
Wastdale Head and Mountain path
Screes, — see Wastwater
Seathwaite, Borrowdale, — see Scawfell
, Lancashire, — see Cockley Beck ...
Seatoller, — see Calder Abbey
Skiddaw, — via Penrith road, Latrigg and mountain
path
Sprinkling Tarn, — via Borrowdale, Seathwaite and
Taylor's Gill
Stonethwaite, — via Borrowdale, and Rosthwaite
Sty Head, — see Scawfell
Thirlmere, — see Legberthwaite ...
Thornthwaite, — via Portinscale ...
Threlkeld, — via Penrith road
Ullswater, — see Patterdale
Ulverston, — see Furness Abbey ...
Wastdale, — via Borrowdale, Seathwaite and Sty Head ...
Watendlath, — via Barrow
Windermere Lake, — via Castlerigg, Thirlmere, Grasmere,
and Ambleside
Railway, — via Castlerigg, Thirlmere, Gras-
mere, Ambleside, and Lowwood
Wythburn. — via Castlerigg, and Thirlmere
FOR ROUTE
SEE PAGES.
115
76, 154, 122
69 to 75
58, 18
90
105
90
105, 172
172
78
69 to 74, 56
105, 72
132
76, 132, 162
78, 154, 123,
159
162, 121
78t 118
111
137
92
78, 154, 152
78, 147
154
70 to 75
90
104
105, 39
25
76, 154, 122
78
69 to 75, 55,
58, 18,
69 to 75,
55, 58, 45
71 to 75
PABT I.
WINDERMERE.
A few years ago there was only one meaning to the
word Wikdermere. It then meant a lake lying
among mountains, and so secluded that it was some
distinction even for the travelled man to have seen it.
Now there is a Windermere railway station, and a
Windermere post-office and hotel ; — a thriving village
of Windermere and a populous locality. This implies
that a great many people come to the spot ; and the
spot is so changed by their coming, and by other cir-
cumstances, that a new guide book is wanted; for
there is much more to point out than there used to
be ; and what used to be pointed out now requires a
wholly new description. Such new guidance and des-
cription we now propose to give.
The traveller arrives, we must suppose, by the rail-
way from Kendal, having been dropped at the Oxen-
holme Junction by the London train from the south,
or the Edinburgh and Carlisle train from the north.
A
Z MOUNTAIN FORMATION.
The railways skirt the lake district, but do not, and
cannot, penetrate it : for the obvious reason that rail-
ways cannot traverse or pierce granite mountains or
span broad lakes. If the time should ever come when
iron roads will intersect the mountainous parts of
Westmorland and Cumberland, that time is not yet ;
nor is in view, — loud as have been the lamentations
of some residents, as if it were to happen to-morrow.
No one who has ascended Dunmail Raise, or visited
the head of Coniston Lake, or gone by Kirkstone to
Patterdale, will for a moment imagine that any con-
ceivable railway will carry passengers over those passes,
for generations to come. It is a great thing that
steam can convey travellers round the outskirts of the
district, and up to its openings. This is now effectually
done; and it is all that will be done by the steam
locomotive during the lifetime of anybody yet born.
The most important of the openings thus reached is
that of WlNDERMEEE.
The mountain region of Cumberland and Westmor-
land has for its nucleus the cluster of tall mountains,
of which Scawfell is the highest. There are the loftiest
peaks and deepest valleys. These are surrounded by
somewhat lower ridges and shallower vales ; and these
again by others, till the uplands are mere hills and the
valleys scarcely sunk at all. It is into these exterior
undulations that the railways penetrate ; and, at the
first ridge of any steepness, they must stop. It is this
which decides the termination of the Windermere
railroad, and which prevents the lateral railways from
coming nearer than the outer base of the hills on the
ORREST HEAD. 3
east and the coast on the west. When the traveller
on foot or horseback sees certain reaches of Lake
Windermere from Orrest Head, lying deep down below
him, he knows he is coming near the end of the rail-
way, which cannot yet plunge and climb as our old
mail roads must do, if they exist here at all. As a
general rule, lakes should be approached from the foot,
that the ridges may rise, instead of sinking, before the
observer's eye. But so happy is the access to Winder-
mere from the station, that it is hard to say that it
could have been better ; and that access is, not from
the south to its lower end, but from the south-east to
about its middle. The old coach road over Orrest
Head and the railway meet at the new village of
Windermere, whence the road to Bowness descends,
winding for about a mile and a half, striking the shore
at a point rather more than half way up the lake, and
commanding the group of mountains that cluster about
its head.
Supposing that the traveller desires to see the Win-
dermere scenery thoroughly, we shall divide our direc-
tions into portions ; first exhibiting what is to be seen
in the immediate neighbourhood of the Windermere
Hotel, or within a moderate walk ; and then describing
three tours, two of which may be easily taken in a day
each. One mountain trip will be added, and, these
being faithfully prosecuted, the tourist may be assured
that he has seen all that falls within the scope of a
summer visitor in the opening region of the Lake
District.
A few minutes will take him to Orrest Head, where
A 2
4 ELLERAY.
he will see a lovely view, — a picturesque cottage roof,
surrounded by trees, in the foreground; grey rocks
cropping out of the sward on the other side of the
hedges ; and in front, overlapping hills, range behind
range, with the grey waters of the lake lying below.
Already, a traveller who should remain any time in
the district, would find himself introduced to the
humours of a remote region. Odd sayings and doings
remain, and traditions of old singularities are not lost.
This place, Orrest Head, was the residence of the noted
Josiah Brown, who amused himself, a century ago, with
welcoming beggars, whom he supplied with meat and
lodging, — sometimes to the number of twenty in a
night. He called them his "jolly companions;" and
no doubt he got a world of amusement out of them, in
return for his hospitality. The local saying, "that's too
big a bo-o for a young horse," was Josiah Brown's, and
it was originated thus. He was breaking in a young
horse, when one of his men took a liberty, — such as
his servants were always taking with him, — but in
this case to be repented of. The fellow hid himself
behind a gate-post, and yelled so tremendously as his
master passed through that Josiah was thrown, and
broke his leg. His good-natured criticism was, " that
was too big a bo-o for a young horse ;" and this is still
the proverbial expression of extreme surprise.
The hill to the right is part of the Elleray property,
so well known as the lake home of Christopher North,
and now so much improved by its present proprie-
tor, Mr. Eastted. If the traveller should have the
good fortune to obtain a ticket of leave to enter the
ELLEKAY. 5
grounds,* his first object should be to walk up that hill
at Elleray, by Mr. Eastted's new drive. All the way
up, the views are exquisite : but that from the summit,
— about 700 feet above the lake, is one of the finest
the district can show. The whole length of Winder-
mere extends below, with its enclosing hills and wooded
islands ; and towards the head, some of the highest
peaks and ridges may be seen : — Coniston Old Man to
the west ; Bowfell and Langdale Pikes to the north-
west ; Fairfield to the north, with Loughrigg lying, as
a mere dark ridge, across the head of Windermere;
while, to the north-east, Troutbeck is disclosed, with
its peaks of High Street and Hill Bell. All below
are woods, with houses peeping out ; on a height of
the opposite shore, Wray Castle ; further north, the
little Brathay Chapel, set down near the mouth of the
valley ; and between Loughrigg and the lake, at its
head, the white houses of Clappersgate, with the
chateau-like mansion of Croft Lodge conspicuous above
the rest. This view is a good deal like the one from
* A portion of the Elleray grounds are open to the public every
Monday and Friday. Tickets of admission, bearing date, are
issued on application to Mr. Garnett, at the Windermere Post-
office, by paying a small donation, not less than one shilling, for a
party of six persons, and, if above that number, the donation must
be doubled. The proceeds are for the benefit of the school for the
education of the poor, established by the Rev. J. A. Addison, and
the sick and aged poor of Windermere, who may need assistance.
— Parties will enter at the gate opposite the post-office, and pro-
ceed up the road to the right, which is the main road leading to
the top of the hill, and return by the same route. All branch
roads are strictly private.
A 3
6 VILLAGE OF WINDEUMEEE.
the hill behind the Windermere Hotel, which is reached
by a lane turning off from Orrest Head. The Elleray
one is the most extensive and complete to the north ;
but to enjoy the other, leave will be readily obtained at
the hotel.
The village of Windermere is like nothing that is to
be seen any where else. The new buildings (and all
are new) are of the dark grey stone of the region, and
are for the most part of a mediaeval style of architec-
ture. The Eev. J. A. Addison, late of Windermere, had
a passion for ecclesiastical architecture ; and his example
has been a good deal followed. There is the little
church of St. Mary, and there are the schools belonging
to it, with their steep roofs of curiously-shaped slates :
and there is St. Mary's Abbey, (new, in spite of its
antique name,) and St. Mary's Cottage.* And there is
the new college of St. Mary, standing in a fine position,
between the main road and the descent to the lake.
This College, which may be distinguished by its
square tower, was originally intended as a place of
education for the sons of the clergy, having proved
unsuccessful in that form is now established on an
entirely new basis. It is under the management
of G. Hale Puckle, M.A., of St. John's College,
Cambridge, and B. A. Irving, MA., of Emmanuel
College, Cambridge. The large house, on the hill and
amidst the woods of the Elleray estate, and often mis-
* Between the entrance to the Abbey and St. Mary's Cottage, a
gate opens upon the footpath through Rayrigg wood. Though
in bad order, it is a pleasant shady path, and offers a short cut to
the lake.
EOAD TO BOWNESS. 7
taken for the new college, is the property of John
G-andy, Esq., who has chosen a charming site for
his abode; and a little further, on the same side
of the road, is the pretty villa-residence of Miss
Yates.
There are villas on either side the road, on almost
every favourable spot, all the way to Bowness. The
road past the college grounds leaves the other one to
be called by the inevitable title of "the old road."
We pass rows of lodging-houses ; and then we see, to
the right the college ; and to the left Ellerthwaite, the
residence of Mr. George H. Gardner. Further on is
the new Hydropathic Establishment, conducted by
Mr. E. L. Hudson, P.E.C.S. ; * and then, to the right,
the cottage of Mylnbeck, the residence of the Misses
Watson, daughters of the late bishop of Llandaff : a
common house in its aspect towards the road, but, as
seen over the wall, very pretty in its garden-front. The
next gate on the left is the entrance to the Craig, built
by Sir Thomas Pasley, and now inhabited by W. R.
Greg, Esq. Below this, the houses begin to thicken
about the entrance to Bowness. Among them, a road
to the left leads to one of the most charming points of
view in the neighbourhood, — a hill named Biscut How,
crested with rocks, which afford as fine a station as the
summit of Elleray for a view of the entire lake and its
shores.
* A gate may be observed just before reaching this point
which is the entrance to footpaths leading over the higher
ground in the direction of the Railway Station, and affording
a pleasant walk.
8 BOWNESS.
Bowness is the port of Windermere. There the new
steamboats put up ; and thence go forth the greater
number of fishing and pleasure boats which adorn the
lake. There is a good deal of bustle in the place ; and the
lower parts, near the water, are very hot in summer : and
the more since the building of a new lodging-house in a
space near the church, which used to be called the lungs
of Bowness. The three great inns, however, are in airy
situations, — the garden platform of Ullock's Royal
Hotel overlooking the gardens that slope down to the
shore ; and the Crown and Victoria being on a hill which
commands the whole place. These inns are extremely
well managed ; and it is for the traveller to say whether
their charges, which are uniform, justify a complaint
which has been made, (we think unreasonably as
regards the Lake District in general) of high prices.
During the season, which extends from May to Novem-
ber, the charges are two shillings for breakfast, (includ-
ing meat, fish, &c.,) two shillings and sixpence for
dinner ; and one shilling and sixpence for tea. A
private sitting-room is charged two shillings and six-
pence per day. Ullock's Hotel, called Eoyal since the
visit of the Queen Adelaide in 1840, makes up between
seventy and eighty beds. Close at hand is a little
museum, where the birds of the district may be seen,
exceedingly well stuffed and arranged by Mr. Arm-
strong, a waiter at the hotel. The Crown has ten
private sitting-rooms, and makes up more than a hun-
dred beds. Nothing can well exceed the beauty of the
view from its garden seats.
There is an exhibition open in Bowness during the
BOWNESS. 9
summer months, which it will be useful, and particu-
larly agreeable to the stranger to visit, before he pene-
trates further into the district. Mr. and Mrs. Lindsey
Aspland exhibit their paintings of lake scenery every
summer ; and their pictures are of a high order of merit
as works of art, as well as for their fidelity as portraits
of scenery. Mr. Aspland' s outline sketches are excel-
lent ; and those on which the passes are clearly indicated
are of especial value to the pedestrian tourist.
The old churchyard of Bowness, with its dark yews,
and the old weather-worn church, long and low, is the
most venerable object in the place. The chancel win-
dow of the church contains painted glass from Furness
Abbey. The tomb of Bishop Watson will be found in
the churchyard, near the east window. The rectory,
which is hardly less venerable than the church, stands
at a considerable distance from the village, and is
approached through fields and a garden. The old-
fashioned porch is there, of which this is said to be
the last remaining instance in the whole district, — the
roomy, substantial porch, with benches on each side,
long enough to hold a little company of parishioners,
and a round ivy-clad chimney immediately surmount-
ing the porch. Within, there is abundant space, with
little elevation; — plenty of room in the hall and
parlours, wTith ceilings that one can touch with the
hand. Almost every other noticeable edifice in Bow-
ness is new, or at least modern ; the schools, the gift
of the late Mr. Bolton, of Storrs Hall, — the Italian
villa, called Belsfield, the property of the Baroness de
Sternberg, and many others.
10 THE SHORE.
The visitor will first repair to the strand, to salute
the waters. He will find a good quay, with boats in
abundance, and several boat-houses within view. A
substantial little pier is built out into the lake ; and
on either side is a steamboat moored during winter;
and to the end these two steamers come, six times a
day each, during the summer. To the right, gardens
slope down to this little bay ; and they look gay even
in winter from their profusion of evergreens, and from
the ivy which clothes their walls. The church just
peeps out behind the houses above. Looking over the
lake, Curwen's Island is just opposite. In May and
early June, the woods of that island, and of all the
promontories round, present a most diversified foliage,
— from the golden tufts of the oak to the sombre hue
of the pines, with every gradation of green between.
In July and August, the woods are what some call too
green, — massy and impenetrable, — casting deep sha-
dows on the sward and the waters. Within the shadow
on the shore stands the angler, watching the dimpling
of the surface, as the fly touches it, or the fish leaps
from it : and within the shadow on the water, the boat
swings idly with the current ; and the student, come
hither for recreation, reads or sleeps as he reclines,
waiting for the cool of the afternoon. Turning to the
north, the highest peaks are not seen from this strand ;
but Fairfield and Loughrigg close in the head of the
lake.
Turning southwards along the margin, and walking
about a mile, the explorer reaches the point of the
promontory, Ferry Nab, which stretches out opposite
PEEEY NAB. 11
the Ferry House, — itself on the point of an opposite
promontory. There can hardly be a more charming
resting-place than a seat under the last trees of this
projection. It is breezy here ; and the waters smack
the shore cheerily. The Troutbeck Hills come into
view, and the head of the lake is grander. The round
house on Curwen's Island* is seen among the trees.
The Ferry house, under its canopy of tall sycamores,
and with its pebbly beach, is immediately opposite ; and
behind it rises the wooded bank which is, in light or
shadow, one of the chief graces of the scene. If the sun
shines upon it, it is feathered with foliage to the very
ridge, and the bay beneath it is blue and lustrous. If
the sun has gone down behind it, the bay is black ; and
every dipping bird sprinkles it with silver; and the
wild duck that comes sailing out with her brood, draws
behind her a pencil of white light. From this point, a
view opens to the south. In the expanse of waters
lies another island ; and further down, on the eastern
shore, a pier extends with a little tower at the end.
This is Storrs : and at that pier did the guests embark
when Scott went to meet Canning at Mr. Bolton's, and
the fine regatta took place, (under the direction of
Christopher North) which is celebrated in Lockhart's
Life of Scott. This was only two years before Canning's
death, and seven before that of Scott. Mr. and Mrs.
Bolton are gone ; and Christopher North himself has
followed. It is probable that no stranger ever sees that
* The shady and well-kept walk round Curwen's Island is well
worth a visit. Which can be done by those who are fortunate
enough to obtain tickets at the hotels in Bowness.
12 PROFESSOR WILSON.
pier at Storrs without thinking of Professor Wilson ;
and, indeed, there is no spot in the neighbourhood with
which his memory, and the gratitude of his readers, is
not associated. Any where such a presence is rarely
seen ; and it was especially impressive in the places he
best loved to haunt. More than one person has said
that Wilson reminded them of the first man, Adam ;
so full was his large frame of vitality, force and sen-
tience. His tread seemed to shake the ground, and his
glance to pierce through stone walls ; and, as for his
voice, there was no heart that could stand before it.
In his hour of emotion, he swept away all hearts,
whithersoever he would. No less striking was it to see
him in a mood of repose, as he was seen when steering
the packet-boat that used to pass between Bowness and
Ambleside, before the steamers were put upon the lake.
Sitting motionless, with his hand upon the rudder, in
the presence of journeymen and market-women, and his
eye apparently looking beyond everything into nothing,
and his mouth closed above his beard, as if he meant
never to speak again, he was quite as impressive and
immortal an image as he could have been to the students
of his moral philosophy class, or the comrades of his
jovial hours. He was known, and with reverence and
affection, beside the trout stream and the mountain tarn,
and, amidst the damp gloom of Elleray, where he could
not bring himself to let a tree or a sprig be lopped that
his wife had loved. Every old boatman and young
angler, every hoary shepherd and primitive dame
among the hills of the district, knew him and enjoyed
his presence. He made others happy by being so in-
MOUNTAINS ON THE WFST SIDE oh « I N D"E fl M F R t .
■.4*rm&&*p*
-
mm^^Ahm^m^^ wmmtw*
■.ao«,
t&
"'■> 'ir8 *r ^
^^^
5gw_
't'.Jltan.
l.J. ( am
2 We&isrlam.
3 Wryrtose Sap
4 LttjiZJc Crags
5 PiAt. of TRLscow
fi :>oa*f-kU TOa
7 JSowfhll
7 Wee
12 Hnyrz.^rm Stuilcle
23 Teweyark.
• /maor
16 THoh Reuse
Ifi Stiver }lr:w
'A'Kr.k: • Sclnirmi^i
MILLEE BROW. 13
tensely happy himself, when his brighter moods were
on him ; and when he was mournful, no one desired to
be gay. He is gone with his joy and his grief; and
the region is so much the darker in a thousand eyes.
Instead of returning to his inn the way he came, the
strange* may make a moderate and pleasant walk by
going through Bowness on the Ambleside road, and
round by Cook's House. The first noticeable abode
that he will see is Eayrigg, — a rather low, rambling,
grey house, standing on the grass near a little bay of
the lake. It is a charming old-fashioned house, and its
position has every advantage, except that it stands too
low. On the high wall by the road side, immediately
before reaching the gate of Rayrigg, the stranger will
be struck with the variety of ferns. That wall is an
excellent introduction to the stone fences of the region,
richly adorned as many of them are with mosses and ferns.
Passing between woods, resounding with brawling
streams, the road leads up a rather steep ascent, the
summit of which is called Miller Brow.^ Hence is seen
what, in our opinion, is a view unsurpassed for beauty
in the, whole Lake District. The entire lake lies below,
the white houses of Clappersgate being distinctly visible
at the north end and the Beacon at the south: and
the diversity of the framework of this sheet of water is
here most striking. The Calgarth woods, for which
we are indebted to Bishop Watson, rising and falling,
spreading and contracting below, with green undulating
# Skirting the ridge below, there is a quiet lane, leading along
the margin of the lake to Calgarth. — After rain, however, it is
apt to be flooded.
14 cook's house.
meadows interposed, are a perfect treat to the eye ; and
so are the islands clustering in the centre of the lake.
Wray Castle stands forth well above the promontory
opposite; and at the head, the Langdale Pikes, and
their surrounding mountains seem, in some states of the
atmosphere, to approach and overshadow the waters :
and in others to retire, and shroud themselves in soft
haze and delicate hues peculiar to cloud land. There
is a new house, built just below the ridge at Miller
Brow by William Sheldon, which we have thought,
from the time the foundation was laid, the most envi-
able abode in the country, — commanding a view
worthy of a mountain top, while sheltered by hill and
wood, and with the main road so close at hand that the
conveniences of life are as procurable as in a street. A
short descent hence brings the walker to Cook's House,
— the point where four roads meet. Cook's House
has only just disappeared, and a new residence, built by
Peter Kennedy, Esq., has taken its place. With it has
disappeared a fine specimen of the old fireplace of the
district, with its chimney-corners. It is rather a draw-
back to the romance hanging about those wide old
chimnies, to know that the good man had to sit with
some special covering over his shoulders, to protect
him from the soot that the rain brought down. At
Cook's house there were recesses and cupboards in that
strange roofless alcove, — the door being of the old oak
of which such fine specimens may be seen in the farm-
houses of the dales. We should rather say, might till
lately have been seen ; for we fear there are but few
left. The greater number of old chests, cupboard
LAKE DRAINAGE. 15
doors, and high-backed chairs, covered with carvings,
have found their way to the London curiosity shops,
whence agents have been sent through the wildest
places in the district to buy up such relics at high
prices. Still, there are specimens left, as the observant
traveller will notice.
Of the four roads which meet here, the one to his
left would take him to Ambleside ; the one opposite, to
Troutbeck. To reach his inn he must take the one to
the right, which leads him straight home.
The next thing to be done is to take a survey of the
whole lake by a steamboat trip. During the summer,
two steamers make six trips each ; so that the stranger
can choose his own hour, and go down or up first, as he
pleases. In accordance with the rule of lake approach,
we should recommend his going down first. He em-
barks at the pier at Bowness, and is carried straight
across to the Ferry, where the boats touch. Then the
course is southwards, with the lake narrowing, and the
hills sinking till the scenery becomes merely pretty.
The water is very shallow towards the foot, and the
practicable channel is marked out by posts. The best
work that the whole neighbourhood could undertake
would be the deepening of the lake in this part, and of
the river which carries off the overflow. Not only is
the passage of the steamers difficult : there is a far
worse evil in the inundations which take place on all
the low-lying lands, even up to Eydal, from the insuffi-
ciency of the outlet. The mischief has much increased
since drainage has been introduced. The excellent and
indispensable practice of land drainage must be followed
16 LAKE DRAINAGE.
up by an improvement in arterial drainage, or floods are
inevitable. The water which formerly dribbled away
in the course of many days, or even weeks, now gushes
out from the drains all at once ; and if the main outlets
are not enlarged in proportion, the waters are thrown
back upon the land. This is the case now in the neigh-
bourhood of Windermere, — the meadows and low-
lying houses at Ambleside, a mile or two from the lake,
being flooded every winter by the overflow of the lake
first, then of the river, then of the tributary streams.
The Steam Yacht Companies gave fifty pounds to have
the lake deepened at Fell Foot, about six years ago ;
and Mr. "White, the proprietor of the Newby Bridge
Hotel, subscribed the same amount : and this was good
as far as it went. But a much larger operation is
required. There is a weir below Newby Bridge, to
serve a corn mill. Now, the days of weirs and water-
mills are coming to an end. In these days of steam
engines it is not to be endured that hundreds of acres
should be turned into swamps, and hundreds of lives
lost by fever, ague, and rheumatism, for the sake of a
waterpower, which pays perhaps thirty pounds or forty
pounds a-year. We say this of watermills generally ;
and in regard to the need of sufficient arterial drainage,
we speak of the shores of Windermere in particular.
The expense of carrying off the utmost surplus of the
waters in the wettest season would be presently repaid,
here as anywhere else, by the improved value of the
land and house property, relieved from the nuisance of
flood.
The Swan Inn at Newby Bridge is exceedingly
LAKE SHORES. 17
comfortable ; and the charges are very moderate. The
stranger will have to come again, on his way to Furness,
at all events, and perhaps in some trip to Hawkshead ;
or when making the circuit of the lake by land. When
he has time, he should climb to the summit of the
Beacon, for the sake of the sea-views on the one hand
and of the lake on the other. Now, he merely calls for
lunch or tea, during the stopping of the steamer ; and
then he is off again, up the lake. After the Ferry and
Bowness, the next call is at Lowwood Hotel, where
there are sure to be passengers landing or embarking.
Between Bowness and Lowwood Hotel, Bayrigg has
been seen, beside the little bay ; and then Ecclerigg,
with its overshadowing trees, and pretty pier. It is
inhabited by Richard Luther Watson, Esq., grandson
of the late Bishop of Llandaff. Just above Lowwood,
high up on the wooded side of Wansfell, will be
seen Dovenest, once the abode of Mrs. Hemans,
when its appearance was more primitive and less
pretty than it is now, — improved as it has been by
its present resident, her then young friend, the Rev.
Robert P. Graves. Next comes Wansfell Holme,
(Thomas Wrigley, Esq.) This is another choice
situation. On the opposite shore is Wray Castle,
erected by James Dawson, Esq., — a most defensible-
looking place for so peaceful a region ; but an enviable i
residence, both from its interior beauty and the views
it commands. Just above it, Pullwyke bay, where lily
of the valley is found, runs far into the land ; and
overlooking it is seen Pull Cottage, the residence of
Colonel Rogers. Next, the sweet, tranquil Brathay
18 BOATING.
valley opens, with Mr. Redmayne's mansion of Brathay
Hall, on a green slope above the lake ; and just behind,
on a wooded knoll in the gorge of the valley, the
beautiful little church, called Brathay Chapel, built by
Mr. Redmayne.
Two rivers fall into the lake, uniting just before they
reach it : — the Rothay, which comes down from Dun-
mail Raise, beyond Grasmere, and the Brathay, which
issues from Elterwater, a group of pools, rather than
a lake, lying at the foot of the hills near Langdale.
The valleys of the Rothay and the Brathay are
separted by Loughrigg, — the ridge of which, at its
further end, commands Grasmere ; its Windermere end
shelters Clappersgate and Waterhead. The steamer
sweeps round to the pier at Waterhead, where there is
a cluster of dwellings, the most imposing of which is
the large grey stone house called Wanlas How. Omni-
buses are waiting here, from Ambleside and Grasmere,
— the one, distant one mile ; and the other, between
four and five. Our tourist will, however, complete the
circuit of the lake by returning to Bowness.
There are plenty of boats to be had at Waterhead
and Bowness, and watermen who are practised and
skilful. The stranger should be warned, however,
against two dangers which it is rash to encounter.
Nothing should induce him to sail on Windermere, or
on any lake surrounded by mountains. There is no
calculating on, or accounting for, the gusts that come
down between the hills; and no skill and practice
obtained by boating on rivers or the waters of a flat
country are any sure protection here. And nothing
BOATING. 19
should induce him to go out in one of the little skiffs
which are too easily attainable and too tempting, from
the ease of rowing them. The surface may become
rough at any minute, and those skiffs are unsafe in
all states of the water but the calmest. The long
list of deaths occasioned in this way, — deaths both of
residents and strangers, — should have put an end to
the use of these light skiffs, long ago. The larger
boats are safe enough, and most skilfully managed by
their rowers: and the stranger can enjoy no better
treat than gliding along, for hours of the summer day,
peeping into the coves and bays, coasting the islands,
and lying cool in the shadows of the woods. The
clearness of the water is a common surprise to the
resident in a level country ; and it is pleasant sport to
watch the movements of the fish, darting, basking, or
leaping in the sunshine, or quivering their fins in the
reflected ray. What the quality of the trout and char
is, the tourist will probably find every day, at breakfast
and dinner.
FIRST TOUR.
FBOM BOWNESS, BY NEWBY BBIDGE AND TIIiVEESTONE TO FTTE-
NESS ABBEY, EETUENING BY CONISTON, HAWKSHEAD, AND
THE FEEEY.
MILES.
MILES
Bowitess to Newby Bridge
»..
... 8
8 Flverstone
m .
16
7 Furness
...
... 23
8 Foot of Coniston Water ...
, ,
31
7 New Inn
...
... 38
4 Hawkshead
.
42
3 The Ferry
...
... 45
For the greater convenience of taking his pleasure
on the water, the traveller will now shift his quarters
to Bowness, where he will find himself, as we have
said, comfortably accommodated at either Ullock's
Hotel, the Crown, or the Victoria. Now is his time
for visiting Furness Abbey. This should be the first
of his tours, because it will lead him into the least
mountainous parts of the district.
At the outset of his tours, he will like to know what
the charges of travelling are in the district. Such
curious mistakes are occasionally made by strangers,
from their being unaware of the customs and arrange-
ments of the locality, that I am bound to suppose
that visitors will be glad to be saved from either over-
paying their drivers, or fancying themselves cheated.
During the season, the charges for carriages and
drivers are uniform, all over the district. It is probable
TRAYEXLING CHAKGKES. 21
that at other times there may be some little diversity,
depending on the amount of custom ; but the traveller
may rely on the prices here given as a safe rule.
It must be understood that the drivers of the
country cars and other vehicles are dependent on the
payment they receive from travellers. The innkeepers
charge for carriages and horses only ; and the pay-
ment of the drivers is therefore an established one,
and not considered dependent on the pleasure of the
traveller. The rate is three-pence per mile outwards, —
the return journey not being charged for. Another
way, in which I have myself been accustomed to pay,
is six-pence per hour, — the driver having the benefit
of the fraction left over. On excursions which occupy
a day, or several days, the driver's pay is five shillings
per day. The drivers are a rather superior sort of
men in their vocation, — familiar with the localities,
and able to point out all objects of interest to the
strangers. They and their horses know every step of
the way ; and I never heard of an accident happening
with the country cars. I give this assurance thus
expressly because the nervous looks of strangers, their
wistful glances up at precipices and down upon
torrents, seem to show that this kind of encourage-
ment may be very welcome.
The charge for a one-horse conveyance is one shilling
per mile. For a two-horse conveyance one shilling
and sixpence per mile. In case of a long stage, as for
ten or twelve miles, there is a reduction to one shilling
and four-pence. The return journey is, of course, not
paid for.
b3
22 COACH ROUTES.
For conveyance to a certain point, there is no charge
for food for man or horse : but if there is any waiting
at the end of the drive, in order to return, the feed of
the horses and the driver's dinner will amount to
about three shillings and sixpence. The hire of a
single-horse conveyance for the day is fifteen shillings,
and the driver's pay of five shillings makes it one
pound a day, exclusive of feed.
The tolls are invariably charged to the traveller.
In ascending Kirkstone Pass, between Ambleside
and Patterdale; and in going from Borrowdale to
Buttermere by Honister Crag, all carriages but the
light cars must have additional horses. It is a pity
that the traveller should contest this with the inn-
keepers,— at least till he knows the road. In fact,
the trouble of the innkeepers, in the season is to find
horses for the work, and not by any means to make
work for their horses.
Coach fares are about three-pence per mile outside,
and four-pence-half-penny per mile inside.
The routes of the coaches are (1) from Windermere
Railway Station to Ambleside, Grasmere and Keswick,
over which line several run daily during the season. —
(2) From Ambleside to Patterdale, Lyulph's Tower
and Penrith; and another line (3) from Ambleside
is to Hawkshead and Coniston. From Keswick
there are three routes (4) to Cockermouth; (5) to
Lyulph's Tower, Patterdale and Penrith ; and (6) via
Greystoke to Penrith. Each of them, of course,
performs the return journey.
The steamers on Lake Windermere have changed
WOODLAND LIFE. 23
their fares so often that I cannot venture to make any
statement about them. The usual hire of row-boats
with one pair of oars is one shilling per hour.
In order to proceed to Furness Abbey, the traveller
will go down to Newby Bridge, either by steamer or
by the road, which passes the grounds of Storrs, and
cuts over hill and dale, and winds among the copses,
till it crosses the bridge opposite the inn. Those
copses have been valuable to the remotest known date,
for charcoal ; and they have become more so since the
increase of manufactures has stimulated the demand
for bobbins. There are bobbin-mills at Skelwith, at
Ambleside, at Troutbeck Bridge, and at Staveley. But
the charcoal-burning goes on still, we believe, with
some activity in these southern parts of the district.
The one the traveller has just passed was the scene of
the life of two brothers whosp name and fame will not
be let die. Their name was Dodgson ; and they lived
in Cartmel Fell above a century ago. They were so
intent on their wood-cutting that they spent Sunday
in cooking their food for the whole week. They ate
little but oatmeal porridge ; and, when that fell short,
they tried Friar Tuck's ostensible diet of dried peas
and hard beans. As they grew old, they began to feel
the need of domestic help. Said the one to the other,
" Thou mun out and tait a wife." — "Yes ! " was the
reply ; " if thear be a hard job, thou olus sets yan
tult." The thing was accomplished, however ; and
when the old fellows were still chopping away at
upwards of eighty, rain or shine, ill or well, there was
the wife in the dwelling, and children to help. The
24 WOODLAND LIFE.
brothers left considerable property ; but it went the
way of miser's money ; and there are no Dodgsons
now in Cartmel Fell.
All the way to Furness, there are specimens of roads
and lanes which are locally called Ore gates (ways,)
from their being constructed from the slag and refuse
of the iron-ore formerly brought into the peninsula to
be smelted, on account of the abundance of charcoal
there. There are few objects more picturesque, to this
day, than the huts of the woodcutters, who remain on
a particular spot till their work is done. Upon piled
stems of trees heather is heaped, to make a shaggy
thatch; and when the smoke is oozing out, thin and
blue, from the hole in the centre, or the children are
about the fire in front, where the great pot is boilings
the sketcher cannot but stop and dash down the scene
in his book. The children will say he is "spying
fancies," — as they say of every one who sketches,
botanizes, or in any way explores. Perhaps some-
body may have the good taste to advise him to come at
night, when the glows from the fires makes the thicket
a scene of singular wildness and charm. A sad story
about a charcoal-burner belongs to this neighbourhood.
On two farms lived families which were about to be
connected by marriage. The young lover was a
" coaler, " — a charcoal-burner ; and one stormy day,
when he was watching his fire, and sitting on a stone
near his hut to take his dinner, he was struck dead by
lightning. The poor crazed survivor, his Kitty Dawson,
went to that hut after the funeral, and would never
leave it again. She did nothing but sit on that stone,
ETJENESS ABBEY. 25
or call his name through the wood. She was well cared
for. There was always food in the hut, and some kind
eye daily on the watch, — though with care not to
intrude. One day in winter, some sportsmen who were
passing took the opportunity of leaving some provision
in the hut. They became silent in approaching, and
silenced their dogs. But she could never more be
disturbed. They found her dead.
It is eight miles hence to the cheerful little
town of Ulverston, which is now reached by the
railway from London ; and from Ulverstone the
railway stretches south, past Furness Abbey, to the
margin of the sea. From Ulverstone to Furness, it is*
only seven miles. There is a good inn, — the Furness
Abbey Hotel, kept by Mr. Logan ; and here the tourist
should bespeak his bed, if he means to study the Abbey.
The Abbey was founded in A. D. 1127. Its domains
extended over the whole promontory in which it lies,
and to the north, as far as the Shire Stones on Wry-
nose. They occupied the space between Windermere
on the east and the Duddon on the west. The Abbot
was a sort of king ; and his abbey was enriched, not
only by King Stephen, but by the gifts of neighbour-
ing proprietors, who were glad to avail themselves, not
only of its religious privileges, but of its military
powers for the defence of their estates against border
foes, and the outlaws of the mountains, — the decend-
ants of the conquered Saxons, who inherited their
fathers' vengeance. The Abbey was first peopled from
Normandy, — a sufficient number of Benedictine monks
coming over from the monastery of Savigny to establish
26 FURlsrESS ABBEY.
this house in honour of St. Marye of Furnesse. In a
few years their profession changed : they followed St.
Bernard, and wore the white cassock, caul and scapu-
lary, instead of the dress of the grey monks. It is
strange now to see the railway traversing those woods
where these grey-robed foreigners used to pass hither
and thither, on their holy errands to the depressed and
angry native Saxons dwelling round about. The situa-
tion of the Abbey, as is usual with religious houses, is
fine. It stands in the depth of a glen, with a stream
flowing by, — the sides of the glen being clothed with
wood. A beacon once belonged to it ; a watch tower
on an eminence accessible from the abbey, whose signal-
fire was visible all over Low Furness, when assistance
was required, or foes were expected. The building is
of the pale red stone of the district. It must formerly
have almost filled the glen : and the ruins give an
impression, to this day, of the establishment having
been worthy of the zeal of its founder, King Stephen,
and the extent of its endowments, which were princely.
The boundary-wall of the precincts inclosed a space of
sixty-five acres, over which are scattered remains that
have, within our own time, been interpreted to be those
of the mill, the granary, the fish-ponds, the ovens and
kilns, and other offices. As for the architecture, the
heavy shaft is found alternating with the clustered
pillar, and the round Norman with the pointed Gothic
arch. The masonry is so good that the remains are,
even now, firm and massive ; and the winding stair-
cases within the walls are still in good condition in
many places. The nobleness of the edifice consisted in
EURNESS ABBEY. 27
its extent and proportions; for the stone would not
bear the execution of any very elaborate ornament.
The crowned heads of Stephen and his Queen Maude
are seen outside the window of the Abbey, and are
among the most interesting of the remains. It is all
triste and silent now. The chapter-house, where so
many grave councils were held, is open to the babbling
winds. Where the abbot and his train swept past in
religious procession, over inscribed pavements, echoing
to the tread, the stranger now wades among tall ferns
and knotted grasses, stumbling over stones fallen from
the place of honour. No swelling anthems are heard
there now, or penitential psalms ; but only the voice of
birds, winds, and waters. But this blank is what the
stranger comes for. Knowing what a territory the
Abbots of Purness ruled over, like a kingdom, it is
well to come hither to look how it is with that old
palace and mitre, and to take one more warning of how
Time shatters thrones, and dominations and powers,
and causes the glories of the world to pass away.
The stranger will be among the ruins late, by moon
or by star-light ; and again in the morning, before the
dew is off, and when the hidden violet perfumes the
area where the censer once was swung, and where the
pillars cast long shadows on the sward. But he must not
linger ; for he has a good circuit to make before night.
The lake of Coniston, which is his next object, is in
the district between Windermere and the Duddon,
which has already been mentioned as formerly belonging
to Furness Abbey. It may be reached by railway now,
which passes through Broughton and Torver, and ter-
minates at the inaccessable mountains at the head of
28 conistost.
the lake. Those who do not prefer the railway the whole
way, will take the road from Ulverston, which com-
mands the estuary of the Leven for a few miles, and
then approaches the foot of Coniston Water, which it
reaches at eight miles from Ulverstone. Seven miles
more bring him to the new inn at Coniston, which,
built under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. J. G-. Marshall,
is one of the most comfortable hotels in England. This
lake, like Windermere, is flanked by low hills at the
south end, and inclosed by magnificent mountains at
the head, where Mr. J. GL Marshall's house and lands
are more gloriously situated than almost any other in
the region. The little town of Church Coniston, and
the new inn, are a mile short of Waterhead ; and the
stranger must stop, and look through the place, while
his early dinner is preparing. The Old Man, eleventh
in height of the mountains of the district, (2,576 feet)
towers above him ; and the abodes of the people will
shew him that he is in the neighbourhood of a copper
mine. There is one, some way up the mountain ; and
he may see the winding road up to it. Higher up,
where there is an evident hollow, he is told that he
would find a deep black tarn ; and higher up, another.
But to climb the mountain is a day's work, with much
doubt of success, (that is of a clear summit,) and he
must to-day be satisfied with what is below. Yewdale,
with its grey rocks, cushioned with heather up to their
summits, stretches away northwards from the head of
the lake, into a gorge where the mountains overlap.
One of the crags there is called Eaven Crag : and it is
said that a pair of ravens is living now, there or some-
where near. It is to be hoped that, now the eagles are
CONISTON BANK. 29
gone, the last ravens will not be destroyed or scared
away by the shot of the miners, or other rash sports-
men, who are too apt to bring down every bird they
see. There are many picturesque dwellings in the area
which is between the heights and the lake : but the
best view of these is from the point to which the
stranger will proceed, after his lunch or early dinner.
He must order his car to meet him in an hour at the
junction of the two lake roads, on the Hawkshead
road ; and then he must walk a mile to the Waterhead,
and then on, round the head of the lake, in the direction
of Tent Lodge, which is seen nestling in its garden at
some elevation above the lake. The road passes the
site of the former Waterhead inn, now a young planta-
tion of Mr. Marshall's. Then commanding the whole
expanse of the lake, it begins to ascend, as it curves
round to the east ; and, at about a mile and three-
quarters from the new inn, there stands the house in
which Elizabeth Smith lived and died ; and, on the
opposite side of the road, Tent Lodge, built on the spot
where a tent was pitched, that she might draw her
dying breath with greater ease, and enjoy, as long as
possible, the incomparable landscape there stretched
before her. The boat-house is at the bottom of the
slope, down which she used to take her mother's guests ;
and she and her sister were so well practiced at "the oar
that they could show the beauties of the scene from
any point of the lake. The best station is, however,
in a field, — the first beyond the new house on
Coniston Bank. Some people think this the finest view
in the whole district: and truly, the frequent visitor
pronounces it incomparable, every time he comes ; and
30 HAWKSHEAD.
the passing tourist feels that, onee seen, it can never be
forgotten. Nowhere else, perhaps, is the grouping of
the mountain peaks, and the indication of their recesses
so striking ; and as to the foreground, with its glittering
waterfall, its green undulations, its diversified woods,
its bright dwellings, and its clear lake, — it conveys the
strongest impression of joyful charm, — of fertility,
prosperity and comfort, nestling in the bosom of the
rarest beauty.
Retracing his steps for some way, and passing the
turn which would lead him down again to Tent Lodge,
the stranger has rather a steep ascent before him, from
point to point of which he finds, on looking back
new views of the lake appearing, while the magni-
tude of the Old Man becomes more apparent as he
recedes from it. By the roadpost, which indicates the
two ways to the two sides of the lake, he finds his car ;
and then he proceeds through a wild country — moor-
land, sprinkled with grey rock, — in the direction of
Hawkshead, which is three miles from Waterhead.
The parish church of Hawkshead is ancient; its
appearance is venerable; and it stands, as a church
should do, in full view of the country round, — of the
valley in which Esthwaite Water lies. Elizabeth Smith
lies buried there ; and there is a tablet to her memory
in the churchyard. At the ancient Grammar School of
Hawkshead, Wordsworth and his brother were educated.
Passing through the neat little town, the road turns to
the left, to reach the northern end of Esthwaite Water,
which is two miles long, and half a mile broad ; — a
quiet sheet of water, with two promontories stretching
SAWREY. 31
into it, which appear like islands, nearly dividing it into
a chain of ponds. A round pond at the northern end
of the lake, connected with it by a narrow creek, exhibits
a strange phenomenon. It has a floating island, — not
like that of Derwentwater, which is a mass of mud and
vegetable tangle, — but actually bearing trees : and this
island is carried by strong winds from the one side to
the other. The name of the pond is Priest's pot : a
fact which some explain by a tradition that a priest
was drowned there ; and others by a supposition of its
holding about as much as a thirsty priest would like to
drink, if the liquor were sufficiently good. Lakebank
(Mr. Bolton's) is a pretty place ; and further on, Lake-
field, (J. R. Ogden's Esq.,) at Near Sawrey, commands
perhaps the best view in the valley. Just beyond, the
road turns to the left, through an undulating country
of considerable beauty. We find a trace of the rebellion
of 1745 in the name of a lane, called " Scotch Gate "
(way.) It was here that the fearful Highlanders were
looked for, on their march to Derby; and here they
might have had all their own way if they had come ;
for Sawrey had no idea of showing fight. All the
inhabitants, carrying all their valuables, hied away,
and took refuge together in a solitary building which
was called Cook's braw bog-house. And braw it must
have been, to hold all the Sawreyans. The view of
Windermere from the highest point is very fine. The
road leads through Farther Sawrey to the Ferry House.
If there is daylight left, (and there may be, as the
Ferry is only seven miles from Coniston Waterhead)
the traveller may as well go to the Station House,
32 THE EEREY.
which he must have seen from the opposite side of the
lake, peeping out of the ever-green woods. There he
obtains fine views, up and down the lake, and may
mark, on the way up, the largest laurels he has ever
seen. His driver, or some resident, will probably take
care that he does not stay till it is more than reasonably
dusk. As reasons in plenty are always found for not
marrying on a Friday, so it is said to be impossible,
somehow or other, to get over to the Ferry Nab in the
ferry-boat, except by daylight. And if you should
arrive at the Nab too late, you may call all night for
the boat, and it will not come. The traveller may
judge for himself how much of the local tale may be
true. He may probably have heard of the Crier of
Claife, whose fame has spread far beyond the district :
but if not, he should hear of the Crier now, while within
sight of Ferry Nab. If he asks who or what the Crier
was, — that is precisely what nobody can tell, though
every body would be glad to know : but we know all
how and about it, except just what it really was. It
gave its name to the place now called the Crier of
Claife, — the old quarry in the wood, which no man
will go near at midnight : —
It was about the time of the Keformation, one
stormy night, when a party of travellers were making
merry at the Ferry-house, — then a humble tavern, —
that a call for the boat was heard from the Nab. A
quiet, sober boatman obeyed the call, though the night
was wild and fearful. When he ought to be returning,
the tavern guests stepped out upon the shore, to see
whom he would bring. He returned alone, ghastly and
CRIER OE CLAIFE. 33
dumb with horror. Next morning, he was in a high
fever ; and in a few days he died, without having been
prevailed upon to say what he had seen at the Nab.
For weeks after, there were shouts, yells and howlings
at the Nab, on every stormy night : and no boatman
would attend to any call after dark. The Reformation
had not penetrated the region ; and the monk from
Furness who dwelt on one of the islands of the lake,
was applied to to exorcise the Nab. On Christmas day,
he assembled all the inhabitants of Chapel Island, and
performed in their presence services which should for
ever confine the ghost to the quarry in the wood behind
the Ferry, now called the Crier of Claife. Some say
that the priest conducted the people to the quarry, and
laid the ghost, — then and there. — Laid though it
be, nobody goes there at night. It is still told how the
foxhounds in eager chase would come to a full stop at
that place ; and how, within the existing generation, a
schoolmaster from Colthouse, who left home to pass the
Crier, was never seen more. Whatever may be said
about the repute of ghosts in our day, it is certain that
this particular story is not dead.
Meantime, the heavy, roomy ferry-boat is ready: the
horse is taken out of the car ; and both are shipped.
Two or three, or half-a-dozen people take advantage of
the passage ; the rowers, with their ponderous oars, are
on the bench; and the great machine is presently afloat.
The Ferry House looks more tempting than ever when
seen from under its own sycamores, — jutting out as it
does between quiet bays on either hand. The landing
takes place on the opposite promontory : the horse is
c
34 TROUT AND CHAR.
put to, and the traveller is presently at his inn. He
is ready for his meal (be it tea or supper) of lake trout
or char. The best char are in Coniston Water : but
they are good every where ; especially to hungry travel-
lers, sitting at table within sight of the waters whence
they have just been fished. The potted char of Coniston
is sent, as every epicure knows, to all parts of the world
where men know what is good. As for the trout, there
can be none finer than that of Windermere.
Those who find themselves at the Ferry House with
time and daylight before them can do nothing better
than pursue the road which there turns northwards,
sometimes rising into the woods and sometimes skirt-
ing the lake. The woods abound in splendid ferns, rare
orchises, and rich and various wild flowers. When the
road turns down to the beach the whole scenery of
the opposite side, and of the head of the lake, is spread
out to view. At the distance of three miles the
road passes the gate of Wray Castle, noticed at page
19, and continues round Pullwyke bay to Clappers-
gate and Ambleside.
AMBLESIDE & ULLESWATER SECTION,
SECOND TOUR.
BY TEOUTBECK TO KIEKSTONE PASS AND PATTEKDALE, AND
DESCENT UPON AMBLESIDE.
MILES. MILES.
Bowness to Kirkstone ... ... ... 7
6 Patterdale ... ... ... ... 13
4 Lyulph's Tower ... ... ... ... 17
4 Back to Patterdale ... ... ... 21
10 Ambleside 31
As the traveller will have other opportunities of
observing the six miles of mailroad between Bowness
and Ambleside, he may as well go round, and see
Ullswater, on the day of his removal. Sending his
luggage on by the omnibus to one of the three chief
Ambleside inns, he will take a car for the day, and go
by Troutbeck to Patterdale.
The country people will tell him, as he turns up to
Troutbeck at Cook's House, that he is going to see
"the handsomest view in these parts — especially at
the back-end of the year." And wonderfully fine the
views are, as the road ascends, commanding the entire
lake, and the whole range of mountains from Coniston
Old Man to Fairfield. The singular valley of Trout-
beck was once a wooded basin, where the terrified
Britons took refuge from the Romans, while the latter
were making their great road from Kendal to Penrith.
That road actually ran along the very ridge of the
c2
36 TROUTBECK.
Troutbeck hills, as any one may see who will climb the
mountain called, for this reason, High Street. "What
a sight it must have been — the pioneers felling the
trees, and paving the way, and the soldiers following,
with their armour and weapons gleaming in the sun,
while the trembling natives cowered in the forest below,
— listening now to the blows of the workmen, and now
to the warlike music of the troops, marching up from
Kendal ! After Romans and Saxons were gone, the
valley was a great park, and the inhabitants were
virtually serfs, in danger of the gallows, (which had a
hill to itself, named after it to this day) at the will
and pleasure of the one great man. In course of time,
— that is, a good many centuries ago, — the valley was
disparked, and divided among the inhabitants, — only
one very large estate being left, — the new park, con-
taining 2,000 acres. This was the estate given by
Charles I, to Huddlestone Phillipson, for his services in
the civil wars. The valley now contains a string of
hamlets, — Town End, Town Head, High Green, Crag,
and High Fold ; and its farmsteads and outbuildings
show some of the most curious specimens of ancient
edifices that are to be seen in the district. Josiah
Brown, whom we mentioned in connexion with Orrest
Head, found nearly his match in oddity in this vale.
A "rum fellow " in Troutbeck had a prodigious bull ;
and so had Josiah : and what must they do but meet
half-way, and have a bull-fight; the terms being that the
winner should have the fallen animal. Josiah actually
came riding his bull. The battle was tremendous ; and
the Troutbeck animal went down before Josiah's, and
TEOUTBECK. 37
was given by him to the poor of Troutbeek. These
anecdotes appear very strange to people who have lived
in towns, or among the more level manners of the south :
and this is why we relate them. They are among the
curiosities of the district. Troutbeek is the most
primitive of the frequented valleys of the district. To
find any other so antique and characteristic, it is neces-
sary to leave the high road, and explore the secluded
dales of which the summer tourist sees and hears
nothing. The dale looks from the uplands as if it had
been scooped out between the ridges with a gigantic
scoop. Its levels are parcelled out into small fields, of
all manner of shapes ; and the stream, — the heck
abounding in trout, — winds along the bottom, from the
foot of High Street, to fall into the lake just by Calgarth.
The road now followed by the tourist descends into
the vale sharply, by the abode of John Wilson, Esq., at
The How, and crosses the bridge, in full view of the
chapel, which was consecrated in 1562, and thoroughly
repaired in 1828. It is one of the small churches that,
with their square tower and bell, look and sound so well
in the dales. This one seats 160 worshipers. Imme-
diately beyond the bridge, the road mounts again very
steeply, till it joins that which runs along the hill sides,
on the western slope of the valley. This road is to be
followed up the valley ; and the tourist must lose none
of its beauties. Behind him, there are views of the
receding lake, now diminished to the likeness of a cabinet
picture : — below, is the deep vale with its green levels :
opposite, the grassy slopes ascend to the ridges of High
Street and Hill Bell; and before him, Troutbeek Tongue
c 3
38 HIGHEST HOUSE.
protrudes, splitting the valley into two, and being itself
most lovely with its farmstead, and dropped thorns, and
coppice and grey rocks : while, behind and above it, the
vale head rises into grandeur, with its torrents leaping
down, and its pathway winding up, indicating the pass
into Mardale. The stranger is not going that way,
however. He turns over a gentler pass to the left,
which leads him, on the slope of Wansfell, away from
Troutbeck. As he bids farewell to the Tongue, he sees
the summit of Kirkstone before him. He is passing
over the somewhat boggy upland where the Stock takes
its rise, to flow down to and through Ambleside, after
having taken the leap called Stockghyll Force. The
tourist may see that in the evening, if there is time : —
he is going the other way now.
His road meets the one from Ambleside at a small
public-house, which the Ordnance Surveyors have
declared the highest inhabited house in England :
and thus it is labelled by a board over the porch. In
clear weather, the sea is seen hence, and the thread of
smoke from its steamers. The head of Windermere
lies like a pond below : the little Blelham tarn, near
Wray Castle, glitters behind ; and range beyond range
of hills recedes to the horizon. Near at hand, all is
very wild. The Ambleside road winds up steeply
between grey rocks and moorland pasture, and dashing
streams; and the Kirkstone mountain has probably
mists driving about its head. There is something
wilder to come, however, — the noted Kirkstone Pass,
— the great pass of the district. The descent begins
about a quarter of a mile beyond the house. Down
PATTERDALE. 39
plunges the road, with rock and torrent on either hand,
and the bold sweeps of Coldfield and Scandale Screes
shutting in the pass ; and the little lake of Brothers'
Water lying below, afar off among the green levels ;
and, closing in the whole in front, the mass of Place
Fell, — the other side of which goes sheer down into
Ullswater. The stranger must not omit to observe near
the head of the pass, the fallen rock, ridged like a roof,
whose form (like that of a miniature church) has given
its name to its precincts. All the way as he descends
to Brothers' Water, the openings on the Scandale side
(the left) charm his eye, — with their fissures, preci-
pices, green slopes and levels, and knolls in the midst,
crowned with firs. He passes through Hartsop, and
then winds on, for three or four miles, among the rich
levels of Patterdale, which is guarded by mountains
jutting forwards, like promontories. The Patterdale
Inn, kept by Mr. Gelderd, is another of the first-rate
hotels of the district. The stranger, who must have
left Windermere early in the morning, hastens to order
a car or a boat, to take him to Gowbarrow Park, and
desires that dinner may await him in about three hours'
time.
If the weather is calm and fine, he has a boat, to
which he must walk across the meadows. As soon as
he is afloat, the beauties of Ullswater open upon him,
— the great Place Fell occupying the whole space
to the right ; and Stybarrow Crag, precipitous and
wooded, shoots up on the left-hand bank. The road
winds below it, under trees, passing good houses, and
the paths to Helvellyn, and to the lead works, and to
40 lyulph's tower.
Glencoin, — all recesses full of beauty. Tales are told
of artists who, turning into Glencoin, to find materials
for a sketch, have not come out again for three months,
finding themselves overwhelmed with tempting subjects
for the pencil. The singularly primitive character of
the popular mind in those secluded corners is almost
as great an incitement to study as the variety and
richness of the foregrounds and the colouring.
Ullswater has two bends, and is shaped like a relaxed
Z. At the first bend, the boat draws to shore, below
Lyulph's Tower, an ivy-covered little castle, built for a
shooting-box by the late Duke of Norfolk ; but it stands
on the site of a real old tower, named, it is said, after
the Ulf, or L'Ulf, the first Baron of Greystoke, who
gave its name to the lake. Some, however, insist that
the real name is Wolf's Tower. The park which sur-
rounds it, and stretches down to the lake, is studded
with ancient trees ; and the sides of its watercourses,
and the depths of its ravines, are luxuriantly wooded.
Vast hills, with climbing tracks, rise behind, on which
the herds of deer are occasionally seen, like brown
shadows from the clouds. They are safe there from
being startled (as they are in the glades of the park)
by strangers who come to find out Ara Force by
following the sound of the fall. Our tourist must take
a guide to this waterfall from the tower.
He will be led over the open grass to the ravine, and
then along its wooded sides on a pathway above the
brawling stream, till he comes to a bridge, which will
bring him in full view of the fall. As he sits in the
cool damp nook at the bottom of the chasm, where the
ARA FORCE. 41
echo of dashing and gurgling water never dies, and
the ferns, long grasses and ash sprays wave and quiver
everlastingly in the pulsing air ; and as, looking up, he
sees the slender line of bridge spanning the upper fall,
he ought to know of the mournful legend which belongs
to this place, and which Wordsworth has preserved : —
In the olden times, a knight who loved a lady, and
courted her in her father's tower here, at Grey stoke,
went forth to win glory. He won great glory : and at
first his lady rejoiced fully in it : but he was so long in
returning, and she heard so much of his deeds in behalf
of distressed ladies, that doubts at length stole upon
her heart as to whether he still loved her. These
doubts disturbed her mind in sleep : and she began to
walk in her dreams, directing her steps towards the
waterfall where she and her lover used to meet. Under
a holly tree beside the fall they had plighted their
vows ; and this was the limit of her dreaming walks.
The knight at length returned to claim her. Arriving
in the night, he went to the ravine to rest under the
holly until the morning should permit him to knock at
the gate of the tower: but he saw a gliding white
figure among the trees : and this figure reached the
holly before him, and plucked twigs from the tree, and
threw them into the stream. Was it the ghost of his
lady love ? or was it herself ? She stood in a dangerous
place : he put out his hand to uphold her : the touch
awakened her. In her terror and confusion she fell
from his grasp into the torrent, and was carried down
the ravine. He followed and rescued her; but she died
upon the bank ; not, however, without having fully
42 HAYS WATER.
understood that her lover was true, and had come to
claim her. The knight devoted the rest of his days to
mourn her : he built himself a cell upon the spot, and
became a hermit for her sake.
The visitor should ascend the steps and pathway
from the bottom of the fall, and stand on the bridge
that spans the leap. It is a grand thing to look down.
He returns the way he came, by boat, to the inn, and,
after dinner up Kirkstone Pass. He will hear and see
enough to make him wish to come again, and stay
awhile on Ullswater. He would like to walk along
Place Fell, above the margin of the lake, where no car-
riage road is or can be made ; and, once there, he would
certainly climb the mountain. He would like to enter
the bridle road, from the foot of the lake, which leads
to Grisedale tarn, and comes out above Grasmere. He
would like to visit Angle Tarn, on the southern end of
Place Fell; and, yet more, Hays Water, the large lonely
tarn above Hartsop ; where the angler delights to
seclude himself, because the trout delights in it too. It
is a high treat to follow up the beck from the road,
winding among the farms, and then entering the soli-
tude of the pass, till the source of the stream is found
in this tarn, a mile and a-half from the main road. The
little lake is overhung by High Street, so that the
Roman eagles, as well as the native birds of the rocks,
may have cast their shadows upon its surface. Its
rushy and rocky margin is as wild a place as the most
adventurous angler can ever have found himself in.
Our traveller must, however, come again to see it ; for
there is no time to diverge to it to-day.
AMBLESIDE. 43
At the house, at the top of the pass, (which he has
walked up, in mercy to his horses) he leaves the Trout-
beck road to the left, and descends rapidly upon
Ambleside, which is between three and four miles from
the house. On the left, is the valley or ravine of the
Stock, whose waters are concealed by wood. The road
runs along the slopes of the Scandale Fells. Below,
Windermere opens more and more ; and at length, the
pretty little town of Ambleside appears, nestling at the
foot of Wansfell, and the valley of the Eothay opens at
the gazer's feet. On the opposite margin of this green
recess, and on the skirts of Loughrigg, he sees Pox
How, the residence and favourite retirement of the late
Dr. Arnold, and now inhabited by his family. Near
the pass which opens between Loughrigg and Fairfield,
he is told that the residence of Wordsworth may be
seen from below. Just under him to the left is the old
church ; and near the centre of the valley is the new
church, — more of a blemish than an adornment, un-
happily, from its size and clumsiness, and the bad taste
of its architecture. Though placed in a valley, it has
a spire, — the appropriate form of churches in a level
country ; and the spire is of a different colour from the
rest of the building; and the east window is remarkably
ugly. There have been various reductions of the
beauty of the valley within twenty years or so ; and
this last is the worst, because the most conspicuous.
The old church, though not beautiful, is suitable to the
position, and venerable by its ancient aspect. It is
abundantly large enough for the place, except for a few
weeks in summer : but its burial ground, inclosed by
44 AMBLESIDE.
roads on three sides, has for many years been over-
crowded. Ten years ago, the state of the churchyard,
and the health of the people who lived near it, was such
as to make the opening of a new burial-ground a press-
ing matter; and hence, no doubt, arose the new church,
though a larger and more beautiful cemetery might
easily have been formed in the neighbourhood.
The descent to all the Ambleside inns is steep, —
past the old church, and through a narrow street, and
into the space dignified with the name of the market-
place, and actually exhibiting an ancient market-cross.
Half-a-dozen of the few shops of the town are in or
about the market-place, and the Salutation and Com-
mercial Inns and the White Lion, — the three princi-
pal inns, are all conspicuous in it. If his time in
Ambleside is precious, the stranger may use the sunset
or twilight hour for seeing Stockghyll Force, while his
supper is preparing. He is directed or guided through
the stable-yard of the . Salutation Inn, when he passes
under a tall grove of old trees on the right hand, the
stream being on the left. On the opposite bank is the
bobbin-mill, the one industrial establishment of Amble-
side, placed there on account of the abundant supply of
coppice wood obtainable in the neighbourhood. The
stacks of wood are seen, high up on the bank ; and the
ivy-clad dwelling of the proprietor ; and then the great
water-wheel, with its attendant spouts and weir, and
sounds of gushing and falling waters. Where the path
forks towards and away from the stream, the visitor
must take the left-hand one. The other is the way up
Wansfell. His path leads him under trees, and up and
STOCKGHYLL FORCE. 45
through a charming wood, with the water dashing and
brawling further and further below, till his ear catches
the sound of the fall : and presently after, the track
turns to the left, and brings him to a rocky station
whence he has a full view of the force. It is the fashion
to speak lightly of this waterfall, — it being within
half a mile of the inn, and so easily reached ; but it is,
in our opinion, a very remarkable fall, (from the symme-
try of its parts,) and one of the most graceful that can
be seen. Its leap, of about seventy feet, is split by a
rocky protrusion, and intercepted by a ledge running
across ; so that there are four falls, — two smaller ones
above, answering precisely to each other, and two larger
leaps below, no less exactly resembling. The rock
which parts them is feathered with foliage ; and so are
the sides of the ravine. Below, the waters unite in a
rocky basin, whence they flow down to the mill, and on
in a most picturesque torrent, through a part of Amble-
side, and into the meadows, where they make their last
spring down a rock near Millar Bridge, and join the
Eothay about a mile from the lake.
Supposing the excursion to Patterdale to be left for
another day, the stranger will see, after turning into
the Ambleside road from Bowness, first, Ibbotsholme,
on the right, the residence of Samuel Taylor, Esq., just
beyond Troutbeck Bridge. Presently, he will pass, on
the left hand, the gate of Calgarth, Bishop Watson's
house, now inhabited by Mrs Swinburne. Ecclerigg,
the residence of Bd. Luther Watson, Esq., comes
next : and then Lowwood Inn, Dove Nest, and
Wansfell Holme, and, on the opposite shore, Wray
46 INNS AND BATHS.
Castle, all of which, have been mentioned as seen from
the lake. Clappersgate, with its white houses, nestles
under Loughrigg, at the head of the lake ; and the
Brathay valley, with its pretty little church on its knoll,
opens beautifully as seen from the toll-bar. From
Water-head to Ambleside, there are residences, humble
or handsome, on either hand. The traveller can hardly
be wrong in his choice of an inn, as all three are
comfortable and well served. At present there are no
baths in the place ; — a singular deficiency where there
is so much of company on the one hand and of water
on the other. The inconvenience is, however, in the
way of being remedied ; and it is to be hoped that
another season will not arrive without a provision of
this needful refreshment for the dusty and tired travel-
ler, — to say nothing of the residents, who must desire
it for purposes of health as well as enjoyment.
THIRD TOUR.
BY THE VALLEY OP THE BRATHAY, TO HIGH CLOSE, AND DOWN
BED BANK TO GRASMERE AND EASEDALE, AND THENCE BY
BYDAL TO AMBLESIDE.
MILES. MILES.
Ambleside to Skelwith Bridge ... ... 4
2 High Close 6
14 Grasmere ... ... ... ... ... 74
24 Easedale Tarn ... ... ... ... ... 10
24 Back to Grasmere ... ... ... ... 124
4 Ambleside ... ... ... ... ... 164
The stranger had better take an entire day for this
tour also, if he can spare the time, and means to see
Easedale at his ease. The distance in miles is not a
day's journey ; but there are things to see which deserve
a pause.
The road to the right, after leaving the little market-
place, is the one to be taken. Between Eothay Cottage
and Eothay Bank, the residence of John Crosfield, Esq.,
the road turns upon Bothay Bridge, whence there is a
fine view of the valley, with the cul-de-sac of Fairfield
closing it in to the north. Whether the vapours are
gathering and tumbling in that basin, — the recess of
Fairfield, — or whether every projection, streak, slide,
and mossy tract is clearly visible, that northern barrier
is very imposing ; and perhaps most so to those who are
most familiar with it, and can read its manifold weather
signs and tokens. Between Eothay Bridge and Clap-
48 BEATHAY CHUECHYAED.
persgate is Croft Lodge, the residence of Edwd. Berry,
Esq. ; — the mansion and its woods being on the right
of the road, and the gardens stretching down to the
river on the left. Then comes the pretty hamlet of
Clappersgate, so conspicuous from the lake ; and two
roads branch off, leading along each bank of the river
Brathay, and meeting at Skelwith Bridge at the other
end of the valley. If the stranger has any thought of
ascending Loughrigg, some other day, he may now see,
above Clappersgate, the path by which he may ascend
or descend ; a zig-zag path up the hill side, leading to
the two peaks, crowning the south end of Loughrigg,
from between which the most perfect possible view of
Windermere is obtained. That cannot, however, be
done to-day. The left-hand road should now be taken,
crossing Brathay Bridge, and passing the parsonage.
When the stranger sees the churchyard gate, he must
alight, and walk up to the church. From the rock
there he commands the mountain range from Coniston
Old Man to the Langdale Pikes : the Brathay flows
beneath, through its quiet meadows ; and its dashing
among the rocks, just under his feet, catches his ear ; —
Loughrigg, with its copses and crags and purple
heather, rises immediately before- him : and to the
right he sees a part of Ambleside nestling between the
hills, and a stretch of the lake. This churchyard has
the first daffodils and snowdrops on the southern side
of its rock ; and, in its copse, the earliest wood ane-
mones. Throughout the valley, spring flowers, and the
yellow and white broom abound.
The road ascends and descends abruptly, and winds
LOUGHRIGG TARN. 49
towards, and away from, the right bank of the Brathay,
till it reaches Skelwith Fold. There the stranger must
alight again, and go through a field gate to the right,
to a rocky point, where he commands the finest view
of the valley and its environs. And again, just before
he comes to Skelwith Bridge, he must go through the
gap in the wall to the left, and follow the field-track
until he comes in sight of Skelwith Force. He will
hardly aver that he ever saw a more perfect picture than
this, — with the fall in the centre, closed in by rock
and wood on either hand, and by the Langdale Pikes
behind. Eeturning to his car, he will next pass over
the bridge, and the roaring torrent beneath, and by
stacks of wood, — (more coppice wood for another
bobbin-mill,) and, turning to the right, will find that
he has headed the valley. As he is not going home,
however, but to Grasmere, he turns out of the Brathay
valley by a steep road on the left, which ascends again
and again, leading by farmsteads almost as primitive as
those of Troutbeck, and evidently mounting the spurs
of Loughrigg, — which he is travelling round to-day,
and which must therefore be always on his right hand.
After a while, he comes to a sheet of water, so still, if
the day be calm, that he might possibly miss it, unless
the precision of the reflections should strike his eye.
It is more likely, however, to be rippled by some breeze,
and to show how deeply blue, or darkly grey, these
mountain tarns may be. This is Loughrigg tarn, well
known to all readers of Wordsworth. At some little
distance beyond it, the stranger must diverge from his
road to visit High Close, and see the view which is
D
50 LANGDALE.
reputed the finest in Westmorland. He may leave Ins
car where the road to High Close ascends to the left,
and walk to the farm-house at the top. As there are
probably lodgers, he had better not present himself at
the garden door, but go on to the farmyard gate, pass
through the yard to the field, and walk along the brow
till he reaches the grey stone bench. There he is !
overlooking "the finest view in Westmorland." To
the extreme right, Bowfell closes in the Langdale
valley, the head of which is ennobled by the swelling
masses of the Pikes. A dark cleft in the nearer one is
the place where the celebrated Dungeon Grhyll Force is
plunging and foaming, beyond the reach of eye and ear.
He can gather from this station, something of the
character of Langdale. It has levels, here expanding,
there contracting ; and the stream winds among them
from end to end. There is no lake : and the mountains
send out spurs, alternating or meeting, so as to make
the levels sometimes circular and sometimes winding.
The dwellings are on the rising grounds which skirt the
levels ; and this, together with the paving of the road
below, shows that the valley is subject to floods. The
houses, of grey-stone, each on its knoll, with a canopy
of firs and sycamores above it, and ferns scattered all
around, and ewes and lambs nestling near it, — these
primitive farms are cheerful and pleasant objects to look
upon, whether from above or passing among them.
Nearer at hand are some vast quarries of blue slate.
Below, among plantations, are seen the roofs of the
Elterwater Powder Mills ; whence the road winds
through the village of Langdale Chapel, to the margin
RED BANK. 51
of the pools which make up the lake. From their
opposite shore rise the hills, height above height, —
range beyond range. To the left lies Loughrigg Tarn,
and, in the distance, Windermere, with Wray Castle
prominent on its height, and the Lancashire hills clos-
ing in the view. It is a singular prospect, at once noble
and lovely; and the comfortable lodgings at High Close
farm are in request accordingly.
The car is waiting where the traveller left it ; but he
had better walk for half-a-mile or so, — the descent of
Red Bank being very steep. The great mountain that
swells so grandly above the rest before him is Helvellyn.
The lake that opens below is Grasmere, with its one
island, made up of green slope, black fir clump, and grey
barn. At the further end lies the village, with its old
square church tower, beneath whose shadow Words-
worth is buried. The white road that winds like a
ribbon up and up the gap between Helvellyn and the
opposite fells is the mail road to Keswick, and the gap
is Dunmail Raise. The remarkable and beautiful hill
behind the village is Helm Crag ; and its rocky crest
forms the group called the Lion and the Lamb. The
long white house, near the foot of Helvellyn, is the
Swan Inn, whence Scott, Southey, and Wordsworth
set forth on ponies for the ascent of the mountain: and
behind it rises the path by which pedestrians cross from
Grasmere to Patterdale, by the margin of Grisedale
tarn, — the mountain tarn of the wild boar, as the
words properly signify. To the left of Helm Crag, a
deep valley evidently opens. That is Easedale ; and
there our tourist is to go to-day. Meantime, let him
d2
OZ GEASMEEE INNS.
linger awhile, that he may learn by heart every feature
of this gay and lovely scene. The lane he has just
passed to the right leads him to the grassy bridle-road
called Loughrigg Terrace, whence the best views are
obtained of both Grasmere and Eydal lakes, and which
leads along the uplands and then by Eydal Lake back
to the valley of the Rothay. We must leave it now, and
plunge down Red Bank, which has the characteristics
of a Norwegian road. At the cistern at the bottom,
the stranger enters his ear, and passes farm houses
between him and the lake, and villas on the rocky and
wooded bank on the left ; and, at the corner, where the
road turns to the village, the cluster of lodging-houses,
called St. Oswald's, where the Hydropathic Establish-
ments struggled on for a time, but found the Westmor-
land winters too long for invalids.
The driver must stop at the Red Lion, to order
dinner. It is an old-fashioned little place, where the
traveller's choice is usually between ham and eggs and
eggs and ham ; with the addition however, of cheese
and oat cake. He goes to the Red Lion now merely
because it is on the way to his destination. If he were
going to stay at Grasmere, he would take up his abode
at the Hotel kept by Mr. Brown. The beauty of the
view from that house is evident at a glance ; and good
accommodations will be found within, with ample
means of conveyance of all kinds. Whatever the
dinner at the Red Lion is to be, it must not be
ready under two or three hours; — rather three
than two. He proceeds for a mile between fences
before he reaches the opening of Easedale. The gate
EASEDALE TARN. 53
and shrubbery to the right are the entrance to Lady
Kiehardson's Cottage ; and there the regular road ends.
The car can go about a mile further along the farm
tracks in the valley, through the meadows which yield
a coarse hay, and near the stream which is tufted with
alders. At the farm house where the car stops, the
people will shew the stranger the way he must go, —
past the plantation, and up the hill side, where he will
find the track that will guide him up to the waterfall,
— the foaming cataract which is seen all over the valley,
and is called Sour Milk Grhyll Force. The water and
the track together will shew him the way to the tarn,
which is the source of the stream. Up and on he goes,
over rock and through wet moss, with long stretches of
dry turf and purple heather ; and at last, when he is
heated and breathless, the dark cool recess opens in
which lies Easedale Tarn. Perhaps there is an angler
standing beside the great boulder on the brink. Per-
haps there is a shepherd lying among the ferns. But
more probably the stranger finds himself perfectly alone.
There is perhaps nothing in natural scenery which
conveys such an impression of stillness as tarns which
lie under precipices : and here the rocks sweep down to
the brink almost round the entire margin. For hours
together the deep shadows move only like that of the
gnomon of the sundial ; and, when movement occurs,
it is not such as disturbs the sense of repose ; — the
dimple made by a restless fish or fly, or the gentle flow of
water in or out ; or the wild drake and his brood, pad-
dling so quietly as not to break up the mirror, or the
reflection of some touch of sunlight, or passing shadow.
d 3
54 wobdsworth's giiave.
If there is commotion from gusts or eddies of wind,
the effect is even more remarkable. Little white clouds
are driven against the rocks, — the spray is spilled in
unexpected places; now the precipices are wholly
veiled, and there is nothing but the ruffled water to be
seen : and again, in an instant, the rocks are disclosed
so fearfully that they seem to be crowding together to
crush the intruder. If this seems to the inexperienced
like extravagance, let him go alone to Easedale Tarn, or
to Angle Tarn on Bowfell, on a gusty day, and see
what he will find.
After his return to the Eed Lion, and his dinner, the
stranger will inquire whether the promised Exhibition
of paintings of the Messrs. Pettitt is open, at a house
near the church. The reputation of these rising artists
needs no testimony of ours : and lovers of art who
have studied their works elsewhere will be glad to meet
them here, in the heart of the scenery they paint.
The next object is the churchyard. In the church is
a medallion portrait of Wordsworth, accompanied by
an inscription adapted from a dedication of Mr. Keble's.
The simple and modest tombstone in the churchyard
will please him better. At present it bears only the
name of the poet, — in his case, an all-sufficient memo-
rial : but it is understood that some dates and other
particulars will be filled in hereafter. Beside him
lies his daughter, and next to her, her husband, —
whose first wife is next him on the other side. Some
other children of Wordsworth, who died young, are
buried near; and one grandchild. Close behind the
family group lies Hartley Coleridge, at whose funeral
EYDAL LAKE. 55
the white-haired Wordsworth attended, not very long
before his own death. This spot, under the yews, be-
side the gashing Roth ay and encircled by green
mountains, is a fitting resting-place for the poet of the
region. He chose it himself; and every one rejoices
that he did.
Just after entering the mail road, the driver will
point out the cottage in which the poet and his sister
lived, many long years ago, when Scott was their guest.
Several good houses have sprung up near it, within a
few years. The promontory which here causes the lake
to contract to the little river (which is called the
Rothay in all the intervals of the chain of lakes,) may
be passed in three ways. The mail road runs round its
point, and therefore keeps beside the water; — the
Roman road, where the Wishing Gate used to be,
crosses it by a rather steep ascent and descent ; — and
a shorter road still, steeper and boggy, cuts across its
narrowest part, and comes out at the Rydal Quarries.
Our traveller will take the mail road, probably. It will
soon bring him to Rydal Lake ; and he cannot but
think the valley very lovely in the summer afternoon.
On the opposite side of the lake is Loughrigg, with its
terrace-walk distinctly visible half-way up. The islands
are wooded ; and on one of them is a heronry ; and the
grey bird, with its long flapping wings, is most likely
visible, either in flight, or perched on a tree near its
nest, or fishing in the shallows. Nab Scar, the blunt
end of Fairfield, which overlooks the road and the lake,
is very fine with its water- worn channels, its wood, and
grey rocks. Nab Cottage, the humble white house by
56
EYDAL MOUNT.
the road side, and on the margin of the lake, is the
place where Hartley Coleridge lived and died. Those
who knew the Lakes of old will remember the peculiar
form and countenance which used to haunt the roads
between,1 Ambleside and Grasmere, — the eccentric-
looking being whom the drivers were wont to point
out as the son of the great Coleridge, and himself a
poet. He is more missed in his neighbourhood than
in the literary world : for he loved every body, and
had many friends. His mournful weakness was
regarded with unusual forbearance ; and there was
more love and pity than censure in the minds of those
who practically found how difficult it was to help him.
Those who knew him most loved him best ; but he
was sufficiently known afar by his works to be an
object of interest to strangers who passed his home.
He died in January, 1849. In the distance, Ivy
Cottage peeps out of the green ; and further on, Rydal
Chapel rises out of the foliage on the verge of the park.
When the turn to the left, which leads up to that
chapel, is reached, the stranger must alight, and ascend
it. He is ascending Rydal Mount : and Wordsworth's
house is at the top of the hill, — within the modest
gate on the left. If the family should be absent, the
traveller may possibly obtain entrance, and stand on
the moss-grown eminence, (like a little Roman camp,)
in front of the house, whence he may view the whole
valley of the Rothay to the utmost advantage. Win-
dermere in the distance is, as Wordsworth used to say,
a light thrown into the picture, in the winter season,
and, in summer, a beautiful feature, changing with
R1DAL FALLS. 57
every hue of the sky. The whole garden is a true
poet's garden ; its green hollows, its straight terraces,
bordered with beds of periwinkle, and tall foxgloves,
purple and white, — (the white being the poet's
favourite) ; and the summer-house, lined with fircones;
and then the opening of the door, which discloses the
other angle of the prospect, — Rydal Pass, with the
lake lying below. Every resident in the neighbourhood
thinks the situation of his own house the best : but
most agree that Wordsworth's comes next. We should
sav that Wordsworth's comes next to Mr. Sheldon's
at Miller Brow, but for the great disadvantage of the
long and steep ascent to it. That ascent is a serious
last stage of a walk on a hot summer day ; but the
privileges of the spot, when once reached, are almost
incomparable.
The guide to the Eydal Falls will by this time have
presented herself, and the tourist must visit them.
They are within the park, and cannot be seen without
a guide : but some one is always to be found at one of
the two guides' cottages on the ascent of the hill.
The upper fall is the finest, in the eyes of those who
prefer the most natural accessaries of a cascade : but
the lower is the one generally represented by artists, —
the summer-house from which it is viewed affording an
admirable picture-frame, and the basin of rock, and the
bridge above, constituting, in truth, a very perfect
picture. When there is a dash of sunshine on the ver-
dure, behind and under the bridge, to contrast with the
shadowy basin and pool of the fall, the subject is tempt-
ing enough to the artist.
58
AMBLESIDE,
These falls seen, the tourist need alight from his ear
no more, for he is only a mile and a-half from Amble-
side. He presently passes Pelter Bridge, which spans
the Bothay on the right. That is the way to Pox
How : and he presently sees Fox How, — the grey
house embosomed in trees, — at the foot of Loughrigg.
He must not mistake for it the gem of a house that he
sees — the cream-coloured one, veiled in roses, with the
conservatories beside it, just under the wooded preci-
pice : — that is Foxghyll, the residence of Hornby
Roughsedge, Esq. To the left, there are good views of
Eydal Park. Approaching Ambleside, the first house
to the left is Lesketh How, the residence of Dr. Davy:
the white house to the right is Tranby Lodge, the
abode of Alfred Barkworth, Esq. : and the house on
the rising ground behind the chapel is the Knoll, the
residence of Mrs. H. Martineau. The gates on the left
are those of Green Bank, the estate of Benson Harrison,
Esq. : and the pretty cottage next reached on the same
side is that of James C. Wilson, Esq., called Low Nook.
The stream to the right is the Stock, making its way
to the river: and the odd little grey dwelling built
above it is the ancient house which is considered the
most curious relic in Ambleside of the olden time. The
view of the mill and the rocky channel of the Stock on
the left of the bridge is the one which every artist
sketches as he passes by ; and if there is in the Exhibi-
tion in London, in any year, a view at Ambleside, it is
probably this. The Kirkstone road now joins the mail
road, and the tourist finds himself on old ground, — in
Ambleside market-place.
A DAY ON THE MOUNTAINS.
The stranger has now made his three tours. There
is one thing more that he must do before he goes on
into Cumberland. He must spend a day on the Moun-
tains : and if alone, so much the better. If he knows
what it is to spend a day so far above the every-day
world, he is aware that it is good to be alone, (unless
there is danger in the ease) ; and, if he is a novice, let
him try whether it be not so. Let him go forth early,
with a stout stick in his hand, provision for the day in
his knapsack or his pocket ; and, if he chooses, a book :
but we do not think he will read to-day. A. map is
essential, to explain to him what he sees : and it is very
well to have a pocket compass, in case of sudden fog,
or any awkward doubt about the way. In case of an
ascent of a formidable mountain, like Scawfell or Hel-
vellyn, it is rash to go without a guide : but our tourist
shall undertake something more moderate, and reason-
ably safe, for a beginning.
What mountain shall it be ? He might go up
Blackcombe, on his way to or from Furness : and from
thence he might see, in fair weather, as Wordsworth
tells us, " a more extensive view than from any other
point in Britain," — seven English counties, and seven
60 CHOICE OP A MOUNTAIN.
Scotch, a good deal of Wales, the Isle of Man, and in
some lucky moment, just before sunrise (as the Ordnance
surveyors say) the coast of Ireland. This is very fine ;
but it is hardly what is looked for in the lake district,
■ — the sea being the main feature. He might go up
the Old. Man from Coniston ; but there are the copper
works, and there is the necessity of a guide : and it is
a long way to go for the day's treat. If he ascends the
Langdale Pikes, it had better be from some interior
station ; and the rest of the great peaks will be best
commanded from Keswick. Of those within reach of
Ambleside, which shall it be ? Loughrigg is very easy
and very charming ; but it is not commanding enough.
From the surrounding heights it looks like a mere
rambling hill. Wansfell is nearest, and also easy and
safe. It may be reached from a charming walk from
Lowwood Inn, and descended by the Stockghyll lane,
above Ambleside. The immediate neighbourhood is
mapped out below ; and there is a long and wide open-
ing to the south : but to the north-east, and everywhere
round the head of the lake, the view is stopped, first by
Nab Scar, and then by other heights. Why should it
not be Nab Scar itself ? or, the whole of Fairfield ?
That excursion is safe, not over-fatiguing, practicable
for a summer day, and presenting scenery as character-
istic as can be found. Let it be Fairfield.
The stranger should ascend to the ridge, either
through Bydal forest, (for which leave is requisite,
and not always easily obtained,) or by the road to
the Nook which anybody will shew him. The
Nook is a farmhouse in a glorious situation, as he will
MOUNTAIN FENCES. 61
see when he gets there and steps into the field on the
left, to look abroad from the brow. He then passes
under its old trees to where the voice of falling waters
calls him onward. Scandale Beck comes tumbling
down its rocky channel, close at hand. He must cross
the bridge, and follow the cart-road, which brings him
out at once upon the fells. What he has to aim at is
the ridge above Eydal forest or park, from whence his
way is plain, — round the whole cul-de-sac of Fairfield,
to Nab Scar. He sees it all ; and the only thing is to
do it : and we know of no obstacle to his doing it, unless
it be the stone wall which divides the Scandale from the
Eydal side of the ridge. These stone walls are an
inconvenience to pedestrians, and a great blemish in the
eyes of strangers. In the first place, however, it is to
be said that an open way is almost invariably left, up
every mountain, if the rover can but find it ; and, in
the next place, the ugliness of these climbing fences
disappears marvellously when the stranger learns how
they came there. — In the olden times, when there were
wolves, and when the abbots of the surrounding Norman
monasteries encouraged their tenants to approach nearer
and nearer to the Saxon fastnesses, the shepherds were
allowed to inclose crofts about their uplands huts, for
the sake of browsing their flocks on the sprouts of the
ash and the holly with which the uplands were then
wooded, and of protecting the sheep from the wolves
which haunted the thickets. The inclosures certainly
spread up the mountain sides, at this day, to a height
where they would not be seen if ancient custom had
not drawn the lines which are thus preserved ; and it
62 KTDAL PATIK.
appears, from historical testimony, that these fences
existed before the fertile valleys were portioned out
among many holders. Higher and higher ran these
stone inclosures, — threading the woods, and joining on
upon the rocks. Now, the woods are for the most part
gone ; and the walls offend and perplex the stranger's
eye and mind by their unsightliness and apparent use-
lessness ; but it is a question whether, their origin once
known, they would be willingly parted with, — remind-
ing us as they do of the times when the tenants of the
abbots or military nobles formed a link between the
new race of inhabitants and the Saxon remnant of the
old. One of these walls it is which runs along the
ridge, and bounds Eydal Park. There may be a gate in
it ; or one which enables the stranger to get round it.
If not, he must go over it ; and if he does so, high
enough up, it may save him another climb. The
nearer the ridge, the fewer the remaining walls between
him and liberty. Once in the forest, Christopher
North's advice comes into his mind, — unspoiled by the
fear, only too reasonable in the lower part of the park,
— of being turned out of the paradise, very summarily.
"The sylvan, or rather, the forest scenery of Eydal
Park," says Professor Wilson, "was, in the memory of
living man, magnificent ; and it still contains a treasure
of old trees. By all means wander away into these old
woods, and lose yourself for an hour or two among the
cooing of cushats and the shrill shriek of startled
blackbirds, and the rustle of the harmless glow-worm
among the la^t year's beech leaves. No very great
harm should you even fall asleep under the shadow of
MOUNTAIN SOLITUDE. 63
an oak, whilst the magpie chatters at safe distance, and
the more innocent squirrel peeps down upon you from
a bough of the canopy, and then, hoisting his tail,
glides into the obscurity of the loftiest umbrage." —
Ascending from these shades through a more straggling
woodland, the stranger arrives at a clump on the ridge,
— the last clump, and thenceforth feels himself wholly
free. His foot is on the springy mountain moss ; and
many a cushion of heather tempts him to sit down and
look abroad. There may still be a frightened cow or
two, wheeling away, with tail aloft, as he comes on-
wards ; and a few sheep are still crouching in the
shadows of the rocks, or staring at him from the knolls.
If he plays the child and bleats, he will soon see how
many there are. It is one of the amusements of a good
mimic in such places to bring about him all the animals
there are, by imitating their cries. One may assemble
a flock of sheep, and lead them far out of bounds in this
way ; and bewildered enough they look when the bleat
ceases, and they are left to find their way back again.
It is in such places as this that the truth of some of
Words worth's touches may be recognised, which are
most amusing to cockney readers. Perhaps no passage
has been more ridiculed than that which tells of the
"solemn bleat "of
" a lamb left somewhere to itself,
The plaintive spirit of the solitude."
The laughers are thinking of a cattle market, or a
flock of sheep on a dusty road ; and they know nothing
of the effect of a single bleat of a stray lamb high up
on the mountains. If they had ever felt the profound
64 RAIN GUAGES.
stillness of the higher fells, or heard it broken by the
plaintive cry, repeated and not answered, they would
be aware that there is a true solemnity in the sound.
Still further on, when the sheep are all left behind,
he may see a hawk perched upon a great boulder. He
will see it take flight when he comes near, and cleave
the air below him, and hang above the woods, — to the
infinite terror, as he knows, of many a small creature
there, — and then whirl away to some distant part of
the park. Perhaps a heavy buzzard may rise, flapping,
from its nest on the moor, or pounce from a crag in the
direction of any water-birds that may be about the
springs and pools in the hills. There is no other sound,
unless it be the hum of the gnats in the hot sunshine.
There is an aged man in the district, however, who
hears more than this, and sees more than people below
would, perhaps, imagine. An old shepherd has the
charge of four rain guages which are set up on four
ridges, — desolate, misty spots, sometimes below and
often above the clouds. He visits each once a month,
and notes down what these guages record ; and when
the tall old man, with his staff, passes out of sight into
the cloud, or among the cresting rocks, it is a striking
thought that science has set up a tabernacle in these
wildernesses, and found a priest among the shepherds.
That old man has seen and heard wonderful things : —
has trod upon rainbows, and been waited upon by a
dim retinue of spectral mists. He has seen the hail
and the lightnings go forth as from under his hand,
and has stood in the sunshine, listening to the thunder
growling, and the tempest bursting beneath his feet.
FAIRFIELD. 65
He well knows the silence of the hills, and all the solemn
ways in which that silence is broken. The stranger,
however, coming hither on a calm summer day, may
well fancy that a silence like this can never be broken.
Looking abroad, what does he see ? The first im-
pression probably is of the billowy character of the
mountain groups around and below him. This is per-
haps the most striking feature of such a scene to a
novice; and the next is the flitting character of the
mists. One ghostly peak after another seems to rise
out of its shroud ; and then the shroud winds itself
round another. Here the mist floats over a valley ;
there it reeks out of a chasm : here it rests upon a
green slope ; there it curls up a black precipice. The
sunny vales below look like a paradise, with their bright
meadows and waters and shadowy woods, and little
knots of villages. To the south there is the glittering
sea ; and the estuaries of the Lev en and Duddon, with
their stretches of yellow sands. To the east there is a
sea of hill tops. On the north, Ullswater appears,
grey and calm at the foot of black precipices; and
nearer may be traced the whole pass from Patter-
dale, where Brothers' Water lies invisible from hence.
The finest point of the whole excursion is about the
middle of the cul-de-sac, where on the northern side
there are tremendous precipices, overlooking Deepdale,
and other sweet recesses far below. Here, within hear-
ing of the torrents which tumble from those precipices,
the rover should rest. He will see nothing so fine as
the contrast of this northern view with the long green
slope on the other side, down to the source of Eydal
E
66 TEN LAKES AND TAENS.
Beck, and then down and down to Rydal Woods and
Mount. He is now 2,950 feet above the sea level ; and
he has surely earned his meal. If the wind troubles
him, he can doubtless find a sheltered place under a
rock. If he can sit on the bare ridge, he is the more
fortunate.
The further he goes, the more amazed he is at the
extent of the walk, which looked such a trifle from be-
low. Waking out of a reverie, an hour after dinner, he
sees that the sun is some way down the western sky.
He hastens on, not heeding the boggy spaces, and
springing along the pathless heather and moss, seeing
more and more lakes and tarns every quarter of an
hour. In the course of the day he sees ten. Winder-
mere, and little Blelham Tarn beyond, he saw first.
Ullswater was below him to the north when he dined ;
and, presently after, a tempting path guided his eye to
Grisedale Tarn, lying in the pass from Patterdale to
Grasmere. Here are four. Next, comes Grasmere,
Easedale Tarn above it, in its mountain hollow :
then Rydal, of course, at his feet ; and Elterwater
beyond the western ridges ; and finally, to the south-
west, Esthwaite Water and Coniston. There are the
ten. Eight of these may be seen at once from at least
one point — Nab Scar, whence he must take his last
complete survey ; for from hence he must plunge down
the steep slope, and bid farewell to all that lies behind
the ridge. The day has gone like an hour. The sun-
shine is leaving the surface of the nearer lakes, and the
purple bloom of the evening is on the further moun-
tains; and the gushes of yellow light between the
RETURN. 67
western passes show that sunset is near. He must
hasten down, — mindful of the opening between the
fences, which he remarked from below, and which, if he
finds, he cannot lose his way. He does not seriously
lose his way, though crag and bog make him diverge
now and then. Descending between the inclosures, he
sits down once or twice, to relieve the fatigue to the
ancle and instep of so continuous a descent, and to
linger a little over the beauty of the evening scene. As
he comes down into the basin where Eydal Beck makes
its last gambols and leaps, before entering the park, he
is sensible of the approach of night. Loughrigg seems
to rise : the hills seem to close him in, and the twilight
to settle down. He comes to a gate, and finds himself
in the civilised world again. He descends the green
lane at the top of Bydal Mount, comes out just above
Wordsworth's gate, finds his car at the bottom of the
hill, — (the driver beginning to speculate on whether
any accident has befallen the gentleman on the hills,) —
is driven home, and is amazed, on getting out, to find
how stiff and tired he is. He would not, however, but
have spent such a day for ten times the fatigue. He
will certainly ascend Helvellyn, and every other moun-
tain that comes in his way.
E 2
PART II.
KESWICK AND ITS ENVIRONS
ILE
s.
Amble side to Grasmere
MILES.
4
a*
Dunmail Raise
6*
i*
Nag's Head
7f
2i
St. John's Vale (mail road)
10
4f
Castlerigg
14|
i|
Keswick
16
Some call Ambleside the head quarters of the lake
district, and others Keswick. It is not necessary to
settle this point of precedence here. Having treated
of Ambleside first, because the tourist arrived there
first, Keswick claims the next notice.
The road from Ambleside to Keswick has already
fallen under our observation as far as Grasmere, and its
conspicuous white inn, the Swan. That inn had the
honour of providing Scott with a daily draught of
something good, when he was, in his early days, the
guest of Wordsworth and his sister at Grasmere, —
their board being conscientiously humble, as they used
to tell, to a degree which did not suit the taste of
their guest. By some device or another, Scott ma-
naged to pay a daily visit to the Swan without his
E 3
70 JDUNMAIL EAISE.
friends being aware of it. But, when he, Wordsworth,
and Southey were to ascend Helvellyn, mounting their
ponies at the Swan, the host saw their approach, and
cried out to Scott, " Eh, sir ! you've come early for
your drink to-day." It was a complete escape of the
cat from the bag; bat Wordsworth was not one to be
troubled by such a discovery. No doubt he took the
unlucky speech more serenely than his guest.
From the Swan, the road to Keswick ascends Dun-
mail Baise ; — a steep pitch of road, though its highest
point is only 720 feet above the sea. On the right
there is a stream which divides the counties of Cum-
berland and Westmorland ; and on either hand rise the
mountains of Steel Fell and Seat Sandal. The cairn,
a rude mass of stones near the top of the ascent, which
the stranger should be on the look out for, marks the
spot of a critical conflict in the olden time, — that is7
in A J). 945, — when the Anglo Saxon King Edmund
defeated and slew Dunmail, the British King of Cum-
bria, and then put out the eyes of the two sons of his
slain foe, and gave their inheritance to Malcolm, King
of Scotland.
At the Nag's Head, the little inn which is about a
mile and a quarter further on, the traveller must decide
on one of three courses, — as politicians are wont to do.
He may go up Helvellyn, or he may bowl along on the
high road, straight through Legberthwaite, and imme-
diately under Helvellyn ; or he may go on foot, or on
a pony, round the western side of the lake, whieh is
known by the various names of Wythburn Water,
Leathes Water, and Thirlmere. It is a choice of plea-
THIELMEEE. 71
sures ; and he will ascend Helvellyn hereafter, if he
does not now. Of the two lake roads, the rude western
one is unquestionably the finest. The woods, which
were once so thick that the squirrel is said to have
gone from Wythburn to Keswick without touching
the ground, are cleared away now ; and the only gloom
in the scene is from the mass of Helvellyn. The stran-
ger leaves the mail road within a mile of the Nag's
Head, passes the cottages called by the boastful name
of the City of Wythburn, and a few farm-houses, and
soon emerging from the fences, finds himself on a
grassy level under the Armboth Pells, within an am-
phitheatre of rocks, with the lake before him, and
Helvellyn beyond, overshadowing it. The rocks behind
are feathered with wood, except where a bold crag
here, and a free cataract there introduces a variety.
There is a clear pool in the midst of the grass, where,
if the approaching tread be light, the heron may be
seen fishing, or faithfully reflected in the mirror. The
track leads by the margin of the lake, and through a
shady lane, and a farm yard, to the bridge by which
the lake is to be crossed. The water is shallow there,
between two promontories ; so that piers are easily
built, with little wooden bridges at intervals : and thus
is solved what is to novices a great mystery ; — how
there can be a bridge over a lake. There is another
mystery just behind, under the Armboth Fells, — a
haunted house. Lights are seen there at night, the
people say ; and the bells ring ; and just as the bells
all set off ringing, a large dog is seen swimming across
the lake. The plates and dishes clatter ; and the table
72 VALE OE ST. JOHN.
is spread by unseen hands. That is the preparation
for the ghostly wedding feast of a murdered bride, who
comes up from her watery bed in the lake to keep her
terrible nuptials. There is really something remark-
able, and like witchery, about the house. On a bright
moonlight night, the spectator who looks towards it
from a distance of two or three miles, sees the light re-
flected from its windows into the lake ; and, when a
slight fog gives a reddish hue to the light, the whole
might easily be taken for an illumination of a great
mansion. And this mansion seems to vanish as you
approach, — being no mansion, but a small house lying
in a nook, and overshadowed by a hill. The bridge
being crossed, another bit of lane leads out upon the
high road near the clean little inn, the King's Head,
and within view of the vale of St. John.
One would like to know how often the Bridal of
Triermain has been read within that vale. The Castle
Eock, in its disenchanted condition, is a prominent
object in approaching the vale from Legberthwaite, or
by the road just described ; and there are lights and
gloomy moments in which it looks as like as may be to
a scene of witchery, — now engrossing the sunshine
when the range to which it belongs is all in shadow ;
and now perversely gloomy, because there is a single
cloud in the sky. The narrow vale is full of character
and charm, from end to end ; and at its northern ex-
tremity it comes out upon a spot of strong historical
interest. The village of Threlkeld will, by its name,
remind the traveller of the good Lord Clifford, the
story of whose boyhood is familiar to all readers of
CASTLEEIGG. 73
Wordsworth. That place is, indeed, the refuge where
the boy passed his shepherd life ; and there is a local
tradition that, though he never learned to read or
write, during the twenty-four years that he spent in
keeping sheep, his astronomical knowledge was con-
siderable, and so interesting to him that he improved
it by study after he came to his estates. The road
through Threlkeld will, however, be followed by the
traveller on another occasion, and not now: for he
must not miss that view from Castlerigg, which made
the poet Gray long to go back again to Keswick ; and
he will not, therefore, now pass through the vale.
Within five miles from the peep into it, the view
opens, which presently comprehends the whole extent
from Bassenthwaite Lake to the entrance to Borrow-
dale, — the plain between the two lakes of Bassen-
thwaite and Derwent Water presenting one of the
richest scenes in England, — with the town of Keswick,
and many a hamlet and farmstead besides ; and the
two churches, — the long, white, old-fashioned Cros-
thwaite church, in which Southey is buried, and the
new red-stone church of St. John, with its spire, and
the school houses and pretty parsonage at hand. These
were built by the late John Marshall, of Hallsteads, —
a name which is more spoiled than dignified by any
conventional addition. The church and parsonage
were occupied by the husband of one of his daughters ;
and now he and his son-in-law lie buried there together.
Skiddaw is here the monarch of the scene. That
mountain mass occupies the north of the view. Bas-
senthwaite lake peeps from behind it : then the plain
74 ME. FLINTOlVs MODEL.
of the Derwent stretches out to the lake of that name ;
and at the southern end the Borrowdale mountains are
grouped with wonderful effect, — Castle Crag occupying
the most conspicuous place. On the eastern side, to
the left of the spectator, Wallabarrow Crag rears its
crest, and unfolds its woods below ; while the opposite
side of the lake is guarded by Cat Bells and other
mountains, bare and pointed, and possessing a character
of their own. A steep winding road descends into the
valley ; and at the foot of the hill lies Keswick.
There is no beauty in the primitive little town itself ;
but it has its attractions, besides the convenience of its
central situation among so many mountains and valleys.
Of these attractions, the first is, undoubtedly, Mr.
Flintoft's Model of the Lake District, which is within
a few yards of all the principal inns, and may be seen
during a shower, when, otherwise, the stranger might
be losing temper in hearing the rain drip. That
model, — at first sight an uneven ugly bit of plaster, —
will beguile a sensible traveller of a longer time than
he would suppose possible. Ten minutes would give
him a better idea of the structure and distribution of
the country than all maps and guide books ; but he
will probably linger over it till he has learned all the
sixteen large lakes, and some of the fifty-two small
ones, and traced every road and main pass in the dis-
trict. Crosthwaite's Museum is also a place of great
interest, for its own sake, as well as that of its founder,
— Peter Crosthwaite, the first real explorer, surveyor
and draughtsman of the district, and the inventor of the
seolian harp, the lifeboat (the reward of which inven-
KESWICK. 75
tion he missed through carelessness in a government
office,) and various other matters, useful or curious.
The museum contains ancient coins, ancient books, and
a good geological and mineralogical collection. It was
begun between 70 and 80 years ago ; and the founder
died in 1808. It is preserved, improved and exhibited
by his descendants.
The inns of Keswick are numerous. The chief are
the Eoyal Oak, the Queen's Head, and the King's
Arms, — all good.
EXCURSIONS FROM KESWICK.
DEEWENT WATEE.
The first object of attention will be the lake itself;
and it will probably be viewed by boat. The upper-
most thought at all points about the foot of the lake
is of the Derwentwater family. They had once a
castle on the hill called Castlehead, where they built
upon the site of a Druidical circle. This hill should be
visited for the view. The Eatcliffes also possessed
Lord's Island, the largest on the lake, where their
mansion is said to have been built from the stones of
the old one on Castlehead. Eamps Holme, another of
the islands, was their' s also ; and the hermit, the dear
friend of St. Cuthbert, who lived in St. Herbert's Isle
in the seventh century, is somehow mixed up in legends,
in local imaginations which are careless of dates, with
the same family. All that is known of St. Herbert is,
that he really had a hermitage in that island, and that
St. Cuthbert and he used to meet, either at Lindisfarn
or Derwentwater, once a year. The legend about their
deaths is well known ; that, according to their prayer,
they died on the same day. There is beauty in the
tradition that the man of action and the man of medi-
tation, the propagandist and the recluse, were so dear
to each other, and so congenial. Vicar's, or Derwent
KESWI CK S ECHO N
DERWENT WATER. 77
Isle, is the other of the four larger islands. Lord's
Isle was once a part of the mainland. The Eatcliffes
cut a fosse, in the feudal times, and set up a draw-
bridge. When the young Lord Derwentwater was
captured for being " out " in 1715, his lady escaped,
and saved her liberty and the family jewels (to use
them on behalf of her husband) by clambering up one
of the clefts of Wallabarrow Crag, since called the
Lady's Eake. Every where are there traces of the
unhappy family; even in the sky, where the aurora
borealis is sometimes called, to this day, Lord Der-
wentwater's lights, because it was particularly brilliant
the night after his execution.
The lake is about three miles long, and, at its broad-
est part, about a mile and a half wide. Its waters are
singularly clear, and its surface often unruffled as a
mirror. Then it reflects the surrounding shores with
marvellous beauty of effect, — from the bare crest of
the crag and peak of the mountain to the grassy knoll
and overhanging birch. Pike, trout, and perch abound
in the lake ; but not char, which requires deeper water.
The Floating Island, whose appearance is announced in
the newspapers at intervals of a few years, has obtained
more celebrity than it deserves. It is a mass of soil
and decayed vegetation, which rises when distended
with gasses, and sinks again when it has parted with
them at the surface. Such is the explanation given by
philosophers of this piece of natural magic, which has
excited so much sensation during successive genera-
tions. Sometimes it comes up a mere patch, and some-
times measuring as much as an acre.
FIRST TOUR.
WATENDLATH, BOEROWDALE, EOSTHWAITE, GEANGE, L0D0EE.
MILES. MILES.
Keswick to Watendlath Road If
3£ Watendlath 5
2 Rosthwaite 7
3 Lodore 10
3 Keswick ,. 13
If the tourist desires, (as it is to be hoped that he
does) to see one of the primitive valleys of the district,
— one of those recesses lapped in the mountains,
where the sounds of civilized life have hardly penetrated,
let him now go to Watendlath (locally called Wathen-
dal) and descend into Borrowdale by Bosthwaite. The
circuit is one of thirteen miles ; and it must be accom-
plished on foot or horseback ; for there is no carriage-
road in the upper part. So few pass that way that the
women afford a remarkable specimen of the effects of a
life of exclusive seclusion. The men go to markets and
sales, and have more use of their tongues and wits accord-
ingly. The road along the lake side is followed, till it
gives out a branch before reaching Barrow House. Up
this by-road the explorer goes, and passes behind and
above Barrow House, soon reaching the stream that feeds
the Barrow fall, which may be visited by strangers in the
grounds below. The upland valley runs parallel with
the lower one ; and in it lies the clear circular pool
which feeds the fall of Lodore. Stout pedestrians say
BOREOWDALE. 79
that the walk over the trackless heather, turning to
the left, over the fells to Thirlmere, is glorious in a
fine autumn day. No doubt it is : but our business
now is to follow the track before us. It takes us to
the little foot-bridge between the tarn and the verge of
the crag ; and the peep down the 'chasm shows the lake
and the Skiddaw range in beautiful union. Helvellyn
rises to the east, and Scawfell and Bowfell show them-
selves in front, all the way down into Borrowdale.
The descent upon Rosthwaite is the concluding treat.
The way is easy, — a gentle slope over grass and elas-
tic heather ; and the whole surface is starred over with
bright heath flowers. The head of the dale, imposing
under all aspects, opens out, and seems to be spreading
its green levels for the stranger's rest. The passes to
Langdale by the Stake, to Wastdale by Sty Head, and
to Buttermere by Honister Crag, disclose themselves
round the projecting Grlaramara. The other way lie
Grange and the lake ; and beneath lies Eosthwaite,
with the brattling stream behind, which must be
crossed by stepping-stones to reach the little inn.
Before turning his face lakewards, the traveller must
go forward a few yards from Simpson's inn, to where
he will see a narrow entrance and steps in the right-
hand fence. He must go in there, and mount that
little hill, called Castlehill, whence the truest and best
total view of Borrowdale is obtained ; for the station
is nearly central.
He is now standing in the middle of that far-famed
Borrowdale, of which so many curious tales are told.
Its inhabitants were once considered as primitive as we
80 ANCIENT WISDOM.
now consider those of Watendlath ; and a good deal
more, if the current stories are true. It is said that
an old Borrowdale man was once sent a very long way
for something very new, by some innovator who had
found his way into the dale. The man was to go with
horse and sacks (for there were no carts, because there
was no road) to bring some lime from beyond Keswick.
On his return, when he was near Grange, it began to
rain ; and the man was alarmed at seeing his sacks
begin to smoke. He got a hatful of water from the
river ; but the smoke grew worse. Assured at length
that the devil must be in any fire which was aggra-
vated by water, he tossed the whole load over into the
river. That must have been before the dalesmen built
their curious wall ; for they must have had lime for
that. Spring being very charming in Borrowdale, and
the sound of the cuckoo gladsome, the people deter-
mined to build a wall to keep in the cuckoo, and make
the spring last for ever. So they built a wall across
the entrance, at Grange. The plan did not answer ;
but that was, according to the popular belief from
generation to generation, because the wall was not
built one course higher. It is simply for want of a
top course in that wall that eternal spring does not
reign in Borrowdale. Another anecdote shows, how-
ever, that a bright wit did occasionally show himself
among them. A "statesman" — (an " estatesman,"
or small proprietor) — went one day to a distant fair,
or sale, and brought home what neither he nor his
neighbours had ever seen before ; — a pair of stirrups.
Home he came jogging, with his feet in his stirrups ;
BENEFITS OF EDUCATION. 81
but, by the time he reached his own door, he had
jammed his feet in so fast that they would not come
out. There was great alarm and lamentation ; but, as
it could not be helped now, the good man patiently sat
his horse in the pasture for a day or two, his family
bringing him food, till the eldest son, vexed to see the
horse suffering by exposure, proposed to bring both
into the stable. This was done ; and there sat the
farmer for several days, — his food being brought to
him, as before. At length it struck the second son
that it was a pity not to make his father useful, and
release the horse ; so he proposed to carry him, on the
saddle, into the house. By immense exertion it was
done ; the horse being taken alongside the midden in
the yard, to ease the fall : and the good man found
himself under his own roof again, — spinning wool in a
corner of the kitchen. There the mounted man sat
spinning, through the cleverness of his second son, till
the lucky hour arrived of his youngest son's return, —
he being a scholar, — a learned student from St. Bees.
After duly considering the case, he gave his counsel.
He suggested that the goodman should draw his feet
out of his shoes. This was done, amidst the blessings
of the family ; and the goodman was restored to his
occupations and to liberty. The wife was so delighted
that she said if she had a score of children, she would
make them all scholars, — if only she had to begin life
again.
It is by no means to be supposed, however, that
there was no wit in the valley, but what came from St.
Bees. On the contrary, a native genius, on one occa-
F
82 THE BOWDEE. STONE.
sion, came to a conclusion so striking that it is doubt-
ful whether any university could rival it. A stranger
came riding into the dale on a mule, and, being bound
for the mountains, went up the pass on foot, leaving
the animal in the care of his host. The host had
never seen such a creature before, nor had his neigh-
bours. Fearing mischief, they consulted the wise man
of the dale ; for they kept a Sagum, or medicine man,
to supply their deficiencies. He came, and after an
examination of the mule, drew a circle round it, and
consulted his books while his charms were burning ;
and, at length, announced that he had found it. The
creature must be, he concluded, a peacock. So Bor-
rowdale could then boast, without a rival, of a visit
from a stranger who came riding on a peacock. There
is a real and strong feeling in the district about these
old stories. Only last year, when a Borrowdale man
entered a country inn, a prior guest said simply
"cuckoo," and was instantly knocked down; and a
passionate fight ensued. This cannot last much longer,
— judging by the number of new houses, — abodes of
gentry, — built or building in Borrowdale. The wrath
must presently turn to a laugh in the humblest chim-
ney corner in the dale.
Eosthwaite is beautifully situated near the centre of
the dale, and at the confluence of the two mountain
brooks which form the Derwent. This river flows
through the lakes of Derwent Water and Bassen-
thwaite, passes Cockermouth, and falls into the sea at
Workington. Following its course, the traveller
reaches the Bowder Stone at a mile from Eosthwaite,
GRANGE. 83
a fallen rock, standing on its point, and about thirty
feet high, and sixty long. There are steps for ascent
to the top ; but it is as well seen from below, where it
cannot but catch the eye of the passenger. A mile
further lies Grange, at the entrance of the dale, with
its undulating bridges crossing the windings of the
river. When the Abbots of Furness owned the whole
of Borrowdale, a few monks were placed at its entrance,
to receive and guard the crops ; and this place was their
granary. It is now a picturesque hamlet, which must
be familiar to all who haunt exhibitions of pictures.
Nobody who carries a pencil can help sitting down on
the grass to sketch it. Just behind it, the noble
wooded rock, which leaves room only for the road and
the river, is Castle Crag ; and nimble youths who have
reached its summit, say the view is splendid. It is, in
itself, a fine spectacle.
After this, the traveller begins to listen for the fall
of Lodore, and he finds the inn at the distance of a
mile from Grange. It is a delightful little inn, clean
and well managed, and by its situation, preferable to
those at Keswick, except for the convenience of head-
quarters. To visit the fall, the way is through the gay
little garden, and the orchard, (where the fish-preserves
are terrible temptations to waste of time) and over a
foot bridge, and up into the wood, where the path leads
to the front of the mighty chasm. It is the chasm,
with its mass of boulders and its magnificent flanking
towers of rock, that makes the impressiveness of the
Lodore fall, more than the water. No supply short of
a full river or capacious lake could correct the dispro-
of
84 LODOKE.
portion between the channel and the flood. After the
most copious rains, the spectacle is of a multitude of
little falls, and nowhere of a sheet or bold shoot of
water. The noise is prodigious, as the readers of
Southey's description are aware : and the accessaries are
magnificent, Gowder Crag on the left, and Shepherd's
Crag on the right, shine in the sun or frown in gloom
like no other rocks about any of the falls of the dis-
trict ; and vegetation flourishes every where, from the
pendulous shrubs in the fissures, 200 feet overhead, to
the wild flowers underfoot in the wood. On a lustrous
summer evening, when the lights are radiant, and the
shadows sharp and deep, the scene is incomparable,
whatever may be the state of the water. When the
stream is fullest, and the wind is favourable, it is said
the fall is heard a distance of four miles. There is
something else to be heard here ; and that is the Bor-
rowdale echoes. A cannon is planted in the meadow
before the inn, which awakens an uproar from the sur-
rounding crags to Glaramara.
The road from Lodore to Keswick, about three miles,
runs between the lake and the Wallabarrow and Falcon
Crags. It is a charming walk in all seasons, — sheltered
in winter, shady, for the most part, in summer ; and in
spring and autumn presenting a vast variety of foliage,
bursting forth or fading.
SECOND TOUR.
BY THE VALE OP NEWLANDS, CRTTMMOCK WATEE, SCALE HILL
INN, AND BACK BY WHINLATTEE.
MILES.
Keswick to Portinseale
1| Swinside
4J Keskadale ...
If Newlands Haws
1| Buttermere Inn
4 Scale Hill
4 Lorton
3 Summit of Whinlatter
2| Braithwaite
2| Keswick
MILES.
If
2|
7
8|
10
14
18
21
23^
26
The tour which embraces the country between the
four lakes, Derwent Water, Buttermere, Crummock
Water and Bassenthwaite, is one of twenty-six miles ;
and it should be allowed to occupy the greater part of
a day, — time being taken both for survey and refresh-
ment. Its outset will afford a good opportunity for
visiting Greta Hall, Southey's abode, and his monu-
ment in Crosthwaite Church ; — a recumbent statue by
Lough, — the inscription being written by Wordswort^.
The villages along the road, beginning with Portinseale,
will exhibit their own evidence of the employment of
the inhabitants in the woollen manufacture ; an ancient
staple of the town and district, as is shown by the
inscription which has come down from the olden time,
engraven on a flagstone.
" May God Almighty grant His aid
To Keswick and its woollen trade."
r3
86 TALE Or KEWLAKDS.
Afterwards, the views over the rich plain, and glimpses
into fertile valleys are charming, till the road winds in
among what the oldest guide-books truly call the solemn
pastoral scenes that open after leaving Keskadale. The
houses of Keskadale are the last seen before entering
on the ascent of Newlands Haws. The vale formed by
the rapid slope of mountains that are bare of trees,
boggy in parts, and elsewhere showing marks of winter
slides, is wholly unlike any thing else in the district.
Its silence, except for the bleating of sheep ; its ancient
folds, down in the hollow, the length and steepness of
the ascent, and the gloom of the mountain, — Great
Robinson, with its tumbling white cataract, — render
this truly " a solemn pastoral scene." At the head of
the vale, it is found not to be shut in. A turn to the
right discloses a new landscape. A descent between
green slopes of the same character leads down directly
upon Buttermere. The opposite side of the hollow is
formed by the mountain Whitelees. The stream at the
bottom flows into Crummock Water; and the four
peaks of High Crag, Hayrick, High Stile, and Eed
Pike, are ranged in front.
* The Lake of Buttermere and Honister Crag must be
left for another day. To-day, the turn is to the right,
and not to the left. The traveller may proceed along
Crummock Water either by boat or in his carriage.
Or he may leave the horse to bait at Buttermere while
he takes a boat to see Scale Force, and returns.
The meadow between the two lakes is not more than
a mile in extent. The walk to the boat lies through
its small patches of pasture and wooded knolls ; and a
CRTJMMOCK WATER. 87
pretty walk it is. The path is prolonged to Scale Force
over the fields ; but it is usually too swampy to be
agreeable, when a boat can be had. A short row brings
the stranger to the mouth of the stream from the
force ; and he has then to walk a mile among stones,
and over grass, and past an old fold. The chasm
between two walls of rock, which are feathered with
bright waving shrubs, affords a fall of 160 feet, —
high enough to convert the waters into spray before
they reach the ground. It is one of the loftiest
waterfalls in the country ; and some think it the most
elegant. There is a point of view not far off which
the traveller should visit. His boat will take him to
the little promontory below Melbreak, called Ling
Crag. From 200 yards, or rather more, above this, he
will see two lakes and their guardian mountains to the
greatest advantage.
The drive along Crummock Water is one of the
most charming we know ; especially where the road
forms a terrace, overhanging the clear waters, and
sweeping round Eannerdale Knot. Melbreak fills up
the opposite shore, with its isolated bulk ; and Eed
Pike discloses its crater ; both being streaked with red
and lead-coloured screes, and tracts of bright verdure
and darker moss. On the side where the road is,
Whitelees, Grassmoor, and Whiteside rear their swel-
ling masses ; and the road winds pleasantly among
fields and meadows, till it passes behind the Lan-
thwaite Woods, and turns down, in full view of the rich
Vale of Lorton, to Scale Hill Inn. That best and
most home-like of inns should be the traveller's resting
88 SCALE HILL INK.
place for days together, if he desires a central point
whence he may visit a great extent of the lake country,
while in command of a variety of pleasures near at
hand. From Scale Hill he can descend into the vale
of Lorton, and enjoy a change from the ruggedness of
the dales. Or, he may visit the most solemn and
imposing of the lakes, — Wast Water ; and also En-
nerdale. He commands all the roads to Keswick, and
the vales that lie between. Crummock Water yields
char, as well as every other lake fish, in abundance.
The mountain tops are accessible : from Lowfell, which
may be a lady's morning walk, to Eed Pike, which is
a pretty good day's scramble for a stout student.
There is Lowes Water at one end of Crummock, and
Buttermere at the other : and at home there is a
spacious, clean, airy house, standing in a garden ;
good fare, careful attendance, and reasonable charges.
Scale Hill is a place to spend a month in, in a fine
season.
A few minutes will take the stranger up to the
Station, by a path from the inn door. The Station is
a hill in Lanthwaite Wood, whence a magnificent view
is obtained of a stern mountain group, (the central
group of the whole district,) on the one hand, and the
rich levels of Lorton Yale on the other, backed, in
favourable lights, by the Scotch mountains. This
spot is one on which to linger through a long summer
day, pacing the sward, and choosing seats from rock
to rock, along the whole crest. The stranger must
now, however, take this brief survey, and hope to come
again. He has twelve miles to go to Keswick ; and
TALE OE LOETOK. 89
the early part of it is steep and slow. The turn is to
the right, at about a mile from Scale Hill, leaving the
Cockermouth road, which traverses the vale of Lorton.
The higher he ascends, the more lovely are the views
over that vale that the traveller obtains, till at length
the Solway gleams in the sun, and the Scotch moun-
tains appear beyond. If he has good eyes, the driver
will point out to him, at a vast distance, the famous
old Lorton yew, appearing like a dark clump, beside a
white farmhouse. When fairly under Whinlatter, six
or seven miles from Scale Hill, he cannot but admire,
— in one or the other sense of the word, — the colour-
ing of the hill itself, if the time be anywhere from
June to September. The gaudy hues of the mingled
gorse and heather are, at that season, unlike any exhi-
bition of colour we have seen elsewhere, — exceeding
even the far-famed American forest. As the north-
western vision vanishes, the south-eastern opens ; and
the vale of Keswick and Skiddaw in its noblest aspect,
and the lakes far below, looks finer than ever. After
passing through Braithwaite, he soon recognises the
road, and returns to Keswick by the well-known bridge
over the Derwent.
THIRD TOUR.
CIECTJIT OF BASSENTHWAITE.
MILES.
Keswick to Peel Wyke
1 Ouse Bridge
1 Castle Tim
3 Bassenthwaite
5 Keswick
MILES.
. 8
. 9
10
, 13
18
Bassenthwaite is perhaps the last of the lakes to be
visited, unless it be Hawes Water. Hawes Water is
difficult of access to the ordinary tourist : and Bassen-
thwaite verges towards the flat country, which is not
what the traveller came to visit. It is amusing to
observe how the residents in the district became more
sensible every year to the beauty of the merely undu-
lating country through which the mountains sink into
the plains : while strangers have hardly patience to
look at it, in their eagerness to find themselves under
the shadow of the great central fells. Bassenthwaite
is one of the outermost lakes ; and it is therefore no
more cared for by the tourists in general than the foot
of Coniston or Windermere. Still, considering that
Skiddaw overshadows its eastern shore, it would seem
worthy of some attention ; and the drive of eighteen
miles round it is, in truth, a very pleasant one.
This lake is larger than Derwent Water, being four
BASSEKTHWAITE. 91
miles in length and one mile in breadth. The distance
from lake to lake is between three and four miles, a large
proportion of which is apt to be flooded in winter ; and
occasionally the waters actually join, so as to present
the appearance of a lake of ten miles long, — the
length of Windermere. These floods are a serious
drawback to the productiveness of the lake levels, and
the health and comfort of the inhabitants.
The side opposite Skiddaw is the most interesting of
the two; so the traveller takes it first. The road
passes through Portinscale and Braithwaite to Thorn-
thwaite, and leaves Whinlatter on the left. It passes
through woods and pretty glades which make a charm-
ing foreground, while old Skiddaw fills the view on the
opposite shore. Lord's Seat and Barf rise boldly to the
left, and the road runs, for the most part, on the margin
of the lake. It winds round after passing Peel Wyke,
to Ouse Bridge, beneath which the lake discharges itself
in the form of the much enlarged river Derwent, which
flows away towards Cockermouth. If it is thought
worth while to go a mile or two out of the way for an
exceedingly fine view, the traveller will follow the
Hesket road for a mile beyond Castle Inn, and ascend
the Haws on the right. Thence he will see a charming
landscape, — the open vales of Embleton and Isell, and
the whole expanse of the lake, with its rich terraced
shores. From Castle Inn, it is eight miles to Keswick.
The road turns away from the lake, and presents
nothing more of remarkable beauty.
FOURTH TOUR.
ASCENT OF SKIDDAW.
The ascent of Skiddaw is easy, even for ladies, who
have only to sit their ponies to find themselves at the
top, after a ride of six miles. There must be a guide,
— be the day ever so clear, and the path ever so plain.
Once for all let us say, in all earnestness, and with the
most deliberate decision, that no kind of tourist should
ever cross the higher passes, or ascend the mountains,
without a guide. Surely, lives enough have been lost,
and there has been suffering and danger enough, short
of fatal issue, to teach this lesson. But the confident
and joyous pedestrian is not the most teachable of
human beings. In his heart he despises the caution of
native residents, and in his sleeve he laughs at it. The
mountain is right before him; the track is visible
enough ; he has a map and guide book, and boasts of
his pocket-compass. With the track on his map, and
track on the mountain, both before his eyes, how should
he get wrong ? So he 'throws on his knapsack, seizes
his stick, and goes off whistling or singing, — the host
and hostess looking after him and consulting as he
strides away. For some time he thinks he can defy all
the misleading powers of heaven and earth. But, once
out of reach of human help, he finds his case not quite
so easy as he thought. Instead of one path, as marked
GUIDES. 93
on his map, he finds three; and perhaps the one he
relies on may have disappeared under recent accidents,
or have lapsed into swamp. He finds himself on the
edge of a precipice, and does not know how far to go
back. He finds the bog deepen, and thinks he can
scarcely be in the right road. He finds a landslip,
which compels him to make a wider circuit, and mean-
time it is growing dusk. Worst of all, a fog may come
on at any moment ; and there is an end of all security
to one who does not know the little wayside-marks
which guide the shepherd in such a case. Tales are
current through the region of the deaths of natives,
even in the summer months, through fog, wet, fatigue,
or fall, — the native having a better chance than a
stranger, ten times over. And why should the risk be
run ? It cannot be to save the fee, in the case of a
journey of pleasure. The guide is worth more than his
pay for the information he has to give, — to say nothing
of the comfort of his carrying the knapsack, — as many
knapsacks as there are walkers. If solitude be desired,
the meditative gentleman will soon find that anxiety
about the way, and an internal conflict with apprehen-
siveness are sad spoilers of the pleasures of solitude.
Better have a real substantial, comfortable, supporting
shepherd by his side, giving his mind liberty for con-
templation and enjoyment of the scene, than the
spectres of the mountain perplexing him on all sides,
and marring his ease. But enough. Travellers who
know what mountain climbing is, among loose stones,
shaking bog, and slippery rushes or grass, with the
alternative of a hot sun or a strong wind, and perpetual
94 ASCENT.
liability to mist, will not dispute the benefit of having
a guide: and novices ought to defer to their judgment.
If we have seemed to dwell long on this point, it is
because warning is grievously wanted. It will probably
not be taken by those who want it most ; but it ought
to be offered.
Even in the mild ascent of green Skiddaw, then,
there is a guide. — At the distance of half-a-mile from
Keswick, on the Penrith road, just through the tollbar,
a bridge crosses the Greta. The road, after crossing
this bridge, winds round Latrigg, and in the direction
of Low Man, crossing the barren plain called Skiddaw
Forest. The plain of Keswick, and the lake and its
islands, grow smaller and smaller, and the surrounding
mountains seem to swell and rise, as the road gently
climbs the side of Skiddaw ; and, when about half way
up, that lower world disappears, while a more distant
one comes into view. The Irish Sea and the Isle of
Man rise, and the Scotch mountains show themselves
marshalled on the horizon. At the first summit, after
a mile of craggy ascent, steeper than the rest, the city
of Carlisle comes into view, with the coast and its
little towns, round to St. Bees, with the rich plains
that lie between. But there is a higher point to be
reached, after an ascent of 500 feet more ; and here
Derwentwater comes into view again. And how much
besides ! Few lakes are seen ; but the sea of mountain
tops is glorious ; and the surrounding plains ; and the
ocean beyond ; and land again beyond that. In opposite
directions, lie visible, Lancaster Castle and the hills of
Kirkcudbright, Wigton and Dumfries. Lancaster Castle
FOUNTAINS SEE
I
■
*~&,
DESCENT. 95
and Carlisle Cathedral in the same landscape ! and Snow-
don and Criffel nodding to each other ! Ingleborough,
in Yorkshire, looking at Skiddaw over the whole of
Westmorland that lies between ; with the Isle of Man
as a resting place for the glance on its way to Ireland !
St. Bees Head, with the noiseless waves dashing against
the red rocks, being almost within reach, as it were !
And, as for Scawfell, Helvellyn, and Saddleback, they
stand up like comrades, close round about. Charles
Lamb was no great lover of mountains : but he enjoyed
what he saw. " 0 ! its fine black head," he wrote of
Skiddaw, " and the bleak air atop of it, with a prospect
of mountains all about and about, making you giddy ;
and then Scotland afar off, and the border countries, so
famous in song and ballad ! It is a day that will stand
out like a mountain, I am sure, in my life ! " " Bleak "
the air is indeed " atop," — exposed as the summit is
to the sea winds. If the stranger desires to take a
leisurely view, he must trouble his guide or his pony
with a railway wrapper, or something of the sort, to
enable him to stand his ground. The descent may be
made, for the sake of variety, by a road through
Milbeck and the pretty village of Applethwaite ; or by
descending the north side of the mountain, and coming
out upon the road, just north of the village of Bassen-
thwaite.
FIFTH TOUR.
ASCENT 0E SADDLEBACK.
An expedition to Saddleback affords a good opportu-
nity of visiting the Druids' Temple, a mile and a-half
from Keswick. This very well-preserved memorial of
antiquity stands in a field, near the entrance of St.
John's Vale. The stones, forty-eight in number, form
an oval ; and there is a peculiarity in this case which
distinguishes it from all other Druidical monuments
extant in England. On the eastern side, within the
circle, there is a small recess formed by ten stones,
making an oblong square. As Southey observed, the
spot is the most commanding that could be chosen,
short of a mountain side ; and it is indeed nearly sur-
rounded by mountains, which it recognises in their true
forms, from the levels, — with the exception of the plain
towards Penrith, — being sunk out of view. The old
legend about the last human sacrifice of the Druids
may belong to any of the monuments of that age in
the district ; and it is probably claimed for them all.
According to that old story ; when some people settled
in a clearing of the woods, beside a river, somewhere
to the south of the district, the priests took up their
station further north, among the mountains, where
there were plenty of stones fit and ready for their
temple. After a time, a fever laid waste the lower
LEGEND. 97
settlement; and the oracle demanded a sacrifice to
appease the divine wrath. The lot fell on a young girl
who was betrothed : and, on an appointed day, she was
conveyed, with all the ceremonies, to the temple. A
small hut of wickerwork, like a large beehive, was found
set up on the western side of the temple. The girl
was led into the circle, and placed in the midst, while
the dedication proceeded. "We are even told that she
was adorned with an oak garland, and held mistletoe in
her hand. The whole population was looking on from
a distance : but it must have been within reasonable
reach, as every one was required to contribute a stick to
the fire. The wretched lover saw all from afar ; and
he daringly resolved, — let the god be as wrathful as he
pleased, — not to contribute so much as a twig to the
burning of his beloved. She was seen to enter the
door, which was next the circle ; and then the priest
closed it up, and heaped the dried leaves and sticks that
were brought all round the hut. The arch-druid mean-
time was procuring fire from two pieces of wood. He
succeeded, and set the pile in a blaze. In this moment
of desperation, the lover saw every mountain round
give forth a great cataract; and all the floods gushed
to the temple as to a centre, and made an island of the
little hut, — returning when they had extinguished the
fire. The victim came forth, with not a hair singed,
and not a leaf of her garland withered. The arch-druid,
skilled to interpret thunder, seems to have understood
in this case the voice of waters ; for he announced that,
henceforth, the god would have no more human sacri-
fices. Any resident who is sufficiently familiar with
a
98 DETJIDICAL CIKCLES.
the country people to get them to speak their minds
fully, will find that they still hold to the notion that
nobody can count the druid stones correctly ; and also
that a treasure is buried under the largest stone. As
to the first, — there are, in most such circles, some
smaller stones cropping out of the ground which some
visitors will, and others will not, include among those
of the circle. We ourselves counted Long Meg and
her daughters, near Penrith, many times before making
out the prescribed sixty-seven, with any certainty. As
for the treasure, can any one prove that it is not there ?
Nobody wants to undermine the stone, to get rid of
the tradition : so our neighbours are like the Arabs at
Petra, who have been shooting with sling, bow, and
matchlock, for a thousand years, at the urn, where they
are sure Pharaoh's treasure is, — in its niche in the rock
temple. For a thousand years, they have failed to
bring it down, and are determined that no European
shall. And no European would dismantle the temple
to disabuse the Arabs ; and so the tradition and the urn
stand untouched. So may it be for ages to come with
Long Meg, and the giant of eight tons' weight that
presides over the Keswick circle !
The ascent of Saddleback may begin behind Threl-
keld, up a path which the villagers will point out : but
an easier way, is to diverge from the main road some
way further on, by the road to Hesket, near the village
of Scales. The hill-side path is to be taken which leads
along Souter Fell, by the side of the stream which
descends from Scales tarn. This part is the very home
of superstition and romance. This Souter, or Soutra
SOTJTER FELL GHOSTS. 99
Fell, is the mountain, on which ghosts appeared in
myriads, at intervals during ten years of the last
century, — presenting precisely the same appearances
to twenty-six chosen witnesses, and to all the inhabi-
tants of all the cottages within view of the mountain ;
and for a space of two hours and a-half at one time —
the spectral show being then closed by darkness. The
mountain is full of precipices which defy all marching
of bodies of men ; and the north and west sides present
a sheer perpendicular of 900 feet. On Midsummer
eve, 1735, a farm-servant of Mr. Lancaster's, half-a-mile
from the mountain, saw the eastern side of the summit
covered with troops, which pursued their onward march
for an hour. They came, in distinct bodies, from an
eminence in the north end, and disappeared in a niche
in the summit. "When the poor fellow told this tale,
he was insulted on all hands ; as original observers
usually are when they see anything wonderful. Two
years after, also on a Midsummer eve, Mr. Lancaster
saw some men there, apparently following their horses,
as if they had returned from hunting. He thought
nothing of this ; but he happened to look up again ten
minutes after, and saw the figures now mounted, and
followed by an interminable array of troops, five abreast,
marching from the eminence and over the cleft, as
before. All the family saw this, and the manoeuvres of
the force, as each company was kept in order by a
mounted officer who galloped this way and that. As
the shades of twilight came on, the discipline appeared
to relax, and the troops intermingled, and rode at
unequal paces, till all was lost in darkness. Now, of
o2
100 SOTTTER TELL GHOSTS.
course, all the Lancasters were insulted, as their servant
had been : but their justification was not long delayed.
On the Midsummer eve of the fearful 1745, twenty-six
persons, expressly summoned by the family, saw all
that had been seen before, and more. Carriages were
now interspersed with the troops ; and every body
knew that no carriages ever had been, or could be, on
the summit of Souter Fell, The multitude was beyond
imagination ; for the troops filled a space of half-a-mile,
and marched quickly till night hid them, — still march-
ing. There was nothing vaporous or indistinct about
the appearance of these spectres. So real did they
seem that some of the people went up, the next morn-
ing, to look for the hoof-marks of the horses; and
awful it was to them to find not one foot-print on
heather or grass. The witnesses attested the whole
story on oath before a magistrate ; and fearful were the
expectations held by the whole country-side about the
coming events of the Scotch rebellion. It now came
out that two other persons had seen something of the
sort in the interval, viz., in 1743, — but had concealed
it to escape the insults to which their neighbours were
subjected. Mr. Wren, of Wilton Hall, and his farm-
servant, saw, one summer evening, a man and a dog on
the mountain, pursuing some horses along a place so
steep that a horse could hardly, by any possibility,
keep a footing on it. Their speed was prodigious, and
their disappearance at the south end of the fell so
rapid, that Mr. Wren and the servant went up, the
next morning, to find the body of the man who must
have been killed. Of man, horse, or dog, they found
SCALES TAEN. 101
not a trace: and they came down, and held their
tongues. When they did speak, they fared not much
the better for having twenty-six sworn comrades in
their disgrace. As for the explanation, — the Editor of
the Lonsdale Magazme declared (Vol. ii. p. 313.) that
it was discovered that on that Midsummer eve of 1745,
the rebels were "exercising on the western coast of
Scotland, whose movements had been reflected by some
transparent vapour, similar to the Fata Morgana."
This is not much in the way of explanation : but it is,
as far as we know, all that can be had at present. The
facts, however, brought out a good many more ; as the
spectral march of the same kind seen in Leicestershire
in 1707: and the tradition of the tramp of armies over
Helvellyn, on the eve of the battle of Marston Moor.
And now the tourist may proceed, — looking for ghosts,
if he pleases, on Souter Fell.
Here, too, lies another wonder, — that tarn (Scales
Tarn) which is said to reflect the stars at noonday, —
a marvel which we by no means undertake to avouch.
The tarn is so situated at the foot of a vast precipice,
and so buried among crags, that the sun never reaches
it, except through a crevice in early morning. This
dark water is one of the attractions which bring
strangers to this mountain ; though the easy ascent of
Skiddaw better suits the greater number. Another
attraction here is the deeper solitude of the recesses
of old Blencathra, — as Saddleback should still be called.
Another is the view of Derwent Water from the sum-
mit. Southey says, " Derwent Water, as seen from the
|| top of Saddleback, is one of the finest mountain scenes
g3
102 ASCENT.
in the country." That summit is called Linthwaite
Fell; and there the guide will point out, better than
we can do, the various objects, — seas, islands, castles
in their woods, and cities of the plain ; mountains, far
and near ; shores, like the boundaries of an estate, and
lakes like its fish ponds. People who made the ascent
sixty years since have left a terrifying account of its
dangers, such as now excites a smile among energetic
tourists. One gentleman was so "astonished," near the'
outlet, "with the different appearance of objects in the
valley beneath," that he chose to stay behind. Another
of the four presently "wished to lose blood and return:"
but he was coaxed onward to the tarn, where, however,
he could see no stars, though it was noonday. Mr.
Green, with his companion, Mr. Otley, was among the
earlier adventurers who stood on the highest ridge.
He was so accurate an observer that his descriptions of
unfrequented and unalterable places will never be anti-
quated. "From Linthwaite Pike," he says, "on soft
green turf, we descended steeply, first southward, and
then in an easterly direction to the Tarn; a beautiful
circular piece of transparent water, with a well-defined
shore. Here we found ourselves engulphed in a basin
of steeps, having Tarn Crag on the north, the rocks
falling from Sharp Edge on the east, and on the west,
the soft turf on which we had made our downward
progress. These side-grounds, in pleasant grassy banks,
verge to the stream issuing from the lake, whence there
is a charming opening to the town of Penrith; and
Cross Fell seen in extreme distance. Wishing to vary
our line in returning to the place we had left, we
SHAEP EDGE. 103
crossed the stream, and commenced a steep ascent at
the foot of Sharp Edge. We had not gone far before
we were aware that onr journey would be attended with
perils; the passage gradually grew narrower, and the
declivity on each hand awfully precipitous. Prom
walking erect, we were reduced to the necessity either
of bestriding the ridge, or of moving on one of its sides,
with our hands lying over the top, as a security against
tumbling into the tarn on the left, or into a frightful
gully on the right, — both of immense depth. Some-
times we thought it prudent to return; but that
seemed unmanly, and we proceeded; thinking with
Shakspere that c dangers retreat when boldly they're
confronted.' Mr. Otley was the leader, who, on gain-
ing steady footing, looked back on the writer, whom
he perceived viewing at leisure from his saddle the
remainder of his upward course." On better ground
they had a retrospect on Sharp Edge, — which is the
narrowest ridge on Saddleback, or any other north-of-
England mountain. In places, its top is composed of
loose stones and earth; and, the stepping on the sides
being as faithless as the top, the Sharp Edge expedi-
tion has less of safety in it than singularity.
And now, — those who, after this, like to go there,
know what they have to expect.
The other mountain-lake, lying north-east of this,
and called Bowscale Tarn, is also reputed to reflect the
stars at noon-day, but under so many conditions, that
it will be a wonder if any body ever has the luck to see
them. It is in this tarn that, in the belief of the
country people, there are two fish which cannot die; —
104 DESCENT.
the same fish that used to wait on the pleasure of the
good Lord Clifford when, in his shepherd days, he
learned mathematics from the stars upon the mountain.
The traveller can return either by the way he came; or
by Knott Crag, down upon Threlkeld; or by following
the course of the Glenderaterra, along the skirts of
Saddleback and Skiddaw, — coming out upon the Kes-
wick road about a mile from Threlkeld. This last mode
of descent is considered by far the most interesting.
Whenever he passes that bit of road to Keswick, he
will be more and more struck with the advantages of
the situation of the mansion on Greta Bank, with
its airy position, its walks through the woods, with the
Greta dashing below; and afar, the uninterrupted
view of the whole of Derwentwater basin and surround-
ing mountains. The tenth commandment is, we
imagine, offcener broken there than in most places.
PAET III.
CIRCUIT OF THE LAKE DISTRICT.
FIRST TOUR.
MILES. MILES.
Keswick to Threlkeld 4
3 Moor End 7
7 Gowbarrow Park 14
5 Patterdale 19
3 HighHartsop 22
7 Ambleside 29
There is a circuit by which the chief objects of the
Lake District can be seen in four days, even by ladies
and elderly persons. We will describe this route,
interpolating some directions for stout pedestrians who
can undertake more than the majority of tourists.
The starting-point of this tour may be either Kes-
wick or Ambleside, according as the traveller enters the
district from the north or the south. Supposing it to
be Keswick, the first day's journey is by Matterdale to
Ullswater, and by the Kirkstone Pass to Ambleside.
The distance from Keswick to Patterdale is nineteen
miles ; and from Patterdale to Ambleside ten more ; so
that the journey should begin in good time, if the
106 MATTEEDALE.
scenery is to be truly enjoyed. The first part of the
road, as far as Threlkeld, has been abundantly described.
It then becomes wild and bleak, while commanding
noble distant views of the Keswick mountains, and of
the saddle-shaped aspect of Old Blencathra. Mell Pell,
the ugliest of hills, — like a tumulus planted all over
with larch, grows larger as the traveller proceeds, till
he finds he is to make a sharp turn to the right, and
pass directly under it. Judging from our own ex-
perience, we should say that this part of the journey is
always broiling hot or bitterly cold. A bleak high-
lying tract it certainly is, where the old monks no
doubt suffered much and often in their expeditions.
Their paternosters said among the perils of Ullswater,
and their Ave Marys here are supposed to have given
the names of Patterdale and Matterdale, which become
more interesting as soon as their origin is known.
From Matterdale, the road drops down upon G-ow-
barrow Park, already described at p. 40. It is a usual
practice to send on the carriage to the Patterdale Inn,
(weather permitting) where the driver will order
dinner to be ready in two hours or so: and then the
traveller will explore the park, and see Ara Force, and
walk the remaining four miles, — enjoying as he goes,
the very finest views of Ullswater.
An ordinary party of travellers will be content with
the road to Ambleside, to close the labours of the day.
But young men will choose, if there be daylight left, to
diverge to the left at Hartsop, to see Hays Water.
The track passes among the farms, and beside the beck,
between the mountains, and up till the source is
HATS WATEB. 107
reached, — the secluded tarn called Hays Water. This
little lake is a mile and a-half from the main road, and
the ascent is rather steep. It is the delight of the
angler, because it is also the delight of the trout. It
is overhung by High Street; so that perhaps the
Eoman Eagles, as well as the native birds of the rocks,
have cast their shadows upon its surface. Not far off
lies Angle Tarn, on the southern end of Place Fell.
Both these tarns send their brooks down, to swell the
stream from Brothers' Water, which is itself supplied
from the busy, noisy beck that descends the Kirkstone
Pass; and the whole, united with a tributary from
Deepdale, form the clear brown stream which winds
through Patterdale, and empties itself into Ullswater.
Brothers' Water derives its name from the accident —
which is said to have happened twice, — of brothers
being lost in it, in the attempt of one to save the other.
On one of the two occasions, the accident happened
through the breaking of the ice, when the brothers
were making a venturesome short cut across it to
church. — No persuasion of ours can be necessary to
induce any traveller to visit Deepdale, if he has time.
Its aspect from the road is most tempting ; — only, it
cannot, like the walk to Hays Water, be accomplished,
in the longest summer day, in addition to the route
given for the day.
An account of Ambleside will be found at p.p. 44.
SECOND TOUR.
AMBLESIDE TO STBANDS AND WAST WATEB.
MILES.
Ambleside to Collision
9 Broughton
4* Ulpha Kirk
4 Stanley Ghyll
4 Santon Bridge
2 Strands
MILES.
9
18
22*
26*
30*
32*
MILES.
Ambleside to Skelwifch Bridge
1 Colwith Bridge
2* Fell Foot
1* Top of Wrynose
2* Cockley Beck
3 Bridge over the Esk ...
2* Stanley Ghyll
4 Santon Bridge
2 Strands
miles.
3
4
6*
8
10*
13*
16
20
22
There are two ways, meeting at Stanley Ghyll, —
(the grand waterfall of the district,) — which are about
equally beautiful, though entirely unlike; but the
shorter one, by Cockley Beck, is fit only for good
walkers, in fair weather. There is no reason why ladies
should not achieve it, by taking ponies, or a car, which
they will quit in the steeper parts. We will suppose,
in order to describe both, that the party divides, — the
young men going sixteen miles on foot, by the moun-
tains to Stanley Grhyll, and meeting there the carriage
party, who have made a circuit of about ten miles
longer, and will take up the pedestrians for the remain-
ing six miles to Strands.
The drive to Coniston has been already described.
THE DTTDDON. 109
The road now to be followed, passes through Coniston
and Torver, and then diverges from the lake, overlook-
ing a region in which the hills sink into heathery
undulations, which again subside into a wide alluvion,
which stretches to the estuary. When it is high
water, the scene is fine: but the vast reaches of sand at
low water are dreary. The coast railway is seen
crossing the estuary, — its cobweb tracery showing well
against the sand or the water. Near at hand Brough-
ton Tower rises from the woods above the little town :
but there is nothing else to detain the eye. Tourists
who desire to ascend Blackcombe, should do it from
hence, — the summit being only six miles from Brough-
ton ; and guides are here to be procured. Wordsworth
says of this mountain that "its base covers a much
greater extent of ground than any other mountain in
those parts; and, from its situation, the summit com-
mands a more extensive view than, any other point in
Britain." One would think that this testimony, and
Col. Mudge's information that, when residing on
Blackcombe for surveying purposes, he more than once
saw Ireland before sunrise, would bring strangers to
try their luck in seeing Scotland, Staffordshire, and
Ireland, from the same point : but the mountain lies
out of the ordinary track of tourists, and very few
visit it.
The next portion of the drive is charming ; — up the
valley of the Duddon. The series of sonnets that
Wordsworth has given us may have led strangers to
expect too much : but to an unprepossessed eye the
valley must appear lovely. Leaving the Bootle road
110 TTLPHA KIRK.
and the bridge to the left, the road ascends so steeply
that the travellers will get out and walk; and many a
time will they turn to the sea-view, and the wooded
slopes on the way to Bootle, and the rocks, dressed
with wild flowers, that enclose the road. Then comes
a common covered with fern, in which the greenest of
paths form a net-work : and far below dashes the brown
river, between rocky banks ; and Duddon Grove, with
its conservatories and beautiful grounds and green
clearings, is seen in the hollow of the vale. Four miles
from Broughton, the bridge at Ulpha Kirk spans the
river, and discloses a beautiful view, up and down. One
thing which the traveller is always expected to remark
is the strange holes (called pots) worn by the waters in
the rocks, and the rounding of the edges of the boul-
ders and shelves in the channel. Ulpha Kirk is a mere
hamlet ; but there is a little inn at which the horses
can rest if the party are disposed for a walk to the
scene of Robert Walker's life and labours. Ulpha Kirk
itself is one of the primitive places where the old man-
ners of the district may yet be traced more clearly than
in most road-side settlements. The people still think
it no sin to do their farm work on Sundays, when the
weather, — so precarious here, — is favourable; and the
familiar style of " the priest" in these parts makes the
transition from work to worship very natural. Some
time since there was a blind " priest" settled there.
One Sunday morning, the bell rang before the people
were all ready; and especially the stoutest farmer in
the neighbourhood, who, detained by some cow, pig, or
sheep, entered the church last of all, " thunnerin' down
ROBERT WALKER'S CHURCH. Ill
the aisle." "Wha's comin' now?" asked the blind
priest ; and, being informed by the clerk that it was
John T , he inquired further, " a-foot or a-horse-
back?" Odd sprinklings of learning are found in these
by-places, as in Scotland. Some students staying at
this same little inn, and wanting to settle their account,
wrote a note in Latin to the landlord, asking for the
bill, and sent it by the girl who waited. Mr. Gunson,
the landlord, (from whom the present landlord is
descended) immediately sent in the bill in Greek. It
was too much for the students, who were obliged to
ask to have it in English. There was a " heigh-larned"
woman, not far from hence, who married a farmer on
the moor. When every body was lamenting the hard
times, she declared that, for her part, she would be
contented if she could obtain food and raiment; where-
upon her husband rebuked her presumption. "Thoo
fule," said he : " thoo dusn't think thoo's to hey
mare than other folk. J'se content wi' meeat and
claes."
Newfield Church, in Seathwaite, is the place where
Eobert Walker, called " the Wonderful," exercised his
office for sixty years. The grey farmsteads stand
under their sycamores, dispersed in the vale, and up
the slope which meets the Walna Scar track from
Coniston. Eocky and wooded knolls diversify the
dale ; and the full beck runs down to join the Duddon,
for which it is often mistaken : but the Duddon is
unseen here, so deep lies its channel among the rocks.
The church is little loftier or larger than the houses
near* But for the bell, the traveller would hardly
112 THE PAKSOltfAGE.
have noticed it for a church on approaching: but when
he has reached it, there is the porch, and the little
graveyard with a few tombs, and the spreading yew,
encircled by the seat of stones and turf, where the
early comers sit and rest till the bell calls them in.
A little dial, on a whitened post in the middle of the
enclosure, tells the time to the neighbours who have
no clocks. Just outside the wall is a white cottage, so
humble that the stranger thinks it cannot be the par-
sonage : yet the climbing roses and glittering ever-
greens, and clear lattices, and pure uncracked walls,
look as if it might be. He walks slowly past the
porch, and sees some one who tells him that it is
indeed Eobert Walker's dwelling, and courteously in-
vites him in to see the scene of those life-long charities.
Here it was that the distant parishioners were fed on
Sundays with broth, for which the whole week's supply
of meat was freely bestowed. Hither it was that in
winter he sent the benumbed children, in companies,
from the school in the church, to warm themselves at
the single household fire, while he sat by the altar all
the school hours, keeping warmth in him by the exercise
of the spinning wheel. But the story is too well known,
as it stands in "Wordsworth's works, to need further
celebration here : too well known, we should think, not
to induce tourists to walk two miles from Ulpha Kirk
and back again, to visit the homes, in life and in death,
of Eobert Walker. There are changes even here.
There is a school-house, warmer in winter than the
church: and there is a decline in the number of
attendants at church. The Wesleyan chapel at Ulpha
BIEKEB MOOR. 113
has drawn away some; and the taste for Sunday
diversion, which has found its way over the hills from
Coniston, estranges more; and the descendant and
successor of the good pastor says that " the old stocks
are gone, and the new families are different." Thus is
the large world's experience reflected in this little
vale !
The finest part of the Duddon scenery is just here ;
and it is a charming walk by the stepping-stones,
celebrated by Wordsworth, and up and over the moor,
to descend upon Eskdale. The travelling party sees
nearly the same view, as far as the mountain is con-
cerned, by crossing at Ulpha Kirk, and getting upon
the moor that way. As soon as the enclosures are
past, up springs the lark, and freely runs the rills, and
keen is the air ; and ghostlike are the mountains that
appear by degrees above the high foreground of the
moor. It is a rare pleasure in the lake district to meet
with the lark. It is only on a very wide expanse of
moorland that it can happen ; for in the valleys the
birds of prey allow no songsters. The eagles are gone
(or nearly,) and few ravens are left among the crags ;
but there are hawks domineering in every vale ; so that
those who would hear the lark must go out to such
places as Birker Moor. — The mountain group in front
is that which has been remarked upon before as the
centre of the region ; the lofty nucleus whence the
vales diverge (as Wordsworth observed after Green)
"like the spokes of a wheel." Scawfell is the highest;
and the whole line, from that peak to Hardknot, is very
fine in all lights. The dark basin formed in the midst
H
114 STANLEY GHTLL.
of the group will be observed. There Wast Water
lies.
On the right, a rude new road at length appears,
tending towards a wooded ravine. That ravine is
Stanley Gill, and at its head is the waterfall. The
key may be had at the farmhouse of Dalegarth ; and
there perhaps, or in the glen, the party from Fellfoot
may be found to have arrived first.
The Stanley Ghyll Fall has much the character of
Ara Force ; and the immediate surroundings may per-
haps be rivalled by other waterfalls in the district.
But the glen itself is indisputably the finest in the
region ; and it is scarcely possible to say too much of
the view from the Moss-house on the steep, which
should certainly be the first point of view. From
hence the eye commands the whole ravine, whose sides
are feathered with wood from base to ridge. The fall
is between two crags, — the one bare, the other crowned
with pines ; and if there is a slant of sunlight between
them, it gives the last finish of beauty to the chasm.
The most modern element in the scene, the young
larches, cannot offend the eye, — so well is their vivid
green intermingled with the well-grown beech, oak,
birch, and hollies, of a somberer hue. There is a bridge
below, descried from the moss-house, which will tempt
the stranger to find his way down ; and there he will
meet with two more, by means of which he will reach
the fall. Here, among a wilderness of ferns and wild
flowers, he may sit in the cool, damp abyss, watching
the fall of waters into their clear rock-basin, till his ear
is satisfied with their dash and flow, and his eye with
SANTOS BRIDGE. 115
the everlasting quiver of the ash sprays, and swaying
of the young birches, which hang over from the ledges
of the precipice. A path then leads him under the
rocks, now on this side of the stream, and now on that,
till he emerges from the ravine, and winds his way
through the hazel copse to the gate.
It may be thought that our travellers have not
leisure for much of this meditating in the glen : and it
is true that by this time the sun is sloping westwards ;
but there are only six miles to be travelled ; and there
are no more rough mountain tracks to-day, but a good
road, — (wonderfully red) across Eskdale, and all the
way to Strands.
After crossing the Esk, and passing the little inn at
Bout, the road runs above the river, till, at the King
of Prussia Inn, it turns up out of Eskdale, arid crosses
into Miterdale. Before Eskdale is lost sight of, the
opening of the valley to the sea affords a fine view,
with the little town of Ravenglass seated in the bay
where the Irt, the Mite, and the Esk flow into the sea.
Then comes a long ascent, and more views of the levels
towards the coast, — rich with woods and fields, bounded
by sands and sea. Then there is a descent, to cross
the Mite ; and another ascent ; and a descent again to
pretty Santon Bridge, on the winding Irt. Instead of
passing the bridge, however, the road to the right must
be taken, which leads, in two miles, to Strands. There
is again a long ascent : but even the tired traveller will
not complain of it, when the circle of mountains round
Wast Water opens before him. The lake is not visible ;
but there is no mistaking where it lies. To the right,
H2
116 STRANDS.
and close at hand, the Screes present their remarkable
sweep of debris, and crests streaked with red, grey, and
vivid green, and here and there cloven for the passage
of cataracts from the brow, which tumble down through
the gloom of woods. Hawlghyll is the largest of these
ravines. Next, the Scawfell peaks rise above the rest ;
and Great End just peeps over the shoulder of Lingmell.
The cleft between Lingmell and Great Gable is Sty
Head Pass ; and to the left, from Great Gable, are
Yewbarrow and Middlefell. The broken foreground on
the common whence this view is seen adds greatly to
its beauty. Descending upon Wastdale, the Irt is
crossed ; and then the road meets others on the green.
The one to the right leads to the lake. Sweeping
round to the left, and passing the church, — so small
and domestic-looking as to appear like a house, — the
road reaches the two little inns. They are humble
but clean; and horses can be had, and boats for the
lake.
Now we must see how the party by Fellfoot has
fared.
Their route has been described, as far as Skelwith
Bridge ; — viz : the road by Clappersgate, and the
Brathay valley, in which, however, they must keep the
right-hand road. Passing Skelwith Bridge, they had
better, if on foot, go through the gap in the wall
mentioned in p. 49, and follow the path in the wood
which will lead them out into the road at the top of the
hill. After about a mile from hence, they must take
the road to the right, which turns sharp down the very
steep hill to Colwith Bridge. Colwith Force, a little
THE SHIEE STONES. 117
further on, will make itself heard and seen. It tumbles
from a height of seventy feet, and the adjuncts are
beautiful. One mile further along the winding road or
lane, Langdale Tarn comes into view, with Wetherlam
swelling up grandly to the south of it. About a mile
further on, there is a gate from which the road parts ;
— the straight forward one leading on to Blea Tarn and
Langdale, and the left hand one, which our travellers
must follow, leading to Pellfoot, and the old road from
Kendal to Whitehaven, which was the only route
before carriers' carts found their way into the region.
Fellfoot was the house of entertainment whence the
pack-horse cavalcade began the ascent, or where they
stopped to congratulate themselves on having accom-
plished the descent. The ascent of Wrynose from this
point is long and rather steep : but the views behind
become grander with every step. The travellers are
now in Westmorland; but at the three shire stones
at the top, where three counties meet, they will step
into Lancashire, in order to leave it for Cumberland at
Cockley Beck bridge, within three miles further on.
We are glad to hear that a spirited citizen of Amble-
side, to whom his neighbours are under great obliga-
tions, has erected a stone pillar at the spot where the
shire stones are, that the junction of counties may not
be overlooked (as it easily might be before) by the unob-
servant traveller. Young tourists, who happen to have
long limbs, may enjoy the privilege of being in three
counties at once, by setting their feet on two of the
three stones, and resting their hands on the third. The
stream which is now on the right, divides Lancashire
h3
118 COCKLEY BECK.
from Cumberland ; and Westmorland is left behind.
We know nothing wilder in the district than the
next two miles. These are the desolate hills in which
the Duddon and the Esk take their rise ; and Cockley
Beck is the spot where the Duddon must be left, to
cross over to the Esk. There is a farmhouse near the
bridge, where horses can be refreshed, when a car comes
this way, while travellers sit down by the stream to
dinner. A melancholy and harassed traveller once
came this way, whose adventure is still talked over in
Eskdale and Borrowdale. A party of tourists, among
whom were two sisters, were on the heights, intending
to cross Esk Hause into Borrowdale, and to spend the
night at Seathwaite, — the first settlement there. Now
there is, as we have seen, another Seathwaite on the
Duddon ; and mistakes frequently arise between them.
On Esk Hause, one of the ladies lost sight of her party
behind some of the rocks scattered among the tarns
there, and took a turn to the right instead of the left.
A shepherd of whom she enquired her way to Seath-
waite pointed down the Duddon valley ; and that way
she went till she found herself at Cockley Beck, when
the old shepherd farmer who lived there was getting
his supper in the dusk of the autumn evening. He
used his best courtesy to induce her to stay till day-
light : but she was bent on going at once, — so great
would be her sister's terror. As she would not be
persuaded, the old man went with her, putting his crust
into his pocket. It was dark, and the lady was weary ;
and she was not aware what she was undertaking.
After a long struggle, she fainted. The old man was
ESKDALE. 119
afraid to leave her, lest lie should not find her again ;
but he succeeded in reaching the water without losing
sight of her white dress. He dipped his crust and
brought water in his hat to bathe her face. She
revived, ate the crust, and strove onwards, — persevering
on her weary way till between one and two in the
morning, when she meet her sister and a party coming
from Seathwaite to Borrowdale, with a dozen lanterns,
to search for her. She gave her guide " a one pound
note ; " (it was so long ago as that) and afterwards, sent
him two more. The whole family connexion of that
lady will remember for ever that there is a Seathwaite
on each side of Esk Hause.
From Cockley Beck, the road climbs the side of
Hardknot, and from the highest point commands a
view of the sea. The descent into Eskdale is charming,
— the ravine to the left, in which the infant river flows
down, being beautifully wooded, and the whole valley,
with its few hamlets and many sheep, lying open, as
far as the sea. In three miles from Cockley Beck, the
bridge over the Esk is passed; and Stanley Ghyll is
less than three miles further. Scawfell and all that
group of summits, are in view to the right, during the
descent : and to the left, Birker Force is seen dashing
over the rocks. Bout comes next, and then Dalegarth
and Stanley Grhyll, where our travellers will join their
party, after a walk of sixteen miles from Ambleside.
THIRD TOUR.
EROM STRANDS AND WAST WATER TO SCALE HILL INN.
MILES. MILES,
Stbands to Gosforth 3
4 Calder Bridge 7
7 Ennerdale Bridge 14
3 Lamplugh Cross 17
4 Lowes Water 21
2 Scale Hill 23
The objection to seeing Wast Water early in the
morning, is that Scawfell may too probably be covered
with clouds. He does not take off his night cap so
soon as the pleasure-seeker. On this account, we have
preferred, when weather was favourable, the Pellfoot
way to Strands, as leaving time for an evening drive to
Wastdale Head, — five miles and back again. The
travellers by Broughton must no doubt wait till the
morning. Taking a cup of tea and a crust, and order-
ing breakfast for two hours hence, the party may start
early for the far-famed Wast Water, — the most
solemn and imposing of all the lakes. For some way,
the road is a pretty lane, with frequent gates, till the
beautiful abode of Crook End, the seat of Stanfield
Rawson, Esq., is passed. Hawlghyll and the other
fissures are probably breathing forth their vapours,
which keep ascending all the way. There are the
Screes, with the grey and still lake, — too deep to be
ever frozen, — lying at the base of their prodigious sweep,
WASTWATER SECTION.
WASTDALE HEAD. 121
The lake is three and a-half miles long, and has the
Screes for its south-eastern shore. The line of this
singular range is almost unbroken. The crags are
hidden, about a-third of the way down, by the slope of
many-coloured debris which slants right into the lake.
The summer thunderstorm and the winter tempest
sometimes shiver the loosely-compacted crags above ;
and then, when a mass comes thundering down, and
splashes into the lake, the whole range feels the shock,
and slides of stones rush into the water, and clouds of
dust rise into the air.
We gave, in approaching Strands, (p. 79.) the names
of the mountains as they are now seen. The road
winds pleasantly round bays and over promontories,
and the pyramidal Yewbarrow, Great Gable, which
closes in the dale, and Lingmell and the Scawfell Pikes
to the right, all explain themselves. Several brooks
and rills are passed, flowing down from the valleys;
and the stranger exclaims that he should like to spend
a whole summer here, to explore all the ways among
the mountains. Several gentlemen have spent weeks
together at Bitson's farm-house, at the dale head,
where there are clean beds, and farm-house fare in
plenty and perfection. The opening out of the dale
head, when the valley has appeared to close in round
the lake, is as wonderful a spectacle to strangers as any
thing they see. The dale is one of those perfect levels,
shut in by lake and mountains, which give a different
impression from any other kind of scenery in the world.
The passes themselves are so high as to leave no
appearance of outlet, except by the lake; and of these
I
122 STJPEESTITIONS.
passes there are but two, — the Sty Head and Mosedale
paths. The green and perfect level, to which the
mountains come down with a sheer sweep, is partly-
divided off into fields; and a few farm-houses are set
down among the fields, on the bends of the gushing
and gurgling stream. There is a chapel, — the humblest
of chapels, — with eight pews, and three windows in
three sides, and a skylight over the pulpit. There is
now a school: — a chapel and a school and no public
house ! The schoolmaster is entertained on " whittle-
gate" terms; that is, he boards at the farm-houses in
turn. An old man told us that the plan answers-
"He gets them on very well," said he; "and particularly
in the spelling. He thinks that if they can spell, they
can do all the rest." Such are the original conclusions
arrived at in Wastdale Head. It struck us that the
children were dirtier than even in other vales, though
the houses are so clean that you might eat your dinner
off the board or the floor. But the state of children's
skin and hair is owing to superstition, in all these dales ;
and the schoolmaster is the one who should cure the
evil. A young lady who kindly undertook to wash
and dress the infant of a sick woman, but who was not
experienced in the process, exclaimed at the end,
"O dear! I forgot it's hands and arms. I must wash
them." The mother expressed great horror, and said
that " if the child's arms were washed before it was six
months old, it would be a thief;" and, added she,
pathetically, " I would not like that." The hair and
hltils must not be cut for a much longer time, for fear
of a like result. The Yorkshire people put the alterna-
KIEKFELL. 123
tive of dirty and clean rather strongly in their proverb,
" Better hev a bairn wi a mucky feace than wash its
noase off:" but the Cumberland folk view the matter
more in a moral way, and refuse to have their children
baptised into thievery.
Kirkfell, which stands backward, between Yewbar-
row and Great Gable, was very tempting to a tourist
who explored this neighbourhood some years ago ; and
he set out to get to Buttermere by Blacksail and Scarf
Gap. After hours of walking, he struck into the deep
ravine between Kirkfell and Great Gable; and when he
arrived within sight of a lake at night, he was con-
founded to find it still Wast Water. He had walked
completely round the mountain, instead of getting on.
We observed to a comrade that this could not have
happened if the tourist had carried a pocket-compass.
"And not having a compass," said our friend, "he
fetched one." Wastdale Head is the place whence the
ascent of Scawfell should be made: but we must defer
that ; as it would occupy the energies of a whole day.
The party will now return the way they came; for
there is no road, of course, under the Screes, though
the shepherds venture along a perilous thread of a path
in the loose debris.
After breakfast, the travellers will address themselves
to the very different spectacle of Calder Abbey and its
environs.
After climbing the long hill from Strands, an eager
look-out will be kept for the Isle of Man: but the
most probable point for seeing it is at the top of the
hill between Gosforth (the reddest of villages) and
1 2
124 CALDER ABBEY.
Calder Bridge. Far off at sea rises the outline of its
mountains ; and when the wind is east, we have repeat-
edly seen the shadows filling the hollow of its hills.
From this eminence, the road descends through an
avenue of heech, ash, and other trees, to Calder Bridge.
Here the travellers will leave the carriage, which will
meet them within an hour at Captain Irwin's gate, on
their quitting the Abbey. They must now step into
the inn garden at the bridge, and see how beautifully
the brown waters swirl away under the red bridge and
its ivied banks, while the waving ferns incessantly
checker the sunshine. It is a mile to the Abbey,
through the churchyard, and along the bank of the
Calder, where again the most beautiful tricks of light
are seen, with brown water and its white foam, red
precipitous banks, and the greenest vegetation, with a
wood crowning all. The scene is thoroughly monastic.
There is no sound at noonday besides the gushing
water, but the woodman's axe and the shock of a falling
tree, or the whirr of the magpie, or the pipe of the
thrush : but at night the rooks on their return to roost
fill the air with their din. The ruins are presently seen,
springing sheer from the greenest turf. Belies from
the abbey are now placed beside the way ; and the
modern house appears at hand. The ruins should be
approached from the front, so that the lofty pointed
arches may best disclose the long perspective behind of
grassy lawn and sombre woods. The Abbey is built of
red sandstone of the neighbourhood, now sobered down
by time (it was founded in A J). 1134.) into the richest
and softest tint that the eye could desire. But little
CALDER ABBEY. 125
is known of it beyond its date and the name of its
founder, Kanulph, son of the first Eanulph de Mes-
ehines, a Norman noble. The church was small, as the
scanty remains show ; and the monastery, which now
looks like a continuation of the same building, could
not have contained a numerous company. From the
fragments of effigies preserved, it appears that some
eminent persons were buried here ; but who these
knights and nobles were, there is no record that can
tell, — carefully as these memorials were wrought to
secure the immortality of this world. The eye is first
fixed by the remains of the tower, from whose roofless
summit dangles the tufted ivy, and whose base is
embossed by the small lilac blossoms of the antirrhi-
num ; but at last the great charm is found in the aisle
of clustered pillars. Almost the whole aisle is standing,
still connected by the cornice and wall which supported
the roof. The honeysuckle and ivy climb till they fall
over on the other side. There is a sombre corner
where the great ash grows over towards the tower,
making a sort of tent in the recess. There are niches
and damp cells in the conventual range. It is a small
ruin, but thoroughly beautiful : and when the stranger
looks and listens, as he stands in the green level
between woods, he will feel how well the old monks
knew how to choose their dwelling-places, and what it
must have been to the earnest and pious among these
Cistercians to pace their river bank, and to attune their
thoughts to the unceasing music of the Calder flowing
by. In the broad noon it is a fine thing to see the
shadows flung, short and sharp, on the sward, and to
1 3
126 EGEEMOKT.
catch the burnish of the ivy, and woo the shade of the
avenue : and in the evening, it is charming to see how
the last glow in the west brings out the projections and
recesses of the ruins, and how the golden moon hangs
over the eastern mass of tree tops, ready to take her
turn in disclosing the beauties of the monastic retreat.
The Abbey is carefully preserved, and liberally laid
open to strangers by Capt. Irwin. It is no fault of his
that his house, a plain substantial modern dwelling,
stands too near the ruins. He did not build it ; so
there is nothing personal in the natural wish of
strangers that it stood somewhere else.
At the gate the carriage is waiting, and it takes the
cross road, almost opposite the gate, up to Cold Fell.
The drive over that fell is commonly called dreary ; and
it is so in bad weather : but it has its charms. The
sea-view is fine, — all flecked with cloud shadows as
with islands : and the wide down sprinkled with sheep,
that look as ragged as terriers, after tearing their
fleeces with the furze and brambles with which the
swelling slopes are embossed. In a hollow, at rare
intervals, stands a farm-house, under the ordinary syca-
more canopy ; and far away, between the slopes of the
down below, the soil is cut up into fields, with woods
hanging above ; and at the mouth of the vale, between
it and the coast, stands Egremont, a little town of
1,500 inhabitants or so, and which certainly looks very
pretty from the uplands ; — and cheerful too, in spite
of its Eoman name, — (the Mount of Sorrow.) It is
distinguished by Eoman traditions. It was at the
gateway of Egremont Castle that the horn was hung,
THE DE LACTS. 127
in crusading days, which was twice blown by the
gallant Sir Eustace de Lacy. As the Cumberlanders
tell, Sir Eustace and his brother Hubert rode forth
together to the Holy Wars ; and Sir Eustace blew the
horn, saying to his brother, " If I fall in Palestine, do
thou return and blow this horn, and take possession ;
that Egremont may not be without a Lacy for its
Lord." In Palestine, ambition of this lordship so
took possession of Hubert, that he hired ruffians to
drown his brother in the Jordan : and the ruffians
assured him that the deed was done. He returned
home, and stole into the castle by night, — not daring
to sound the horn. But he soon plucked up spirit,
and drowned his remorse in revels. In the midst of a
banquet, one day, the horn was heard, sounding such a
blast that the echoes came back from the fells, after
startling the red deer from his covert, and the wild
boar from his drinking at the tarn. Hubert knew that
none but Eustace could or would sound the horn:
and he fled by a postern while his brother Eustace
entered by the gate. Long after, the wretched Hubert
came to ask forgiveness from his brother ; and having
obtained it, retired to a convent, where he practised
penance until he died. The ruins of this castle stand
on an eminence to the west of the town.
Before descending to Ennerdale Bridge, the outline
of the Scotch mountains may be sometimes seen.
Few travellers see more of this lake than in passing ;
for, while exceedingly wild, it has not the solemnity of
Wast Water ; and there is a want of wood, to give it
grace and beauty. The enclosure of the waters by
128 TOUKISTS ASTKAY.
bare mountains is, however, very fine. The neighbour-
hood is full of stories of escapes and strange adventures
of such pedestrian tourists as have explored the moun-
tains : but carriage travellers look down from the road,
and pass on.
We have mentioned the young man who spent the
whole of a previous day in walking round Kirk Fell.
Worse happened, in October, 1852, to two gentlemen
who went, with a pony, but without a guide, from
Buttermere to Wastdale Head, by Scarf Gap and
Blacksail. In Ennerdale valley, wind and rain met
them. They struggled part of the way along Black-
sail, when they became bewildered, and soon so
exhausted that they had a narrow escape with their
lives. But for a brandy flask, which one of them
carried, they could not have survived. The pony seems
to have sunk as rapidly as the men. These gentlemen
have publicly suggested the erection of some conspicu-
ous landmarks, to show the track ; and they have
uttered their warning, in corroboration of so many
others, against crossing mountains without a guide.
One of their chief difficulties was the paths being
turned into watercourses, and thereby disguised. It
was on the same track that the three Kendal young
ladies, mentioned by Mr. Green in his "Guide" (two
of whom are still living) lost their way, from dismissing
their guide too soon, and actually staid all night on
the mountain, where, if it had not been fine summer
weather, they would have perished. They took a guide
over Scarf Gap, and as far as the junction of the three
roads from Buttermere, Ennerdale, and Wastdale. The
STOEM OlS' THE EELL. 129
guide left them on the right road, and with full infor-
mation as to the rest of the way. They took the
wrong side of the brook, however, and so got bewildered.
It was only four p.m., when the guide left them : but
darkness overtook them still wandering. When they
came down upon Tyson's house, early in the morning,
the family could not believe the story of their descent,
so perilous was the way they had come. One of the
ladies had, however, lost a pocket-book : and they had
seen a dead sheep : and, somebody immediately going up,
these incidents were verified : and the adventure of the
Kendal ladies remains one of the wonders of the dales.
We had once an adventure in this neighbourhood,
the moral of which is, the comfort and security of
having a guide. We wanted to cross Blake Fell to
Loweswater. The distance to Scale Hill Inn was only
six miles ; the time summer ; and the track well marked
on map and mountain. If there ever was a case in
which a guide might be thought unnecessary, it was
this: but two of the party were young strangers;
and the third would not assume the charge of them.
The heat was excessive that day ; so we lagged behind
the guide, on the ascent, though he carried knapsack
and baskets. He was a quiet-looking elderly mountain-
eer, who appeared to walk very slowly ; but his progress
was great, compared with ours, from the uniformity and
continuity of his pace. In the worst part of the walk,
we tried the effect of following close behind him, and
putting our feet in his tracks ; and we were surprised
to find with what ease and rapidity we got on. At
first we stopped repeatedly, to sit down and drink from
130 STOEM ON THE PELL.
the streams that crossed the track, or flowed beside it :
and during those halts, we observed that the blackness
which had for some time been appearing in the west,
now completely shrouded the sea. Next, we remarked
that while the wind still blew in our faces, — that is,
from the north-east, — the mass of western clouds was
evidently climbing the sky. The guide quietly observed
that there would be rain by and by. Next, when we
were in the middle of the wide fell, and we saw how
puzzling the network of swampy paths must be at all
times, we pointed out to one another how the light
fleeces of cloud below the black mass swept round in a
circle, following each other like straws in an eddy.
Soon, the dark mass came driving up at such a rate
that it was clear we should not finish our walk in good
weather. The dense mist was presently upon us. On
looking behind, to watch its rate of advance, we saw a
few flashes of lightning burst from it. The thunder
had for some time been growling afar, almost inces-
santly. The moment before the explosion of the storm
was as like a dream as a waking state can be. We
were walking on wild ground, now ascending, now
descending ; a deep tarn (Floutern Tarn) on our right
hand, our feet treading on slippery rushes, or still more
slippery grass ; the air was dark, as during an eclipse ;
and heavy mists drove past from behind, just at the
level of our heads, and sinking every moment ; while
before us, and far far below us — down as in a different
world — lay Buttermere and the neighbouring vales
sleeping in the calmest sunshine. The contrast was
singular — of that warm picture, with its yellow lights
STOEM ON THE FELL. 131
and soft blue shadows, with the turbulence and chill
and gloom of the station from which we viewed it.
We had but a moment to look at it ; for not only did
the clouds sink before our eyes, but the wind scudded
round to the opposite point of the compass, throwing
one after another of us flat as it passed. Within a few
minutes, one of us had six falls, from the force of the
wind and the treachery of the ground, — now in a trice,
a medley of small streams. It was impossible to stop
the guide, for a moment's breath. In the roar of the
blast, and crash of the thunder, and pelt of the hail, one
might as well have spoken to the elements : so it was
necessary for us all to keep up our pace, that he might
not stride away from us entirely. Through stumblings
and slidings innumerable, we did this, — the lightning
playing about our faces the while, like a will-o'-the-wisp
on the face of a bog. The hail and rain had drenched
us to the skin in three minutes. The first hailstones
reached the skin. They were driven in at every open-
ing of our clothes ; they cut our necks behind, and
filled our shoes. Our hats and bonnets were imme-
diately soaked through, and every body's hair wringing
wet. The thunder seemed to roll on our very skulls.
In this weather we went plunging on for four miles,
through spungy bogs, turbid streams, whose bridges of
stones were hidden in the rushing waters ; or by narrow
pathways, each one of which was converted by the
storm into an impetuous brook. When we had
descended into a region where we could hear ourselves
speak, we congratulated one another on our prudence
in having engaged a guide. Without him, how should
132 LOWES WATER.
we have known the path from the brook, or have
guessed where we might ford the streams, when the
bridges were out of sight ? Two horses, w^e afterwards
heard, were killed on the same fell in that storm : and
we should never have come down, we wTere persuaded,
if we had been left to wander by ourselves.
Lamplugh Cross is three miles from Ennerdale
Bridge ; and thence the road begins to descend, and
for the most part continues descending for the remain-
ing six miles to Scale Hill Inn. On leaving the com-
mon, from which the Solway and Scotch mountains are
visible, and turning down through a gate upon Lowes
Water, the view of the central mountain group is again
very fine. Lowes Water is one of the out-lying lakes,
and its lower end is tame accordingly : but it is only a
mile long ; and the peaks congregate finely about its
head. The circuit of Lowes Water, (seven miles) is a
charming morning's walk. There is a prosperous look
about the homesteads there, and a richness about the
meadows which smacks of the level country, which, in
the shape of the Vale of Lorton, is near at hand. On
the road between Lowes Water and the inn at Scale
Hill, the great peaks of the central group are all
visible, from Grassmoor to Great Gable, and from Scaw-
fell round to Melbreak ; while the prominent Ranner-
dale Knot projects into Crummock Lake in front ; and
Honister Crag peeps over from behind. As the reader
knows, the whole group may be studied from Scale
Hill ; and to the utmost advantage from the Station,
(p. 88.) At Scale Hill Inn the travellers may close in
comfort the third day of their circuit.
FOURTH TOUR.
FROM SCALE HILL, BY HWISTER CEAG, TO KESWICK.
MILES. MILES,
Scale Hill to Buttermere 4
2 Gatesgarth 6
2 Honister Crag- 8
2 Seatoller 10
2 Rosthwaite 12
3 Lodore 15
3 Keswick 18
The road as far as Buttermere has been described
(p. 84). But the attention of the traveller has hardly
been sufficiently called to the stormy character of this
central district, as shown by the aspect of the moun-
tains. No where else are they so scarred with weather
marks, or so diversified in colouring from new rents
in the soil. Long sweeps of orange and grey stones
descend to Crummock Water; and above, there are
large hollows, like craters, filled now with deep blue
shadows, and now with tumbling white mists, above
which yellow or purple peaks change their .hue with
every hour of the day, or variation of the sky. The
bare, hot-looking debris on the Melbreak side, the
chasms in the rocks, and the sudden swellings of the
waters, tell of turbulence in all seasons. The most
tremendous waterspout remembered in the region of
the lakes, descended the ravine between Grassmoor
and Whiteside, in 1760. It swept the whole side of
Grassmoor at midnight, and carried down everything
that was lying loose all through the vale below, and
134 GEASSMOOR FLOOD.
over a piece of arable land at the entrance, where it
actually peeled the whole surface, carrying away the
soil and the trees, and leaving the rocky substratum
completely bare. The soil was many feet deep, and
the trees fullgrown. Then it laid down what it
brought, covering ten acres with the rubbish. By
the channel left, it appears that the flood must have
been five or six yards deep, and a hundred yards wide.
Among other pranks, it rooted up a solid stone cause-
way, which was supported by an embankment appa-
rently as strong as the neighbouring hills. The flood
not only swept away the whole work, but scooped out
the entire line for its own channel. The village of
Brackenthwaite, which stood directly in its course, was
saved by being built on a stone platform, — a circum-
stance unknown to the inhabitants till they now saw
themselves left safe on a promontory, while the soft
soil was swept away from beside their very doors,
leaving a chasm where the flood had been turned aside
by the resistance of their rock. The end of the matter
was, that the flood poured into the Cocker, which rose
so as to lay the whole south-western plain under water
for a considerable time.
On leaving Buttermere, and passing the very small
chapel (which yet is " quite big" compared with the
former one on the same site) the road up Buttermere
Haws to Newlands is seen ascending to the left. The
Lake of Buttermere is only a mile and a-quarter in
length, and a little more than half-a-mile in breadth.
The mountains which enclose it have been already
named (p. 86.) The torrent that will be observed
HONISTER CRAG. 135
flowing down the steep into the lake is called (as others
in the district are) Sourmilk Ghyll : and it issues from
Bleaberry, or Burtness Tarn, on the side of Eed Pike.
The pretty domain near the margin of the lake is
Hasness (General Benson's.) Then comes Gatesgarth,
— the farmstead whence the road to Scarf Gap is taken,
by which, as we have told, London gentlemen and
Kendal ladies have run into such extreme danger.
From Gatesgarth begins one of the wildest bits of road
in the district. It climbs Buttermere Vale, by an
ascent at first gradual, and latterly extremely steep,
to the base of Honister Crag. It is a vast stony
valley, where sheep and their folds, and a quarryman's
hut here and there, are the only signs of civilization.
There are no bridges over the stream (the infant
Cocker), which must be crossed many times ; and
where there are no stepping-stones, the pedestrian
must wade. Every body walks up the last reaches
of the ascent, — so steep and stony is the narrow road,
and so formidable its unfenced state. The dark, stu-
pendous, almost perpendicular, Honister Crag frowns
above ; and as the traveller, already at a considerable
height, looks up at the quarrymen in the slate quarries
near the summit, it almost takes his breath away
to see them hanging like summer spiders quivering
from the eaves of a house.
These quarrymen are a hardy race, capable of feats
of strength which are now rarely heard of elsewhere.
No heavily-armed knight, who ever came here to meet
the Scot (and there were such encounters on this spot
in the ancient border wars) carried a greater weight, or
136 SLATE QTJARRYMEIS".
did more wonders in a day than these fine fellows.
The best slate of Honister Crag is found near the top :
and there, many hundred feet aloft, may be seen
(by good eyes) the slate-built hovels of some of the
quarry men, while others ascend and descend many
times between morning and night. Now the men
come leaping down with their trucks at a speed which
appears appalling to strangers. Formerly, the slate
was brought down on hurdles, on men's backs : and the
practice is still continued in some remote quarries,
where the expense of conveyance by carts would be too
great, or the roads do not admit of it. Nearly forty
years ago there was a man named Joseph Clark at
Honister, who made seventeen journeys, (including
seventeen miles of climbing up and scrambling down,)
in one day, bringing down 10,880 pounds of slate. In
ascending he carried the hurdle, weighing eighty
pounds ; and in descending, he brought each time 640
pounds of slate. At another time he carried, in three
successive journeys, 1,280 pounds each time. His
greatest day's work was bringing 11,771 pounds; in
how many journeys it is not remembered : but in
fewer than seventeen. He lived at Stonethwaite, three
miles from his place of work. His toils did not appear
to injure him : and he declared that he suffered only
from thirst. It was believed in his day that there was
scarcely another man in the kingdom capable of sus-
taining such labour for a course of years.
In some places where the slate is closely compacted,
and presents endways and perpendicular surface, the
quarryman sets about his work as if he were going
DESCENT INTO BORROWDALE. 137
after eagles' eggs. His comrades let him down by a
rope from the precipice ; and he tries for a footing on
some ledge, where he may drive in wedges. The diffi-
culty of this, where much of his strength must be
employed in keeping his footing, may be conceived :
and a great length of time must be occupied in loosen-
ing masses large enough to bear the fall without being
dashed into useless pieces. But, generally speaking,
the methods are improved, and the quarries made
accessible by tracks admitting the passage of strong
carts. Still, the detaching of the slate, and the
loading and conducting the carts, are laborious work
enough to require and train a very athletic order of
men. In various parts of the district, the scene is
marked by mountains of debris, above or within which
yawn black recesses in the mountain side, where the
summer thunders echo, and the winter storms send
down formidable slides into the vales below.
At the turn under Honister Crag, the vales behind
disappear, and Borrowdale begins to open upon the
eye ; — at first in the form of a triangular bit of green
level far below among the hills. By degrees, the over-
lapping mountains part asunder, and disclose more
farmsteads and broader levels, till the fences are reached.
Thence, it is a steep and rough descent upon Seatoller,
by the side of the plunging and roaring stream, and its
canopy of trees. Passing through the farm-yard at
Seatoller, the travellers find themselves in Borrowdale,
with only two miles more to Eosthwaite, (p. 79.) and
eight to Keswick, and an excellent road all the way.
Thus have our travellers, in the space of four days,
138 KATTJKAL EMBELISHMENT.
seen the greater part of the lakes and mountains. If
they have used their eyes and minds, they must have
observed something of the material, moral, and social
changes going on perpetually in this once secluded
corner of the United Kingdom.
As for the material changes, — those wrought in
silence by Nature are of the same quiet, gradual,
inevitable kind that have been going on ever since the
mountains were upreared. She disintegrates the rocks,
and now and then sends down masses thundering along
the ravines, to bridge over a chasm, or make a ne\v
islet in a pool. She sows her seeds in crevices, or on
little projections, so that the bare face of the precipice
becomes feathered with the rowan and the birch : and
thus, ere long, motion is produced by the passing
winds, in a scene where all once appeared rigid as a
mine. She draws her carpet of verdure gradually up
the bare slopes, where she has deposited earth to sus-
tain the vegetation. She is for ever covering with her
exquisite mosses and ferns every spot which has been
left unsightly, till nothing appears that can offend the
human eye, within a whole circle of hills. She even
silently rebukes and repairs the false taste of unedu-
cated man. If he makes his dwelling too glaring a
white, she tempers it with weatherstains : if he indo-
lently leaves the stone walls and blue slates unrelieved
by any neighbouring vegetation, she supplies the need-
ful screen by bringing out tufts of delicate fern in the
crevices, and springing coppice on the nearest slopes. —
The most significent changes, however, are in the
disposition of the waters of the region. The margins
NATURAL CHANGES. 139
of the lakes never remain the same for half a century-
together. The streams bring down soft soil inces-
santly ; and this more effectually alters the currents
than the slides of stones precipitated from the heights
by an occasional storm. By this deposit of soil new
promontories are formed, and the margin contracts till
many a reach of waters is converted into land, inviting
tillage. The greenest levels of the smaller valleys
may be seen to have been once lakes : and no one who
looks down upon Grasmere, for instance, from the hill
field behind the Hollins, can have any doubt as to
what was once the extent of the waters. And, while
Nature is thus closing up in one direction, she is
opening in another. In some low-lying spot a tree
falls, which acts as a dam when the next rains come.
The detained waters sink, and penetrate, and loosen
the roots of other trees ; and the moisture which they
formerly absorbed goes to swell the accumulation till
the place becomes a swamp. The drowned vegetation
decays and sinks, leaving more room, till the place
becomes a pool, on whose bristling margin the snipe
arrives to rock on the bulrush, and the heron wades
in the waterlilies to feed on the fish which come
there, nobody knows how. As the waters spread, they
encounter natural dams, ^behind which they grow clear
and deepen, till we have a tarn among the hills, which
attracts the browsing flock, and tempts the shepherd
to build his hut near the brink. Then the wild swans
see the glittering expanse in their flight, and drop
down into it ; and the waterfowl make their nests
among the reeds. This brings the sportsman ; and a
k2
140 THE DALES.
path is trodden over the hills ; and the spot becomes
a place of human resort. While nature is thus work-
ing transformations in her deeper retreats, the genera-
tions of men are more obviously busy elsewhere. They
build their houses, and plant their orchards on the
slopes which connect the mountains with the levels of
the valleys: they encroach upon the swamps below
them, and plough among the stones on the uplands, —
here fencing in new grounds, there throwing several
plots into one : they open slate quarries, and make
broad roads for the carriage of the produce: they
cherish the young hollies and ash, whose sprouts feed
their flocks, thus providing a compensation in the
future for the vast destruction of the woods. Thus,
while the general primitive aspect of the region remains,
and its intensely rural character is little impaired, there
is perhaps scarcely a valley in the district which looks
the same from one half-century to another.
The changes among the people proceed faster : and
some of these changes are less agreeable to contem-
plate, however well aware we may be that they are to
issue in good. Formerly, every household had nearly
all that it wanted within itself. The people thought
so little of wheaten bread that wheat was hardly to be
bought in the towns. Within the last few years, an
old man of eighty-five was fond of telling how, when
a boy, he wanted to spend his penny on wheaten
bread ; and he searched through Carlisle from morning
to evening before he could find a penny roll. The
cultivator among the hills divided his field into plots
where he grew barley, oats, flax, and other produce, to
THE STATESMEN". 141
meet the needs of the household. His pigs, fed partly
on acorns or beech mast, yielded good bacon and hams ;
and his sheep furnished wool for clothing. Of course
he kept cows. The women spun and wove the wool
and flax, and the lads made the wooden utensils,
baskets, fishing tackle, &c. Whatever else was needed
was obtained from the pedlars, who came their rounds
two or three times a-year, dropping in among the little
farms from over the hills. The first great change was
from the opening of carriage roads. There was a
temptation then to carry stock and grain to fairs and
markets. More grain was grown than the household
needed, and offered for sale. In a little while the
mountain farmers were sure to fail in competition in
the markets with dwellers in agricultural districts.
The mountaineer had no agricultural science, and little
skill ; and the decline of the fortunes of the "statesmen,"
as they are locally called, has been regular, and mourn-
ful to witness. They haunt the fairs and markets,
losing in proportion to the advance of improvement
elsewhere. On their first losses, they began to mort-
gage their lands. After bearing the burden of these
mortgages till they could bear it no longer, their
children have sold the lands : and among the shopboys,
domestic servants, and labourers of the towns, we find
the names of the former yeomanry of the district, who
have parted with their lands to strangers. Much
misery intervened during the process of transition.
The farmer was tempted to lose the remembrance of
his losses in drink when he attended the fairs and
markets. The capacity of the dalesmen in this respect,
*r 3
142 BEAM DEHSTKINGL
— in the quantity of strong liquor that they can
carry — is remarkable; and they have only too good
a training. Spirits are introduced on all occasions.
At sales, of which there are many, every spring and
autumn, in the dales, and which are attended by all
the inhabitants who can go, for miles round, — glasses
of spirit are handed round among the purchasers, all
day long. The settling of accounts at Candlemas is
attended by the same curse, — every debtor expecting
his creditor to offer him the compliment of a glass of
strong liquor. On that day, it is unpleasant for ladies
to be abroad, near settlements where the Candlemas
payments are making, — so many are the drunken
people whom they meet. It is common to swallow
the strong liquor undiluted, in considerable quantity.
An old dalesman, welcome in Ambleside for his shrewd-
ness, simplicity and originality, appeared one day at a
house where the gentleman was absent, but the lady at
home. The lady asked the visitor to sit down and
await her husband's return, proposing to offer him
some spirit and water meantime. He replied he wonnet
be nice about t' first part e't' offer, but as tot' watter,
it could be gitten at ony gate (way) side.
To return to the former condition of the " states-
man." The .domestic manufactures he carried to town
with him, — the linen and woollen webs woven by his
wife and daughters, — would not sell, except at a loss,
in the presence of the Yorkshire and Lancashire
woollens and cottons made by machinery. He became
unable to keep his children at home ; and they went
off to the manufacturing towns, leaving home yet more
KAI1WAYS. 143
cheerless — with fewer busy hands and cheerful faces
— less social spirit in the dales — greater certainty of
continued loss, and more temptation to drink. Such
is the process still going on. Having reached this
pass, it is clearly best that it should go on till the
primitive population, having lost its safety of isolation
and independence, and kept its ignorance and gross-
ness, shall have given place to anew set of inhabitants,
better skilled in agriculture, and in every way more up
to the times. It is mournful enough to meet every-
where the remnants of the old families in a reduced
and discouraged condition : but if they can no longer
fill the valleys with grain, and cover the hillsides with
flocks, it is right that those who can should enter upon
their lands, and that knowledge, industry and temper-
ance should find their fair field and due reward.
We have no fear of injury, moral or economical,
from the great recent change, — the introduction of
railways. The morals of rural districts are usually
such as cannot well be made worse by any change.
Drinking and kindred vices abound wherever, in our
day, intellectual resources are absent : and nowhere is
drunkenness a more prevalent and desperate curse than
in the Lake District. Any infusion of the intelligence
and varied interests of the townspeople must, it appears
be eminently beneficial : and the order of workpeople
brought by the railways is of a desirable kind. And,
as to the economical effect, — it cannot but be good,
considering that mental stimulus and improved educa-
tion are above every thing wanted. Under the old
seclusion, the material comfort of the inhabitants had
144 SUPERSTITIONS.
long been dwindling ; and their best chance of recovery
is clearly in the widest possible intercourse with
classes which, parallel in social rank, are more intelligent
and better informed than themselves.
In the pastoral valleys, the trouble occurs now and
then that the milk will not churn. Elsewhere, the
causes of this are understood, and cow and milk are
treated accordingly. Not so here. The cow is at
once concluded to be bewitched ; and it is apprehended
that she will spread the witchery to the whole dairy.
So, instead of any sensible method, the remedy tried is
depositing in the cowhouse some soil from the nearest
churchyard. As it is probable that this fails, time is
lost in other proceedings. Stirring with a stick from
the rowan tree is one of the least troublesome. If the
cows are distempered, it is actually a practice in many
of the dales to light the " need fire." Notice being
given throughout the neighbouring valleys, that the
charm may be sent for if wanted, the need fire is
produced by rubbing two sticks together. A great
pile of combustible stuff is prepared ; and the more
smoke it can be made to give the better. When
lighted, the neighbours snatch some of the fire to
hurry home with, and light their respective piles.
The cattle, diseased and sound, are then driven through
the fire, as some of the Irish, by a remnant of pagan-
ism, charm their property, and even their children, by
passing or snatching them through the fire, making
strangers ask wThether Moloch is acknowledged there
still. It is said in a certain Cumberland dale, that
when a farmer had driven all his other live property
DALE MANAGEMENT. 145
through, he proceeded to drive his wife after the cows,
saying he should then be safe from all distempers. If
a cock crows in the night, horror and grief seize on
the household : — some one is sure to die. If people
meet a black ram, they turn their money for luck.
They occupy their minds and waste their time in the
silliest superstitions which keep true knowledge out.
For the result, look at the productions of the region,
— the torn and dirty wool, the sapless and scentless
hay, allowed first to run to seed, and then to lie soaking
and parching for weeks in the field, — the flour, the
meat, the butter, the cheese, — look at any of these
products in the more retired vales, and say whether
intercourse with the world outside will not be a good
thing for the fortunes of those within. To take only
the last, — the cheese. After coming from the other
grazing districts, and seeing how scientific a matter the
management of a dairy has become, and what the best
cheese is, the dairy management of Cumberland is
marvellous. Our readers cannot be expected to believe
the facts without good testimony : and we may refer
them to such local publications as the "Lonsdale
Magazine," where, (in Vol. ii. p. 13.) we are told that
the Cumberland cheese is harder than buck-horn : and
that in some places where the husbandmen wear clogs
shod with iron, it is no uncommon thing to supply the
absence of the iron with the crust of a dry cheese.
There is plenty of testimony to cheese striking fire
like a flint. A soldier used a cheese paring for a flint ;
and a blacksmith at Cartmel averred that he struck
sparks from a cheese while cutting it up with an axe.
L
146 COUNTRY CHEESE.
A tract of dry heather burned without intermission for
three weeks, having been kindled by sparks from a
cheese which had rolled from a cart on the road above,
and bounded from crag to crag. These things are like
the barbarism of two centuries ago. It is the railroad
that must mend them. In a generation or two, the
dale farms may yield wool that Yorkshire and Lan-
cashire, and perhaps other countries, may compete for.
The cheese may find a market, and the butter may be
in request. And at the same time, the residents may
find their health improved by the greater wholesome-
ness of their food ; and, before that, their minds will
have become stirred and enlarged by intercourse with
strangers who have, from circumstances, more vivacity
of faculty and a wider knowledge. The best, as well
as the last and greatest change in the Lake District is
that which is arising from the introduction of the
railroad.
PART IV.
PASSES.
LANGDALE, PROM BORROWDALE, BY THE STAKE PASS. — PATH
TO EASED ALE. — PATH TO ESKHAUSE.
The top of the Stake Pass is five miles and a-half
from Eosthwaite. The last house, — Stonethwaite, —
is left behind at the end of a mile. The path follows,
and at length crosses, the stream, which is the infant
Derwent, — finding its way down from Angle Tarn,
lying high up in a recess of Bowfell. The rocky mass
of Eagle Crag rises on the left; and further on, the
curious stone called Black Cap. At the top of the
Stake, the guide (who may be had from the inn at
Eosthwaite) will point out the great summits, — the
Scawfell Pikes, Bowfell, Hanging Knotts and Great
Gable. Half a-mile of moorland leads to the descent
on the Langdale side ; a zigzag path which keeps near
the stream that dashes down into Langdale. The
l2
14*8 DTTNGEOtf GHYLL.
traveller is under the shadow of Bowfell now, and in
the very centre of the mountains. Four miles from
the top of the Stake will bring him down to Langdale
Head ; and two miles more, to the farmhouse of
Milbeck.
Prom that farmhouse, where travellers can make a
good meal of farmhouse fare, there is one thing to be
done without doubt ; — to visit Dungeon Ghyll. As
for the rest, this house is the point of departure in
various directions, among three of which the traveller
must make his choice.
Strangers who arrive untired generally go to the
Ghyll while their ham and eggs are preparing. The
green path on the hill side will be pointed out from
the farm : and the traveller must take care not to make
for the waterfall he sees in front. The path he wants
tends to the left, till it reaches a fence and gate, when
it turns sharp to the right ; after which there is no
possibility of losing the way. It presently joins the
stream from the force, which leads up into a deep and
dark fissure, — " Dungeon" and "Ghyll" both meaning
a fissure. There is a well secured ladder, by which
ladies easily descend to the mouth of the chasm ; and
when they have caught sight of the fall, they can
please themselves about scrambling any further. There
is the fall in its cleft, tumbling and splashing, while the
light ash, and all the vegetation besides is everlastingly
in motion from the stir of the air. Above, a bridge is
made, high aloft, by the lodgment of a block in the
chasm. The finest season for visiting this force is in a
summer afternoon. Then the sun streams in obliquely,
LANGDALE CHAPEL. 149
— a narrow, radiant, translucent screen ; itself lighting
up the gorge, but half concealing the projections and
waving ferns behind it. The way in which it converts
the spray into sparks and many-coloured gems can be
believed only by those who have seen it.
The three ways from Milbeck are, first, down Lang-
dale to its junction with the Brathay valley, or by
High Close to Grasmere : secondly, by Wall End to
Blea Tarn, and the Fellfoot road : and thirdly, by
Stickle Tarn, up Harrison Stickle, or over into Ease-
dale. We have little to observe about the first, —
Langdale having been described (p. 50) as seen from
High Close. Langdale Chapel is a primitive hamlet,
where the old character of the district is well pre-
served. The little chapel is a good specimen of the
churches of the vales. A few years since, the rotten
old pulpit fell, with the clergyman, Mr. Frazer, in it,
just after he had begun his sermon from the text
" Behold, I come quickly." The pulpit fell on an
elderly dame, who escaped wonderfully. Mr. Frazer,
as soon as he found his feet, congratulated her on sur-
viving such an adventure : but she tartly refused his
sympathy, saying, " If I'd been kilt, I'd been reet
sarrat, (rightly served), for you'd threatened ye'd be
comin doon sune." Near this chapel is the Thrang
Slatequarry, where the stranger should look in, and see
what a mighty excavation has been caused by the
demand for this tine slate. Just beyond the chapel,
the roads part, — that which ascends to High Close
climbing the hill to the left.
As for the second road from Milbeck, — the main
l3
150 TALE OP THE SOLITAET.
inducement is the valley in which Blea Tarn lies, — the
scene of those books of Wordsworth's Excursion which
relate to the Solitary. The very rough road scrambles
up from Langdale, by Wall End, to the upland vale where
the single farmhouse is, and the tarn, and the stone,
" like a ship, with keel upturned," which is lodged in a
stream near to the tarn. Some people have un-
accountably fixed on the Bowder Stone to answer this
description ; but, besides that the Bowder Stone is far
away, it rests on its edge, instead of its " keel" being
" upturned." " The two huge peaks, that from some
other vale peer into this," are the Langdale Pikes ;
and very fine is the view of them from this wild and
somewhat dreary hollow. Since the Excursion was
written, large plantations of larch have arisen ; but
they do not much ameliorate the desolation of the
place. The road descends the common to Little
Langdale Tarn ; whence it is described, in a reverse
manner, in its course to Colwith Force, Skelwith, and
Ambleside, at p. 115.
In the third direction lies the way up the Pikes,
and over into Easedale. The guide from Milbeck will
take the traveller up the peat road to Stickle Tarn, —
famous for its trout, and much beloved by anglers.
Its circular basin, brimming with clear water, lies finely
under the steep rocks of Pavey Ark. There is nothing
amidst this mountain scenery more interesting than
its tarns. Their very use is one which gratifies one's
sense of beauty. Their use is to cause such a distribu-
tion of the waters as may fertilize without inundating
the lands below. After rains, if the waters came down
LANGDALE PIKES. 151
all at once, the vales would be flooded, — as we see,
very inconveniently, by the consequences of improved
agricultural drainage (p. 15). The tarns are a secu-
rity, as far as they go ; and at present the only one.
The lower brooks swell after rain, and pour themselves
into the rivers, while the mountain brooks aloft are
busy in the same way, emptying themselves into the
tarns. By the time the streams in the valley are sub-
siding, the upper tarns are full, and begin to overflow ;
and now the overflow can be received in the valley
without injury. As for their aspects, under all lights,
and in all weathers, they must be studied on the spot,
for no description can afford any impression of the
truth to highway tourists.
If the traveller means to ascend Harrison Stickle,
(the higher of the Langdale Pikes,) it will be from
this point. The summit of the Pike is 2,409 feet
above the level of the sea. The height is not very
great ; but the view is interesting, from being unlike
most others that can be obtained, — extending over
the level country to the south and south-east, while
commanded by the loftiest peaks of the district. —
Passing the way up the Pike, the moorland path leads
over into Easedale, and down upon Easedale Tarn,
which has been noticed at p. 53. There is a way
down into Borrowdale also, by crossing Codale Fell,
and getting into the Stake road.
There are other mountain paths out of Langdale.
There is one into Easedale, easier than that just
described,, and commonly used in good weather. It
was by this track that the unfortunate couple, — the
152 ESK HATTSE.
Greens, whose story is so well known, — were lost in
the snow, on their return from a sale in Langdale, to
their home and six children in Easedale.
There is also a very rough path at Langdale Head
up Eosset G-hyll, answering on the left to the Stake
road on the right. It at once catches the eye ; and
the invariable question of the stranger is which of the
two is the Stake. This track leads by Esk Hause and
Sprinkling Tarn to the Sty Head Pass. This is truly
a glorious mountain walk. From Esk Hause, there is
a singular view, composed of three lines of landscape.
One begins with Borrowdale, lying immediately below,
and extends to Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite, past
Skiddaw, in full glory, and on over the whole inter-
vening plain, to the Sol way and the Scotch mountains.
This is the north-western view. — The opposite, or
south-eastern one, begins with Langdale, and proceeds
by the opening of the Brathay valley and Windermere,
till it is closed in by Ingleborough, in Yorkshire. —
The third, and intermediate view, is down Eskdale,
past its verdure and its cataracts, past the sands, past
lonely Blackcombe, to the broad sea. When we were
on Esk Hause, the spectacle of these three lines of
landscape was remarkable. Towards Keswick, the at-
mosphere was thick, just to the degree that gave a
visionary character to the long perspective. The
lake of Derwentwater was hardly distinguishable from
its shores, so that the wooded islands and the town of
Keswick lay as if in air, still and unsubstantial. In the
direction of Eskdale, all was bright and glittering;
while from Langdale and the head of Borrowdale the
MOUNTAIN CHANGES. 153
white mists came tumbling out towards us, as if to
stifle us ; and nothing could be seen, except at inter-
vals, when a whiff of wind disclosed long sweeps of the
sides of the valleys, and stretches of the streams and
fields below. It is these changes that give a singular
charm to this mountain district. The residents of the
valleys, in their occasional ascents to these heights,
never see the scene twice alike, — the great landmarks
themselves being scarcely recognizable but by certain
incidents of their forms.
II.
STY HEAD PASS, EE0M WASTDALE TO BOEKOWDALE.
We have noticed the eastern prong of the fork into
which Glaramara divides the head of Borrowdale. We
now have to notice the western, — the Sty Head Pass.
The Stake Pass descends, as we saw, upon Stonethwaite.
The Sty Head Pass descends upon Seathwaite, — each
of these farms being the last dwelling at the head
of the dale.
Antiquarians tell us that Borrowdale was anciently
called Boredale, " having its name probably from the
wild boars which used, in former times, to haunt the
woody part of Wastdale Forest; the hill above it
being called Sty Head, where the swine were wont to
feed in the summer, and fall down in autumn into this
dale, where they fed upon nuts and acorns. Here are
large flocks of sheep ; and anciently were mines of lead
and copper. Here also, in a very high and perpendi-
cular rock called Eagle Crag, is every year an eyrie or
nest of eagles." So says the old history. # But the
traveller will find no swine near Sty Head now, sum-
mer or winter. No creature comes to drink at the
tarn, — the little clear rippling lake, where the moun-
taineer throws himself down to rest on the bank, when
heated by the ascent from the vales. He has found
everything sunny and dry, perhaps ; but here he sees,
* History and Antiquities of Westmorland and Cumberland, ii.
p. 69. — Nicholson and Burn.
STY HEAD TAKING 155
by the minute diamond drops resting thick on the
grass, that a cloud has lately stooped from its course,
and refreshed the verdure in this retreat. It looks
very tempting — this bright sheet of water ; but no
creature now comes to drink, unless a sheep may have
strayed far from the flock, and in its terror may yet
venture to stoop to the water, with many a start and
interval of listening, till, at the faint sound of the
distant sheep dog, it bounds away. The solitude is
almost equally impressive whether the traveller comes
up from the one dale or the other; but perhaps the
most striking to him who comes from Wastdale,
because he has rather more lately left the dwellings of
men. He ascends from Wastdale Head, by the steep
path clearly visible from below, up the side of Great
Gable. At the top of the pass, the view behind is
extremely fine, — the dale lying 1,000 feet below,
while the precipices of Scawfell rise 2,000 feet over
head. The rill from Sprinkling Tarn is close by, and
it leads to this Sty Head Tarn, where the boars used to
come to drink. Long after the boars were gone, the
eagles came hither : and this was one of their last
haunts. The eagles which gave their name to the
crag in Borrowdale, being disturbed, settled themselves
on a rock at Seathwaite, and at length crossed the
ridge into Eskdale. The disturbance was of course
from the shepherds, who lost so many lambs as to be
driven desperate against the birds. There was no
footing on the crag by which the nest could be
reached ; so a man was lowered by a rope sixty yards
down the precipice. He carried his mountain staff
156 EAGLES.
with him ; its spiked end being the best weapon
against the birds. He did not expect to kill the old
ones ; but year after year the eggs of the young were
taken. If he brought the young away alive he had
the birds for his pains ; if the eggs, every shepherd
gave five shillings for every egg. It is said that no
more than two eggs were ever found at one time.
The nest was made of twigs, and lined with a sort of
grass from the clefts of the rock. When the fowler
failed, and the eaglets were reared, they were led away,
as soon as strong enough, by the parent birds, — no
doubt to settle in some other spot ; and the parents
returned without them. One of this pair was shot at
by the master of a sheep dog which had been actually
carried some distance into the air by it, escaping only
by its flesh giving way. The shot took effect, but the
eagle vanished. About a week after, it was found
lying on the grass on the uplands at Seatoller, nearly
starved. Its bill had been split by the shot, and the
tongue was set fast in the cleft : it could not make
much resistance, and was carried home captive. But,
when relieved and restored, it became so violent that
it was necessarily killed. Its mate brought a successor
from a distance, a much smaller bird, and of a different
species. They built, however, for fourteen more years
in Borrowdale, before they flew over to Eskdale.
They were not long left in peace there; and, when
the larger bird was at length shot, his mate disap-j
peared entirely. Such devastation as was caused by;
these birds is not heard of now; but while there are
crags aloft and lambs in the vales, there will be more j
BLACKLEAD MINE. 157
or fewer, nobler or meaner, birds of prey. We are
unable to ascertain positively, amidst conflicting testi-
mony, whether any eagles at all remain in the region.
It appears that one has certainly been seen within ten
years ; and three gentlemen, two of whom are travelled
men, and not likely to be mistaken in such a matter,
declare that, in 1850, they saw one sweep down from
Scandale Fell into Kirkstone Pass, and rest on a
crag in the vale, some way above Brothers' Water.
There is, however, a preponderance of disbelief of there
being now any nest and settlement of eagles among
the mountains of Westmorland and Cumberland.
The descent upon Stockley bridge is easy ; and the
bridge itself was, a few years since, a favourite subject
for sketches. A more picturesque one we never saw :
but it has been spoiled in the repairing. — As he pro-
ceeds, the traveller will find no "nuts and acorns" in
this "Boredale," nor any remarkable number of swine.
But he may see the place, — if he looks up the hill-
side to the left, — whence was drawn the modern pro-
duct that has, in modern times, distinguished the
dale, — the blacklead of which the Keswick pencils are
made. It is understood that the productiveness of the
mine has much lessened ; and the works are, we believe,
often suspended; but, while the best ore brings 30s.
per lb., there will be more or less perseverance in seek-
ing it. The heaps of rubbish, high up the mountain,
show the spot. In the clay slate of the mountain is a
bed of greenstone rock; and "nests" or "sops" or
"bellies" of black lead are found in the greenstone.
The plumbago is the finest ever discovered : but there
158 BORROWDALE YEWS.
is great uncertainty about finding it. At one time, a
mass of it was discovered lying along like a mighty
tree, the thicker part being of the finest quality, and
the ramifications of a poorer, till, at the extremities, it
was not worthy even to clean stoves. At other times
the searchers have been altogether at fault, for a long
time together. There was a period when the value of
this plumbago was so little known that the shepherds
used it freely to mark their sheep : and next, the proprie-
tors were obtaining from thirty to forty shillings a
pound for the lead of one single "sop " which yielded
upwards of twenty-eight tons. Those were the days
when houses were built at the entrance, where the
workmen were obliged to change their clothes, under
inspection, lest they should be tempted to carry away
any of the precious stuff in their pockets.
Under the mine, (the wad) and a little onward,
amidst the copsewood, are the dark tops of the Bor-
rowdale yews to be seen, — the " fraternal four," which,
as Wordsworth tells us, form " one solemn and capa-
cious grove." The size attained by the yew in this
district is astonishing. One which for many years lay
prostrate at the other end of Borrowdale, measured
nine yards in circumference, and contained 1,460 feet
of wood. The famous Lorton yew (p. 87.) has about
the same girth ; and one of these four measures seven
yards round, at four feet from the ground.
At Seatoller, the roads which part off right and left
are familiar to the traveller who has accomplished the
preceding excursions, — the one leading to Kosthwaite
and the other to Honister Crag.
III.
ASCENT OF SCAWEELL.
The ascent of Scawfell is sometimes made from the
Sty Head Pass ; sometimes from Lingmell ; and some-
times from Langdale, whence the path meets that from
Sty Head on Esk Hause. Prom Esk Hause the summit
of the Pike is visible ; but still, care is necessary not to
ascend the wrong summit. There are four summits
which collectively go under the name of Scawfell ; viz.,
the most southerly, which is called simply Scawfell;
Scawfell Pike, which is sixty feet higher, and the
highest mountain in England (3,160 feet :) and the
lower hills, Lingmell and Great End, — the last being
the northernmost, and fronting Borrowdale. The
Ordnance surveyors set up a staff on a pile of stones on
the highest peak; so that there need be no mistake
henceforth. The two summits are about three-quarters
of a-mile apart, in a straight line ; but the great chasm
between them, called Mickledore, renders a wide circuit
necessary. There have been fool-hardy persons who
have passed Mickledore without losing their lives ; and
there are strangers, almost every season, who attempt
the ascent without a guide. These last usually pay the
penalty of their rashness in hours of uneasy wandering
and excessive fatigue. When they think they see their
way clearly enough, they are pretty sure to find them-
selves brought up on the verge of a chasm, and com-
160 SUMMIT OP SCAWFELL.
pelled to " try round " many times before they succeed.
If darkness comes on, there is nothing to be done but
to wait for daylight where they are. Another reason
for having a guide is that the mountains around are
not recognisable by their forms, — so great is the
change caused by their being looked at from above.
By map and compass they may be made out : but the
summit is usually windy : and much time and trouble
are saved by the information needed being ready at
one's elbow.
The summit is bare of every thing that grows,
except moss. Not a blade of grass is to be seen : and
it follows that the herdsman and shepherd never have
to come here after their charge. Blocks and inclined
planes of slate rock, cushioned and draped with mosses,
compose the peak. As for what is seen from it, —
the best service to the stranger is still to copy portions
of that " Letter to a friend " which Mr. Wordsworth
published many years ago, and which is the best account
we have of the greatest mountain excursion in England.
The weather was, however, unusual. The guide said,
when on the summit, " I do not know that in my whole
life, I was ever, at any season of the year, so high upon
the mountains on so calm a day." It was the seventh
of October.
" On the summit of the Pike," says the letter,
" which we gained after much toil, though without
difficulty, there was not a breath of air to stir even the
papers containing our refreshment, as they lay spread
out upon a rock. The stillness seemed to be not of
this world. We paused, and kept silence to listen, and
YIEW FROM SCAWEELL. 161
no sound could be heard. The Scawfell cataracts were
voiceless to us ; and there was not an insect to hum in
the air. The vales which we had seen from Esk
Hause lay yet in view, and, side by side with Eskdale,
we now saw the sister Vale of Donnerdale terminated
by the Duddon Sands. But the majesty of the moun-
tains below, and close to us, is not to be conceived.
We now beheld the whole mass of Great Gable from
its base — the Den of Wastdale at our feet — a gulf
immeasurable ; Grasmire, and the other mountains of
Crummock ; Ennerdale and its mountains ; and the sea
beyond!" # # ^ " While we were gazing
around, c Look,' I exclaimed, c at yon ship upon the
glittering sea ! ' ' Is it a ship ? ' replied our shepherd
guide. ' It can be nothing else,' interposed my com-
panion. ' I cannot be mistaken ; I am so accustomed
to the appearance of ships at sea.' The guide dropped
the argument ; but, before a minute was gone, he
quietly said, i Now look at your ship — it is changed
into a horse.' So it was ; a horse with a gallant neck
and head. We laughed heartily ; and I hope, when
again inclined to be positive, I may remember the ship
and the horse upon the glittering sea; and the calm
confidence, yet submissiveness, of our wise man of the
mountains, who certainly had more knowledge of the
clouds than we, whatever might be our knowledge of
ships.
" I know not how long we might have remained on
the summit of the pike, without a thought of moving,
had not our guide warned us that we must not linger,
for a storm was coming. We looked in vain to espy
M
162 PASSING STOEM.
the signs of it. Mountains, vales and sea were touched
with the clear light of the sun. 6 It is there ! ' said he,
pointing to the sea beyond Whitehaven, and there we
perceived a light vapour, unnoticeable but by a shep-
herd accustomed to watch all mountain bodings. We
gazed around again, and yet again, unwilling to lose
the remembrance of what lay before us in that moun-
tain solitude ; and then prepared to depart. Mean-
while, the air changed to cold, and we saw that tiny
vapour swelled into mighty masses of cloud, which
came boiling over the mountains. Great Gable, Hel-
vellyn and Skiddaw were wrapped in storm; yet
Langdale, and the mountains in that quarter, remained
all bright in sunshine. Soon the storm reached us;
we sheltered under a crag ; and almost as rapidly as it
had come, it passed away, and left us free to observe
the struggles of gloom and sunshine in other quarters.
Langdale had now its share ; and the Pikes of Lang-
dale were decorated by two splendid rainbows. Before
we again reached Esk Hause, every cloud had vanished
from every summit."
We cannot do better than stop at thep auspicious
words. May the tourist who reads this on the Pike
see every cloud vanish from every summit !
IV.
SCAEF GAP.
The other exit from Wastdale Head is by the road
to Scarf Gap, already referred to as having been found
dangerous by inexperienced travellers. A rough foot-
road leads through the valley of Mosedale, between
Kirkfell and Yewbarrow, till it enters Gillerthwaite, at
the head of Ennerdale. Kirkfell and the stream being
kept on the right, the track passes between Kirkfell
and the Pillar. Coming down into Gillerthwaite, the
view is beautiful. Great Gable and Kirkfell close in
the dale at its head ; High Stile and Eed Pike are in
front, and Gillerthwaite is below, with its circular
green level, dropped over with wood, its farmhouse and
stream, and the lake at the other end. Behind, the
wild valley of Mosedale winds away between Kirkfell
and Yewbarrow, and discloses the great summits of
Scawfell and Bowfell. The Pillar is 2,893 feet high,
and inaccessible, from its craggy and precipitous
character. The path leads along the Pass called
Blacksail to a sheepfold on the little river Liza, which
falls into Ennerdale Lake : at that fold the stream will
be crossed, and an indistinct path will be seen crossing
a hollow in the direction of Buttermere. That hollow
is Scarf Gap ; and the path leads out upon Gatesgarth,
at the head of Buttermere. From Gatesgarth it is
four miles to Seatoller in Borrowdale, one mile to
m2
164t GATES GAETH.
Honister Crag, and two miles from the Inn at Butter-
mere. As nearly as we can make out, the walk from
Wastdale to Gatesgarth is somewhat short of twelve
miles. Most of it must be traversed on foot, though
a horse may be led, to be occasionally mounted.
V.
GRISEDALE. — ASCENT OF HELVELLYN.
There is a charming walk of ten miles from Patter-
dale to Grasmere (from inn to inn) by Grisedale, which
may as well be enjoyed by the pedestrian traveller,
whether he chooses to ascend Helvellyn or not. Gras-
mere and Grisedale have the same derivation, — Gris
being the old Saxon for wild swine : and these are
therefore the lake and the valley of the wild boar. A
deep and still retreat must both have been in the days
of wild boars.
From Patterdale the traveller crosses Grisedale beck,
and ascends by a steep well-wooded road to the table-
land of Grisedale. The old hollies in the woods are
remarkably fine. At every step the grandeur and gloom
overhead increase, — the path leading directly under
the frowning Helvellyn. The Greenside lead mines
are about half way up, under Striding Edge ; and the
tourist is likely to mistake the track to the mines for
his own road: but he must keep the stream to the
right, — in other words, he must keep on the right
bank of the stream for some way further. The path
crosses and recrosses the beck in climbing the steep
ascent to the tarn; but there is no further danger of
losing the track. The view of Place Pell behind is
fine, as seen through the steep sides of the dale ; and
north-westwards, the mountains about the Vale of
m3
166 GKISEDALE TAEK.
Newlands are seen peeping between Seat Sandal and
Helvellyn. The tarn lies under the east flank of Seat
Sandal in a deep hollow ; and a more sweet and solemn
resting place than Grisedale Tarn is not perhaps to be
found among these mountains. A wall runs along the
ridge ; and through the gate in that wall the track
leads down to Grasmere. The views are gayer and
more extensive by far than those presented by the
other half of the pass. The mountains seen thence
are the Langdale Pikes and Coniston Old Man, with
Scawfell and Bowfell predominant. The first part of
the descent is steep, and the latter part gradual and
pleasant, over grass, and finally between fences and
among farmhouses, till the path comes out upon the
mail road, opposite Helm Crag, and some way above
the Swan at Grasmere.
If the traveller ascends Helvellyn from Grisedale, he
must take the road to the right, soon after entering
the dale, in order to reach Red Tarn. Some sturdy
climbers go on to Grisedale Tarn, and climb the moun-
tain from its head : but it is best to take the road to
Red Tarn, either by Grisedale or Glenridding, — the
next turn from Patterdale. It is possible to go on
ponies to within half an hour's walk of the summit.
Red Tarn lies 600 feet immediately below the highest
point, parted off from Grisedale by the rocky ridge of
Striding Edge, and surmounted in the opposite direc-
tion by the similar ridge of Swirrel Edge. This last is
the ridge along which the track lies, — the conical
head of Catchedecam being its termination. This part
of the ascent is that which is most trying to unaccus-
ASCENT OF HELTELLTK. 167
tomed nerves, though there is no real danger. It was
in trying the other ridge, (which it is always fool-
hardy to do,) that Charles Gough fell from the preci-
pice, where his corpse was watched by his dog for two
months, till it was found. Every one knows the story,
as told by Wordsworth and Scott. There are stakes
near the tarn where horses are fastened, and then
there is a steep scramble to the top.
There are precipices on the east of the summit ; but
its mossy plain slopes gently towards the west. No
mountain in the district is, we believe, so often
climbed. Its central situation renders the view at-
tractive on every account ; it is very conspicuous ; and
it is not difficult of ascent. According to the Ord-
nance Surveyors, its height is 3,055 feet above the
level of the sea ; that is, 33 feet higher than Skiddaw,
and rather more than 100 feet lower than Scawfell
Pike. There are three modes of ascent from the Gras-
mere side ; — the one by Grisedale Tarn : another from
Wythburn ; and a third further on from Legberthwaite.
The one from Wythburn is the shortest, but by much
the steepest, — the track beginning at once to climb
the hill opposite the Nag's Head. The gushing
stream which crosses the mail road near the Nag's
Head comes down from Brownrigg's well, — the spring
which refreshes the traveller on his way up or down, —
bursting from the mountain side within 300 yards of
the summit. There are two cairns on two summits,
not far apart, from between which, in an angle in the
hill, the best view to the north is obtained. These
Men, (as such piles of stones are called) mark the
168 SUMMIT OF HELVELLYtf.
dividing line between Cumberland and Westmorland.
Northwards, the view is bounded by the Scotch moun-
tains, with the Solway at their feet. Nearer stands
Saddleback, with Skiddaw a little to the left. Kepel
Cove Tarn lies below, with Catchedecam on the right.
Eastwards, Red Tarn lies immediately below, between
its two solemn precipices. Ullswater shines beyond,
its nearer bank fringed by Gowbarrow Park; and
Crossfell closes in the view afar. The Troutbeck
mountains here peep over Striding Edge. Kirkstone
and Fairfield rise to the south ; and over the latter,
there is a peep at Windermere, and sometimes, in clear
weather, a glimpse of Lancaster Castle. Esthwaite
Water and the sea in Morecambe Bay are seen at the
same time. Blackcombe is caught sight of through
Wrynose Gap ; and the Coniston range and Langdale
Pikes lead the eye round to the superior summits at
the head of Wastdale and Buttermere. Even Honister
Crag is seen, in a hollow, a little to the left of Cat
Bells. Derwentwater is not seen : nor, from the higher
Man, either Thirlmere or Bassenthwaite ; though the
two last are visible from the Lower Man. Six lakes are
seen, besides many tarns : — Ullswater, Windermere,
Esthwaite Water, Coniston, Bassenthwaite and Thirl-
mere. Angle Tarn is particularly conspicuous, while
its neighbour, Hays Water, is hidden in its hollow
under High Street. The streams it sends down to
Brothers' Water are however, very conspicuous when
the sun is upon them.
VI.
CONISTON OLD MAN. — WALNA SCAE.
There is one more enterprise which the tourist would
not excuse our omitting. He wants to see the copper
mine and the series of tarns on Coniston Old Man ;
and he hears it said, and very truly, that the prospects
are finer than any but those from Scawfell and Helvel-
lyn, — if not, indeed, finer than the latter.
The ascent is best made by following the Walna
Scar road which leads from Coniston into Seathwaite.
When the traveller has left the bright and prosperous
environs of Coniston behind him, and entered upon the
moor, he begins to feel at once the exhilaration of the
mountaineer. Behind him lies a wide extent of hilly
country, subsiding into the low blue ridges of Lanca-
shire. Below him he sees, when he turns, here and
there a reach of the Lake of Coniston, — gray, if his
walk be, as it should be, in the morning : gray, and
reflecting the dark promontories in a perfect mirror.
Amidst the grassy undulations of the moor, he sees,
here or there, a party of peat-cutters, with their crate :
and their white horse, if the sun be out, looks absolutely
glittering, in contrast with the brownness of the
ground. It is truly a wild moor ; but there is some-
thing wilder to come. The Coniston mountain towers
to the right, — and the only traces of human existence
that can be perceived are the tracks which wind along
170 ASCEKT OF CONISTON OLD MAK.
and up its slopes, — the paths to the Coppermine, —
and a solitary house, looking very desolate among its
bare fields and fences. The precipice called Dow (or
Dhu) Crag appears in front ere long; and then the
traveller must turn to the right, and get up the steep
mountain side to the top, as he best may. Where
Dow Crag and the Old Man join, a dark and solemn
tarn lies beneath the precipice, as he will see from
above, whence it lies due west, far below. Eound three
sides of this Gait's Tarn, the rock is precipitous ; and
on the other, the crags are piled in grotesque fashion,
and so as to afford, — as does much of this side of the
mountain, — a great harbourage for foxes, against which
the neighbouring population are for ever waging war.
The summit is the edge of a line of rocks overhanging
another tarn, — Low Water, — which is 2,000 feet
above the sea level, while the summit of the Old Man
is 2,632. On this rock, a "Man" formerly stood; but
it was removed by the Ordnance Surveyors, who erected
another, much inferior in convenience; for the first
contained a chamber, welcome to shepherds and
tourists overtaken by bad weather. The mountain
consists chiefly of a very fine roofing slate, from which
a large tract of country is supplied, and in which a very
important trade was formerly carried on. Several of
the quarries are now deserted. From the earliest
recorded times, there have been works here for the
extraction of copper ; and at present it is no unusual
thing for £2,000 per month to be paid away in wages.
The works commence at about half a-mile up the
mountain, on its east side ; and there is a large estab-
SUMMIT OE CONISTON OLD MAN. 171
lishment of sheds, shops and offices, clustered at the
upper end of a basin among the hills. If the traveller
desires to explore the mines, he can descend on that side
of the mountain. Meantime, looking abroad from his
perch, he sees, (beginning from Gait's Tarn) Devoke
Water, in a line with Gait's Tarn, to the west. It is
said that the trout in that lake are the best known ;
and tradition declares that the comfortable abbots
of Furness imported them from Italy. There is a fine
stretch of sea visible, with the Isle of Man, conspicuous
in good weather. "We need not recapitulate the names
of the chief mountains. Suffice it that Ingleborough
is visible in one direction, and Lancaster Castle again
in another ; and in clear weather, Snowdon. The
number of tarns within view is remarkable. We have
mentioned Gait's Tarn and Low Water. Beyond the
latter lies Seathwaite Tarn, whence the infant Duddon
issues. Stickle Tarn is conspicuous, lying under Pavey
Ark. In a hollow of the mountain, on its north-east
side, lies Lowes Water. Only the nearer lakes are
seen ; but there is a glorious stretch of sea ; and, when
*the estuaries are full, the coast is a beautiful spectacle.
The shores of Coniston and Windermere, studded with
woods and dwellings, are the nearer beauties.
The finest descent, though the longest, is by the
ridge of Wetherlam, above Levers Water, descending
into Tilberthwaite, and returning to Coniston through
Yewdale, noticed at p. 29.
VII.
HAWES WATER. — PASS OP NAKBIELD.
MILES. MILES.
Penrith to Askham 5
4 Bampton Church 9
4 Mardale Green 13
2| Nanbield 15^
3^ Kentmere Chapel 19
OE,
Mardale, by Nanbield and High Street, to Troutbeck Inn, 6 miles.
There remains but one lake to be noticed, and that
is Hawes Water, which is less visited than any other in
the district. It is beautiful, but rather out of the
way, except to visitors who come by Penrith ; as they
are usually bent on seeing at once the most celebrated
points of scenery. Penrith is a neat little town, busy,
from being the great thoroughfare of the district, but
not particularly interesting, except from some Druidical
remains in the neighbourhood, a curiosity in the
churchyard, and the vicinity of Brougham Castle. The
circle called Long Meg and her daughters is six miles
from Penrith ; and no relic of the kind in England is
better worth a visit. In the churchyard of Penrith is
the monument about which nobody really knows any
thing, though it goes by the name of the Giant's
Grave. It consists of two stone pillars, with four slabs
between them, set up on edge. There are some unde-
cipherable carvings on the upper part of the pillars.
This was the monument which Sir Walter Scott's
BBOTTGHAM CASTLE. 173
family could not get him past, (though they had all
seen it "dozens of times,") when, failing and infirm,
he set out on his last sad journey in pursuit of health.
Passing through Penrith, he would see the Giant's
Grave; and thither he limped, to wonder once more
what it could mean.
The parish of Brougham, Burg-ham (meaning
Castle-town) was the Brovacum of the Eomans, where,
as we learn from Nicolson and Burn, they had a
company of Defensores, and left many tokens of their
presence in antiquities which have come to light from
time to time. The Village of Brougham passed into
the hands of the Veteriponts in the reign of John or
Henry III. The Castle of Brougham has been held
by the Yeteriponts, Cliffords and Tuftons, and is at
present the property of the Earl of Thanet. It is now
in ruins ; and fine ruins they are. They stand at the
confluence of the Eamont and Lowther Bivers, at the
distance of a mile from Penrith.
Brougham Hall, the seat of Lord Brougham, is
within a mile and a-half of Penrith. The traveller
should walk along the river bank from the bridge at
Brougham Hall to Askham, and then ascend the steep
bank of red sandstone, overshadowed by trees, to the
park of Lowther Castle. The grounds here are fine ;
especially the terrace, which affords a noble walk. It
is very elevated; broad, mossy, shady, breezy, and
overlooking a considerable extent of country, — some
of which is fertile plain, and some undulating surface,
— the margin of the mountain region. The most
remarkable feature of this landscape is perhaps the
174
HAWES WATER.
hollow, within which lies Hawes Water. The park has
some fine old trees ; and the number and size of the
yews in the grounds will strike the stranger. But
lasting injury was done to the woods by the hurricane
of 1839, which broke its way straight through, level-
ling every thing in its path. On the road from Askham
to Bampton, the high grounds of Lowther present on
the left a nearly straight line of great elevation, along
which runs the park wall, almost to the extremity of
the promontory. From a distance, it looks the most
enviable position for a park that can be imagined.
Hawes Water lies about four miles from Askham.
It is little more than three miles long, and about half
a-mile broad. One side is richly wooded; the other
nearly bare : and a pair of bold promontories threaten
to cut it in two, in one part, where the passage is only
two or three hundred yards wide. Round the head of
the lake cluster the great mountains of Harter Fell,
High Street, Kidsty Pike and others, leaving space
among the skirts for the exquisite little valley of Mar-
dale. Those who are able to obtain one of Lord
Lonsdale's boats for the traverse of the lake may think
themselves fortunate ; for this is, of course, the most
perfect way of seeing the surroundings of so small a
sheet of water : and all other persons are deprived, by
prohibition, of the means of doing so. There are some
good houses on the shores and at the further end ; but
the occupants who live on the very brink are not allowed
to keep any sort of boat. His lordship's boats are said
to be procurable for the asking ; but the preliminaries
are a hindrance. The walk along the lake side is,
MAKDALE GKEEF. 175
however, easy and agreeable enough. The road skirts
the western bank. The crags which are sprinkled or
heaped about the head of the lake are very fine. They
jut out from the mountain side, or stand alone on the
green slopes, or collect into miniature mountain clus-
ters, which shelter tiny dells, whence the sheep send
forth their bleat. There is a white house conspicuous
at the head of the lake which is not the inn, however
the tired traveller may wish it were. The inn at Mar-
dale Green is a full mile from the water ; and sweet is
the passage to it, if the walker be not too weary. The
path winds through the levels, round the bases of the
knolls, past the ruins of the old church, and among
snug little farms, while, at one end of the dale is the
lake, and the other is closed in by the passes to Kent-
mere and Sleddale ; and the great Pikes tower on either
hand. The stream which gushes here and pauses there,
as it passes among rough stones or through a green
meadow, comes down from Small Water, reinforced by
a brook from Blea Water on High Street, which joins
the other a little above Mardale.
The hostess at Mardale Green Inn will make her
guests comfortable with homely food and a clean bed :
and the host will, if necessary, act as guide up the
passes. The small green level which from the moun-
tains looks such a mere speck, is of some importance at
a distance. It actually sends 3,000 pounds of butter
weekly to Manchester by the railway. The carrier's
waggon picks up the baskets from the scattered dwel-
lings in the dale, and transmits no less than thirty
cwts. per week to the Manchester folk.
176 PASS OF KANBIELD.
The traveller must either go back the way he came,
or climb out of the dale at the head, whence three
tracks branch off from the top of the pass of Nanbield.
One of these tracks turns to the left before reaching
Small Water, and goes down into Long Sleddale, — to
follow which we know of no sufficient inducement,
unless it be that the way is practicable for a horse, —
which the others are not. Another pass ascends, by
the pretty Blea Tarn, the slope of High Street on the
right, where the Roman road runs along the ridge.
The third goes forward past Small Water, and drops
into Kentmere, whence it is easy to strike over the fells
into Troutbeck. The choice will depend much on
weather, of course ; and we wish the traveller some-
thing more of a choice than was permitted to us when
we were last there, when the wind laid the whole party
flat on the summit of the pass, and put all thought of
High Street quite out of the question. The account of
the weather given by a resident not far off is " It
donks and it dozzles ; and whiles its a bit siftering :
but it don't often make no girt pel." That is, — it is
misty, and drizzles ; and it is sometimes showery ; but
there is not often a great down-pour. The wind
however is often strong; and the exhaustion from a
high wind on high ground is greater than any one would
believe who has not experienced it.
There is no difficulty in the ascent from Mardale
Green ; but the traveller indulges in frequent rests, for
the sake of looking back upon the singularly-secluded
valley, with its winding stream, its faintly-marked
track, and its little inn, recognised to the last by the
KENTMEEE. 177
sycamores and poplars which overshadow its roof, and
rustle before the door. Then he comes to the hollow
where lies the tarn, — Small Water. Here he will rest
again, sitting among scattered or shelving rocks, and
drinking from this pure mountain basin. Arrived at
the top, he loses sight of Mardale, and greets Kent-
mere almost at the same moment. The dale behind is
wild as any recess in the district : while before him lies
a valley whose grandeur is all at the upper end, and
which spreads out and becomes shallower with every
mile of its recession from the great mountain cluster.
When he has gone down a mile, he finds that he is
travelling on one side of Kentmere Tongue, — the pro-
jection which in this and most other valleys, splits the
head of the dale into a fork. When he arrives at the
chapel, he finds that there is a carriage-road which
would lead him forth to Stavely and Kendal. But he
is probably intending to go over into Troutbeck : so he
turns up to the right, and pursues the broad zigzag
track which leads over the Tell, till Troutbeck opens
beneath him on the other side. Before beginning the
ascent, however, he will note Kentmere Hall, — the
birthplace of Bernard Gilpin, in 1517. If familiar
with the old description of the district, he will look for
Kentmere Tarn, and wonder to see no trace of it. It
is drained away; and fertile fields now occupy the
place of the swamp, reeds and shallow water which he
might have seen but a few years ago. While this tarn
existed, the mills at Kendal were very irregularly sup-
plied with water. Now, when the streams are collected
in a reservoir, which the traveller sees in coming down
178 DESCENT UPON TKOUTBECK.
from the pass of Nanbield, and the intercepting tarn is
done away with, the flow of water no longer fails.
The track crosses Applethwaite common into Trout-
beck, descending upon the chapel and the bridge in the
very depth of that primitive valley, which was one of
the first we described (p. 36.) We believe that in the
whole circuit there is no scene or object of importance
omitted in our detail.
WEATHER.
The only remaining consideration is the weather.
There is no need to observe that where there are many
mountain tops, there must be much rain. The Lake
District does receive a high average of rain, as is shown
by the following set of observations, published by Dr.
Miller of Whitehaven.
FALL OF RAIN AT SEATHWAITE, BORROWDALE.
1845. 1846. 1847. 1848. 1849. 1850. 1851. 1852. 1853.
Inches 152. 143. 129. 161. 325. 144 140. 157. 114
AVERAGE OF TEN YEARS.
At Keswick 60 inches.
„ Crummock 85 „
„ Ambleside 82 „
„ Kendal 56 „
„ Bowness 61 „
„ Troutbeck 81 „
„ Greenwich 25 „
„ Chiswick 24 „
Much of the rich and verdant beauty of the region
is derived from its frequent rains ; but inexperienced
tourists complain bitterly of them. For the guidance
of strangers, it may be mentioned that, generally
speaking, the worst months of the year in the Lake
n2
180 THE SEASONS AT THE LAKES.
District are November and December for storms ;
March for spring gales ; and July for summer rains.
The driest season is usually for a month or more
onwards from the middle of May. September and
October are often very fine months. Those who come
but once, and take only a very cursory view, cannot be
too careful in choosing the most favourable season for
their trip, though to those who are familiar with the
characteristics of this paradise, there is no aspect or
accident of earth or sky that has not its charm.
FLOWERING PLANTS, FERNS, AND MOSSES.
WINDEEMEEE AND ITS KEIGHBOUKHOOD.
The banks of Windermere afford many objects of
interest to the lover of British wild flowers ; so numer-
ous and various, indeed, are the more or less rare plants
to be found in the lake itself, — in the mountain tarns,
streams, woods and bogs, and on the fells and heaths,
that it is difficult to give a satisfactory account of them
in the space of a short chapter. A general description
of the Flora of the district may however, be of some
use to the tourist who, in passing through the country,
wishes to secure anything which may be worthy of a
place in his herbarium or garden. The writer proposes
to enumerate the least common plants which have been
found within about three miles of the lake, occasionally
noticing objects of peculiar interest which are found at
a greater distance.
Of the order Eanunculacsee, Thalictrum flavum is not
uncommon about the margin of the lake ; T. minus
is also found ; the beautiful globe-flower Trollius
europoeus is abundant in various situations ; Helle-
borus virdis occurs in two situations near Winder-
mere terminus, and H. foeetidus grows near the
]*3
182 FLOWEKLN'G PLANTS.
road between Bowness and Kendal ; it is very pro-
bable that both these are introduced ; Aquilegia
vulgaris is found in numerous places.
Of Nymphoeacece, Nymphcea alba and Nuphar lutea are
frequent in the lake and many of the mountain
tarns.
Of Papaveracese, Meconopsis cambrica is not uncommon,
and in some places, such as near the Ferry Inn and
other parts of Furness Fells, and in Troutbeck it is
abundant ; Chelidonium majus is common.
Of Fumariacece, Corydalis claviculata is not uncommon
in heathy places.
Of Cruciferse, Lepidium Smithii is abundant ; L. draba
grows near Newby Bridge ; Arabis hirsuta is found
on Whitbarrow ; Cochlearia officinalis on Kirkstone.
Helianthemum canum, of the order Cistaca?, occurs in
Witherslack.
Of Droseracese, Drosera rotundifolia is abundant, and
D. longfolia is rare.
Of Caryophyllacese, Stellaria nemorum is found in some
wet woods and ghylls ; Silene acaulis grows on Fair-
field.
Of Malvaceae, Malva moschata and sylvestris are
frequent in various places.
Of Hypericacese, Hypericum androsoeum is not un-
common on wooded fellsides, generally near rivulets;
H. quadrangulum and humifusum are common, and
H. hirsutum is plentiful on Whitbarrow.
Of Geraniacese, Geranium sylvaticum is not uncommon ;
G. lucidum is frequent ; G. sanguineum and pratense
are abundant on Whitbarrow.
FLOWEEING PLAKTS. 183
Of Balsaminacese, Impatiens noli me tangere is plentiful
on Furness Pells, near the Ferry Inn, at Miller-
ground, Grill Head, and many other places.
Of Bhamnacese, Bhamnus catharticus and frangula are
found on the islands of Windermere.
Of Leguminiferese, Genista tinctoria is very abundant
and beautiful in heathy places ; Hippocrepis comosa
is found at Grange.
Of Bosacea?, Prunus padus is common ; Spiraea salici-
folia grows near the Ferry Inn, but this is doubtless
introduced, as this plant is now found to be nowhere
indigeneous in Great Britain ; Eubus suberectus is
found in woods and sometimes on open mountain
sides ; B. saxatilis occurs in a few places ; E. idoeus
rhamnifolius, leucostachys and rudis are the most
common species of Eubus here; B. ehamsemorus
grows in Long Sleddale ; we have seen Eosa spinosis-
sima in a few places ; E. villosa is very common.
Of Haloragiacese, Myriophyllum spicatum and verticil-
latum abound in the lake.
Of Grossulariacese, Eibes rubrum and grossularia are
plentiful in the woods.
Of Crassulacese, Sedum telephium and anglicum are
very common ; S. Ehodiola grows on Fairfield ; and
Cotyledon umbilicus is found in many places.
Of Saxifraga aizoides, stellaris, and hypnoides are found
on the mountain tops ; we have not seen S. oppositi-
folia nearer than Helvellyn ; S. platypetala grows on
the heights of Fairfield; Chrysoplenium alternifo-
lium is also found by some rivulets; Parnassia
palustris is very abundant.
184 FLowEKora plakts.
Of Rubiacese, Galium boreale grows on the islands of
Windermere and Asperula cynanchica is found on
Whitbarrow.
Of Umbelliferse, Sium angustifolium is common in the
streams, and Myrrhis odorata is by no means rare in
old orchards and elsewhere.
Of Composite, Apargia hispida is common and very
handsome ; Sonchus palustris occurs in some marshy
places ; Crepis paludosa is frequent in wet woods.
Hieracium alpinum is found on Langdale Pikes ; H.
lawsoni, on Kirkstone Pass ; H. inuloides, in moun-
tain rills ; H. sylvaticum and boreale are common ;
but we are not able to give a list of all the mountain
species of Hawkweed which may be found in the
district ; the lower range of fells, near the lake, are
not likely to produce any rare species, but the
higher series, Fairfield, High Street, Hill Bell, &c,
would be very likely to repay a more careful search
than has hitherto been made. Serratula tinctoria is
plentiful on the shores of the lake ; Cardus hetero-
phyllus grows in Troutbeck, Carlina vulgaris on
Whitbarrow ; Centaurea nigrescens is not unfrequent
on dry banks ; Bidens cernna is found in Cros-
thwaite ; Eupatorium cannabium is everywhere
common ; Grnaphalium dioicum and sylvaticum are
abundant, the former on mountain heaths, the latter
in woods ; Petastites vulgaris is found in several
places ; Senecio saracenicus grows near New by
Bridge, and in some old orchards, but it is probably
not indigenous ; Inula conyza is abundant on the
Whitbarrow Fells.
FLOWERING PLANTS. 185
Of Campanulacese, Campanula latifolia is not unfrequent
in woody places ; Jasione montana everywhere
abundant, and the larger form, which has been
thought by some to be a distinct species, is often
seen in the meadows ; Lobelia dortmanna grows in
shallow water, in almost every part of the lake.
Of Ericaceae, Yacinium myrtillus is found in nearly every
wood ; and V. oxycoccus in a few places : V. vitis-idea
on Langdale Pikes ; Pyrola minor in Stockghyll.
Of Jasminacese, Ligustrum vulgare grows wild in the
mountain woods.
Of G-entianaccse, Menyanthes trifoliata is not uncom-
mon in the bogs ; Polemonium caeruleum is found in
Graythwaite woods.
Of Scrophularianae, Digitalis purpurea is everywhere
most abundant and beautiful, ornamenting every hill
and dell with its splendid spikes and purple flowers ;
Verbena officinalis may be gathered on Whitbarrow.
Of Orobanchacese, Lathrsea squamaria grows on Wans-
fell.
Of Lamiacese, Lycopus europceus is found in a few
places, as is also Calamintha clinopodium ; Mentha
piperita grows on Whitbarrow ; M. sativa is hot
uncommon throughout the district ; Scutellaria
minor occurs in some of the bogs.
Of Boraginacese, Symphytum officinale is not uncommon.
Of Pinguiculacese, Pinguicula vulgaris is very frequent
in damp places ; Utricularia vulgaris is also found.
Of Primulacece, Primula farinacea may be found in
many moist meadows : it is abundant on Wansfell,
and will be seen when ascending the mountain by
186 FLOWERING PLANTS.
Stockghyll ; Lysimachia vulgaris, nummularia and
memorum are common, the two former by the side
of the lake.
Of Plantaginacese, Plantago media is common near
Kendal and on Whitbarrow ; Littorella lacustris
covers the margins and bottom of the lake, with a
perennial verdure.
Of Polygonacese, Polygonum bistorta is common and
very ornamental in low meadows ; Oxyria reniformis
is found in Longsleddale, and elsewhere.
Of Thymelacese, Daphne laureola and mezereum have
been found in Eayrigg and Grraythwaite woods.
Of Empetracese, Empetrum nigrum grows on the
higher fells.
Of Amentiferse, Carpinus betulus is not uncommon,
but probably not indigenous ; Salix pentandra occurs
in many places; S. fragilis, alba, viminalis, caprea
and aurita are common ; but we are not sufficiently
acquainted with this genus to mention all the species
found here.
Of Orchidacese, List era ovata is common, and L. cordata
is found on Helvellyn; L. nidusavis is rare; Gym-
nadenia conopsea and Habenara bifolia are very
common ; Cypripedium calceolus has been found on
Whitbarrow; and Epipactis latifolia, palustris and
ensifolia also grows there.
Of Amaryllidacese, Narcissus pseudo-narcissus is most
abundant, and in early spring makes many a bank
and woody glen yellow with its numerous flowers.
Of Liliacece, Allium carinatum is found in one locality ;
H. ursinum is very common ; H. schcenoprasum may
FEKKS. 187
be found on Cartmel Fell ; Convallaria majalis grows
on some of the islands, but is becoming scarce from
too frequent depredations ; in Eauncey woods, about
three miles below Newby Bridge, this plant is most
abundant and fine, covering some acres of ground ;
here also may be found the Ply orchis ; C. multiflora
abounds in Graythwaite woods, about two miles
north of Newby Bridge.
Of Triliaeece, Paris quadrifolia is found in many of the
shady woods.
Of Alismacece, Alisma plantago and ranunculoides are
plentiful in the lake.
Of Fluviales, Potamogeton prcelongus is found in many
parts of Windermere; P. perfoliatus and hetero-
phyllus are very common.
Of Juncaceoe, Juncus glancus grows on Whitbarrow,
and J. triglumis on Fairfield.
Of Cyperacece, Eriophorum vaginatum is frequent in
mountain bogs ; Carox dioica, ovalis, riparia, pulicaris,
curta, remota, stricta, proecox, vesicaria, and ampul-
lacea are common; C. lcevigata and sylvatica are
found in some places.
Of Gramina, Avena pubescens and flavescens, are com-
mon ; Festuca ovina var, vivipara is found ; Bromus
giganteus is very frequent ; B. asper and Sesleria
caerulea grow on Whitbarrow; Triticum caninum
may be seen in many places ; and Melica nutans is
found in some moist woods.
Of the Ferns —
Caterach officinarum, occurs on some walls, but' is
abundant and indigenous on Whitbarrow.
188 FERNS.
Polypodium vulgare grows very luxuriantly, and in
some shaded situations with a south aspect, assumes
a form resembling P. cambricum, but does not retain
its peculiar character under cultivation ; the variety
serratum, also grows in similiar situations : it is very
handsome.
Polypodium phegopteris is more than usually common
in this district, and may be found in many woods
and often by the road sides ; P. dryopteris is not
quite so frequent, but by no means uncommon in
similar situations : it is very abundant in the woods
of Furness Fells.
Polypodium calcareum is common on Whitbarrow.
Allosorus crispus is not rare in stone walls or rocks,
and among loose stones, generally in high situations.
Cystopteris fragilis is very fine in some situations, but
it is not abundant here ; a form is found which
somewhat resembles C. regia.
Polystichum lonchitis has been found ; P. aculeatum
is common by rivulets, through mountain woods and
coppices, and its varieties lobatum and lonchitoides ;
P. angulare is less common, but may be found in
many warm shady ghylls and groves growing very
luxuriantly.
Lastrea oreopteris is very common ; the different forms
of L. dilatata abound; the variety called by Mr.
Newman L. collina, is rare; L. Spinu losa is to
be found in many wet woods ; also in some open
bogs, and a few roots of a form of this species closely
resembling, if not identical with L. cristata, have
been found ; L. recurva occurs in a few places.
MOSSES.
189
Athyrium felix-femina var rhceticum is not uncommon.
Asplenium viride is found on some of the mountain
screes, and is very abundant on Whitbarrow ; A.
Trichomanes, Adiantumnigrum and ruta-muria are
common, and A. marinum is found on Meathop, near
Witherslack.
Scolopendrium vulgare grows very fine in some
sheltered situations.
Blechnum boreale is common everywhere.
Hymenophyllum Wilsoni is found in many dark
fissures in the rocks in high wooded fells, generally
near a stream.
Osmunda regalis is common and fine.
Botrychium lunaria is pretty frequent on high moun-
tain heaths.
Ophioglosum vulgatum is very scarce.
In giving an account of the ferns of Windermere,
the important discovery of Woodsia liven sis in West-
morland, although not in the immediate neighbourhood
of Windermere ought to be mentioned. This rare fern
was founded by Mr. Huddart, the nurseryman of
Waterloo Gardens, immediately opposite Bowness, who
has some roots of it, and of almost all the British ferns,
in his possession.
All the British club Mosses are found near Winder-
mere.
Lycopodium clavatum grows on most of the higher
fells ; L. annotium has been found in Langdale : L.
inundatum is not unfrequent on the margins of
mountain tarns ; L. alpinum grows on many heathy
fellsides ; L. selago in similar situations ; and L.
190 MOSSES.
selaginoides is common in rivulets in high situations.
Isoetcs laustris is abundant in all parts of the lake, but
rather difficult to find, because it is nearly always in
deep water.
Equisetum plaustre var, polystachyon is the only
uncommon Horsetail which has hitherto been found
here.
The common Mosses are abundant, but some species
may be found which are very scarce in Great Britain,
and are only seen in some alpine or sub-alpine districts .
The Museologist will be delighted with the general
appearance of this tribe of plants, their luxuriance in
some situations is truly wonderful. In the following
list the species mentioned have been found in fruit,
excepting in those cases in which it is specified that
they have been found in the barren state only. Some
of the species enumerated are not uncommon in moun-
tainous countries ; others are rare or critical species.
Andreoea alpina, rupestris ; Eothii on Eed Screes, Hill
Bell, &c.
Weissia verticillata, Whitbarrow.
Ehabdoweissia denticulata, Furness Fells, Grasmere
Fells, and other rocks.
G-ymnostomum rupestre, wet rocks, Helvellyn; G.
micros tomum, Millerground, Windermere.
Blindia acuta, Windermere.
Dicranum polycarpum, Eed Screes; D. squarrosum,
Dunmail Eaise; D. rufescens, Calgarth, Windermere.
Distichium capillaceum, Hill Bell, Helvellyn, &c.
Didymodon cylindricus, Troutbeck Park, Cook's House.
Trichostomum homomallum, Calgarth, Windermere.
MOSSES.
191
Tortula tortuosa, abides, ambigua, Whitbarrow.
Encalypta ciliata, Fairfield, Helvellyn, &c.
Hedwigia ciliata, common on rocks and walls.
Grimmia Doniana, on rocks and walls in high situa-
tions; Gr. spiralis and torta, below Red Screes,
Kirkstone, not in fruit.
Eacomitrium aciculare, caneescens, fasciculare and
lanuginosum, comman on rocks and walls.
Ptychomitrium polyphylllum, common.
Orthotrichum stramineum, Lyellii and crispulum,
common ; 0. rupincola, on walls by Mardale and
Haweswater.
Zygodon Mougcotii, in crevices of rocks, without
fruit, Kirkstone ; Z. viridissimus, on ash trees, near
Windermere College and elsewhere.
Leucodon sciuroides, near St. Mary's Cnurch, Winder-
mere.
Diphyscium foliosum, Hill Bell, on rocks and crevices
of rocks, Helvellyn, Eydal Park.
Pogonatum alpinum, Hill Bell, Fairfield, &c. ; P.
urnigerum, common.
Bryum crudum, polymorphum, elongatum, not rare on
the mountains ; B. Wahlenbergii, in mountain rills ;
B. acuminatum, on the eastern precipices of Fair-
field, between the summit and Eydal Head; B.
alpinum, common, not barren ; B. Ludwigii, on wet
rocks, Glaramara, not in fruit ; B. uliginosum, in a
branch of the Wythburn Beck, High Eaise ; B.
pallens, High Bell ; B. julaceum, mountain rills,
fruiting abundantly on Kirkstone Pass, in Wythburn
Beck, and on Hill Bell ; B. subglobosum, Helvellyn ;
192 MOSSES.
B. Zierrii, in crevices of rocks, and on the ground,
Red Screes, Rydal Park, and elsewhere.
Mnium serratum, Fairfield, Helvellyn, &c.
Funaria Miihlenbergii, Whitbarrow.
Physcomitrium ericetorum, Windermere.
Bartramia halleriana, on shaded rocks ; B. arcuata,
near Storrs, Windermere, bearing fruit sparingly,
abundant at Lodore.
Oedipodium grifnthianum, Fairfield, Helvellyn, Red
Screes, Hill Bell, &c.
Ancectangium compactum, Bed Screes, &c.
Antitrichia curtipendula, abundant in fruit near Storrs,
Windermere, and elsewhere.
Anomodon viticulosus, Whitbarrow, Kendal.
Pterogonium gracile, rocks and walls.
Climacium dendroides, Derwentwater.
Hypnum Schrceberi, in fruit near Storrs, Windermere ;
H. umbratum, near Keswick ; H. brevirostre, com-
mon in woods; H. squarrosum, not rare in fruit;
H. crista-castrensis, Troutbeck Park, by the road
over Kirkstone, Dow Craig, Mardale, Fairfield,
Borrowdale ; H. resupinatum, not rare ; H. sylvati-
cum, common; H. succulentum, Black Beck, near
Storrs, Windermere ; H. rugosum, on Whitbarrow ;
H. Flagellare, in rocky streams, Stockghyll.
BOTAKY. 193
CTTMBEKLA1SD.
The Lake District, and the margin of comparatively
level land extending to the Cumberland shore, affords
such a scope for the natural production of plants as
few of the English counties possess.
The great diversity of altitude,^ and consequent
variety of climate ; the numerous and extreme changes
of mineral and vegetable soils ; the complete circuit of
aspect occasioned by the multiplicity and varied char-
acter of its hills and dales ; the perfect exposure to the
sea-breezes in some parts, and the exclusion from them
in others ; and the very different degrees of moisture
to which the district is subject, varying from nearly
169 inchest of rain-fall per annum in one or two of the
mountain vales to only about 24 inches^ in some of
the lowland levels, accommodate the growth of a great
variety of the British flora — the product of almost
every locality between extreme anglo-alpine and the
verge of the sea.
It is true that agricultural enterprise is quietly and
gradually, but surely, diminishing the numbers of the
species ; and perhaps the monopolising avarice of pro-
# Scawfell Pike, the highest land in the county, is 3160 feet
ahove the level of the sea. — Me. Otley.
f At Borrowdale per Dr. Miller.
J Harraby, near Carlisle.
O
194 BOTANY.
fessed collectors # may aid the destructive progress not
a little, even to the total extermination of some .plants.
Still, such a range of variety is found between the
littoral and alpine extremes of West Cumberland as
may fairly gratify the wishes of the true botanist.
It must be understood that these remarks, and the
following list of plants and localities, relate almost
exclusively to the Cumberland limits of the district;
and that the botanical resources of that district have
been tolerably well explored by the writer for a length-
ened period. His endeavours have also been aided by
several friends (whose names are quoted) ; but it is
still posssble that some of the floral treasures may have
been overlooked, or may yet remain undiscovered.
Those will be but few, and of course valuable when
their localities become known.
Many common plants are omitted from the list,
under the impression that what is open to every one's
eye needs no record ; and numerous localities are also
left out as redundant.
Perhaps no district, of the same limited extent,
furnishes a more numerous assemblage of Cryptogamic
plants ; — that least explored, but very beautiful de-
partment; and which may be not inappropriately
called winter-botany.
A great proportion of the singular system of bloom-
* Only a year or two ago, one of this class being told of the
habitat of the rare Grammitis Ceterach, went and picked out of
the wall in which it grew, with the point of a knife, every plant !
Fortunately, some seeds had been deposited, and they have restored
the treasure.
BOTANY. 195
ing peculiar to this class is developed at the season
when most other vegetation is at rest, and therefore
uninteresting ; here then may the zealous botanical
tourist still continue his study with as much ardour as
in the summer ; and derive pleasure and edification
from the contemplation of the various gay or modest
tints of these minute works of the Creator, when
the casual observer will find nothing to attract his
attention from the general dreariness of a wintry
landscape.
Those who would acquaint themselves with the
mosses and lichens of the lake and mountain district,
will need some degree of perseverance and sure-
footedness in exploring the dark ravines and cavernous
fissures of the moist and slippery rocks, and of the
gloomy woods where these delight to grow ; and will
meet with perhaps the greatest variety, and those in
the highest perfection, where the sun shines seldomest
and the rain falls oftenest upon them. And it should
be remembered that no satisfactory progress can be
made in collecting and distinguishing the cryptogamia
when the plants are shrivelled by drought.
No little energy will be requisite, also, to hunt out
the lichens — some of which are found inhabiting
almost every rood of undisturbed ground from the
verge of the ocean, to the storm-beaten summits of the
highest mountains. And last, not least, very consider-
able patience is necessary to duly investigate and deci-
pher the microscopic stamp of family, so minutely, but
distinctly impressed upon every specific member of the
whole tribe of both mosses and lichens ; and a great
o2
196 BOTANY.
many are too small to be accurately determined by the
naked eye. But to the enthusiast in botany, the pleas-
ing excitement of the pursuit, and the gratification of
the capture, well reward the fatigues of the search.
The subjoined list follows the order and nomen-
clature of Macgillivray's hand-book, to save the time
required to adapt it to the more recent alterations.
Salicornia herbacea, Eavenglass, Workington ; S. pro-
cumbens, Workington north shore.
Hippurus vulgaris, Dub mill.
Zostera marina, Bootle shore, brought up by the tide.
Chara flexilis, Whillimoor ; C. aspera, Harras Moor.
Callitriche verna, Whinlatter ; C. pedunculata, Enner-
dale.
Circsea alpina, Barrow side ; C. lutetiana, Keswick.
Veronica Anagallis, St. Bees and Ellen; V. scutellata,
Ullock Moss ; Y. montana, Walla Crag ; V. hederi-
folia, Distington, Workington.
Pinguicula vulgaris, common in bogs.
Utricularia minor, Shoulthwaite Moss, Eskmeals.
Lycopus europceus, Bibton Hall. (Mr. Tweddle.)
Lemna minor, ponds in Whillimoor.
Fedia olitoria, Moresby Hall ; F. dentata, Frizington.
Scirpus lacustris, Loweswater Lake; S. setaceous,
Ennerdale ; S. maritimus, Workington, (Mr. Twed-
dle); S. sylvaticus, banks of the Marron.
Eleocharis ccespitosus, Murton Moss ; E. paueiflorus,
Murton Moss ; E. fluitans, Cogra Moss in Lamp-
lugh ; E. palustris, Loweswater Lake ; E. multieaulis,
Ennerdale Lake ; E. acicularis, Egremont.
Eriophorum vaginatum, common in bogs ; E. angus-
BOTANY. 197
tifolium, Calder Ghylls and Edge Tarn; E. poly-
stachion, Brigham Moss.
Catabrosa acquatica, Coulderton Shore — scarce — per-
haps extinct.
Arundo Phragmites, Eiver Derwent ; A. calamagrostis,
Eiver Derwent ; A. arenaria, sea shore, Coulderton.
Botbollia incur vata, Skate Dubs, Workington. (Mr.
Tweddle.)
Hordeum murinum, Flimby; H. maritinum, Coulderton.
Triticum juncum, Braystones.
Asperula odorata, Lodore Fall.
Galium cruciatum, Lamplugh, &c. ; G. palustre, Brack-
enthwaite, Lodore ; G. saxatile, St. John's vale ; G.
Mollugo, Crofton Hall, Pardshaw, &c. ; G. verum,
Tallantire, Lamplugh, Lodore ; G. boreale, Derwent
Lake shores, and river Irthing.
Plantago major, Arlecdon; P. media, Arlecdon and Egre-
mont; P. maritima, Moota, Flimby and Gillerthwaite;
P. Coronopus, shore at Flimby, Ravenglass, &c.
Parietaria officinalis, Torpenhow Church.
Buppia maritima, Cloffocks (Mr. Tweddle.)
Alchemilla alpina, Borrowdale Hause and Helvellyn.
Badiola Millegrana, var. maritima, Ehenside (M. G.
Chambers.)
Lithospermum officinale, Mosser and Westward Parks ;
L. arvense, Stanger; L. maritimum, Bootle Shore
and Workington.
Anchusa sempervirens, Gosforth, Sandwith.
Cynoglossum officinale, Flimby.
Lycopsis arvensis, St. Bees.
Primula elatior, Seaton, Lamplugh ; P. veris, (red
o3
198 BOTANY.
variety), Egremont Clints ; P. farinosa, Wanthwaite
Mill, Caldbeck, and a dark red variety near Ireby-low .
Lysimachia vulgaris, Keswick, Ennerdale, Lorton ; L.
nemorum, Castlehead Wood and Lamplugh.
Anagallis cerulea, Hensingham Toll-bar.
Convolvulus arvensis, Fitz Toll-bar (Mr. Tweddle.) ; C.
Soldanella, Shore at Coulderton and Harrington.
Jasione montana, common.
Lobelia Dortmanna, nearly all the lakes.
Viola lutea, Brigham.
Hyoscyamus niger, Cockermouth, Flimby, Harrington.
Atropa Belladonna, once plentiful around Egremont
Castle, but now only retained in a few gardens there.
Solanum Dulcamara, St. John's vale, Setmurthy.
Erythrcea Centaurium, Bootle, Distington, and a pure
white variety in Loweswater.
Samolus Valerandi, Coulderton Shore.
Lonicera Caprifolium, Lorton Hall (Mr. Tweddle) ; L.
Xylosteum, Workington Park (Mr. Tweddle.)
Ehamnus frangula, Ullock Moss.
Euonymus europceus, Lodore Woods.
Eibes rubrum, banks of the Derwent ; R. nigrum, ditto ;
It. Grossularia, limestone rocks at Sunderland.
Glaux maritima, Ravenglass, St. Bees.
Salsola Kali, Coulderton ; S. fruticosa, Ravenglass.
Gentiana Amorella, Tallantire Hill ; G. campestris, Tal-
lantire Hill, Workington Warren ; G. verna, till lately
on Egremont Green, perhaps now extinct.
Eryngium maritimum, common along the sea shores.
Hydrocotyle vulgaris, common in bogs.
Sanicula europcea, Wythop Woods.
BOTAtfY. 199
Torilis nodosa, Bewaldeth — scarce.
Anthriscus vulgaris, Workington Bridge.
Chcerophyllum sylvestre, Grillfoot and Whicham.
Daucus carota, Eavenglass.
Sium augustifolium, Drigg Haws ; S. nodiflorum, Gill,
near St. Bees ; S. repens, Naddale ; S. verticillatum,
Naddale S. inundatum, Loweswater Lake.
Crithmum maritimum, St. Bees rocks.
Apium graveolens, Workington Marsh.
Imperatoria Ostruthium, Gilsland Woods.
Meum athamanticum, Fell End in Ennerdale (Dr.
Lawson.)
Pimpinella dioica, Tallantire Hill.
Cnidium Silaus, Seaton, Schoose Farm.
Sambucus Ebulus, Brackenthwaite, Scalelands.
Parnassia palustris, meadows and bogs, not rare.
Statice Armeria, Scawfell and sea shores ; S. Limonium,
sea shore near Bootle, &c. ; S. spathulata, S. Bees
Heads (Mr. Eobson.)
Drosera rotundifolia, common in bogs ; D. longifolia,
Borrowdale (Mr. Tweddle) ; D. anglica Helvellyn
(Mr. J. Flintoft.)
Narcissus Pseudo-Narcissus, Duddon Woods.
Allium arenarium, banks of the Derwent (Mr. Tweddle;
A. vineale, Bearpot, near Workington ; A. ursinum,
Salter Hall.
Juncus filiformis, Crummock and Derwent Lakes ; J.
ccenosus, Millom Marsh; J. uliginosus, Working-
ton (Mr. Tweddle) ; J. triglumis, Helvellyn (Mr.
J. Flintoft.)
Luzula pilosa, common in woods; L. Fosteri, woods
200 BOTANY.
between the mountains and the sea; L. sylvatica,
banks of the Marron; L. campestris, common on
bare heaths ; L. congesta, common on bare heaths.
Peplis Portula, Harras Moor, Kinniside long Moor,
Calder Gills.
Oxyria reniformis, Ashness Gill.
Triglochin palustre, common at the edges of bogs ; T.
maritimum, Cloffocks.
Alisma plantago, Keswick Cass ; A. ranunculoides,
Eskmeals.
Epilobium hirsutum, river Eden and its tributaries.
Vaccinium Myrtillis, common on woods and on moun-
tains ; V. uliginosum, Wardrew Moss, Moorside
Parks ; V. vitis idcea, Skiddaw, Iron Crag, Swinside
Fell, &c. ; V. oxycoccus, common in bogs.
Acer campestre, Mirehouse Woods.
Polygonum Bistorta, in meadows, and cultivated as a
pot herb ; P. viviparum, Helvellyn (Mr. J. Flintoft) ;
P. aviculare, Lodore road; P. convolvulus, Bassen-
thwaite ; P. amphibium, Dearham ; P. Hydropiper,
Lodore.
Paris quadrifolia, woods in Lamplugh.
Andromeda polifolia, Moresby, Drumburgh.
Arbutus uva-ursi, Bootle Fell (Eev. Isaac Hodgson),
Brackenthwaite (Mr. Wilson Robinson) .
Pyrola rotundifolia, Walla Crag ; P. media, Kirklinton
Moors ; P. secunda, Helvellyn.
Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, common in wet woods ;
C. alternifolium, Portinscale Bridge.
Saxifraga stellaris, Helvellyn, Iron Crag, &c. ; S. nivalis,
Legberthwaite Gills; S. oppositifolia, Borrowdale,
BOTANY. 201
Wastwater Screes (Mr. Eobson) ; S. aizoides, Barrow
Side, Grasmoor ; S. granulata, Harrington Church ;
S. tridactylites, Moota and Whicham ; S. hypnoides,
Armboth Fell, Shoulthwaite.
Scleranthus annuus, St. Bees, Knockmurton, Eskdale.
Saponaria officinalis, Derwent Side, near Workington
(Mr. Tweddle.)
Silene inflata, Clifton, Dean Scales, &c. ; S. maritima,
Eskmeals, Brackenthwaite, Grange ; S. nutans, Dean,
Moorland Close ; S. acaulis, Borrowdale.
Stellaria nemorum, Burdoswald, Moorside Hall.
Arenaria peploides, Seaton, Flimby; A, serpyllifolia,
Pardshaw Hall, Cockermouth.
Cotyledon umbilicus, Ehenside, Cosforth.
Sedum Telephium, Castlehead, Millom ; S. album Bray-
stones ; S. villosum, Mosedale ; S. anglicum, Beck-
cote ; S. acre, St. John's ; S. sexangulare, Hunday.
Lychnis alpina, Brackenthwaite Fells.
Cerastium tetrandum, Cockermouth; C. alpinum,
Helvellyn (Mr. J. Flintoft).
Spergula nodosa, Lilly Hall (Mr. Tweddle).
Lythrum Salicaria, Ennerdale, Newlands, Beckermont.
Agrimonia Eupatoria, Lamplugh churchyard ; A. eupa-
toria var odorata, Lorton (Mr. W. Eobinson).
Reseda Luteola, Flimby, Eaglesfield, Workington.
Rosa rubella, Thirlwall ; R. spinosissima, plentiful on
the coast at Seascale, &c. ; R. Hibernica, Bracken-
thwaite ; R. Sabini, Derwent Bay ; R. villosa, Gils-
land ; R. tomentosa, Lamplugh ; R. canina, Lowes-
water ; R. arvensis, Whillimoor.
Rubus idaeus common ; R. coesius, Tallantire ; R. cory-
202 BOTANY.
lifolius, Arlecdon ; E. fructicosus, very common ; E.
rhamnifolius, Ulpha, Lowca, Flimby ; E. glandulosus,
Pardshaw; E. suberectus, Moorside Hall ; E. saxatilis,
Gilsland ; E. Chamoemorus, Styx moss. #
Comarum palustre, common in meadow ditches.
Chelidonium majus, Kirkland, St. Bees.
Glaucium luteum, Flimby, Coulderton, Bootle shores*
Meconopsis Cambricum, Naddale.
Nymphoea alba, Mockerkin Tarn.
Nuphar lutea, Mockerkin Tarn, Bassenthwaite Lake,
Wormanby Lough.
Aquilegia vulgaris, shore of Bassenthwaite Lake,
Dovenby.
Stratiotes aloides, Ennerdale Lake (Mr. Eobson).
Thalictrum minus, Side woods in Ennerdale ; T. majus,
Derwent Lake shores ; T. alpinum, Great End,
Scawfell (Mr. Eobson).
Eanunculus Lingua, Naddale beck, Cardew, Wasdale
and Eskdale (Mr. Eobson) ; E. Flammula, common
in cold soils ; E. auricomus, Pardshaw ; E. hirsuta,
Drigg, Workington Marsh ; E. hederaceus, Lamp-
lugh Hall Pardshaw ; E. aquatilis, St. Bees Moor.
Trollius europceus, Arlecdon churchyard.
Helleborus viridis, Duddon Woods and Plumbland
(Mr. Tweddle).
Mentha rotundifolia ; M. piperita ; M. hirsuta ; M.
gentilis, near Sykes in Naddale, in ditch sides.
Glechoma hederacea, Barrow Side.
Galeobdolon luteum, Crosedale.
Ballota nigra, Workington (Mr. Tweddle).
Stachys annua, Lingbank, in Gosforth.
BOTANY. 203
Leonums Cardiaca, Workington Eow (Mr. Tweddle).
Clinipodium vulgare, Mockerkin, Papcastle.
Thymus Acinos, Low Lingbank, Nethertown (Mr,
Chambers) ; T. Calamintha, Calva Hall.
Scutellaria galericulata, Dub Beck, Braithwaite Beck ;
S. minor, Ladstocks in Thornthwaite.
Ehinanthus crista-galli var. majus, Chapel Bank, St.
Helens.
Melampyrum pratense, common in old woods.
Camelina sativa, Workington Mill field (1848 Mr.
Tweddle).
Teesdalia nudicaulis, St. John's, Eaven Crag, Thief
Gill in Dean.
Cochlearia officinalis, Coulderton Shore, Fleswick Bay";
C. anglica, Workington Shore ; C. groenlandica var.
alpina, rills on Helvellyn.
Senebiera coronopus, Seaton (Mr. Tweddle).
Crambe maritima, Coulderton Shore.
Cakile maritima, Seaton Shore.
Cardamine hirsuta, elevated situations in Whillimoor ;
C. pratensis, common sometimes double ; C. amara,
Moorside Woods, Bearpot (Mr. Tweddle).
Arabis stricta, Lamplugh Hall, Pardshaw Hall ; A.
hirsuta, Shoulthwaite, Moota.
Turritis glabra, Stainburn (Mr. Tweddle).
Chieranthus fruticulosus, walls of Scaleby Castle.
Brassica Monensis, Flimby and St. Bees Shore.
Erodium cicutarium, Gosforth ; E. maritimum, St. Bees.
Geranium sylvaticum, St. John's vale; G. pratense,
Lamplugh ; G. rotundifolium, Yeorton Hall ; G.
pusillum, Etterby Scar ; G. Eobertianum, St. John's
204
BOTAKY.
vale; G. lucidum, Lodore Bridge; G-. eolumbinum,
Cockermouth Fitz ; G. sanguineum, St. Bees Shores.
Genista scoparia, Bridekirk ; Gr. tinctoria, Seaton, Tal-
lantire, Arlecdon ; Gr. anglica, Drigg, Bootle.
Ulex nana, Gosforth, Lamplugh Fells.
Anthyllis vulneraria, Maryport Bailway.
Pisum maritimum, Harrington Rocks.
Lathyrus Nissolia, Irton, in sand.
Vicia sylvatica, Clifton Woods, Parton ; V. angustifolia,
Stainburn, Santon.
Ornithopus perpusillus, Irton Churcli, St. Bees Moor.
Trifolium officinale, Workington Station, Etterby Scar ;
T. ornithopodioides, Workington Warren (Mr. Twed-
die) ; T. arvense, Flimby ; T. striatum, St. Bees
(Mr. Chambers) ; T. procumbens, Drigg ; T. fili-
forme, Gosforth.
Hypericum calycinum, Irton ; H. quadrangulum, Clif-
ton; H. perforatum, Keswick Woods; H. humifusum,
Lodore Fall; H. hirsutum, Camerton, Clifton; H.
pulchrum, Castlehead Woods ; H. elodes, Birker
Moor, Aitcha Moss.
Tragopogon pratensis, Bransty, Schoose ; T. porrifolius,
Workington.
Prenanthes muralis, Borrowdale, Ulpha.
Apargia autumnalis, Ennerdale.
Hieracium subaudum, Ennerdale, in side woods ; H.
umbellatum, Kirkland How.
Crepis tectorum, Woodcock Nook, near Egremont (Mr,
Chambers.)
Serratula tinctoria, Embleton, Lorton.
Saussuria alpina, Helvellyn (Mr. J. Flintoft.)
Carduus acanthoides, Carlisle Castle.
UPB
BOTANY. 205
Cnicus heterophyllus, Armboth, Watendlath ; C.
acaulis, Barrow Side, Hardknot.
Carlina vulgaris, Ennerdale.
Bidens cernua, Braithwaite, ClofFocks (Mr. Tweddle) ;
B. tripartita, Keswick Cass, Bootle.
Gnaphalium dioicum, Helvellyn ; G. germanicum,
Drigg ; Gr. rectum, base of Helvellyn ; G. uligino-
sum, Arlecdon ; G-. minimum, Fieldhead in Eskdale ;
G. gallicum, Drigg, Gosforth.
Senecio tenuifolius, Little Brougbton ; S. saracenicus,
Moresby, Sebergham.
Aster Tripolium, Eskbolm, Holborn Hill.
Solidago Yirgaurea, Scalebill.
Inula Helenium, Mosser; I. dysenterica, St. Bees Heads.
Pyretbrum Parthenium, Nether Hall.
Matricaria ehamomilla, Sylcroft.
Antbemis maritima, Coulderton.
Centaurea Scabiosa, Eaglesfield.
Orcbis bifolia, Whillimoor ; 0. pyramidalis, common ;
O. mascula, common, Dovenby, &c; 0. albida, Little
Brougbton (Mr. W. Eobinson) ; 0. viridis, Murton
Moss.
Gymnadenia conopsea, Wanthwaite, St. Jobn's Moota.
Listera ovata, common; L. cordata, Castlerigg Fell,
Melbreak ; L. nidus-avis, Flimby Wood, Wood Hall.
Epipactis latifolia, Dean Scales, Bridgefoot.
Eupborbia Peplus, Egremont, Bootle Station ; E.
exigua, Bridgefoot ; E. helioscopia, Gosfortb ; E.
portlandica, Bray stones (Mr. Chambers) and Drigg
shores ; E. paralia, Haverigg and Harrington shores.
Typhalatifoba,Naddale,Crofton,ChapelSucken,Brayton.
206 BOTAKY.
Sparganium ramosum, Portinscale, Naddale; S. sim-
plex, Harras Moor ; S. natans, Shoulthwaite Moss.
Carex dioica, Orgill ; C. pulicaria, Hunday ; C. arenaria,
Harrington shore; C. vulpina, Yeorton Hall; C.
limosa var. irrigua, Gilsland, rare ; C. pallescens, Sel-
lafield ; C. flava, Hardknot ; C. extensa, Marron Side;
C. stricta, Bullgill Bridge ; C. riparia, Stubbin Mire ;
C. vesicaria, Braithwaite ; C. ampullacea, Cocker
Side ; C. filiformis, Workington (Mr. Tweddle.)
Many other Carices grow within the district.
Littorella lacustris, Derwent Lake, Wythburn.
Urtica urens, Distington, Ullock.
Myriophyllum spicatum, Naddale.
Sagittaria sagittifolia, Bray stones Tarn (Mr. Eobson.)
Arum maculatum, Wood Hall, Branthwaite.
Betula alba, var. pendulosa, round Derwent Lake.
Salix herbacea, Skiddaw top. Upwards of thirty
species over West Cumberland.
Empetrum nigrum, moors and bogs.
Humulus Lupulus, Keswick, Egremont.
Tamus communis, Millom, Eskdale.
Ehodiola rosea, Ennerdale Coves and Pillar Fell.
Taxus baccata, very large trees in Borrowdale.
Atriplex laciniata, St. Bees and Harrington shores ; A.
patula, Workington north shore.
Isoetes lacustris, Derwent Lake.
Subularia acquatica, Ennerdale Lake (Mr. Eobson.)
Polypodium vulgare, common; P. Phegopteris, Esk-
dale, Ulpha, Braithwaite ; P. Dryopteris, Legber-
thwaite, Dean.
Aspidium oreopteris, Ponsonby Fell, Ulpha ; A. loba-
BOTANY. 207
turn, Flimby, Walla Crag, Caldbeck; A. angulare,
Whicham ; A. spinulosum, Keswick, &c. ; A. dilata-
tum, Keswick, &c.
Cystea fragillis, St. Bees Moor ; C. dentata, Naddale,
Braithwaite, Whillimoor.
Asplenium Trichomanes, Carleton, &c. ; A. viride,
Oastlerigg Fell, river Irthing ; A. marinum, St. Bees
Heads ; A. ruta-muraria, common ; A. septentrionale,
Borrowdale, near Lorton (Mr. W. Robinson) ; A.
Adiantum nigrum, common.
Scolopendrium vulgare, common in dark ravines ; S. var.
multifidum, Dearham; S. var. crispum, Catgill Hall.
G-rammitis ceterach, Sandwith, Mosser, Grosforth, &c.
Bleclmum boreale, common.
Allosurus crispus, Wasdale, Ponsonby, Lamplugh.
Hymenophyllum Wilsoni, Scale Force, Ponsonby; H.
Tunbridgense, Ponsonby Hall.
Osmunda regalis, Millom, Irton, Egremont, Ullock
Moss.
Botrycbium Lunaria, not rare on dry pastures.
Ophioglossum, rather common.
Lycopodium clavatum, common on fells and moors ; L.
inundatum, Shoulthwaite, Wasdale ; L. Selaginoides,
L. Selago, Hardknot, Helvellyn, &c. ; L. annotinum,
near Bowfell (Mr. J. Flintoft) ; L. alpinum, Sty
Head, &c.
Equisetum arvense, common; E. fiuviatile, Flimby,
Salter Hall, Parton Rocks ; E. sylvaticum, Watend-
lath, &c. ; E. palustre, Cold Fell (Mr. Robson) ; E.
variegatum, Gilsland, in the Irthing.
MOUNTAINS AND PASSES,
209
A TABLE OF THE HEIGHTS OF MOUNTAINS IN THE COUNTIES
OF CUMBERLAND, WESTMORLAND, AND LANCASHIRE.
No.
Names of Mountains.
Counties.
Height in
Feet above
the
Sea Level.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Scawfell Pikes
Scawfell
Helvellyn ...
Skiddaw
Fairfield
Great Gable, Wastdale ...
Bowfell
Rydal Head
Pillar
Blencathra, Saddleback ...
Grassmoor ...
Red Pike, Buttermere
High Street, Kentmere
Grisdale Pike
Coniston Old Man ...
HiUBell
Langdale Pikes
High Pike, Caldbeck ...
Carroek Fell, Caldbeck ...
Causey Pike...
Black Combe
Lord's Seat ...
Honister Crag ...
Whinfell Beacon, near Kendal
Cat Bell, Newlands
Latrigg, Keswick
Cumberland
j>
tt
>>
Westmorland
Cumberland
Westmorland
Cumberland
»
»>
Westmorland
Cumberland
Lancashire
Westmorland
Cumberland
a
ij
a
»
Westmorland
Cumberland
3160
3100
3055
3022
3950
2925
2914
2910
2893
2787
2756
2750
2700
2680
2632
2500
2400
2110
2101
2040
1919
1728
1700
1500
1448
1160
Height
in
Feet.
Highest English Mountain, Scawfell Pike, Cumberland
Highest Welsh Mountain, Snowdon, Carnarvonshire
Highest Irish Mountain, Gurrane Tual, Kerry
Highest Scotch Mountain, Ben Macdui, Aberdeen
Highest European Mountain, Mount Blanc
Highest Mountain in the World, Dhawalagiri, Asia
3,166
3,571
3,404
4,408
15,781
26,862
PASSES.
Sty Head
Buttermere Hawes, Newlands
Kirkstone
Borrowdale Hawes, to Buttermere
Dunmail Raise ...
Cumberland
Westmorland
Cumberland ...
West. & Cumb.
Heights above
the Level of
the Sea.
... 1250
1160
... 1200
1100
... 720
210
LAKES AND WATERFALLS.
A TABLE OP THE LENGTH, BBEADTH, AND DEPTH OP THE
LAKES.
1
1
Length
Extreme
^breadth
Extreme
Height
No. 1
Names of Lakes.
Counties.
in
depth
above
1
1
Miles.
Miles.
in Feet.
the Sea
1
Windermere
Westmorland.
10
1
240
116
2
Haweswater
3
I
—
443
3
Grasmere
11
i
s
180
180
4
Brothers' Water ...
Of
1
72
—
5
Eydal Water
o*
I
54
156
6
Eed Tarn, Helvellyn
—
2400
7
Coniston Water ...
Lancashire
6
i
160
105
8
Esthwaite Water
2
I
80
198
9
Ullswater
Cumberland
9
1
210
380
10
Bassenthwaite Water
4
1
68
210
11
Derwentwater
3
If
72
228
12
Crummock,
3
I
132
240
13
Buttermere
H
3L
I
90
247
14
Loweswater
l
I
60
—
15
Ennerdale
2*
I
80
—
16
Wastwater
3
i
270
160
17
Thrilmere
»
2f
i
108
473
WATEEPALLS.
Feet
No.
Names and Situations of Falls.
Counties.
m
Height.
1
Colwith Force, five miles from Ambleside
Westmorland
90
2
Dungeon Ghyll Force, Langdale
j>
90
3
Stockghyll Force, near Ambleside ...
M
70
4
Eydal Fall, near Ambleside
a
70
5
Scale Force, S.W. Side of Crummock Lake
Cumberland
180
6
Lodore Cascade, near Keswick
»
150
7
Barrow Cascade, near Keswick
a
122
8
Ara Force, West Side of Ullswater
a
80
9
Birker Force, Eskdale
»
65
10
Stanley Gill, Eskdale
»
62
11
Sour Milk Force...
»
60
mkf
^^^^^MMMH
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