^f^* &' y^^ )r^ '^^tZ Ite^rJ^ M Mvm m ^^-"^^1 E<^' -Jf^AliU F^; "^^'"'s ..#^-« l^i^v'^- ?^."^ i^* ggl m&k o:^ IS LIBRARY OF COI(GRESS. 5 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE LAKES, COMPRISING Minute Bixtction^ fotr ttfc Coutiet ; WITH ME. WOEDSWOETH'S DESCRIPTION OF THE SCENERY OF THE COUNTRY, ETC.: Jl ik f ^ttos GEOLOGY OF THE LAKE DISTRICT, BY ^E y REV. PROFESSOR SEDGWICK. ifourtj iStrttion. EDITED BY THE PUBLISHER. ; ppgLis KENDAL: PUBLISHED BY JOHN HUDSON. Hontron: LONGMAN AND CO., AND WHITTAKER AND CO. liyerpool; webb, castle-st ^Manchester; simms and co. 1853. '^^ ADYERTISEMENT. iS ^ Encouraged by the steady sale which has rapidly exhausted the ^ 4 Third Edition of this work, the Publisher has spared no pains to '^ introduce into the present impression such alterations and ad- ditions as seemed to him calculated to add to the interest and usefulness of the work. It has been his aim to combine in the present volume not only an accurate " Guide to the Lakes/' in the strict sense of the phrase — a book which will be useful to the Visitor during his tour, — but which also, by containing, in addition, subjects of abiding interest, shaU be worthy a permanent place in the library. The distinguished authorship of a considerable portion of the work enables the Publisher to hope that he has gained his object. " The Introduction,'^ — " the Description of the Lake Scenery'^ — and much of the " Directions and Information for the Tourist,'' are from the pen of the late Mr. Wordsworth, who has left a name now inseparably connected with the district of the English Lakes, the beauties of which he has so admirably illustrated both in prose and " immortal verse." Professor Sedgwick has kindly furnished another Letter in addition to the Four which have already appeared in former Editions of this Work, bringiug up the investigations of this complicated Geological country to the present time. The Ap- pendix also contains a list of all the additional Igneous Dykes which have been discovered, and of the Fossil Organic Remains of the district. The value and interest of any production from the Professor's vigorous and lucid pen need not to be pointed out. A 2 Mr. Gough, of Kendal, (who bears a name well known in the botanical world,) has kindly contributed lists of the rarer plants which the tourist may meet with in his rambles. To the same friend the Publisher is indebted for a copious list of the Land and Fresh-water Shells of the district, which will be interesting to the Naturalist. The outline Diagrams of the Lake Hills (taken from certain well-known points of view) are from the pencil of Mr. Flintoft, of Keswick, whose accurate knowledge of the Lake District is proved by his beautiful model of the country, which has been the admiration of so many Tourists. The interesting chapter on the derivation of local names has been supplied by Mr. Nicholson. For the remaining portions of the volume, original and selected, the Publisher holds himself responsible. The Tables of Distances and the Itineraries have been carefully tested by personal survey, and compared with those given in Green's Guide to the Lakes, — by far the best and most accurate of the larger works of the kind which have appeared; and, to render this portion of the work still more complete, several new routes and approaches to the Lakes, by railway and steam com- munication, have been added. Grateful for the encouragement which this little volume has already received, the Publisher commits the Fourth Edition of the Work to the continued liberality of the PubHc. Kendal, July, 1853. CONTENTS. PAGE Ambleside . , 39 Angle Tarn (Troutbeck) 47 Angle Tarn (Borrowdale) 66, 83 Ash Course, or Esk Hause 64 Ara Force Arthur's Round Table Auld Hoggart Barrow Cascade Bassenthwaite Water Belle Isle Birker Force Blea Tarn Black-lead Mine . Black Combe Blind Tarn Bleaberry, or Burntness Black Sail Blowick Borrowdale 62, Borrowdale Yews Bowness Bowderdale Bowder Stone Bowfell Bow scale Tarn Broughton Brother- water . Brougham Hall „ Castle Brownrigg Well Butter lip How . Burnmoor Tarn Buttermere Calder Abbey „ Bridge . Carl Lofts Carlisle Castle Head Castle Crag Castlerigg Brow Catchedecam Causey Pike Coniston „ Lake Tarn 73, 49,97 105 14 73 96 27 15,64 40 77 12 16 87 101 75,78 78 25 m 74 84 86 13 48 105 105 104 59 65 87,92 65,93 93 108 108 72 75 61 102 86 12 16 Cockley Beck PAGE 63 Cockermouth 93 Crummock Water 88,89 Dacre Castle 99 Dalton 10 Deepdale 100 Derwent Water 70,73 Dockray 97 Druid's Circle, Keswick 76 Duddon . 12 Dungeon Gill 41 Dunmail Raise 60 Easedale 59,61 Eagle Crag 75 Egremont 95 Elter Water 46 Ennerdale Water 88,91 „ Bridge 93 Esthwaite Lake . 16 Eskdale 64 Fairfield 46 Ferry-house (Windermere] ) 17 Fleetwood 2 Floutern Tarn 91 Friar's Crag 72 Furness Route . 2^ Furness Abbey . 2 Giant's Grave 104 „ Caves , 105 Gillerthwaite 67,92 Glencoin 99 Glenridding 100 Goat's Water 15 Gowbarrow Park 97,99 Grasmere 58 Grasmere Church 58 Great Gable 80 Greenup 77 Grisedale Tarn 60 Grisedale Pike 86 Grassmoor 86 Hardknot 63 „ Castle 15 Hartshop 100 3 A Hawkshead PAGE 16 Rydal Waterfalls PAGE 46 Hawes Water 2J,47 Saddleback 85 Hays Water 47,48 Scout Scar 20 Haul Gill 65 Screes 43 Helm Crag 59 Scawfell 65 Helvellyn 60 „ Ascent of 80 „ Ascent of 101 Scales Tarn 86 High Street 22 Scale Force 88 Honister Crag 89 Scale Hill 89 Kendal Route 17 Scarf Gap 67, 89, 92 Kendal 18 Seathwaite (Borrowdale) 78 Kentmere 22 „ Tarn 16 Kepple Cove Tarn 103 „ (Furness) 13 Keswick 68 Shap Wells 21 Kirkstone 48 „ Abbey 107 „ Pass of 48 Skiddaw 84 Lamplugh 92 Sour-milk Gill, Easedale 62 Lancaster 17 „ Buttermere 87 Langdale (Excursion) 40 Sprinkling Tarn 79 „ Pikes . 42 Stanley Gill . 15, 64 Langstreth 62 Stake 62 Levers Water 16 Strands - 65 Ling Crag 88 Sty Head . 63, 79 Long Meg and her Daug hters 105 „ Tarn . 79 Long Sleddale 21 Stockley Bridge 79 Low Wood . 28, 39 Station-house, Windermere 17 Low Water 15 Stickle Tarn 42 Loughrigg Fell . 44 Stock Gill Force 43 Loughrigg Tarn 4b St. John's Vale . 76 Lodore 73 Stonethwaite 77 Lorton Yews 78 St. Bees 94 Lowes Water 90 Striding Edge Stybarrow Crag 102 Lowther Castle . 106 : 100 Lyulph's Tower . . 49, 97 Sunken Church 15 Matter dale 99 Swirrel Edge 102 Mayburgh 105 Thirlmere 61 Mickledore 66 Tilberthwaite . 12, 47 Mortal Man, Troutbeck 24 Troutbeck 24 Mosedale . 67,91 Tills water 97 NabCottage (Hartley Co] eridge)56 Ulpha Kirk 13 Nab Scar 46 Ulverston 10 Newlands 87 Walker, Wonderful Robert 14 Newby Bridge 11 Walney Scar 12 Old Man, Coniston 15 Wansfell Pike . 46 Old Church 99 Wastdale Head . . 66, 92 Old Penrith 106 Wast Water . 65, 92 Patterdale 48 Watendlath 75 Peasgill 67 Wetherlam 16 Penrith 104 Whinlatter 89 Pillar 91 Whitehaven 94 Preston 1,2 Windermere (Lake) 26 Ked Tarn 102 (Village) 22 Rosthwaite 77 Wishing Gate 57 Rydal Mount (Wordsw( )rth) 50 Wythburn Chapel 49 Rydal Water 55 Workington 94 PAGE PAGE Wrynose . . 63 i Yew Crag . . 89 Yewdale . . 12, 47 I Heights of the Lakes above the Sea . . . 109 „ Waterfalls 109 „ Mountains . . . . 110 „ Mountain Passes .... 110 DESCRIPTION OF the SCENERY of the LAKES. SECTION FIRST. VIEW OF THE COUNTRY AS FORMED BY NATURE. Vales diverging from a common Centre. — Effect of Light and Shadow as dependent upon the position of the Vales. — Mountains, — their Substance, Surfaces, and Colours. — "Winter Colouring. — The Vales. Lakes, Islands, Tarns, "Woods, Rivers, Climate, Night. , 113 SECTION SECOND. ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY AS AFFECTED BY ITS INHABITANTS. Retrospect. — Primitive Aspect. — Roman and British Antiquities. — Eeudal Tenantry, their Habitations and Inclosures. — Tenantry re- duced in number by the Union of the Two Crowns. — State of Society after that event. — Cottages, Bridges, Places of "Worship, Parks and Mansions. — General Picture of Society .... 132 SECTION THIRD. CHANGES, AND RULES OP TASTE FOR PREVENTING THEIR BAD EFFECTS. Tourists.— New Settlers, — The Country disfigured. — Causes of false Taste in Grounds and Buildings. — Ancient Models recommended. — Houses. — Colouring of Buildings. — Grounds and Plantations —The Larch. — Planting. — Further Changes probable. — Conclusion. 144 SECTION FOURTH. Alpine Scenes compared with Cumbrian . . . 159 Letters on the Geology of the Lake District, by the Rev, Professor Sedgwick. 166 STAGES. Lancaster to Kendal, by B urton Lancaster to Kendal, by Milnthorpe Lancaster to Ulverston, by Levens Biidge Ulverston to Hawkshead, by Coniston Water Head Ulverston to Newby Bridge* Hawkshead to Ambleside Hawkshead to BowTiess Kendal to Birthwaite (Railway terminus) Kendal to Ambleside, Kendal to Ambleside, by Bowness Kendal to Patterdale (Ullswater), by Ambleside Kendal to Patterdale, by a new and pleasant road through Troutbeck, which leaves the Ambleside road on the right, a short distance beyond Ings Chapel From Ambleside round the two Langdales and back again Ambleside to Ullswater Ambleside to Keswick Keswick to Borrowdale, and round the Lake Keswick to Borrowdale and Buttermere Keswick to Wasdale and Calder Bridge Calder Bridge to Buttermere and Keswick Keswick, round Bassenthwaite Lak e Keswick to Patterdale, Pooley Bridge, and Penrith Keswick to Pooley Bridge and Penrith Keswickto Penrith AVhitehaven to Keswick Workington to Keswick Penrith to Hawes Water CarUsle to Penrith Penrith to Kendal Miles, 22 21 19 14 15 24 18 18 10 16^ 12 23 27 29 18 38 24 17^ 27 21 27 18 27 * Steam-boats ply from Newby Bridge to Bo.vness and Amo ?side, up le Lake of Windermere, two or three times a day, during the summ Fares very reasonable, and accommodation on board excellent. A GLOSSARY, ETYMOLOGICAL AND EXPLANATORY, OP THE NAMES OF HILLS, LAKES, RIVERS, ETC., OCCURRING IN THIS VOLUME. Mountainous districts, generally speaking, have been so many refuges for the primitive dialects. The reason of this, even if our space permitted, it is hardly necessary to explain, as it must be apparent to every reader of history and every reflective mind. Hence we find in the names of the striking natural objects of this district, so many descriptive epithets signifying the same thing, and all pro- ceeding from the oral dialects of the early inhabitants. We recognize, asap- pUed to the names of the Lake Mountains, no fewer than twenty-four different words in the Celtic, Saxon, and Teutonic tongues, each signifying hill : and there appears to be almost an equal number expressive of water : hence it is that in the composition of many of the names there are so many repetitions (triphcations in some instances) of the same meaning. Most of the names that still pertain to the hills, lakes, &c., come from the Saxon, Dano-Saxon, and Teu- tonic dialects, and it is natural to suppose that after the invasions by the Saxons and Danes, these names have replaced, and been made to obliterate, the previous names in the Celtic or British tongue. Such words as Glaramara, and Blen- cathra (now Saddleback), look like remains of the pure British, but we have no good clue to their signification. Some of these names, as it wUl be seen, have their origin in the external ap- pearances or configuration of the object : this class refers chiefly to hills. Others are derived from some essential quality or peculiarity of the place or thing de- signated : these have reference mostly to lakes and rivers. Again, others are so denominated from the fact of wild animals having abounded there, as the wild boar, deer, goat, cat, &c. The names terminating with thwaite, as Legber- thwaite, Tilberthwaite, &c*., have evidently received their appellations on the introduction of agriculture. GENERAL TERMS. Barrow (Ang.-Sax. *beorgh') a hill, natural or artificial. Beck (Sax. and 'bek,' Dan.) a small stream or rivulet. Cam, Comb (Sax.) properly the crest of a hill, as the comb of a cock. CooM, OR Cove (British 'cwm') a valley, opening between hills. Dal, (Danish) dale, a httle valley. Den, a dale or glen Don, or Dun, a smaller hill. DoD, applied to a smaller hill to distinguish it from a greater ; for example — Skiddaw Dod. DoRE, (British * dwr ') water ; a word that enters largely into the composition of names in the Lake district. Dore is applied also to an opening between rocks. X A GLOSSARY. Force, a waterfall. Gate, ('geat,' Sax.) a way. Garth, an inclosed piece of ground. Ghyll, (Isl.) a fissure in a mountain, or between two mountains. Grange, a farm or house near water, but the Farm of a Monastery or Baronial establishment was called the Grange. Hag, a general term used for an inclosure. Hawse, (Sax. 4ials') a throat, or gullet. Hirst and Hurst (Sax.) a wood, or grove. Holm, a piece of land, either surrounded by water, or washed by one or more streams — either an island or a peninsula. How, (Teut.) a small hill. Chaucer uses how for a cap or hood. HuL, (Sax.) a hill. Ings, low meadows. Keld, a well. Knot (Sax.) applied to hills with a marked prominence or protuberance in the same sense as a 'knot' on a tree. Man. a factitious eminence set upon a hill, Maen (Brit. ?) is an old word for stone, however, and the 'man' of the mountains is always of stone. Nab, (Sax. 'cnep') the 'neb' or nose of a hill. The bill of a bird is called its ' neb.' Thus the Highlanders prayer — *' Era' witches and warlocks and Xain^-nebbit things," &c. Ness, Neese, or Naze ('nese' Sax.) a point of land projecting into the water. Thus, Bowwess. The Naze^ in Norway, and on the coast of Essex. Pen (Brit.) hill — whence, also, ' Ben,' B and P being convertible. Pike, ('pec' Sax.) peak. Raise. A tumulus formed of heaped-up stones. Scar or Scaur (Su.-Goth.) a steep escarpment of rock. Slack (Su.-Goth) ' slak') a depression in the summit line of a hill, or, gene- rally, a hollow. Syke. a rivulet. Tarn. A small mountain lake. Thwaite. a piece of land cleared from wood. Wyke. a bay or creek. NAMES OF PLACES. Ambleside (p. 39). As this name was formerly spelt HameZsi^fe, and is still pronounced by the vulgar, Hamelsed or Amelsed, it may be derived from Ea or or Eau (water), mel (a brow). Water from the sides of the brows, Applethwaite (p, 44), Ea-pul-thwaite. The two first syllables are the re- dupHcation of water. Bassenthwaite Water (p. 96). Bass is still the provincial term applied to the fresh- water fish, the perch; in this sense, — 'water abounding with bassen,' (plural of perch). Borrowdale (p. 73). Boar-dale, or Borough-dale. Perhaps a literal vari- ation of Barrow-dale. Bowfell (p. 84). A bowed, or arched hill. Very applicable. BowNESS (p. 25). A round-pointed promontory. Sometimes written Bull- ness, which has the same meaning and derivation. Brathay (p. 39). Water from the brae ? Brotherilkeld (p. 64). Broad-dur-ail-keld — abroad water from the keld or spring. Buttermere (p. 87). Bode-tor-mere (Sax.) or Booth-tor-mere — ^the lake of a village by the hiJl. Carl Lofts (p. 108). (Brit, 'caer ;' Sax. 'loft')— a high dwelling. The Carrs, Probably the Scars. Catchedecam (p, 102), Probably the high-crested, or high-topped hill where wild cats abounded. The old spelling was Cats-sty -cam. Sty, a ladder. In Westmorland we still call it a stee. Cat Bells (p, 75), Bael (Ang,-Sax.) is a signal fire, or beacon ; but there is no record of this mountain ha\ing ever been one of the beacon hills. Causey Pike (p. 86). Causeway Pike. Cockley Beck (p. 63). A winding or rugged stream. A GLOSSARY. XI CoNisTON (p. 12). A town (ton), at the head (con) of the lake (is) Brit. Some take it to be a corruption of Konygs-ton or King's-town. Derwent (p. 70). Dwr-gwynt (Brit.) the windy lake. This lake is remark- able for gusts of wind. Or, Dwr-gwyn (clear) water. DoNXERDALE (p. 14). Somc think the first syllable a contraction of 'Duddon.' DuDDON (p. 12). Dod-den, the lower, lesser, or inferior valley. Easedale (p. 59). Eas, or Is-dale, water dale. Elterwater (p. 46). Ael (Brit.) great and Tor (Sax.) hill. Water from the great hill, or the water beset with elders or alders. Eskdale (p. 63). Esk, and Ask, mean Newt or Lizard. Both words also signify water : and the latter is the more probable derivative. Fairfield (p. 46). Faar-feld (Danish). Sheep pasture. Gatesgarth or 'Gatescarth' (p. 67). A gate or road over the Scar — which is the case in this instance. Or, 'gate ' may in this place be a variation of ' Goat, from the wild goats, ^Goat-ca' is the name of a hill near Gatescarth. Glencoin (p. 99). Cyna (in the Saxon) is a 'cleft' or 'fissure," so Glencoin is a reduplication of the same word. Burn says, from'cuna' (Fr.) (quain) — a corner. If the latter derivation is preferred, the name has been adopted since the Norman Conquest. Antiquaries will prefer the former. Glenderaterra (p. 86). A glen conducting (dwr) water from turret the hiU or eminence. Grasmere and GrasSxMoor (pp. 58, 86). Formerly spelled Gersmere. From Gres (8?ix.) 'grass." The lake of grassy banks. Or, Grismere — the lake of the wild boar. Greenup (p. 77). A verdant upper or higher plot of ground. Up is a, com- mon adjunct in contradistinction to lor or lower. Instance, 'Upton,' 'Lorton,' &c. &c. Or, Gren Hope: Hope is often corrupted into up, op, or ip. Very common in Northumberland. Greta (p. 71). River. Dr. "Whittaker supposes this river to take its name from the 'greeting,' or weeping tones of the water doTVTi its channel. Grisedale Pike (p. 86). From ' Gris,' wild swine. Hammar Scar (p. 59). Hamur (Sax.) enters into the composition of the names of many of the Scandinavian hills. Harrison Stickle (p. 41). Stigle (Sax.) an acute point. Harrison is evidently a personal name used to distinguish one of ' the Pikes' from the other. Hence our word ' stile,' and 'steel.' ' Steel Pike' was the ancient name of this hill, as Mr. West has it — and we would Uke to see this name restored. Hartsop (p. 100). Harts-up (so pronounced). The hiU of the red deer. Where stalked the huge deer to his shaggy lair. Wordsworth. Helvellyn (p. 101). Ilel{hiU): gwal(waW)/ lyn (?afce)— a hiU that forms a wall or defence for the lake. Some derive Hel-feeZ-lyn from 'Bel' or BeUnus, the God to whom sacrificial fires were Ughted upon hills. Hindscarth (p. 87). The Shepherd's hill. Keswick (p. 68). We can make nothing of the pre-fix of this name, unless it may be deemed an abbreviation of Caester (Sax.) a fortification.* We incHne to this hypothesis, and think it the same word as ' Kearstivick.' Or Kesh is the provincial name still used for the water-hemlock — jK^es^-wick, the village by the keshes. Kirkstone (p. 48). Some derive the name from the rock at the top of the hill.f But there was both a Cairn and a Druidical Altar near the summit of this hill, and we would rather refer the name to that Altar. Lamplugh (p. 92). This name has reference only to the soil of the place. Lam (Sax.) is loam or clay. The last syllable explains itself. Mr. Nicolson {History of Cumberland) says ' Glan-flough ' (Irish) dale-ioet. Langdale (p. 40). or Langden. Long vaUey. Langstreth (p. 62) Long street or way, from 'stret,' (Sax.) Legberthwaite (p 61). Leigh (Sax.) a meadow, whence ley, bera (Sax.) bar- ley ; thwaite, inclosure. An inclosed barley field. * See Mr, West's Guide, p, 149. t This block — and yon whose church-like form Gives to this savage pass its name. Wordsworth. XII A GLOSSARY. LiNGMELL (p. 66). A brow (mael, Sax.) remarkable for *ling,' or heather. LoDORE (p 73) and Lowther (p. 106), are evidently the same; Lodwr. In a very old book, Lowther is interpreted black-water. Lyulph's Tower, (p. 49). Some suppose from Lyulph, the first Baron of Grey stoke. Matterdale (p. 99). Mater, or mother dale, if Pater-dale be adopted. The two dales are adjacent. See a Note in Nicolson's History of Cumberland, p. 367, where it is described as Mater dale. MiCKXEDORE (p, 66). Greater door or opening. This word *dore' is some- times applied to the mouth of a pass. Nanbield (p.22). Nant (Welch) a fall; and bield a sheltered place The spot to which this name apphes is a pass crossing from Kentmere to Mardale. PATTERDAI.E (p. 48). Perhaps Pater or father dale. Some say Patrick-dale, from the Patron Saint of Ireland. Penrith (p. 104). T^Qn-rhydd (Celtic) red hill. In Wales rhydd is still pro- nounced rith. Pike op Stickle (p 42). Pike, apeak (Sax ) Stigle. See Harrison Stickle. PoRTiNscALE (p. 73). Port, a landing -placc ; ing, a meadow; scale, a basin. The place answers this description. Pull Wyke (p. 43). A bay in the pool or lake. Saddleback (p. 85) . Explanatory of the outline of the hill ; its old name was Blencathra. Sandwyke (p. 101). A sandy inlet or bay. ScAND.^E Fell and Beck (p. 43). Skans a fort or rampart, ScAWFELL (p. 65). (Sax. ^scaewy' conspicuous) a conspicuous hiU — or one that peers above its fellows, as Scawfell does. Or it may be Scar -fell. ScARF-GAP (p. 67). (Scoef, Sax. * smooth') a smooth opening or valley ? Seathwaite (p. 13) Seath (Sax.) a well or pond, thwaite, an inclosure . Skelwith (p. 40), Scale-wath, a ford in the hoUow. Skiddaw (p.84). Scoed (Ssix) sheath, or screen; how (hill). The hill that screens or protects. Stake (p. 62). Stoeger (Sax.) a stair, or road over the hill. Striding Edge (p. 102). sometimes spelled Strachan Edge. Strachan (Sax.) when applied to steps or walking, wiU. be synonymous with * striding.' Strid, a step across. Instance ' Strid,' near Bolton Abbey. St. Sunday's Crag (p. 103). Holy Sunday's Crag — a place where some reli- gious rite has been observed. Sty Head (p 63). Stigi,way — ^the head of the way. Threlkeld (p 98). Keld is a spring of water or well; and threl may be cor- rupted from Thor's hill — • 'Thors hill keld' — and Thirlmere, 'Thor's hill mere.' TiLBERTHWAiTE (p. 12). Till (Eug) ; bera, (Sax.) barley; thwaite, enclosure. Synonymous with Legberthwaite. , Wallabarrow Crag (p. 14) Gwal-beorg, a natural rampart. Wansfell (p. 46). Wang (Sax.) a plain field or land. Wang' s-f ell, an exposed hill Watendlath (p. 75). Wadan (Sax.) a ford. Lathe, or lethe, a district of a country — a * hundred.' Whinlatter (p. 89). Gwynt-hlaw-tor : Windy -brow-hill. Windermere (p. 26). Gwyn-dwr-mere : Bright-water-lake. Wrynose (p. 63). The nose of the (rhiu) hiU. Ullswater (p. 97). Burn derives this name from Ulf, TJulf, Lyulph, a per- sonal name. INTEODTJCTION. Mr. west, in his well-known Guide to the Lakes,* recommends, as the best season for visiting this country, the interval from the beginning of June to the end of August; and the two latter months being a time of vacation and leisure, it is almost exclu- sively in these that strangers resort hither. But that season is by no means the best : the colouring of the mountains and woods, unless where they are diversified by rocks, is of too unvaried a green; and, as a large portion of the vallies is allotted to hay- grass, some want of variety is found there also. The meadows, however, are sufficiently enlivened after hay-making begins, which is much later than in the southern part of the island. A stronger objection is rainy weather, setting in sometimes at this period with a vigour, and continuing with a perseverance, that may remind the disappointed and dejected traveller of those de- luges of rain which fall among the Abyssinian mountains, for the annual supply of the Nile. The months of September and October (particularly October) are generally attended with much finer weather ; and the scenery is then, beyond comparison, more diversified, more splendid, and beautiful ; but, on the other hand, short days prevent long excursions, and sharp and chill gales are unfavourable to parties of pleasure out of doors. Nevertheless, * This Guide is now obsolete. B ii TIME FOR VISITING THE COUNTRY. to the sincere admirer of nature, who is in good health and spirits, and at liberty to make a choice, the six weeks following the 1st of September may be recommended in preference to July and August ; for there is no inconvenience arising from the season, which, to such a person, would not be amply compensated by the autumnal appearance of any of the more retired vallies, into which discordant plantations and unsuitable buildings have not yet found entrance. In such spots, at this season, there is an admirable compass and proportion of natural harmony in colour, through the whole scale of objects ; in the tender green of the aftergrass upon the meadows, interspersed with islands of grey or mossy rock, crowned with shrubs or trees ; in the irregular in- closures of standing corn, or stubble fields, in like manner broken ; in the mountain sides, glowing with fern of divers colours ; in the calm blue lakes and river-pools ; and in the foliage of the trees, through all the tints of autumn, — from the pale and bril- liant yellow of the birch and ash, to the deep greens of the unfaded oak and alder, and of the ivy upon the rocks, upon the trees, and the cottages. Yet, as most travellers are either stinted, or stint themselves, for time, the space between the middle or last week in May, and the middle or last week in June, may be pointed out as alFording the best combination of long days, fine weather, and variety of impressions. Few of the native trees are then in full leaf; but, for whatever may be wanting in depth of shade, more than an equivalent Avill be found in the diversity of foliage, in the blossoms of the fruit-and-berry-bearing trees which abound in the woods, and in the golden flowers of the broom and other shrubs, with which many of the copses are interveined. In those woods, also, and on these mountain-sides which have a northern aspect, and in the deep dells, many of the spring-fiowers still TIME FOR VISITING THE COUNTRY. Ill linger ; wliile the open and sunny places are stocked with the flowers of the approaching summer. And, besides, is not an ex- quisite pleasure still untasted by him who has not heard the choir of linnets and thrushes chaunting their love-songs in the copses, woods, and hedge-rows of a mountainous country ; safe from the birds of prey, which build in the inaccessible crags, and are at all hours seen or heard wheeling about in the air ? The number of these formidable creatures is probably the chief cause, why, in the narrow vallies, there are no skylarks ; as the destroyer would be enabled to dart upon them from the surrounding crags, before they could descend to their ground-nests for protection. It is not often that the nightingale resorts to these vales ; but almost all the other tribes of our English warblers are numerous ; and their notes, when listened to by the side of broad still-waters, or when heard in unison with the murmuring of mountain-brooks, have the compass of their power enlarged accordingly. There is also an imaginative influence in the voice of the cuckoo, when that voice has taken possession of a deep mountain valley, very diff'erent from any thing which can be excited by the same sound in a flat country. Nor must a circumstance be omitted, which here renders the close of spring especially interesting ; I mean the practice of bringing down the ewes from the mountains to yean in the vallies and enclosed grounds. The herbage being thus cropped as it springs, thai first tender emerald green of the season, which would otherwise have lasted Kttle more than a fortnight, is prolonged in the pastures and meadows for many weeks ; while they are farther enlivened by the multitude of lambs bleating and skipping about. These sportive creatures, as they gather strength, are turned out upon the open mountains and, with their slender limbs, their snow-white colom*, and tkek iv ORDER OF APPROACH. wild and light motions, beautifully accord or contrast with the rocks and lawns, upon which they must now begin to seek their food. And last, but not least, at this time the traveller will be sui'e of room and comfortable accommodation, even in the smaller inns. I am aware that few of those who may be inclined to profit by this recommendation will be able to do m^ as the time and manner of an excursion of this kind are mostly regulated by cu'cumstances which prevent an entire freedom of choice. It will therefore be more pleasant to observe, that, though the months of July and August are liable to many objections, yet it often happens that the weather, at this time, is. not more wet and stormy than they^who are really capable of enjoying the sublime forms of nature in their utmost sublimity — would desire. For no traveller, provided he be in g^ood health, and with any com- mand of time, would have a just privilege to visit such scenes, if he could grudge the price of a little confinement among them, or interruption in his journey, for the sight or sound of a &torm coming on or clearing away. Insensible must he be who would not congratulate himself upon the bold bursts of sunshine, the descending vapours, wandering Hghts and shadows, and the in- vigorated torrents, and waterfalls, with which broken weather, m a mountainous region, is accompanied. At such a time there is no cause to complain, either of the monotony of midsummer colouring, or the glaring atmosphere of long, cloudless, and hot days. Thus far ccmeeming the respective advantages and disad- vantages of the different seasons for visiting tliis country. As to the order in which objects are best seen — a lake being composed of water flowing from higher grounds, and expanding itself till its receptacle is filled to the brina, — it follows, that it wiU appear VIEWS FROM THE HEIGHTS. V to most advantage when approached from its outlet, especially if the lake be in a mountainous country; for, by this way of approach, the traveller faces the grander features of the scene, and is gradually conducted into its most sublime recesses. Now, every one knows, that from amenity and beauty the transition to sublimity is easy and favourable ; but the reverse is not so ; for, after the faculties have been elevated, they are indisposed to humbler excitement.* It is not likely that a momitain wUl be ascended without dis- appointment, if a wide range of prospect be the object, unless either the summit be reached before sunrise, or the visitant remain there until sun-set, and afterwards. The precipitous sides of the mountain, and the neighbouring summits, may be seen with effect under any atmosphere which allows them to be seen at all ; but he is the most fortunate adventurer, who chances to be involved in vapours which open and let in an extent of country partially, or, dispersing suddenly, reveal the whole region from centre to circumference. A stranger to a mountainous country may not be aware that his walk in the early morning ought to be taken on the eastern side of the vale, otherwise he will lose the morning light, first touching the tops and thence creeping down the sides of the opposite hills, as the sun ascends, or he may go to some central * The only instance to which the foregoing observations do not apply, are Derwent Water and Lowes Water. Derwentis distinguished from all the other Lakes by being surrounded with sublimity : the fantastic mountains of Borrow- dale to the south, the soUtary majesty of Skiddaw to the north, the bold steeps of WaUow Crag and Lodore to the east, and to the west the clustering moun- tains of Newlands. Lowes Water is tame at thej head, but towards its outlet has a magnificent assemblage of mountains. Yet as far as respects the forma- tion of such receptacles, the general observation holds good : neither Derwent nor Lowes Water derive any supplies from the streams of those mountains that dignify the landscape towards its outlets. B 3 VI COMPARISONS, HOW INJURIOUS. eminence, commanding- both the shadows from the eastern, and the lights upon the western, mountains. But, if the horizon line in the east be low, the western side may be taken for the sake of the reflections, upon the water, of lig*ht from the rising sun. In the evening, for like reasons, the contrary course should be taken. After all, it is upon the mind which a traveller brings along with him that his acquisitions, whether of pleasure or profit, must principally depend. — ^May I be allowed a few words on this sub- ject ? Nothing is more injurious to genuine feeling than the practice of hastily and ungraciously depreciating the face of one country by comparing it with that of another. True it is, '' Qui bene dis- tinguit bene docet ;" yet fastidiousness is a wretched travelling companion ; and the best guide to which, in matters of taste we can entrust ourselves, is a disposition to be pleased. For ex- ample, if a traveller be among the Alps, let him surrender up his mind to the fury of the gigantic torrents, and take delight in the contemplation of their almost irresistible violence, without com- plaining of the monotony of their foaming course, or being dis- gusted witli the muddiness of the water— apparent even where it is violently agitated. In Cumberland and Westmorland, let not the comparative weakness of the streams prevent him from sym- pathysing with such impetuosity as they possess ; and, making the most of the present objects, let him, as he justly may do, observe with admiration the unrivalled brilliancy of the water, and that variety of motion, mood, and character, that arises out of the want of those resources by which the power of the streams in the Alps is supported. — Again, with respect to the mountains ; though these are comparatively of diminutive size, though there is little of perpetual snow, and no voice of summer avalanches is ALPINE SCENES, ETC. VU heard among them ; and though traces left by the ravage of the elements are here comparatively rare and unimpressive, yet out of this very deficiency proceeds a sense of stability and perma-^ nence that is, to many minds, more grateful — " WMle the course rushes to the sweeping breeze Sigh forth their ancient melodies." Among the Alps are few places which do not preclude this feel- ing of tranquil sublimity. Havoc, and ruin, and desolation, and encroachment, are everywhere more or less obtruded ; and it is difficult, notwithstanding the naked loftiness of the pikes, and the snow-capped summits of the mounts, to escape from the depressing sensation, that the whole are in a rapid process of dissloution ; and, were it not that the destructive agency must abate as the heights diminish, would, in time to come> be levelled with the plains. Nevertheless, I would relish to the utmost the demon- strations of every species of power at work to effect such changes. From these general views let us descend a moment to detail. A stranger to mountain imagery naturally, on his first arrival, looks out for sublimity in every object that admits of it ; and is almost always disappointed. For this disappointment there exists, I believe, no general preventive ; nor is it desirable that there should. But with regard to one class of objects, there is a point in which injurious expectations may be easily corrected. It is generally supposed that waterfalls are scarcely worth being looked at except after much rain, and that, the more swoln the stream the more fortunate the spectator ; but this, however, is true only of large cataracts with sublime accompaniments : and not even of these without some drawbacks. In other instances, what becomes, at such a time, of that sense of refreshing cool- ness which can only be felt in dry and sunny weather, when the Vlll ALPINE SCENES, ETC. rocks, herbs, and flowers glisten with moisture diffused by the breath of the precipitous w^ater ? But, considering these things as objections of sight only, it may be observed that the principal charm of the smaller w^aterfalls or cascades consists in certain proportions of form and affinities of colour, among the component parts of the scene ; and in the contrast maintained between the falling water and that which is apparently at rest, or rather set- tling gradually into quiet in the pool below^. The beauty of such a scene, where there is naturally so much agitation, is also heighten- ed, in a peculiar manner, by the glimmering, and, towards the verge of the pool, by the steady reflection of the surrounding images. Now, all those delicate distinctions are destroyed by heavy floods, and the whole stream rushes along in foam and tumultuous confusion. A happy proportion of component parts is indeed noticeable among the landscapes of the North of Eng- land ; and, this characteristic, essential to a perfect picture, they surpass the scenes of Scotland, and, in a still greater degree, those of Switzerland. DIEECTIONS AND INFORMATION FOR THE TOUEIST. The District of the Lakes is now so eonyeMeiitly approaelied from all quarters by railway, that the Routes formerly laid down are no longer considered apl^licable for the generality of Tourists, Commencing at Preston, there are two approaches- to the Lakes from the soutlt, the only direct one being that by way of Kendal^ to Windermere, a small town rapidly rising into importance at the terminus of the Kendal and Windermere Railway, from whence the Lake Visitor may, with the greatest convenience, commence Ms tour. The other is through Furness, which is gained by diverging to the west at Preston for Fi*eetwjod, or at Lancastitk for Foultgit, smd crossing the estuary by steam- boats from either place, to Fumess Abbey and Ulverston ; thence to BowNESS, on the banks of Wmdermere. Parties from Yorkshire would find Lancaster a more convenient point of divergence than Preston, and the time occupied in cross- ing to the Furness coast would be about the same. Travellers from the North would do well to g*o from Carlisle to Maryport by railway, and proceed by Coekermouth and along the banks of Bassenthwaite to Keswick ;- or they may proceed from Carlisle to Penrith, and thence cross the eountiy to Kes- wick, and begin with that vale, rather than with UUswater, taking Patterdale and UUswater on their way to Ambleside and the South. We purpose^ first, to point out the approach to the Lake Dis- trict by the Furness Route, as far as Bowness and the village of Windermere, and afterwards ccmdiKst the Tourist to the same place by way of Kendal. We shall tlience direct him to Ambleside and Keswick, as beii^ the most important Stations from whence to make Excursions. FURNESS EOUTE. The distance from Preston to Fleetwood, by rail, is accom- plished in one hour, and another hour will land the tourist at the harbour of Piel, on the opposite coast, whence there is a train, on the arrival of every steamer, to Furness Abbey, about four miles distant, and thence by Dalton to Ulverston. Piel Castle, on the Isle of Walney, will be noticed at a short distance from the pier, on landing. It was erected by one of the Abbots of Furness in the the time of Edward III. FURNESS ABBEY Possesses peculiar attractions to the antiquarian and the plea- sure-seeker; and, being now so easily approached, is a place of great resort. It is the property of the Earl of Burlington, who has, since the introduction of the railway, which passes through a part of the ruins, converted the Abbot's house into a commodious hotel, and laid out the area adjoining as a pleasure- ground, in a style according well with the monastic character of the place. The Monastery, according to the authority of John Stell, a Monk who belonged to the House, was first planted at Tulket, in Amounderness, in the year 112,4^ three years after which, \m. on the 1st of July, 1127, it was translated, and founded by Stephen, Earl of Bologna and Morton (afterwards King of England), in the vale of Bekansgill,* in the Peninsula of Furness. Furness is an abbreviation of Frudernesse (as the name ap- peared in Doomesday Book), or Futhernesse, as it seems to have been more frequently written. Father is conjectured by Dr. Whitaker to be a personal name, probably that of the first Saxon planter or proprietor of the district : Nesse is a promontory ; than which hardly any appellation could be more appropriate,, as de- scriptive of the southern extremity of the territory where the Abbey stands. The Monks of Furness originally belonged to the Savignian order ; an order which, of all others, complied most scrupulously * Bekansgill, from Letliel Bekan, the Solanum Lethcde, or Deadly Nigbi Shade, which once abounded in the district. FURNESS ABBEY. 3 with the rules of the great parent of monachal institutions, St. Benedict. About 1148, in the Pontificate of Eugenius III.; the whole order of Savignian Monks matriculated into the Cistercian or Bernardine^ in honour of St. Bernard, a man of great sanctity and learning, who reformed and remodelled the Benedictine rules. In the time of Bajocis, their fifth Abbot, the Monks of Furness (after some hesitation and opposition) consented to become Cistercians, the rules of which order they religiously observed till the general Dissolution of Monasteries. Rising from its titular Saint, Bernard, and twelve monks, who ffiated from Citeaux,* the Cistercian order, in an incredibly short time, became of great repute and corresponding extent. So rapid was its progress that before the death Saint Bernard, he had founded 160 Monasteries ; and in the space of fifty years from its first establishment as an order, it had acquired 800 Abbeys ! All the Houses belonging to this Order were dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In England and Wales there were eighty-five Houses of the Cistercian order ; of which number two only were situated in the County of Lancaster, viz. Furness and Whalley. Until the time of Pope Sextus IV. the rules and observances, both as to fasting and religious devotions, were uncommonly rigorous ; but this Pontiff published a decree to mitigate the austerities of their spiritual exercises, and to preserve uniformity in table and dress. From this time they were allowed to eat flesh three times in a week, for which purpose a particular dining room, distinct from the usual Refectory, was fitted up in every Monastery. Their dress was a whitef Cassock, with a Caul and Scapulary of the same. For the Choir dress they wore a white or grey Cassock, with Caul and Scapulary of the same, and a girdle of black wool ; over that a Mozet, or Hood, and a Rocket, the front part of which descended to the girdle, where it ended in a round, and the back part reached down to the middle of the leg behind. Whenever they appeared abroad, they wore a Caul and a full black Hood. This is only a general description of their^dress ; for every House had something particular to itself. * Hence the name of the order, Cistercian. t The dress of the Savignians was gfrey, from which they were usually called Grey Monks, 4 FURNESS ROUTE. With respect to the power, privileges, benefactions and pos- sessions of Furness Abbey, it would take almost an entire volume fully to narrate and illustrate the whole. The Lordship of Furness comprehends all that tract of land, with the islands included, commencing in the north at the Shire Stones, on Wrynose Hills, and descending by Elterwater into Windermere, a,nd by the outlet of that lake, at Newby Bridge, over Leven Sands into the sea. Extending along the sea, it includes the isle of Foulney, the pile of Fouldrey, and the Isle of Walney. Beyond which, turning to the north-east, it ascends, first by the estuary of Duddon, and then by the river itself, — which, by the names of Duddon and, higher up, of Cockley Beck, traces an ascending line to Shire Stones again, where the boundary commenced. The power of the Abbot, throughout the whole of this territory, in affairs both ecclesiastical and civil, was confessedly absolute. Within these limits he exacted the same oath of fealty which was paid to the King. The veneration which the sanctity and dignity of his office inspired, and the circumstance of his territory being bounded on one hand by seas almost impassable, and on the other by mountains almost insurmountable, conspired to give to Furness the character and importance of a separate and inde- pendent kingdom. Even the military establishment of the district depended upon the Abbot ; and every Mesne Lord obeyed his summons in raising his quota of armed men for guarding the coasts or for the border service. He had the patronage of all the Churches, except one. He had also, by prescription, the appointment of Coroner and Chief Constable, and all Officers incident to the Courts Baron. He, and all his men, were free from all county amerciaments, and suits of counties and wapen- takes. He had a free market and fair in Dalton ; with a court of criminal jurisdiction. He issued summonses and attachments by his own bailiffs. He had the return of all writs ; and the Sheriff, with his officers, were prohibited from entering his territories under any pretext of office whatever. His lands and tenants were exempt from all legal exactions of talliage, toll, passage, pontage, and vectigal ; and no man was to presume to disturb or molest the Abbot, or any of his tenants, on pain of forfeiting ten pounds to the King ! In addition to ail which he was immediate owner FURNESS ABBEY. 5 and occupant of almost half the low country. And for protections, privileges, and immunities, there were few Monasteries indeed that could boast so much. Pope Eugenius III. and Pope Innocent III. both conferred special favours on the Furness Monks ; and the princely foundation of Stephen was confirmed and secured to them by the Charters of twelve succeeding Monarchs of England. Immense wealth was, besides, conferred on them by propitiatory offerings of the neighbouring families of opulence, who consecrated their substance with their bodies to the sacred retirement of the Abbey. With these means and appliances, the Monks exercised absolute dominion over the whole peninsula of Furness during four centuries, from the foundation of the Abbey till the general dis- solution of Monasteries in the time of Henry VIII., when all power and authority, wealth and honours, were surrendered up to the King. The last Abbot was humbled to accept, as a pension, during the remainder of his life, the profits of the Rectory of Dalton, which were then valued at £33 6s. 8d. per annum. Such is a brief and bare outline of the history of this once great and magnificent Abbey. The situation of the Monastery indicates the peculiar good taste of the architects. Secluded in a deep glen, which nevertheless opens out below into an expanse of fertile meadows, irrigated by a murmuring brook, and screened by a forest of stately timber, the contemplative Monks could here, unawed and unseen, perform their holy rites, and pour out their souls in prayer ! " Such is the dwelling, grey and old, which in some world-worn moodj The youthful poet dreamed would suit his future solitude; If the old abbey be his search, he might seek far and near Ere he could find a gothic CeU more lonely than was here. Long years have darkened into time since Vespers here wers rung, And here has been no other dirge than what the winds have sung And now the drooping ivy wreaths in ancient clusters faU, And moss o'er each device hath grown upon the sculptured waU." We find nothing to add to Mr. West's description of the edifice in the " Antiquities of Furness," published in 1805. The ruins since that time have undergone very little alteration : — The magnitude of the Abbey maybe known from the dimensions of the ruins ; and enough is standing to show that in the style of architecture prevailed the same simplicity of taste which is found c 6 FURNESS ROUTE. in most houses belonging to the Cistercian monks, wliich were erected about the same time with Furness Abbey. The round and pointed arches occur in the doors and windows. The fine clustered Gothic and the heavy plain Saxon pillars stand con- trasted. The walls shew excellent masonry, are in many places counterarched, and the ruins discover a strong cement. The east window of the church has been noble; some of the painted glass that once adorned it is preserved in a window in Bowness Church. The window consists of seven compartments, or partitions. In the third, fourth, and fifth, are depicted, in full proportion, the Crucifixion, with the Virgin Mary on the right, and the beloved disciple on the left side of the cross : angels are expressed receiving the sacred blood from the five precious wounds : below the cross is a group of Monks in their proper habits, with the abbot in a vestment ; their names are written on labels issuing from their mouths ; the abbot's name is defaced, which would have given a date to the whole. In the second partition are the figures of St. George and the dragon. In the sixth is represented St. Catharine, with the emblems of martyrdom, the sword and wheel. In the seventh are two figures of mitred abbots, and underneath them two monks dressed in vestments. In the middle compartment, above, are finely painted, quarterly, the arms of France and England, bound with the garter and its motto, probably done in the reign of Edward III. The rest of the window is filled up by pieces of tracery, with some figures in €oats armorial, and the arms of several benefactors, amongst whom are Lancaster, Urswick, Harrington, Fleming, Milium, &c. On the outside of the window at the Abbey, under an arched festoon, is the head of Stephen the founder : opposite to it, that of Maude his queen, both crowned, and well executed. In the south wall, and east end of the church, are four seats adorned with Gothic ornaments. In these the officiating priest, with his attendants, sat at intervals, during the solemn service of high mass. In the middle space, where the first barons of Kendal are interred, Kes a procumbent figure of a man in armour, cross-legged. The chapter-house is the only building belonging to the Abbey which is marked with any elegance of Gothic sculpture ; it has been a noble room of sixty feet by forty-five. The vaulted roof, formed of twelve ribbed arches, was supported by six pillars in FURNESS ABBEY. 7 two rows, at fourteen feet distance from each other. Now, sup- posing each of the pillars to be eighteen inches in diameter, the room would be divided into three alleys, or passages, each four- teen feet vade. On entrance, the middle one only could be seen, lighted by a pair of tall pointed windows at the upper end of the room ^ the company in the side passage would be concealed by the pillars, and the vaulted roof,^ that groined from these pillars, would have a truly Gothic disproportioned appearance of sixty feet by fourteen. The northern side alley was lighted by a pair of similar side Kghts, and a pair at the upper end : the southern side alley was lighted by four small pointed side windows, besides a pair at the higher end, at present entire, and which illustrate what is here said. Thus, whilst the upper end of the room had a profusion of light, the lower end would be in the shade » The noble roof of this singular edifice did but lately fall in: the entrance or porch is still standing, a fine circular arch, beautified with a deep corniee, and a portico on each side. The only entire roof of any apartment now remaining, k that of a building with- out the enclosure wall, which is supposed to have been a private chapel to the Guest-Hall. It is a single-ribbed arch that groins from the wall. The tower has been supported by four magnificent arches, of which only one remains entire. They rested upon four tall pillars, whereof three are finely clustered, but the fourth is of a plain unmeaning construction. The west end of the church seems to have been an additional part, intended for a belfry, to ease the main tower ; but that is as plain as the rest : had the monks even intended it, the stone would not admit of such work as has been executed at Fountains and Rievaulx Abbiesw, The east end of the chureh contained five altars, besides the high altar, as appears by the chapels ; and probably tiiere was a private altar in the sacristy. In magnitude, this Abbey was the second in England belonging to the Cister- cian monks, and next in opulence after Fountains Abbey, in Yorkshire. The church and cloisters were encompassed with a wall, which commenced at the east side of the great northern door, and fortned the strait enclosure ; and a space of ground, to the amount of sixty-five acres, was surrounded with a stone wall, which enclosed the mills, kilns, ovens, and fish-ponds belonging C 2 8 FURNESS ROUTE. to the Abbey, the ruins of which are stUl visible. This last was the g'reat enclosure, now called the Deer Park, in which such teiTaces might be formed as would equal, if not surpass, any in England, EXPLANATION OF THE GROUND-PLAN OF FURNESS ABBEY. A, B, C, Q, T, Vy N, represent the parts of the church. A, the east end of the churchy where the higher altar stood. Behind that was the circumambulatory. In the south wall was placed the piscina, or cistern,, at which the priest w^ashed his hands before service ; there is also a small niche,, and over it hung the manu- tergium, on each side of the cistern, for receiving the purifactories. Below these are four staUs, or seats, in the wall, richly ornamented in the Gothic stjle> in which the officiating priest, with his assistants, sat at intervals, in time of celebrating high mass. Q, the choij*. — CC, chapels,— ^V. vestry. TT, the transept. At the north end of the traiisept below T, is the grea door into the church ; and at the south end is a door-case leading to the dor- mitory, through which the monks came into the church at midnight to sing matins, or morning prayers. On the west side of the door at the north end of the transept, there is a spiral stair ,-case, which, after rising in a perpendicular direction for a considerable height, has branched out into a passage in the western wall, and led to another flight of spiral stairs, on the top of one of the clustered CQlum.ns, which supported the central spire over the mtersection of the nave and transept. These different flights of steps have formed, the com- munication between the ground floor of the church and the higher parts of the spire. Nj the nave of the church. Above N, is the southern aisle : and below N, is the northern aisle. In the south waU adjoining the transept, is a door-way opening into a quadrangular court. There has probably been also a door -way in the north-waU, near the west end of the nave. B, the belfry, or tower, at the west end of the church. In the wall on the south side of the ruir^ of this tower, close to the west window, there is §. part of the spiral stairs which led to the top of the tower. CH, CL, H, K, L, M, NO, O, ?, PL,. QC, R, S, II, represent the chapter-house, the cloisters, and part of the Abbey a.djoining. CH, the chapter-house, over which were the library and scriptorium. The roof is represented as it lately stood. Tlie porch has been ornamented with a deep ox-eye cornice, and pUastres of marble. The pilasters are demoHshed> but the roof is entire. On each side of this porch there is a portico in the waJl,, with a similar cornice » R, the dining-room, or refectory. There has been a passage leading from it to K, the kitchen and offices, over which were lodging-rooms fox the secular servants. L, the locutorium, the calefactory, and conversation room. H, haUs and rooms. S, a building on the outside of the strait enclosure, supposed, by West, to have been the school-house, but now genemUy admitted to have been a private cha> pel to the Guest-HaU. There is a stone seat aU round, and in the south waH is the stone pillar upon which was erected the pulpit of the preacher. The roof of this building is entire, and also that of a passage adjoining. Over theso have been apartments. 10 FURNESS ROUTE. PP, passages. — CL, the opposite wing of the cloisters razed to the ground. — QC, the area of the quadrangular court. — PL, a porter's lodge and gateway. — M, the mill MR, the mill-race O, the great oven. — NO, the ruins of a build- ing of uncertain extent, supposed to have been the novitiate. — UU, the ruins of buildings of uncertain extent and appropriation. The rivulet from the north, which constantly runs through the vaUey, is con- ducted by the east end of the church and side of the cloisters in a subterraneous passage or tunnel, which is arched over. Another temporary brook from tlie west, has been conducted by NO, and under S, in a similar manner. There has also been a subterraneous passage, leading from the race of the riv^ulet, under K, and forwards in an unknown direction. It has probably been conducted under • some part of the church, and has served for a drain or sewer. DIMENSIONS OP THE CHURCH, THE CHAPTER-HOUSE, AND CLOISTERS. The inside length of the ohurch, from east to west, is 275 feet 8 inches : the thickness of the east end wall, and the depth of the east end buttress, 8 feet 7 inches : the thickness of the west end wall, 9 feet 7 inches : the depth of the west end buttress, 10 feet 8 inches : the extreme length of the church, 304 feet 6 inches. The inside width of the east end is 28 feet, and the thickness of tlie two side walls, 10 feet. The total width of the east end is, therefore, 38 feet. The height of the arch above Q, from the floor to the underside of the centre- stone, is 52 feet 6 inches. The inside length of the Transept is 130 feet : the south-wall is 6 feet, and the north wall 3 feet 6 inches in thickness : the inside width of the transept is 28 feet 4 inches : the thickness of the two side walls, 8 feet 8 inches. The whole^ breadth of the transept is, therefore, 37 feet. The inside width of the nave is 66 feet; and the thickness of the two side walls, 8 feet : therefore the whole width of the nave is 74 feet. The height of the side walls of the church has been about 54 feet. The inside of the Chapter-House measures 60 feet by 45 feet 6 inches, and the thickness of each wall,,3 feet 6 inches. The inside width of the Cloisters is 31 feet 6 inches, and the thickness of the two waUs, 8 feet. The area of the quadrangular court is 338 feet 6 inches by 102 feet 6 inches. On solemn days the monks used to walk in procession round this court, under a shade. The Tourist must now proceed by railway to Ulverston, pass- ing D ALTON, the ancient Capital of Furness, with a population of about 800, on the left hand. Here George Romne y, the distinguished portrait painter, was born, at a place called Beck- side, on the 5th of December, 1734. ULVERSTON Is a flourishing market-town and port, and the emporium of Furness at the present day. Population, about 5,000, and market-day Thursday. Considerable quantities of iron and slate are exported from this place. There are many beautiful walks ULVEESTON, ETC. 11 in the neighbourhood, and particularly in the gTOunds of Conis- HEAD Priory. Inns — Sun and BradylVs Arms. ^om the Hill of Haud there is an extensive prospect, and on its summit a magnificent column has recently been erected to the memory of Sir John Barrow, one of the Secretaries to the Ad- miralty, who was born at Dragley Beck, close by. It is a com- manding object for many miles roimd. Swart-Moor Hall may also be mentioned, as once the residence of Judge Fell, whose widow married George Fox, a leader amongst the Quakers at that period.' It is now a dilapi- dated farm-house, and possesses no interest except w^hat attaches to it from the above circumstance. The Friends have a meeting- house at Swart-Moor, which was built by Fox, and was the first place of religious worship erected for the use of that community, From Ulverston the Lakes would be advantageously approached by Coniston; thence to Hawkshead, and by the Ferry over Win- dermere, to Bowness. Or, the Tourist may, by leaving out Coniston, proceed direct to Bowness, by way of Newby Bridge, at the foot of Windermere, eight miles from Ulverston, where there is a capital inn, and from whence steam-boats ply regularly during the summer season to all the Stations on the Lake, at very moderate fares. Should Coniston be adopted, the road is along a narrow vale, beautifully diversified by hanging inclosures and scattered farms, half way up the sides of the mountains, whose heads are covered with heath and brown vegetation. About three miles from Ulverston observe a farm-house on the left, and a group of houses before you on the right. Stop at the gate on the brow of the hill, and have a distant view of the lake. The whole range of Coniston fells is now in sight. Advancing, on the left see Lowick Hall, once the seat of a family of that name. Cross the river Crake at Lowick, and keep on the eastern side of the lake of Coniston till you reach the inn at its head. The distance is sixteen miles. 12 FURNESS ROUTE. (0itHrsinn3 frnm imwiu Wain Iriih Sun. This Inn has lately been rebuilt, a little to the south of the old site, in a style of great magnificence, and every acconuno- dation is afforded to travellers visiting this interesting part of the District. From it several delightful excursions might be made, and the tourist would act wisely in taking up his abode here for a few days.* A leisurely traveller might have much pleasure in looking into Yewdale and Tilberthwaite, returning from the head of Yewdale by a mountain track which has the farm of Tarn Hows a little on the right. By this road is seen much the best view of Coniston Lake from the north. An enterprising tourist might go to the Vale of Duddon, over Walna Scar, down to Seathwaite, Newfield, and to the rocks where the river issues from a narrow pass into the broad vale. Horses may be taken over this mountain track, which is, how- ever, in places very steep and difficult. The distance is six miles. The stream is very interesting for the space of a mile above this point, and below, by Ulpha Eark, till it enters the Sands^ where it is overlooked by the solitary mountain Black Comb, the summit of which, as that experienced surveyor. Colonel Mudge, declared, commands a more extensive view than any point in Britain. Ireland he saw more than once, but not when the^sun was above the horizon. " Close by the Sea, lone sentinel, Black-Comb his forward station keeps : He breaks the sea's tumultuous swell, — And ponders o'er the level deeps. He hstens to the bugle horn, Where Eskdale's lovely valley bends, Eyes Walney's early fields of corn Sea-birds to Holker's woods he sends. Beneath his feet the sunk ship rests, In Duddon Sands, its masts aU bare." ******** The Minstrels of Windermere, by Chas. Farish, B. D. * A full and accurate description of this and the neighbouring vales has recently been published in a handsome Httle volume, entitled " The Old M-4.y, or Ravings and Ramblings round Coniston," which is on sale, we believe, at the Post-office in the village. EXCURSIONS FROM CONISTON. 13 The carriage-road to Seathwaite is by either of the two fol- lowing routes, and affords many pleasing* and extensive pros- pects : — 1 Coniston Church 2^ Torver 7 Broughton 1 10^ 1 Duddon Bridge Hi 3| Ulpha Kirk-house 15 2 Newfield, near Seathwaite Chapel 1 7 3| Torver 3^ 2 Broughton Mills 84 *- 3 Three miles beyond Torver 4 Newfield 12| take the road to the right 6^ The following description of the scenery in this Excursion is extracted from Mr. Wordsworth's Notes to the river Duddon : " This recess (the Yale of Seathwaite), towards the close of September, when the after-grass of the meadows is still of a fresh green, with the leaves of many of the trees faded, but perhaps not fallen, is truly enchanting. At a point elevated enough to show the various objects in the valley, and not so high as to diminish their importance, the stranger will instinctively halt. On the foreground, a little below the most favourable station, a rude foot-bridge is thrown over the bed of the noisy brook foam- ing by the way side. Russet and craggy hills, of bold and varied outline, surround the level valley, which is besprinkled with grey rocks plumed with birch trees. A few homesteads are inter- spersed, in some places peeping out from among the rocks like hermitages, whose sites have been chosen for the benefit of sun- shine as well as shelter ; in other instances, the dwelling-house, barn, and byre, compose together a cruciform structure, which, with its embowering trees, and the ivy clothing part of the ?valls and roof like a fleece, call to mind the remains of an ancient abbey. Time, in most cases, and nature everywhere, have given a sanctity to the humble works of man, that are scattered over this peaceful retirement. Hence a harmony of tone and colour, a consummation and perfection of beauty, which would have been marred had aim or purpose interfered with the com'se of conve- nience, utility, or necessity. This unvitiated region stands in no need of the veil of twilight to soften or disguise its features. As it glistens in the morning sunshine, it would fill the specta- tor's heart with gladsomeness. Looking from our chosen station, he would feel an impatience to rove among its pathways, to be greeted by the milkmaid, to wander from house to house, ex- 14 FURNESS ROUTE. changing 'good-morrows' as he passed the open doors ^ but, at evening, when the sun is set, and a pearly light gleams ftom the western quarter of the sky, with an unanswermg light from the smooth surface of the meadows ; when the trees are dusky ; but each kind still distinguishable ; when the cool air has condensed the blue smook rising from the cottage clmmieys ; when the dark mossy stones -seem to sleep in the bed of the foaming brook ;, then, he would be unwilling to move forward, not less from a reluctance to relinquish what he beholds, than from an appre- hension of disturbing, by liis approach, the quietness beneath him. Issuing from the plain of tliis valley, the brook descends in a rapid torrent, passing by the church-yard of Seathwaite. From the point where the Seathwaite brook joins the Duddon, is a view upwards, into the pass through which the river makes its way into the plain of Donnerdale. The perpendicular rock on the right bears the ancient name of The Pen ; the one op- posite is called Wallabarrow Crag, a name that occurs in other places, to designate rocks of the same character. The chaotic aspect of the scene is well marked by the expression of a stranger who strolled out while dinner was preparing, and, at his return, being asked by his host, ' What way he had been wandering ? ' replied, ' As far as it \^ finished!^ "* * Seathwaite is remarkable as the place in which " Wonderful Robert Walkei> dwelt for the greatest part of a century. A very full and interesting account of this extraordinary man is given by Mr. Wordsworth in his Notes to " The Duddon," to which w ork the reader is referred. It lEs&^y here suffice to say, that he was born in 1709, at Under-Crag, in Seathwaite, and was the youngest of tw elve children. Being sickly in youth, he was " bred a scholar," and, after acting for some time as a schoolmaster at Loweswater, in Cumberland, he wa& ordained, and, about 1735, became curate of Seathwaite, where he remained till his death, sixty-seven years afterwards.. The value of his curacy when he entered upon it was £5 per annum, with a cottage. About the same time he married, and his wife brought him, as he says, "to the value of ^640 to her for- tune." He had a famUy of twelve children, of whom, however, only eight lived : these he educated respectably, and one of his sons' became a clergyman. He was even munificent in his hospitahty as a parish priest, and generous to the needy ; and although the income of his curacy never exceeded ^50 per annum, he "at his decease left behind him no less a sum than £2,000 ; and such a sense of his various excellencies was prevalent in the country, that the epithet of Wonderful is to this day attached to his name." He died on the 25th of June, 1802, in the 93rd year of his age, and 67th of his curacy. His wife died on the 28th of January in the same year, and at the same age. EXCURSIONS FROM CONISTON. 15 The Tourist may either return to the inn at Coniston, or he may cross from Ulpha Kirk over Birker Moor to Ambleside, by tbe following route ; — 4 Stanley Gill ... 4 I 16 Ambleside, over Hardknot and 2 Birker Force 6 | Wrynose 22 After lea\ing Ulpha Kirk, he should, in proceeding over the moor, take care to turn to the right by a very indifferent road (apparently leading only to a farm-house), before be- ginning to descend into Eskdale, which will conduct him to Stanley Gill, at the head of the finest ravine in the country. Three-quartei-s of a mile higher up the valley, on the same side, appears Birker Force, dashing over a high, naked, and pre- <;ipitous rock."^ Thence proceed up the Vale of the Esk, by Hardknott and Wrynose, to Ambleside. Near the road, in ascending from Eskdale, are conspicuous remains of a Roman fortress, called by the country people " Hardknott Castle^^ most impressively situated on the left, half way up the hill. It has escaped the notice of most antiquarians, and is but slightly mentioned by Lysons. There is a Druidical Circle about half a mile to the left of the road ascending Stoneside from the Vale ofDuddon: the country people call it ^^ Sunken Church, ^^ The road over Hardknott and Wrynose is scarcely practicable except on foot or on horseback. The ascent to the top of the OLD MAN Mountain is recom- mended before leaving Coniston ; but the ground being rugged, in places, it should not be undertaken without a guide. The height of the Old Man is 2577 feet, and the \dew from it is inferior to no mountain view in the country, excepting that from Scawfell or Helvellyn, if indeed it be inferior to the latter. The ascent should be made by following the ancient horse-road over Waina Scar for about a mile, and then turning to the right towards an old slate-quaiTy, whence you vdll have to scramble to the summit. Low Water lies immediately below the highest point, in a hollow of the mountain, to the east, and Goat's * Stanley Gill is often erroneously called Birker Force by the dalesmen, by which confusion of the two names the stranger is apt to be misled. The original name of this fall was, we believe, Dalegarth Force ; and was changed to Stanley Gill by the present proprietor, Mr. Stanley, of Ponsonby. 16 FURNESS ROUTE> — HAWKSHEAD. Water is situated under the precipitous side of Dow Crag on the west . The stream from it flows into Coniston. Blind Tarn (so called, perhaps, from its having no outlet) will be seen further to the south, under a part of Walna Scar. A walk of half a mile from the top towards the north-west will bring the traveller in sight of Seathwaite Tarn, which sends a tributary to the Duddon. Those who can give a day to the excursion will do well to follow the mountain range to Wetherlam, a lofty ridge that sweeps round to the north of the Old Man, under which lies a fine Tarn called Levers Water, where copper- mining is carried on much to the injury of this magnificent scene. From Wetherlam descend into Tilberthwaite, and so return to Coniston. The Lake of Coniston is six miles long and three-quarters of a mile in breadth. Its greatest depth is twenty-seven fathoms, and it is famous for its charr (salmo alpinus)^ a species of trout, which inhabits the deep water, and is only taken at particular times of the year. Large quantities are potted and sent to the south. They do not attain a large size, seldom, perhaps, ex- ceeding a pound in weight. Coniston, Windermere, Wastwater, Buttermere, Crummock, and Ullswater, are, it is said, the only lakes which contain them. The charr of Coniston Water stand highest, and those of Ullswater lowest, in repute. The road from Coniston Water Head to Ambleside direct, is eight miles ; but, as has been before said, a circuitous route by Hawkshead, the Ferry, and Bowness, 15 miles, in the following order, is recommended as a much better introduction to Win- dermere. HAWKSHEAD Is a compact little market-town, at the southern end of which, on a good elevation, stands the Parish Church, commanding a pleasant prospect of the Vale and Lake of Esthwaite, the latter of which is two miles long and half a mile in breadth. Here is a Free Grammar School, founded in 1585, by Edwin Sandys, Archbishop of York, whose family is yet found in the vicinity. Some years ago this school was filled with pupils not only from the neighbourhood but from the surrounding counties, numbering at one period about 120. The poet Wordsworth, KENDAL ROUTE. 17 and the late Dr. Wordsworth, his brother, with many others distinguished for classical attainments, were educated here. There is a pleasant drive round Esthwaite Water by the Grove and Esthwaite Hall, passing Esthwaite Lodge (Mrs. Beck) on the right ; a little beyond which the road skirts the banks of the lake to its outlet near the bridge. From thence pass through the village of Sawrey, with Lake Field (J. R. Ogden, Esq.) on the left, and return on its eastern side to Hawkshead. From Hawkshead to the Ferry-house on Windermere, where there is a good and commodious inn, the road passes over hilly ground through the villages of Sawrey. The sight of Winder- mere from the top of the hill is extremely fine. The tourist halting here for a while, ought, by all means, to visit the Station-house, which is within a short and pleasant walk of the Inn, and commands a beautiful prospect of nearly the whole extent of the lake. Proceed to Bowness by the Ferry, or, if there be an objection to crossing the Ferry, there is a good road, abounding in a delightful succession of changes, on the west side of the lake, 8 miles, to Ambleside. KENML ROUTE. Let us now go back to Lancaster, and conduct the stranger to Windermere by way of Kendal. LANCASTER, The capital of the County Palatine of Lancaster, is very finely situated on a hill rising abruptly from the river Lune, which falls into the Bay of Morecambe at the distance of six miles. There is excellent accommodation at two good inns, the King's Arms and Royal Oak. On the summit of the hill is the Castle, a majestic structure originally built by Roger de Poictou in the 11th century, and re-edified by John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, in the 14th. It has been greatly enlarged in modern times, and now serves as the county gaol. The Parish Church of St. Mary's, an ancient structure with a lofty tower, stands also on the Castle Hill. A handsome new church D 18 KENDAL ROUTE. lias been recently erected in Penny Street, and there are several other Episcopal and Dissenting Places of Worship in that town. The County Lunatic Asylum is a handsome building situated on Lancaster Moor, about a mile from tlie town, and is capable of accommodating 300 patients. The foreign commerce of Lan- caster has been on the decline for many years, having been injured by the competition of Liverpool ; and the river being difficult of navigation, in neap tides the larger ships generally unload at Glasson Dock, five miles distant from the town. Lancaster is connected with the principal towns of the county by a canal, which is carried over the Lune two miles from the town by a magnificent aqueduct, erected by the late Mr. Rennie. Lancaster is celebrated for the manufacture of mahogany fur- niture, and several cotton and silk mills have of late years been established here. The formation of the Railway to Lancaster has been of great importance to the town, and may be considered as the beginning of a new era in its history — transferring a listless and stationary community into one of those " hives of industry '' by which the commercial character of this country is sustained. Market on Wednesday and Saturday. From Lancaster to Kendal the distance, by railway, is accom- plished in about an hour. The tourist, on arriving at Oxen- holme Station, will have to change his carriage, and proceed by the Kendal and Windermere line (two miles) to Kendal, where it may be worth his while to tarry for a short period ; or, he may proceed at once to Windermere. KENDAL Is the largest and most important town, though not the metro- polis, of the County of Westmorland, and is situated principally on the west bank of the river Kent, in a pleasant and fertile valley encompassed by hiUs of considerable height. It consists of two main streets, in continuity, from north to south, from which all the other streets, lanes, and alleys branch off at right angles. Excellent accommodations will be found at two good inns. The King's Arms and Commercial Hotel, Kendal is a place of great antiquity, but the re-erections and enlargements give it a modern appearance. The houses are built of mountain limestone, pecu- liarly rich in organic remains, which is obtained in great abun- KENDAL. 19 dance from Kendal Fell, on the west side of the town. This material is quarried out in large blocks, and, being capable of a very high polish, is also extensively used in the manufacture of chimney-pieces. The woollen manufactures of this kingdom were first established, by act of Parliament, in Kendal. John Kemp, a manufacturer from Flanders, was the person who first received " protection " to establish himself in this country, and he settled here in the reign of Edward III. (1331). To the woollen manufacture this town has long been indebted for its prosperity ; latterly, however, owing to competition in Yorkshire, &c., the trade in coarse woollens has not increased, and some of the manufacturers have turned their attention to the manufacture of carpets and worsted goods. Kendal is noted for its Railway Wrappers, and also for its Carpets, both of which obtained medals at the Great Exhibition. The Castle stands upon a verdant knoll of oval shape on the east side of the town, and commands a pleasing and extensive prospect to the north and south-west. This fortress was the seat of the ancient Barons of Kendal, and the birth-place of Catherine Parr, the last wife of Henry VIII. No records have been pre- served to estabhsh the date of this castle. There is, however, very Kttle doubt but it was raised altogether, or in part, by one of the first Barons of Kendal. If in part only by one of the first Barons, the completion of it must be assigned to those who lived in the 12th or early part of the 13th century. The circular tower of this castle is the most entire part of the ruin, and has evidently been the strongest ; but the precise time when it was erected, and whether the rest of the building be coeval with it, must, it is to be feared, for ever remain in obscurity. The order of architecture and the arrangements of the apartments, how- ever, bear an obvious resemblance to some of the castles (Cocker- mouth Castle for a particular instance) which have been referred to the time of the Conqueror. The date of the Castle's decay or destruction may fairly be taken from the attainder of Queen Catherine's brother, the Marquis of JSTorthampton, in 1553, and as only nineteen years intervened between that event and the time that it has been proved to be in ruins (1565), the most plausible conclusion seems, that it was dismantled or thrown down in the Marquis's unsuccessful engagements against the D 2 20 KENDAL ROUTE. Crown, in favour of Lady Jane Grey. The Castle and part of the lands annexed to it have lately been purchased by William Thompson, Esq., M. P., Alderman of London. — For further particulars respecting the history of this venerable edifice, and the family of the Parrs, see the " Annals of KendalJ' The Church, a Vicarage in the gift of Trinity College, Cam- bridge, is a spacious five-aisled Gothic structure, and has been recently renovated at a considerable expense. It now forms one of the most elegant structures, internally, in the North of Eng- land. In it are three " quires,'* or private chapels, memorials of the ancient dignity of three neighbouring families, the Belluig- hams, Stricklands, and Parrs. The Natural History Society's Museum is worthy the notice of passing Visitors. A considerable collection of specimens will be fomid in the following branches of natural science — Mine- ralogy, Geology, Ornithology, Botany, &c. Admission, gratis, on obtaining a ticket from a Subscriber. There are many pleasant walks in the vicinity of Kendal, and to those who feel an interest in Botanical and Geological pur- suits, this neighbourhood has peculiar attractions. The Walk TO Scout Scar, a noble limestone cliff about two miles to the west of Kendal, is especially interesting. The Naturalist who may wander to this beautiful spot will find abundant material for interesting examination. For the use of the Botanist a list of the rarer plants m this locality, as well as of the land shells, will be given at the end of the volume. Many of the less common species of land shells, especially of the Helix, Pupa, and Vertigo genus, will be found in their peculiar habitats in the course of a ramble across the face of the hill. Several of the beds of the (carboniferous) limestone, exposed in the escarpment, yield in abundance the characteristic shells and corals of this formation. Part of the upper Ludlow rocks of the Silurian system may be seen cropping out beneath the limestone, and rising through the peat-moss, in rounded masses, in various parts of the valley below. A walk round the southern extremity of the fell, by the new road down to the village of Brigsteer, will amply repay the Geologist by a beautiful section through the limestone and Silm'ian beds, down to the level of the moss, which is exposed there. We may observe, that the most characteristic fossils of the neighbourhood EXCURSIONS FROM KENDAL. 21 may generally be purchased from Collectors in Kendal ; and the collection of Mr. John Ruthven, an excellent practical geologist, in Castle-street, is especially deserving of remark. The travelled blocks of greenstone, &c., from the lake rocks, resting on dif- ferent parts of the fell, and in many instances crowning its highest elevations {blocs perches)^ will not be passed unnoticed. (^itiirsinES frnm IrakL Shap Wells. — A spacious Hotel with Baths and every ac- commodiation for Visitors has been erected at this place, Shap Spa is stated by Mr. Alderson, in his " Treatise," to be a most genial and santive saline spring, milder than the Harrowgate, and more active than the Gilsland Water, and in its properties nearly allied to that of Leamington. It is much frequented by persons seeking health or recreation. The distance from Kendal is 15 miles, and the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway passes within a few hundred yards of the Hotel. HAWES WATER. To HAWES WATER, through Long Sleddale. 4^ Watch Gate 4^12 SadgiU Bridge 9f 3 Long Sleddale Chapel ... 7} j 4^ Chapel HiU 14 " Following the road from Kendal to Shap for about four miles, the traveller will see a deep and narrow valley, turning somewhat westward into the mountains : this is Long Sleddale, into which a cross road down a steep hill will conduct him. If not one of the grandest character, it has the advantage at least of being tho- roughly free from the intrusion of art. There is nothing to mar its harmony : and while passing along the narrow lanes, enclosed by thickly-lichened walls, tufted with wild flowers and crested by hedges, as the eye rests on the brilliant green of the meadows, the sparkling purity of the stream, or the autimmal tints of the copses, we heartily rejoice in our emancipation from the turnpike- road, and acknowledge this to be a genuine and lovely specimen of pastoral scenery. The upper portion of the dale is bleak and D 3 22 WINDERMERE. sterile, and the ascent to the summit of the pass which divides it from Mar dale is wearisome ; but on attaining the summit, the bird's-eye view of the deep green secluded g-len beneath, and the abruptness and ruggedness of the descent, will strike one who is unaccustomed to mountain-passes with surprise and delight . There is a small public-house, the White Bull, where rough but clean accommodation may be had, at Mardale Green, about a mile above the head of Hawes Water. The lake is three miles long,— 'a sort of lesser Ullswater,' Mr. Wordsworth says, 'with this ad- vantage, that it remains undefiled by the intrusion of bad taste ;' and, from the remotness of the situation, it is long likely to remain so. The eastern bank is clothed by natural wood, of no great size or beauty, but richly feathering the hill side and shore of the lake." The Tourist may return to Kendal through Kentmere, or, he may proceed to Bowness by striking across the summit of High Street on the right from the pass of Nanbield, and descending into the valley of Troutbeck, which opens to Windermere a little below Low Wood. The distance from Mardale to the public-house at Troutbeck is about six miles, from thence to Bowness it is four miles. High Street is 2,700 feet above the level of the sea. Remains of the Roman road from Kendal (Concangium) to Pen- rith (^Petriana), may be traced along its summit. The views from it are extremely fine, and the road all the way to Bowness abounds in charming prospects. From KENDAit to Windermere, the distance, by railway, it^ nine miles. WINDERMERE Is a small post-town, rapidly rising into importance, at the ter- minus of the line. Here the tourist will find excellent accom- modation at the Windermere Hotel, a commodious establishment, under the superior management of Mr. and Mrs. Rigg, which " Overlooks the bed of Windermere Like a vast river, stretching in the sun. With exultation at his feet he sees Lake, islands, promontories, gleaming bays, A universe of Nature's fairest forms Proudly revealed with instantaneous burst, Magnificent, and beautiful, and gay." WINDERMERE. 23 Before the iiitroduction of the railway into this district, there was not a house on the spot that now forms the site of this flou- rishing* village. The Church, a neat edifice, a few hundred yards on the Ambleside road, was built by the Rev. J. Addison, the present incumbent, and was afterwards enlarg^ed, by the addition of one aisle, at the expense of John Braithwaite, Esq., of Orrest- Head. A College, designed chiefly for the education of the Sons of the Clergy, is about to be erected at Windermere, and lodging-houses and villas are springing up in every direction. Private lodgings may be had in the village, if required ; and strangers will find a good Circulating Library at Mr. J. Garnett's stationer and postmaster. There are numerous pleasant walks in the neighbourhood, which will be readily pointed out to tom'ists, and from the top of the hill behind the hotel a magnificent view of the surrounding country may be obtained. Our outline Diagram of the Moun- tains, as seen from Low Wood, will assist the stranger to gain a knowledge of their names. There is an interesting walk, abounding with rich and varied scenery, along a public footpath through the woods above Elleray, formerly the residence, and until lately the property, of Professor Wilson. The present proprietor, Mr. Eastted, has formed extensive drives through the Elleray estate, which are, of course, private ; but, through the liberality of the owner, the pubKc are permitted access, under certain restrictions, by tickets, which can be obtained only at the post-office. There is also an agreeable walk through the copses in the direction of the lake, by an ancient bridle-road, which is entered through a gate at the Parsonage (the second below the Church) • Immediately on entering this gate, the road turns into a field on the left hand, passes in front of the house, and soon enters the wood. This road comes out into the lane leading from Cook's House to Bowness, at the farm called Miller Ground, On rising the hill on the right, the tourist will soon join the Ambleside road, having on the left, overlooking the woods of Calgarth, a view of Windermere, with the Pikes of Langdale, forming a landscape of surpassing richness. The beautiful valley of Troutbeck may be conveniently visited from Windermere, and the ascent of High Street, at its head, is more easily accomplished from this than from any other point. 24 TROUTBECE. TROUTBECK. Tourists visitino^ Troutbeck on horseback or in carriag'es will have to proceed on the Ambleside road for about a mile, and turn to the right at Cook's House. Pedestrians may take a short cut through the Elleray woods, by the public foot-path, which joins the Troutbeck road at St. Catherine's (Lord Bradford's.) This road leads straight into the valley ; but, before reachmg the chapel, parties should take a lane to the left, through the village, which is somewhat remarkable for its cottage architecture, and more favourable for seeing the beauties of the vale. In the village is, a small public-house, called the " Mortal Man^* which name it acquired from the following humourous distich, inscribed upon a sign-board which formerly hmig over the door : — " Oh ! mortal man, that liv'st on bread. How comes thy nose to be so red ? Thou silly ass, that looks so pale, It is by drinking Birkett's ale !" This sign-board, depicting the portraits of two well-known clia- racters in the vale — one of them rubicund and jolly, with a nose giving unmistakeable evidence of a love of the bottle, the other with a visage remarkable for the longitude of it& outline and it& cadaverous hue — was painted by a clever and eccentric artist of the name of Julius Cassar Ibbotson, who resided in Troutbeck about thirty or forty years ago, and who was probably also the author of the above lines. Troutbeck now mourns the loss of this noted sign, which was some time ago removed to Allithwaite, near Cartmel, by the landlord, whose property it was, and where, by long exposure to the weather, both the picture and poetry were obliterated, and thus lost ta the world. From the inn to the head of the valley the distance is about three miles, the road skirting the hill on the western side of the vale, and abounding in scenes of great pastoral beauty. The mountains on the north-east are those of Kentmere, namely, the Yoke, Hill Bell, Froswick, and High Street, which closes in the valley at its head. If the high road were pursued, the tourist would be led to Kirkstone and Fatterdale. Troutbeck was the birth-place of the father of Hogarth, the greatest of our dramatic English Painters. The paternal uncle BOWNESS. 25 of the painter, Thomas Hogarth, better known whilst living by the familiar name of " Auld Hoggart," flourished in this vale about a century and a half ago. He was a rustic poet and satir- ist, " whose rude and witty productions (in the opinion of Adam Walker, the naturalist, also a denizen of this valley,) reformed the manners of the people as much, at least, as the services of the clergyman/' An old manuscript volume of his poetry, evincing considerable skill at versification, has lately been discovered. The pieces consist, principally, of short dramas, in verse, the interest arising from the incidents of low rustic intrigue, songs, epigrams, &c., &c., from which a selection has recently been made and published in a pamphlet, together with some account of his life and eccentricities. BOWNESS. BowNESS is about a mile and a half from the village of Win- dermere, and is situate " Midway on long Winander's eastern shore, "Within the crescent of a pleasant bay." It is favourable for aquatic excursions, both by the steamers? which pass and repass several times in the course of a day, and also by pleasure-boats, which are kept and let out to parties desirous of enjoying the scenery of the lake from its surface- Bowness contains two comfortable and commodious hotels, the Royal, Bowness's, (late UUock's), so designated since the visit of the late Queen Dowager, and the Crown (Cloudesdale's). The Church is an ancient structure with a square tower, dedicated to St. Martin. The chancel window is of painted glass, and was brought hither from Furness Abbey after the destruction of that monastery. (See p. 6, for a description of this window.) The remains of the late learned Bishop Watson, of Llandaff, rest in the Church-yard, close by the eastern window. His tomb bears the following simple and unpretending inscription; "Ricardi Watson, Episcopi Landavensis, cineribus sacrum, obiit Julii 1, 1816, ^tatis 79." A handsame school-house looks down from an emiaence in the centre of the village, and stands as a monument of the munificence of the late John Bolton, Esq., of Storrs Hall, who erected the edifice at his own expense. 2^ WINDERMERE LAKE. Windermere is the largest of the English Lakes, being ten miles in length, and more than a mile at its greatest breadth. Its two principal feeders are the rivers Brathay and Rothay, which join near Croft Lodge, and pour their united waters into the Lake . The Brathay rises in the group of lofty mountains between Langdale and Borrowdale. The Rothay issues partly from Rydal Water and partly out of the hills at the head of Ambleside. A cir- cumstance very interesting to the Naturalist should be mentioned here. The Char and Trout, at the approach of the spawning season, may be seen proceeding together out of the lake up the stream to the point where the Brathay and Rothay meet, when they uniformly separate, as if by mutual arrangement, the char always, and all of them, taking the Brathay, and the trout the other stream, the Rothay. Is it a difference in the quality of the waters, or some geological peculiarity in the river beds, that influences these fish in their choice of streams ? The lower part of Windermere is now, from the facilities afforded by the Steamers, more frequently visited than formerly. It has many interesting points of view, especially at Storrs Hall and at Fellfoot, where the Coniston mountains peer nobly over th^ western barrier, which elsewhere, along the whole lake, is com-- paratively tame. For one also who has ascended the hill from Gray- thwaite on the western side, the Promontory called Rawlinson's Nab, Storr's Hall, and the Troutbeck Mountains, about sun-set, make a splendid landscape. The view from the Pleasure-house of the Station near the Ferry has suffered much from larch plantations, this mischief, however, is gradually disappearing, and the larches, under the management of Mr, Curwen, are giving way to the native wood. Windermere ought to be seen both from its shores and from its surface. None of the other lakes unfold so many fresh beauties to him who sails upon th^m. This is owing to its greater size, to the islands, and its having two vales at the head, with their accompanying mountains of nearly equal dignity. Nor can the grandeur of these two terminations be seen at once from any point, except from the bosom of the lake. The Islands may be explored at any time of the day ; but one bright unruffled evening, must, if possible, be set apai't for the splendour, tli£ WmBERMERE LAKE. 27 stillness, and solemnity of a three hours' voyage upon the higher division of the lake, not omitting, towards the end of the excursion, to quit the expanse of water, and peep into the calm river at its head, which, in its quiet character,* at such a time, appears rather like an overflow of the peaceful lake itself, than to have any more immediate connection with the rough mountains whence it has descended, or the turbulent torrents by which it is supplied. Many persons content -themselves with what they see of Windermere during their progress in a boat from Bowness to the head of the lake, walking thence to Ambleside. But the whole road from Bowness is rich in diversity of pleasing or grand scenery ; there is scarcely a field on the road side, which, if entered, would not give to the landscape some additional charm. In addition to the two vales at its head, Windermere communicates with two lateral Vallies ; that of Troutbeck, distinguished by the mountains at its head; by picturesque remains of cottage architecture; and, towards the lower part, by bold foregrounds formed by the steep and winding banks of the river. This Vale, as before mentioned, may be most conveniently seen from Low Wood. The other lateral Valley, that of Hawkshead, is visited to most advantage, and most conveniently, from Bowness ; crossing the lake, by the ferry — then pass the villages of Sawrey, and, on quitting the latter, you have a fine view of the Lake of Esthwaite, and the cone of one of the Langdale Pikes in the distance. Numerous Islands adorn the surface of this lovely lake, the largest of which. Belle Isle, the summer residence of H. Curwen, Esq., contains upwards of thirty acres. This island is well wooded, and being intersected by shady walks, open to tourists, affords a pleasent change to those who land upon its shores. Lady Holme, a, small island nearly opposite to Rayrigg, had in the time of Henry VIII. a chapel dedicated to our Lady within its small territory, belonging to Furness Abbey, but no traces of this sanctuary are left to mark its site. Many pleasant walks will be found in the neighbourhood of Bowness ; and one to the top of Bisket How, a small eminence overlooking the valley, affords extensive views of the surrounding country. * Since this was first written, the natural beauty of this scene has been grievously impaired. 28 LOW WOOD INN. The Troutbeck Excursion may be made conveniently' from Bowness, but this Station is too remote from the adjacent moun- tains for excursions, which should be taken from Low Wood or Ambleside. The road from Bowness to Ambleside is partly through wooded ground, passing RAYRiaa, 'the residence of Major Jacobs, on the left, on a slight elevation above the surface of the lake, at an agreeable distance from the road. On rising the hill above Rayrigg, it passes Millar Gromid, an ancient farm-house, and soon joins the Ambleside road at Cook's House, before mentioned. The road from this point to Ambleside passes Troutbeck Bridge about a mile distant, where a neat residence, called Ibbotsholme, (S. Taylor, Esq.,) has lately been erected. Calgarth Park (T. Swinburn, Esq.), formerly the seat of the learned and venerable Bishop Watson, of Llandaff, is on the left. Also, on the left, a little further on, is Ecclerigg, the residence of Luther Watson, Esq., and on the right Holbeck Cottage (Miss Meyer). — Presently, the tourist will reach LOW WOOB INN, A mile from the head of Windermere. This is a most pleasant halting-place ; no inn in the_ whole district is so agreeably situated for water- views and excursions ; and the fields above it, and the lane that leads to Troutbeck, near it, present beautiful views towards each extremity of the lake. From this place, and from Ambleside, rides may be taken in numerous directions, and the interesting walks are inexhaustible ; a few of these will hereafter be particularized. The road from Low Wood to Ambleside, a distance of two miles, passes Dove Nest, for a short time in the summer of 1830 the favourite retreat of the late Mrs. Hemans, and Wansfell Holm, the the seat of the Rev. — Hornby, Rector of Winwick, from whence, across the head of the lake, at the foot of Loughrigg Fell, is seen Croft Lodge, the residence of J. Holme, Esq., of Liverpool. From this point, also, looking in the same direction, the picturesque Chapel of Brathay, at the entrance of the vale of Langdale, is visible. This Chapel is in the Italian or Swiss style of architecture, and was built by Giles EXCURSIONS FROM LOW WOOD AND AMBLESIDE. 39 Redmayne, Esq., of London, whose summer residence, Brathay Hall, is seen a little to the south. The Whitehaven mail and other coaches pass daily through Ambleside, leaving the Win- dermere Station on the arrival of the trains. From this Inn, which has lately been much enlarged, the following Excursions may be made, and may be taken also with the same convenience from Ambleside. walk to SKELGILL from LOW WOOD. 1* Low Fold 1| 1} SkelgiU , 2i i Low Skelgill 3 1 Troutbeck road 3| 1 Low Wood 4i CIRCUIT from LOW WOOD by AMBLESIDE, KIRKSTONE, and TROUTBECK. if Ambleside If 4 Guide-post on Kirkstone ... 5| 4| Troutbeck 10 2 Low Wood 12 WALK or HORSE-RIDE through TROUTBECK and APPLE THWAITE to BOWNESS, or back to LOW WOOD. 2 Guide-post in Troutbeck ... 2 1 2| Cook's House 5J f The How, in Applethwaite 2| j 2 Bowness 7| irthe return is from Cook's House to Low Wood, the round will be 8 miles. These Excursions abound in delightful prospects, and the view from the top of the hill about a mile from the inn, on the Trout- beck road, is the finest of its kind amongst the Lakes. From this point the islands of Windermere are seen " almost all lying together in a cluster, below which all is loveliness and beauty — above, all majesty and grandeur." Ambleside is a small market town, situate in the Vale of the Kothay, one mile north of Windermere. Good accommodations are here provided for Tourists at the Salutation Hotel (Donald- son), the Commercial Inn, (Armer), and the White Lion, (Townson), as well as at private lodgings ; and, as the town is in E 40 EXCURSIONS FROM AMBLESIDE. the neiglibourliood of many very interesting excursions. Visitors to the Lakes usually make it their head-quarters for some time. A handsome church has recently been built here by subscription, and forms a conspicuous and pleasing- object in the vale. There are two Cii'culating Libraries in the town — one at the Post-Office, and the other kept by T. Trx)ughton, the Parish Clerk ; and here also has recently been established a Branch of the Kendal Bank, under the management of Mr, Newby, draper, in that part of the market-place called Cheapside. Ambleside was formerly a Roman station (the Dictis of the Notitia), and some slight traces of a fortress are perceptible in a field at the head of Win- dermere, where fragments of tesselated pavement, urns, and other Eoman relics have been dug up. This station was established, undoubtedly, as a check upon the pass of Kirkstone, Dunmail- raise, and of Hardknott and Wrynose. VALES OF GREAT AND LITTLE LANGDALE. I Clappersgate II Guide Post I Skelwith Fold 1 Colwith Bridge IK Little Langdale Tarn... 2J Blea Tarn 2 WaUEnd This is a charming excursion. From Ambleside go to Clap- persgate, where cross the Brathay, and proceed, with the river on the right and the chapel on the left hand, to the hamlet of Skelwith-fold. When the houses are passed, turn, before you descend the hill, through a gate on the right, and from a rocky point is a fine view of the Brathay river, Langdale Pikes, &c. ; thence to Colwith-force ; and, after passing thi'ough a gate, a short distance from Little Langdale Tarn, the ancient road from Kendal to Whitehaven takes the left hand ; the one to be pur- sued turns to the right, leadiag over the common to Blea Tarn. The scene in which this small piece of water lies, suggested to the author the following description (given in his Poem of the Excursion), supposing the spectator to look down upon it, not from the road, but from one of its elevated sides. " Behold ! Beneath our feet a little lowly Vale, A lowly Vale, and yet uplifted high Among the mountains ; even as if the spot Had been, from earhest time, by wish of theirs, So placed, to be shut out from all the world ! 1 ll Lisle Bridge .. 11 '^l 2 Langdale Chapel .. 13 3 1^ High Close .. .14i 4 h First sight of Grasmere .. 15 5v 2 Grasmere .. 17 91 4 Ambleside .. 21 DUNGEON GILL. — LANGDALE PIKES. 41 Urn-like it was in shape, deep as an Urn ; With rocks encompassed, save that to tne South Was one small opening-, where a heath-clad ridge Supplied a boundary less abrupt and close ; A quiet treeless nook,* with two green fields, A liquid pool that glittered in the sun And one bare Dwelling ; one Abode, no more ! It seemed the home of poverty and toil, Though not of want : the little fields, made green By husbandry of many thrifty years. Paid cheerful tribute to the moorland House. — There crows the Cock, single in his domain : The small birds find in spring no thicket there To shroud them : only from the neighbouring Vales The Cuckoo, straggling up to the hiU tops, Shouteth faint tidings of some gladder place." At this point the Langdale Pikes, with Gimmer Crag between, rising from the unseen vale below, appear in a new and noble aspect ; indeed, a more dignified and impressive assemblage of mountain lines scarcely exists in the North of England. The highest Pike, called Harrison Stickle, is perhaps about three miles from the eye, but Stickle Pike, receding towards the Pass of the Stake into Borrowdale, is more than four. After leaving the Tarn, the road descends rapidly to Wall End, at the head of Great Langdale,t from whence it is recommended to proceed to Millbeck, a farm-house across the meadows, a mile distant, and see Dungeon Gill. — The Gill, having its source between the Pikes, passes through a deep cleft in the mountain, into the cheeks of which a rock from the neighbouring heights hath fallen, and got so wedged in as to form a grotesque natural arch, - " a spot which you may see If ever you to Langdale go ; Into a chasm a mighty block Hath fallen, and made a bridge of rock : The gulf is deep below ; And, in a basin black and smaU, Receives a lofty waterfall," * No longer strictly applicable, on account of recent plantations. t The upper portion of the Vale of Langdale, which lies in the direction of the valley which stretches westward towards Bowfeil and Crinkle Crags, bears the name of Oxkndale. E 2 42 EXCURSIONS FROM AMBLESIDE. Langdale Pikes may be conveniently ascended from Mill- beck, where a guide may be obtained. The best ascent is by a peat road to Stickle Tarn, a pretty circular piece of water, celebrated for its fine trout, reposing under the steep rocks of Pa'^ey Ark, and thence to the top of the Pike called Harrison Stickle, which is 2,400 feet in height. Although this Pike is inferior in elevation to many of the neighbom^ing mountains? the views from it are interesting and extensive, especially in looking over the Yale of Great Langdale, towards Windermere, and over the open country to the south and south-east. From Stickle Pike, which rises like a cone a little to the north, there is a fine view of Skiddaw and the Vale of Bassenthwaite, the former of which is seen but partially, and the latter not at all, from Harrison Stickle. Great Gable rears his head to the west, Great End is a little nearer the eye, and Scawfell and the Pikes are seen pre-eminent over the summit of Bowfell. Crinkle Crags are a continuation of Bowfell on the south, and to the south-west, looking over the lonely valley of Little Langdale, are the Coniston mountains : on the east are the mountains of Rydal and Grasmere, and on the north-east the Helvellyn range forms a prominent feature in the landscape. Li the north. Saddleback in the distance, presents his front to the spectator. On leaving the Pikes, follow the road down Great Langdale? as far as the Chapel, passing Thrang Crag Slate Quarry on the left, which those who take an interest in geological science ought not to omit looking at. Near the Chapel there is a small ale-house, from which it is five miles to Ambleside. The road is either by Loughrigg Tarn, or by Rydal and Grasmere waters. The latter course is much to be preferred. The road strikes ojff on the left, near the Chapel, and in winding up the hill the whole Vale of Langdale, with the small Lake of Elterwater and Lough- rigg Tarn, are seen to advantage. The view from High Close is exquisite, and ]VIi\ Green says, " there is not a finer thing in Westmorland." A few hundi'ed yards from this point will bring you in sight of the Lake and Vale of Grasmere, from whence, turning southward, it is four miles on the main road to Amble- side. This excursion is altogether twenty-one miles (if Dungeon Gill and the Pikes are visited), of which, though assisted by a carriage, it will be necessary to walk from ^yq to seven miles. AQUATIC EXCURSIONS ON WINDERMERE. 43^ Stock Gill Force, half a mile from Ambleside, is a most interesting Waterfall, if seen to advantage, but its beauties are in a great degree lost to the generality of visitors, who see the fall only from the footpath skirting the top of the bank, and almost perpendicularly from the bottom of the channel. The spectator looks down upon the scene rather than upwards or horizontally, and his view of the water is likewise impeded by a redundancy of wood. Stock Gill rises in the Screes, on the side of Scandale fell, not far from Kirkstone, and, passing through Ambleside, joins the river Rothay a quarter of a mile below the town, about four miles from its source. This rivulet is among the finest of its kind in the Lake District. The way to the Waterfall is through the stable-yard of the Salutation hotel. AQUATIC excursions ON WINDERMERE.. I Landing at Waterhead ... | I Mouth of the river .,. ... H 1 PuUWyke 2j if Low Wood Inn 4} Hohne Point ... 4 Return to the mouth of the river J Landing f Ambleside 6 To the Landing at Waterhead, where boats are moored, the walk is three-quarters of a mile. After taking boat, steer a short and attractive- course by skirting the deeply-indented coast of Brathay into Pull Wyke, a pretty bay surrounded by rich woods, over which peep the Loughrigg and other elevated sum- mits ; and from Pull Wyke proceed by the grounds at Low Wray to the craggy and wooded promontory a little southward. From. this place make for the Inn at Low Wood in a direct line, and see the Langdale and Rydal Mountains in two several and dis- tinct arrangements, separated by the imposing heights of Lough- rigg. Then return to the mouth of the Brathay by Holm Point, and up the river to the landing place. From AMBLESIDE to the FERRY, by Water. Landing on Curwen's Island Ti- ll Round the Island 9} 4| From the Pier to the Head of the Lake ... 14 1^ Mouth of the river by the Landing 1^ 3 Belle Grange ... 4] 2^ Ferry-house, passing betv^^een the Lily of the Valley Holmes 7 I From the Ferry -house to the The best situation on the water for a view of the country around is about half a mile from the junction of the Brathay mth the E 3 44 EXCURSIONS FROM AMBLESIDE. lake, and parties in an excursion downwards will do well to pass in that direction, and from that point rather near to the Lan- cashire shore, by which the high lands at Rydal, Ambleside, Troutbeck, and Applethwaite, will be seen to the greatest ad- vantage, particularly Hill Bell and the neighbouring summits. In proceeding towards the Ferry, that part of the lake between the two islands, called the Lily of the Valley Holmes, having the Station-house about a mile from the eye, and as side-screens the bold and wooded elevation above Harrow Slack on the right, and Curwen's Island on the left, formes a lovely picture. Rather than first touch at the great Island, it will be better to row direct for the Ferry-house, thence walk to the Station, and afterwards return to the Ferry. From the Ferry, Curwen's Island should be ^^sited, after leaving which the party may visit Bowness, or return direct to Ambleside. By a tourist halting a few days in Ambleside, the Nook also^ might be visited — a spot where there is a bridge over Scandale- beck, which makes a pretty subject for the pencil. And, for residents of a week or so at Ambleside, there are delightful ram- bles over every part of Loughrigg Fell and among the enclosures on its sides ; particularly about Loughrigg Tarn, and on its eastern side about Fox How and the properties adjoining to the northwards.* A few out of the main road are particularized in the folio wince Tables : — * Sergt. (now Judge) Talfourd, in his " Vacation Rambles," speaking of Lough- rigg Fell, says, " This beautiful piece of upland might seem a platform — if such a phrase did not beUe its waving, rock-ribbed, and pinnacled surface — ^built by Nature, to enable her true lovers to enj oy , in quick succession, the most splen- did variety she can exhibit. On one side, from the gently ascending path, bor- dered by scanty heather, you embrace the broader portion of Windermere, spreading out its arms as if to embrace the low and lovely hiUs that unfold it — a view without an angle or a contrast — a scene of perfect harmony and peace, Ascend a lofty slab of rock,^ not many paces onward, and you have lying before you the deUcious vale of the Rotha — a stream gUding through the greenest meadoAvs — with Fairfield beyond, expanding its huge arms as of a giant's chair, and with Fox How in the midst, where the great and good Dr. Arnold — great in goodness — embraced the glories of the external world, with all the earnest- ness of his generous and simple nature, and nourished that sense of the ima- ginative and harmonious aspects of humanity and faith which grew clearer and deeper as he advanced in years. Wind your way through two small valleys, each having its own oval basin, and from another height you may look down on the still mirror of Rydalmere, with its small central island, the nest of herons, Dale End 4| Grasmere Church 5| Ambleside 9* LOUGHRIGG TARN, ETC. 45 From AMBLESIDE, under Loughrig^ FeU, to GRASMERE- ^ Rothay Bridge i " - - - l| Pelter Bridge (leave on the right) 2 I Coat How 2} If Red Bank 4 This is one of the finest Walks in the country. The tourist must take the road to Clappersgate, and, after crossing Rothay Bridge, enter a gate on the right hand. He will pass in regular succession Millar Bridge Cottage on the left; Fox How (Mrs. Arnold) on the right ; Fox Ghyll (H. Roughsedge, Esq.) on the left ; Loughrigg Holme (Misses Quillinan) ; Spring Cottage (Wm. Peel, Esq.) ; Ebenezer Cottage ; and Field Foot (W. D. Crewdson, Esq.), also on the left. Rydal Hall, the seat of Lady le Fleming, standing in an extensive park, richly adorned with numerous stately forest trees, and Rydal Mount (Mrs. Words- worth), are prominent objects from several parts along the road ; and the mountains of Rydal Head, Fairfield, and Nab Scar on the north-east, and Loughrigg fell on the western side of the valley, present many fine combinations of scenery. On reaching Pelter Bridge he must leave it on the right, taking the road by Coat How ; and on arriving at the top of the lane he will come in view of Rydal Lake. He must keep the high ter- race road, which leads to Red Bank, and forward to Grasmere, from whence he may return to Ambleside by the Keswick road. This walk may be curtailed on arriving at Pelter Bridge, before named, by crossing it, and returning through Rydal to Ambleside. LOUGHRIGG TARN and GRASMERE. 1 Clappersgate 1 1^ Guide-post 2} J Loughrigg Fold 2| I The Oaks 3 Grasmere Church 6 4 Ambleside 10 and following the valley to Grasmere with its low white church-tower, beyond the figured crest of Helm Crag, behold the vast triangle of Skiddaw filling the distance ; while midway, just rising above green mountains, you may see the topmost rind of Helvellyn, curved in air, with one black descent just indicated; and, when the eye has been satiated with loveliness, look down just below on a mansion at the foot of Nab Scar, the dwelling of the Poet, not of these only, but of all earth's scenes ; who, disdaining the frequent description of particular combinations of its beauties, has unveiled the sources of profoundest sentiment they contain ; and, more than any writer who ever lived, has diffused that love of external nature which now sheds its purifying influence abroad among our people. Pass from thence to the highest point of all this region, and look down, beyond the calm round tarn of Loughrigg, into a magnificent chaos, the Lang- dale vales, with the ribbed pike of Scawfell beyond them, and in the midst those Pikes, which, yielding to many of the surrounding hills in height, surpass them all in form." 46 EXCURSIONS FROM AMBLESIDE. " LouoHRiaG Tarn," says Wordsworth, *' resembles, though much smaller in compass, the Lake Nemi, or Speculum DiancB^ as it is often called, not only in its clear waters and circular form, and the beauty immediately surrounding* it, but also as being overlooked by the eminence of Langdale Pikes as Lake Nemi is by that of Monte Cairo." elterwater. The foot of Elterwater, either by Skelwith Bridge or Lough*, rigg Fold, over Little Loughrigg, is 3 3 miles from Ambleside.. Extensive Gunpowder Works are carried on at Elterwater.. WANSFELL PIKE. 1 Low Fold, and along a Terrace Road under StrawberryBank 1 1 Skelgill 2 RYDAL WATERFALLS. U Lower Fall in 2 Ambleside ... i' i Higher Fall .„ 2" | These two pretty water-^falls are pointed out to every one, and may be seen on application at the Cottage near Rydal Chapel. The upper fall is in a glen above the Hall, but the lower fall, which is the more beautiful, is seen from a summer-house in the pleasure-- grounds, and is thus described in one of Mr. Wordswortli's ear^- iiest poems : — " With sparkling foam, a small cascade 1 WansfellPike 3^ 1 Waterfall Lane 4' 1 Ambleside 5 Illumines from within the leafy shade, While thick above the rills, the branches close, In rocky basin its wild waves repose : Beyond .... The eye reposes on a secret bridge, Half grey, half shagged with ivy to its ridge. There bending o'er tlm stream, the listless swain Lingers behind his disappearing wain." Fairfield is the high mountain closing on the north the do- main of Rydal, with an elevation of 2950 feet. — Commence the ascent to Fairfield at Rydal by the road between Rydal Hall and Rydal Mount, beyond which there is a green lane that leads to the Common, whence it is a steep and craggy climb to Nab Scar. From a certain point on Nab Scar there is an exquisite view commanding eight lakes: viz. Windermere, Blelham Tarn, Esthwaite Water, Rydal Water, Coniston Water, Elterwater, HAWES WATER — HAYS WATER, ETC. 47 Grasmere Lake, and Easedale Tarn. The traveller, if so inclined, may proceed to the top of Fairfield by following the ridge ; and return to Ambleside by Nook End Bridge, over the High and Low Pikes. The distance is about ten miles. From AMBLESIDE to HAWES WATER, over High Street 3 Woundale 3 3 By Troutbeck Tongue to High Street, where Hays Water is seen on the left 6 2 Junction of High Street wdth Riggendale ; Blea Water on the right 8 2 Chapel HiU 10 To HAWES WATER, through Troutbeck and Kentmere. 4 Troutbeck 4 1 4 Nanbield 11 3 Kentmere Church 7 | 2 Chapel Hill 13 Hawes Water does not exceed three miles in length, and varies in width from half a mile to a quarter. It is seldom \dsited by tourists, though the solemn grandeur of its rocks and moun- tains is exceedingly impressive. (See p. 21.) From AMBLESIDE to HAYSWATER. 7 Low Hartshope 7 12 Return by Low Hartshope 11 2 HayswaterHead 9|7 Ambleside 18 From AMBLESIDE to ANGLE TARN. 7 Low Hartshope 7 11 Low Hartshope 9 1 Angle Tarn 8 | 7 Ambleside 16 Hays Water and Angle Tarn are situated on the west side of High Street, and are celebrated for the fine trout with which they abound. YEWDALE. 2 Shepherd's Bridge 7 1 Black Bull Inn, Coniston ... 8 1 Water Head Inn 9 3 Skelwith Bridge 3 1 Turn on the left at the top of the hill between Skelwith and Colwith Bridges 4 1 Oxen FeU 5 8 Ambleside 17 TILBERTHWAITE. 7 Shepherd's Bridge, in Yewdale 7 1^ Tilberthwaite 8^ l| Little Langdale 10 5 Ambleside, over Colwith and Skelwith Bridges 15 TILBERTHWAITE, returning by Elterwater HaU. 7 Shepherd's Bridge in Yewdale 3 Little Langdale Road, by Tilber- thwaite 10 2 Langdale Chapel, by Fletcher's Wood and Elterwater HaU 12 5 Ambleside, by High Close, Gras- mere, and Rydal Waters ... 17 From AMBLESIDE, round the Lake of WINDERMERE. 1 Brathay Bridge ... ... 1 4 High Wray ... ... ..» 5 3 Ferry House 8 7 Newby Bridge 15 8 Bowness 23 6 Ambleside 29 From AMBLESIDE, round the Lake, by the Ferry Points. 1 Brathay Bridge 7 Ferry House, by High Wray and Belle Grange 2 Bowness 10 6 Ambleside 16 48 EXCURSIONS FROM AMBLESIDE. From AMBLESIDE by the Eastern Side of ESTHWAITE WATER and the Eastern Side of WINDERMERE. 5 Hawkshead 5 2 Sawrey 7 2 Ferry-house 9 2 Bowness 11 6 Ambleside 17 AMBLESIDE TO PATTERDALE- The distance from Ambleside to the Inn at Patterdale is ten miles, and the Pass of Kirkstone and the descent from it are very impressive; but this rale, nevertheless, like the others, loses much of its effects by being entered from the head ;: so that it is better to go from Keswick through Matterdale, and descend upon Gowborrow Park ; you are thus brought at once upon a magnificent view of the two higher reaches of the lakeu To such persons, however, as decide upon visiting Patterdale from Am- bleside, the following information may be useful. — The road leaves Ambleside between the old Church and the Free Grammar School, and ascends gradually for upwards of three miles to the summit of the mountain pass on Kirkstone, where a small public- house has been recently erected, and is said to be the highest inhabited house in the kingdom. A large detached mass of rock, called, from its shape, Kirkstone, is seen on the left, near the top of the pass. On descending from Kirkstone, towards Patterdale, a new and interesting scene appears. Through a vista, you have a pretty peep at Brotherswater and the heights of Patterdale in the distance. The road runs close to Brothers- water, and then turns at right angles across the meadows, where it meets with another road from Hartsop HaE at Cowbridge. Between Cowbridge and the Inn at Patterdale, the romantic valley of Deepdale runs up into the mountains on the left. At the right-angular turn of the road above mentioned, there is a bridle-road through the picturesque hamlet of Low Hartsop,. along the side of Place Fell, which joins the main road again at Goldrill Bridge, a short distance from the Inn. The stream which flows through the hamlet of Low Hartsop, issues from the mountain tarn called Hays Water, situate on the western side of a ridge running up to High Street ; and, in wet weather, the- stream from Angle Tarn forms a pretty waterfall down the craggy side of Placefell. The finest scenes on UUswater lie between the Inn at Patter- dale, and Lyulph's Tower, about four miles dUtant. The best FROM AMBLESroE TO PATTERDALE AND KESWICK. 49 way of seeing them is, to take a boat at the head of the lake, pass the islands called Cherry Holme and House Holme, and approach within sight of Stybarrow Crag. From House Holme, the views are exquisite in almost every direction. Proceed to Lyulph's Tower, an erection built by the late Duke of Norfolk for a pleasure-house, now the property of Mr. Howard, of Grey- stoke. It stands a little above the road in a part of Gowbarrow Park, and from the front of it are seen fine views of the lake. From Lyulph's Tower, a guide to Ara Force, about a quarter of a mile distant, may always be had. In returning to the Inn, it is advisable to row across the lake to a promontary at the foot of Placefell, and walk over the Point to Purse Bay, and thence by the farm of Blowick and Goldrill Bridge to the Inn. In this short walk, the magnificent scenery around the head of Ullswater is seen to the greatest advantage. See Ullswater. After having duly explored the beauties of Ambleside and the neighbourhood, the next Station the tourist should aim at is Keswick, which may be approached by various routes. The Direct Road is the only one that can be travelled over by car- riages ; but the hardy pedestrian might select from the several routes hereafter pointed out which he will pursue. There is however, a carriage road from Ambleside to Keswick by Wast Water, but the circuit is so extended that it is seldom adopted. This road is through Coniston, 8 miles— Broughton, 9 miles more — and over Bkker Fell (a road somewhat rugged) by San- ton Bridge to the Strands, near the foot of Wast Water, where there is a comforable Inn, 17 miles. From the Strands through Gosforth and Calder Bridge, thence over Coldfell to Lamplugh> and by Scale Hill to Keswick, 35 miles. — By Egremont, a better road, 37 i miles — making altogether a circuit of 69 miles. AMBLESIDE to KESWICK, Direct. 1^ Rydal li 1 4 Smallthwaite Bridge 121 3^ Swan, Grasmere 5 13 Castlerigg 15i 2 Dunmail Raise ».. "^ I 1 Keswick 16| H Nag's Head, Wythburn ... 8J | A mile and a half from Ambleside the tourist reaches the romantic village of Rydal. On the right is seen, embosomed in wood, Rydal Hall, the residence of Lady le Fleming, in whose grounds are the two pretty water-falls before mentioned. 50 RYDAL CHAPEL. — RYDAL MOUNT. Rydal Chapel is a neat edifice, and will arrest the notice of the stranger on entering the village. It was erected and endowed at the expense of Lady le Fleming, to whom Mr. Wordsworth addressed the following lines lines on the foundation stone being laid : — O Lady ! from a noble line Of chieftains sprung, who stoutly bore The spear, yet gave to works divine A bounteous help in days of yore, (As records mouldering in the Dell Of Nightshade* haply yet may tell ;) Thee kindred aspirations moved To build, within a vale beloved. For Him upon whose high behests All peace depends, all safety rests. How fondly will the woods embrace This daughter of thy pious care. Lifting her front with modest grace To make a fair recess more fair ; And to exalt the passing hour ; Or soothe it with a healing power Drawn from the Sacrifice fulfilled, Before this rugged soil was tilled. Or human habitation rose To interrupt the deep repose ! Heaven prosper it ! may peace, and love, And hope, and consolation, fall. Through its meek influence, from above. And penetrate the hearts of all; All who, around the hallowed Fane, Shall sojourn in this fair domain : Grateful to Thee, while service pure, And ancient ordinance, shall endure, For opportunity bestowed To kneel together, and adore their God ! Rydal Mount, the residence of William Wordsworth, Esq., for the last thirty-seven years of his life, stands a little to the north-east of the Church : — * Bekangs Ghyll— or the dell of Nightshade— in which stands St. Mary's Abbey, in Low Furness. BYDAL MOUNT. 51 " Low and white, yet scarcely seen Are its walls for mantling green ; Not a window lets in light But through flowers clustering bright*, Not a glance may wander there, But it faUs on something fair ; Garden choice and fairy mound, Only that no elves are found ; Winding walk and sheltered nook, For student grave, and graver book; Or a bird-hke bower, perchance. Fit for maiden or romance." Miss Jewsbury. This little paradise has so long* been associated with the name of the Poet Laureate of England, that the following account of it, extracted from his " Memoirs," recently published, will, we doubt not, be read with interest. " The house stands upon the sloping side of a rocky hill, called Nab Scar. It has a southern aspect : in front of it is a small semicircular area of grey gravel, fringed with shrubs and flowers, the house forming the diameter of the circle. From this area there is a descent by a few stone steps southward, and then a little ascent to a grassy mound. Here let us rest a little. At our back is the house ; in front, rather to the left in the horizon, is Wansfell, to which the Poet has paid a grateful tribute in two of his later Sonnets (42 and 43). " Wansfell ! this household has a favoured lot, Living with hberty on thee to gaze." Beneath it, the blue smoke shows the place of the town of Am- bleside. In front, is the Lake of Windermere, shining in the sun ; also, in front, but more to the right, are the fells of Lough- rigg, one of which throws up a massive solitary crag, on which the Poet's imagination pleased itself to plant an imperial castle : " Aerial rock whose sohtary brow, From this low threshold daily meets the sight." Looking to the right in the garden, is a beautiful glade, over- hung with rhododendrons in most luxuriant leaf and bloom. Near them is a tall ash tree, in which a thrush has sung for hour?i together for many years. Not far from it is a laburnum, in which the osier cage of the doves was hung. Below, to the west, is the vegetable garden, not parted off from the rest, but blended with it by parterres of flowers and shrubs. 52 RTDAL MOUNT. " Returning to the platform of grey gravel before tlie house, we pass under the shade of a fine sycamore, and ascend to the westward by fourteen steps of stones, about nine feet long, in the insterstices of which grow the yellow flowering poppy and the wild geranium or Poor Robin, " Gay, With his red stalks upon a sunny day," a favourite with the Poet, as his verses show. The steps above mentioned lead to an upward sloping Terrace, about two hun- dred and fifty feet long. On the right side it is shaded by laburnums, Portugal laurels, mountain ash, and fine walnut trees and cherries ; on the left it is flanked by a low stone wall, coped with rude slates, and covered with lichens, mosses, and wild flowers. The fern waves on the walls, and at its base grows the wild strawberry and foxglove. Beneath this wall, and parallel to it, on the left, is a level terrace, constructed by the Poet for the sake of a friend most dear to him and his, who, for the last twenty years of Mr. Wordsworth's life, was often a visitor and inmate of Rydal Mount. This terrace was a favourite resort of the Poet, being more easy for pacing to and fro, when old age began to make him feel the acclirity of the other terrace to be toil- some. Both these terraces command beautiful views of the vale of Rothay and the banks of the Lake of Windermere. " The ascending Terrace leads to an arbour lined with fir cones, from which, passing onward, on opening the latched door, we have a view of the lower end of Rydal Lake, and of the long, wooded, and rocky hill of Loughrigg, beyond and above it. Close to this arbour-door, is a beautiful sycamore, with five fine Scotch firs in the fore-ground, and a deep bay of wood to the left and front, of oak, ash, holly, hazel, fir, and birch. The terrace-path here winds gently ofi" to the right, and becomes what was called by the Poet and his household the Far Terrace on the moun- tain's side : " The Poet's hand first shaped it, and the steps Of that same bard — repeated to and fro, At morn, at noon, and under moonlight skies, Through the vicissitudes of many a year — Forbad the weeds to creep o'er its grey line." Here he " Scattered to the heedless winds The vocal raptures of fresh poesy ; RYDAL MOUNT. 53 And here he was often "locked In earnest converse with beloved friends." " The ' far terrace/ after winding along in a serpentine line for about one hundred and fifty feet, ends at a little gate, beyond wliich is a beautiful well of clear water, called ' the Nab well,' which was to the Poet of Rydal — ^a professed water-drinker — what the Bandusian fount was to the Sabine bard : " Thou hast cheered a simple board With beverage pure as ever fixed the choice Of hermit dubious where to scoop his cell, Which Persian kings might envy." " Returning to the arbour we descend by a narrow flight of stone steps to the kitchen-garden, and passing through it south- ward, we open a gate and enter a field sloping down to the val- ley, called, from its owner's name, 'Dora's field.' Not far on tlie right, on entering this field, is the stone bearing this in- scription : " In these fair vales hath many a tree At Wordsworth's suit been spared ; And from the builder's hand this stone. For some rude beauty of its own, Was rescued by the Bard." And the concluding lines will now be read with pathetic interest . " So let it rest ; and time will come, When here the tender-hearted May heave a gentle sigh for him As one of the departed." " Near the same gate, we see a pollard oak, on the top of whose trunk may yet be discerned some leaves of the primrose which sheltered the wren's nest : -" She w^ho planned the mossy lodge. Mistrusting her evasive skill, Had to a primrose looked for aid. Her wishes to fulfil." ** On the left of this gate, we see another oak, and beneath it a pool, to which the gold and silver fish, once swimming in a vase in the library of the house, were transported for the en- joyment of greater freedom : — " Removed in kindness from their glassy cell To the fresh waters of a living well; An elfin pool, so sheltered that its rest No winds disturb." F 2. 54 THE POET WORDSWORTH. Passing the pool, and then turnmg to the right, we come to some stone steps leading down the slope ; and to the right, engraven on the rock, is the following inscription, allusive to the character of the descent :— " Wouldst thou be gathered to Christ's chosen flock, Shun the broad way too easily explored, And let thy path be hewn out of the Rock The Uving Rock of God's eternal Word." " The house itself is a modest mansion, of a soher hue, tinged with weather stains, with two tiers of five windows ; on the right of these is a porch, and above, and to the right, are two other windows ; the highest looks out of what was the Poet's bed-room. The gable-end at the east — that first seen on entering the grounds from the road — -presents on the ground-floor the window of the old hall or dining-room. The house is mantled over here and there with roses and ivy, and jessamine and Virginia creepers. " In this cottage Wordsworth died on the same day of the month as that on which Shakspeare was born, April 23rd, being also the day of Shakspeare's death. On Saturday, the the 27th, 1850, his mortal remains, followed to the grave by his own family and a very large concourse of persons of all ranks and ages, were laid in peace, near those of his children, in Gras- mere church-yard. His own prophecy, in the lines " Sweet flowOT ! belike one day to have A place upon thy Poet's grave, I welcome thee once more," is now fulfilled. He desired no splendid tomb in a public mau- soleum. He reposes, according to his own wish, beneath the green turf, among the dalesmen of Grasmere, under the syca- mores and yews (probably planted by his own hand*) of a country church-yard, by the side of a beautiful stream, amid the moun- tains which he loved ; and a solemn voice seems to breath from his grave, which blends its tones in sweet and holy Imrmony with the accents of his poetry, speaking the accents of humility and love, of adoration and faith, and preparing the soul, by a religious exercise of the kindly afl'ections, and by a devout contemplation * Vide « Memoirs," p. 41, Vol. I., and p. 266 Vol. II, RYDAL WATER. 55 of natural beauty, for translation to a purer, and nobler, and more glorious state of existence, and for a fruition of heavenly felicity/* A plain blue head-stone marks the grave of the Poet, without any inscription but his name ; and in the Church is a neat mar- ble monument to his memory, bearing the following epitaph : — To the Memory of WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, a true Philosopher and Poet, who, by the special gift and calling of Almighty God; whether he discoursed on Man or Nature,, failed not to hft up the heart to holy things, tired not of maintaining the cause of the poor and simple ; and so, in i^erilous times was raised up to be a chief minister not only of noblest poesy, but of high and sacred truth, THIS MEMORIAL is ijlaced here by his Friends and Neighbours,, in testimony of Respect, Affection, and Gratitude. Anno 1851. RYDAL WATER Is one of the smallest of the English Lakes, but certainly one of the most beautiful, from its woody islets and picturesque shores : but it ought to be observed here, that Rydal-mere is no where seen to advantage from the main road. Fine ^iews of it may be had from Rydal Park ; but these grounds, as well as those of Rydal Mount (Mrs. Wordsworth) and Ivy Cottage, now called Glen Rothay (Wm. Ball, Esq.) from which also it is viewed to advantage, are private . A foot-road passing behind Rydal Mount and Nab Scar to Grasmere, is very favourable to "sdews of the lake and the vale, looking back towards Ambleside. The horse- road, also^ along the western side of the lake, under Loughrigg fell, as before mentioned, does justice to the beauties of this small mere, of which the traveller who keeps the high road is not at all aware. About 200 yards beyond the last house on the Keswick side of Rydal village, the road is cut through a low wooded rock, called Thrang Crag. The top of it, which is only a few steps on E 3 56 THE NAB. — HARTLEY COLERIDGE. the south side, affords the best view of the vale which is to be had by a traveller who confines himself to the public road. A short distance beyond this crag, proceeding towards Gras- mere, a neat cottage by the road side will attract the notice of the tourist. That cottage is called The Nab, to which a certain, degree of interest is attached as being for some years the resi- dence of Hartley Coleridge.* Here he died on Saturday, the 6th of January, 1849, and was interred on the following Thursday, in the south-east angle of Grasmere Church-yard, the entrance to which from the north is by a lych-gate, under which you pass to the village school. " Possibly," says his biographer, "this thought may have been in my brother's mind, and an image of this quiet resting-place in his mind's eye, when he penned the following characteristic observations on the choice of a grave, which were- found written on the margin of an old number of the London Magazine : " I have no particular choice of a church-yard, but I would repose, if possible, where there are no proud monuments, no new-fangled obelisks or mausoleums^, heathen in everything but taste, and not Christian in that. Nothing that beto- * " After the cheerfulness of the Mount, the residence of Wm. Wordsworth,, which Ues high above it, at the distance of a few furlongs," says a recent writer, " this cottage looks lone and desolate." To this observation Coleridge's biogra- pher replies, 'Lonely it is; but not, tomy feelings, 'desolate.' It stands by itself on the road-side, between Ambleside and Grasmere, and at nearly an equal dis- tance between the two, having the little lake of Rydal, with its two woody islets in front, at the distance of a stone's throw from the door. A sloping meadow behind leads to the many-coloured side of Nab Scar, which rises steep and, in part, precipitous, through a skirt of trees, with which it is slightly feathered to a considerable height. On the opposite side of the lake runs the range ofLough- rigg, greeting the eye with a rich variety of hue and outline, Ught and shade. On the whole, I take the character of the place to be that of cheerful retirement without seclusion, well fitted for the abiding place of a man at once contem- plative and social, who living much alone, and in communion with Nature, yet needed ready access to the haunts of men — and such was my brother — It was surely a happy, and, so to speak, a suitable disposition of events — I would not lightly use the word Providential — which brought my brother to spend his lat- ter days, as it were, under the shadow and at the foot of that great poet, his father's friend, — so pronounced in words of immortal fame, — with whom his own infancy and boyhood had been so closely and so affectionately linked. As a poet, he would have accounted this an honourable place, and would have claimed no higher. To this, of all his contemporaries, he was every way best entitled. Living in such neighbourhood together, and with no greater distance of affection, they were not far divided in their- deaths, and now they lie all but side by side." WORDSWOETH'S cottage. — GRASMERE. 57 keneth aristocracy^ unless it were the venerable memorial of some old family long extinct. If the village school adjoined the church -yard, so much the bet- ter. But all this must be as He will. I am greatly pleased with the fancy of Anaxagoras, whose sole request of the people of Lampsacus was, that the chil- dren might have a holiday on the anniversary of his death. But I would have the holiday on the day of my funeral. I would connect the happiness of child- hood with the peace of the dead, not with the struggles of the dying." A neat monument of Caen stone marks tlie grave of Hartley Coleridge, with the following short epitaph : — " By thy Cross and Passion, good Lord deliver us." HARTLEY COLERIDGE, born September 19th, a. d. 1796, deceased January 6th, a. d. 1849. And on a stone at the foot of the grave is the following inscrip- tion : — The Stones which mark the Grave of Hartley Coleridge, eldest son of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, were erected by his surviving Brother and Sister, towards the close of the year 1850. From Nab Cottage to White Moss Slate Quarries it is barely a mile, and here the pedestrian should take the old road over the hill, for the sake of the fine retrospective views of Rydal which it affords, and for the more favourable view of Grasmere, which he is now about to approach. On this road he will pass a gate on his left, which, time out of mind, has been called the Wishing Gate, from a belief that wishes formed or indulged there have a favour- able issue. This road will also conduct him through that part of the village called Town End, passing on his right the cottage in which Wordsworth took up his abode on his first settlement at Grasmere in the year 1799, and which still retains the form it then wore. The front of it faces the lake ; behind is a small plot of orchard and garden ground, the enclosure shelving up- ward toward the woody sides of the mountains above it. Many of his Poems, as the reader will remember, are associated with this fair spot :— . " This plot of orchard ground is ours, My trees they are, my sister's flovt'ers." His feelings are thus expressed in settling in his new house^ and in looking down from the hills which embosom the lake : — " On Nature*s invitation do I come. By Reason sanctioned. Can the choice mislead. That made the calmest, fairest spot on earth, With all its unappropriated good, My own ? 58 aRASMERE. Embrace me then, ye hills, and close me in, Now in the clear and open day I feel Your guardianship ! I take it to my heart ; 'Tis like the solemn shelter of the night. But I would call thee beautiful ; for mild, And soft, aad gay, and beautiful thou art, Dear valley, having in thy face a smile, Though peaceful, full of gladness. Thou art pleased, Pleased with thy crags, and woody steeps, thy lake. Its own green island, and its Avinding shores, The multitude of httle rocky hills, Thy Church, and cottages of mountain stone Clustered like stars some few, but single most,. And lurking dimly in their shy retreats. Or, glancing at each other cheerful looks, Like separated stars with clouds between." The new road skirts the margin of the lake, but is fenced from it by an odious stone wall, and joins the old road at Town- end before mentioned, from whence the road into the village takes the left hand. GRASMERE Is beautifully situated at the northern end of the lake, which is more than a mile in circumference, and contains one bare island. The Church, an ancient structure dedicated to St. Oswald, will claim the notice of the tourist, from being that to which the following beautiful lines by Mr. Wordsworth in his Poem of " The Excursion,'* were intended by him to apply.* " Not raised in nice proportions was the pile, But large and massy, for duration built ; With pillars crowded, and the roof upheld By, naked rafters, intricately crossed Like leafless underboughs,.'mid some thick grove, All wither'd by the depth of shade above. * "The Church noticed in the Excursion is that of Grasmere. The interior of it has been improved lately — made warmer by undrawing the roof, and raising the floor; but the rude and antique majesty of its former appearance has been impaired by painting the rafters; and the oak benches, with a simple rail at the back dividing them from each other, have given way to seats that have more tlie appearance of pews. It is remarkable that, excepting only the pew belonging to Rydal Hall, that to Rydal Mount, the one to the Parsonage, and, I believe, another, the men and women still continue, as used to be the custom in Wales' to sit on separate sides of the Church, from each other. Is this practice as old as the Reformation ? and when and how did it originate ?" — See " Memoirs," p. 39. Vol. II. ^^^^S^ROUNOc^ Scale of ^lile-s. Puulisked by J.Hiidsoa.KfirLdai, [To face page 59.] ^^ Beside the two small inns in the Yale of Grasmere, mentioned on the opposite page, a spacious and comfortable Hotel, called the Hollins and Lowther Hotels has recently been established there, under the management of Mr. Brown. — This Hotel commands charming views of the Lake and the Valley, and parties will find it most favourably situated for making excursions from The ascent of Fairfield and Helvellyn may be conveniently made from thence on horseback, and steady ponies and intelligent guides are there supplied for that purpose. GRASMERE. 50 Admonitory texts inscribed the walls — Each in its ornamental scroll enclosed, Each also crown'd with winged heads — a pair Of rudely-painted cherubim. The floor Of nave and aisle, in unpretending guise, "Was occupied by oaken benches, ranged In seemly rows." There are two small inns in the vale of Grasmere, one near the Church ( The Red Lion), the other ( The Swan) on the main road. From the former the valley may be more conveniently explored in every direction, and a mountain walk taken up Ease- dale to Easedale Tarn (2| miles), one of the finest tarns in the country, thence to Stickle Tarn and to the top of Langdale Pikes. See also the vale from Butterlip How, half a mile from the inn. It is the finest elevation of moderate height in the neighbour- hood. Helm Crag may be visited from Grasmere. It is two miles to its summit, which is extremely rugged, and the ascent is somewhat difficult. The shattered apex of this mountain, as seen from certain points in the valley, bears a striking resem- blance to a lion couchant, with a lamb lying at the end of his nose ; and to an old woman cowering.* Allan Bank, the re- sidence of th^ Rev. — Jefiries, is only a short distance out of the road leading from The Red Lion to Easedale, and from some places in the avenue Helm Crag is a pleasing object. Seat San- dal and all the lofty mountains south of it are are seen towering over the pretty undulating Butterlip How and other elevations. * Mr. Wordsworth, in one of his Poems on the Naming of Places, entitled 'Johanna," thus introduces the old lady :^~ When I had gazed perhaps two minutes space, Johanna, looking in my eyes, beheld That ravishment of mine, and laughed aloud. The Rock, like something starting from a sleep. Took up the Lady's voice, and laughed again ;, That ancient woman seated on Helm-crag Was ready with her cavern ; Hammar-scar And the tall steep of Silver-how, sent forth A noise of laughter : southern Loughrigg heard,. And Fairfield answered with a mountain tone ; Helvellyn far into the clear blue sky Carried the Lady's voice ; old Skiddaw blew His speaking-trumpet ;— back out of the clouds Of Glaramara southward came the voice ; And Kirkstone tossed it from its misty head. 60 WYTHBURN CHAPEL AND HOSTEL. and the whole Yale of Grasmere is hardly anywhere seen to greater advantage than from this point. A boat is kept by the innkeeper, and this circular vale, in the solemnity of a fine evening, will make, from the bosom of the lake, an impression that will scarcely ever be efiaced. The steep and rugged bridle-road from Grasmere to Patter- dale, by Grisedale Tarn, a distance of seven miles, turns off at a smithy four miles and three quarters from Ambleside. Beyond the toll-bar the road begins to ascend the Pass of Dunmail Eaise, between Steel Fell on the west, and Seat San- dal on the east. At the highest point, which is 720 feet above the sea, it passes a low cairn, or pile of stones, said to have been raised in the year 945, by the Anglo-Saxon King Edmund, after the defeat and death, on this spot, of Dunmail (or Dumhnail) the British King of Cumbria, and the consequent destruction of that kingdom. The river on the right of the Raise divides the counties, whence to the Nag's Head, Wythburn, is one mile and a quarter. Opposite the inn is a small Chapel, " as lowly as the lowliest dwelKng." Hartley Coleridge has the following verses on this quiet spot : — Here, traveller, pause and think, and duly think, What happy, holy thoughts may heavenward rise, Whilst thou and thy good steed together drink, Beneath this little portion of the skies. See ! on one side, a humble house of prayer,. Where Silence dvrells,. a maid immaculate, Save w^hen the Sabbath and the priest are there,, And some few hungry souls for manna wait.. Humble it is and meek and very low, And speaks its purpose by a single bell ;; But God Himself, and He alone, can know If spiry temples please Him half so weU. Then see the world, the world in its best guise„ Inviting thee its bounties to partake ; Dear is the Sign's old time-discolour'd dyes, To weary trudger by the long black lake. And pity 'tis that other studded door. That looks so rusty right across the way, Stands not always as was the use of yore, That whoso passes may step in and pray. This is a convenient Station for ascending Helvellyn, and the moun- tain track approaching it may be observed from the door of the THIRLMERE. 61 inn. The stream that the tourist will be directed to follow issues from a small well, called Brownrigg's well, only a few hundred yards to the south of the summit, and is therefore perhaps the best guide that he can have, unless he takes a professional one ft-om the inn. Another favourable point for commencing the ascent of this mountain is at the sixth milestone from Kes- wick. The ascent of Helvellyn will be hereafter noticed in the Patterdale Excursions. The direct road from Grasmere to Keswick does not (as has been observed of Rydal-mere) show to advantage THIRLMERE, or Wythburn Lake, with its surrounding mountains. By a tra- veller proceeding at leisure, a deviation ought to be made from the main road, when he has advanced a little beyond the sixth milestone short of Keswick, from which point there is a noble view of the Vale of Legberthwaite, with Blencathra (commonly called Saddleback) in front. Having previously enquired, at the inn near Wythburn Chapel, the best way from this milestone to the bridge that divides the lake, he must cross it, and proceed with the lake on the right, to the hamlet a little beyond its ter- mination, and rejoin the main road upon Shoulthwaite Moss, about four miles from Keswick ; or, if on foot, the tourist may follow the stream that issues from Thirlmere down the romantic Vale of St. John's, and so (enquiring the way at some cottage) to Keswick, by a circuit of little more than a mile. By following the direct road, and when about a mile from Keswick, at the top of Castlerigg Brow, one of the richest mountain scenes is gra- dually unfolded that can be enjoyed from any of the carriage roads in the Xorth of England. A more interesting tract of country is scarcely anywhere to be seen, than the road between Ambleside and Keswick, with the deviations that have been pointed out. From AMBLESIDE, through Grasmere, Easedale, Greenup, and Borrowdale to KESWICK. Grasmere Church Goody Bridge ... Tliorneyhow Far Easdale Wythburn Dale Head.. 1 Greenup Dale Head 10 3 Down Greenup vale to Stone- thwaite 13 7 Keswick... 20 62 APPROACH TO GREAT LANGDALE. Pursue tlie road, as before described, as far as Grasmere, from whence " the valley of Easedale runs far into the northern hills on the western side of Helm Crag. Near its mouth a stream flows from Easedale Tarn, and from the whiteness of the broken water is called Sour-milk Gill. Up this seldom-visited glen the foot traveller may pursue his way from Grasmere to Keswick, ascending by a steep and laborious climb to a narrow level tract of moor called Colddale Fell ; after which he will descend into the Stonethwaite branch of Borrowdale, nor will he regret, though the way be longer and far more laborious, having ex- changed the high road for the freedom of the mountain-side." From AMBLESIDE, through Great Langdale, to the STAKE, and thence through Borrowdale, to KESWICK. 5 Langdale Chapel 2 Lisle Bridge, near Dungeon Gill 1 Langdale Head 4 Top" of the Stake 5 Stonethwaite ... 17 1 Rosthwaite ... 18 i Bowder Stone 19 5 Keswick ... 24 The finest approach to Great Langdale is by pursuing the Keswick road to Pelter Bridge (one mile), which having cross- ed, pass on the side of the Rothay by Coat How to Rydal and Grasmere lakes, thence by High Close and Langdale Chapel to Lisle Bridge and Millbeck, which places have been before noticed in the Langdale Excursion. Ascending the Stake, the road is on the side of a turbulent stream, which dashes down into the valley of Langdale. Half a mile beyond the top of the Lang- dale Stake, begins the descent into Borrowdale by the side of a river through the valley of Langstreth, where all is in a state of w^ildness and desolation. At the top of the Stake is a grand ex- hibition of the high summits of Bow Fell, Hanging Knotts, Scaw- fell Pikes, and Great Gable, and at a considerable distance is seen Skiddaw, partly intercepted by nearer mountains. Half way down the vale the road crosses the river, having, in the di- rection of Stonethwaite, a large and curious stone on the right, called Black Cap, above which is Sergeant Crag, and nearer Stonethwaite is the bold rocky elevation of Eagle Crag on the right. From Stonethwaite, the road to Keswick is by Ros- thwaite, in Borrowdale, where there is a small public-house. Thence pass Bowder Stone, Lowdore, and Barrow, which will hereafter be described in the Keswick Excursions. EXCURSION FROM AMBLESIDE. 63 From AMBLESIDE, over Wrynoseand Hardknott,to WAST WATER, thence by Sty Head to KESWICK, or return to Ambleside by Sty Head Tarn through Langdale, or by Seathwaite, through Eskdale. 1 Overbeck Bridge 26 1 Wastdale Head 27 2 Sty Head 29 12 Keswick by Bowder Stone ... 41 From Sty Head to Ambleside by Sty Head Tarn, Sprink- ling Tarn, and Angle Tarn, and thence through the Vale of Langdale, 16^ miles, making the round ... ... 45| From Sty Head by Seathwite, and thence throughGreenup and Eskdale, to Ambleside, 18 miles, making the round 47 1 Clappersgate ..> 1 2 Skelwith Bridge 3 1 Colwith Bridge and Force ... 4 2 FeUFoot 6 2 Top of Wrynose 2 Cockley Beck 10 2 Hardknott Castle 12 4 Dalegarth HaU and Stanley GiU 16 1 Road on the left by Ulpha to Broughton ... 17 3 Santon Bridge 20 2 Strands Pubhc House 22 [From Santon Bridge direct to Crook, at the foot of Wast Water, is 1 mile.] 3 Netherbeck Bridge 25 Tliis road is by Skelwith and Colwith Bridges, at which latter place there is a fine Waterfall, called Colwith Force, scarcely inferior to any in the country, and thence through Lit- tle Langdale, It has been described in the Langdale Ex- cursion as far as the place where it diverges to Blea Tarn and Great Langdale, a distance of scarcely seven miles from Amble- side, (p. 40.) Hence the road is to Fell Foot, formerly a pubKc- house^ when this was the main road from Kendal to Whitehaven, a fact which those who now travel over it will find it hard to be- lieve. At the time we are speaking of, the only mode for the conveyance of goods was on the backs of pack-horses, long trains of which were often to be seen traversing these hills.* At Fell Foot begins the ascent of Wrynose to the three Shire Stones, where the counties of Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancaster unite on the top of the hill. Here the road enters Lancashire, having the stream which divides it from Cumberland, on the right, and descends, though not abruptly, upon Cockley Beck, only to cross the valley and climb another mountain no less high and difficult of ascent, called Hardknott, which separates Sea- thwaite from Eskdale. " The ascent of the upper part of the valley at Cockley Beck, where it is crossed by the mountain- road of which we have been speaking, is dreary. A tract of desolate hills, nurses of the Esk and Duddon, rises towards the north-west into the lofty range of Scawfell and Bowfell. The * Bells were attached to the collar of the leading horse of the train. A col- lar of this kind mav be seen in the Museum at Kendal. 64 EXCURSIONS FROM AMBLESIDE head of Eskdale lies between these, the highest and the roughest mountains in the country ; and we might here fancy ourselves deep in the recesses even of the wilder parts of the Scottish Highlands. The precipices of Scawfell, and of the higher point of that great mountain, called The Pikes, tower darkly and aw- fully on the western side ; and even on the eastern, where Bow- fell slopes down more gently, the passage of the traveller must be slow and cautious. The assistance of an experienced guide in this wild and perplexing region is strongly recommended. No precipice, however, bars up the head of the dale, which rises gradually to the green ridge that marks the water's source be- tween Eskdale and Borrowdale. This height, itself a depres- sion between Great End and that part of Bowfell, called Hang- ing Knott, is called Esk Hause.* From it we look directly down the whole of Borrowdale, and command a view ofDerwentwater, with its specks of islands, the whole closed by the pyramidal group of Skiddaw, which is here seen from head to foot, and to the greatest advantage The outbreak of the river from this upland glen to the lower valley, some five or six miles from Esk Hause, forms a succession of falls and rapids for a consider- able distance, fringed with birch and mountain ash, the first signs of better soil and milder climate. These, in their varied com- binations of rock and water, furnish ample studies for the artist or sk etcher." Something more than half way down the hill in descending into Eskdale, about 120 yards on the right of the road, are the remains of Hardknott Casile, mentioned in p. 15, from whence there is a magnificent view of Scawfell and the Pikes, supported by the immense buttresses rising from the Esk. At the foot of the hill there is a very extensive sheep-farm on the right called Brotherilkeld, and one on the left caUed Toes. " Proceeding down the valley, Birker Force is seen dashing over the rocks on the left, and about two miles from the foot of the hill we come to a public-house at Bout; within a mile of which is situated a very fine waterfall called Stanley Gill, far up a deep, narrow, and thickly-wooded ravine. The stream is small, and in height the fall is not remarkable; but in the picturesque character of its accompaniments it is inferior to none of those that are better * Pronounced Ash Course by the dalesmen. TO KESWICK. — CALDER ABBEY. 65 known in the country." The road to this waterfall turns off on the left at the village school, and a guide to the fall may be had at Dalegarth Hall, a farm-house close at hand \^See Note p. 15] From the hamlet of Bout the main road should be followed nearly to Santon Bridge, where it turns off to the right to the Strands at Nether Wastdale, a distance of two miles and a half, where there are two small inns. There is a nearer cut to the Strands for pedestrians, by a foot-road through Mitredale, which strikes across the hill on the right, a little before reaching Santon Bridge. From Bout there is a rough mountain-road which traverses the moor to Wastdale Head, passing a cheerless sheet of water ealled Bummoor Tarn, between Scawfell and the Screes, and then de- scends down a steep peat-track into Upper Wastdale, a little above the lake. From Westdale Head the road is on the western side of Wastwater to the Strands. The eastern side of the lake is skirted by the Screes, and is not only difficult but dangerous to attempt, from the loose and crumbling nature of the materials of which it is composed. Tourists tarrying here for a day or two will find many pleasant excursions in the neighbourhood. From a little hill called Latterbarrow is a good general view of the surrounding country : but from a hill by the Gosforth road, near the inn, is the best general view of the mountains. From Latterbarrow the lake can be seen, but Scawfell and the Pikes are shut out from this point of view. — [See the Plate I. of Sketches of the Mountains .'] C ALDER Abbey, a small but beautiful ruin, is eight miles from the Strands, but this place is more generally visited in going from Wastdale by Ennerdale W'ater, Lowes Water, and Scale Hill to Keswick. ** There is a simplicity and severity about Wast Water not to be found in any of its neighbour lakes, except perhaps that of Ennerdale, which is equally destitute of the cheerfulness imparted by cultivation, but inferior in the height and ruggedness of its mountain boundaries." It is three miles long, half a mil^ broad, and forty-five fathoms in depth, being deeper than any of the other lakes. " Within some half an bourns walks from Strands is a remarkable spot called Haul-gill, or else Hollow-gill. It is a deep ravine at the south-west foot of the Screes, among gra_ G 2 66 EXCURSION FKOM AMBLESIDE nite rocks, which, by the decomposition of their felspar, have been wasted into abrupt peaks and precipices — a sort of miniature mimicry of the aiguilles of Chamouni. This is one of the most curious and striking things in the whole district ; it is a good place for ascending the Screes from Nether Wastdale (as the valley below the lake is called) for those who have strong nerves. There is a very beautiful vein of spicular iron ore here ; also some fine hsematite." On the way from the Strands by Gale and Crookhead Cot- tages, the residences of the Messrs. Rawson, which the tom^ist must now pursue on his road to Keswick by Sty Head, the Screes are occasionally in view, from whence the Great Gable is seen in the vista formed by Middle Fell, Yewbarrow, and Kirkfell on the left, and on the right by Lingmell and the north end of the Screes. As you advance toward the head of the lake the pastoral valley of Bowderdale is on the left, stretching up to- wards the Haycocks. From hence Scawfell is a commanding object, and the Pikes begin to shew their separation by the gra- dual development of the deep chasm called Mickle Door, which divides their summits. From Wastdale Head, a sequestered hamlet, with a chapel,* but no inn,t you commence a precipitous ascent to Sty Head, the highest Pass in the district, having the huge rocks of Great Gable on the left, and those of Lingmell Crag on the right : in front, Great End. Lingmell Crag is succeeded by Broad Crag^ and the Pikes tower majestically over the whole. From Sty Head the road descends by a horse track through Seathwaite and Borrowdale to Keswick, a distance of twelve miles. At Seathwaite, three miles and a half from Sty Head, the tourist, should he require refreshment, will meet with good and homely fare at Mrs. Dixon's hospitable board. The objects on this road will be more particularly noticed hereafter, in the walk to Sty Head from Keswick. From Sty Head the road to Amble- side is either by leaving Sprinkling Tarn on the left and Angle * This chapel is perhaps the humblest specimen of ecclesiastical architecture in the kingdom. The edifice contains eight pews, and is lighted by three small windows-^one at the eastern end and one on each side of the building. Beside these, there is a small sky -light immediately over the pulpit ! t Tourists can be accommodated with plain and wholesome refreshments at Ritson's, a clean and comfortable farm-house. TO KESWICK. 67 Tarn on the right hand, and proceeding' through Langdale ; or, through Borrowdale and Stonethwaite, thence over Greenup through Eskdale and Grasmere. From the hamlet of Wastdale Head there is a rough foot-road through the valley of Mosedale, which stretches westward be- tween the mountains of Kirkfell and Yewbarrow, into Giller- thwaite at the head of Ennerdale dale, and thence by the Pass of Scarf-gap to Gatesgarth at the head of Buttermere. Having gained the head of Mosedale the road crosses a hollow on the right between Kirkfell and the Pillar, and descends rapidly with the stream on the right into Gillerthwaite, which is closed in at the head by Kirkfell and Great Gable. On the opposite side of the valley, High Stile and Red Pike seperate it from Buttermere. The small stream called the Liza, is crossed at the sheep-fold, and must be followed downwards for a short space, where an indis- tinct path over a second hollow, between the Haystacks and High Crag, called Scarf Gap, must be pursued, which brings the traveller to Gatesgarth, at the head of Buttermere. This route from the Strands to Buttermere, comprises a great variety of scenery, and is perhaps one of the finest mountain walks in the district. As the path is ill-marked in many places, it would be prudent to take a guide. In the Autumn of 1842 an inexperL enced tourist undertook this route, and started from Wastdale Head without a guide. After wandering about for some time he missed the road, and, instead of getting iuto Buttermere by the Pass of Scarf Gap, he took the deep ravine between Kirkfell and the Gable, and arrived (without finding out his mistake) at the precise point from which he had started several hours before having made a circuit of many miles ! It may be observed that the ascent of Scawfell may be made with less exertion and fatigue from the Strands than from any other Station* A boat may be taken to the head of the lake, where the ascent commences at once upon Lingmell, and, with a guide to point out the way, the distance to the summit is about three miles, and may be accomplished in an hour and a half by active pedestrians. A remarkable gill, called Peasgill, situate on the nort-west side of Lingmell, might be visited in the de- scent. The ascent of Scawfell is, however, more frequently made from Borrowdale than from any other point, and will? therefore, be fully noticed in the Keswick Exem-sions. 68 KESWICK. Keswick is a small' market-town delightfully situated near the foot of Derwentwater. Tourists generally make Keswick their head-quarters for a time, and are there provided with good ac- commodations and the requisities for their excursions. Ikns, Royal Oak and Queen's Head The principal manufactures of Keswick consist of black-lead pencils, coarse woollens, flannels, &c. The mineral black-lead (P/z/mZ^a^o) of which pencils are manufactured, is found in the mines of Borrowdale, and although these mines are in the vicinity of Keswick, the pencil-makers are obliged to purchase all their material at the Company's wharehouse in Lon- don, whither it is sent in casks, and exposed for sale only on the first Monday in every month. There are in Keswick two Museums, illustrating, in addition to many foreign curiosi-. ties, the natural history and mineral productions of the surround- ing country. At each of these the visitor can purchase geolo- gical specimens from the rocks of the neighbourhood. An accu- rate Model of the Lake District, ingeniously constructed by Mr. Flintoft, is also exhibited here in the summer season, and is well worth a careful examination. The horizontal and vertical scale of this Model is three inches to a mile ; in length, from Seberg- ham to Rampside, 51 miles, or 12 feet 9 inches ; breadth, from Shap to Egremont, 37 miles, or 9 feet 3 inches ; circumference, exclusive of sea, 176 miles. The coast is shewn two-fifths of the distance, presenting the Bays of Morecambe, Duddon, and Ravenglass. The inspector has before him the whole chain of mountains in the Lake District, in three principal groups — tlie Scawfell, the Helvellyn, and the Skiddaw group, with their numerous interesting valleys, spotted with sixteen large lakes. On the uplands are seen fifty-two small ones, principally high hi the mountain recesses, surrounded by contorted and precipitous rocks. On this Model are marked the towns of Kendal, Amble- side, Ulverston, Bootle, Broughton, Cockermouth, Keswick, Penrith, and Shap. The face of the whole is coloured to nature, with the exception of the churches, which are coloured red. The plantations are raised, and coloured dark green ; the rivers, lakes, and sea, light blue ; roads, light brown ; and the houses white, as they usually appear. A new Church was recently built at the south end of the town by the late John Marshall, Esq., cx<«>21^fs 4 5 S 7 Scale of Miles Pivblisked Ir^^ J. Huds oa,KeiidaL. GRETA HALL. 69 the purchaser of the estates in this vale which belonged to Green- wich Hospital. A Parsonage and School-house have, since his decease, been added by the family of Mr. Marshall, of Hall- steads. The church is an elegant structure, delightfully situ- ated on a gentle eminence, from which an extensive panoramic view of the surrounding country may be had. The Parish Chuch, called Crosthwaite Church, is a mile from the town, in the op- posite direction. It is an ancient edifice, consisting of a ISTave^ two lateral aisles and a porch. The interior was completely remodelled and highly embellished a few years ago at a considerable cost, a great portion of which was borne by James .Btanger, Esq., a neighbouring resident gentleman. In this Church there is a handsome Monument in white marble, by Lough, to the memory of SouTHET, which consists of a recumbent figure of the Poet at full length raised on a pedestal of Caen stone, and as a faithful likeness, and a work of art has great merit. It is said to have cost £1100, which was raised by pubKc subscription. The fol- lowing inscription on the monument is by Southey's old and valued friend Wordsworth: — Ye Vales and Hills, whose beauty hither drew The Poet's steps, and fixed them here — on you His eyes have closed ! and ye loved books, no more ShaU SouTHEY feed upon your precious lore, To works that ne'er shall forfeit their renown Adding immortal labours of his own — Whether he traced Historic Truth, with zeal For the State's guidance, or the Church's weal ; Or Fancy disciphned with studious Art Informed his pen, or wisdom of the heart, Or judgment sanctioned in the Patriot's mind, By reverence for the rights of all mankind. Wide were his aims, yet in no human breast, Could private feelings find a holier rest, His joys, his griefs, have vanished hke a cloud From Skiddaw's top ; but he to Heaven was vowed Through a Ufe long and pure ; and Christian Faith Calmed in his soul the fear of Change and Death. The grave of Southey is in the Church-yard, to which the stranger will be conducted by a well-trodden path. Greta Hall, the residence of Southey, for the last forty years of hh life, will possess some interest to the literary tourist. It stands, at the northern extremity of the town, a few hundred yards 70 DERWEICT WATER. only to the right of the Bridge. It commands a fine view of the scenery of the valley, which the Poet liimseif has sketched in the following beautiful lines : — 'Twas at that sober hour, when the light of day is receding, And from surrounding things the hues wherewith day has adorned therat Fade, hke the hopes of youth, till the beauty of earth is departed : Pensive, though not in thought, I stood at the window, beholding Mountain and lake and vale; the valley disrobed of its verdure; Derwent retaining yet from eve a glassy reflection, Where his expanded breast, then still and smooth as a mirror,. Under the woods. reposed : the hills that, calm and majestic, Lifted their heads in the silent sky, from far Glaramara, Bleacrag and Maidenmawr,. to Grizedale and westernmost Wythop r- Dark and distinct they rose. The clouds had gather' d above them. High in the middle air, huge purple pillowy masses. While in the west beyond was the last pale tint of the twilight ; Green as a stream in the glen,, whose pure and chrysolite Avaters Flow o'er a schistous bed; and serene as the age of the righteous. Earth was hushed and still; all motion and sounds were suspended;; Neither man was heard, bird, beast, nor humming of insect. Only the voice of the Greta, heard only when all is in stillness. Pensive I stood and alone, the hour and the scene had subdued me,. And as I gazed in the west, where Infinity seem'dto be open, Yearn'd to be free from time, and felt that this life is a thraldom. DERWENT WATER Is upwards of three miles in length, and a mile and a half m its greatest breadth. It is adorned by several richly- wooded' islands amongst which are Lord's Island, St. Herbert's Island, Vicar's Island, and Ramps Holme . Lord's Island^ the largest in the lake, situated perhaps a hundred yards from the shore, under Wallow Crag, was the strong-hold of the powerful family of the RatclifFes, Earl& of Derwent Water, whose possessions, it need hardly be said, were forfeited after the Re_ hellion of 1715, and transferred to Greenwich Hospital. On St. Herbert's Island are the remains of an Hermitage, said ta have been fixed there by St. Herbert, the contemporary and friend, of St. Cuthbert, in the seventh century. " stranger f not unmoved "Wilt thou behold this shapeless mass of stones, The desolate ruin of St. Herbert's Cell. Here stood his threshold ; here was spread the roof, That sheltered him, a self-secluded Man. " When, with eye upraised. To Heaven, he knelt before the crucifix, DERWENT WATER AND VALE OF KESWICK. 71 While o'er the Lake the Cataract of Lodore Peal'd to his orisons, and when he paced Along the beach of this small isle, and thought Of his Companion, he would pray that both (Now that their earthly duties were fulfilled) Might die in the same moment — Nor in vain So prayed he — as our Chroniclers report. Though here the Hermit number'd his last day, Far from St. Cuthbert, his beloved Friend — Those holy Men both died in the same hour. There is also on this lake a Floating Island, which is generally under water, but it occasionally rises to the surface for a short time, when it again sinks. The cause of this phenomenon has not been very clearly explained. The most prohable supposition is that the mass is buoyed up, being swoln by gas produced by decomposed vegetable matter. On piercing it with a boat-hook, gas (carbu- retted hydrogen and azote) issues in abundance. The last appear- ance of this island was in the summer of 1842. The scenery of Derwent Water is distinguished for its wild sublimity and magnificence. The Yale of Kesmck stretches, without winding, nearly North and South, from the head of Derwent Water to the foot of Bas- senthwaite Lake. It communicates with Borrowdaile on the South ; with the river Greta, and Thirlmere, on the East, with which the traveller has become acquainted on his way from Am- bleside ; and with the Yale of Newlands on the West — which last vale he may pass through in going to, or returning from? Buttermere. The best views of Keswick Lake are from Crow Park; Friar's Crag; the Stable-field, close by; the Yicarage; and from various points in taking the circuit of the lake. More distant and perhaps fully as interesting views, are from the side of Latrigg, from Ormathwaite, and thence along the road at the foot of Skiddaw towards Bassenthwaite, for about a quarter of a mile. There are fine bird's-eye views from the Castle hill ; from Ashness, on the road to Watendlath ; and by following the Wat- endlath stream down towards the cataract of Lodore. This lake also, if the weather be fine, ought to be circumnavigated. There are good views along the western side of Bassenthwaite Lake, and from Armathwaite at its foot ; but the eastern side from the high road has Kttle to recommend it. The traveller from Car- lisle, approaching by way of Ireby, has, from the old road on 72 EXCURSIONS FROM KESWICK. the top of Bassenthwaite-hause, much the most striking' view of the Plain and Lake of Bassenthwaite, flanked by Skiddaw, and terminated by Wallow Orag on the south-east of Derwent Lake ; the same road commands an extensive view of the Solway Frith and the Scotch Mountains. They who take the circuit of Derwent Lake, may at the same time include Borrowdale, going as far as Bowder-stone, or Rosthwaite. Borrowdale is also conveniently seen on the way to Wastdale over Sty Head ; or, to Buttermere^ by Seatoller and Honister Crag; or, going over the Stake^ through Langdale, to Ambleside. Buttermere may be visited by a shorter way tliroughNewlands^but though the descent upon the vale of Buttermere, by this approach, is very striking, as it also is to one entering by the head of the vale, under Honister Crag, yet, after all, the best entrance from Keswick is from the lower part of the vale, over Whinlatter to Scale Hill, where there is a roomy Inn, with very good accommodation. (IFitursiBiis frnm lismitk. CASTLE HEAD. Castle Head, or Castlet, as it is called by the inhabitants^ is considered the best Station in the neighbourhood (of easy ac- cess) for a bird's-eye view of the lake and surrounding moun- tains, and has consequently been selected for our Diagram. [See Plate No. 2.] Castle Head is approached by a good footpath, which strikes out of the Borrowdale road half a mile from Kes~ wick, and leads by a winding ascent to the summit of the hill. FRIAR'S CRAG Is a rocky promontory which stretches out into the lake about one mile from Keswick, and, being the favourite promenade of the residents, is readily pointed out to strangers. From this Station nearly the whole circumference of the lake is viewed. After much rain the waters of Lodore may not only be seen but heard from Friar's Crag, and in the stillness of night the roar of this, combined with the murmur of other distant cataracts, has a solemn and soothing effect on the contemplative mind. ^ ^ ; VI /4^i V J IIIJ :$'-'f^ •^CCi^t^nq ^§^,. ^ ^ '^^ ,M /■ *1 / ( s- "^ ^ « EXCURSIONS FROM KESWICK. 73 General AQUATIC EXCURSION on DERWENT WATER. Friar's Crag Lord's Island Stable Hills Broom Hill Barrow Landing Place Floating Island Mouth of the river Grange IJ St. Herbert's Island 4| f Water End Bay, with a little walking 6^ li Derwent Isle 6| I Strand's Piers 7 ^ Keswick 7^ Parties navigating the lake for the purpose of seeing its beau- ties, would do well to instruct the boatman to follow the direc- tions pointed out in the above Table. To BORROW^DALE and round DERWENT WATER. li Barrow-house and Cascade ... 2 I Lodore* Waterfall 3 1 Grange 4 1 Bowder Stone 5 1 Return to Grange 4 Portinscale 2 Keswick 6 10 12 The scenes observable on this Excursion are viewed to the greatest advantage by commencing on the eastern, or Borrowdale road, having on the left Castle Head, and the broad fronts of Wallow Crag and Falcon Crag. A deep cleft in the face of Wallow Crag is visible from the road, which bears the name of the Lady's Hake, from the circumstance, it is said, of the Coun- tess of Derwentwater having made her escape up this ravine when intelligence of her husband's arrest reached her. Two miles from Keswick is Barrow House, the seat of Joseph Pock- lington Senhouse, Esq. It is surrounded by fine old trees, and has within the grounds a pretty cascade, which may be seen on application at the lodge. A mile more will bring the traveller to the celebrated Fall of Lodore, which lies immediately at the back of the premises belonging to the inn. After incessant rains this Waterfall, vath its accompaniments, is a noble object, but unfortunately for those who visit the Lakes, not one in a hun- dred sees it at such a time. The stream falls through a chasm between the two towering perpendicular rocks of Gowdar Crag upon the left, and Shepherd's Crag upon the right. These cliffs are most beautifully enriched with oak, ash, and birch trees, which fantastically impend from rocks where vegetation would seem almost impossible. The height of the fall is about 150 feet, and has been noticed by the late Dr. Southey in the following amusing lines : — 74 FALL AT LOWDORE. — BOWDER STONE. How does the water come down at Lodore ! Here it comes sparkling, And there it lies darkling ; Here smoldng and frothing, Its tumult and wrath in. It hastens along, conflictingly strong, Now strildng and raging, as if a war waging. In caverns and rocks among. Rising and leaping. Sinking and creeping, Swelling and flinging. Showering and springing, Eddying and whisking. Spouting and frisking, Turning and twisting Around and around. Collecting, disjecting, With endless rebound, Smiting and fighting, A sight to delight in. Confounding, astounding. Dizzying and deafening the ear with its sound. And so never ending, but always descending, Sounds and motions for ever and ever are blending All at once and all o'er, with a mighty uproar — And in this way the water comes down at Lodore. At Lodore, in still weatber, an extremely fine echo is to be heard, and a cannon is kept at the Inn to be discharged for the gratification of strangers. A mile from Lodore is the village of Grange, where there is a bridge that crosses the Derwent. Should the Tourist wish to see Bowder Stone, the road into Bor- rowdale must be kept for one mile further. This stone is of pro- digous bulk, and lies like a ship upon its keel.*^ It is 62 feet long and 36 feet high ; its circumference is 84 feet, and it weighs abou,t 1771 tons. This massive body has, probably by some great convulsion of nature, been detached from the rock above ; but that it should stop in this position, after the violence of its motion in its descent from the mountain, is surprising, for to place it in its present position, or even to move it by any power * Mr. Wor.dsworth has thus described its peculiar position : " Upon a semicirque of turf-clad ground A mass of rock resembhng as it lay, Right at the foot of that moist precipice, A stranded ship, with keel upturned, that rests Careless of winds and waves." VALE OF WATENDLATH. 75 of art, seems utterly impossible. From this point a fine view of the upper part of Borrowdale is obtained, with the village of Rosthwaite and Castle Crag on the right, Eagle Crag and Glaramara in front, and Scawfell Pikes in the extreme distance. Returning to Grange Bridge, cross it, and pass through the village of Grange to the hamlet of Manesty, near which place is a medicinal spring. Proceeding at a considerable height along the open side of Cat Bells, which commands one of the best views of the lake and valley, and soon crossing the broad open- ing of Newlands, the road enters the village of Portinscale, from which place it is one mile and a half to Keswick. WATENDLATH. 2 Ovw Barrow Common ... 2 ^ Ashness Bridge ... ... 2j l| Wooden Bridge between High Lodore and Watendlath 3| 1^ Watendlath , ... 5 2 Rosthwaite 7 6 Keswick, by Bowder Stone and Lodore I3 The vaUey of Watendlath is interesting for its seclusion and loneliness, and the primitive character of its inhabitants. It runs paralled with the Vale of Borrowdale on the east, and is not easily accessible except on foot or horseback. The stream which forms the waterfall at Lodore issues from a beautiful little circu- lar lake situated in this upland valley. The road thither from Keswick turns from the road to Borrowdale beyond Wallow Crag, and passes just behind Barrow House. A pretty rustic bridge crosses the stream where it issues from the tarn, and leads over the Borrowdale fells to Rosthwaite, a little above Bowder Stone. " This is a very pleasant morning's ride from Keswiek ; it may be varied on foot by turning to the left instead of the right at Watendlath, and crossing the Wythburn fells to Thirl- mere, distant about four miles from Watendlath, over rough, heathery, trackless hills, which, on a fine day, especially when the heath is in blossom, form a wild and delightful walk." Watendlath may also be visited on foot by High Lodore- The road turns off at the first house beyond the Inn, and is very steep till the stream is gained. A deviation to the left will pre- sently unfold a truly magnificent view of the lake and the Skid- daw rage, through the deep chasm of the waterfall. From ihia place it is half a mile to the wooden bridge before alluded to. H 76 VALE OF ST. JOHN. From Keswick through the secluded Vale of St. John is an interesting excursion of about thirteen miles. A visit to the Druid's Temple may be included in this walk by pursuing the old road to Penrith, which strikes off to the right about a quar- ter of a mile from the toll-bar. The Circle is a mile and three- quarters from Keswick, and will be found in a field on the right of the road, and just on the crown of the hill, whence there is a commanding view of Saddleback, Skiddaw, Helvellyn, and many of the highest mountains in Cumberland. The stones that form this Temple are forty-eight in number, describing a circle of near a hundred feet in diameter. Most of these stones are a species of granite, and all of them varying in form and size. On the eastern side of this monument there is a small inclosure formed within the circle by ten stones, making an oblong square, seven paces in length and three in width, which recess Mr. Pennant supposes to have been alloted to the priest, a sort of lioly place, where they met, separated from the vulgar, to perform their rites and divinations, or to sit in council to determine on con- troversies, or for the trial of criminals. Within a short distance from Threlkeld, four miles from Keswick, a road branches off to the right to the Vale of St. John, " a very narrow dell, hem- med in by mountains, through which a small brook makes many meanderings, washing little inclosures of grass-ground which stretch up the rising of the hills. A nearer bridle-road into the Vale leaves the Penrith road at the third milestone. In the vddest part of the dale you are struck with the appearence of an ancient ruined castle, which seems to stand upon the summit of a little mount, the mountains around forming an amphitheatre. * * * As you draw near, it changes it figure, and proves no other than a shaken massive pile of rocks which stand in the midst of this vale, disunited from the adjoining mountains, and have so much the real form and resemblance of a castle, that they bear the name of the Castle Rocks of St. John." This is the scene of Sir Walter Scott's Poem of The Bridal of Trier- main, The Tourist, after leaving the vale, enters the high road from Ambleside to Keswick, four miles and a half from the latter place, which road he must pursue in returning to his inn. 77 KESM^CK to STY HEAD. 4 Grange Bridge 4 1 Bowder Stoue 5 1 Rosthwaite 6 h Burtliwaite Bridge 6^ * Strand's Bridge 7 S Seat oiler Bridge 7^ I Seathwaite Bridge 8 ^ Seathwaite, which is opposite the Black Lead Mines... 8ijr 1 Stocklev Bridge 9^ If Sty Head Tarn ll{ I Sty Head 12 12 Back to Keswick 24 This road, as far as Bowder Stone, has already been noticed. A little beyond Bowder Stone, in the gorge of Borrowdale, rises a high and nearly detached rock called Castle Crag, the site of an ancient fortification, supposed to be of Roman origin, and to have been used to guard the Pass and secure the treasures con- tained in the bosom of these mountains. The Saxons, and, after them, the Furness monks, maintained the fort for the same purpose. All Borrowdale was given to the monks of Fnrness, probably by one of the Derwent family, and Adam de Derwent- water gave them free ingress and egress through all his lands. The Grange was the place where they laid up their grain and their tithe, and also the salt they made at the Salt Spring, of which works there are still some vestiges remaining below Grange. From the summit of this rock the views ar,e so exten- sive and pleasing that they ought not to be omitted. " Beyond the hamlet of Rosthwaite (where there is a small public-house, the last in the valley), six miles from Keswick, the valley divides into two branches, that to the left being called Stonethwaite, and that on the right Seathwaite. Stonethwaite is subdivided into two branches, of which the eastern, called Greenup, leads into the fells towards the head of Easedale, and so communicates with Grasmere ; while the Langstreth branch turns south, and communicates with Langdale by the Pass of the Stake. On entering Stonethwaite, Eagle Crag is a prominent object. Fol- lowing the valley of Seathwaite, which is the principal vale, we come, two miles from Rosthwaite , to a large substantial farm- house, called SeatoUer, near which a rough mountain-road diverges to the right, and, passing under Honister Crag, descends upon Buttermere. A mile beyond Seatoller the Black-lead (or as it is provincially termed 'Wad') mine indicates its position, high on the hill-side, by those unsightly heaps of rubbish wliich always attend mining operations. Under the mine, and rather H 2 78 BORROWDALE AND LORTON YEWS. nearer to SeatoUer, a dark spot is seen in the copse-wood, which thus far clothes the hill. These are the celebrated Borrowdale Yews, four in number, besides some smaller ones. Among them one is prominent, which, being in the vigour of its age, and undecayed, ranks among the finest specimens of its kind in England. This tree is seven yards in circumference at the height of four feet from the ground. The Lorton Yew is larger and that in Patterdale Church-yard may have equalled or ex- ceeded this in size, but they have lost the mighty limbs and dark umbrageous foliage, contrasting so well with the rich chesnut- coloured trunk, which are here still to be seen in mature per- fection. Mr. Wordsworth, after commemorating that of Lorton, continues — Worthier still of note Are those fraternal Four of Borrowdale, Join'd in one solemn and capacious grove ; Huge trunks ! — and each particular trunk a growth Of intertwisted fibres serpertines, Up-coiling, and inveterately convolved, — Nor uniform' d with Phantasy, and looks That threaten, the prophane ;— a pillar'd shade^ Upon whose grassless floor of red-brown hue, By sheddings from the pining umbrage tinged Perennially—beneath whose sable roof Of boughs, as if for festal purpose, deck'd With unrejoicing berries, ghostly Shapes May meet at noontide — Fear and trembhng Hope, Silence and Foresight— Death the Skeleton, And Time the Shadow,— there to celebrate As in a natural temple scatter' d o'er With altars undisturb'd of mossy stone, United worship ; or in mute repose To lie, and listen to the mountain-flood Murmuring from Glaramara's* inmost caves. "At the hamlet of Seathwaite, wood and cultivation end. There is no inn at Seathwaite, but the tourist will find ample refreshments at Mrs. Dixon's, a private house in the village. The road, now reduced to a horse-track, follows the rapidly- ascending bed of the stream for a mile further, and then, turning sharp over a little bridge, thrown across that branch of the Grange river which comes down from Esk Hause, begins im- * A part of the Borrowda-le Fells, above Rosthwaite, between Seathwaite and. Langstreth. STY HEAD. 79= mediately to mount Sty Head. But Stockley Bridge, as it is called, will detain our attention for a time, as a perfect minia-^ ture model of a bridge and waterfall. It is a rough stone arch apparently wedged rather than cemented together, hardly two yards in span, or one in breadth, with no parapet except a slight elevation of the outer stones on either side, between which there seems hardly room for a horse to plant his feet. It is thrown over a rocky cleft, ten or twelve feet above the stream, with a small glittering cascade above, and a sea-green pool below ; for the purest spring is not more free from taint of moss than the water which descends from these hills. Small as it is, this is one of the most perfect specimens left of those native bridges^ the gradual disappearance of which is generally regretted.* " The height of Sty Head above the valley is said by Mr. Baines {' Companion to the Lakes') to be 1250 feet; this, how- ever, is its height above the sea: its height above Stockley Bridge probably does not exceed 750 or 800 feet. At the top of the first ascent is a small plain, in which lies a narrow sheet of water, called Sty Head Tarn. Beyond it, the road still rises^ until turning a sharp point of a rock, with a chasm at our feet, Wastdale lies in view more than a thousand feet below ; while in front the precipices of the Pikes rise double that height The grandeur of the scene is enlianced by the suddenness with which it comes into view. On the Wastdale side of the Gable, garnets abound in the hard flinty slate. Sty Head Tarn is fed by a rill from Sprinkling Tarn, the source of one branch of the Grange river, which lies some hundred feet higher, under the broad front of Great End. Horses may be taken in the ascent of the Pikes to Sprinkling Tarn, or, with care, even to Esk Hause. Passing south of the Tarn, we proceed eastward up the hill side towards Esk Hause, where this route unites with the shorter and more direct one, which follows the water up from Stockley Bridge." The return to Keswick may be varied, by striking over the mountains into the Vale of Langstreth and through Stonethwaite. * The character of this bridge has been lamentably changed since this d'e-. scription of it was written. The bridge itself has been made wider by two or three feet, and the former singularly picturesque appearance of the parapet has been completely destroyed by the introduction of an unsightly smooth coping. H 3 80 ASCENT OF SCAWFELL. The last Excursion conducted the tourist to Sty Head and as- far as Esk Hause, in the ascent of Scawfell. The present will place him on the summit of the highest mountain in England. The following account of a visit to this lofty eminence is extracted from a letter by a friend of Mr. Wordsworth, and may not be uninteresting. " Having left Rosthwaite in Borrowdale, on a bright morning in the first week of October, we ascended from Seathwaite to the top of the ridge called Esk Hause, and thence beheld three distinct views : — on one side, the continuous Yale of Borrowdale, Keswick, and Bassenthwaite, — ^with Skiddaw, Helvellyn, Saddle- back, and numerous other mountains, — and, in the distance, the Solway Frith and the Mountains of Scotland ; — on the other side> and below us, the Langdale Pikes — ^theii' own vale below them ; — Windermere, — and, far beyond Windermere, Ingleborough in Yorksliire. But how shall I speak of the deliciousness of the . third prospect ! At this time, that was most favoured by sun- shine and shade. The green Vale of Esk — deep and green, with its glittering serpent stream, lay below us ; and, on we looked to the Mountains near the Sea,— Black Comb pre-eminent, — ^and, still beyond, to the Sea itself, in dazzling brightness. Turning round, we saw the Mountains of Wastdale in tumult ; to our right, Great Gable, the loftiest, a distinct, and huge form, though the middle of the mountain was, to our eyes, as its base. We had attained the object of this journey ; but our ambition now mounted higher. We saw the summit of Scawfell, appa- rently very near to us ; and we shaped our course towards it ; but, discovering that it could not be reached without first making a considerable descent, we resolved, instead, to aim at another point of the same mountain, called the Pikes, which I have since found has been estimated as higher than the summit bearing the name of Scawfell Head, where the Stone Man is built. The sun had never once been overshadowed by a cloud during the whole of our progress from the centre of Borrowdale. On the summit of the Pike, 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 ASCENT OF SCAWFELL. 81 a rock. The stillness seemed to be not of this world: — we paused, and kept silence to listen ; and 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 mountains 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 gulph immeasurable : Grasmoor and the other mountains of Crummock — Ennerdale and its mountains : and the Sea beyond ! We sat down to our repaat, and gladly would we have tempered our beverage (for there was no spring or well near us) with such a supply of delicious water as we might have procured, had we been on the rival summit of Great Gable ; for on its highest point is a small triangular receptacle in the native rock, which, the shepherds say, is never dry."^ There we might have slaked our thirst plenteously with a pure and celestial liquid, for the cup or basin, it appears has no other feeder than the dews of heaven, the showers, the vapours, the hoar frost, and the spotless snow. While we were gazing around, " Look," I exclaimed, " at yon ship upon the glittering sea !" " Is it a ship ?" replied our shep- herd-guide. " It can be nothing else," interposed my companion ; " 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, '• 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 submissive- ness, of our wise Man of the Mountains, who certainly had more knowledge of clouds than we, whatever might be our knowledge of ships. * This natural basin was reported to have been destroyed by the officers employed by Government on the Ordnance Survey, but the ^vriter of this note has the satisfaction to state that when he ascended the Gable,, in September, 1842, he found it uninjured, and fuU of water, although more than half covered by a Stone Man that had been erected on the summit of the mountain We may observe, once for all, that tlie term "Man" is provinciaUy applied to the piles of stones erected on the tops of most of the lake hills and mountains. 82 ASCENT OF SCAWFELL. I know not how long we might have remained on the summit of the Pilce, 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 the signs of it. Mountains, vales, and sea were touched mth the clear light of the sun. " It is there," said he, pointing to the sea beyond Whitehaven, and there we perceived a light vapour unnoticeable but by a shepherd accustomed to watch all mountain bodings. We gazed around again, and yet again, unwilling to lose the remembrance of what lay before us in lofty solitude ; and then prepared to depart. Meanwhile the air changed to cold, and we saw that tiny vapour swelled into mighty masses of cloud, which came boilmg over the mountams. Great Gable, Helvellyn, and Skiddaw were wrapped in storm ; yet Langdale, and the mountains in that quarter, remained all bright in sunshine. Soon tlie 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 now had its share, and the Pikes of Langdale were decorated by two splendid rain- bows. Before we again reached Esk Hause every cloud had vanished from every summit. I ought to have mentioned, that round the top of Scawfell Pike not a blade of grass is to be seen. Cusliions or tufts of moss, parched and brown, appear between the huge blocks and stones that lie in heaps on all sides to a great distance, like skel- etons or bones of the earth not needed at the creation, and there left to be covered with never-dying lichens, which the clouds and dews nourish ; and adorned with colours of vivid and exquisite beauty. Flowers, the most brilliant feathers, and even gems,, scarcely surpass in colouring some of those masses of stone which no human eye beholds, except the shepherd or traveller be led thither by curiosity ; and how seldom must this happen ! For the other eminence is the one visited by the adventurous stranger ;: and the shepherd has no inducement to ascend the Pike in quest of his sheep ; no food being there to tempt them. We certainly were singularly favoured in the weather ; for when we were seated on the summit, our conductor, turning his eyes thoughtfully round, said, " I do not know that in my whole life I was ever, at any season of the year, so high upon the moun- DESCENT FROM SCAWFELL. 83 tains on so calm a day." (It was the 7tli of October.) After- wards we had a spectacle of the grandeur of earth and heaven commingled; yet without terror. We knew that the storm would pass away — for so our prophetic guide had assured us. Before we reached Seathwaite, in Borrowdale, a few stars had appeared, and we pursued our way down the vale, to Rosthwaite, by moonlight. If the tourist be bound from the Pikes into Eskdale, a direct and practicable, but somewhat difficult, descent may be found by way of Mickledore, a deep chasm separating Scawfell from the Pikes, at the bottom of which a narrow ridge, like the roof of a house, slopes into Eskdale on one side, and into Wastdale on the other. But the descent of Scawfell from this point ought not to be un- dertaken without a Guide well acquainted with the practicable passes of this mountain. It is encompassed by precipices and narrow terraces of turf and slanting sheets of naked rock ; and a stranger might chance to find himself entrapped into some place, where to go backwards or forwards would be equally difficult and dangerous. A tolerably straight course may be shaped from the Pikes into Wastdale down the breast of Lingmell, or, if the traveller be returning to Keswick, he may descend to Sty Head by the western side of the mountain, learag Great End to the right, and keeping farther down the hill-side than would at first seem necessary, to avoid some deep and apparently impassable ravines, which run out from among the crags of Great End. These oblige him to descend below the level of Sty Head. From Esk Hause an hour well used will take the walker, in a different direction, to the head of Langdale. The way lies past Angle Tarn, under the northern precipice of Bowfell. The best descent into Langdale is down a steep rugged gully, called Rosset Gill. The circuit from Keswick to Ambleside by Sty Head, the Pikes, Esk Hause, and Langdale, may be reckoned at thirty miles, and lies throughout among the finest scenery in the country. 84 SKIDDAW. Skiddaw is the fourth English mountain in height, being 3022 feet above the level of the sea, and 2911 above Derwent Water. To the highest point from Keswick it is six miles, and is so easy of access that persons may ride to the summit on horseback The approach to Skiddaw is by the Penrith road for about half a mile, chiefly along the banks of the Greta, to a bridge near the toll-bar. Having crossed the bridge, the road ascends somewhat steeply, and after passing Greta Bank skirts Latrigg at a considerable elevation. A Uttle beyond the plantation the tourist will see another road, which he must take, though only for a few yards, when he must again turn, just beyond a gate on the left, at right angles, by the side of a fence to a hollow at the foot of the steepest hill in the ascent. From this place the road rises pre- cipitously for almost a mile by the side of a stone wall, which it crosses about one4hird of the way up, and then leaves on the right. The ascent then becomes easy over a barren moor, called Skiddaw Forest, to the foot of the low Man, where there is a fine spring of water. Beyond this well, having the first and second summits, or Men, as they are called, on the left, the road ascends easily by a good beaten track to the third Man, which is the highest point that can be seen from the valley, and from this elevated station the whole extent of the vale beneath is most beautifully displayed. After passing the fourth and fifth heap of stones, the traveller will soon place himself upon the highest summit of this mountain. Derwent Water cannot be seen from this lofty eminence, being obscured by others of less elevation, which hide also the high grounds lying between Wythbmm and Langdale. On the right of the third Man appears a most mag~ nificent assemblage of mountains. In a south-western direction, is seen that sublime chain extending from Coniston to Ennerdale, amongst which ScawfeU stands pre-eminent, halving on its left Great End, Hanging Knott, Bowfell, and the fells of Coniston ; and on the right Lingmell Crags, Great Gable, Kirkfell, Black Sail, the Pillar, the Steeple, and the Hay Cock, with Yewbarrow and part of the Screes through Black Sail. Black Comb may be descried through an opening between the Gable and Ku'kfell. To the north of tke Ennerdale mountains are those of Buttermere : ASCENT OF SKIBDAW. — SADDLEBACK. 85 and High Crag, High Stile, and Red Pike peer nobly over Cat Bells, Robinson, and Hindscarth. Still further to the north, rising from the vale of Newlands, is Railing End, whence, aspiring, are Cawsey Pike, Scar Crag Top, Sail, 111 Crags^ Orasmire, and Grisedale Pike. On the right of Grisedale Pike and Hobcarten Crag is Low Fell, over which, in a clear atmos- phere, may be observed the northern part of the Isle of Man ; and, perhaps one day out of a hundred, Ireland may be seen. The town and Castle of Cockermouth are distinctly seen over the foot of Bassenthwaite, with Workington at the outlet of the Derwent on its left. Whitehaven is hid from our view, but all the sea coast from St. Bees' Head by Solway Frith to Rockliff Marsh may be easily traced. Over the northern end of Skiddaw, Carlisle, if the state of the atmosphere be favourable, may be plainly seen, and the Scotch mountains of Criffel, &c., give a fine finish to the fertile plains of Cumberland. Eastward, Penrith and its Beacon are visible, with Cross-fell in the distance ; and far away to the south-east the broad head of Ingleborough towers over the Westmorland fells. Saddleback here displays its pointed top, and nearly due south is seen the lofty summit of Helvellyn. The estuaries of the Kent and the Leven, separated by a hill called Yewbarrow, near Grange, are visible through the gap of Dunmail Raise ; and Lancaster Castle may sometimes be seen beyond Gummershow at the foot of Windermere, with the aid of a telescope ; but no part of the lake of Windermere can, as has been frequently stated, be discerned from this point. The descent, for the sake of variety, might be made into the valley of Bassenthwaite, where refreshments may be had at the Castle Inn, near the foot of the lake, whence it is eight miles to Keswick by the eastern, and ten by the western road. SADDLEBACK. Saddleback is, in the opinion of some tourists, more worthy of a visit than Skiddaw. "Derwent Water," says Dr. Southey, ^' as seen from the top of Saddleback, is one of the finest moun- tain scenes in the country. The tourist who would enjoy it should proceed about six miles along the Penrith road, then take 86 GRISEDALE PIKE. — NEWLANDS. the road which leads to Hesket New Market, and presently as- cend by a green shepherds' path which wmds up the side of a ravine; and, having gained the top, keep along the summit, leaving Threlkeld Tarn below him on .the right, and descend upon the Glenderaterra, the stream which comes down between Saddleback and Skiddaw, and falls into the Greta about two miles from Keswick." The ancient name of this mountain is Blencathra. The modern one of Saddleback has been given to it from the peculiarity of its formation, as seen from the neigh- bourhood of Penrith, where it takes something of the shape of a saddle. Its height is 2787 feet. At the base of an enormous perpendicular rock called Tarn Crag, near Linthwaite Pike, is Scales Tarn, a small lake deeply seated among the crags, which, from the peculiarity of its situation, is said to reflect the stars at noon-day. In Bowscale fell, and lying about three miles from Scales Tarn, in a north-easterly direction, is Bowscale Tarn, which sends a tributary to the Caldew. This tarn is the seat of a singular superstition, being supposed by the country people to be inhabited by two immortal fish ; but we are not told in what way the belief originated. " Both the undying fish that swim In Bowscale Tarn did wait on him; The pair were servants of his eye In their immortality ; They moved about in open sight, To and fro for his delight." Song at the Feast of Brougham Castle. GRISEDALE PIKE Rises to the height of 2580 feet above the level of the sea. It is situated to the west of Keswick, above the village of Brai- thwaite, and well deserves a visit. Lovers of wild scenery will find much pleasure in continuing their walk along the ridge which connects Grisedale Pike with Grasmoor, returning by a pleasant morning's walk to Keswick over Causeway Pike. RIDE from KESWICK to BUTTERMERE, through NEWLANDS. 1 Portinscale 1 i 1 Aikin Qh 2 Swinside 3 12 Newlands Haws 8} 1^ Stoneycroft, right 4| | 1^ Inn at Buttermere 10 l' Bridge near JNIill Dam ... bh \, "V ^; vi n ^ ^ .$ ■^i ~~( Cm to ^ '^j ^^^^^ ^ 'Si 'ii ^ ^ , Ci ?^ iv. ^ ^5 BUTTERMERE. 87 The road to Newlands is by the village of Portinscale, and thence between Foe Park Woods and Swinside, to the Three Road Ends. The one on the right, skirting the southern flank of Swinside for some distance, leads through Newlands to But- termere. At Eawling End (a mountain so called) the scenery is excellent, either looking back in the direction of Skiddaw, across the valley towards Cat Bells, or up the vale of Newlands. A fine branch of the vale of Newlands extends from Emerald Bank to Dale Head, guarded on the south by Maiden Moor and High Crag, and on the north by Goldscope* and Hindscarth. Above Keskadale, the last houses in the valley, the road ascends steeply to Newlands Haws, through the sides of which Great Robinson is advantageously seen. In the descent from the Haws to Buttermere the road runs at an alarming height above the ravine which separates this from the opposite hill called White- lees. The chain of mountains developed in the descent of the Haws is the most magnificent in the whole circumference of the valley. The appearance of High Stile and of the whole visible horizon from Green Crags to Red Pike is scarcely equalled in Cumberland. (See Plate No. 3). The white stream called Sourmilk Gill, issuing from Bleaberry Tarn, or Burtness Tarn, down the rocky steep, forms a beautiful feature in the landscape. The road passes a neat little chapel recently erected by the Rev. Mr. Thomas on the site of a still smaller one, which was said to have been the smallest in England, and not capable of contain- ing within its walls more than half a dozen households. At a short distance from the chapel stands the Inn where Mary Ro- binson, the Beauty of Buttermere, was for a number of years the unceasing object of public curiosity. THE LAKE OF BUTTERMERE Is one mile and a quarter in length, and little more than half a mile in breadth. Buttermere Moss and Great Robinson bound it on the east ; Hay Stacks, so called from their form, High Crag, High Stile, and Red Pike rising to a great height, enclose it on the west ; whilst Fleetwith and Honister Crag, at the head of the * Probably so called from the quantity of gold and silver yielded by the Cop- per and Lead Mines worked here in the time of Queen Elizabeth. 88 CRUMMOCK WATER. lake, seem to shut out all communication southwards. At the north end, or outlet of the lake, it is separated from Crummock Water by meadows and luxuriant woods and hedge-rows, over which is seen at some distance, Lowfell, an eminence which separates Lowes Water from Lorton. Buttermere affords excel- lent sport for the angler. Most persons content themselves with what they can see of Buttermere in one day, but many days might be profitably em- ployed in exploring the beauties of this secluded vale. To such transient visitors it is recommended to see Scale Force, one of the highest waterfalls in the country. The road to this place is by a footpath across the fields, which, from the soft and boggy nature of the ground, is anything but agreeable in damp weather ; a better arrangement will therefore be, to take a boat at the head of Crummock Water, and proceed to the stream which issues from the fall, where parties are usually landed. From this point it is a mile to the Force, which is one clear fall of 160 feet be- tween two vast perpendicular walls of syenite, beautifully adorn- ed with numerous small trees which grow in the fissures of the rock, and are nourished by the spray of the falling waters. On returning to the boat, row direct to Ling Crag, a little rocky promontory at the foot of Melbreak, and from a point two or three hundred yards above this promontory is the best Station for a view of the two lakes of Crummock and Buttermere, and the surrounding mountains. CRUMMOCK WATER Is bounded on the east by the lofty mountain of Whiteside, Grass- moor, and Whitelees ; and Melbreak is the western barrier for a considerable distance. Scale Hill is upwards of three miles from Ling Crag, and, if time should permit, parties may resort thither for refreshment at an excellent inn, and afterward return to Buttermere. The road recommended in the return to Kes- wick is by Borrowdale. — A mile and a half from the Inn at But- termere, Hassness, the residence of — Benson, Esq., is passed on the right, and half a mile more wiU bring the traveller to a farm- house called Gatesgarth. [From this place a mountain-road strikes off to the right, be- tween Haystacks and High Crag, to Ennerdale (six mUes), by APPROACH TO CRUMMOCK AND BUTTERMERE. 89 the Pass of Scarf Gap, and is met by another path over Black Sail, on the opposite side of the valley of Gillerthwaite, which descends through the Vale of Mosedale, between Kirkfell and the Pillar to Wastdale Head (six miles). These roads are indicated on the Map. A horse may be taken over these hills in dry wea- ther, but those who can bear walking will find it much pleasanter than riding : indeed much of the road must be passed on foot. It will be prudent to take a guide.] From Gatesgarth the road to Borrowdale is by a laborious as- cent of nearly three miles to the summit of Buttermere Haws, having the almost perpendicular rock of Honister Crag on the right and Yew Crag on the left hand. In both these there are extensive quarries of valuable roofing slate. A very interesting combination of mountains is exhibited from the top of the road, which begins to descend rapidly to Seatoller, in Borrowdale, from whence it is a mile and three-quarters to Rosthwaite, where there is a public-house. From thence, passing Bowder Stone, Grange (where consult Diagrams^ Plate 3), and Lodore, it is six miles to Keswick. This Excursion may be made (but with some difficulty) DRIVE to SCALE HILL at the Foot of CRUMMOCK WATER, and BUTTERMERE by WHINLATTER. 2i Braithwaite 2^ 2| Summit of Whinlatter b 3 Lorton 8 4 Scale HiU 12 4 Buttermere 16 9 Through Newlands to Keswick 25 The best approach to Crummock and Buttermere is by Whin- latter and Swinside to Scale Hill, ten miles, or by a more cir- cuitous road through the Vale of Lorton, twelve miles. The road to Scale Hill leaves that to Bassenthwaite at the village of Braithwaite, where the ascent of Whinlatter commences, and although long and tedious, the Traveller is fully compensated for his toil by the noble retrospective views of the Vale of Kes- wick which are unfolded. (See Diagrams, Plate 4.) For two miles past the fourth milestone Grisedale Pike is on the left. A little beyond the sixth milestone, a road branches off to the left, along Swinside, and is the one which all persons whe- ther on foot, on horseback, or even in carriages, should take, on their way to Scale Hill. On first entering this road the traveller may feel some disappointment, but, having ascended the hill, he I 2 90 LOWES WATER. will be charmed with the views of the Vale of Lorton, and the distant prospect of the Scotch mountains. The more circuitous route through the vale of Lorton turns off from the Cockermouth road at the Famous Yew Tree,* and joins the terrace -road just mentioned about a mile and a half from Scale Hill. A quarter of a mile beyond the junction of these roads, are two other roads ; that on the left leads to Buttermere ; the other to the Inn at Scale Hill. Scale Hill is well situated for parties wishing to visit Crum- mock Water, Buttermere, Lowes Water, and Ennerdale. From Scale Hill a pleasant walk may be taken to an eminence in Mr. Marshall's woods, and another, by crossing the bridge at the foot of the hill, upon which the Inn stands, and turning to the right, after the opposite hill has been ascended a little way, then following the road that leads towards Lorton for about half a mile, looking back upon Crummock Water, &c., between the openings of the fences. (See Diagrams, Plate 4.) Turn back and make your way to LOWES WATER, A small lake, about a mile in length, situated in a deep secluded valley about two miles from Crummock, and surrounded by the bold mountain of Blake Fell, Low Fell, and Melbreak. The valley is prettily wooded, and has an air of pastoral beauty. It is only seen to advantage from the other end, therefore any travel- ler approaching from the foot must look back upon it on arriving at its head. - pride of Lorton Vale, Which to this day stands single, in the midst Of its own darkness, as it stood of yore Not loth to furnish weapons for the bands Of Umfraville or Percy, ere they march'd To Scotland's heath : or those that crossed the sea. And drew their sounding bows at Azincour ; Perhaps at earlier Crecy, or Poictiers. Of vast circumference, and gloom profound. This solitary tree, a Hving thing, Produced too slowly ever to decay ; Of form and aspect too magnificent To be destroyed." CRUMMOCK WATER AND BUTTERMERE. — ENNERDALE. 91 The following Table will shew the route to be observed in a WALK round LOWES WATER from SCALE HILL. ^ Lowes Water Church ... | 1^ Thence by Kirk Head, Bar Gate, Steel Bank, and High Nook, to Water Yeat 21 I Gill falling from Carling Knott 2| 1 Place, or High Water End 3l I Bottom, or Low Water End 4i 1 Crabtree Beck 5i 1 Join the road from Scale Hill to the Chapel at the Smithy 6^ h Scale HiU 7 If To Scale Force and back 5 1 Join the road at the head of the lake 6 1 Inn at Buttermere ... ... 7 CRUMMOCK WATER AND BUTTERMERE Are no where so impressive as from the bosom of Crummock Water. The following Excursion to Buttermere from Scale Hill will be found highly interesting. LAND and WATER EXCURSION from SCALE HILL. 1 Boat House on Crummock Water 1 li^ Flat Fields at Rannerdale ... 2| J Station above Ling Crag ... 3| ENNERDALE WATER Is situated four miles to the south of Lowes Water. It is three-, quarters of a mile in breadth, and extends two miles and a half in length. The scenery is wild and romantic, and beyond the head of the lake are seen some of the highest mountains in the country, of which the most conspicuous is the Pillar, rising to an elevation of 2893 feet. " It wears the shape Of a vast building, made of many crags ; And in the midst is one particular rock, That rises like a column from the Vale, Whence, by our shephards, it is called The Pillar." Owing to its difficulty of access to Southern Tourists, Ennerdale Water is rarely seen except from a distance. It may be approached from the Inn at Buttermere by Scale Force and Floutern Tarn; and also from Scale Hill through Mosedale* and by Floutern Tarn, and by several other mountain roads, all terminating at Crosdale, where the best views of the lake are obtained. There is a smaU public-house — the Boat House — at the foot of Ennerdale Lake, with a comfortable and pleasant sitting room, and plain accommodation for the night. The following Tables may be useful to the Traveller. * This name is common to several vaUeys in the Lake District. It behoves Tourists to bear this in mind. I 3 92 EXCURSIONS FROM KESWICK. WALK from BUTTERMERE to its union with the Road from Crosdale to ENNERDALE WATER. 2 Sale Force 2 2| Floutern Tarn 4 J l| Join the road from Crosdale to Ennerdale Water, where is one of the best views of the lake 1 Ennerdale Water Three roads on foot to CROSDALE, from SCALE HILL, by High Nook, 1 A mile on the high road to Lowes Water I High Nook 3 Passage to Crosdale, over Blake FeU; Or, to Crosdale, deviating at the top of Blake Fell on the left; Or, to Crosdale by commencing the ascent with the rivulet on the left, at High Nook, and then turning on the right 4f Crosdale to Ennerdale Water (the finest views are halfway) 5f From SCALE HILL, by a Horse-road, to ENNERDALE WATER. 2| Lowes Water End, at the Head of Lowes Water 2| I Enter the Common 3j 1| Lampleugh Church 5| I Road on the left, beyond the Church 6 2^ On this road by High Trees and Fell Dyke to Crosdide ... ^ Half way to the lake (the best prospect) 8: ^ Margin of the lake 9 H From Crosdale the Tourist may proceed to Wastdale Head by pursuing the folio wing route, or he may return to Buttermere by the foot-road over Scarf-gap after he has passed through the secluded valley of Gillerthwaite, as the upper part of Ennerdale is called. This road he will find marked upon the Map. From CROSDALE, on foot, to the Eastern Side of ENNERDALE WATER, and through Ennerdale and Mosedale to WASTDALE HEAD. 1 Join the lake ^ Bowness 2 Head of the lake li Gillerthwaite 2| Foot of the road to Buttermere over Scarf Gap ^1 7i h Sheep-fold on the river side ... 8 I From which, with the stream on the left, ascend to the top of Black Sail 8| 2| Wastdale Head, through Mose- dale 11 TWO DAYS' EXCURSION TO WASTWATER. Wast Water is seen to the greatest advantage on approaching it from the open country by the Strands at its foot, rather than by Sty Head. The latter road enters Wastdale at the head of the lake, and can only be taken on foot or on horseback. The Tourist, therefore, should commence this Excursion by going over Whinlatter to Scale HiU, already noticed, and proceeding by Lowes Water and Lampleugh Cross to Ennerdale Bridge, thence to Calder Bridge, from which place there is only one near EXCURSIONS FROM KESWICK. 93 road, and that is by Gosforth to the Strands in Nether Wast- dale, near the foot of Wast Water. This road, although in part steep and not very good, may without difficulty be travelled over by light carriages ; but there is an excellent carriage road, which makes, however, a circuit of many miles, through Cockermouth, Workington, Whitehaven, and Egremont to Calder Bridge. By leaving Workington on the right, and passing from Cockermouth direct to Whitehaven the distance is shortened two miles. From Scale Hill it is about two miles to Lowes Water; whence to Lampleugh Cross, where there are two small public houses, four miles ; to Ennerdale Bridge, at the foot of Enner- dale, three mUes more ; and from Ennerdale Bridge seven miles to Calder Bridge, where excellent accommodation may be had at two comfortable Inns. The direct road from Ennerdale Bridge to Calder Bridge is over a dreary moor called Coldfell, and is extremely disagreeable and tiresome to drive over from the number of gates ; so that it would be better to go by Egremont, although the distance would be increased four miles. CALDER ABBEY. Is one mile from Calder Bridge. Little of this ruin is left, but that little is well worthy of notice. It is situated on the north side of the river Calder, close to the residence of Captain Irwin, and was founded a. d. 1134 by the second Ranulph des Meschine^ for Cistercian monks, and was dependent on Furness Abbey. From Calder Bridge to Gosfoith, three mUes; thence to the Strands public-house, four miles. Circuitous Carriage Road. — This road, as far as the famous Lorton Yew-tree, eight miles from Keswick, has been already noticed. From the Yew-tree the turnpike-road must be kept, and after driving through a rich fertile country for four miles, the Traveller will reach COCKERMOUTH, A borough-town sending two members to Parliament, situate upon the Cocker, where it falls into the Dei^ent. Hats, coarse woollens, linen, and leather, are manufactured here. The Castle is for the most part in ruins, and belongs to General Windham 94 EXCURSIONS FROM KESWICK. who occasionally resides there. Market on Monday and Satur- day. Inns — Globe, Sun. From Cockermouth to Whitehaven direct, is fourteen miles, and by Workington sixteen miles. On leaving Cockermouth,. by turning aside a few steps, a fine view of the river Derwent and the Castle may be had from the bridge. WOKKINGTON Is situated on the south bank of the Derwent, and has a good harbour well secured by a breakwater. In the vicinity of the town are several valuable coal mines, which are principally worked by Henry Curwen, Esq.., the lord of the manor. Some of these were, a few years ago, destroyed by the sea breaking in upon them. The streets are irregularly built, but have of late years been much improved by modern erections. Workington Hall stands on a gentle eminence on the east side of the town, and is celebrated as having afforded an asylum to the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots, after her escape from Dunbar Castle. Population, 7226. WHITEHAVEN Ranks the second town of importance in Cumberland. It is situated on a bay, and the harbour has been greatly improved by an elegant and substantial stone pier, said to be the largest in the kingdom. The town is built with great regularity, and the streets are spacious. The Castle is the residence of the Earl of Lonsdale, who is lord of the manor and proprietor of the coal mines, which perhaps are the most extraordinary in the world. In the William Pit there are 500 acres under the sea, and the distance is two miles and a half from the shaft to the extreme part of the workings. There is a stable also under the sea in this immense pit for forty-five horses. The shaft is 110 fathoms deep. The coals are principally exported to Ireland, and yield a large revenue to the noble proprietor. Ship-building is carried on here to some extent, and the principal manufactures of the town are linen sail-cloth, checks, ginghams, sheetings, thread, twine, cables, &c. From Whitehaven it is six miles to Eoremont by way of Hensingham, and seven by St. Bees, " a place distinguished EXCURSIONS FROM KESWICK. 95 from very early times for its reKgious and scholastic foundations. * St. Bees,' says Nicholson and Burn, ' had its name from Bega, a holy woman from Ireland, who is said to have founded here, about the year 650, a small monastery, where afterwards a church was built in memory of her. The aforesaid religious house having been destroyed by the Danes, was restored by William des Meschines, son of Ranulph, and brother of Ranulph des Meschines, first Earl of Cumberland after the conquest; and made a cell of a prior and six Benedictine monks to the Abbey of St. Mary at York.' After the dissolution of the monasteries, Archbishop Grindal founded a free school at St. Bees, from which the counties of Cumberland and Westmorland have de- rived great benefit ; and recently, under the patronage of the Earl of Lonsdale, a college has been established there for the education of ministers of the English Church. The old Con- ventual Church was repaired under the superintendence of the Rev. Dr. Ainger, the late Head of the College ; and is well worthy of being visited by any strangers who may be led to the neighbourhood of this celebrated spot." This collegiate institu- tion is now in a highly flourishing condition, under the able management of the Rev. R. P. Buddicom. EGREMONT Is a neat little town, with about 1500 inhabitants, situate on the north side of the river Ehen, which flows from Ennerdale lake, seven miles distant. The road is good. The ruins of a Castle stand on an eminence to the west of the town. This fortress is not of very great extent, but bears singular marks of antiquity and strength. From Egremont it is five miles of pleasant road to Caider Bridge, to which place the traveller was conducted by the route from Scale Hill. Should the Tourist prefer the approach to Wast Water by Sty Head, the following is the route. The objects on the road have been described so far as Sty Head at p. 77, and the ascent of this mountain pass from the Strands is also described at p. 66. 96 ULLSWATER. First Day.— WAST WATER by Borrowdale, a Two Days' Excursion on horseback. 12 Sty Head 12 2 Wastdale Head 14 1 Head of Wast Water 15 ^ Overbeck Bridge 15^ 1 Netherbeck Bridge 16| IJ End of the direct road to Cal- der Bridge by Harrow Head 17| I Crook at the foot of the lake 18^ l| Strands Public house 20' l| Junction of the Strands road with the shortest road 21i 2J Gosforth 24 3 Calder Bridge, where there are tw^o good Inns 27 Second Day — See CALDER ABBEY, a mile from Calder Bridge, and then proceed 7 From Calder Bridge to Enner- dale Bridge IJ Kirkland 1 Road on the left to Egremont and Whitehaven - ^ Lampleugh Cross (the Cocker- . 7 mouth road is to the left) ... 10 . 8| 1 Lampleugh Church ... ... 11 5 Scale HiU ... 16 . 9^ 11 Keswick over Swinside and Whinlatter 27 Round BASSENTHWAITE WATER. 8 Peel Wyke 8 3 Bassenthwaite Sandbed 1 Ouse Bridge 9 5 Keswick 1 Castle Inn 10 ... 13 ... 18 Before bidding adieu to Keswick, the tour to Bassenthwaite Water should not be omitted. The lake of Bassenthwaite lies four miles north of Derwent Water, is four miles in length, and in some places near a mile in breadth. In commencing this Excursion proceed to the village of Braithwaite, at the foot of Whinlatter, which the tourist must leave on the left. Passing through the hamlet of Thornthwaite and skirting the base of the rugged mountains of Lord's Seat and Barf, the road undulates pleasantly through wood and glade on the margin of the lake, till it reaches Peel Wyke, where there is a small ale-house. A little beyond Peel Wyke the road turns off on the right at the guide-post to Ouse Bridge, which crosses the Derwent, where, and at Armathwaite close by, are the best views for those who keep the road generally pursued in making the circuit of the lake ; but the pedestrian would be fully compensated if he were to deviate at the Castle Inn, one mile from Ouse Bridge, and follow the Hesket road for about a mile, and then turn on the right to the top of the Haws, from which is presented a magni- ficent view of Bassenthwaite and the Vales of Embleton and Isell. The distance from the Castle Inn to Keswick is eight miles ; the road winds agreeably on the eastern side of the lake. 97 ULLSWATER. 8 Moor End 8 7 Gowbarrow Park 15 6 Patterdale 20 Patterdale to Penrith. 10 Pooley Bridge 10 6 Penrith 16 Ullswater is of an irregular figure, somewliat resembling the letter Z, and composed of three unequal reaches, the middle of which is somewhat longer than the northern one. The shortest is seen from the Inn at Patterdale, and is not half the length of either of the others. Ullswater is less than Windermere, but larger than the rest of the English lakes, and lies engulphed in the majestic mountains that rise sublimely from the valley. From Keswick there are several roads by which Ullswater may be approached. 1st. By a bridle-road that turns off from the Penrith road at the third milestone, and crosses the Yale of St. John near its foot, then enters the Yale of Wanthwaite, and, after passing through Matterdale, unites at Dockray with 2nd. A good carriage-road that leaves the Penrith road a little beyond the twelfth milestone from Keswick, and skirts the base of a bleak uninteresting mountain called Mell Fell, which the traveller has on his left hand till he reaches the hamlet of Matterdale End, where the road turns sharply to the left to Dockray, before mentioned. From Dockray the traveller will descend upon Gowbarrow Park, and is thus brought at once upon a magnificient \dew of the higher reaches of the lake. (See Diagrams, Plate 5). Ara-force thunders down the ghyll on the left at a small distance from the road. At the foot of the hill, and before proceeding to patterdale, turn in at the gate on the left to Lyulph's Tower, where a guide to the Waterfall is always to be had. 3rd. Ullswater may be approached by proceeding direct to Pooley Bridge, at the foot of the lake, where the angler would find much diversion both in the lake and in the neighbouring- streams. (See Diagrams Plate 3). Pooley Bridge is ako favourably situated for visiting Hawes Water, ten miles, and Lowther Castle, four miles ; and the town of Penrith, to be here- after noticed, is only six miles distant. Besides the approaches to Ullswater, just mentioned, a stout pedestrian might proceed to Patterdale over the northern shoul- 98 ULLSWATER. der of Helvellyn, and visit its summit in his progress, if thought desirable. — In this route, the road to Ambleside must be kept for four miles and three-quarters, whence the road from Wyth- burn to Threlkeld must be pursued for a short distance to a farm- house called Stainah. The ascent from Stainah, for a consider- able distance, is by a steep zig-zag path, on the left of one of the mountain streams falling into St. John's Vale. The road at the top of the first steep turns southward, nearly at right angles, and farther on, at another turn on the left, a few land-marks may be observed, which serve as guides into Patterdale by the Greenside lead mines, in the vale of Glenridding When at the highest part of the foot-road, the Raise, or Styx, a round-topped hill, is on the right; and further to the south, with a considerable dip between them, is another elevation called Whiteside, from whence, by a narrow ridge, the Tourist may proceed to the sum- mit of Helvellyn. The distance, by this road, if Helvellyn be left out, is much less than by any of the former routes, and the views from it are exceedingly impressive. In this excursion strangers would do well to take a guide. See Ascent of Hel- vellyn FROM Patterdale. K Ullswater be approached from Penrith, a mile and a half brings you to the winding Vale of Eamont, and the prospects increase in interest till you reach Patterdale ; but the first four miles along Ullswater by this road are comparatively tame. The following account of Ullswater is from Mr. Wordsworth : — In order to see the lower part of the lake to advantage, it is necessary to go round by Pooley Bridge, and to ride at least three miles along the Westmorland side of the Water, towards Martindale. The views, especially if you ascend from the road into the fields, are magnificent ; yet this is only mentioned that the transient visitant may know what exists ; for it would be in- convenient to go in search of them. They who take this course of three or four miles on foot, should have a boat in readiness at the end of the walk, to carry them across to the Cumberland side of the lake, near Old Church, thence to pursue the road upwards to Patterdale. The Church-yard Yew tree still survives at Old Church, but there are no remains of a Place of Worship, a new Chapel having been erected in a more central situation, which ULLSWATER. 99 Chapel was consecrated by the then Bishop of Carlisle, when on his way to crown Queen Elizabeth, he being the only Prelate who would undertake the office. It may be here mentioned, that Bassenthwaite Chapel yet stands in a bay as sequestered as the site of Old Church ; such situations having been chosen in dis- turbed times to elude marauders. The trunk or body of the Yale of Ullswater need not be further noticed, as its beauties shew themselves : but the curious traveller may vrish to know something of its tributary streams. At Dalemain, about three miles from Penrith, a stream is crossed called the Dacre, or Dacor, which name it bore as early as the time of the Venerable Bede. This stream does not enter the lake, but joins the Eamont a mile below. It rises in the moorish country about Penruddock, and flows down a soft sequestered valley, passing by the ancient mansions of Hutton John and Dacre Castle. The former is pleasantly situated, though of a character somewhat gloomy and monastic, and from some of the fields near Dalemain, Dacre Castle, backed by the jagged summit of Saddleback, with the valley and stream in front, forms a grand picture. There is no other stream that conducts to any glen or valley worthy of being mentioned, till we reach that which leads up to Ara-force, and thence into Matter- dale, before spoken of. Matterdale, though a wild and interest- ing spot, has no peculiar features that would make it worth the stranger's while to go in search of them ; but, in Gowbarrow Park the lover of Nature might linger for hours. Here is a powerful brook, which dashes among rocks through a deep glen, hung on every side with a rich and happy intermixture of native wood. Here are beds of luxuriant fern, aged hawthorns, and hollies decked with honeysuckles; and fallow-deer glancing and bounding over the lawns and through the thickets. These are the attractions of the retired views, or constitute a fore- ground for ever- varying pictures of the majestic lake, forced to take a winding course by bold promontories, and environed by mountains of sublime form, towering above each other. At the outlet of Gowbarrow Park we reach a third stream, which flows through a little recess called Glencoin, where lurks a single house, yet visible from the road. Let the artist or leisurely traveller turn aside to it, for the buildings and objects around them are romantic and picturesque. Having passed under the K 100 ULLSWATER. steeps of Stybarrow Crag", and the remains of its native woods, at Glenrid4ing Bridge, a fourth is crossed, which is contaminated by the operations of the Greenside lead mines in the mountains above. The opening on the side of Ullswater Vale, down which this stream flows, is adorned with fertile fields, cottages, and natural groves, that agreeably unite with the transverse views of the lake ; and the stream, if followed up after the enclosures are left behind, will lead along bold water-breaks and waterfalls to a silent Tarn in the recesses of Helvellyn. But to return to the road in the main Yale of Ullswater. — At the head of the lake I (being now in Patterdale) we cross a fifth stream, Grisedale \ Beck : this would conduct along a woody steep, where may be ^seen some unusually large ancient hollies, up to the level area of the valley of Grisedale ; hence there is a path for foot-travellers, .^nd along which a horse may be led to Grasmere. A sublime / combination of momitain forms appears in front while ascending the bed of this valley, and the impression deepens till the path leads almost immediately under the projecting masses of Hel- vellyn, Having retraced the banks of the stream to Patterdale, and pursued the road up the main Dale, the next considerable stream would, if ascended in the same manner, conduct to Deep- dale, the character of which valley may be conjectured from its name. It is terminated by a cove, a craggy and gloomy abyss, with precipitous sides ; a faithful receptacle of the snows that are driven into it by the west wind, from the summit of Fairfield. Lastly, having gone along the western side of Brothers-water and passed Hartshop Hall, a stream soon after issues from a cove richly decorated with native wood. This spot is, I believe, never explored by travellers ; but, from these sylvan and rocky recesses, whoever looks back on the gleaming surface of Brothers-water, or forward to the precipitous sides and lofty ridges of Dove Crag, &c., will be equally pleased with the grandeur and the wildness of the scenery. Seven Glens or Valleys have been noticed, which branch off from the Cumberland side of the vale. The opposite side has only two streams of any importance, one of which would lead up from the point where it crosses the Kirkstone road, near the foot of Brothers-water, to the decaying hamlet of Hartshop, remarkable HELVELLYN. 101 for its cottage architecture, and thence to Hays-water, much frequented by anglers. The other, coming down Martindale, enters Ullswater at Sandwyke, opposite to Gowbarrow Park. No persons but such as come to Patterdale merely to pass through it, should fail to walk as far as Blowick, the only enclosed land which on this side borders the higher part of the lake. The axe has here indiscriminately levelled a rich wood of birches and oaks, that divided this favoured spot into a hundred pictures. It has yet its land-locked bays and rocky promontories ; but those beau- tiful woods are gone, which perfected its seclusion ; and scenes, that might formerly have been compared to an inexhaustible volume, are now spread before the eye in a single sheet — mag- nificent indeed, but seemingly perused in a moment! From Blowick a narrow track conducts along the craggy side of Place Fell, richly adorned with juniper, and sprinkled over with birches, ^ to the village of Sandwyke, a few straggKng houses, that, with the small estates attached to them, occupy an opening opposite to Lyulph's Tower and Gowbarrow Park. In Martindale, the road loses sight of the lake, and leads over a steep hill, bringing you again into view of Ullswater. Its lowest reach, four miles in length, is before you ; and the view terminated by the long ridge of Cross Fell in the distance. Immediately under the eye is a deep- indented bay, with a plot of fertile land, traversed by a small brook, and rendered cheerful by two or three substantial houses of a more ornamented and showy appearance than is usual in those wild spots. HELVELLYN. The altitude of Helvellyn is stated, according to the Ordnance Survey, to be 3055 feet above the level of the sea. From the different summits of this mountain comprehensive views are obtamed of several of the lakes, and the hills in every direction are thence seen under a more than usually picturesque arrange- ment. The ascent is frequently commenced from the inn at Wyth- burn, on the road from Ambleside to Keswick, the distance from that point being much less than from other places ; but the K 2 102 HELVELLYN. acclivity is too steep for a horse to keep his footing. From Patterdale, however, the ascent, as far as Red Tarn, may, with a little management, be made on horseback, by taking the track up Grisedale, which is approached by a gate on the left, immedi- ately after crossing Grisedale Bridge from the inn. The road leads through the ancient farm-yard of Grasset How, and pro- ceeds, winding up the side of the hill, in the direction of Blea- berry Crag, an offshoot of Striding Edge, which it leaves on the left, and then strikes off by the foot of Red Tarn — " A cove, a huge recess, That keeps, till June, December's snow ; A lofty precipice in front. A silent tarn below," — to the stakes where horses are usually tied up while parties proceed to the summit. The road, now, is by ascending Swirrel Edge, a rocky projection of the mountain, crowned by the conical hill called Catchedecam, and a scramble of twenty minutes will place the traveller on the highest point of Helvellyn. Some persons are bold enough, in making the ascent, to traverse the giddy and dangerous height of Striding Edge, a sharp ridge forming the southern boundary of Red Tarn ; but this road ought not to be taken by any with weak nerves. The top in many places scarcely affords room to plant the foot, and is beset with awful precipices on either side.* * Eagles formerly built in the precipitous rock which forms the western barrier of this desolate spot. These birds used to wheel and hover round the head of the sohtary angler. It also derives a melancholy interest from the fate of a young man, a stranger, of the name of Gough, who perished, some years ago, by faUing down the rocks in his attempt to cross over from Wythburn to Patterdale. His remains were discovered by means of a faithful dog that had hngered here for the space of three months, self-supported, and probably re- taining to the last an attachment to the skeleton of its master. " This dog had been, through three months' space, A dweller in that savage place ; Yes, proof was plain, that since the day On which the traveller thus had died, The dog had watch'd about the spot, Or by his master's side : How nourished here through such long time. He knows who gave that love subhme ; And gave that strength of feeUng, great Above all human estimate!" HELVELLYN. 103 The summit of the momitain is a smooth mossy plain, inclining gently to the west, but terminating abruptly by broken precipices on the east. There are on this mountain two piles of stones {Men, as they are called), about a quarter of a mile from each other, and from an angle in the hill between these the best view of the country northward is to be had. Skiddaw, with Saddle- back on its right, first claims attention. Nearer the eye, lying in a hollow of the mountain, is Kepple Cove Tarn, bounded on the south by Swirrel Edge and Catchedecam. Further south, between the projecting masses of Swirrel Edge and Striding Edge, lies Red Tarn ; and, beyond them, nearly the whole of the middle and lower divisions of UUswater are seen. On the eastern, or Westmorland, side of UUswater, are Swarth-fell, Birk-fell, and Place-fell ; and over them, looking in a south- easterly direction, may be seen Kidsay Pike, High Street, and Hill Bell ; and still further south, and far distant from the eye, the broad top of Ingleborough is visible. Angle Tarn is seen reposing among the hills beyond Patter dale. On the Cumberland side of the lake, Hallsteads, the residence of John Marshall, Esq. is delightfully situated ; and, at a greater distance, beyond Pen- rith, the ridge of Crossfell is stretched out. Looking south, having on the left St. Sunday's Crag, are Scandale fell, Fairfield? and Dolly Wagon Pike : over these summits appear the lakes of Windermere, Coniston, and Esthwaite, with the flat country extending southward to Lancaster. To the right of Dolly Wagon Pike is Seat Sandal, with a patch of Loughrigg fell between them ; beyond may be descried the mountains of Conis- ton, with Black Comb in the distance. Langdale Pikes and Wrynose are seen beyond Steel fell ; and, more to the right, over Wythburn head, Scawfell and the Pikes look down in majesty upon their more humble neighbours. Great End and Lingmel Crag project from the vast mass of mountains among which the Pikes on Scawfell stand unrivalled ; and nearer the eye are the Borrowdale mountains, Glaramara and Rosthwaite Cam being the most conspicuous. Great Gable rears his head on the right of the Pikes ; and more to the north is Kirkfell, over which, on a clear day, the Isle of Man may be seen. Next sue- ceeds the great cluster of mountains extending from Derwent Water to Ennerdale. The first range beyond the heights of K 3 104 PENRITH. Wythburn are Gate Crag, Maiden Moor, and Cat Bells, all near Derwent Water; and over these are Dale Head and Robinson. On the confines of Buttermere are seen Honister Crag, Fleet- with, Haycocks, High Crag, High Stile, and Red Pike ; and still more remote, and north of the Pillar, the Ennerdale Haycocks. Whitelees Pike, Grassmore, Cawsey Pike, and Grisedale Pike all lie between the above range and the lake of Bassenthwaite, a great part of which lake may be observed from Helvellyn, and beyond Bassenthwaite the distant plains of Cmnberland, with the summits of the Scottish mountains. Derwent Water is hid from view. A fine cool spring of water, called Brownrigg Well, which affords a refreshing draught at all seasons, will be found on the western side of the mountain, about 300 yards from its summit. PENRITH. Penrith is a neat and clean town, situated in a fertile valley, a mile from the confluence of the Eamont and Lowther, with a population of 5385. Market on Tuesday. It is a great thorough- fare, being at the junction of the two great roads from the south to Glasgow and Edinburgh. Penrith and the neighbourhood abound in objects of antiquarian curiosity. In the church-yard there is a monument of great antiquity, called the Giant's Grave, consisting of two stone pillars about ten feet high and fifteen feet asunder, and four large semicircular stones, two on each side of the grave, embedded in the earth. The common vulgar report is, that this is the tomb of Sir Ewan or Owen Csesarius, a gigantic warrior, who reigned in this country in the time of the Saxons. Near this monument there is another antique stone pillar, six feet high, called the Gianfs Thumb. The Castle is an object of interest, and stands on the west side of the town. It was probably erected by the Neville family in the time of Richard II., as a defence for the inhabitants of the town from their Scottish enemies, and was dismantled in the time of the Commonwealth. The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway skirts the walls of this ancient ruin. The Beacon stands on the summit of a hill on the east side of the to^vn, and is a most conspicuous and interesting BROUGHAM HALL. — BROUGHAM CASTLE. 105 ol)j ect for some distance round Penrith. A curious relic of British antiquity, called Arthur's Round Table^ is to be found about a mile south of the town, on the Westmorland side of the Eamont. It is a circular area twenty-nine yards in diameter, suiTounded by a broad ditch and elevated mound, with two approaches cut through the mound opposite to each other. It is supposed to have been an arena for tom*naments in the days of chivalry. A few hundred yards to the west of the Round Table is an elevation called Mayhurgh, on which is a circular enclosure one hundi'ed yards in diameter, formed by a broad ridge of rounded stones heaped up to the height of fifteen feet. In the centre of the circle is a rude pillar of stone eleven feet high. This is believed to have been a place of Druidical judicature. There is a more remarkable monument, by some supposed of Druidical times, six nules north-east of Penrith, called Long Meg and her Daughters,^ It is situated on the summit of a hill near Little Salkeld, and is a circle of three hundred and fifty yards in cir- cumference, formed by seventy- two stones, many of which are ten feet high, with one at the entrance eighteen feet high. — Brougham Hall, the residence of Lord Brougham, stands on a gentle eminence one mile and a half to the south- east of Penrith, and from its situation and beautiful prospects has been styled the " Windsor of the North." The majestic ruins of Brougham Castle stands on the south of the rivers Eamont and Lowther at their confluence, and are about a mile from Penrith. This castle was anciently the seat of the Veteri- ponts, and from them descended to the Clifibrds and Tuftons : it still belongs to the Earl of Thanet. Camden supposes it to stand on the site of the Roman Station Brovoniacum. About two miles below Brougham Castle, on the rocky banks of the Eamont, are " two very singular grottos or excavations in a per- pendicular rock, by a narrow ledge of which they are alone ac- cessible. One of them is but a small narrow recess, but the other is more capacious, and appears to have had a door and window." It was formerly secured by iron gates, and the marks of iron grating and hinges are still observable upon the rock. These grottos are called the Giant's Caves, or Isis Purlis, and in * See Scenery of the Lakes. 106 LOWTHER CASTLE. Sandford's MS. Account of Cumberland it is said that Sir Hugh Caesario lived here, and " was buried in the north side of the church i' th' green field/' Five miles from Penrith, near Plump- ton are the extensive ruins of Old Penrith, formerly a Roman Station, supposed by Camden to be Petriana, and by Horsley Bremetenracum, Inns, Crown and George. LowTHER Castle, the magnificent residence of the Earl of Lonsdale, stands in an extensive park comprising six hundred acres of richly-wooded land, and is five miles south of Penrith. This noble structure is built of pale freestone, and combines the majestic eifect of a fortification with the splendour of a regal abode. " Lowther ! in thy majestic Pile are seen Cathedral pomp and grace, in apt accord With the baronial castle's sterner mien ; Union significant of God adored, And charters won and guarded by the sword Of ancient honour ; whence the goodly state Of polity which wise men venerate, And will maintain, if God his help afford." The north and south fronts are of a widely diff*erent character, the former presenting the appearance of a castle, and the latter that of a cathedral, with pointed and muUioned windows, deli- cate pinnacles, niches and cloisters. The scene from this front " accords well with the solemn character of the edifice, being a lawn of emerald green and velvet smoothness, shut in by orna- mental trees and shrubs, and by timber of stately growth." The prospect from the north front is more extensive, and that from the great central tower is extremely grand. A high embattled wall surrounds the entrance court, which is approached through an arched gateway. The interior of the Castle is fitted up in a style of splendour corresponding with the richness of the exterior. The grand staircase has an imposing appearance, and the apart- ments are enriched with a vast quantity of massive plate, and contain several pictures of great value. The building of the Castle was commenced in 1802, from a design by Smirke. Through the liberality of the noble Proprietor it is allowed to be seen by visitors at all seasonable times on application at the lodge. If, during his tour, the stranger has complained, as he will have had reason to do, of a want of majestic trees, he may be abundantly recompensed for his loss in the far-spreading woods EXCURSIONS PROM PENRITH. 107 which surround this mansion. Visitants, for the most part, see little of the beauty of these magnificent grounds, being content with the view from the Terrace ; but the whole course of the Lowther, from Askham to the bridge under Brougham Hall, presents almost at every step some new feature of river, wood- land, and rocky landscape. A portion of this tract has, from its beauty, acquired the name of the Elysian Fields ; — but the course of the stream can only be followed by the pedestrian.* To the INN at PATTERDALE. 1^ The Cumberland road runs by RedHiUs U 2J Dalemain Sf 2 Junction with the Westmorland road 5| 1| Watermillock ... 7^ l| Hallsteads ^ 8| 2j Lyulph's Tower 11 4 Inn at Patter dale 15 From PENRITH, on the Westmorland side of the Eamont, to POOLEY BRIDGE, and thence on the northern side of Ullswater, to the INN at PAT- TERDALE. 1 J Over Eamont Bridge to Arthur's Round Table H 4 J Pooley Bridge Sf ^ Junction with the Cumberland road 6J 9^ Inn at Patter dale 15| From PENRITH to HA WES WATER. 5 Lowther, or Askham* 5 7 By Bampton* to Hawes Water ... 12 To SHAP ABBEY. 5 Askham 4 Bampton Church ... 3 Shap Abbey 5 9 12 1 Shap... 11 Penrith 4 Return by Butter swick 16 5 Over Moor Dovack to Powley ... 21 6 By Dalemain to Penrith 27 ... 13 ... 24 SHAP ABBEY. Of this once magnificent building, little more than the tower now remains. It was built by Thomas, son of Gospatrick, in the reign of King John, for the Canons of the Prsemonstratentian Order, who had been first placed at Preston Patrick, near Ken- dal. In the neighbom-hood of this Abbey is an area upwards of * The woods about Lowther, and especially near the Mansion, suffered greatly by the hurricane which caused such general devastation of the same kind on the 8th January, 1839. 108 CARLISLE. half a mile in length and twenty or thirty yards broad, formed by huge blocks of granite placed at a distance of ten or twelve yards from each other. This stupendous monument of antiquity is called Carl Lofts^ and is thought by Pennant to be of Danish origin. Dr. Burn supposes it to have been a Druidical Temple. It is now very much reduced, and can with difficulty be traced, owing to many of the stones having been broken up in clearing the ground for agricultural purposes. CARLISLE. Carlisle, the capital of Cumberland, is an ancient city and bishopric. It is situated within eight miles of the Scottish bor- der, and is surrounded by a fertile and open country. Carlisle was a Roman Station, and is within a mile of Hadrian's WaU. In the wars between England and Scotland it was a place of great importance. The town i& well built, and many of the streets are very spacious. The Castle is said to have been built in the year 780, and some of the massive and antique buttresses on the north battery are ascribed to William Rufus. Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned here in 1568, but the rooms she occupied have been recently taken down. The Cathedral is a noble building, and the east window is said to be the largest, as it is certainly the finest, in the island, while the ground is classic, as being the resting-place of the mortal remains of Paley, and the scene of the marriage of the author of Waverley. The new Jail is situated at the southern entrance of the city, contiguous to the County Court-houses, the principal features of which are two magnificent circular towers. A News Room, Reading and Cofi*ee Rooms, have recently been erected from a design by Rickman and Hutchinson, of Birmingham, and are a great ornament to the city. There are extensive cotton works carried on here, and the steam-cliimney of Messrs. Dixons' cotton mills is a re- markable object for many miles round. Woollens, linens, and other articles are also manufactured here, and Carlisle is particu- larly celebrated for its whips and hats. Carlisle is the grand focus of Steam and Railway communication for all parts of the kingdom. It is connected with the Irish Channel by a ship- HEIGHTS OF LAKES, ETC. 109 canal to Bowness, on the Solway, from which port steam-packets are constantly plying to Liverpool, Dublin, Belfast, &c. It is also connected with the West ©f Cumberland by a railroad to M^ry- port, Workington, Whitehaven, and the western coast extending to Furness and Ulverston, — with Lancashire, and the South of England by the great trunk Lancaster and Carlisle and London and North Western Railways, — ^with Newcastle, Sunderland, and the whole northern coast, by the Newcastle and Carlisle Rail- way, and with the whole of Scotland by the Caledonian and other Scottish Railways. Population, 21,354. Market on Wednesday and Saturday. Inns, Bush, Coffee House, and Victoria. Lanercost Priory, Naworth Castle, and Gillsland Spa, may be conveniently visited from Carlisle by Railway Conveyance. HEIGHTS OF LAKES ABOVE THE SEA. Feet. Red Tarn (HelveUyn) ... 2400 Sprinkling Tarn (Borrowdale) 1900 Hawes Water 714 Thirlmere 473 Ullswater 460 Derwent Water 288 Crummock Water ... 260 Bassenthwaite Water 210 Esthwaite Water ... 198 Grasmere 196 Wast Water 160 Windermere ... 115 Coniston Water ... 106 WATERFALLS. Feet^ Scale Force, near Buttermere... 160 Col with Force, five miles from Ambleside 150 Stockgill Force, near Ambleside ... 152 Lodore Fall, near Keswick 150 Barrow Cascade, near Keswick 122 Dungeon Gill, Langdale ... 90 Ara Force, Gowbarrow^ Park ... 80 Rydal Fall, near Ambleside 70 Birker Force, Eskdale 65 Stanley Gill, Eskdale 62 Nunnery Fall, one mile from Kirkoswald 60 Sour Milk Force, near Buttermere... 60 How% Caldbeck ... 50 Skelwith Force 20 110 HEIGHTS OF THE MOUNTAINS OF THE LAKE DISTRICT. / / i. 7 ^. A /' A it Scawfell Pike, Cumberland ... Scawfell, Cumberland ... Helvellyn, Cumberland and Westmorland Skiddaw, Cumberland ... Fairfield, Westmorland Great Gable, Cumberland Bowfell, Westmorland Rydal Head, Westmorland Pillar, Cumberland. . Saddleback Grassmoor, Cumberland Red Pike, Cumberland . . High Street, Westmorland Grisedale Pike, Cumberland Coniston Old Man, Lancashire HiU Bell, Westmorland . . Carrock Fell, Cumberland High Pike, Caldbeck Fells, Cumberland Causey Pike, Cumberlaud Black Comb, Cumberland Lord's Seat, Cumberland Wansfell, Westmorland . . Whinfell Beacon, near Kendal, Westmorland Cat BeU, Cumberland Latrigg, Cumberland Dent Hill, Cumberland . . Loughrigg Fell, Westmorland Benson Knott, near Kendal, Westmorland Penrith Beacon, Cumberland Mell Fell, Cumberland . . Kendal FeU, Westmorland Scilly Bank, near Whitehaven, Cumberland . . MOUNTAIN PASSES. Sty Head, Cumberland Haws between Buttermere dale and Newlands, Cumberland Haws between Buttermere and Borrowdale, Cumberland Dunmail Raise, Cumberland and Westmorland Feet, 3166 3100 3055 3022 2950 2925 2914 2910 2893 2787 2756 2750 2700 2680 2577 2500 2400 2300 2110 2101 2030 1919 1728 1590 1500 1448 1160 1110 1108 1098 1020 1000 648 500 1250 1160 1100 720 DESCRIPTIONS^ Clje Salter^ of J|e f afo$. / SCENERY OF THE LAKES. SECTION FIRST. VIEW OF THE COUNTRY AS FORMED BY NATURE. At Lucerne, in Switzerland, is shewn a Model of the Alpine country which encompasses the Lake of the Four Cantons. The spectator ascends a little platform, and sees mountains, lakes, glaciers, rivers, woods, waterfalls, and valleys, with their cottages, and every other object contained in them, lying at his feet ; all things being represented in their appropriate colours. It may be easily conceived that this exhibition affords an exquisite delight to the imagination, tempting it to wander at wiU from valley to valley, from mountain to mountain, through the deepest recesses of the Alps. But it supplies also a more substantial pleasure ; for the sublime and beautiful region, with all its hidden treasures, and their bearings and relations to each other, is thereby comprehended and understood at once. Something of this kind, without touching upon minute details and individualities which would only confuse and embarrass, will here be attempted, in respect to the Lakes of the North of Eng- land, and the vales and mountains enclosing and surrounding them. The delineation, if tolerably executed, will, in some instances, communicate to the traveller, who has already seen the objects, new information ; and will assist in giving to his recollections a more orderly arrangement than his own opportunities of observ- ing may have permitted him to make ; while it will be still more useful to the future traveller, by directing his attention at once to distinctions in things which, without such previous aid, a length of time only could enable him to discover. It his hoped, also, that this Essay may become generally serviceable, by lead- ing to habits of more exact and considerate observation than, as far as the writer knows, have hitherto been applied to local scenery. To begin, then, with the main outlines of the country : — I know not how to give the reader a distinct image of these more readily, than by requesting him to place himself with me, in imagination, upon some given point : let it be the top of either of the mountains. Great Gable, or Scawfell : or, rather, let us sup- L 2 114 VALES DIVERGING FROM pose our station to be a cloud hanging midway between these two mountains, at not more than half a mile's distance from the summit of each, and not many yards above their highest eleva- tion ; we shall than see stretched at our feet a number of valleys, not fewer than eight, diverging from the point on which we are supposed to stand, like spokes from the nave of a wheel. First, we note, lying to the south-east, the vale of Langdale,* which will conduct the eye to the long lake of Windermere, stretch- ing near to the sea ; or rather to the sands of the vast bay of Morecambe, serving here for the rim of this imaginary wheel : let us trace it in a direction from the south-east towards the south, and we shall next fix our eyes upon the vale of Coniston, running up likewise from the sea, but not (as all the other valleys do) to the nave of the wheel, and therefore it may be not inaptly represented as a broken spoke sticking in the rim. Lookir^ forth again, with an inclination towards the west, we see imme- diately at our feet the vale of Duddon, in which is no lake, but a copious stream winding among fields, rocks, and mountains, and terminating its course in the sands of Duddon. Thefourth vale, next to be observed, viz, that of the Esk, is of the same general character as the last, yet beautifully discriminated from it by pecuKar features. Its stream passes under the woody steep upon which stands Muncaster Castle, the ancient seat of the Penning- tons, and after forming a short and narrow sestuary enters the sea below the small town of Ravenglass. Next, almost due west, look down into and along the deep valley of Wastdale, with its little chapel and half a dozen neat dwellings scattered upon a plain of meadow and corn-ground intersected with stone walls apparently innumerable, like a large piece of lawless patchwork, or an array of mathematical figures, such as in the ancient schools of geometry might have been sportively and fantastically traced out upon sand. Beyond this little fertile plain lies, within a bed of steep mountains, the long, narrow, stern, and desolate lake of Wastdale ; and, beyond this, a dusky tract of level ground con- ducts the eye to the Irish Sea. The stream that issues from Wastwater is named the Irt, and falls into the sestuary of the river Esk. Next comes in view Ennerdale, v/ith its lake o^ bold and somewhat savage shores. Its stream, the Ehen or Enna, flowing through a soft and fertile country, passes the town of Egremont and the ruins of the castle, — then, seeming, like the other rivers, to break through the barrier of sand thrown up by the winds on this tempestuous coast, enters the Irish Sea. The vale of Buttermere, with the lake and village of that name, and * Anciently spelt Langden, and so called by the old inhabitants to this day — dean, from which the latter part of the word is derived, being in many parts of England a name for a valley. A COMMON CENTRE. 115 Crummock-water, beyond, next present themselves. We will follow the main stream, the Cocker, through the fertile and beau- tiful vale of Lorton, tUl it is lost in the Derwent, below the noble ruins of Cockermouth Castle. Lastly, Borrowdale, of which the vale of Keswick is only a continuation, stretching due north, brings us to a point nearly opposite to the vale of Windermere, with which we began. From this it will appear, that the image of a wheel, thus far exact, is a little more than one half com- plete : but the deficiency on the eastern side may be supplied by the vales of Wythburn, TJUswater, Haweswater, and the vale of Grasmere and Rydal ; none of these, however, run up the central point between Great Gable and Scawfell. From this, hitherto our central point, let us take flight of not more than four or five miles eastward to the ridge of Helvellyn, and we shall look down upon Wythburn and St. John's Vale, which are a branch of the vale of Keswick ; upon TJUswater, stretching due east ; and not far beyond to the south-east (though from this point not visible) lie the vale and lake of Haweswater ; and lastly, the vale of Grasmere, Rydal, and Ambleside, brings us back to Windermere, thus completing, though on the east- ern side in a somewhat irregular manner, the representative figure of the wheel. Such, concisely given, is the general topographical view of the country of the Lakes in the north of England ; and it may be observed that, from the circumference to the centre, that is, from the sea, or plain country, to the mountain stations specified, there is — in the several ridges that enclose these vales and divide them from each other, I mean in the forms and surfaces, first of the swelling grounds, next of the hills and rocks, and lastly of the mountains — an ascent of almost regular gradation, from elegance and richness, to their highest point of grandeur and sublimity. It follows, therefore, from this, first, that these rocks, hills, and mountains, must present themselves to view in stages rising above each other, the mountains clustering together to- wards the central point ; and next, that an observer familiar with the several vales must, from their various positions in rela- tion to the sun, have had before his eyes every possible embel- lishment of beauty, dignity, and splendour, which light and shadow can bestow upon objects so diversified. For example, in the vale of Windermere, if the spectator looks for gentle and lovely scenes, his eye is turned towards the south; if for the grand, towards the north : in the vale of Keswick, which (as hath been said) lies almost due north of this, it is directly the reverse. Henee, when the sun is setting in summer far to the north-west, it is seen by the spectator from the shores or breast of Windermere, resting among the summits of the loftiest L 3 116 MOUNTAINS. mountains, some of which will perhaps be half or wholly hidden by clouds, or by the blaze of light which the orb diffuses around it ; and the surface of the lake will reflect before the eye cor- responding colours through every variety of beauty, and through all degrees of splendour. In the vale of Keswick, at the same period, the sun sets over the humbler regions of the landscape, and showers down upon them the radiance which at once veils and glorifies, — sending forth, meanwhile, broad streams of rosy, crimson, purple, or golden light, towards the grand mountains in the south and south-east, which, thus illuminated, with all their projections and cavities, and with the intermixture of solemn shadows, are seen distinctly through a cool and clear atmosphere. Of course, there is as marked a difference between the noontide appearance of these two opposite vales. The bedimming haze that overspreads the south, and the clear atmosphere and deter- mined shadows of the clouds in the north, at the same time of the day, are each seen in the several vales, with a contrast as striking. The reader will easily conceive in what degree the intermediate vales partake of a kindred variety. I do not indeed know any tract of country in which, within so narrow a compass, may be found an equal variety in the influences of light and shadow upon the sublime or beautiful features of landscape: and it is owing to the combined circumstances to which the reader's attention has been directed. From a point between Great Gable and Scawfell, a shepherd would not require more than an hour to descend into any one of eight of the prin- cipal vales by which he would be surrounded ; and all the others lie (with the exception of Hawes water) at but a small distance. But, though clustered together, every valley has its distinct and separate character : in some instances, as if they had been formed in studied contrast to each other, and in others with the united pleasing differences and resemblances of a sisterly rivalship. This concentration of interest gives to the country a decided superiority over the most attractive districts of Scotland and Wales, especially for the pedestrian traveller. In Scotland and Wales are found, undoubtedly, individual scenes, which, in their several kinds, cannot be excelled. But, in Scotland, parti- cularly, what long tracts of desolate country intervene ! so that the traveller, when he reaches a spot deservedly of great cele- brity, would find it difficult to determine how much of his plea- sure is owing to excellence inherent in the landscape itself; and how much to an instantaneous recovery from an oppression left upon his spirits by the barrenness and desolation through which he has passed. But to proceed with our survey ; and, first, of the Mountains. Their /orms are endlessly diversified, sweeping easily or boldly in WINTER COLORING. 117 simple majesty, abrupt and precipitous, or soft and elegant. In magnitude and grandeur they are individually inferior to the most celebrated of those in some other parts of this island ; but, in the combinations which they make, towering above each other, or lifting themselves in ridges like the waves of a tumultuous sea, and in the beauty and variety of their surfaces and colours, they are surpassed by none. The general surface of the mountains is turf, rendered rich and green by the moisture of the climate . Sometimes the turf, as in the neighbourhood of Newlands, is little broken, the whole covering being soft and downy pasturage. In other places, rocks predominate ; the soil is laid bare by torrents and burstings of water from the sides of the mountains in heavy rains ; and not unfrequently their perpendicular sides are seamed by ravines (formed also by rains and torrents), which, meeting in angular points, entrench and scar the surface with numerous figures like the letters W and Y. In the ridge that divides Eskdale from Wastdale, granite is found ; but the mountains are for the most part composed of the stone by mineralogists termed schist, which, as you approach the plain country, gives place to limestone and freestone ; but schist being the substance of the mountains, the predominant colour of their rocky parts is bluish, or hoary grey — the general tint of the lichens with which the bare stone is encrusted. With this blue or grey colour is frequently intermixed a red tinge, proceeding from the iron that interveins the stone and impregnates the soil. The iron is the principle of decomposition in these rocks; and hence, when they become pulverized, the elementary particles crumbling down, overspread in many places the steep and almost precipitous sides of the mountains with an intermixture of colours, like the compound hues of the dove's neck. When in the heat of advancing summer, the fresh green tint of the herbage has somewhat faded, it is again revived by the appearance of the fern profusely spread over the same ground ; and, upon this plant, more than upon any thing else, do the changes which the seasons make in the colouring of the mountains depend. About the first week in October, the rich green, which prevailed through the whole summer, is usually passed away. The brilliant and various colours of the fern are then in harmony with the autumnal woods : bright yellow or lemon colour, at the base of the mountains, melting gradually, through orange, to a dark russet brown towards the summits, where the plant, being more exposed to the weather, is in a more advanced state of decay. Neither heath nor furz are generally found upon the sides of these mountains, though in many places they are adorned by those plants, so beautiful when in flower. We may add, that the mountains are 118 MOUNTAINS. of height sufficient to have the surface towards the summit softened by distance, and to imbibe the finest aerial hues. In common also with other mountains, their apparent forms and colours are perpetually changed by the clouds and vapours which float round them : the effect indeed of mist or haze, in a country of this character, is like that of magic. I have seen six or seven ridges rising above each other, all created in a moment by the vapours upon the side of a mountain, which in its ordinary appearance showed not a projecting point to furnish even a hint for such an operation. I will take this opportunity of observing, that they who have studied the appearance of nature feel that the superiority, in point of visual interest, of mountainous over other countries — -is. more strikingly displa yed in winter than in summer.^ This, as must be obvious, is partly owing to the forms of the mountains, which, of course, are not affected by the seasons ; but also, in no small degree, to the greater variety that exists in their winter than their summer colouring. This vari ety is such, and so har - moniously preserved , that it leaves l it tle cause of regret when the splendour of autumn is pa ssed jrway. The oak coppices, upon th e sides of the mountain^ retain r usset leav e s ; the bir ch s tands conspicu o us wi th jts^ilyer^stem^and puce-c^ oured twigsT the hollies, with greenTe^es and scarlet berrie s, have come _ ?6rth to view^JTomJhe_deciduous tr ees, whose summer-foliage h ad concealed themTT t he Ivy is now plentifull y apparent upon lEe^^ ffls an dboughs^f the trees, and upon the steep rocks. In place of the deep summer^green of the herbage and fern, many rich colours play into each other over the surface of the moun- tains ; turf (the tints of which are interchangeably tawny -green, olive, and brown), beds of withered fern, and grey rocks, being harmoniously blended together. The mosses and lichens are never so fresh and flourishing as in winter, if it be not a season of frost ; and their minute beauties prodigally adorn the fore- ground. Wherever we turn, we find these productions of nature, to which winter is rather favourable than unkindly, scattered over the waUs, banks of earth, rocks, and stones, and upon the trunks of trees, with the intermixture of several species of small fern, now green and fresh; and, to the observing passenger, their forms and colours are a source of inexhaustible admiration. Add to this the hoar-frost and snow, with all the varieties they create, and which volumes would not be sufficient to describe. I will content myself with one instance of the colouring produced by snow, which may not be uninteresting to painters. It is extracted from the memorandum-book of a friend ; and for its ac- curacy I can speak, having been an eye-witness of the appearance. " I observed," says he, " the beautiful effect of the drifted snow VALES. 119 upon the mountains, and the perfect tone of colour. From the top of the mountains downwards, a rich oKve was produced by the powdery snow and the grass, which olive was warmed with a little brown, and in this way harmoniously combined, by insen- sible gradations, with the white. The drifting took away the monotony of snow ; and the whole vale of Grasmere, seen from the terrace walk in Easedale, was as varied, perhaps more so, than even in the pomp of autumn. In the distance was Lough- rigg Fell, the basin-wall of the lake : this, from the summit down- ward, was a rich orange-olive ; then the lake of a bright olive- green, nearly the same tint as the snow-powdered mountain tops and high slopes in Easedale ; and, lastly, the church, with its firs, forming the centre of the view. Next to the church came nine distinguishable hills, six of them with woody sides turned towards us, all of them oak copses with their bright red leaves and snow- powdered twigs ; these hills — so variously situated in relation to each other, and to the view in general, so variously powdered, some only enough to give the herbage a rich brown tint, one in- tensely white and lighting up all the others — were yet so placed, as in the most inobtrusive manner to harmonise by contrast with a perfect naked, snowless, bleak summit in the far distance." Having spoken of the forms, surface, and colour of the moun- tains, let us descend into the Vales. Though these have been represented under the general image of the spokes of a wheel, they are, for the most part, winding; the windings of many being abrupt and intricate. And it may be observed, that, in one circumstance, the general shape of them all has been deter- mined by that primitive conformation through which so many became receptacles of lakes. For they are not formed, as are most of the celebrated Welch valleys, by an approximation of the sloping bases of the opposite mountains towards each other, leav- ing little more between than a channel for the passage of a hasty river ; but the bottom of these valleys is mostly a spacious and gently declining area, apparently level as the floor of a temple, or the surface of a lake, and broken in many cases by rocks and hiUs, which rise up like islands from the plain. In such of the valleys as may make windings, these level areas open upon the traveller in succession, divided from each other sometimes by a mutual approximation of the hills, leaving only passage for a river, sometimes by correspondent windings, without such ap- proximation ; and sometimes by a bold advance of one mountain to that which is opposite it. It may here be observed with pro- priety that the several rocks and hills, which have been described as rising up like islands from the level area of the vale, have regulated the choice of the inhabitants in the situation of their dwellings. Where none of these are found, and the inclination 120 LAKES. of the ground is not sufficiently rapid easily to carry off the waters (as in the higher part of Langdale, for instance) the houses are not sprinkled over the middle of the vales, but confined to their sides, being placed merely so far up the mountain as to be protected from the floods. But v^^here these rocks and hills have been scattered over the plain of the vale (as in Grasmere, Don- nerdale, Eskdale, &c.) the beauty they give to the scene is much heightened by a single cottage, or cluster of cottages, that will be almost always found under them, or upon their sides ; dryness and shelter having tempted the dalesmen to fix their habitations there. I shall now speak of the Lakes of this country. Tlie form of the lake is most perfect when, like Derwent-water and some of the smaller lakes, it least resembles that of a river ; — I mean, when being looked at from any given point where the whole may be seen at once, the width of it bears such proportion to the length, that, however the outline may be diversified by far- receding bays, it never assumes the shape of a river, and is con- templated with that placid and quiet feeling which belongs pecu- liarly to the lake — as a body of still water under the influence of no current ; reflecting therefore the clouds, the light, and all the imagery of the sky and surrounding hills ; expressing also and making visible the changes of the atmosphere and motions of the lightest breeze, and subject to agitation only from the winds, -The visible scene Would enter una\vare.s into his mind "VVit'i all its solemn imagery, its rocks, Its \voods, and that uncertain heaven received Into the bosom of the steady lake ! It must be noticed, as a favourable characteristic of the lakes of this country, that, though several of the largest, such as Win- dermere, Ullswater, and Haweswater, do, when the whole length of them is commanded from an elevated point, lose somewhat of the peculiar form of the lake, and assume the resemblance of a mag- nificent river ; yet, as their shape is winding (particularly that of Ullswater and Haweswater), when the view of the whole is obstructed by those barriers which determine the windings, and the spectator is confined to one reach, the appropriate feeling is revived ; and one lake may thus in succession present to the eye the essential characteristic of many. But though the forms of the large lakes have this advantage, it is nevertheless favom^able to the beauty of the country that the largest of them are com- paratively small : and that the same vale generally furnishes a succession of lakes, instead of being filled with one. The vales in North Wales, as hath being observed, are not formed for the reception of lakes ; those of Switzerland, Scotland, and this part LAKES. 121 of the North of England, are so formed ; but in Switzerland and Scotland, the proportion of diffused water is often too great, as at the lake of Geneva for instance, and in most of the Scotch lakes. No doubt it sounds magnificent and flatters the imagina- tion, to hear, at a distance, of expanses of water so many leagues in length and miles in width; and such ample room maybe de- lightful to the fresh-water sailor, scudding with a lively breeze amid the rapidly-shifting scenery. But, who ever travelled along the banks of Loch-Lomond, variegated as the lower part is by islands, without feeling that a speedier termination of the long vista of blank water would be acceptable ; and without wish- ing for an interposition of green meadows, trees, and cottages, and a sparkling stream to run by his side ? In fact, a notion of grandeur, as connected with magnitude, has seduced persons of taste into general mistake upon this subject, fit is much more desirable, for the purpose of pleasure, that lakes should be numer- ous, and small or middle-sized, than large, not only for commu- nication by walks and rides, but for variety, and for recurrence of similar appearances. To illustrate this by one instance : — how pleasing is it to have a ready and frequent opportunity of watching, at the outlet of a lake, the stream pushing its way among the rocks in lively contrast with the stillness from which it has escaped ; and how amusing to compare its noisy and tur- bulent motions with the gentle playfulness of the breezes that may be starting or wandering here and there over the faintly- rippled surface of the broad water! I may add as a general remark, that, in lakes of great width, the shores cannot be dis- tinctly seen at the same time, and therefore contribute little to mutual illustration and ornament ; and, if the opposite shores are out of sight of each other, like those of the American and Asiatic lakes, then, unfortunately, the traveller is reminded of a nobler object ; he has the blankness of a sea-prospect without the gran- deur and accompanying sense of power. As the comparatively small size of the lakes in the North of England is favourable to the production of varigated landscapes, theu' boundary4ine also is for the most part gracefully or boldly indented. That uniformity which prevails in the primitive frame of the lower grounds among all chains or clusters of mountains where large bodies of still water are bedded, is broken by the secondary agents of nature, ever at work to supply the defici- encies of the mould in which things were originally cast. Using the word deficiencies, I do not speak with reference to those stronger emotions which a region of mountains is peculiarly fitted to excite. The bases of these huge barriers may run for a long space in straight lines, and these parallel to each other ; the op- posite sides of a profound vale may ascend as exact counterparts, 122 WATER-FOWL. or in mutual reflection, like the billows of a troubled sea ; and the impression be, from its very simplicity, more awful and sub- lime. Sublimity is the result of Nature's first great dealings with the superficies of the earth ; but the general tendency of her subsequent operations is towards the production of beauty, by a multiplicity of symmetrical parts unitmg in a consistent whole This is everywhere exemplified along the margins of these lakes. Masses of rock, that have been precipitated from the heights into the area of waters, lie in some places like stranded ships ; or have acquired the compact structure of jutting piers ; or project in little peninsulas crested with native wood. The smallest rivulet — one whose silent influx is scarcely noticeable in a season of dry weather — so faint is the dimple made by it on the surface of the smooth lake — will be found to have been not useless in shaping, by its deposits of gravel and soil in time of flood, a curve that would not otherwise have existed. But the more powerful brooks, encroaching upon the level of the lake, have, in course of time, given birth to ample promontories of sweeping outline that contrast boldly with the longitudinal base of the steeps on the opposite shore ; while their flat or gently-sloping surfaces never fail to introduce, into the midst of desolation and barrenness, the elements of fertility, even where the habitations of men may not have been raised. These alluvial promontories, howe-^er, threaten, in some places, to bisect the waters which they have long adorned; and, in course of ages, they will cause some of the lakes to dwindle into numerous and insignificant pools, which, in their turn, will be finally filled up. But, check- ing these intrusive calculations, let us rather be content with ap- pearances as they are, and pursue in imagination the meandering shores ; whether rugged steeps, admitting of no cultivation, de- scend into the water, or gently-sloping lawns and woods, or flat and fertile meadows stretch between the margin of the lake and the mountains. Among minuter recommendations will be noticed, especially along bays exposed to the setting-in of strong winds, the ciu'ved rim of fine blue gravel, thrown up in course of time by the waves, half of it perhaps gleaming from imder the water, and the corresponding half of a lighter hue ; and in other parts bordering the lake, groves, if I may so call them, of reeds and bulrushes ; or plots of water-lilies lifting up their large target-shaped leaves to the breeze, while the white flower is heaving up on the wave. To these may naturally be added the Bieds that enliven the waters. Wild ducks in spring-time hatch their young in the islands, and upon reedy shores ; — the sand-piper, flitting along the stoney margins, by its restless note attracts the eye to motions as restless : — -upon some jutting rock, or at the edge of a smooth ISLANDS. 123 meadow, the stately heron my be descried with folded wings, that might seem to have caught their delicate hue from the blue waters, by the side of which she watches for her sustenance. In winter, the lakes are sometimes resorted to by wild swans ; and in that season habitually by widgeons, goldings, and other aquatic fowl of the smaller species. Let me be allowed the aid of verse to describe the evolutions which these visitants some- times perform on a fine day towards the close of winter. Mark how the feather' d tenants of the flood, With grace of motion that might scarcely seem Inferior to angehcal, prolong Their curious pastime ! shaping in mid-air (And sometimes with ambitious wing that soars High as the level of the mountain tops,) A circuit ampler than the lake beneath, Their own domain ; — but ever, while intent On tracing and retracing that large round, Their jubilant activity evolves Hundreds of curves and circlets, to and fro, Upward and'downward, progress intricate Yet perplex' d, as if one spirit swayed Their indefatigable flight. — 'Tis done — Ten times, or more, I fancied it had ceased; But lo ! the vanish' d company again Ascending; — they approach — I hear their wings Faint, faint, at first, and then an eager sound Past in a moment — and as faint again ! They tempt the sun to sport amid their plumes ; They tempt the water or the gleaming ice. To show them a fair image ; — 'tis themselves, Their own fair forms, upon the glimmering plain, Painted more soft and fair as they descend Almost to touch; — then up again aloft, Up with a sally and a flash of speed. As if they scorned both resting-place and rest ! The Islands, dispersed among these lakes, are neither so numerous nor so beautiful as might be expected from the account that has been given of the manner in which the level areas of the vales are so frequently diversified by rocks, hills and hillocks scattered over them ; nor are they ornamented (as are several of the lakes in Scotland and Ireland) by the remains of castles or other places of defence ; nor with the still more interesting ruins of religious edifices. Every one must regret that scarcely a ves- tige is left of the Oratory, consecrated to the Virgin, which stood upon Chapel-Holm, in Windermere, and that the Chantry has disappeared, where mass used to be sung, upon St. Herbert's Island, Derwentwater. The islands of the last-mentioned lake are neither fortunately placed nor of pleasing shape ; but if the wood upon them were managed with more taste, they might become interesting features in the landscape. There is a beautiful cluster on Windermere ; a pair pleasingly contrasted upon Rydal : nor must the solitary green island of Grasmere be forgotten. 124 TARNS. In the bosom of each of the lakes of Ennerdale and Devockwater is a single rock, which, owing to its neighbourhood to the sea, is "The haunt of cormorants and sea-mew's clang." a music well suited to the stern and wild character of the several scenes. It may be worth while here to mention (not as an object of beauty, but of curiosity), that there occasionally appears above the surface of Derwentwater, and always in the same place, a considerable tract of spongy ground covered with aquatic plants, which is called the Floating, but with more propriety might be named the Buoyant, Island ; and, on one of the pools near the lake of Esthwaite, may sometimes be seen a mossy Islet, with trees upon it, shifting about before the wind, a lusus natures frequent on the great river* of America, and not unknown in other parts of the world. - " fas habeas invisere Tiburis arva, Albuneseque lacura, atque umbras terrasque natantes."* This part of the subject may be concluded with observing — that from the multitude of brooks and torrents that fall into these lakes, and of internal springs by which they are fed, and which circulate through them like veins, they are truly living lakes, " vivi lacus ; " and are thus discriminated from the stagnant and sullen pools frequent among mountains that have been formed by volcanoes, and from the shallow meres found in flat and fenny countries. The water is also of crystalline purity ; so that, if it were not for the reflections of the incumbent mountains by which it is darkened, a delusion might be felt, by a person resting quietly in a boat on the bosom of Windermere or Derwentwater, similar to that which Carver so beautifully describes when he was floating alone in the middle of lake Erie or Ontario, and could almost have imagined that his boat was suspended in an element as pure as air, or, rather, that the air and water were one. Having spoken of Lakes, I must not omit to mention, as a kind- red feature of this country, those bodies of still water called Tarns. In the economy of nature these are useful, as auxiliars to Lakes ; for if the whole quantity of water which falls upon the mountains in time of storm were poured down upon the plams without the intervention, in some quarters, of such receptacles, the habitable grounds would be much more subject than they are to inundation. But, as some of the collateral brooks spend their fury, finding a free course toward, and also down the channel of the main stream of the vale, before those that have to pass through the higher tarns and lakes have filled their several basins, a gradual distribution is efi*ected ; and the waters thus reserved, instead of uniting to spread ravage and deformity with those * See the Catillus and Salia of Lander. TARNS. 125 which meet with no such detention, contribute to support, for & length of time, the vigour of many streams without a fresh fall of rain. Tarns are found in some of the vales, and are numerous upon the mountains. A Tarn, in a Vale, implies, for the most part, that the bed of the vale is not happily formed ; that the water of the brooks can neither wholly escape, nor diffuse itself over a large area. Accordingly, in such situations, Tarns are often surrounded by an unsightly tract of boggy ground ; but this is not always the case, and in the cultivated parts of the country, when the shores of the Tarn are determined, it differs only from the Lake in being smaller, and in belonging mostly to a smaller valley, or circular recess. Of this class of miniature lakes, Loughrigg Tarn, near Grasmere, is the most beautiful example. It has a margin of green firm meadows, of rocks, and rocky woods, a few reeds here, a little company of water-lillies there, with beds of gravel or stone beyond ; a tiny stream issuing neither briskly nor sluggishly out of it ; but its feeding rills, from the shortness of their course, so small as to be scarcely visible. Five or six cottages are reflected in its peaceful bosom ; rocky and barren steeps rise up above the hanging enclosures; and the solemn pikes of Langdale overlook, from a distance, the low cul- tivated ridge of land that forms the northern boundary of this small, quiet, and fertile domain. The Mountain Tarns can only be recommended to the notice of the inquisitive traveller who has time to spare. They are difficult of access and naked; yet some of them are, in their permanent forms, very grand ; and there are accidents of things which would make the meanest of them interesting. At all events, one of these pools is an accept- able sight to the mountain wanderer ; not merely as an incident that diversifies the prospect, but as forming in his mind a centre or conspicuous point, to which objects, otherwise disconnected or insubordinated, may be referred. Some few have a varied out- line, with bold heath-clad promontories ; and, as they mostly lie at the foot of a steep precipice, the water, where the sun is not shining upon it, appears black and sullen : and, round the mar- gin, huge stones and masses of rock are scattered ; some defying conjecture as to the means by which they came thither; and others obviously fallen from on high — the contribution of ages ! A not unpleasing sadness is induced by this perplexity, and these images of decay ; while the prospect of a body of pure water unattended with groves and other cheerful rural images by which fresh water is usually accompanied, and unable to give furtherance to the meagre vegetation around it — excites a sense of some re- pulsive power strongly put forth, and thus deepens the melan- choly natural to such scenes. Nor is the feeling of solitude often more forcibly or more solemnly impressed than by the side of one M 2 126 ^ESTUARIES. of these mountain pools : though desolate and forbidding, it seems a distinct place to repair to ; yet where the visitants must be rare, and there can be no disturbance. Water-fowl flock hither ; and the lonely angler may sometimes here be seen ; but the imagination, not content with this scanty allowance of society, is tempted to attribute a voluntary power to every change which takes place in such a spot, whether it be the breeze that wanders over the surface of the water, or the splendid lights of evening resting upon it in the midst of awful precipices. " There, sometimes, does a leaping fish Send through the tarn a lonely cheer ; The crags repeat the raven's croak In symphony austere ; Thither the rainbow comes, — ^the cloud, — And mists that spread the flying shroud. And sunbeams, and the sounding blast." It will be observed that this country is bounded on the south and east by the sea, which combines beautifully, from many ele- vated points, with the inland scenery ; and, from the bay of Morecambe, the sloping shores and background of distant moun- tains are seen, composing pictures equally distinguished for amenity and grandeur. But the sestuaries on this coast are in a great measure bare at low water,* and there is no instance of the sea running far up among the mountains, and mingling with the lakes, which are such in the strict and usual sense of the word, being of fresh water. Nor have the streams, from the shortness of their course, time to acquire that body of water necessary to con- fer upon them such majesty. In fact, the most considerable, while they continue in the mountain and lake country, are rather large brooks than rivers. The water is perfectly pellucid, through which in many places are seen, to a great depth, their beds of rock, or of blue gravel, which give to the water itself an exqui- sitely cerulean colour ; this is particularly striking in the rivers Derwent and Duddon, which may be compared, such and so various are their beauties, to any two rivers of equal length of course in any country. The number of the torrents and smaller brooks is infinite, with their water-falls and water-breaks ; and they need not here be described. I will only observe that, as many, even of the smallest rills, have either found, or made for themselves, recesses in the sides of the mountains or in the vales, * In fact there is not an instance of a harbour on the Cumberland side of the Solway Frith that is not dry at low water : that of Ravenglass, at the mouth of the Esk, as a natural harbour, is much the best. The sea appears to have been retiring slowly for ages from this coast. From Whitehaven to St. Bees ex- tends a tract of level ground, about five miles in length, which formerly must have been under salt water, so as to have made an island of the high ground that stretches between it and the sea. RIVERS. — WOODS. 127 they have tempted the primitive inhabitants to settle near thera for shelter ; and hence, cottages so placed, by seeming to with- draw from the eye, are more endeared to the feelings. The Woods consist chiefly of oak, ash, and birch, and here and there wych-elm, with underwood of hazle, the white and black thorn, and hollies ; in moist places alders and willows abound ; and yews among the rocks. Formerly the whole country must have been covered with wood to a great height up the moun- tains ; where native Scotch firs* must have grown in great pro- fusion, as they do in the northern part of Scotland to this day. But not one of these old inhabitants has existed, perhaps, for some hundreds of years ; the beautiful traces, however, of the universal sylvanf appearance the country formerly had, yet sur- vive in the native coppice-woods that have been protected by inclosures, and also in the forest-trees and hollies, which, though disappearing fast, are yet scattered both over the inclosed and uninclosed parts of the mountains. The same is expressed by the beauty and intricacy with which the fields and coppice-woods are often intermingled ; the plough of the first settlers having followed naturally the veins of richer, dryer, or less stony soil ; and thus it has shaped out an intermixture of wood and lawn, with a grace and wildness which it would have been impossible for the hand of studied art to produce. Other trees have been introdued within these last fifty years, such as beeches, larches, limes, &c., and plantations of firs, seldom with advantage, and often with great injury to the appearance of the country ; but the sycamore (which I believe was brought into this island from Germany, not more than two hundred years ago) has Ipng been the favourite of the cottagers ; and, with the fir, has been chosen to screen their dwellings ; and is sometimes found in the fields whither the winds or the waters may have carried its seeds. The w^nt most felt, however, is that of timber trees. There are few wognificent ones to be found near any of the lakes ; and unless greater care be taken, there will, in a short time, scarcely be left an ancient oak that would repay the cost of felling. The neighbourhood of Rydal, notwithstanding the havoc which has been made, is yet nobly distinguished. In the woods of Low- ther, also, is found an almost matchless store of ancient trees, and the majesty and wildness of the native forest. Among the smaller vegetable ornaments must be reckoned the bilberry, a ground plant, never so beautiful as in early spring, * This species of fir is in character much superior to the American, which has usurped its place. Where the fir is planted for ornament, let it be by all means of the aboriginal species, which can only be procm-ed from the Scotch nurseries. t A squirrel (so I have heard the old people of Wythburn say) might have gone from their chapel to Keswick without alighting on the ground. M 3 128 CLIMATE. t^hen it is seen under bare or budding trees, that imperfectly intercept the sunshine, covering" the rocky knolls with a pure mantle of fresh verdure, more lively than the herbage of the open fields : — the broom that spreads luxuriantly along rough pastures, and in the month of June interveins the steep copses with its golden blossoms ; and the juniper, a rich evergreen, that thrives, in spite of cattle, upon the uninclosed parts of the moun- tains ; the Dutch myrtle diffuses fragrance in moist places ; and there is an endless variety of brilliant flowers in the fields and meadows, which, if the agriculture of the country were more carefully attended to, would disappear. Nor can I omit again to notice the lichens and mosses : their profusion, beauty, and variety exceed those of any other country I have seen. It may noAV be proper to say a few words respecting Climate and " skiey influences," in which this region, as far as the cha- racter of its landscapes is aff*ected by them, may, upon the whole, be considered fortunate. The country is, indeed, subject to much bad weather, and it has been ascertained that twice as much rain falls here as in many parts of the island ; but the num- ber of black drizzling days, that blot out the face of things, is by no means proportionally great. Nor is a continuance of thick, flagging, damp air so common as in the west of England and Ireland. The rain here comes down heartily, and is fre- quently succeeded by clear, bright weather, when every brook is vocal, and every torrent sonorous ; brooks and torrents which are never muddy, even in the heaviest floods, except, after a draught, they happen to be defiled for a short time by waters that have swept along dusty roads, or have broken out into ploughed fields. Days of unsettled weather, with partial showers, are frequent ; but the showers darkening, or brightening, as they fly from hill to hill, are not less grateful to the eye than finely interwoven passages of gay and sad music are tofuching to f the ear. /-Vapours exhaling from the lakes and meadows after sun-rise, in a hot season, or in moist weather, brooding upon the heights, or descending towards the valleys with inaudible motion, give a visionary character to every thing around them ; and are in themselves so beautiful as to dispose us to enter into the feel- ings of those simple nations (such as the Laplanders of this dayj by whom they are taken for guardian deities of the mountains ; or to sympathise with others who have fancied these delicate apparitions to be the spirits of their departed ancestors. Akin to these are fleecy clouds resting upon the hill tops : they are not easily managed in picture, with their accompaniments of blue sky ; but how glorious are they in nature ! How pregnant with imagination for the poet ! and the height of the Cumbrian moun- tains is sufficient to exhibit daily and hourly instances of those CLIMATE. 129 mysterious attachments. Such clouds, cleavmg to their stations, or lifting up suddenly their glittering* heads from behind rocky barriers, or hurrying out of sight with speed of the sharpest edge — will often tempt an inhabitant to congratulate himself on be- longing to a country of mists and clouds and storms, and make him think of the blank sky of Egypt, and the cerulean vacancy of Italy, as an unanimated and even a sad spectacle. The at- mosphere, however, as in every country subject to much rain, is frequently unfavourable to landscape, especially when keen winds succeed the rain, which are apt to produce coldness, spottiness, and an unmeaning or repulsive detail in the distance — a sunless frost, under a canopy of leaden and shapeless clouds, is, as far as it allows things to be seen, equally disagreeable. > It has been said that in human hfe there are moments worth ages. In a more subdued tone of sympathy may we affirm, that in the climate of England there are, for the lover of nature, days which are worth whole months, — I might say — even years. One of these favoured days sometimes occurs in spring time, when that soft air is breathing over the blossoms and new-born verdure which inspired Buchanan with his beautiful Ode to the First of May ; the air, which, in the luxuriance of his fancy, he likens to that of the golden age, — to that which gives motion to the fu- nereal cypresses on the banks of Lethe ; — to the air which is to salute beatified spirits when expiatory fires shall have consumed the earth with all her habitations. But it is in autumn that days of such affecting influence most frequently intervene ; — the at- mosphere seems refined, and the sky rendered more crystalline, as the vivifying heat of the year abates ; the lights and shadows are more delicate ; the colouring is richer and more finely har- monized ; and, in this season of stillness, the ear being unoccupied, or only gently excited, the sense of vision becomes more suscep- tible of its appropriate enjoyments. A resident in a country like this which we are treating of, will agree with me, that the pre- sence of a lake is indispensable to exhibit in perfection the beauty of one of these days; and he must have experienced, while looking on the unruffled waters, that the imagination, by their aid, is carried into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable. The reason of this is, that the heavens are not only brought down into the bosom of the earth, but that the earth is mainly looked at, and thought of, through the medium of a purer element. The happiest time is when the equinoctial gales are departed ; but their fury may probably be called to mind by the sight of a few shattered boughs, whose leaves do not diff'er in colour from the faded foliage of the stately oaks from which these relics of the storm depend : all else speaks of tranquillity ; — not a breath of air, no restlessness of insects, and not a moving object percepti- 130 NIGHT. ble — except the clouds g'liding in the depths of the lake, or the traveller passing along, an inverted image, whose motion seems governed by the quiet of a time, to which its archetype, the living person, is, perhaps, insensible : — or, it may happen, that the figure of one of the larger birds, a raven or a heron, is crossing silently among the reflected clouds, wlule the voice of the real bird, from the element aloft, gently awakens in the spectator the recol- lection of appetites and instmcts, pursuits and occupations, that deform and agitate the world, — yet have no power to prevent nature from putting on an aspect capable of satisfying the most intense cravings for the tranquil, the lovely, and the perfect, to which man, the noblest of her creatures, is subject. Thus far of climate, as influencing the feelings through its effect on the object of sense. We may add, that whatever has been said upon the advantages derived to these scenes from a changeable atmosphere, would apply, perhaps still more forcibly, to their appearance under the varied solemnities of night. Milton, it will be remembered, has given a clouded moon to Paradise itself. In the night season, also, the narrowness of the vales, and comparative smallness of the lakes, are especially adapted to bring surrounding objects home to the eye and to the heart. The stars, taking their stations above the hill tops, are contemplated from a spot like the Abyssinian recess of Rasselas, with much more touching interest than they are likely to excite when looked at from an open country with ordinary undulations : and it must be obvious, that it is the ba^s only of large lakes that can present such contrasts of light and shadow as those of smaller dimensions display from every quarter. A deep contracted valley, with diffused waters, such a valley and plains, level and wide as those of Chaldsea, are the two extremes in which the beauty of the heavens and their connexion with the earth are most sensibly felt. Nor do the advantages I have been speaking* of imply here an exclusion of the aerial effects of distance. These are insured by the height of the mountains, and are found, even in the narrowest vales, where they lengthen in perspective, or act (if the expression may be used) as telescopes for the open country. The subject would bear to be enlarged upon ; but I will conclude this section with a night-scene suggested by the vale of Keswick. The fragment is well known, but it gratifies me to insert it, as the writer was one of the first who led the way to a worthy admiration of this country. " Now sunk the sun, now twilight sunk, and night Rode in her zenith ; not a passing breeze Sigh'd to the grove, which in the midnight air Stood motionless, and in the peaceful floods NIGHT. 131 Inverted hung, for now the billows slept Along the shore, nor heav'd the deep ; but spread A shining mirror to the moon's pale orb, Which, dim and waning, o'er the shadowy cliffs, The solemn woods, and spiry mountain tops, Her glimmering faintness threw : now every eye Oppress'd with toil, was drown'd in deep repose, Save that the unseen shepherd in his watch, Propp'd on his crook, stood listening by the fold. And gaz'd the starry vault and pendant moon ; Nor voice, nor sound, broke on the deep serene ; But the soft murmur of swift-gushing riUs, Forth issuing from the mountain's distant steep, (Unheard till now, and now scarce heard) proclaim'd All things at rest, and imag'd the still voice Of quiet, whispering in the ear of night."* * Dr. Brown, the author of this fragment, was, from his infancy, brought up in Cumberland, and should have remembered that the practice of folding sheep by night is unknown among these mountains, and that the image of the Shep- herd upon the watch is out of its place, and belongs only to countries with a warmer climate, that are subject to ravages from beasts of prey. It is pleasing to notice a dawn of imaginative feeling in these verses. Tickle, a man of no common genius, chose, for the subject of a Poem, Kensington Gardens, in pre- ference to Derwent, within a mile or two of which he was born. But this was in the reign of Queen Anne, or George the first. Progress must have been made in the interval, though the traces of it, except in the works of Thompson and Dyer, are not very obvious. SECTION SECOND. ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY, AS AFFECTED BY ITS INHABITANTS. Hitherto I have chiefly spoken of the features by which Na- ture has discriminated this country from others. I will now describe, in general terms, in what manner it is indebted to the hand of man. What I have to notice on this subject will emanate most easily and perspicuously from a description of the ancient and present inhabitants, their occupations, their condition of life, the distribution of landed property among them, and the tenure by which it is holden. The reader will suffer me here to recall to his mind the shape of the valleys, their position with respect to each other, and the forms and substance of the intervening mountains. He will people the valleys with lakes and rivers ; the coves and sides of the mountains with pools and torrents ; and will bound half of the circle which we have contemplated, by the sands of the sea, or by the sea itself. He will conceive that, from the point upon which he stood, he looks down upon this scene before the country had been penetrated by any inhabitants ; — to vary his sensations, and to break in upon their stillness, he will form to himself an image of the tides visiting and revisiting the friths, the main sea dashing against the bolder shore, the rivers pursuing their course to be lost in the mighty mass of waters. He may see or hear in fancy the winds sweeping over the lakes, or piping with a loud voice among the mountain peaks ; and, lastly, may think of the primeval woods shedding and renewing their leaves with no hu- man eye to notice, or human heart to regret or welcome the change. " When the first settlers entered this region (says an animated writer) they found it overspread with wood; forest trees — the fir, the oak, the ash, and the birch, had skirted the fells, tufted the hills, and shaded the valleys, through centuries of silent solitude ; the birds and beasts of prey reigned over the meeker species ; and the helium inter omnia maintained the ba- lance of nature in the empire of beasts." Such was the state and appearance of this region when the aboriginal colonists of the Celtic tribes were first driven or drawn towards it, and became joint tenants with the wolf, the boar, the wild bull, the red deer, and the leigh, a gigantic species of deer ROMAN AND BRITISH ANTIQUITIES. 133 which has long been extinct ; while the inaccessible crags were occupied by the falcon, the raven, and the eagle. The inner parts were too secluded, and of too little value, to participate much in the benefit of Roman manners ; and though these con- querors encouraged the Britons to the improvement of their lands in the plain country of Furness and Cumberland, they seem to have had little connexion with the mountains, except for military purposes, or in subservience to the profit they drew from the mines. When the Romans retired from Great Britain, it is well known that these mountain-fastnesses furnished a protection to some unsubdued Britons, long after the more accessible and more fer- tile districts had been seized by the Saxon or Danish invader. A few, though distinct, traces of Roman forts or camps, as at Ambleside and upon Dunmailet, and a few circles of rude stones attributed to the Druids,* are the only vestiges that remain upon the surface of the country of these ancient occupants ; and as the Saxons and Danes, who succeeded to the possession of the vil- lages and hamlets which had been established by the Britons, * It is not improbable that thesa circles were once numerous, and that many of them may yet endure in a perfect state, under no very deep covering of soil. A friend of the Author, while making a trench in a level piece of ground not far from the banks of the Eamont, but in no connexion with that river, met with some stones which seemed to him formally arranged : this excited his curiosity, and, proceeding, he uncovered a perfect circle of stones, from two to three or four feet high, with a sanctum sanctorum,, — ^the whole a complete place of Druidical worship of small dimensions, having the same sort of relation to Stonehenge, Long Meg and her Daughters neer the river Eden, and Karl Lofts near Shap (if this last be not Danish), that a rural chapel bears to a stately church, or to one of our noble cathedrals. This interesting little monument having passed, with the field in which it was found, into other hands, has been destroyed. It is much to be regretted, that the striking relic of antiquity at Shap has been in a great measure destroyed also. The Daughters of Long Meg are placed not in an oblong, as the Stones op Shap, but in a perfect circle, eighty yards in diameter, and seventy-two in num- ber, and from above three yards high to less than so many feet : a little way out of the circle stands Long Meg herself — a single stone eighteen feet high. When the Author first saw this monument, he came upon it by surprise, therefore might over-rate its importance as an object; but he must say, that though it is not to be compared with Stonehenge, he has not seen any other remains of those dark ages which can pretend to rival it in singularity and dig- nity of appearance, A weight of awe not easy to be borne Fell suddenly upon my spirit, cast From the dread bosom of the unknown past, When first I saw that sisterhood forlorn ; — And Her, whose strength and stature seem to scorn The power of years — pre-eminent, and placed Apart, to overlook the circle vast. Speak, Giant-mother ! tell it to the Morn, While she dispels the cumbrous shades of night ; Let the Moon hear, emerging from a cloud, When, how, and wherefore, rose on British ground That wondrous Monument, whose mystic round Forth shadows, some have deemed, to mortal sight The inviolable God that tames the proud. 134 FEUDAL TENANTRY. seem at first to have confined themselves to the open country, — we may descend at once to times long posterior to the conquest by the Normans, when their feudal polity was regularly established. We may easily conceive that these narrow dales and mountain sides, choked up as they must have been with wood, lying out of the way of communication with other parts of the Island, and upon the edge of a hostile kingdom, could have little attraction for the high-born and powerful ; especially as the more open parts of the country furnished positions for castles and houses of defence, sufficient to repel any of those sudden attacks which, in the then rude state of military knowledge, could be made upon them. Accordingly, the more retired regions (and to such I am now confining myself) must have been neglected or shunned even by the persons whose baronial or siguioral rights extended over them, and left doubtless, partly as a place of refuge for outlaws and robbers, and partly granted out for the more settled habita- tion of a few vassals following the employment of shepherds or woodlanders. Hence these lakes and inner valleys are unadorned by any remains of ancient grandeur, castle, or monastic edifices, which are only found upon the skirts of the country, as Furness Abbey, Calder Abbey, the Priory of Lanercost, Gleaston Castle, — long ago a residence of the Flemings, — and the numerous ancient castles of the Clifi'ords, the Lucys, and the Dacres. On the southern side of these mountains (especially in that part known by the name of Fui'ness Fells, which is more remote from the borders), the state of society would necessarily be more set- tled ; though it was also fashioned, not a little, by its neighbour- hood to a hostile kingdom. We will, therefore, give a sketch of the economy of the Abbots in the distribution of lands among their tenants, as similar plans were doubtless adopted by other Lords, and as the consequences have afi'ected the face of the country materially to the preset day, being, in fact, one of the principal causes which give it such a striking superiority, in beauty and interest, over all parts of the island. " When the Abbots of Furness," says an author before cited, " enfranchised their villains, and raised them to the dignity of customary tenants, the lands, which they had cultivated for their lord, were divided into whole tenements ; each of which, besides the customary annual rent, was charged with the obligation of having in readiness a man completely armed for the king's ser- vice on the borders, or elsewhere ; each of these whole tenements was again subdi>dded into four equal parts ; each villain had one ; and the party-tenant contributed his share to the support of the man of arms, and of other burdens. These divisions were not properly distinguished ; the land remained mixed ; each tenant had a share through all the arable and meadow land, and common HABITATIONS — ^mCLOSURES. 135 of pasture over all the wastes. These sub-tenements were judged sufficient for the support of so many families ; and no further di- vision was permitted. These divisions and subdivisions were convenient at the time for which they were calculated : the land so parcelled out was, of necessity, more attended to, and the in- dustry was greater, when more persons were to be supported by the produce of it. The frontier of the kingdom, within which Furness was considered, was in a constant state of attack and defence ; more hands, therefore, were necessary to guard the coast, to repel an invasion from Scotland, or make reprisals on the hostile neighbour. The dividing the lands in such manner as has been shown, increased the number of inhabitants, and kept them at home till called for : and, the land being mixed, and the several tenants uniting in equippmg the plough, the absence of the fourth man was no prejudice to the cultivation of his land, which was committed to the care of three. " While the villains of Low Furness were thus distributed over the land, and employed in agriculture, those of High Furness were charged with the care of flocks and herds, to protect them from the wolves which lurked in the thickets, and in winter to browze them with the tender sprouts of hollies and ash. This custom was not till lately discontinued in High Furness ; and holy- trees were carefully preserved for that purpose when all other wood was cleared off; large tracts of common being so covered with these trees, as to have the appearance of a forest of hollies. At the shepherd's call, the flocks surrounded the holly-bush, and received the croppings at his hand, which they greedily nibbled up, bleating for more. The Abbots of Furness enfranchised these pastoral vassals, and permitted them to enclose quillets to their houses, for which they paid encroachment rent." — West's Antiquities of Furness. However desirable, for the purpose of defence, a numerous population might be, it was not possible to make at once the same numerous allotments among the untilled valleys, and upon the sides of the mountains, as had been made in the uncultivated plains. The enfranchised shepherd, or woodlander, having chosen there his place of residence, builds it of sods, or of the mountain-stone, and, with the permission of his lord, encloses, like Robinson Crusoe, a small croft or two immediateJj at his door, for such animals as he wishes to protect. Others are happy to imitate his example, and avail themselves of the same privi- leges : and thus a population mainly of Danish or Norse origin, as the dialect indicates, crept on towards the more secluded parts of the valleys. Chapels, daughters of some distant church, are first erected in the more open and fertile vales, as those of Bow- ness and Grasmere, offsets from Kendal : which again, after a N 136 INCLOSURES. period, as the settled population increases, become mother churches to smaller edifices, planted, at length, in almost every dale throughout the country. The inclosures, formed by the tenantry, are for a long time confined to the homesteads ; and the arable and meadow land of the vales is possessed in common field : the several portions being marked out by stones, bushes, or trees ; which portions, where the custom has survived, to this day are called dales, from the word deylen, to distribute ; but, while the valley was thus lying open, inclosures seem to have taken place upon the sides of the mountains ; because the land there w^as not intermixed, and was of little comparative value ; and, therefore, small opposition would be made to its being ap- propriated by those to whose habitations it was contiguous. Hence the singular appearance which the sides of many of these mountains exhibit, intersected, as they are, almost to the summit, with stone walls. When first erected, these stone fences must have little disfigured the face of the country, as part of the lines would everywhere be hidden by the quantity of native wood then remaining ; and the Imes would also be broken (as they still are) by the rocks which interrupt and vary their course. In the meadows, and in those parts of the lower grounds where the soil had not been sufficiently drained, and could not afford a stable foundation, there, when the increasing value of land, and the inconvenience suffered from intermixed plots of ground in common field, had induced each inhabitant to inclose his own, they were compelled to make the fences of alders, willows, and other trees. These, where the native wood has disappeared, have frequently enriched the valleys with a syhan appearance ; while the intricate intermixture of property has given to the fences a graceful irregularity, which, where large properties are prevalent, and large capitals employed in agriculture, is unknown. This sylvan appearance is heightened by the number of ash trees planted in rows along the quick-fences, and along the walls, for the purpose of browzing the cattle at the approach of winter. The branches are lopped off" and strewm upon the pastures ; and when the cattle have stripped them of their leaves, they are used for repairing the hedges or for fuel. We have thus seen a numerous body of Dalesmen creeping into possession of their homesteads, their little crofts, their moun- tain enclosures ; and, finally, the whole vale is visibly divided ; except, perhaps, here and there some marshy ground, which, till fully drained, would not repay the trouble of inclosing. But these last partitions do not seem to have been general till long after the pacification of the Borders, by the union of the two crowns, when the cause which had first determined the distri- bution of land into such small parcels had not only ceased, but STATE OF SOCIETY. 137 likewise a g'eneral improvement had taken place in the country, with a correspondent rise in the value of its produce. From the time of the union it is certain that this species of feudal popula- tion must rapidly have diminished. That it w^as formerly much more numerous than it is at present, is evident from the multi- tude of tenements (I do not mean houses, but small divisions of land) which belonged formerly each to several proprietors, and for which separate fines are paid to the manorial lords at this day. These are often in the proportion of four to one of the present occupants. " Sir Launcelot Threlkeld, who lived in the reign of Henry YII., was wont to say, he had three noble houses, one for pleasure, Crosby, in Westmorland, where he had a park full of deer ; one for profit and warmth, wherein to reside in winter, namely, Yanwath, nigh Penrith ; and the third, Threlkeld (on the edge of the vale of Keswick), well stocked with tenants to go with him to the wars." But, as I have said, from the union of the two crowns, this numerous vassalage (their services not being wanted) would rapidly diminish ; various tenements would be united in one possessor ; and the aboriginal houses, probably little better than hovels, like the kraals of savages, or the huts of the Highlanders of Scotland, would fall into decay, and the places of many be supplied by substantial and comfortable build- ings, a majority of which remain to this day scattered over the valleys, and are often the only dwellings found in them. From the time of the erection of these houses, till within the last sixty years, the state of society, though no doubt slowly and gradually improving, underwent no material change. Corn was grown in these vales (through which no carriage-road had yet been made) sufficient upon each estate to furnish bread for each family, and no more : notwithstanding the union of several tene- ments, the possessions of each inhabitant still being small, in the same field was seen an intermixture of different crops ; and the plough was interrupted by little rocks, mostly overgrown with wood, or by spongy places, which the tillers of the soil had neither leisure nor capital to convert into firm land. The storms and moisture of the cKmate induced them to sprinkle their upland property with outhouses of native stone, as places of shelter for their sheep, where, in tempestuous weather, food was distributed to them. Every family spun from its own flock the wool with which it was clothed ; a weaver was here and there found among them ; and the rest of their wants were supplied by the produce of the yarn, which they carded and spun in their own houses, and carried to market, either under their arms, or more fre- quently on pack-horses, a small train taking their way weekly down the valley, or over the mountains to the most commodious town. They had, as I have said, their rural chapel, and of course N 2 138 NATIVE FORESTS. — COTTAGES. their minister, clothing or in manner of life in no respect dif- fering from themselves, except on the Sabbath-day ; this was the sole distinguished indi\idual among them ; every thing else, per- son and possession, exhibited a perfect equality, a community of shepherds and agriculturists, — ^proprietors, for the most part, of the lands which they occupied and cultivated. While the process above detailed was going on, the native forest must have been every where receding; but trees were planted for the sustenance of the flocks in winter, — such was then the rude state of agriculture ; and, for the same cause, it was necessary that care should be taken of some part of the growth of the native woods. Accordingly, in Queen Elizabeth's time, this was so strongly felt, that a petition was made to the Crown, praying, "the Blomaries in High Furness might be abolished, on account of the quantity of wood which was consumed in them for the use of the mines, to the great detriment of the cattle." But this same cause, about a hundred years after, produced effects directly contrary to those which had been deprecated. The re-establishment, at that period, of furnaces upon a larger scale, made it the interest of the people to convert the steeper and more stony of the inclosures, sprinkled over with remains of the native forest, into close woods, which, when cattle and sheep were excluded, rapidly sowed and thickened themselves. The reader's attention has been directed to the cause by which tufts of wood, pasturage, meadow, and arable land, with its various produce, are intricately intermingled in the same field ; and he will now see, in like manner, how enclosures entirely of wood, and those of cultivated ground, are blended all over the country under a law of similar wildness. A historic detail has thus been given of the manner in which the hand of man has acted upon the surface of the inner regions of this mountainous country, as incorporated with, and subservi- ent to, the powers and processes of nature. We will now take a yiew of the same agency — acting, within narrower bounds, for the production of the few works of art and accommodations of life which in so simple a state of society, could be necessary. These are merely habitations of man and cover for beasts, roads and bridges, and places of worship. And to begin with the Cottages. They are scattered over the valleys, and under the hills, and on the rocks ; and, even to this day, in the more retired dale, without any intrusion of more assuming buildings ; Cluster' d like stars some few, but single most, And lurking dimly in their shy retreats, Or glancing on each other cheerful looks. Like separated stars with clouds between. The dwelling houses, and contiguous outhouses, are, in many COTTAGES. 139 instances, of the colour of the native rock, out of which they have heen built ; but, frequently the dwelling or fire-house, as it is ordinarily called, has been distinguished from the barn or byer by rough-cast and whitewash, which, as the inhabitants are not hasty in renewing it, in a few years acquires, by the influence of weather, a tint at once sober and variegated. As these houses have been, from father to son, inhabited by persons engaged in the same occupation, yet necessarily with changes in their cir- cumstances, they have received without incongruity additions and accommodations adapted to the need of each successive oc- cupant, who, being for the most part proprietor, was at liberty to follow his own fancy : so that these humble dwellings remind the contemplative spectator of a production of nature, and may (using a strong expression) rather be said to have grown than to have been erected ; — to have risen, by an instinct of their own, out of the naked rock — so little is there in them of formality, such is their wildness and beauty. Among the numerous recesses and projections in the walls, and in different stages of their roofs, are seen bold and harmonious effects of contrasted sunshine and sha- dow. It is a favourable circumstance, that the strong winds, which sweep dovm the valleys, induced the inhabitants, at a time when the materials for building were easily procured, to furnish many of these dwellings with substantial porches ; and such as have not this defence, are seldom unprovided with a projection of two large slates over their thresholds. Nor will the singular beauty of the chimneys escape the eye of the attentive traveller. Some- times a low chimney, almost upon a level with the roof, is over- laid with a slate, supported on four slendar pillars, to prevent the wind from driving the smoke down the chimney. Others are of a quadrangular shape, rising one or two feet above the roof; which low square is often surmounted by a tall cylinder, giving to the cottage chimney the most beautiful shape in which it is ever seen. Nor will it be too fanciful or refined to remark, that there is a pleasing harmony between a tall chimney of this circular form, and the living column of smoke ascending from it through the still air. These dwellings, mostly built, as it has been said, of rough unhewn stone, are roofed with slates, which were rudely taken from the quarry before the present art of cut- ting them was understood, and are, therefore, rough and uneven in their surface, so that both the coverings and sides of the houses have furnished places of rest for the seeds of lichens, mosses, and flowers. Hence buildings, which in their very form call to mind the processes of nature, do thus, clothed in part with a vegetable garb, appear to be received into the bosom of the living principle of things as it acts and exists among the woods and fields ; and, by their colour and their shape, affectingly direct the thoughts to N 3 140 LANES. — BRIDGES. — ^PLACES OF WORSHIP. that tranquil course of nature and simplicity, along which the humble-minded inhabitants have, through so many generations, been led. Add the little garden with its shed for bee-hives, its small bed of pot-herbs, and its borders and patches of flowers for Sunday posies, with sometimes a choice few, too much prized to be plucked ; an orchard of proportioned size ; a cheese-press, often supported by some tree near the door ; a cluster of embow- ering sycamores for summer shade ; with a tall fir through which the winds sing when other trees are leafless ; the little rill or household spout murmuring in all seasons; — combine these inci- dents and images together, and you have the representative idea of a mountain-cottage in this country, so beautifully formed in itself and so richly adorned by the hand of nature. Till within the last sixty years there was no communication between any of these vales by carriage-roads ; all bulky articles were transported on pack-horses. Owing, however, to the population not being concentrated in villages, but scattered, the valleys themselves were intersected as now by innumerable lanes and pathways leading from house to house and from field to field. These lanes, where they are fenced by stone walls, are mostly bordered with ashes, hazels, wild roses, and beds of tall fern, at their base ; while the walls themselves, if old, are overspread with mosses, small ferns, wild strawberries, the geranium, and lichens : and, if the wall happen to rest against a bank of earthy it is sometimes almost wholly concealed by a rich facing of stone- fern. It is a great advantage to a traveller or resident, that these numerous lanes and paths, if he be a zealous admker of nature, will lead him into all the recesses of the country, so that the hidden treasures of its landscapes may by an ever-ready guide, be laid open to his eyes. Likewise to the smallness of the several properties is owing the great number of bridges over the brooks and torrents, and the daring and graceful neglect of dangler or accommodation with which so many of them are constructed, the rudeness of the forms of some, and their endless variety. But when I speak of tliit^ rudeness, I must at the same time add, that many of these struc- tures are in themselves models of elegance, as if they had been formed upon principles of the most thoughtful architecture. It is to be regretted that these monuments of the skill of our an- cestors, and of that happy instinct by which consummate beauty was produced, are disappearing fast ; but sufficient specimens remain* to give a high gratification to the man of genuine taste. * Written some time ago. The injury done since is more than could have been calculated upon. Singula de nobis anni pttx^dantur euntes. This is in the course of things, but why should the genius that directed the ancient arcliitec- ture of these vales have deserted them ? For the bridges, churches, mansions^ cottages, and their richly-fringed and flat-roofed outhouses, venerable as the PLACES OF WORSHIP. 141 Travellers who may not have been accustomed to pay attention to things so inobtrusive, will excuse me if I point out the pro- portion between the span and elevation of the arch, the lightness of the parapet, and the graceful manner in which its curve fol- lows faithfully that of the arch. Upon this subject I have nothing further to notice, except the | Places of Worship, which have mostly a little school-house ad- ; joining*. The architecture of these churches and chapels, where they have not been recently rebuilt or modernised, is of a style not less appropriate and admirable than that of the dwelling- houses and other structures. How sacred the spirit by which our forefathers were directed ! The religio loci is no where violated by these unstinted, yet unpretending, works of human hands. They exhibit generally a well-proportioned oblong, with a suitable porch, in some instances a steeple tower, and in others nothing more than a small belfry, in which one or two bells hang visibly. But these objects, though pleasing in their forms, must necessarily, more than others in rural scenery, derive their inter- est from the sentiments of piety and reverence for the modest virtues and simple manners of humble life with which they may be contemplated. A man must be very insensible who would not be touched with pleasure at the sight of the chapel of Butter- mere, so strikingly expressing, by its diminutive size, how small must be the congregation there assembled, as it were like one family ; and proclaiming at the same time to the passenger, in connection with the surrounding mountains, the depth of that seclusion in which the people live, that has rendered necessary the building of a separate place of worship for so few. A patriot, calling to mind the images of the stately fabrics of Canterbury, \ York, or Westminster, wiU find a heart-felt satisfaction in presence of this lowly pile, as a monument of the wise institu- tions of our country, and as evidence of the all-pervading and maternal care of that venerable Establishment, of which it is, grange of some old abbey, have been substituted structures, in which baldness only seems to have been studied, or plans of the most vulgar utility. But some im- provement may be looked for in future ; the gentry recently have copied the old models, and successful instances might be pointed out, if I could take the liberty. * In some places scholars v^^ere formerly taught in the church, and at others the school-house was a sort of ante-chapel to the place of worship, being under the same roof ^ an arrangement which was abandoned as irreverent. It con- continues, however, to this day in Borrowdale. In the parish register of that chapel is a notice, that a youth who had quitted the valley, and died in one of the towns on the coast of Cumberland, had requested that his body should be brought and interred at the foot of the pillar by which he had been accustomed to sit while a school-boy. One cannot but regret that parish registers so sel- dom contain any thing but bare names ; in a few of this country, especially in that of Loweswater, I have found interesting notices of unusual occurrences — characters of the deceased, and particulars of their lives. There is no good reason why such memorials should not be frequent : these short and simple annals would in future ages become precious. 142 GENERAL PICTURE OF SOCIETY. perhaps, the humblest daughter. The edifice is scarcely larger than many of the single stones or fragments of rock which are scattered near it.* We have thus far confined our observations on this division of the subject to that part of these Dales which runs up far into the mountains. As we descend towards the open country we meet with halls and mansions, many of which have been places of defence against the incursions of the Scottish borderers; and they not unfre- quently retain their towers and battlements. To these houses parks are sometimes attached, and to their successive proprietors we chiefly owe whatever ornament is still left to the country of majestic timber. Through the open parts of the vales are scat- tered, also, houses of a middle rank between the pastoral cottage and the old hall residence of the knight or esquire. Such houses differ much from the rugged cottages before described, and are generally graced with a little court or garden in front, where may yet be seen., specimens of those fantastic and quaint figures which our ancestors were fond of shaping out in yew-tree, holly, or box- wood. The passenger will sometimes smile at such elabo- rate display of petty art, while the house does not deign to look upon the natural beauty or the sublimity which its situation almost unavoidably commands. Thus has been given a faithful description, the minuteness of which the reader will pardon, of the face of this country as it was, and has been through centuries, till within the last sixty years. Towards the head of these Dales was found a perfect Kepublic of Shepherds and Agriculturists, amongst whom the plough of each man was confined to the maintenance of his own family, or for the occasional accommodation of his neighbour. f Tv/o or three cows furnished each family with milk and cheese. The chapel was the only edifice that presided over these dwellings, the supreme head of this pure commonwealth ; the members of which existed, in the midst of a powerful empire, like an ideal society, or an organized community whose constitution had been imposed and regulated by the mountains which had protected it. * Since this was written, a new chapel has been erected, on the site of the old one, at the expence of the Rev. T. Vaughan. t One of the most pleasing characteristics of manners, in secluded and thinly- peopled districts, is a sense of the degree in which human happiness and com- fort are dependent on the contingency of neighbourhood. This is implied by a rhyming adage common here, " Friends are far, when neighbours are nar" (near). This mutual helpfulness is not confined to out-door work ; but is ready upon all occasions. Formerly if a person became sick, especially the mistress of a family, it was usual for those of the neighbours who were more particularly connected with the party by amicable offices, to visit the house, carrying a present ! This practice, which is by no means obsolete, is called owning the family, and is regarded as a pledge of a disposition to be otherwise serviceable in a time of disability and distress. GENERAL PICTURE OF SOCIETY. 143 Neither high-bom nobleman, knight, or esquire, was here ; but many of these humble sons of the hills had a consciousness that the land which they walked over and tilled had for more than five hundred years been possessed by men of their name and blood ; and venerable was the transition, when a curious traveller, descending from the heart of the mountains, had come to some ancient manorial residence in the more open parts of the vales, which, through rights attached to its proprietor, connected the almost visionary mountain republic he had been contemplating, with the substantial frame of society as existing in the laws and constitution of a mighty empire. SECTION THIRD. CHANGES, AND RULES OF TASTE FOR PREVENTING THEIR BAD EFFECTS. Such, as hath been said, was the appearance of things till within the last sixty years. A practice, denominated Ornamental Gar- dening", was at that time becoming prevalent oyer England. In union with an admiration of this sort, and in some instances in opposition to it, had been generated a relish for select parts of natural scenery : and Travellers, instead of confining their ob- servations to Towns, Manufactories, or Mines, began (a thing till then unheard of) to wander over the island in search of sequestered spots, distinguished, as they might accidentally have learned, for the sublimity or beauty of the forms of Nature there to be seen. Dr. Brown, the celebrated Author of the " Estimate of the Manners and Principles of the Times," published a letter to a friend, in which the attractions of the Yale of Keswick were delineated with a poAverful pencil, and the feeling of a genuine enthusiast. Gray, the Poet, followed : he died soon after his forlorn and melancholy pilgrimage to the Vale of Keswick, and the record left behind him of what he had seen and felt in this journey, excited that pensive interest with which the human mind is ever disposed to listen to the farewell words of a man of genius. The journal of Gray feelingly showed how the gloom of ill health and low spirits had been irradiated by objects, which the Author's powers of mind enabled him to describe with distinctness and unaffected simphcity. Every reader of this journal must have been impressed with the words which conclude his notice of the Yale of Grasmere : — " Not a single red tile, no flaring gentle- man's house or garden-wall, breaks in upon the repose of this little unsuspected paradise ; but all is peace, rusticity, and happy poverty, in its neatest and most becoming attire." What is here so justly said of Grasmere applied almost equally to all its sister Yales. It was well for the undisturbed pleasure of the Poet that he had no forebodings of the change which was soon to take place ; and it might have been hoped that these words, indicating how much the charm of what was depended upon what was not, would of themselves have preserved the ancient franchises of this and other kindred mountain retirements NEW SETTLERS. — THE COUNTRY DISFIGURED. 145 from trespass; or (shall I dare to say?) would have secured scenes so consecrated from profanation. The Lakes had now become celebrated ; visitors flocked here from all parts of Eng- land ; the fancies of some were smitten so deeply, that they became settlers ; and the Islands of Derwentwater and Winder- mere, as they offered the strongest temptation, were the first places seized upon, and were instantly defaced by the intrusion. The venerable wood that had grown for centuries round the small house called St. Herbert's Hermitage, had indeed some years before been felled by its native proprietor, and the whole island planted anew with Scotch firs, left to spindle up by each othei^'s side — a melancholy phalanx, defying the power of the winds, and disregarding the regret of the spectator, who might otherwise have cheated himself into a belief that some of the de- cayed remains of those oaks, the place of which was in this man- ner usurped, had been planted by the Hermit's own hand. The sainted spot, however, suffered comparatively little injury. At the bidding of an alien improver, the Hind's Cottage, upon Vicar's Island, in the same lake, with its embowering sycamores and cattle-shed, disappeared from the corner where they stood ; and right in the middle, and upon the precise point of the island's highest elevation, rose a tall square habitation, with four sides exposed, like an astronomer's observatory, or a warren-house reared upon an eminence for the detection of depredators, or, like the Temple of ^olus, where aU the winds pay him obeisance. Round this novel structure, but at a respectful distance, platoons of fir were stationed, as if to protect their commander when weather and time should somewhat have shattered his strength. Within the narrow limits of this island were typified also the state and strength of a kingdom, and its religion as it had been, and was, — for neither was the Druidical circle uncreated, nor the church of the present establishment ; nor the stately pier, em- blem of commerce and navigation ; nor the fort to deal out thunder upon the approaching invader. The taste of a succeed- ing proprietor rectified the mistakes as far as was practicable, and has rid the spot of its puerilities. The church, after having been docked of its steeple, is applied, both ostensibly and really, to the purpose for which the body of the pile was actually erected, namely, a boat-house ; the fort is demolished ; and, without in- dignation on the part of the spirits of the ancient Druids who officiated at the circle upon the opposite hill, the mimic arrange- ment of stones, with its sanctum sanctorum, has been swept away. The present instance has been singled out, extravagant as it is, because, unquestionably, this beautiful country has, in numerous other places, suffered from the same spirit, though not clothed 146 CAUSES OF BAD TASTE. exactly in tlie same form, nor active in an equal degree. It will be sufficient here to utter a regret for the changes that have been made upon the principal Island at Windermere, and in its neigh- bourhood. What could be more unfortunate than the taste that suggested the paring of the shores, and surrounding with an embankment this spot of ground, the natural shape of which was so beautiful ! An artificial appearance has thus been given to the whole, while infinite varieties of minute beauty have been destroyed. Could not the margin of this noble island be given back to nature ? Winds and waves work with a careless and graceful hand : and, should they in some places carry away a portion of the soil, the trifling loss would be amply compensated by the additional spirit, dignity, and loveliness, which these agents and the other powers of nature would soon communicate to what was left behind. As to the larch plantations upon the main shore, — they who remember the original appearance of the rocky steeps, scattered over with native hollies and ash trees, will be prepared to agree with what I shall have to say hereafter upon plantations* in general. But, in truth, no one can now travel through the more fre- quented tracts without being offended, at almost every turn, by an introduction of discordant objects, disturbing that peaceful harmony of form and colour which had been through a long lapse of ages most happily preserved. All gross transgressions of this kind originate, doubtless, in a feeling natural and honourable to the human mind, viz. the plea- sure which it receives from distinct ideas, and from the percep- tion of order, regularity, and contrivance. Now, unpractised minds receive these impressions only from objects that are divided from each other by strong lines of demarkation ; hence the delight with which such minds are smitten by formality and harsh con- trast. But I would beg of those who are eager to create the means of such gratification, first carefully to study what already exists ; and they will find, in a country so lavishly gifted by na- ture, an abundant variety of forms marked out with a precision that will satisfy their desires. Moreover, a new habit of plea- sure will be formed opposite to this, arising out of the perception of the fine gradations by which in nature one thing passes away into another, and the boundaries that constitute individuality disappear in one instance only to be revived elsewhere under a more alluring form. The hill of Dunmallet, at the foot of Ulls- water, was once divided into different portions, by avenues of fir-trees, with a green and almost perpendicular lane descending down the steep hill through each avenue : contrast this quaint * These are disappearing fast, under the management of the present pro- prietor, and native wood is resuming its place. ANCIENT MODELS RECOMMENDED. 147 appearance with the image of the same hill overgrown with self- planted wood, — each tree springing up in the situation best suited to its kind, and with that shape which the situation com- strained or suffered it to take. What endless melting and play- ing into each other of forms and colours does the one offer to a mind at once attentive and active ; and how insipid and lifeless, compared with it, appear those parts of the former exhibition with which a child, a peasant perhaps, or a citizen unfamiliar with natural imagery, would have been most delighted! The disfigurement which this country has undergone has not, however, proceeded wholly from the common feelings of human nature, which have been referred to as the primary sources of bad taste in rural imagery ; another cause must be added, that has chiefly shown itself in its effects upon building. I mean a warp- ing of the natural mind occasioned by a consciousness, that this country being an object of general admiration, every new house would be looked at and commented upon either for approbation or censure. Hence all the deformity and ungracefulness that ever pursue the steps of constraint or affectation. Persons who, in Leicestershire or Northamptonshire, would probably have built a modest dwelling like those of their sensible neighbours, have been turned out of their course ; and, acting a part, no wonder if, having had little experience, they act it ill. The cravmg for prospect, also, which is immoderate, particularly in new settlers, has rendered it impossible that buildings, whatever might have been their architecture, should in most instances be ornamental to the landscape, rising as they do from the summits of naked hills in staring contrast to the snugness and privacy of the ancient houses. No man is to be condemned for a desire to decorate his resi- dence and possessions. Feeling a disposition to applaud such an endeavour, I would shew how the end may be best attained. The rule is simple. With respect to grounds : work, where you can, in the spirit of nature, with an invisible hand of art. Plant- ing, and a removal of wood, may thus, and thus only, be carried on with good effect ; and the like may be said of building, if Antiquity, who may be styled the co-partner and sister of Nature, be not denied the respect to which she is entitled. I have already spoken of the beautiful forms of the ancient mansions of this country, and of the happy manner in which they harmonize with the forms of nature. Why cannot such be taken as a model, and modern internal convenience be confined within their external grace and dignity. Expense to be avoided, or difficulties to be overcome, may prevent a close adherence to this model ; still, however, it might be followed to a certain degree, in the style of architecture and in the choice of situation, if the thirst for o 148 ANCIENT MODELS EECOMMENDED. prospect were mitigated by those considerations of comfort, shel- ter, and convenience, which used to be chiefly sought after. But should an aversion to old fashions unfortunately exist, accom- panied with a desire to transplant into the cold and stormy North, the elegances of a villa formed upon a model taken from coun- tries with milder climate, I will adduce a passage from an Eng- lish poet, the divine Spenser, which will shew in what manner such a plan may be realized without injury to the native beauty of these scenes. Into that forrest farre they thence him led, Where was tlieir dwelling in a pleasant glade With MOUNTAINS round about environed, And MIGHTY WOODS which did the valley shade, And hke a stately theatre it made, Spreadhig itself into a spacious plaine; And in the midst a little river plaide Emongst the puny stones which seem'd to 'plaine With gentle murmure that his course they did restraine. Beside the same a dainty place there lay. Planted wdth myrtle trees and laurels green. In which the birds sang many a lovely lay Of God's high praise, and of their sweet loves teene, As it an earthly paradise had beene ; In whose enclosed shoAow there was pight A fair pavillion, scarcely to he seen, The which was all within most richly dight. That greatest princess hving it mote well delight. Houses or mansions suited to a mountainous region should be "not obvious, not obtrusive, but retired;" and the reasons for this rule, though they have l3een little adverted to, are evident. Mountainous countries, more frequently and forcibly than others, remind us of the power of the elements, as manifested in winds, snows, and torrents, and, accordingly, make the notion of ex- posure very unpleasing ; while shelter and comfort are in propor- tion necessary and acceptable. Far-winding valleys difficult of axicess, and the feelings of simplicity habitually connected with mountain retirements, prompt us to turn from ostentation, as a thing there eminently unnatural and out of place. A mansion, amidst such scenes, can never have sufficient dignity or interest to become principal in the landscape, and to render the moun- tains, lakes, or torrents, by which it may be surrounded, a sub- ordinate part of the view. It is, I grant, easy to conceive that an ancient castellated building, hanging over a precipice, or raised upon an island or the peninsula of a lake, like that of Kilchurn Castle, upon Loch Awe, may not want, whether deserted or inhabited, sufficient majesty to preside for a moment in the spec- tator's thoughts over the high mountains among which it is em- bosomed ; but its titles are from antiquity — a power readily sub- mitted to upon occasion as the vicegerent of Nature : it is re- COLOURING OP BUILDINGS. 149 spected, as having owed its existence to the necessities of things, as a monument of security in times of disturbance and danger long passed away, — as a record of the pomp and violence of passion, and a symbol of the wisdom of law ; — it bears a coun- tenance of authority, which is not impaired by decay. " Child of loud-throated war, the mountain-stream Roars in thy hearing ; but thy hour of rest Is come, and thou art silent in thy age !" To such honours a modern edifice can lay no claim ; and the puny efforts of elegance appear contemptible, when, in such situations, they are obtruded in rivalship with the sublimities of Nature. But, towards the verge of a district like this of which we are treating, when the mountains subside into hills of moderate ele- vation, or in an undulating or flat country, a gentleman's man- sion may, with propriety, become a principal feature in the land- scape ; and, being itself a work of art, works and traces of arti- ficial ornament may without censure, be extended around it, as they will be referred to the common centre, the house ; the right of which to impress within certain limits a character of obvious ornament, will not be denied, where no commanding forms of nature dispute it, or set it aside. Now, to a want of the per- ception of this difference, and to the causes before assigned, may chiefly be attributed the disfigurement which the Country of the Lakes has undergone from persons who may have built, demo- lished, and planted, with full confidence that every change and addition was, or would become, an improvement. The principle that ought to determine the position, apparent size, and architecture of a house, viz. that it should be so con- structed, and (if large) so much of it hidden as to admit of its being gently incorporated into the scenery of nature — should also determine its colour. Sir Joshua Reynolds used to say, " If you would fix upon the best colour for your house, turn up a stone, or pluck up a handful of grass by tide roots, and see what is the colour of the soil where the house is to stand, and let that be your choice." Of course this precept, given in conversation, could not have been meant to be taken literally. For example, in Low Furness, where the soil, from its strong impregnation with iron, is universally of a deep red, if this rule were strictly followed, the house also must be of a glaring red; in other places it must be of a sullen black ; which would only be adding annoy- ance to annoyance. The rule, however, as a general guide, is good; and, in agricultural districts, where large tracts of soil are laid bare by the plough, particularly if (the face of the country being undulating) they are held up to view, this rule, though not to be implicitly adhered to, should never be lost sight of; — the colour of the house ought, if possible, to have a cast or o 2 150 COLOURING OF BUILDINGS. shade of the colour of the soil. The principle is, that the house must harmonize with the surroundings landscape : accordingly, in mountainous countries, with still more confidence may it be said, " look at the rocks and those parts of the mountains where the soil is visible, and they wOl furnish a safe direction. '^ Never- theless, it will often happen that the rocks may bear so large a proportion to the rest of the landscape, and may be of such a tone of colour, that the rule may not admit, even here, of being im- plicitly followed. For instance, the chief defect in the colouring of the Country of the Lakes (which is most strongly felt in the summer season), is an over-prevalence of a bluish tint, which the green of the herbage, the fern, and the woods, does not suffi- cently counteract. If a house, therefore, should stand where this defect prevails, I have no hesitation in saying, that the co- lour of the neighbouring jocks would not be the best that could be chosen. A tint ought to be introduced approaching nearer to those which, in the technical language of painters, are called warm : this, if happily selected, would not disturb, but would animate, the landscape. How often do we see this exemplified upon a small scale by the native cottages, in cases where the glare of white-wash has been subdued by time and enriched by weather-stains ! No harshness is then seen ; but one of these cottages, thus coloured, will often form a central point to a land- scape by which the whole shall be connected, and an influence of pleasure difiused over all the objects that compose the picture. But where the cold blue tint of the rocks is enriched by the iron tinge, the colour cannot be too closely imitated ; and it will be produced of itself by the &tones hewn from the adjoining quarry, and by the mortar, which may be tempered with the most gra- velly part of the soil. The pure blue gravel from the bed of the river, is, however, more suitable to the mason^s purpose, who will probably insist also that the house must be covered with rough-cast, otherwise it cannot be kept dry. If this advice be taken, the builder of taste will set about contriving such means as may enable him to come the nearest to the effect aimed at. The supposed necessity of rough-cast to keep out rain in houses not built of hewn stone or brick, has tended greatly to injure English landscape, and the neighbourhood of these lakes espe- cially, by furnishing such apt occasion for whitening buildings. That white should be a favourite colour for rural residences is natural for many reasons. The mere aspect of cleanliness and neatness thus given, not only to an individual house, but, where the practice is general to the whole face of the country, produces moral associations so powerful that, in many minds, they take place of all others. But what has already been said upon the subject of cottages, must have convinced men of feeling and COLOURING OF BUILDINGS. 151 imagination, that a human dwelling of the humblest class may be rendered more deeply interesting to the affections, and far more pleasing to the eye, by other influences than a sprightly tone of colour spread over its outside. I do not, however, mean to deny, that a small white building, embowered in trees, may, in some situations, be a delightful and animating object — in no way injurious to the landscape ; but this only where it sparkles from the midst of a thick shade, and in rare and solitary instances ; especially if the country be itself rich and pleasing, and abound with grand forms. On the sides of bleak and desolate moors, we are indeed thankful for the sight of white cottages and white houses plentifully scattered, where, without these, perhaps every thing would be cheerless : tliis is said, however, with hesitation, and with a wilful sacrifice of some higher enjoyments. But I have certainly seen such buildings glittering at sunrise, and in wandering lights, with no common pleasure. The continental traveller also wdll remember that the convents hanging from the rocks of the Rhine, the Rhone, the Danube, or among the Ap- penines, or the mountains of Spain, are not looked at with less