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TO
THE LAKES.(10NBTABLK, 11, THI8TLB STREET, PRINTER TO HER MAJESTY.ABLACK’S PICTURESQUE GUIDE
TO THE
ENGLISH LAKES
WITH A COPIOUS ITINERARY;
A MAI’, AND POUR CHARTS OP THE LAKE DISTRICT; AND ENGRAVED VIEWS OP THE SCENERY.
EDINBURGH:
ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK, NORTH BRIDGE, BOOKSELLERS AND PUBLISHERS TO THE QUEEN.
M.DCCC.XLII.PREFACE.
The publishers are aware tliat Tourists have little disposition to encounter the tediousness of a Preface. A few words shall therefore suffice to explain the plan of the present work.
Correct topographical description is unquestionably the most important feature of a Guide-Book. The publishers have therefore used their best efforts to securo this advantage for the present work, not only by employing in its compilation a gentleman thoroughly conversant with tho district, but by submitting the sheets, as they passed through the press, to the revision of various other individuals, resident in the several localities described.
The illustrated Itinerary, at the end of the volume, which comprehends all the Routes generally adopted by Tourists, is a feature as novel as it is useful in a Lake-Guide. Not only are the distances minutely stated, but tho objects of interest, on either side of the road, are pointed out and briefly described. A Copious Index1’KEFACE.
affords the means of immediate reference to any other page of the work, where may be found a more detailed description of the several objects than can be included within the narrow columns of the Itinerary.
The Lake-District is not peculiarly rich in antiquarian or traditionary lore. It will be found, however, that the following pages contain more matter of this description than is generally embraced in works of a similar nature.
The Literary Associations of the district, which in contemporary Guide-Books have scarcely been adverted to, have in the following pages received particular notice, numerous quotations from the works of the Lake Poets, as well as from some of the more distinguished prose writers, being interspersed with the descriptive parts of the text.
Of the external appearance of the book, the publishers will only observe, that in paper, printing, and embellishment, it has been their’ endeavour to render it as attractive as they hope it will be useful.CONTENT S.
Page
ABSTRACT OF TOURS,………………………..IX-Xl
DESCRIPTION OF ENGRAVINGS,…………………. xii
INTRODUCTION,……………………………. 1-4
KENDAL—LEVENS HALL—SIZERGH HALL, . . 5-12
AMDLESIDE—STOCK-GILL FORCE—RYDAL—GRASMERE—
WINDERMERE—TROUTBECK—LANODALE, . . 12-31
ULVERSTON—CONISIIEAD PRIORY—IIOLKER HALL—FURNESS ABBEY—LANCASTER SANDS, . . . 31-42
KESWICK—GRETA HALL—DERWENTWATER—VALLEY OF
ST. JOHN—BUTTEIIMERE—SCALE FORCE, . . 42-64
WHITEHAVEN — ST. BEES — ENNERDALF. LAKE—WAST
WATER,………………………………….64-75
PENRITH — BROUGHAM CASTLE — THE CLIFFORDS — BROUGHAM HALL—EDEN HALL—LOWTHER CASTLE— ULLESWATER—HAWES WATER, …. 75-9.0
MOUNTAINS — SCAWFELL — HELVELLYN — SKIDD AW—-
CONISTON OLD MAN—LANODALE PIKES, . . 100-116CONTENTS.
ITINERARY.
I. Ulvcrston—Coniston Luke—Ambleside, . . . . 117
II. Kendal—Bowness—Hawkshead—Coniston, . . . 113
III. Kendal to Ambleside, …… 1 ID
IV. Circuit of Windermere, …… 120-133
V. Ambleside—Rydal—Grasmere—TIIirlemcro—Keswick, . 134-5
VI. Ambleside—Langdalc—Eskdalc—Egrcmont—Whitehaven, 136-7
VII. Whitehaven—Cockcrmouth—Bassentlnvato Lake—Keswick, 133
VIII. Keswick–Borrowdalo–Buttermerc–Scale Hill-Cockcrmouth, 139-41
IX. Keswick—Borrowdalc—Wast Water—Egrcmont, . . 142
X. Keswick—Threlkcld—Penrith, … . 143
XI. Penrith—Ulleswater—Pattcrdalc—Kirkstonc—Ambleside, 144-5
XII. Penrith—Shap—Kendal, ….. 146
Synoptical Tables of Mountains, Lakes, and Waterfalls, . 147-3ABSTRACT OF TOURS.
For the accommodation of strangers about to make the Tour of the Lake District, and who are in doubt, from the number of routes, which, and in what order to tako them, we have drawn up an abstract of four Tours, one of which is supposed to commence and terminate at each of the four principal towns lying upon the edge of tho district, viz. Ulverston, Kendal, Penrith, and Whitehaven. By consulting tho map and charts, Tourists will bo able to vary with ease any part of the Tours here given according to their convenience ; and by reference to the Index, the reader will find the page of the volume, in which the objects mentioned in the abstract are described at length.
1. ULVERSTON.
Ulverston—Coniston Lake—Waterhead Inn—ascend the Old Man—Ambleside—Circuit of Windermere—Troct-beck Excursion—Langdale Excursion, in which Langdale Pikes may be ascended—Excursion to Rydal, Grasmere and Loughrigg Tarn—Grasmere—Wythburn—ascend Helvellyn —Thirlemere—Keswick—Circuit of Derwentwater—Excursion into the Vale op St. John—ascend Skiddaw— Circuit of Bassentiiwaite Lake—Excursion through Bor-rowdale to Buttermere—Crummock Water—Scale Hill— Ennerdale Water—Egremont—Strands—ascend Scawfell Pike—Wast Water—over Sty Head to Keswick—Penrith —Excursion to Hawes Water—Excursion to Ulleswater — Patterdale — Ambleside—Hawkshead—Esthwaitk Water—Ulverston—Excursion by Broughton into Denner-dale and Seathwaite.ABSTRACT OF TOURS.
11. KENDAL.
Kendal—Ambleside—Circuit of Windermere—Troutbeck Excursion—Coniston—ascend the Old Man—Circuit of Coniston Lake—Ambleside—Langdale Excursion—Excursion round Grasmere and Rydalmere—Wytiibdrn—ascend IIelvellyn—Thirlemere—Keswick—Circuit of Derwent-avater—Vale of St. John—ascend Skiddaw—Bassenth-waite Excursion—Borrowdale—Bdttermere—Scale Hill —Excursion to Ennerdale Water—Egremont—Strands at the foot of Wast Water—ascend Scawfell Pike—Keswick by way of Sty Head—Penrith—Excursion to Hawes Water —Excursion to UlleswateR—Patterdale—Ambleside, by Hawkshead and Esthwaite Water to Bowness—Kendal.
111. PENRITH.
Penrith—Excursion to Hawes Water—Ulleswater—Patterdale—ascend Helvellyn, by Kirkstone, to Ambleside— Troutbeck Excursion—Circuit of Windermere—Langdale Excursion—ascend Langdale Pikes—Coniston—Circuit of Coniston Lake—ascend the Old Man—return to Ambleside —Excursion round Grasmere and Rydalmere—Wythburn Thirlemere—Keswick—ascend Skiddaw—Circuit of Der-wentwater—Excursion into the Vale of St. John—Circuit of Bassentiiwaite Water—Borrowdale—Buttermere— Scale Hill—Excursion to Ennerdale Water—Egremont —Strands at the foot of Wast Water—ascend Scawfell Pike—Keswick by way of Sty Head—Penrith.
IV. WHITEHAVEN.
Whitehaven—Excursion to Ennerdale Lake—Egremont —Wast Water—ascend Scawfell Pike—by Sty Head, and through Borrowdale, to Keswick—Circuit of Keswick Lake —ascend Skiddaw—Excursion to the Vale of St. John—ABSTRACT OF TOURS.
xi
Circuit of Bassentiiwaite Water—Penrith—Excursion to Hawes Water—Ulleswater—I’atterdale—ascend Hel-vellyn—Ambleside by Kirkstone—Circuit of Windermere Troutbeck Excursion—Coniston—ascend the Old Man— Circuit of Coniston Lake—Hawksiiead—Bowness—Ambleside—Langdale Excursion, in which Langdale Pikes may he ascended—Excursion round Grasmere and Rydalmere— Grasmere—Wythburn—Thirlemere—Keswick—Borrow-
DALE—BUTTERMERE—SCALE 11ILL—WlIITEIIAVEN.
Besides the mountains named in tho above abstract, those Tourists who can spare time, and are possessed of sufficient corporeal strength, are recommended to ascend the following, as the views obtained from them are extremely fine—Wans-fell Pike and Loughrigg Fell from Ambleside—Helm Crag from Grasmere—High Street from Kentmere or Pat-terdale—Saddleback and Grisedale Pike from Keswick— Great Gavel from Borrowdale—and Black Combe near Broughton.DESCRIPTION OF THE
ENGRAVINGS OF
ULLESWATER AND DERWENTWATER.
Of the two steel engravings which embellish this volume, the first is a view of Ulleswater, taken from an elevated part of Gow-barrow Park. The Berk Fell promontory is seen projecting from the east-shore to the island called House Holm, beyond which, “Wall Holm spots the water. Above the latter islet is Bilberry Crag, backed by St. Sunday’s Crag, to the right of which Fairfield raises its mighty summit to the clouds. To the right of House Holm, Stybarrow Crag overhangs the margin of the lake ; over the summit of this crag, and through the depression between Fairfield and St. Sunday’s Crag, a glimpse of some of the Langdale or Coniston Fells is caught. In the extreme right, Hel-vellyn towers aloft. The glens which run up from the lake will be readily recognised. First, on the right of Stybarrow Crag there is Glencoyn ; the extremity of Glenridding is perceived over IIouso Holm, with Glenridding House on the border of the water; Grizedale commences on the left of Bilberry Crag, whilst Deepdale is seen over the Berk Fell promontory.
The other engraving represents the upper section of Derwent-water, and the mountains surrounding the head of that lake. Immediately below the eye is the boat-house on Barrow promontory ; beyond is Lowdore Inn, and to the left the celebrated cascade falling between Shepherd’s Crag and Gowder Crag. Far away above, Scawfell Pikes, and its rival summit, Scawfell, pierce the air. Castle Crag occupies a conspicuous situation at the head of the lake,—Glaramara rises behind. A small portion of St. Herbert s Isle is visible, the rest being concealed by some trees in the foreground.THE
PICTURESQUE GUIDE
TO
THE ENGLISH LAKES.
INTRODUCTION. .
That section of England, to the scenery of which this small volume professes to bo a Guide, occupies a portion of tho three counties of Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancaster, and extends over an area, the greatest length and breadth of which arc not more than forty-five miles. Tho picturesque attractions of the district arc probably unequalled in any other part of England; and although some of the Scottish lochs and mountains must be admitted to present prospects of more imposing grandeur, it may safely be said, that no tract of country in Britain combines in richer affluence those varied features of sublimity and beauty which have conferred upon this spot so high a reputation.2
INTRODUCTION.
For the lover of nature, no tour could be devised of a more pleasing character than that which these Lakes afford. “ We penetrate the Glaciers, and traverse the Rhone and the Rhine, whilst our domestic lakes of Ullswater, Keswick, and Winder-mere exhibit scenes in so sublime a style, with such beautiful colourings of rock, wood, and water, backed with so stupendous a disposition of mountains, that if they do not fairly take the’ lead of all the views of Europe, yet they are indisputably such as no English traveller should leave behind him.”*
Nor is it only to the admirer of external naturo that this spot presents attractions. It is no less interesting to the antiquarian, the geologist, and the botanist. The remains of three Abbeys,—Furness, Calder, and Shap,—of numerous Castles,—of one or two Roman Stations,—and of many Uruidical erections,—afford ample scope for the research of the antiquarian; whilst the rich variety of stratified and unstratified rocks, forming a complete series from the granitic to the carboniferous beds;—and many rare plants, with ample facilities for observing the effect produced upon vegetation by the varying temperature of the air at different altitudes, yield to the students of geology and of botany abundant matte? for employment in their respective pursuits.
A further interest is imparted to the locality from its being the spot with which many of our great modern poets have been more or less intimately con-
* Ct.’AIDE It LAND.INTRODUCTION.
3
nccted, and from which many of tlioir finest poems have emanated. In directing the steps of the tourist we have, therefore, availed ourselves to a considerable extent of the literature of the district, quoting those passages from the works of the Lake Poets which illustrate the scenery through which he will pass. These quotations, we feel assured, will not only contribute to elevate the feelings and improve the heart, while the reader is contemplating the scenes which are portrayed, but will also form a spell by which, in coming years, he may recall the pleasures of the past, and revisit, in imagination, the scenery over which we are now about to conduct him.
As the district may bo traversed by many routes, the selection of which will depend upon the Tourist’s convenience and taste, but especially upon the point from which ho approaches, we conceive that we shall best consult his accommodation by arranging our information under general heads,—such as Towns, Lakes, Mountains, &c., instead of describing the several objects at the requisite length in the routes by which he will be conducted to them. By tlieso means the difficulty and trouble the Tourist would experience in the continual reference from one route to another for the information he may require, are obviated. We flatter ourselves that the Itinerary at the end of the volume, comprising all the routes usually taken by Tourists, will be found as useful as it is novel in a Lake Guide. A copious Index is also given, by reference to which the several objects4 INTRODUCTION.
of interest noticed in the body of the work will be easily found, as strict regard will be paid to minuteness and accuracy in its compilation.
Our object being to compress the greatest possible amount of information within tho smallest possible compass, we shall, without further preface, proceed to a description of the Principal Towns.PRINCIPAL TOWNS.
KENDAL.
Kendal, otherwise Kirkby Kendal, the largest town in Westmorland, is situate in a pleasant valley on the banks of tho river Kent, from which it dorives its name. It contains about 12,000 inhabitants, and is a place of considerable manufacturing industry, having a large trade in woollen goods. The woollen manufacture was founded as early as the fourteenth century, by some Flemish weavers, who settled here at the invitation of Edward III.* The town is intersected by four leading streets, two of which, lying north and south, form a spacious thoroughfare of a mile in length.t The river is spanned by three neat
* The celebrity of Kendal woollens has been noticed by more than one of our early bards. Not to quote again the trite lie of Falstaff respecting the “ three misbegotten knaves in Kendal Green,” Heywood, in his “ Dounfall of the Earl of Huntingdon,” (1601), makes Scarlott enumerate amongst the persons who furnished the outlaws with necessaries,
“ Bateman of Kendal gave us Kendal Green; ” and the Muse, in tho thirtieth Song of Drayton’s Polyolbion, informs the reader, that the river
“CAN gives that dale her name where Kendal Town doth stand,
For making of our cloth scarce matched in all the land ! ”
f Gray the poet, in his Journal of a visit he paid to the Lakes in 1761), complains of the irregularity with which the houses in Kendal were built. “ Excepting these, (the lines of the principal streets), all the houses seem as if they had been dancing a country dance, and wore out. Thero they stand, back to back, corner to corner, some up hill, some down hill, without intent or meaning,” The complaint may still be made with justice,G
GU1DE TO THE LAKES.
stone bridges ; it is of no great width, though subject to sudden floods by its proximity to the mountains. The houses, built of the limestone which abounds in the neighbourhood, possess an air of cleanliness and comfort,—their white walls contrasting pleasingly with numerous poplars, which impart a cheerful rural aspect to the town.
The Barony of Kendal was granted by William the Conqueror to Ivo de Taillebois, one of his followers, in which grant the inhabitants of the town, as villein (i. e. bond or serf,) tenants, were also included ; but they were afterwards emancipated, and their freedom confirmed by a charter from one of his descendants. The barony now belongs, in unequal portions, to the Earl of Lonsdale and the Hon. F. G. Howard, both of whom have extensive possessions in Westmorland. An incorporation of aldermen and burgesses was established by Queen Elizabeth; * James I. entrusted it to a mayor, twelve aldermen, and twenty burgesses; and by the Municipal Corporations Reform Act the government of the borough is now vested in a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen common councillors, six of whom are elected by each of the three wards into which it is divided. By the Reform Act, which disfranchised Appleby, the county
* It is singular that under Queen Elizabeth’s Charter the borough had no Mayor. To this lack of a Chief Magistrate, Richard Braithwaite, in his “Drunken Barnaby’s Journal,”—a work well known to book-fanciers,— alludes in these lines,
“ Thence to Kendal, pure her state is,
Prudent, too, her magistrate is,
In whose charter to them granted Nothing but a Mayor is wanted.”TOWNS—KENDAL.
7
town, Kendal has the privilege of returning one member to Parliament.
The Parish Church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, stands in that part of the borough called Kirkland. It is a spacious Gothic edifice, remarkable for having five aisles, and tlireo chapels or choirs, belonging to the ancient families of tho Parrs, Bellinghams, and Stricklands. The oldest part appears to have been erected about the year 1200. The tower is square, and possesses an altitude of 72 feet. Like most other ecclesiastical structures of ancient date, it contains a number of enrious monuments and epitaphs.* There are two other churches in the town, both lately erected and forming handsome edifices ; that which stands at the foot of Stricklandgate is dedicated to St. Thomas, the other near Stramongate Bridge t,o St. George. In addition to the churches of the establishment, the Dissenters have upwards of a dozen places of worship. The Roman Catholics have recently erected a beautiful new Chapel, on the New Road near the Natural History Society’s Museum. This Museum contains a collection of specimens illustrating local and general natural history and antiquities, which does great credit to the town. Tho Whitehall Buildings, at the
* In the chancel the following singular epitaph, written for himself by the Rev. Ralph Tirer, is engraven on a brass plate.
“Here vnder lyeth ye body of Mr. Ralph Tirer, late vicar of Kendal, Batchlor of Divinity, who died the 4th day of Jvno, Ano. Dili. 1G27. London brcdd mce—Wcsminstcr fedd mec Cambridge spedd moo—My sister wedd mec Study taught mec—Kendal caught mec Labour pressed mce—Sickness distressed mce Death oppressed mce—The Grave possessed mce God first gave nice—Christ did save mce Earth did crave mce—And Heaven would have mce.”GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
head os Lowther Street, form a handsome pile. They wore built by Subscription a few years ago, and contain a news-room, ball-room, auction-room, billiard-room, &c. The other edifices worthy of notice are the Bank of Westmorland, (an establishment on the joint stock principle,) the Odd Fellows’ Hall, and the Old Maids’ Hospital, all of which are in Highgate. The Free Grammar School, an unpretending building near the Parish Church, at which many individuals eminent in science and learning have been educated, has latterly fallen into almost total desuetude, but the National School, an establishment at the head of All Hallows Lane, is in a flourishing state, upwards of 400 children of both sexes receiving the elements of education hero at a trifling weekly payment. The House of Correction at the northern extremity of the town, is used as a county as well as a borough Gaol. On the east of the town is tho termination of the Lancaster and Preston Canal, which affords great facilities for the conveyance of all kinds of goods to and from Kendal. Two cast-iron boats, drawn by horses at an average speed of eight miles an hour, depart daily with passengers for Preston. It is at present in contemplation to propel the boats at an increased speed by means of steam. *
The ruins of Kendal Castle, of which only four broken towers, and the outer wall, surrounded by a deep fosse, remain, crown tho summit of a steep elevation on the east of the town.* The remains of
* “ A straggling burgh, of ancient charter proud,
And dignified by battlements and towers
Of some stern castlo, mouldering on the brow
Of a grcpu hill,”—r Wordsworth.TOWNS—KENDAL.
this fortress are well worthy of a visit, on account of the views of the town and valley which the hill commands. This was the ancient seat of tho Barons of Kendal and the birthplace of Catherine Parr, the last queen of Henry VIII., a lady, who (as Pennant quaintly remarks), “ had the good fortune to descend to tho grave with her head, in all probability, merely by outliving her tyrant.” Opposite to the castle, on the west side of the town, is Castle-how-hill or Castle-low-hill, a large circular mount of gravel and earth, round tho base of which thoro is a deep fosse, strengthened with two bastions on the east. It is of great antiquity, and is supposed by some to liave been one of those hills called Laws, where in ancient times justice was administered. In 1788, a handsome obelisk was erected on its summit in commemoration of the Revolution of 1688.
About a mile to the south of the town, at a spot where the river almost bends upon itself, and hence called Water Crook, are the scarcely perceptible remains of the Roman Station, Concangium, formerly a place of some importance, judging from the number of urns, tiles, and other relics of antiquity discovered there. It is believed that a watch was stationed at this point for the security of tho Roman posts at Ambleside and Overborough. In the walls of a farm house in the vicinity are two altars, a large stone with a sepulchral inscription, and a mutilated statue.
One mile and a half to the west, at the termination of a long ascent over an open moor, is the bold escarpment of limestone rock, called Underrarrow (or Scout) Scar. It is a remarkable object, and10
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
would repay the trouble of a visit by the splendid view of tho distant lake mountains, and the interjacent country, which it commands. A hill, rising abruptly on the east of the town, termed Benson-Knott, has an altitude of 1098 feet above the level of the sea. From the summit of this hill, an extensive prospect is also obtained.
1.evens Hall, tho seat of the Hon. Fulk Gre-ville Howard, five miles south of Kendal, is a venerable mansion, in the Elizabethan style, buried among lofty trees. The park, through which the river Kent winds betwixt bold and beautifully wooded banks, is separated by tho turnpike road from the house. It is of considerable size, well-stocked with deer, and contains a noble avenue of ancient oaks. The gardens, however, form the greatest attraction, being laid out in the old French style, of which this is perhaps a unique example in tho kingdom. They were planned by Mr. Beaumont, (whose portrait, very properly, is preserved in the Hall,) gardener to King James II. Trim alleys, bowling-greens, and wildernesses fenced round by sight-proof thickets of beech, remind tho beholder, by their antique appearance, of times “ long, long ago.” In one part, a great number of yews, hollies, laurels, and other evergreens, are cut into an infinite variety of grotesque shapes.
“ a spacious plot
For pleasure made, a goodly spot,
With lawns, and beds of flowers, and shades Of trellis-work, in long arcades,
And cirque and crescent framed by walls Of close-clipt foliage, green and tall,
Converging walks.”
White Doe of Ryhtone.TOWNS KENDAL.
The gardens, as may be imagined, harmonize well with the old Hall, the interior of which also deserves more than a passing glance. It contains some exquisite specimens of elaborate carved work—
“ The chambers carved so curiously,
Carved with figures strange and sweet,
All made out of tho carver’s brain.”
Christdbel.
The work in the south drawing-room is exceedingly rich, as may be conceived from its having been estimated that, at the present rate of wages, its execution would cost £3000. The carved cliinmey-piece in the Library is a curious and interesting piece of workmanship. The two jambs represent Hercules and Samson—the one armed with the ass’s jaw-bone, the other, having a lion’s-skin for a covering, with a club. Above are emblematic representations, in bold relief, of tho Seasons, the Elements, and tho Five Senses; all which are explained in these lines, cut in dark oak:—
Thus the five sences stand portraited here,
The elements fouro and seasons of the yeare,
Sampson supports the one side, as in rage,
The other Hercules in like equipage.
Three of Lely’s best portraits hang on tho walls of different chambers, as well as other portraits of personages of consequence in bygone times. The entrance hall is decorated with relics of ancient armour of various dates, and one of tho rooms is adorned with some splendid pieces of tapestry, descriptive of a tale from one of the Italian poets.
SiZEitciH IIall, the seat of tho ancient family of12
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
Strickland, situate three and a half miles south of Kendal, at the foot of a bleak hill facing the east, is also deserving of a visit. It is an antique fortified building, standing in an undulating park, delightfully sprinkled with wood. Only a small portion of the old Tower remains, frequent additions and repairs having given an irregular but picturesque aspect to the wholo pile. It contains a considerable collection ol carved oak, tapestry, portraits, and armour.
The other seats in the neighbourhood are Abbot Hall, Kirkland, (Edward Wilson, Esq.) The Vicarage, Kirkland, (Rev. J. Hudson,) Helm Lodge, two miles south, (W. D. Crowdsou, Esq.) Heaves Lodge, four miles south, (James Gandy, Esq.) Sedgwick House, four miles south, (John Wakefield, Esq.) Dallam Tower, seven miles south, (George Wilson, Esq.) Mosergh House, four miles north, (Mr. Maeliell,) Shaw End, five miles north, (Arthur Shepherd, Esq.) Low Bridge House, six miles north, (R. Eothergill, Esq.) Raw Head, four miles east, (Mr. Sleddall,) Hill Top, three miles east, (Rev. R. W. Fisher.)
AMBLESIDE.
Ambleside, a small and irregularly built market town of 1000 inhabitants, is situate on steeply inclined ground, a mile from the head of Windermere, upon or near to the spot formerly occupied by the Roman station—Dictis. Lying immediately under Wansfell, and surrounded by mountains on all sides, except towards tho south-west, the situation is one of great beauty, and consequently, during summer, it isTOWNS AMBLESIDE.
13
much frequented by tourists, who make it their abode for some time. There are several inns; two of which, the Salutation and the Commercial, are excellent establishments. Tho chapel is a modern structure, having been rebuilt in 1812. In a field near the edge of the lake, are tho indistinct remains of Roman fortifications, where coins, urns, and other relics, have been frequently discovered. Numerous excursions may be made from Ambleside; and tho interesting walks in the immediate neighbourhood are still more abundant. A few only can here be specified.
The valley of Ambleside, on the border of which the town stands, is well wooded, and watered by several streams ; the principal river is the Rotliay, which flows from Grasmere and Rydal bakes, and joins tho Brathay, shortly before entering Windermere. Upon Stock Gill, a tributary to tho Rotliay, there is a fine fall, or force, in a copsewood, about 700 yards from the Market Cross, tho road to which passes behind the Salutation Inn. The fall, or rather falls, tor there are four, aro 70 feet in height. Portions of all four are visible from the usual stand ; but the views may be pleasingly varied by descending the bank to the stream, or proceeding further up the Gill. Indeed, if tho walk were continued for a mile alongside the stream, which rises in the Screes on Seandale Fell, much beautiful scenery would bo seen.
Lougiirigg Fell, a rocky hill which rises opposite to the town, to an elevation of 1000 feet above Windermere, commands extensive prospects of the vale and surrounding mountains, as well as of Windermere, Grasmere, and Rydal Lakes, Blelham,GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
Louglirigg, and Elterwater Tarns, with the towns of Ambleside and Hawkshead.
From the summit of Wansfell Pike, (1590 feet in height,) which stands on the east, the mountains have a highly imposing appearance, and thence may l>e seen the whole expanse of Windermere, with its islands; hut on account of the altitude of the spectator, the view is not so fine as that from another part of the Pike, called Troutbeck Hundreds, a little to the south.
The village of Rydal, supposed to be a contraction of Rothay-dale, is placed in a narrow gorge, formed by the advance of Louglirigg Fell and Rydal Knab, at the lower extremity of Rydal Mere, ono mile and a quarter from Ambleside. Here, in tho midst of a park containing great numbers of noblo forest trees,* stands Rydal Hall, the seat of Lady le Fleming. The celebrated falls are within the park, and strangers desirous to view them, must take a conductor from one of the cottages near the hall gates. The fall below the house is beheld from tho window of an old summer house. Here, says West, nature has performed every thing in little, which she usually executes on her larger scale; and on that account, like the miniature painter, seems to have finished
* “Thesylvan, or say rather the forest scenery of Rvdal Park, was, in the memory of living men, magnificent, and it still contains a treasure of old trees. 13y all means wander away into those old woodH, and lose yourselves for an hour or two among the cooing of cushats, and tho shrill shriek of startled blackbirds, and the rustic of the harmless glow-worm among the last year’s red bcccli-leaves. No very great harm should you ovon fall asleep under the shadow of an oak, while the magpie chatters at safe dis. tanco, and the more innocent squirrel peeps down upon you from a bough of tho canopy, and then hoisting his tail, glides into the obscurity of the loftiest umbrage.”—Professor Wilson.TOWNS—’AMBLESIDE.
15
every part of it in a studied manner; not a little fragment of a rock thrown into the basin, not a single stem of brushwood that starts from its craggy sides, but has its picturesque meaning; and the little central stream, dashing down a cleft of the darkest coloured stone, produces an effect of light and shadow, beautiful beyond description. This little theatrical scene might be paintod as large as the original, on a canvass not bigger than those usually dropped in the opera house. Amongst the juvenilo poems of Wordsworth also, there is a sketch of this cascade.—
“ While thick above the rill the branches close,
In rocky basin its wild waves repose,
Inverted shrubs, and moss of gloomy green,
Cling from the rocks with pale wood-weeds between ; Save that aloft the subtle sunbeams shine On wither’d briars, that o’er the crags recline,
Sole light admitted there, a small cascade Illumes with sparkling foam the impervious shade ; Beyond, along the vista of the brook,
Where antique roots its bristling course o’erlook,
The eye reposes on a secret bridge,
Half grey, half shagg’d with ivy to its ridge.”
The chapel, from its prominent position, arrests tho stranger’s notice tho moment he arrives at the village. It was erected by Lady le Fleming in 1824, at her own expense. Wordsworth addressed some pleasing verses to her Ladyship on seeing the foundation preparing for its erection, from which these lines are taken
(< 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,1C GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
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 tho woods embrace This daughter of thy pious care,
Lifting her front, with modest grace,
To make a fair recess more fair ;
And to exalt tho passing hour,
Or soothe it with a healing power,
Drawn from the Sacrifice fulfill’d,
Before this rugged soil was till’d,
Or human habitation rose To interrupt the deep repose.
Well may the villagers rejoice !
Nor heat, nor cold, nor weary ways,
Will be a hinderance to the voice That would unite in piayer and praise ;
More duly shall wild wandering youth Receive the curb of sacred truth ;
Shall tottering ago, bent earthward, hear The Promise, with uplifted ear ;
And all shall welcome tho new ray Imparted to their Sabbath day.
Nor deem tho Poet’s hope misplaced,
His fancy cheated—that can see A shade upon tho future cast,
Of Time’s pathetic sanctity ;
Can hear tho monitory clock Sound o’er tho lake, with gentle shock,
At evening, when the ground beneath Is ruffled o’er with cells of death,
Where happy generations lie Hero tutor’d for eternity. ”
Rydal Mount, the dwelling of the groat philosophic Jtoet of the age, stands 011 a projection of the hill called Knab Scar, and is approached by the road leading to the Hall. It is, as Mrs. Ilemans in one of her letters describes it, “ a lovely cottage-like building, almostTOWNS AMBLESIDE.
17
hidden by a profusion of roses and ivy.” The grounds, laid out in a great measure by the hands of the poet himself, though but of circumscribed dimensions, are so artfully, whilst seeming to be so artlessly planned, as to appear of considerable extent. From a grassy mound in front, “ commanding a view always so rich, and sometimes so brightly solemn, that one can well imagine its influence traceable in many of the poet’s writings, you catch a gleam of Windermere over the grove tops,—close at hand are ltydal Hall, and its ancient woods,—right opposite the Loughrigg Fells, ferny, rocky, and silvan, and to the right Rydal Mere, scarcely seen through embowering trees, whilst just below, the chapel lifts up its little tower.”*
The walk to Rydal, on the banks of the Rotliay,
* We shall make no apology, because we arc sure none will be required, for introducing, in this place, the following passage, relative to the illustrious poet, from an article by that eloquent writer, Dc Quinccy, in Tail’s Magazine for April 1113!).
“ It must rejoice every man who joins in the homage offered to Wordsworth’s powers, (and what man is to be found who more or less does not ?) to hear, with respect to one so lavishly endowed by nature, that he has not been neglected by fortune; that he has never had the finer edge of his sensibilities dulled by the sad anxieties, the degrading fears, the miserable dependencies of debt; that he lias been blest with competency, even when poorest; haslmd hope and cheerful prospects in reversion through every stage of his life; that at all times he has been liberated from reasonable anxieties about the final interests of his children ; that at all times he has been blessed with leisure, the very amplest that ever man enjoyed, for intellectual pursuits the most delightful; yes, that, even for thoso delicate and coy pursuits, he has possessed, in combination, all tho conditions for their most perfect culture —tho leisure—the case—the solitude—the society—the domestic peace—the local scenery—Paradise for his eye, in Miltonic beauty, lying outside his windows—Paradise for his heart, in the perpetual happiness of his own fireside; and finally, when increasing years might be supposed to demand something more of modern luxuries, and expanding intercourse with society, in its most polished forms, something more of refined elegancies, that his means, still keeping pace in almost arithmetical ratio with his wants, had shed the graces of art upon the failing powers of nature, had stripped infirmity of discomfort, nnd (so far as the necessities of things will allow) had placed the final stages of life by means of many compensations, by universal praise, by plaudits, reverberated from 1318
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
under Louglirigg Fell, is extremely delightful. Though more circuitous than the highway, it presents finer combinations of scenery. The tourist, intending to take this round, should pursue tho road to Clappersgate for half a mile to Rothay Bridge, and having crossed the bridge, enter the first gate on the right. The road leads alongside tho river, passing many handsome villas, to Belter Bridge, 2-J,- miles. Rydal Ilall, with its park, and Rydal Mount, will be frequently in sight. Behind, Ambleside, backed by Wansfell, has a picturesque appearance. On the right are the heights of Fairfield and Kirkstone. By crossing the bridge, the Keswick road will be gained, and the tourist can then either return to Ambleside, or proceed to Rydal, which is 300 or 400 yards further. Those who are fond of long walks, ought to abstain from crossing the bridge, but, keeping to the left, pursue the road behind the farm house, called Coat How, which loads along the south-west shore of Rydal Mere. This mere being passed, the road ascends the hill side steeply for some time, until it reaches a splendid terrace, overlooking Grasmere Lake, with its single islet, and then, climbing again, joins on Red Bank, the Grasmere and Langdale road.* Here the tourist has tho choice of returning
senates, benedictions wherever his poems have penetrated, honour, troops of friends,—in short, by all that miraculous prosperity can do to evade the primal decrees of nature—had placed the final stages upon a level with the first. This report of Wordsworth’s success, will rejoice thousands of good hearts.”
* This is by far the best station for viewing the Lako and Vale of Grasmere. Probably it was this very view that called from Mrs. Homans her sonnet entitled
A REMEMBRANCE OP GRASMERE.
‘ ‘ O vale and lake, within your mountain urn,
Smiling so tranquilly, and set so deep!.
Pi’s |«|)M
v
■
,
■•”c. 1*n.’ Jr .’ ! ]il ■ Mrs. J ir r
‘ISYIBAiL taitlTOWNS—AMBLESIDE.
19
to Ambleside by Louglirigg Tam and Clappersgate, or proceeding to Grasmere village, in doing which he will pass in succession Tail End, the Wyke, and the Cottage. The villago is a sweet little place, at the head of tho lake, 4< miles from Belter Bridge, and 3f by the nearest road from Ambleside. The church
Oft doth your dreamy loveliness return,
Colouring the tender shadows of my sleep With light Elysian ;—for the hues that steep Your shores in melting lustre, seem to float On golden clouds from spirit-lands remote Isles of tho blestand in our memory keep Their place with holiest harmonics. Fair scene Most loved by evening and her dewy star!
Oh! ne’er may man, with touch unhallow’d, jar The perfect music of the charm serene!
Still, still unchanged, may one sweet region wear
Smiles that subdue the soul to love, and tears, and prayer !”
Tho vale of Grasmere is also beautifully describee} by the poet Gray.— “ The bosom of the mountains, spreading here into a broad basin, discovers in the midst Grasmere water; its margin is,hollowed into small bays, with eminences, some of rock, some of soft turf, that half conceal and vary the figure of tho little lake thoy command: from the shore, a low promontory pushes itself far into tho water, and on it stands a white village, with a parish church rising in the midst of it; hanging enclosures, corn fields, and meadows, green as an emerald, with their trees and hedges, and cattle, fill up tho whole space from the edge of the water; and just opposito to you is a’large farm-houso, at the bottom of a Bteep smooth lawn, embosomod in old woods, which climb half-way up the mountain-sides, and discover above a broken line of crags that crown the scene, ^Tot a single red tile, no staring gentleman’s house, breaks in upon the repose of this unsuspected paradise; but all is peace, rusticity, and happy poverty, in its sweetest, most becoming attire.”
Wordsworth has also sketched Grasmere in the following lines:—
” Upon a rising ground a grey church tower,
Whose battlements were screen’d by tufted trees.
And towards a crystal more, that lay beyond,
Among steep hills and woods embosom’d, flow’d A copious stream, with boldly winding course ;
Here traceable, there hidden—there again To sight restored, and glittering in the sun :
On the stream’s bank, and everywhere, appear’d Fair dwellings, single, or in social knots;
Some scatter’d o’er the level, others perch’d On the hill sides,—a cheerful quiet scene.”
Excursion*20
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
is a neat structure, dedicated to St. Oswald. The Red Lion is the only inn in the village, for “ the famous Swan” of Wordsworth is a mile distant, on the Keswick road. Allan Bank, the residence of Thomas Dawson, Esq., stands on a platform of ground behind the village. This house was, for some time, the abode of Wordsworth. The house, however, in which he lived for many years, and in which he composed many of his most beautiful pieces, is at Grasmere Town End.* The singularly shaped hill, called Helm Crag, is conspicuously visible from Grasmere. Its apex exhibits so irregular an outline, as to have given rise to numberless whimsical comparisons. Gray compares it to a gigantic building demolished, and the stones which composed it flung across in wild confusion. And Wordsworth speaks of
“ The ancient Woman seatod on Helm Crag.”
The same poet, in another place, gives the old lady a companion.—
“ The Astrologer, sage Sidrophel,
Where at his desk and book lie sits,
Puzzling on high his curious wits ;
* The wholo valley of Grasmere, in fact, teems with memorials (\f Wordsworth. There is scarcely a crag, a knolfi or a rill, which lie has not embalmed in verse. To this cottage at Town End, which is now partially hidden from those on tho highway, by the intervention of some later built cottageB, Wordsworth brought his bride in 1U02. Previous to his departure to fetch her, he composed his Farewell, in which thcso linea occur,—
“ FarcwcH, thou little nook of mountain ground,
Thou rocky corner in the lowest stair
Of that magnificent Temple, which doth bound
One side of our whole vale with grandeur rare ;
Sweet garden-orchard, eminently fair,
Tho loveliost spot that man hath ever found ’ ”TOWNS—AMBLESIDE.
21
He whose domain is held in common With no one but tho Ancient Woman,
Cowering beside her rifted cell,
As if intent on magic spell ;
Dread pair, that spite of wind and weather,
Still sit upon Helm Crag together ! ”
The Waggoner.
The narrow valley of Easedalo, a dependency of Grasmere, lying in a recess between Helm Crag and Silver How, deserves a visit for its picturesque and secluded beauty.
“ The spot was made by nature for herself.”
It is of greater elevation than Grasmere vale, of which there are many line retrospective views as the tourist ascends. It contains a large tarn, and a small cascade, called Sour Milk Gill. The melancholy fate of John and Sarah Green, who lived in this vale, is now pretty generally known through Mr. Dc Quincey, who published an account of it in Tait’s Magazine for September 1839.
About a mile from Grasmere, on an eminence, over which the old road to Ambleside passes, and exactly opposite to the middle of the lake, is the Wishing Gate. It has been so called, time out of mind, from a belief that wishes formed or indulged there have a favourable issue. Apart from any adventitious interest, the gate is an excellent station for viewing the lake. Wordsworth’s verses, which wo transcribe, are worthy of so beautiful a scene.
“ Hope rules a land for ever green,
All powers that own the bright eyed queen Are confident and gay ;
Clouds at her bidding disappear—22
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
Points she to aught ?—the bliss draws near, And Fancy smooths the way.
16 Not such the land of wishes—there Dwell fruitless day-dreams, lawless prayer, And thoughts with things at strife ; Yet how forlorn—should ye depart,
Ye superstitions of the heart,
How poor were human life !
” When magic lore abjured its might,
Yc did not forfeit one dear right,
One tender claim abate ;
Witness this symbol of your sway,
Surviving near the public way,
The rustic Wishing Gate I
“ Enquire not if the faery race Shed kindly influence on the place,
Ere northward they retired—
If here a warrior left a spell,
Panting for glory as he fell—
Or here a saint expired.
” Enough that all around is fair,
Composed with nature’s finest care,
And in her fondest love :
Peace to embosom and content,
To overawe the turbulent,
The selfish to reprove.
” Yea ! even the stranger from afar,
Reclining on the moss grown bar, Unknowing and unknown,
The infection of the ground partakes, Longing for his beloved—who makes All happiness her own.
“ Then why should conscious spirits fear The mystic stirrings that are here,
The ancient faith disclaim 1 The local Genius ne’er befriendsTOWNS—AMBLESIDE.
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Desires whoso course in folly ends,
Whose just reward is shame.
u Smile if thou wilt, but not in scorn,
If some, by ceaseless pains outworn,
Here crave an easier lot;
If some have thirsted to renew A broken vow, 01* bind a true With firmer, holier knot.
u And not in vain, when thoughts are cast Upon the irrevocable past,’—
Some penitent sincere May for a worthier future sigh,
While trickles from his downcast eye No unavailing tear.
<c The worldling pining, to be freed
From turmoil, who would turn or speed The current of his fate, «
Might stop, before this favour’d scene,
At nature’s call, nor blush to lean Upon the Wishing Gate.
(< The Sage, who feels how blind, how weak Is man, though loth such help to seek,
Yet passing here might pause,
And yearn for insight to allay Misgiving, while the crimson day In quietness withdraws ;
(C Or when, tho church-clock’s knoll profound To Time’s first step across the bound Of midnight makes reply ;
Time pressing on with starry crest,
To filial sleep upon the breast Of dread eternity ! ”
A pleasing excursion, of ten miles, into the retired side-valley of Troutbf.ck, may be conveniently taken from Ambleside. As the latter part of the route islas
24 GUIDE 10 THE LAKES.
practicable for horsemen and pedestrians only, those who take conveyances will be compelled to return by the road they went, as soon as they arrive at the head of Troutbeek, unless they proceed by way of Kirkstone to Patterdale. The tourist must pursue tho Kendal road for two miles, and take tho first road on the left when ho has passed Low Wood Inn. From the eminences of this road, many exquisite views of Windermere are obtained; and, perhaps, the finest view of the lake that can be had from any station, is that from the highest part of it. The mountains in the west present an admirable outline, and the whole length of the lake stretches out before the spectator,
“———–with all its fairy crowds
Of islands, that together lie As quietly as spots of sky
Amongst the evening clouds.”
“ There is not,” says Professor Wilson, “ such another splendid prospect in all England. The lake has much of the character of a river, without losing its own. Tho islands are seen almost all lying together in a cluster—below which all is loveliness and beauty —above, all majesty and grandeur. Bold or gentle promontories break all the banks into frequent bays,’ seldom without a cottage or cottages embowered in trees; and, while the whole landscape is of a sylvan kind, parts of it are so laden with woods, that you see only here and there a wreath of smoke, but no houses, and could almost believe that you are gazing on the primeval forests.” One mile and a half from Low Wood, one extremity of the 4 long vale-village’TOWNS AMBLESIDE.
25
of Troutbeck is reached, at a point about a mile from Troutbeck Bridge. The rude picturesqueness of its many-chimneyed cottages, with their unnumbered gables and slate-slab porticoes, will not be passed unnoticed by the tourist, as he bends his way towards the hills. “ The cottages (says the writer from whom our last extract was made) stand for the most part in clusters of twos and threes, with here and there what in Scotland is called a clachan,—many a sma’ toun within the ae lang toun—but where in all broad Scotland is a mile-long scattered congregation of rural dwellings, all dropped down where the Painter and the Poet would have wished to plant them, on knolls and in dells, on banks and braes, and below tree-crested rocks, and all boun,d together in picturesque confusion, by old groves of ash, oak, and sycamore, and by flower gardens and fruit orchards, rich as those of the Ilosperides?” Tho road pursues the western sido of the valley, at some distance from the lowest level, which is occupied by the stream giving its name to the village. On the opposite side, the Howe, the residence of Captain Wilson, li.N., will be observed, and further on, the chapel is perceived on the banks of the stream, near the bridge, by which the roads are connected. That on tho east side is the most direct road from Bowness to tho valley, but it is objectionable on account of its not conducting the traveller through the village. The road on the western flank joins the Kendal and Ambleside road at Troutbeck Bridge, keeping throughout on the banks of the stream, the meanderings of which, on its way to Windermere, round rugged scaurs and wooded26
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
banks, are continually in sight. Half a mile beyond the cliapcl, is tho only inn in the valley, bearing the quaint title of “ The Mortal Man”,—a name acquired from the lines, composed, doubtless, by some native poet, which a few years ago decorated the signboard—
“ O Mortal Man, who livest on bread,
What is’t that makes thy nose so red ?—
Thou silly ass, that looks so pale,
It is with drinking Birkett’s ale.”
Two miles beyond the inn, the tourist has immediately below him, a tongue or swelling from the bottom of the vale called Troutbeck Park, which is visible even from the surface of Windermere. Taking his station here, and turning to the north-cast, tho spectator has the mountains of Kentmere before him. The nearest elevation is called the Yoke, tho two next, having the appearance of the humps on a dromedary’s back, are Hill Bell and Froswick,—and further on is High Street. Having left the Mortal Man three miles behind, and climbed the side of Kirkstone for some distance, a road through the fields, on the left, will be discovered, which passes in succession threo farmhouses, High Grove, Middle Grove, and Low Grove, in Stockdale, and enters Ambleside, three miles from the deviation.
A favourite excursion, with the temporary residents in Ambleside, is that through tho two Langdales. If the object of the tourist be merely to view the vale of Great Langdale (the finer of the two) with Dungeon Gill Force, and to ascend the Pikes, he will traverse a road perfectly practicable for carriages; but if heTOWNS AMBLESIDE.
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desire to see something moro of tho country, by visiting Skelwith and Col with Forces, Little Langdale and Bloa Tarns, he must bo content to go on horseback, in a car, or on foot. This circuit, which we shall describe, is about eighteen miles in length. With the intention, tlion, of visiting the two Lang-dales in succession, the tourist will leave Ambleside by the road to Clappersgate, winding on the banks of the Brathay, (near the source of which he will be ere long,) under the craggy heights of Louglirigg Fell. A newly built cliapol will bo observed in a charming situation on the south bank of the river. “ Sweeter stream-scenery,” says Wilson, “ with richer fore, and loftier back ground, is no where to be seen within the four seas.” A few hundred yards above Skelwith Bridge (three miles from Ambleside) the stream is precipitated over a ledge of rock, making a fall twenty feet in height. The cascade is not so remarkable in itself, as for the magnificent scenery around it. Langdale Pikes have a peculiarly striking appearance. By this bridge the traveller is conducted into Lancashire, in which county the road does not continuo for more than a mile before it reenters Westmorland at Col with Bridge. A short distance above the bridge, the stream, issuing from a tarn farther up, makes a fine cascade called Colwith Force. It is in a dell close to the road, and is about 70 feet high. A stupendous mountain, called Wether-lamb, occupies a conspicuous position in a chain of lofty hills on tho south-west. Proceeding, Little Langdale Tarn becomes visible on the left—on the right is Ling-moor, a hill which serves as a partition between the28
GUIDE TO T11E LAKES.
two Langdales. At the termination of the inclosed land, amongst a few trees, are two dwellings, called Fell Foot, seven and a half miles from Ambleside. One of them was formerly an inn, whereat the gangs of pack-horses were refreshed previous to their ascent of the mountain passes of Wrynose and Hardknot— this being the route by which the manufactures of Kendal were transported to the western coast. Taking the road to the right, and ascending some distance between the mountains, a solitary pool of water, named Blea Tarn, is perceived in the bottom of an elevated depression. The scene here presented is thus described in tho “Excursion;” tho description, however, supposes the spectator to look down upon it, not from the road, but from one of the kill sides:
te Beneath our feet, a little lowly vale,
A lowly vale, and yet uplifted high Among tho mountains ; even as if tho spot Had been from eldest time, by wish of theirs,
So placed to be shut out from all tho world !
Urn-like it was in shape, deep as an urn ;
With rocks encompass’d, save that to the 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 glitter’d in the sun,
And one bare dwelling—one abode, no more !
It seem’d 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 tho moorland house—
There crows the cock single in his domain :
Tho small birds find in spring no thicket there To shroud them ; only from tho neighbouring vales The cuckoo, straggling up to the hill tops,
Shouteth faint tiding’s of some gladder place.”—TOWNS AMBLESIDE.
20
Those magnificent objects,—
the two huge peaks
That from some other valo peer into this,
are the two pikes of Langdale. The more southern one is named Pike o’ Stickle—tho other, and higher, Harrison Stickle. Having passed the tarn, the road winds down a steep descent into the head of Great Langdale, that part of it called Mickleden, through which is tho road over the Stake into Borrowdale, being right before tho eye. Mill Becks, a farm house, at which refreshment is usually taken, is soon reached. Here a guide to Dungeon Gill Force, and to the summit of tho Pikes, can be obtained. The former is a fall of water, formed by a stream which runs down a fissure in the mountain’s – side not far above the house. A curious natural arch has been made, by a large stone having rolled from a higher part of the mountain, and got wedged in between the cheeks of rock. Over the bridge thus formed, ladies have been known, like Wordsworth’s Idle Shepherd Boy, to possess the intrepidity to pass.* Two roads
* “ There is 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 small,
Receives a lofty Waterfall.”
WORDSYVOIITH.
“In Langdale Pike and Witch’s Lair,
And Dungeon Ghyu so foully rent,
With rope of rocks and bells of air Threo sinful sextons’ ghosts are pent,
Who all give back one after t’ other,
The death-note to their living brother;30
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
traverse the valley, one of which keeps under the hills on the left, the other takes tho middle of the vale;—the former is to bo preferred by those unencumbered with carriages. Ono mile and a half from Mill Becks, is the little Chapel of Langdale, whence a road strikes up the hill side, crossing Bed Bank into Bydal, or Grasmere. A large shoot of water, lying amongst the meadows, which now comes into sight, is Elterwater Tarn, at the head of which stands Elterwater Hall. The stream feeding the tarn is crossed by a bridge, a short distance above tho tarn. Near tho bridge are the works of Elterwater Gunpowder Company. A little further in a recess, on the flank of Loughrigg Fell, is Loughrigg Tarn, a lovely spot 011 which Wilson has composed some beautiful lines. Ambleside is only three miles beyond.
Ambleside abounds with villas. Among them may be named, Fox Gill, (Mrs. Luff,) Rotliay Bank, (Mrs. Claude,) Oak Bank, (Mrs. Carleton,) The Cottage, (IT. P. Lutwidge, Esq.,) The Oaks, (Ford North, Esq.,) Covey Cottage, (George Partridge, Esq.,) Belle Vue, (Miss Dowling,) Green Bank, (Benson Harrison, Esq.,) Broadlands, (Rev. John Dawes,) Hill Top, (Thomas Carr, Esq.,) Brathay Hall, (Mrs. Harrison,) Croft Lodge, (James Branc-ker, Esq.,) Wansfell House, (George Warden, Esq.,) Rydal and Grasmere—Rydal Hall, (Lady le Fleming,) Rydal Mount, (William Wordsworth, Esq.,)
And oft, too, by their knell offended,
Just as their one ! two! three! is ended,
The devil mocks their doleful tale With a merry peal from Borrodailo.”
Coleridge.TOWNS—ULVERSTON. 3i
Ivy Cottage,( Ball, Esq.,) Allan Bank, (Thomas
Dawson, Esq.,) Tho Cottage, ( Orrell, Esq.,)
ULVERSTON.
Ulveiiston, a market town and port, containing about 5000 inhabitants, situate in that division of Lancashire, termed “ North of the Sands,” is supposed to derive its name from Ulph, a Saxon Lord. It is about a mile from the estuary of the Levon, with which it is connected by a canal, constructed in 1795, and capable of floating vessels of 200 tons. This canal has been of signal advantage to the town, as large quantities of slate and iron orq, with which the neighbourhood abounds, are hereby exported. Tho appearance of tho town is neat, the greater part of the houses being of modern erection. The principal streets are four in number. The parish church, dedicated to St. Mary, received considerable additions in 1804; but a tower and Norman doorway of tho old structure still remain. It contains an altar-piece after Sir Joshua Reynolds, and a window of stained glass, representing compositions after Rubens, both of which were given by T. R. G. Braddyll, Esq., the Lay Rector. From the sloping ground behind the church, a delightful view of the bay and neighbouring country may be obtained. A new and elegant church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was erected at the upper end of tho town in 1832, by public subscription, aided by a grant from the Parliamentary Commissioners. Amongst other32
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
buildings of recent erection, The Savings’ Bank may be noticed. Tho town contains a Theatre, Assembly Room, and Subscription Library, and two good Inns, —the Sun and Braddyll’s Arms. Ship-building is carried on to some extent; and the manufacture of check, canvass, and hats, is a considerable branch of trade.
The Duke of Buccleuch is Lord of the liberty of Furness, of which the Manor of Ulverston forms part.*
Conishead Priory, the seat of T. R. G. Braddyll, Esq., has been termed, from its beautiful situation, “ the Paradise of Furness.” It is situate two miles south of Ulverston, near the sea shore, in an exten-
* At Swart-moor, ono milo to the south-west of Ulverston, the Friends or Quakers have a mceting-housc, built under the direction of the venerable George Fox, being the first place of religious worship erected for tho use of that community. Over the door are the initials of the founder, “ Ex dono G. F. 1688.” Swart-moor Hall was once tho residence of Judge Fell, whoso wife, and many of the family, in the year 1652, adopted the principles of the Quakers. In 1G69, eleven years after the death of the judge, his widow married George Fox, whom she survived about eleven years. “ In approaching Swart-moor Hall,” says a recent tourist, “ 1 crossed a narrow dell, shaded by a grove of fine beech trees, and watered by a murmuring brook. The old hall is ovcrsliaded by two sycamores of large growth ; but its dilapidated condition, the barns and stables by which it is surrounded, and tho litter of a farm-yard, give it no very classical air. 1 was taken into the study of George Fox, where he reposed and meditated In the intervals of those laborious missions which he undertook to pcrsuado men to make the gospel, in all its simplicity, the standard of their conduct, in opposition to human customs and inventions. The bed-rooms are spacious apartments, and have in former days been ornamented with carved work, (which George doubtless found there when he succeeded to the wife and mansion of Judgo Fell.) In one of them is a substantial old bedstead with carved posts, on which, as I was assured, the proto-quaker used to repose, and which any of his followers is permitted to occupy for a night.”! Swart-moor Hall stands on the borders of Swart or Swarth Moor, (now enclosed,) on which Colonel Martin Swart mustered the forces of Lambert Simnel in I486. It is now converted into a farm-house.
f II a inks’ Companion to tho Lakes, p. 239,TOWNS—ULVERSTON.
sivc and well wooded park, which is intersected like most old parks, with public roads, forming a favourite promenade for the inhabitants of the town. The mansion, which has lately been rebuilt in a style of magnificence of which there are few examples in the north of England, occupies the site of the ancient Priory, founded by William de Lancaster, the fourth in descent from Ivo de Taillebois, first Baron of Kendal, in the reign of Henry II. Upon the dissolution of the religious houses, it fell into the hands of Henry tho VIII., whose cupidity was excited by the great extent of its landed possessions. The family of Braddyll is of great antiquity and respectability. In a note to the “ Bridal of Trier-main,” Sir Walter Scott informs us that the ancient families of Vaux of Triermain, Catei’len, and Tor-erossock, and their collateral alliances, the ancient and noble families of Delamore and Leybourne, are now represented by the Braddylls. Tho interior of the mansion possesses some good paintings of Titian, the Carracci, Ilomncy, Reynolds, and other celebrated painters. . IIolker IIall, a seat of the Earl of Burlington, is placed in a noble park on the opposite shore of the Leven, about three and a half miles east of Ulverston. Extensive improvements have been lately making on both tho mansion and grounds. The noble owner has a good collection of pictures, among which arc many excellent paintings by Roinney.*
* This distinguished painter, a contemporary and rival of Sir Joshua Reynolds, was born at Dalton in Furness. Ho was, according to Flax-man, the first of our painters in poetic dignity of conception. Many of bin C34
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
Six miles north-east of Ulverston is the village of Cartmell, in which is an ancient church, once a priory, of unusual size and beauty, dedicated to the Virgin. A short distance from the village is a medicinal spring called Holywell. Six miles and a half to the south-west of Ulverston, in a close valley called Beekansgill, or the glen of deadly nightshade, from that plant being found there in great abundance, are the beautiful remains of Furness Abbey, now belonging to the Earl of Burlington. This abbey was founded in 1127, by Stephen, Earl of Montaigne and Boulogne, afterwards King of England ; “ This prince conferred the greater part of the district, excepting the land of Michael Fleming, on the Abbey of Furness, by a charter dated 1126, in which, for the first time, the name Furness ‘Fudernesia’ or the further ness, is found. By this institution it was held till the dissolution, when it reverted to the crown, and became parcel of the duchy of Lancaster. In tho year 1662, it was granted by Charles II. to the Duke of Albemarle, and his heirs, with all the rights, privileges, and jurisdictions belonging thereto. The lordship is now held by tho Duke of Buccleuch and Lord Beaulieu, to whom the property of the Duke of Albemarle descended by marriage. In the early part of English history, the Falls of Furness formed the boundary between Scotland and England, and in 1138, a terrible irruption from the north laid the whole peninsula desolate. The ruins of the
finest pictures arc scattered ovev this part of the country. There is a very fine collection at Whitcstoclc Hall, the residence of his daughter-in-law, near Hawkshead.FURNESS ABBEY.
35
castle of Pile of Fouldrey, form a monument of that invasion.”*
The ruins amply attest the former magnificence of the structure. The length of tho church is 287 feet, the nave is 70 feet broad, and the walls in some places 54 feet high, and 5 feet thick. The walls of the church, and those of the chapter-house, the refectorium, and the school-house, are still in great part remaining, and exhibit fine specimens of Gothic architecture; the chapter-house, 00 feet by 45, has been a sumptuous apartment; tho roof, which was of fret-work, was supported by six channelled pillars. The great east window, the four seats near it, adorned with Gothic ornaments, and four statues found in the ruins, are particularly worthy of notice.t “ The windings of the glen,” says Mrs. Radclifle, “ conceal these venerable ruins, till they are closely approached—and the by-road that conducted us is margined with a few ancient oaks, which stretch their broad branches entirely across it, and are fine preparatory objects to the scene beyond. A sudden bend in this road brought us within view of the northern gate of the abbey, a beautiful Gothic arch, one side of which is luxuriantly festooned with night-
* Baines’ Hist, of Lancashire, vol. iv., p. G27* t “ I do lovo these ancient ruins,—
We never tread upon them, but we set Our foot upon some reverend history;
And questionless here in this open court,
Which now lies naked to the injuries Of stormy weather, some lie interr’d,
Loved the church so well, and gave so largely to’t,
They thought it should havo canopy’d their bones Till doomsday—but all things have their end.”
Webster the Dranuiti.it.GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
shade. A thick grove of plane trees, with some oak and beech, overshadow it on the right, and lead the eye onward to the ruins of the abbey, seen through this dark arch in remote perspective, over rough but verdant ground. The principal features arc the great northern window, and part of the eastern choir, with glimpses of shattered arches and stately walls beyond, caught between tho gaping casements. On the left, the bank of the glen is broken into knolls, capped with oaks, which, in some places, spread downwards to a stream that winds round the ruin, and darken it with their rich foliage. Through this gate is the entrance to the immediate precincts of the abbey, an area said to contain sixty-five acres, now called the deer-park. It is enclosed by a stone wall, on which the remains of many small buildings, and tho faint vestiges of others,—still appear, such as the porter’s lodge, mills, granaries, ovens, and kilns, that once supplied the monastery ; some of which, seen under the shade of the fine old trees, that on every side adorn the broken steeps of this glen, have a very interesting effect.
“ Just within the gate, a small manor-house of modern date, with its stables and other offices, breaks discordantly upon the lonely grandeur of the scene. Except this, the character of tho deserted ruin is scrupulously preserved in the surrounding area. We made our way among the pathless fern and grass to the north end of the church, now, like every other part of the abbey, entirely roofless, but showing the lofty arch of the great window, where, instead of the painted glass that once enriched it, are now tuftedFURNESS ABBEY.
37
plants and wreaths of nightshade. Below is the principal door of the church, bending into a deep round arch, which, retiring circle within circle, is rich and beautiful; the remains of a winding staircase are visible within the wall on its left side. k Near this northern end of the edifice is seen one side of the eastern choir, with its two slender Gothic window-fraines ; and on the west, a remnant of the nave of the abbey, and some lofty arches, which once belonged to the belfry, now detached from the main building.
“ To the south, but concealed from this point of view, is the cliaptcr-house, some years ago exhibiting a roof of beautiful Gothic fret-work, and which was almost the only part of the abbey thus ornamented, its architecture having been characterized by an air of grand simplicity, rather than by the elegance and richness of decoration, which, in an after date, distinguished the Gothic style in England. Over the chapter-house were once the library and scriptorium; and beyond it are still the remains of cloisters, of the refectory, the locutorium, or conversation-room, and the calefactory. These, with the walls of some chapels, of the vestry, a ball, and of what is believed to have been a scliool-liouse, are all the features of this noble edifice that can easily be traced; winding staircases within the surprising thickness of the walls, and door cases involved in darkness and mystery, the place abounds with.
“ The abbey, which was formerly of such magnitude as nearly to fill up the breadth of the glen, is built of a pale red stone, dug from the neighbouring38
GUIDE TO T1IE LAKES,
rocks, now changed by time and weather to a tint of dusky brown, which accords well with the hues of plants and shrubs that every where emboss the mouldering arches.
“ The finest view of the ruin is on the east side, where, beyond the vast shattered frame that once contained a richly painted window, is seen a perspective of the choir and of distant arches, remains of the nave of the abbey, closed by the woods. This perspective of the ruin is said to be two hundred and eighty-seven feet in length; the choir part of it is in width only twenty-eight feet inside, but the nave is seventy; the walls, as they now stand, are fifty-four feet high, and in thickness five. Southward from the choir extends the still beautiful, though broken, pillars and arcades of some chapels, now laid open to the day; the cliapter-house, and cloisters, and beyond all, and detached from all, is the school-house, a large building, the only part of the monastery that still boasts of a roof.
“ Of a quadrangular court on the west side of the church, three hundred and thirty-four feet long, and one hundred and two feet wide, little vestige now appears, except the foundation of a range of cloisters that formed its western boundary, and under the shade of which the monks, on days of high solemnity, passed in their customary procession round the court. What was the belfry is now a huge mass of detached ruin, picturesque from the loftiness of its shattered arches, and the high inequalities of the ground within them, where the tower that once crowned this building, having fallen, lies in vast fragments, now cover-FURNESS ABBEY.
39
ed with earth and grass, and no longer distinguishable but by the hillock they form.
“ The school-house, a heavy structure attached to the boundary wall on tlio south, is nearly entire, and the walls, particularly of the portal, are of enormous thickness; but, here and there, a chasm discloses the staircases that wind within them to the chambers above. The school-room below shows only a stone bench, that extends round the walls, and a low stone pillar on the eastern corner, on which the teacher’s pulpit was formerly fixed. The lofty vaulted roof is scarcely distinguishable by the dusky light admitted through one or two narrow windows placed high from the ground, perhaps for the purpose of confining the scholar’s attention to his book.
“ These are the principal features’ that remain of this once magnificent abbey. It was dedicated to St. Mary, and received a colony of monks from the monastery of Savigny in Normandy, who were called Grey Monks, from their dress of that colour, till they became Cistercians, and with the severe rules of St. Bernard, adopted a white habit, which they retained till the dissolution of monastic orders in England.
“ The privileges and immunities granted to the Cistercian order in general were very abundant; and those to the Abbey of Furness were proportioned to its vast endowments. The abbot, it has been mentioned, held his secular court in the neighbouring castle of Dalton, where he presided, with the power of administering not only justice, but injustice, since the lives and property of the villain tenants of the lordship of Furness were consigned by a grant of40
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
King Stephen to the disposal of my lord abbot! The monks also could be arraigned, for whatever crime, only by him. The military establishment of Furness likewise depended on the abbot. Every mesne lord and free homager, as well as the customary tenants, took an oath of fealty to the abbot, to bo true to him against all men, oxcepting the king. Every mesne lord obeyed the summons of the abbot, or his steward, in raising his quota of armed men, and every tenant of a whole tenement furnished a man and a horse of war for guarding the coast, for the border-service, or any expedition against the common enemy of tho king and kingdom. The habiliments of war were a steel coat, or coat of mail, a falce, or falchion, a jack, tho bow, tho byll, the cross-bow, and spear. The Furness legion consisted of four divisions :—one of bowmen horsed and harnessed ; bylmcn horsed and harnessed ; bowmen without horse and harness; byl-mon without horse and harness.
“The deep forests, that once surrounded the abbey, and overspread all Furness, contributed with its insulated situation, on a neck of land running into the sea, to secure it from tho depredations of the Scots, who were continually committing hostilities 011 the borders. On a summit over the abbey arc the remains of a beacon, or watch-tower, raised by the society for their further security. It commands extensive views over low Furness, and the bay of the sea immediately beneath; looking forward to tho town and castle of Lancaster, appearing faintly on the opposite coast; on the south, to the isles of Walney, Fulney, and their numerous islets, on one of whichFURNESS ABBEY.
41
stands Peel Castle ; and, on the north, to the mountains of High Furness and Coniston, rising in grand amphitheatre round this inlet of tho Irish Channel.— Description can scarcely suggest the full magnificence of such a prospect, to which the monks, emerging from their concealed cells below, occasionally resorted to soothe the asperities which the severe discipline of superstition inflicted on the temper; or, freed from the observance of jealous eyes, to indulge, perhaps, tho sigh of regret, which a consideration of tho world they had renounced, thus gloriously given hack to their sight, would sometimes awaken.
“ From Hawcoat, a few miles to the west of Furness, the view is still more extensive, whence in a clear day, the whole length of the Isle of Man may be seen, with part of Anglesey and the mountains of Caernarvon, Merionethshire, Derbyshire, and Flintshire, shadowing the opposite horizon of the channel.
“ The sum total of all the rents belonging to the abbey immediately before the dissolution was 94(>7. 2s. 1 (id. collected from Lancashire, Cumberland, and even from the Isle of Man ; a sum which, considering the value of money at that time; and the woods, meadows, pastures, and fisheries, retained by the society in their own hands; the quantity of provisions for domestic use brought by tho tenants instead of rent, and the shares of mines, mills, aud salt-works, which belonged to the abbey, swells its former riches to an enormous amount.”
By the ebbing of the tide, the sands of Morccambe Bay, lying between Lancaster (hence usually termed the Lancaster Sands) and Ulverston, are twice a42
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
day, to the extent of several miles, left perfectly dry, except in tho channels of the rivers Kent and Leven, and may bo crossed by vehicles of every description. Guides, who are remunerated by Government, arc stationed at the places where the rivers flow, to conduct travellers across in safety. The whole distance from Lancaster to Ulverston is twenty-two miles. From Host Bank, the point of entry upon the sands on the eastern shore, to Kents Bank, is a distance of eleven miles. Three miles of terra firma are then crossed, and three miles of sand follow, lying between the shores of the Leven estuary, from the nearest of which Ulverston is distant something more than a mile. If the proper time be chosen, (which can be easily ascertained by inquiry at Lancaster and Ulverston,) there is no danger in crossing these sandy plains, and yet few years pass in which lives are not lost.*
KESWICK.
Keswick, a market town in the parish of Crosth-waite, and county of Cumberland, is situate on slie south bank of the Greta, in a large and fertile vale, little more than a mile from the foot of Skiddaw, and half a mile from Derwentwatcr. It contains about 2200 inhabitants, and consists of one large
* “ I must not omit to tell you tlmt Mr. Wordsworth not only admired our exploit in crossing the Ulverston Sands as a deed of ‘ dcrring do,’ but a9 a decided proof of taste; the lake scenery, lie says, is never seen to such advantage as after the passage of what he calls its majestic barrier.”
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ipg&y/igiMT wa~j£;i & BAsaigjTrssw&gite.TOWNS KESWICK.
<13
street. The principal manufactures are linsey-wolsey stuffs, and edge tools, particularly the former. Black lead pencils mado of the plumbago, (or wad, as it is provincially called,) extracted from the mine in Borrowdalo, are also a considerable branch of manufacture. Char, taken in Buttermore lake, is potted in large quantities during the proper season, and forwarded to the south of England. This fish, which is only found in the deeper lakes, is conjectured to have been introduced by the Romans, who, in the decline of the empire, gratified their luxurious appetites without regard to expense. In Italy, char bears the name of Alpine trout. The Town Hall, erected in 1813, upon the site of the old Court House, stands in the centre of the town. The clock-boll, which was taken from a building that formerly stood on Lord’s Island in the lake, has the letters and figures “ H. D. It. 0. 1001,” upon it,—a decisive proof of its high antiquity. The Parish Church, an ancient structure, dedicated to St. Kontigern, stands three quarters of a mile distant. A new church of elegant proportions was erected on the east of the town by the late John Marshall, Esq., who became Lord of the manor, by purchasing the forfeited estates of Ratcliffe, Earl of Derwentwater, from the commissioners of Greenwich Hospital, to whom they were granted by the Crown.* A manorial Court is held annually in
« The family of the RatclifFcs wore originally from Dilston, in Northumberland. In the reign of Henry VI., Sir Nicholas Ratcliffeof Dilston married Margaret, daughter and heir of Sir John do Derwentwater, who was sheviffof Cumberland in the 4H, Edward III., and obtained with her, the large possessions of the Derwentwater family in this neighbourhood, and in several other counties. Sir Francis Ratcliffe, Bart., the representative of the family in the reign of William III., was created by that monarch Baron of Dil-44
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
May. The two museums, kept by Messrs. Crosth-waite and Hutton, deserve a visit, as they contain specimens illustrating the natural history of the neighbourhood, as well as many foreign curiosities. Minerals and geological specimens are kept on sale. Mr. Flintoff’s accurate model of the lake district, the labour of many years, should also be inspected. For the tourist this model possesses peculiar interest, exhibiting, as it docs, an exact representation of the country through which he is travelling, with every object minutely laid down, and the whole coloured after nature. The dimensions of the model are, 12 feet 9 inches by 9 feet 3 inches. There are two good hotels, the Royal Oak, and the Queen’s Head, besides numerous inns, at which guides, ponies, boatmen, and boats can bo obtained. Tourists desiring to make a prolonged stay may also be accommodated with comfortable lodgings at many private houses.
Giieta Hall, the residence of Dr. Southey, the
*ton, Viscount Langley, and Earl of Derwcntwater. His son, the second Earl, married the Lady Mary Tudor, natural daughter of Charles II., and by her had four children, of whom James, the third Earl, having engaged in the rebellion of 1716, was attainted, and beheaded 011 Tower Hill in 171G. The fate of this young and generous-hearted nobleman, excited very general commiseration. His memory is still cherished and revered in Northumberland, where numerous instances of his affability and beneficence are still related, with feelings of sympathy and rogret. His brother, Charles Ratcliffe, who was condemned to death at the same time, escaped after conviction, but was retaken in the Espcrancc privateer, on his way to Scotland, 1745, and beheaded according to his former sentence. The large and numerous estates of the Earl in Northumberland, Durham, and Cumberland wcro forfeited, and were vested in trustees, for the support of Greenwich Hospital. The Earl of Newburgh, the representative of the family, petitioned Parliament for the reversal of the attainder; but as the forfeited estates had been appropriated to the support of the hospital, his petition could not be granted; and an annuity of £2500 was all that ho could obtain, although tho.ycarly value of the estates is now upwards of £60,000.TOWNS—KESWICK.
4.5
Poet Laureate, is seated on a slight eminence near the town, about 200 yards to tho right of the bridge across the river on the road to Cockermouth. The poet possesses an exceedingly valuable collection ot books, upwards of 7000 in number.
The scenery visible from the windows of the Laureate’s house has boon finely sketched by himself in these hexametrical lines—
“ ’Twas at that sober hour when the light of day is receding, And from surrounding things tho hues wherewith day has adorn’d them
Fade like the hopes of youth till the beauty of youth 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 into the silent sky, from far Glaramara, Bleacrag, and Maidenmawr to Grisedal and westernmost Wy-tliop.
Dark and distinct they rose. The clouds had gathered 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 tho stream in the glen, whoso pure and chrysolite waters
Flow o’er a schistous bed, and serene as the age of the righteous.
Earth was hush’d and still; all motion and sound 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.’’
The lake sometimes called Keswick Lake, but better known by the name of4G
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
DERWENTWATER,
is about half a milo from the town. A scene of more luxuriant beauty than this lake affords can scarcely bo imagined. Its shape is symmetrical without being formal, while its size is neither so large as to merge the character of the lake in that of the inland sea, nor so circumscribed as to exposo it to the charge of insignificance. The admirers of nature are divided in opinion as to the respective merits of this lake and Ulleswater; some assigning the palm of superiority to the one and some to the other. Those who are familiar with the Alpine sceneryof Scotland, which so far surpasses in savage grandeur any thing within the limits of the sister country, almost uniformly give the preference to Derwentwater, while those who have not possessed opportunities of contemplating nature in her sterner moods are more deeply impressed with the more majestic attributes of her rival.*’
Derwentwater approaches to the oval form, extending from north to south about three mifes, and being in breadth about a milo and a half, “ expanding within an amphitheatre of mountains, rocky but not vast, broken into many fantastic shapes, peaked, splintered, impending, sometimes pyramidal, opening by narrow vallies to the view
* Messrs. Stanley and Richardson, whose pencils have onriehed the present volume with views of these lakes, espouse different sides of the question. Our readers will agree with us that they have each so eloquently enforced the claims of their respeetivc/avourites, as to make it a knotty point for an intelligent jury to dccido the cause.felp .. Ill
.r
uf sruiliar tctthtJi [pint -cc .try I -‘ otland, wh i ■■ far surp;iin mlbjge grnnddir an -tin witliii.
*
c xparx r<K i v . ■
\
. >• 1 iti. n>
—__DERWENTWATER.
47
of rocks that rise immediately beyond, and are again overlooked by others. The precipices seldom overshoot the water, but are arranged at some distance ; and the shores swell with woody eminences, or sink into green pastoral margins. Masses of wood also frequently appear among the cliffs, feathering them to their summits ; and a white cottage sometimes peeps from out their skirts, seated on the smooth knoll of a pasture projecting to the lake, and looks so exquisitely picturesque, as to seem placed there purposely to adorn it. The lake in return faithfully reflects the whole picture, and so even and brilliantly translucent is its surface, that it rather heightens than obscures the colouring.”*
The principal islands in the lake are Vicar’s Isle, Lord’s Island, and St. Herbert’s Isle. Vicar’s Isle or Derwent Isle is that nearest the foot of the lake ; it contains about six acres, and belongs to Captain Henry, whose residence is upon it. This island was formerlyan appurtenant to Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire. Lord’s Island, of a size somewhat larger than the last, has upon it the hardly perceptible remains of a pleasure house erected by one of the Batcliffes withthe stones of their deserted castle which stood on Castle-rigg. This island was once connected with the mainland, from which it was severed by the Ratcliffes, by a fosse, over which a drawbridge was thrown. It is now the property of Mrs. Marshall, and family. St. Herbert’s Isle, placed nearly in the centre of the lake, derives its name from a holy hermit who lived
* So transparent is the water that pebbles may be easily Been fifteen or twenty feet below its surface.48
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
in the seventh centui’y and had his cell on this island. The remains of the hermitage are still visible. To St. Cuthbert of Durham this “ saintly eremite ” bore so perfect a love as to pray that he himself might expire the moment the breath of life quitted the body of his friend, so that their souls might wing their flight to heaven in company. Wordsworth’s inscription for the spot where the hermitage stood, from which the following lines are taken, is founded upon this legend.
——————-“ When, with eye upraised
To heaven, lie knelt before the crucifix,
While o’er the lake tho cataract of Lowdoro Peal’d to his orisons, and when lie paced Along the beach of this small isle and thought Of his companion, ho would pray that both (Now that their earthly duties were fulfill’d,)
Might die in the same moment. Nor in vain So pray’d he as our chronicles report,
Though here the hermit number’d his last day.
Far from St. Cutlibert his beloved friend,
Those holy men both died in the same hour.”
Near tho ruins, the late Sir Wilfred Lawson, (to whose representative the island at present belongs,) erected a few years ago a small cottage, which beipg built of unhewn stone, and artificially mossed over, has a venerable appearance. There are three or four other islets, the largest of which is liampsholm. At irregular intervals of a few years, the lake exhibits a singular phenomenon in the rising of a piece of ground, called Tho Floating Island, from tho bottom to the surface of the water. Its superficial extent, varies in different years, from an acre to a fewDERWENT WATER.
perches. It is composed of earthy matter, six feet in thickness, covered with vegetation, and is full of air bubbles, which, it is supposed, by penetrating the whole massj diminish its specific gravity, and are the cause of its buoyancy. This natural phenomenon is situate about 150 yards from the shore, near Low-dore.
The walks in the neighbourhood of Keswick are numerous and interesting. From Crow Parle and Friar Crag, two places situate on the east shore, near the foot of the lake, beautiful views of the lake, vale, and surrounding mountains are obtained. From a wooded eminence called Castle Head, standing on the left of the Borrowdale road, about half a mile from Keswick, there is an enchanting prospect, extending on the south into the “ Jaws of Borodale,” in which Castle Crag appears like a prominent front tooth. Cat Bells, on the other side of the lake, are fine objects, as well as the other mountains which tower over the vale of Newlands. From a summit, called Castle-rigg, one mile from Keswick on the Ambleside road, there is a most extensive view, comprising the lakes of Derwentwator and Bassenthwaite, the fertile vale through which the Derwent winds on its passage from the one lake to the other, and the heights of Skiddaw. Gray declares that, on leaving Keswick, when he turned round at this place to contemplate the scenery behind him, he was so charmed “ that he had almost a mind to go back again.” A walk over Latrigg,
“ Skiddaw’s Cub,” will furnish the stranger with innumerable delightful prospects; and, in fact, it is impossible to stir in the neighbourhood of Keswick,50
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
without having scenery of the finest description before the eye. One mile and a half from Keswick, on an eminence to the right of the old road to Penrith, is a small Druidical Circle, measuring 100 feet by 108, consisting of forty-eight stones, some of which are seven feet high.
Perhaps an excursion exhibiting more beautiful prospects of rock, wood, and water, than that round Derwentwater, does not exist in the vicinity of the Lakes. It is not more than ten miles in length, if Grange Bridge be the limit of the ride in that direction ; but if the excursion be extended to Bowder Stone, two miles must be added. Leaving Keswick by the Borrowdale road, Castle Head, Wallow Crag, and Falcon Crag, are successively passed on the left. A hollow in the summit of Wallow Crag is visible from the road. There is a tradition current in the country, that by means of this hollow the Countess of Derwentwater effected her escape when the Earl was arrested for high treason, carrying with her a quantity of jewels and other valuables. It has ever sinco borne the name of the Lady’s ltako. Barrow House (Jos. Pocklington, Esq.) stands two miles from Keswick, on the left of the road. Behind the house there is a fine cascade 124 feet in height, which may be seen on application at the lodge. A mountain road strikes off at this point to the village of Watendlath, two miles from the deflection. The road, after passing the village, near which there is a tarn, re-enters the Borrowdale road a little beyond Bowder Stone. In making the ascent to the village, splendid views of the lako and Skiddaw are obtained.BOWDElt STONE.
51
One mile beyond Barrow, the road having passed under Thrang Crag, is the little inn of Lowdore, behind which is the celebrated Lowdore Waterfall. The grandeur of the rocks around the stream render tho scene impressive, whatever may be the state of the weather, but the cascade is dependent in a great measure for its effect on tho quantity of water. After heavy rains, tho noise of the fall may be heard as far down the lake as Friar Crag. Gowder Crag rises on the left, Shepherd’s Crag on the right, of the waterfall. One mile further, Grange Bridge, spanning Borrowdale Beck, is attained. Should the tourist desire to see the curious mass of rock called Bowdcr Stone, the road into Borrowdale must be continued for a mile further. This immense block, which hits evidently rolled from the heights above, stands on it platform of ground, a short distance to the left of the road. A branch road has been made to the Stone, which rejoins the Borrowdale road further on. It has been computed to weigh upwards of 1900 tons. Its summit may be gained by means of a ladder which has been affixed to it for the use of strangers.
“ Upon a semicirque of turf-clad ground,
A mass of rock, resembling as it lay Right at the foot of that moist precipice,
A stranded ship, with keel upturn’d, that rests Careless of winds and waves.”
Wordsworth.
Close to Bowder Stone, but on the opposite side of the river, from the hank of which it suddenly rises, is an elevation clothed with wood called Castle Crag, so termed from a Roman fortification having52
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
once occupied the summit, the faint traces of which still remain. Some of the relics found here are shown in one of the museums at Keswick. Returning to and crossing Grange Bridge, the village of Grange is passed, and, one mile beyond, are a few houses called Manesty, near which is a small medicinal spring. Passing under the summit styled Cat Bells, the road enters tho pretty village of Portin-scale, 4f miles from Grange Bridge, near which are many elegant villas. Keswick is but a mile and a quarter beyond.
An agreeable excursion of thirteen miles and a half may be made from Keswick into the famed Valley of St. John. The Penrith road must be pursued for four miles, to tho village of Threlkeld. This road, lying almost the whole way on the banks of the Greta, *
* Upon the river Greta, Wordsworth has composed the following sonnet
“Greta, what fearful listening! when huge stones Rumble along thy bed, block after block;
Or, whirling with reiterated shock,
Combat, while darkness aggravates the groans.
But if thou (like Cocytus, from the moans Heard on his rueful margin) thence wert named The Mourner, thy true nature was defamed;
And the habitual murmur that atones For thy worst rage forgotten. Oft as spring Decks on thy sinuous banks her thousand thrones—
Seats of glad instinct and of love’s carolling—
The concert, for the happy, then may vie With liveliest peals of birthday harmony—
To a grieved heart the notes are benisons.”
Tho channel of the Greta, immediately above Keswick, has, for tho purposes of building, been in a great measure cleared of the immense stones which, by their concussion in high floods, produced tho loud and awful noises described in the sonnet.
The scenery upon this river, (says Dr. Southey,) where it passes under the woody side of Latrigg, is of the finest and most rcmembcrablc kind.BOWSCALK TARN.
53
passes under the mountain-masses of Skiddaw and Saddleback, (more poetically called Blencathara.) * In a recess of the latter mountain, deeply embosomed in huge cliffs, there lies a piece of water called Scales Tarn, which exaggerating travellers have described as an abyss of waters upon which the sun never shines, and wherein the stars of heaven may be seen at noon-day. Sir Walter Scott alludes to this fable in these lines of the Bridal:—
“ Above her solitary track Rose G laramara’s ridgy back,
Amid whose yawning gulfs the sun Cast umber’d radiance red and dun,
Though never sun-beam could discern The surface of that sable tarn,,
In whose black mirror you may spy The stars while noon-tide lights the sky.”
In the same tarn, tradition asserts that two immortal fish have their abode. Amongst the acknowledgments which the Minstrel, in his “ Song at the feast of Brougham Castle,” states had been made to the secret power of the good Lord Clifford, when a shepherd boy in adversity, was the following:—
i( And 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.”
The old hall at Threlkeld has been long in a state
* Throughout the Bridal of Tricrmain Sir Walter Scott unaccountably terms this mountain Glaramara, whereas that hill lies some miles above tlio head of Derwentwater.54
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
of dilapidation, tlie only habitable part having been for years converted into a farm house. This was one of the places of residence of Sir Lancelot Threshold, a powerful knight in the reign of Henry VII., and uncle to the Lord Clifford above mentioned, who was wont to say that “ he had three noble houses—one for pleasure, Crosby in Westmorland, where he had a park full of deer; one for profit and warmth, namely, Yanwith, nigh Penrith; and the third, Threshold on the edge of the vale of Keswick, well stocked with tenants to go with him to the wars.” These “three noble houses” are now the property of the Earl of Lonsdale, and are all occupied as farm houses. Wordsworth makes mention of this Hall in “ The Waggoner.”
“ And see, beyond that hamlet small,
The ruin’d towers of Threlkeld Hall,
Lurking in a double shade,
By trees and lingering twilight made!
There, at Blencatliara’s rugged feet,
Sir Lancelot gave a safe retreat To noble Clifford, from annoy Conceal’d the persecuted boy,
Well pleased in rustic garb to feed His flock, and pipe on shepherd’s reed Among this multitude of hills,
Crags, woodlands, waterfalls, and rills.”
A short distance on the Keswick side of Threlkeld, the road leading into the Vale of St. John branches off on the right. A branch of the river Greta, called St. John’s Bock, runs through this valley, which is narrow, but extremely picturesque, being bounded on the right by Natlulale or Naddle Foil, and on theVALE OF ST. JOHN.
left by Great Dodd, a bill at the extremity of the Iielvellyn chain. The chapel occupies a striking situation on the right, at the summit of the pass between St. John’s Yale and Naddle. Though standing at such an elevation, the sun never shines upon it during three months of the year. There are fine retrospective views of Saddleback, and the peculiar conformation of the summit which gives its name to the mountain may be clearly perceived. The high road to Keswick is gained four miles and a half from Threlkeld. From the end of Naddle Fell, in the Yale of Thirlspot, near to Thirlemere, some sweet glimpses of that lake may be obtained. The rock which has given celebrity to the valley stands near the extremity on the left. The resemblance to a fortification is certainly very striking. It is the scene of Sir Walter Scott’s Bridal of Triermain, in which there is the following description of the appearance which the rock presented to the charmed senses of King Arthur:—
((With toil the King his way pursued By lonely Threlkeld’s waste and wood,
Till on his course obliquely sliono The narrow valley of Saint John,
Down sloping to the western sky,
Where lingering sunbeams lovo to lie. *******
Paled in by many a lofty hill,
The narrow dale lay smooth and still,
And, down its verdant bosom led,
A winding brooklet found its bed.
But midmost of the vale, a mound Arose with airy turrets crown’d,
Buttress, and rampire’s circling bound,
And mighty keep and tower ;50
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
Seem’d some primeval giant’s hand The castle’s massive walls had plann’d,
A ponderous bulwark to withstand Ambitious Nimrod’s power.
Above the moated entrance slung,
The balanced drawbridge trembling hung,
As jealous of a foe ;
Wicket of Oak, as iron hard,
With iron studded, clench’d, and barr’d,
And prong’d portcullis, join’d to guard The gloomy pass below.
But the grey walls no banners crown’d,
Upon the watch-tower’s airy round No warder stood his horn to sound,
No guard beside the bridge was found,
And, where the Gothic gateway frown’d,
Glanced neither bill nor bow.
*** *•*•*•**
when a pilgrim strays,
In morning mist or evening maze,
Along tho mountain lone,
That fairy fortress often mocks His gaze upon the castled rocks Of the Yalloy of St. John.”
Keswick is nine miles and a lialf from Threlkeld by way of the Vale of St. John. The ridge of Castlerigg, whence there is the splendid prospect already noticed, is crossed one mile from Keswick.
A drive round the lake of Bassentiiwaite is frequently taken by tourists whilst making Keswick their head quarters. This lake lies three miles to the north of Derwentwater, from which it is separated by low meadows that in wet weather are flooded to some extent; it is four miles long, and about one mile broad. The pleasant village of Portinscale is a mile and a quarter from Keswick. Two miles beyond, the road which must bo pursuedWliintifjtl Kcilf
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57
quits the old Cookermouth road near the village of Braithwaite,—between the two villages tho tourist has Grisedale Pike directly before him. The road then becomes elevated, forming a line terrace whence the beautiful vales of Thornthwaite, Braithwaite, and Keswick, are beheld, with all their luxuriance of wood. Skirting the base of Lord’s Seat and Barf, and after making many ascents and descents disclosing delightful views of tho lake, backed by Skiddaw, Ouse Bridge is crossed nine miles and a half from Keswick. The bridge spans the Derwent soon after it issues from the lake. A quarter of a mile beyond is Armathwaite Hall, the seat of Sir F. Vane, Bart. The Castle Inn, where refreshment may be taken, is ten miles from’ Keswick, which town tho tourist reaches by a road eight miles in length, passing under Skiddaw. Bassenthwaite Church is seen on the right near the margin of the lake.
The last excursion from Keswick which we shall detail is that by way of Borrowdale to Buttermere, Crummock, and Lowes Water. The road has been already described as far as Bowdcr Stone, a little beyond which it joins the road from Watendlath. A mile below Bowder Stone is Rosthwaite; there is one small inn at Rostliwaito. A short distance further a road strikes off on the left through Stonethwaite to Langdale, passing over the ridge called the Stake. One mile from Rosthwaite the road into Wastdale by the pass of Sty Head continues up Borrowdale on the left. Near the deviation is Seatoller, the residence of Abraham Fisher, Esq., in the neigh-58
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
bourhood of which is the celebrated mine of plumbago, or black lead, as it is usually called. It has been worked at intervals for upwards of two centuries, but being now less productive, the ore has been excavated for several years consecutively. This is the only mine of tho kind in England, and there are only one or two places in Scotland where plumbago has been discovered, but the lead obtained there is of an inferior quality. The best ore procured at the Borrowdale mine sells for thirty shillings a pound. In the vicinity of the lead mine are four yew trees of extraordinary size. Wordsworth has commemorated them in these lines; having mentioned the large yew which is “ the pride of Lorton vale,” he adds—
“ But 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 intortwisted fibres, serpentine,
Upcoiling and inveterately convolved,
Nor uninform’d with phantasy, and looks That threaten the profane ; 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 unrejoieing berries—ghastly shapes May meet at noon-tide, there to celebrate,
As in a natural temple, scatter’d o’er With altars undisturb’d of mossy stone,
United worship.”
At Seatollar the ascent of Buttermere Haws is commenced. This hill is steep and the road rough, private carriages, therefore, should not be taken over.S0UR-M1LK GILL.
59
It is eleven hundred feet in height, and commands noble prospects of the receding valley of Borrowdale. Helvellyn may be descried over the Borrowdale Fells. The hill called Glaramara is on the left. With a little stretch of fancy the streams may be heard
“ Murmuring in Glaramara’s inmost oaves.”
On the right of the pass is the hill named Yewdale.
The road descends rapidly into the head of Butter-mere dale; Ilonister Crag, presenting an almost perpendicular wall of rock, rising on the left to the height of fifteen hundred feet. In the face of the rock, a considerable height above its base, large chambers have been cut, tier above tier, in which roofing slates are excavated. The slates are shaped in the quarry and brought down by men on wooden hurdles. These quarries belong to General Wynd-ham. Two miles below Ilonister Crag, and four from Seatollar, is a farm house near the head of Buttermere Lake, called Gatescarth, whence a mountain road crosses by the pass of Scarf Gap, into the head of Ennerdale and reaches Wastdale Head by means of another pass called Black Sail. Ilas-ness, the residence of General Benson, occupies a pretty situation on the left near the margin of the lake. A series of mountain summits tower over the opposite shore of the lake. The Hay Stacks, so termed from their form, are the most eastern; then follow High Crag, High Stile, and Red Pike. A stream issuing from a small tarn which lies between the two last, makes a fine cascade bearing the name of Sour-Milk Gill. The village of60
GUIDE 10 THE LAKES.
Buttermere stands 011 declining ground near the foot of the lake fourteen miles from Keswick. It consists of a few scattered farm houses, with a good inn, forming by reason of tho surrounding hills the very picture of seclusion. “ The margin of the lake, which is overhung by some of the loftiest and steepest of the Cumbrian mountains, exhibits on either side few traces of human neighbourhood; the level area, where the hills recede enough to allow of any, is of a wild pastoral character or almost savage. Tho waters of the lake are deep and sullen, and the barrier mountains, by excluding the sun for much of his daily course, strengthen the gloomy impressions. At the foot of this lake lie a few unornamented fields, through which rolls a little brook connecting it with the larger lake of Crummock, and at the edge of this miniature domain, upon the road side, stands a cluster of cottages so small and few that in the richer tracts of the island they would scarcely be complimented with the name of hamlet.”* A good road of nine miles, after climbing a Haws 800 feet high, conducts the visitor through the vale of Newlands to Keswick. A small chapel has been erected at the expense of the Rev. Vaughan Thomas, by the road side, upon the site of a still smaller one. The old chapel has been thus described :—“ It is not only the very smallest chapel, by many degrees, in all England, but is so mere a toy in outward appearance, that were it not for its antiquity, its wild mountain exposure, and its consecrated connexion with the
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Cl
final hopes and fears of tho adjacent pastoral hamlet, —but for these considerations the first movement of a stranger’s feelings would be towards loud laughter ; for the chapel looks not so much a miniature chapel in a drop scene from the Opera House, as a miniature copy from such a scene, and evidently could not receive within its walls more than half a dozen households.”*
The story of Mary, the beauty of Buttermere, is now, from its repeated publication, very generally known—briefly stated it is this :—She was possessed of considerable personal charms, and being the daughter of the innkeeper, her usual employment was to wait upon those guests, who at that time, made their way so far into the heart of tho hills. Her beauty thus became the theme of what may be called extensive praise. A man, who designated himself the Honourable Col. Hope, brother of Lord Iiopetoun, but whose real name was Hatfield, had fled from tho arm of the law to these sequestered parts. Being struck with her attractions, he paid his addresses to, and married her, but no great length of time elapsed before he was apprehended on a charge of forgery. He was tried at Carlisle, and being found guilty suffered the extreme penalty of the law. Mary married for her second husband a respectable farmer of Calbeck, and died a few years ago.
A footpath leading through the fields, and across tho little stream connecting tho two lakes, conducts to Scale Forcis, one of the loftiest waterfalls in the vicinity of the lakes. The road, in damp weather
* Dc Quinccy.62
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
especially, is none of the cleanest, and therefore a boat is frequently taken, which lands the visitor about half a mile from tho fall. A mountain path, leaving Scale Force on the left and climbing the fells above it, leads into Ennerdale. Floutern Tarn, which is passed on the way, serves as a landmark.
Extending the excursion to Scale Hill, four miles from Buttermere, the road traverses the eastern shore of Crummock Water, passing under the hills White-less, Grasmoor and Whiteside. Melbreak is a fine object on the other shore. From the foot of this mountain a narrow promontory juts into the lake, the extremity of which, when the waters are swollen, becomes insulated. A short distance before Scale Hill is reached, there is a fine view into the sylvan valley of Lorton. At Scalo Hill there is a comfortable inn, which for a few days might be made advantageously the Tourist’s residence. Boats may be had upon Crummock Lake, from which the inn is about a mile distant. Scale Force might be visited if not seen previously. One boating excursion at least ought to be taken for the purpose of viewing the fine panorama of mountains which enclose the lake, and which can be no where seen to such advantage as from the bosom of the water. Green has pointed out one station for obtaining a fine view not only of Crummock Lake but of Buttermere also. It is from a point two or three hundred yards above the promontory under Melbreak; Honister Crag is seen closing the prospect on the north. Tho lake is three miles long by about three quarters of a mile broad ; its sounded depth is twenty-two fathoms. There areYEW-TREE OF LOKTON VALE.
three small islands at the head, but they arc too near the shore to add much to the other beauties of the scenery. The small lake called Lowes Water may also be visited. It is scarcely a mile long, and the scenery at its head is tame, but that round its foot is of a magnificent description.
From Scale Ilill the Tourist may proceed to the town of Cockermouth, the birthplace of the poet Wordsworth, which is seven miles distant—visit Ennerdale Water by way of Lamplugh—or return to Keswick by the vale of Lorton, a distance of twelve miles. This vale, watered by the Cocker, a stream which, issuing from Cruinmock Lake, joins the Derwent at Cockermouth, presents many charming views. Four miles from Scale Llill the Keswick and Cockermouth road is entered, near the Yew-tree which Wordsworth has celebrated.
“There is a Yew-tree, 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 heaths ; or those that cross’d the sea,
And drew their sounding bows at Agincour,
Perhaps at earlier Cressy or Poictiers.
Of vast circumference and gloom profound,
This solitary Tree !—a living thing Produced too slowly ever to decay ;
Of form and aspect too magnificent To be destroy’d.”
The road commences soon afterwards the long and steep ascent of Whinlatter, from the summit of which the spectator has a noble combination of ob-(54
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
jects before him,—comprehending Derwentwater, Bassenthwaite Water, Skiddaw, and Keswick vale. The distance between Scale Hill and Keswick may be shortened by almost two miles, if the road under Whiteside and Grisedale Pike be taken. For the horseman and pedestrian the shorter route is to be preferred, as that part under the mountains forms a terrace, from which, views of Lorton Yale, of the neighbouring hills, and extending even to the Scotch mountains, may be obtained.
WHITEHAVEN.
WinTEnAVEN is a market town and sea-port, seated at the upper end of a small creek on the west coast in the county of Cumberland. It is situate in the parish of St. Bees, and contains about 15,000 inhabitants. This town has advanced rapidly from insignificance to its present state of prosperity, for in the year 1566 six fishermen’s huts were all that bore the name of Whitehaven. This sudden progress in the scale of importance is to be attributed in a great measure to the munificence of the Lowther family, who, having large estates around the town, and valuable possessions in coal underneath it, have liberally come forward on all occasions, when opportunities have occurred, to promote its prosperity.
The chief manufactures aro coarse linens, and articles connected with the fitting up of vessels; shipbuilding is also carried on to a considerable extent. The port is the second in the county, theroWHITEHAVEN.
65
being upwards of 200 vessels belonging to it trading witli the sea-ports of Groat Britain, and with America, the West Indies, and the Baltic, as well as almost an equal number engaged in the coal trade; large quantities of iron and lead ore, grain, and lime are exported. The harbour is spacious and commodious, having seven piers extending into the sea in different directions, and affording ample security for vessels lying within. At the entrance of tho harbour there are two liglit-houses, and a third is situate on the promontory of St. Bees Head, three miles to. the south-west. A machine, called tho patent-slip, erected by Lord Lonsdale, into which vessels are drawn with ease and expedition when repairs are required, deserves a visit. Tho bay and harbour are defended by batteries, formerly consisting of upwards of a hundred guns, but lately suffered to fall into decay. These batteries received extensive additions after the alarm caused by the descent of tho notorious Paul Jones in 1778. This desperado, who was a native of Galloway, and had served his apprenticeship in Whitehaven, landed here with thirty armed men, the crew of an American privateer which had been equipped at Nantes for this expedition. Tho success of the enterprise was, however, frustrated by one of the company, through whom the inhabitants were placed on the alert. The only damage they succeeded in doing was the setting fire to three ships, only one of which was burnt. They were obliged to make a precipitate retreat, having first spiked the guns of the battery, so that they escaped unhurt to the coast of Scotland, where they
EGUIDE TO THE LAKES.
plundered the house of the Earl of Selkirk. Since J 803 a life-boat has been stationed here,—which has been the means of saving many lives.
The streets of the town have a neat appearance, being straight as well as wide, and intersecting each other at right angles. A rivulet called the Poe runs underneath the town to the creek. There are three churches of the establishment,—St. Nicholas, erected in 1693, Trinity in 1715, and St. James in 1752; there are also many dissenting places of worship. The schools are numerous, educating more than 1700 children, nearly 500 of whom are taught at the National School. At the Savings Bank, the deposits amount to upwards of £60,000. The Theatre in lloper Street has a handsome appearance; it was erected in 1769. The Workhouse is a large building in Scotch Street. The Subscription Library, a neat edifice in Catherine Street, contains about 3500 volumes. The Harbour Office, in which the affairs of the harbour, docks, and customs are transacted, is a large structure on the West Strand. The Public Office, containing a police office, newsroom, &c., stands in Lowther Street. Two Newspapers arc published weekly, the Cumberland Pacquet, and the Whitehaven Herald, both of which are largely circulated through the county. The town now enjoys the privilege of returning a Member to Parliament.
The coal mines are the principal source of wealth at Whitehaven. They are, perhaps, the most extraordinary in the world, lying underneath the town, and extending a considerable distance under the bed of tho sea. They are 320 yards in depth, and suchWHITEHAVEN.
67
vast quantities of coal have been excavated from them as to have given them the appearance of a subterranean city. At times of pressing demand, 1500 tons are frequently taken to the shore for exportation each day. In the early part of 1791. the ground underneath a portion of the town gave way, and eighteen houses wore in consequence injured, hut the occupiers fortunately escaped unhurt. The sea has not unfrequently hurst into the mines, causing an immense destruction of life and property ; the miners are also much annoyed with fire-damp and choke-damp. There are many short railways to convey the coal to the shore, and steam-engines of great power are in continual operation for the purpose of carrying off the superfluous water. The mines have five principal entrances, called Bearmouths, three on the south side and two on the north, by all of which horses can descend.
Whitehaven is in direct communication with Liverpool, the Isle of Man, Annan, Dumfries, and Wigton, by the packets of the Steam Navigation Company. A packet sails and returns twice a-week to and from Liverpool; and as this mode of reaching Whitehaven is much more economical and expeditious than the inland one, many persons avail themselves of it for the purpose of arriving at the lake country. All information relative to the fares and times of sailing may ho ascertained upon inquiry at the office of the Company, 36, King Street.
The residences in the neighbourhood of Whitehaven are Whitehaven Castle, the seat of the Earl of Lonsdale, surrounded by fine grounds, on the south-68
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
east of the town. Hensingham House, (Lady Sen-house,) one mile south; Summer Grove, (Major Spedding,) two miles south; Keekle Grove, (llobert Jefferson, Esq.) three miles south; Linethwaite, (Major Carlisle Spedding,) three miles south; Spring Field, (Captain Ponsonby,) four miles south; Gill Foot, (Thomas Hartley, Esq.) five miles south; Moresby Hall, (Miss Tate,) two miles north, built after a design of Inigo Jones.
Excursions may be made from Whitehaven to St. Bees, to Ennerdale Lake, and to Wast Water.
ST. BEES,
The village which gives its name to the parish of St. Bees, in which Whitehaven is situated, lies in a narrow valley near the shore, four miles to the south of Whitehaven. Its appellation is said to be derived from St. Boga, an Irish virgin and saint, who lived here in the odour of sanctity, and founded a monastery, about the year 650. The church, which was erected some time after her death, was dedicated to her, and is still in a state of excellent preservation. The tower is the only part of the Saxon edifice remaining, the rest being in the florid Gothic style. It is built of red freestone, in a cruciform shape, and possesses some fine carvings, particularly at the east end, which is lighted by three lancet-shaped windows. The nave is used as the parish church, and the cross aisle as a place of burial. Until 1810 the chancel was unroofed, but in that year it was repaired, and is now occupied as the divinity school “ for the reccp-ST. BEES.
09
tion of young men intended for the Church, but not designed to finish their studies at Oxford or Cambridge.”—“The old Conventual Church,”says Wordsworth, in tho preface to his poem of ‘ St. Bees,’ “ is well worthy of being visited by any strangers who might be led to the neighbourhood of this celebrated spot.” In that poem there occur these lines, which narrate the principal events in the history of the ecclesiastical buildings :—
“ When Bcza sought of yore the Cumbrian coast,
Tempestuous winds her holy passage cross’d :
She knelt in prayer—the waves their wrath appease ;
And from her vow, well weigh’d in Heaven’s decrees,
Rose, where she touch’d the strand, the chantry of St. Bees. ******,*■«■*» When her sweet voice, that instrument of love,
Was glorified, and took its place, above The silent stars, among the angelic quire,
Her chantry blazed with sacrilegious fire,
And perish’d utterly ; but her good deeds
Had sown the spot that witness’d them with seeds,
Which lay in earth expectant, till a breeze,
With quickening impulse, answer’d their mute picas,
And lo! a statelier pile, the Abbey of St. Bees.
———by a mandate given
Through lawless will, the Brotherhood was driven Forth from their cells ; their ancient house laid low In Reformation’s sweeping overthrow.
But now once more the local heart revives,
The inextinguishable spirit strives.
Oh, may that power who hush’d tho stormy seas,
And clear’d a way for the first votaries,
Prosper the new born College of St. Bees ! ”
The Grammar School, founded by Archbishop Grin-dal, stands near the church.70
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
Ennerdale Lake is less visited than most of the other lakes, in consequence of the difficulty of access and the want of houses of entertainment in the valley. It lies nine miles to the east of Whitehaven, from which town it is more easily reached than from any other. Its length is not more than two miles and a half, and its extreme width is about three quarters of a mile. The stream which enters at its head is called the Liza, but the river issuing from the lake takes the name of Ehen. This stream is crossed for the first time by those approaching the lake five miles from Whitehaven, and a second time three miles further up, at the village of Ennerdale Bridge, at which is the chapel, and near it two small inns; the foot of the lake is one mile beyond. One mile from the lower extremity of this mere a solitary rock rises from the water almost in tho centre; at this point Revelin presents a bold front on the south shore, and a hill called Herdhouse stands on the north shore. Opposite tho islet tho pedestrian may cross the fells on the north, taking Floutern Tarn as a guide, and descend between Molbreak on the left and Blea Crag on the v right into Buttermeredale; this road is about six miles long. The first mile and a half of Ennerdale Water is the most picturesque part, and, therefore, carriages need not proceed further along the road than this distance, as there is no outlet for them at the upper end of the valley. The pedestrian or horseman will do well to traverse the whole length of the vale, as the mountains round its upper end are thrown into magnificent groups. Long before reaching the headENNERDALE LAKE.
71
of the lake the scenery becomes wild and desolate. A mile and a half beyond the extremity is the farm house of Gillerthwaite, the last habitation in the vale. Here the road for vehicles ends. A shepherd’s path passes along the banks of the Liza, and two miles and a half beyond Gillerthwaite the extremity of Ennerdale is reached. Great Gable (2925 feet) is a fine object at the head; and the Pillar (2893 feet) has a striking appearance on the right. Great Gable is so called from its resembling the gable-end of a house. On the summit thoro was wont to bo a small hollow in the rock never entirely empty of water,—“ having,” says Wordsworth, “ no other feeder than the dews of heaven, the showers, the vapours, the hoar frost, and the spotless snow.” This rock is now destroyed. The peculiar shape of the Pillar will not fail to strike the eye for some distance.
“ You see yon precipice;—it wears the shape Of a vast building made of many crags;
And in the midst is one particular rock,
That risos like a column from the vale,
Whence by our shepherds it is called the Pii.lah.” *
A sheep cote at the termination of the valley will be noticed. At this point a path strikes up the hill on the left, called Scarf Gap, and reaches Gatescarth in Buttermere, by a road three miles in length. Another path passes over Black Sail on the right, and winding round Kirkfell into Mosodale, having Yewbarrow on the right, reaches Wastdale Head,
* From Wordsworth’s true pastoral, and exquisite poem, “ The Brothers,” the scono of which is in Ennerdale chapol-yard.72
GUIDE 10 THE LAKES.
three miles from the sheep cote. Wastdale Head will be mentioned again in the description of our next excursion.
WAST WATER.
The road from Whitehaven to Wast Water lies through the town of Egremont. Two miles and a half beyond Egremont, on the right, is the village of Beckermet. A house near this village, the residence of Joseph Hartley, Esq., bears the name of Wotobank, from the hill near which it stands. The derivation of the name is assigned by tradition to the following incident. A Lord of Beckermet, with his lady and servants, were one day hunting wolves. During the chase the lady was discovered to be missing. After a long and painful search, her body was found on this hill or bank slain by a wolf, which was discovered in the very act of tearing it to pieces. In the first transports of his grief the husband exclaimed, “ Woe to this bank!’’
\
“ Woe to thee, bank! the attendants echo’d round,
And pitying shepherds caught the grief-fraught sound: Thus, to this hour, through every changing age,
Through every year’s still ever-varying stage,
The name remains, and Wotobank is seen From every mountain bleak and valley green—
Dim Skiddaw views it from its monstrous height,
And eagles mark it in their dizzy flight.”
Mrs. Cowley’s Edwim.
The road crosses Calder Bridge four miles fromCALDER ABBEY.
73
Egremont. There are two good inns in the village. Close at hand is Ponsonby Hall, the residence of J. E. Stanley, Esq. in a beautiful park. One mile above the village, on tho north bank of the stream, are the picturesque remains of Calder Abbey, consisting of a square tower of the church, which is supported by pointed arches, sustained on four finely clustered columns, about twenty-four feet in height, and of excellent workmanship. The roof of the church rested on semicircular arches, with clustered pillars, and a fascia, which is yet to be traced above the remaining arches. The width of the choir appears to have been only twenty-five feet. The ruins are overrun with ivy, and are delightfully embowered in stately sycamores and other trees. Ranulph do Meschicns founded this monastery in 1134, for a colony of Cistercians who were detached from Furness Abbey. It subsequently received many valuable grants. At the dissolution it shared the common fate of the llomish ecclesiastical establishments. Its yearly revenue at that time amounted, according to Speed, to £64, 3s. 9d. Near tho abbey is the neat residence of Captain Irwin, in whose grounds the ruins stand.
In the church yard at Gosforth, six miles from Egremont, there is an ancient stone pillar, which, until lately, was surmounted by a cross. The pretty village of Strands is four miles beyond Gosforth. It has two decent inns, at which boats on the lake may be procured. Tho ascent of Scawfell Pikes may be conveniently made from this place, by taking a boat to the head of the lake and landing at the foot of74-
guide TO THE LAKES.
the mountain. Wast Water, one mile from Strands, is three and a half miles in length, and about half a mile broad. The deepest part yet discovered is forty-five fathoms. It lias never been known to be iced over, even in the severest winter. The mountains round this lake rise to a great altitude. Tho Screes hang over the south-east margin, and form an extraordinary feature in tho landscape. Seatallan guards the opposite shore. The road traverses the north-western shore, and, six miles from Strands, arrives at the village of Wastdale Head, which consists merely of a few scattered homesteads and a little chapel. It would be a great accommodation to tourists if there were an inn at this place. Refreshment can, however, be obtained at one of the farm-houses, for which, of course, some remuneration will be given. The panorama of mountains surrounding this level area is strikingly grand. Standing at tho head of the lake, the spectator will have Yewbarrow, like tho slanting roof of a house, on his left, further up, Kirkfell, and immediately before him Groat Gable,—a little on the right of which is Lingmell, a protrusion from Scawfell—the Pikes, (the highest land in England,) and Scawfell then follow.* Between Yewbarrow and Kirkfell there is the path over Black Sail into Ennerdale, before noticed. A foot road, passing round the head of the lake, and climbing the high ground between the Screes and Scawfell, descends by way of Burnmoor Tarn into Eskdalo. Tourists on foot or horseback may proceed to Keswick, fourteen
* A description of tho Pikes, and their ascent, is given on a subsequent
PQ«o.TOWNS PENRITH.
75
miles distant, by the pass of Sty Ilead—the highest in the Lake district. The Borrowdale road is entered near Seathwaitc. Great Gable is on the left of the pass, and Great End on tho right. The summit, 1300 feet high, commands, as may be imagined, a most extonsivo view. The ascent is remarkably steep; and if horses are taken over, great caution should bo used. The notorious Baron Trenck once dashed down on horseback, leaving his astonished guide behind carefully picking his way. The fearless horseman arrived safe at tho bottom, and performed in one day a journey of fifty-six miles, through steep and difficult roads, which nearly killed his horse.
PENRITH.
Penuitii is an ancient market town, seated at tho foot of an eminence near the southern verge of the county of Cumberland. It contains about G000 inhabitants, and the appearance of the town is clean and neat. Tho houses aro principally built of the red freestone, which abounds in the neighbourhood ; whence probably the name of the town is derived— Pen and rhudd, words signifying in the British language, red hill. It lies in the neighbourhood of three rivers, the Lowther, Eamont, and rettorill, within the district called Inglewood Forest. When the northern part of England was granted by William the Norman to his follower Ranulpli de Meschiens, that warrior in his turn parcelled out the grant among his vassals, except the central portion which he retained.76-
guide TO THE LAKES.
It was described as “ a goodly great forest, full of woods, red deer, and fallow deer, wild swine, all manner of wild beasts, called the Forest of Inglewood.” The tract was of a triangular shape, the length of its sides measuring upwards of twenty miles. The Scots frequently made themselves masters of it, and were as frequently expelled, until by an arrangement between the kings of the two countries in 1237, it was finally ceded to England. Subsequently it lapsed to the crown, and was conferred by William III., upon the first Earl of Portland. The existence of Penrith may be traced back for many centuries. An army of 30,000 Scots laid it wasto in the nineteenth year of Edward III., carrying away many of the inhabitants prisoners, and in the reign of Richard III. the town was again sacked. The manufactures aro very trifling, consisting principally of linen goods and some woollen fabrics.
The ruins of the Castle, supposed to have been erected by Edward V., overlook the town from the west, and give it a noble appearance. It was for some time the residence of the Duke of Gloucester, afterwards Richard III., and continued in the possession of the Crown till the Revolution, when it was granted, together with the honour of Penrith, to Walter Bentinck, Earl of Portland. In the contest between Charles I. and the Long Parliament, this castle was seized and dismantled, by the adherents of the Commonwealth, and the load, timber, and other materials, were sold. In 1783, the late Duke of Portland sold it, together with the honour of Penrith, including Inglewood Forest, to the DukeTOWNS—PENRITH.
77
of Devonshire. Among the ruins is a subterraneous passage, which leads to a house in Penrith, called Dockray Hall, about three hundred yards distant.
The Clmrcli is a plain structure; it was partly rebuilt in 1722, and is dedicated to St. Andrew. It was given by Henry I. to the Bishop of Carlisle, who is still tho patron of tho cure. Two large gilt chandeliers hang in tho middle aisle, inscribed with these words :—“ These chandeliers were purchased with the Fifty Guineas given by the most noblo William Duke of Portland, to his tenants of the honour of Penrith, who, under his Grace’s encouragement, associated in the defence of the government and town of Penrith, against the rebels, in 1745.”
On one of the walls of this church is the following record of the ravages of a pestilence toward the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth:—“A.D. m.d.xcvixi. ex gravi peste, qua: regionibus hisce incuhuit, obie-runt apud Penrith 2260, Kendal 2500, Richmond 2200, Carlisle 1196.
Postcri,
Avortite vos et vivite.”
This memorial on brass has been substituted in the place of a more ancient inscription engraven on stone. It appears from an ancient register kept in the parish, that this dreadful pestilence raged here from September 22,1597, to January 5,1599, a period of fifteen months!
In the churchyard is a singular monument of antiquity, called the Giant’s Grave, the origin of which is involved in obscurity. It consists of two78
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
stone pillars, standing at the opposite ends of a grave fifteen feet asunder, and tapering from a circumference of eleven feet six inches at the base to seven feet at tho top. Between these are four other stones; the whole are covered with Runic or other unintelligible carvings. Near them is another stone called the Giant’s thumb. These remains are said to have once formed a monument erected to tho memory of Owen Cmsarius, a giant. The Free Grammar School was founded as early as 1340.
On the heights to the north of Penrith is a square stone building, called the Beacon, well placed for giving alarm in the time of danger. From this elevation the views are at once extensive and delightfully picturesque : Helvellyn, Ulleswater, Skiddaw and Saddleback, with their attendant mountains; Crosfell (2900 feet high), and the eastern chain of hills stretching from Stanemoor in Yorkshiro, through Westmorland and Cumberland into Scotland, being within the boundary of the prospect.
The antiquities in the neighbourhood of Penrith are numerous.
Tho remains of Brougham Castle, which are supposed to occupy the site of the Roman station Brovoniacum, occupy a striking situation near the junction of the rivers Eamont and Lowther, one mile and three-quarters from Penrith, a little to tho right of the Appleby road. The vallum of an encampment is still to be traced, and altars, coins and other antiquities have often been found at tho place. The earliest recorded owner of the Castle was John do Veteripont, from whose family it passed into theBROUGHAM CASTLE.
79
hands of the Cliffords and Tuftons. It is now the property of the Earl of Thanet—a Tufton. Extensive additions were made to it by the first Roger de Clifford, and tho ambiguous inscription, “ This made Roger,” may still be deciphered over the inner gateway. In 1412, whilst in the possession of the Clifford family, it was attacked and laid waste by the Scots. In 1617, tho Earl of Cumberland, another Clifford, feasted James I. within its walls, on his return from Scotland. In 1651, having fallen into decay, it was thoroughly repaired by the celebrated Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Pembroke,* who also restored the
* Some members of this noble family have been mentioned before in this volume; and as the Cliffords were intimately connected with tho early history of Westmorland, a sketch of the ihore distinguished of them may not, perhaps, be deemed out of place here. They were a warlike sept, and engaged in all the contests of the time, so that it was a rare thing for any to die off the field. They doubtless felt, or imagined they felt, that
“ One crowded hour of glorious life Is worth an age without a name.”
The first of the family who gained a fooling in the county, was the ltoger de Clifford above referred to. His son Robert was said to have been “ the greatest man of all the family, being of a most martial and heroic spirit.” He was one of the guardians of Edward II. when a minor, in whose reign he was made Lord High Admiral. He was a formidable part ol “ King Edward’s power” at the battle of Bannockburn, where lie fell, on the 24th of June 1314. His grandson Robert was engaged, under the Black Prince, in the famous battle of Crcssy. John, the grand-nephew of the last Robert, married the only daughter of Hotspur Percy, whom Shakspearo has made immortal. This John was killed at the siege of Meaux in France. His son Thomas gained renown at the battle of Poictiers, by the stratagem he planned, and successfully executed, for taking the town. Snow being on the ground, he and his men clad themselves in white, and thus habited, they fell unperceived upon the town, and took it. Then came the Wars of tho Roses. At tho battle of Wakefield, in which all the nobility of England were engaged on one side or the other, John, Lord Cliff ford, tarnished the well-earned fame of his ancestry, by killing, in the pursuit, the youthful Earl of Rutland, son of tho Duke of York, who also fell in tho same battle. “ But who,” says Speed, “ can promiso any thing of himself in tho heat of martial fury ?” This barbarous deed was perpetrated through revenge, for the Earl’s father had slain the murderer’s. Ho met his death in the small valley of Dittingdulo the clay beforeso
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
Castles of Skipton, Pendragon, Brougli, and Appleby. In these reparations of the old waste places she spent
the battle of Towton, leaving a son, named Henry, only seven years old at the time of his father’s death. This child was saved from the rage of the victorious party by concealment. For twenty-four years ho was deprived of his estate and honours, during which time he lived as a shepherd at Barden in Yorkshire, or in Cumberland, at the estate of his father-in-law, Sir Lancelot Threlkeld. One of the first acts of Henry VII. was to restore the Shepherd Lord to his possessions and dignity. In his retirement ho acquired great astronomical knowledge, watching, like the Chaldeans of old, the stars by night upon the mountains. He also possessed some acquaintance with alchemy, and yet he was so illiterate when lie took his place amongst his peers, as to be unablo to write, nor did he ever attain higher proficiency in the art, than enabled him to write his name. At the ago of sixty he went, with a band of followers, to the battle of Flodden Field; “and there shewed,”says Dr. Whitaker, “ that the military genius of the family had neither been chilled in him by age, nor extinguished by habits of peace.”
“ Yet not in war did he delight;
This Clifford longed for worthier might;
Nor in broad pomp or courtly state—
Him his own thoughts did elevate;
Most happy in the shy recess Of Barden’s humble quietness ”
White Doc (\f Rylstone.
His character is a favourite with Wordsworth, who has commemorated the capital event in the good Lord Clifford’s life, in a noble ode, entitled, “ Song at the feast of Brougham Castle.” He is mentioned also in a quotation from the Waggoner, already given, and, as the reader has just seen, he is not omitted in the “ Whito Doe.” Tho last of this noble family was the Lady Anne Clifford, tho builder up of tho waste places, one of the most celebrated women of her time. Her tutor was the “ well-1 anguaged” Daniel, whose fortunes she was instrumental in advancing. She was twice married; the first time to tho Earl of Dorset, with whom she l<^d a life of much unhappiness; and then to the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, nephew of Sir Philip Sidney. “ In her first widowhood,” says her secretary and biographer, “ she resolved, if God ordained a second marriago for her, never to have one that had children, and was a courtier, a cursor and swearer. And it was her fortune to light on one with all thcso qualifications in tho extreme.” Notwithstanding all her troubles, she was of a high and courageous spirit, not fearing, when she imagined herself in the right, cither King or Protector. The answer, couched in language of Spartan brevity, which she is said to have returned to a ministerial application respecting tho representation of the borough of Appleby, is well known.—“ I have been bullied by an usurper, I have been neglected by a Court, but I will not be dictated to by a subject,—your man shan’t stand.” See the interesting life of Lady Anne Clifford in Hartley Coleridge’s Northern Worthies. This author, however, agrees with Lodge in the opinion that the above epistle is spurious.THE COUNTESS’S PILLAR.
81
£40,000—an immense sum in those days. Some few years after the Countess’s death, the Earl of Thanet, her grandson, barbarously demolished three of the castles, selling the timber and materials. “ We will hope,” says Wordsworth, “ that when this order was issued, the Earl had not consulted the text of Isaiah, 58th chap. 12th verse, to which the inscription placed over the gate at Pendragon Castle by the Countess, at the time she repaired that structure, refers the reader.—£ And they that shall he of thee shall build the old waste places j thou slialt raise up the foundations of many generations, and thou shdlt be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in.’ The Earl of Thanet, the present possessor of the estates, with a’due respect for the memory of his ancestors, and a proper sense of the value and beauty of these remains of antiquity, has given orders that they shall be preserved from all depredations.”
A short distance beyond Brougham Castle, stands the Countess’s Pillar, erected in 1656, by the same Lady Anne Clifford, “ a memorial,” as the inscription says, “ of her last parting at that place with her good and pious mother, Margaret Countess Dowager of Cumberland, the 2d of April 1616 : in memory whereof she has left an annuity of £4, to be distributed to the poor, within the parish of Brougham, every second day of April for ever, upon the stone hereby. Laus Deo.”*
* “ While the poor gather round, till the end of time May this bright flower of chanty display Its bloom, unfolding, at the appointed day82
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
Four miles from Penrith, near the road to Appleby, and in the district which to this day bears the name of Whinfell Forest, there formerly stood a fine oak, which bore the name of Hart’s Horn Tree, a name it acquired from the following incident, related in Nicholson and Burn’s History of Westmorland and Cumberland:—
“ In the time of tho first Robert de Clifford, in the year 1333 or 1334, Edward Baliol, king of Scotland, carno into Westmorland, and stayed some time with the said Robert at his castles of Appleby, Brougham, and Pcndragon. And during that time they ran a stag, by a single greyhound, out of Whinfell Park to Redkirk, in Scotland, and back again to this place; where, being both spent, the stag leaped over the pales, but died on tho other side; and the greyhound, attempting to leap, foil, and died on the contrary side. In memory of this fact the stag’s horns were nailed upon a tree just by, and (the dog being named Hercules) this rhythm was made upon them:—
“ Hercules kill’d Hart a grease,
And Hart-a-grease kill’d Hercules.”
The horns in process of time were almost grown
Flower than tho loveliest of the vornal prime,
Lovelier—transplanted from heaven’s purest clime !
* Charity never failcthon that creed,
More than 011 written testament or deed,
The pious Lady built, with hopes sublime,
Alms on this stono to bo dealt out for ever!
‘ Laus Dbo ! ’ Many a stranger passing by Has with that parting raised a filial sigh,
Blest its humane memorial’s fond endeavour,
And fastening 011 these lines an eye tcar-glasscd,
Has ended, though 110 clerk, with ‘ God be praised! ’”
Wordsworth.giant’s caves.
83
over by the growth of the tree, and another pair was put up in their place.”
Amongst Words worth’s sonnets one will be seen founded upon this interesting tradition. In another part of the same forest, which (like many other forests in this country, as Skiddaw Forest, Inglewood Forest, Fawcett Forest, &c.) has no other trace of what it has been but tho name, there stood a fow years ago three enormous oak-trees, known by the name of The Three Brothers. One of them measured thirteen yards in girth.
Two miles below Brougham Castle, on the precipitous banks of the Eamont, are two excavations in the rock, called Giant’s Caves, or Isis Parlis. One is very largo, and contains marks of having been inhabited. There are traces of a door and window : and a strong column has marks of iron grating upon it. The approach to these singular remains is difficult. They are said to have been the abode of a giant called Isis.
A short distance on the Westmorland side of Eamont Bridge, in a field on the right of the road, about a mile and a half from Penrith, is another curious relic of antiquity, King Arthur’s Round Table* a circular area above twenty yards in diameter, surrounded by a fosse and mound ; with two approaches opposite each other conducting to tho area. As the
* “ He pass’d red Penrith’s Table Round,
For feats of chivalry renown’d :
Left Mayhorough’s mound, and stones of power ]3y Druids raised in magic hour,
And traced the Eamont’s winding way,
Till Ullo’s lake beneath him lay.”
Bridal of Tricrmaiu.8 s
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
fosse is on the inner side, it could not be intonded for the purpose of defence, and it has reasonably been conjectured that the enclosure was designed for the exercise of the feats of chivalry, and tho embankment around for the convenience of the spectators. Higher up the river Earnont is Mayborough, an area of nearly 100 yards in diameter, surrounded by a mound, composed of pebble stones elevated several feet. In the centre of the area is a large block of unhewn stone eleven feet high, supposed to have been a place of Druidical Judicature. Six miles north-east of Penrith, on the summit of an eminence near Little Salkeld, are the finest relics of antiquity in this vicinity, called Long Meg and her daughters. They consist of a circle, 350 yards in circumference, formed of sixty-seven stones, some of them ten feet high. Seventeen paces from the southern side of the circle stands Long Meg,—a square unhewn column of red freestone, fifteen feet in circumference, and eighteon feet high. On this monument Wordsworth has composed the following sonnet:—
V
u A weight of awe, not easy to bo borne,
Fell suddenly upon my Spirit—cast From tho dread bosom of the unknown past,
When first I saw that family forlorn.
Speak Thou, whose massy strength and stature scorn The power of years—pre-eminent, and placed Apart, to overlook the circle vast—
Speak, Giant-mother ! tell it to tho Morn While she dispels the cumbrous shades of Night;
Let the Moon hear, emerging from a cloud;
At whose behest uprose on British ground That Sisterhood, in hieroglyphic roundBROUGHAM HALL.
85
Forth-sliadowing, some have deemed, the infinite,
The inviolable God, that tames the proud! ”
The poet adds in a note:—“ When I first saw this monument, as I came upon it by surprise, I might overrate its importance as an object; but though it will not bear a comparison with Stonehenge, I must say I have not seen any other relique of those darlv ages which can pretend to rival it in singularity and dignity of appearance.”
At Old Penrith, five miles north-west of Penrith, are the remains of the Roman station Brementen-racutn. A military road, twenty-one feet broad, led from it to the Roman wall.
The seats of the nobility and gentry in the neighbourhood of Penrith are very numerous. Tho more important are—Carleton ITall,(John Cowper, Esq.,)one mile south-east. Brougham Hall, (Lord Brougham,) one and a half miles south-east. Skirsgill House,
(—— Parkin, Esq.,) one mile south-west. Dale-
main, (E. W. Hasell, Esq.,) three and a half miles south-west. Lowther Castle, (the Earl of Lonsdale,) four miles south. Greystock Castlo, (Henry Howard, Esq.,) four and a half miles west northwest. Eden Hall, (Sir George Musgrave, Bart.,) four miles east. Hutton Hall, (Sir F. F. Vane, Bart.,) five miles north-west by north. Some of these, however, deserve more particular mention.
Brougham Hall, an old and picturesque building, is the seat of Henry, Lord Brougham and Yaux. It will be visited with interest, as the patrimonial inheritance and occasional residence of unquestionably the first orator of the age. It stands upon an86
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
eminence not far from the ruins of Brougham Castle, commanding extensive views of tho surrounding-country, the mountains beyond Ulleswater closing the prospect. From its situation and beautiful prospects, it has been termed “ the Windsor of the North.” Having at one time belonged to a family named Bird, it was from this circumstance sometimes called Bird’s Nest. The pleasure-grounds and shrubberies are of considerable extent and tastefully laid out. In one part is the Hermit’s Cell,— a small thatched building containing furniture fitted for, and emblematic of, a recluse. Upon the table in the centre these lines are painted:—
“ And may at last my weary age Find out the peaceful hermitage,
The hairy gown and mossy cell,
Where 1 may sit and rightly spell,
Of every star that Heaven doth shew,
And every herb that sips the dew,—
Till old experience do attain To something like prophetic strain.”
The family of Brougham, (or Burgliaiji, as it was formerly spelt,) is ancient and respectable, she manor, which bears the same name after having been long alienated, was re-acquired, and still belongs to the Broughams.
Eden IIall, the seat of the famous Border clan of the Musgraves, is a large and handsome edifice on the west bank of the river Eden, which, being bordered with trees, forms an elegant feature in the pleaaure-grounds. In tho hall there is preserved with scrupulous care an old and anciently paintedLOWTHER CASTLE.
87
glass goblet, called tlio Luclc of Edenhall, which would appear, from the following traditionary legend, to be wedded to the fortunes of its present possessors. The butler, in going to procure water at a well in the neighbourhood, (rather an unusual employment for a butler,) came suddenly upon a company of fairies, who were feasting and making merry on the green sward. In their flight they left behind this glass, and one of them returning for it, found it in the hands of the butler. Seeing that its recovery was hopeless, she flew away, singing aloud—
“ If that glass should break or fall,
Farowcll tho luck of Eden Hjdl.”
The Musgraves came to England with the Conqueror, and settled first at Musgrave in Westmorland, then at Hartley Castle in the same county, and finally at their present residence.
Lowther Castle, the seat of the Earl of Lonsdale, K. G., is seated in a noble park of GOO acres, 011 the east side of the woody vale of Lowther. It was erected by the present Earl upon the site of the old hall which had been nearly destroyed by fire, as far back as the year 1726, after the designs of the architect Smirke. The white stone of which it is built, is in pleasing contrast with tho vivid green of the park and woods. The effect of tho whole pile is strikingly grand, worthy the residence of its wealthy and powerful owner. The north front, in the castellated style of the 13tli or 14th century, is 420 feet in length. The south front is in the Gothic Cathedral style, and has the usual number of pinnacles, pointed windows, &c. So far from the88
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
diversity of the fronts being discordant, the art of the designer has made them increase each other’s effect —a circumstance not unnoticed by Wordsworth, who has a sonnet commencing—
t( 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 with the sword Of ancient honour.”—-
Surmounting tho whole is a lofty tower, from the summit of which the prospect is extremely fine—the mountains of Ilelvellyn, Seat Sandal, Saddleback, and Skiddaw, their sides probably shadowed “ By tho white mist that dwolls upon the hills,”
are distinctly visible. Tho fitting up of the interior is in a stylo of grandeur corresponding with the external appearance. Heart of oak and birch occupy in a great measure, the place of foreign woods in the furniture and carvings. The staircase, which climbs tho great central tower, is highly imposing. Many masterpieces of tho old painters hang upon tho wails, and the corridors and rooms are adorned with busts from the chisels of Chantrey, Westmacott and other sculptors. Amongst these, the bust of our liege Lady Queen Victoria, taken when she was about six or eight years of ago, will be viewed with more than ordinary interest. There is also a facsimilo of the famous Wellington shiold, carved in solid silver, after the designs of tho lato Stothard, R.A. The different compartments exhibit in a regular series, the victories which his Grace has obtained over thoLOWTHER CASTLE.
80
foes of Britian in India and tho Peninsula, but as the shield was executed before the battle of Waterloo, that crowning victory is unfortunately omitted.
The capabilities of the situation which the park afforded, had been publicly noticed by Lord Macartney, who in describing a romantic scene in the imperial park at Gehol in China, observed, that “ it reminded him of Lowther in Westmorland, which, from the extent of prospect, tho grand surrounding objects, the noble situation, the diversities of surface, the extensive woods and command of water, might bo rendered by a man of sense, spirit, and taste, tho finest scene in the British dominions.” How far his Lordship’s views have been realized the visitor will judge. Tho park has been much admired for tho profusion of fine forest trees which embellish its banks and braes. It is watered by the Lowther, tho pellucid clearness of which, fully justifies its supposed etymological derivation. The grey and tree-crowned crags, the transparent stream and the graceful windings of its course, add greatly to the charms of its scenery. One portion bears the name of the Elysian fields. Near tho Castle there is a largo grassy terrace shaded by fine trees, from which the prospect is most charming.*
The Lowther family is of great antiquity, the
* In the dedicatory sonnet addressed by Wordsworth to the Earl of Lonsdale, and prefixed to the Excursion, arc these lines, which may be appropriately quoted hero—
“ Oft through thy fair domains, illustrious Peer In youth I roam’d, on youthful pleasures bent;
And mused in rocky cell or sylvan tent llcsidc swift-flowing Lowther’s current clear.”90
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
names of William de Lowther and Thomas do Low-tlier, being subscribed as witnesses to a grant of lands in the reign of Henry II. The family name is doubtless derived from the river, the word being British, and signifying clear water. Sir Hugh de Lowther was Attorney-General to Edward III., and afterwards one of his Justices itinerant. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Richard Lowther, Knt., held the office of Lord Warden of the West Marches, and when Queen Mary fled into England, and arrived at Workington, 1568, he conveyed her by the direction of Elizabeth, to Carlisle Castle. Sir John Lowther, first Viscount Lonsdale, distinguished himself by influencing the counties of Westmorland and Cumberland, in favour of King William at the memorable era of 1688 ; in return for which service, that king created him a Viscount and conferred upon him many other honours. Sir James Lowther, first Earl of Lonsdale, succeeded to the throe groat inheritances of Mauds Meaburn, Lowther, and Whitehaven, which came to him by different branches of the family. When a commoner, he was thirty years M.P. for Westmorland or Cumberland, and in 1761 was returned for both counties. He was also Lord Lieutenant of the two counties, an alderman of Carlisle, and succeeded to the two millions left by his kinsman, Sir James Lowther of Whitehaven, 1755. Of his immense wealth, the distribution of which by will was said to give universal satisfaction, “ a small portion in gold,” £50,000, was found in his houses.
Upon the death of the late Earl the earldom became extinct, but that of viscount descended to Sirl’.dt’iIIIalll
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William Lowtlier of Swillington, Bart., wlio in 1807 was created an Earl. Pie still enjoys the titles, and is as univorsally beloved as his cousin the last peer was the reverse.
Tourists whilst at Penrith will not fail to visit tho romantic lake of
ULLESWATER,
and those who can bear tho fatigue of lengthened excursions, will be gratified by a ride to Ilawes Water.
The former lake is generally viewed by tourists when travelling between Ambleside and Penrith, as the road between the two places passes along its northern shore. As, however, it is a general rule that lake scenery in order to be seen to advantage should be visited in a direction opposite to that in which the waters flow, it would be better to invert this order of approach. Two roads conduct from Penrith to Pooley Bridge, at the foot of the lake about six miles distant, both of which lead through a country abounding in picturesque scenery. One leaves the Keswick road two miles and a half from Penrith, and passing through Mr. Hasell’s park at Dalemain, roaches Ulleswater, three-quarters of a mile above Pooley Bridge. The other road leads along the Sliap road to Eamont Bridge, shortly before reaching which, Carleton Hall is seen on the left. After crossing the bridge, by which Westmorland is entered, the first road on the right must be taken. In the angle of the field on92
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
the loft at this deviation, is King Arthur’s Round Table, and a little beyond on the right is May-* borough, both of which antique remains have been previously noticed. At Yanwath, two and a half miles from Penrith, there are tho ruins of an ancient hall, formerly one of the “ noble houses” of Sir Lancelot Tlirelkeld. Tho road, passing through Tirrel and Barton, ultimately arrives at Pooley Bridge, six miles from Penrith. The Eamont is crossed by a stone bridge upon issuing from Ulleswater. There are two small inns, at which boats upon tho lake may bo procured. On the west of the village is a steep and conical hill, clothed with wood called Dun-mallet, upon which there were formerly tho vestiges of a Roman fortification. Winding walks lead to tho summit, from which a fino view of the lako is commanded. About half a mile from Pooley, on the east side of the lake, is a villa named Eusemero, which for some time was the residence of tho late William Wilberforce. From Pooley Bridge to Patterdale, a distance of ten miles, tho road traverses tho west margin of Ulleswater; tho lake itself is nine miles in length, and is partitioned by the mountains into three separate chambers, or reaches, as they are locally termed, no two of which can be seen at once from any point near the margin ; its extreme width is about three quarters of a mile. Tho first reach, commencing at tho foot, is terminated on the left by Hallin Fell, which stretches forward to a promontory, from tho opposite side called Skelley Neb, upon which stands Mr. Marshall’s house, Halsteads ; tho middle, and longest reach is closed in by Birk Fell on tho left,ULLESWATEK.
93
and on the right by Stybarrow Crag, far away above which, “ the dark brow of tlio mighty Helvellyn, rises into thin air; the little island, called House Holm, spots the water exactly at the termination of this section of the lake. The highest reach is the smallest and narrowest, but the mingled grandeur and beauty which surround it, are beyond the power of the liveliest imagination to depict; four or five islands dimple the surface, and by their diminutive size impress more deeply upon the beholder the vastness of the hills which tower above them; Stybarrow Crag, and other offshoots from Helvellyn on one side, Birk Fell and Place Fell on the other, springing from the lake’s margin almost at one bound, shut in this terrestrial paradise.
c< Abrupt and sheer the mountains sink At once upon the level brink.”
Leaving Pooley Bridge by the high road, “VVaterfoot is passed on the right about a mile from the bridge, and llampsbeck Lodge, on the left, about two miles from the same place ; a little further is the village of Watermillock. So far the lake has lain amongst somewhat tame scenery,but heropromise is given of its coming grandeur. Halsteads, the seat of John Marshall, Esq., is seen on the left,—the grounds circling which are beautifully laid out. The wood at the foot of Ilallin Fell, on the other shore, has a pleasing effect. A mile from Halsteads, Gowbarrow Park is entered; this park, which contains upwards of a thousand acres, must attract the attention of the most careless observer, by its “ grace of forest charms decayed,” and in-94
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
numerable sylvan groups of great beauty still remain, round which herds of deer will be seen bounding. It belongs to Henry Howard, Esq. of Groystock Castle, to whom it was devised by the late Duke of Norfolk, his uncle. The Duke’s predecessor erected upon an eminence in the park a hunting-box in the castellated style, which is called Lyulph’s Tower ; it commands a splendid view of the lake. About five and a half miles from Pooley Bridge, a stream is crossed by a small bridge, a mile above which, in a rocky dell, is a waterfall of considerable volume, called Airey Force. The banks of the stream, which are thickly sown with trees, become exceedingly precipitous as the cascade is approached. Two wooden bridges are thrown across the stream, one above, the other below, the fall. Glencoin Beck, issuing from Linking Dalo Head, runs under tho road a mile beyond Airey bridge, and forms the line of demarcation between Cumberland and Westmorland. The highest roach of the lake is now unfolded to the view. The road soon afterwards passes under Stybarrow Crag, at which point it has been much widened,—formerly it was a narrow path between the steep mountain and the water’s edge. An ancestor of the Mounseys of Goldrill Cottage acquired the title of King of Patter-dale, from having successfully repulsed a body of Scotch moss-troopers at this place, with the aid of a few villagers. His residence was at that timo Patter-dale Hall, but a few years ago the patrimonial estate was sold to Mr. Marshall of Leeds. The brook from Glenridding is then crossed. Helvellyn may be ascended from this valley, for which purpose aULLESWATER.
95
guide should be obtained at Patterdalc. The path to the summit lies for a considerable distance by the side of Glenridding Beck. On the left is Glen-ridding House, Rev. Mr. Askew; Patterdale Hall is passed on the right, and the village of Patterdale is soon afterwards reached. The Churchyard, in which lie interred the remains of the unfortunate Charles Gough, contains a yew-tree of remarkable size. At the Inn, where there is excellent accommodation, guides may he had to any of the mountains in the vicinity, and boats procured for excursions upon the lake. A few days might be pleasantly spent at this place, in investigating the hidden beauties of the neighbourhood. There are innumerable nooks and shy recesses in the dells and by the lake,
“ Where flow’rets blow, and whispering Naiads dwell”*
which the leisurely wanderer has only to see in order to admire. An afternoon might be advantageously employed in visiting the islands, of which there are four: IIouso Ilolm, standing at the mouth of the highest reach, Moss Holm, Middle Holm, and Cherry Holm. Place Pell Quarry, half a mile from the inn, is a good station for viewing the lake; and the walk to Blowick, two farm-houses under Place Fell, affords many charming prospects. A ramble of five or six miles may be taken into the retired valley of Martindale; nor would the hardy pedestrian have much difficulty in making his way over the fells to II awes Water. The summits of Ilelvellyn and
* Hartley Coleridge.96
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
High Street might be visited; both of which will repay the visitor for the toil he must necessarily incur, by the extensive views they command. The latter stands at the head of Kentmere :—its name, a strange one for a mountain, it acquired from tho road which the Romans constructed over it. The traces of this road are yet visible. Its height is 2700 feet.
Amhleside is ten miles from Patterdale, the road leading over the steep pass of Ivirkstone. A small inn, bearing the sign of “ The Traveller’s Rest,” has lately been erected on the highest part of the pass, breaking in, with its mean associations, upon the solemn feelings which the surrounding solitude is calculated to inspire. In descending, Windermere and the valley of Amhleside, are spread out liko a map before the spectator.
HAWES WATER,
three miles long by half a mile broad, lies embosomed in lofty mountains, thirteen and a half miles north of Penrith. It is the property of the Earl of Lonsdale. The road best adapted for carriages is that by way of Sliap; but the nearest and most picturesque road is that by way of Yanwatli, Askham, Helton, and Hampton. The latter road quits the Penrith and Pooley Bridge road at Yanwath; after leaving that village, it crosses what was formerly Tirrel and Yanwath Moor, to Askham, five miles from Penrith, Helton is rather more than a mile beyond, and Bampton is nearly four miles further. The gram-KARL LOFTS.
97
mar school at this village has been long in great repute. The present master, who is uncle to the Bishop of Lichfield, has been the teacher upwards of sixty years. Shap, a straggling village on the mail road between Kendal and Penrith, is five miles distant. The road passes near the ruins of Shap Abbey, lying on the banks of the Lowther, now bare, hut once occupied by a thick forest. This abbey, anciently called Heppe, was founded by Thomas, the son of Gospatrick, for monks of the Premonstraten-sian order, about the year 1150. It was dedicated to St. Magdalen. Upon the dissolution, the abbey and manor wore granted to Thomas Lord Wharton, from whose descendant, the Duke .of Wharton,* an ancestor of the Earl of Lonsdale purchased them. The only part left standing is the church tower. From the vestiges of buildings yet visible, the abbey appears to have been extensive. In the vicinity of Shap are two of those rude structures to which no certain date can be assigned, and which are therefore usually referred to the primitive times of the Druids. Karl Lofts, the name of one, consists of two
* Upon this nobleman, in whom tho Dukedom of Wharton became extinct, Popo has conferred an unenviable immortality.
“ Wharton, the scorn and wonder of our days,
Whose ruling passion was the love of praise—
* * * *
Dorn with wliate’cr could win it from tho wise,
Women and fools must like him or he dies —
Grown all to all from no one vice exempt,
.And most contemptible to shun contempt;
His passion still to covet general praise,
His life to forfeit it a thousand ways,—
He dios, sad outcast of each church and state,
And harder still! flagitious, yet not great.*’
G08
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
parallel lines of unhewn masses of granite, half a mile long by sixty or seventy feet broad, terminating at the south extremity in a small circle of similar blocks. Many of the granitic blocks have been barbarously carried off for building purposes, or some other “ base use.” At a place called Gunnerskeld Bottom there is a circle of large stones, thought to be a sepulchral cairn.
Returning to Bampton, the foot of Hawes Water is reached, a mile and a half beyond that village. The wild wood of Naddlo Forest beautifully feathers the steeps of the east shore. Rather more than a mile from the foot of the lake, Fordendale brook is crossed near a few houses, called Measand Becks. The brook makes some pretty falls on the mountain side. A broad promontoiy enters the lake at this place, and approaches within 200 or 300 yards of the other margin. The mountains surrounding the head of this lake present a magnificent contour. They consist of High Street and Kidsay Pike, with their nameless dependencies. The little chapel of Mardale stands close to tho road about a mile above tho lake, and over against it is a neat white house, called Chapel Hill, the residence of a yeoman named Ilolme. Tho ancestor of this family came originally from Stockholm, and landed in England in the train of the Conqueror. Ho was rewarded with an estate in Northamptonshire, where the family were seated until the reign of King John, at which period, its head flying from his enemies, concealed himself in a cavity (to this day called Hugh’s cave) in one of the hill sides. The estate on whichMARDALE GREEN.
99
his descendant resides was purchased by the fugitive. Having wound round a rocky screen, a few houses, called collectively Mardale Green, (amongst which there is a small inn,) are seen thinly sown over the floor of the narrow valley. Harter Fell closes in this level area on the south—lofty mountains rise on the east and west, and contribute to make this as perfect a solitude as can well be conceived. The pedestrian will find a road over the pass of Gates-carth, which reaches Kendal by the vale of Long-sleddale, fifteen miles from Mardale Green. From Mardale tho rambler might ascend High Street, or cross the Martindale Fells to Patterdale, at tho head of Ulleswater.HiiiSiiiiiSQI
C 100 ]
MOUNTAINS.
The mountains best known and most usually ascended by tourists are—Scawfcll, Hclvellyn, Skid-daw, Coniston Old Man, and Langdale Pikes. Guides can be procured at any of the neighbouring inns, who, for a moderate compensation, will conduct strangers to the summit hy the least circuitous path; and being generally intelligent persons, will point out and name those objects most worthy of notice, which are visible on the ascent or from the highest point. Pine clear days should be selected for an expedition of this kind, as well for the advantage of having an extensive prospect, as for safety. Mists and wreaths of vapour, capping tho summits of mountains, or creeping along their sides, are beautiful objects when viewed from tho lowly valley; but when the wanderer becomes surrounded with them on the hills, they occasion anything but agreeable sensations, and have not unfrequently led to serious accidents. A pocket compass will be found useful in discovering tho tourist’s position with reference to the surrounding scenery, and a telescope in bringing within view the more distant parts of it. A flask containing brandy, which may be diluted atSCAWrELr.
101
the springs on the way, will be found no unnecessary burden. With these preliminary observations, we shall proceed to describe the mountains we have named above.
SCAWFELL.
The aggregation of mountains, called collectively Scawfell, which stand at the head of Wastdale, form four several summits bearing separate names. The most southerly of the four is Scawfell, (3100 feet) ; the next is Scawfell Pikes, (3160 feet) ; Lingmell, of considerably inferior elevation, is more to the west, forming a sort of buttress for tho support of the loftier heights; and Great End is the advanced guard on the north, having its aspect towards Borrowdale. The whole mass is composed of a species of hard dark slate. The Pikes, being the highest summit in England, is most commonly the object of the stranger’s ambition; some confusion has, however, been caused by the similarity of names, and the lower elevation of Scawfell been attained, where that of Scawfell Pikes was desired. Since the trigonometrical survey, a pilo of stones, surmounted by a staff, has been placed on the latter mountain summit; such mistakes, therefore, need not, except through carelessness, occur in future.
The ascent of the two higher mountains may be commenced from several valleys—from Langdale, Borrowdale, or Wastdale. Of these, the station from which the ascent may most readily be made isi 02
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
Strands, at the foot of Wast Water. A boat being • taken up the lake, will land the pedestrian at the foot of Lingmell, which projects towards the water. The top of Lingmoll being almost gained, a turn must be made to the right, and that direction persevered in for three quarters of a mile. Deflections to the right and loft in succession will place tho hardy climber upon Scawfell Pikes. From Borrowdale the best course is to pursue the Wastdale road, until Sty Head Tarn is reached. Leaving this tarn on the left, and bending your way towards Sprinkling Tarn, which must also be kept on the left, a turn to the fight must shortly be made conducting to a pass called East Haws, having on the left Hanging Knott, and on the right Wastdale Broad Crag. The summit of Scawfell Pikes is in view from this place, but much exertion will be required before either will be reached. Great End will have to be ascended, and continuing along the summit-ridge, some rocky eminences will be passed on the left. A considerable descent must then be made,, and two small hollows crossed, from tho second of which the trigonometrical station on the Pikes will be reached. The two elevations of Scawfell and Scawfell Pikes, though not more than throe quarters of a mile distant from each other in a direct line, are separated by a fearful chasm, called Mickle-dore, which compels a circuit to be made of two miles in passing from one to the other. The passage by Mickle-dore, though dangerous, is not impassable, as some of the adventurous dalesmen can testify. All vegetation but that of lichens has forsaken thoSCAWFELL FIKES.
103
summits of Scawfcll Pikes and its rival. “ Cushions or tufts of moss parched and brown,” says Wordsworth with his usual poetical feeling, “ appear between the huge blocks and stones that lio on heaps on all sides to a great distanco, like skeletons or bones of the earth not needed at the creation, and there left to bo covered with never-dying lichens, which the clouds and dews nourish and adorn with colours of exquisite beauty. Plowers, the most brilliant feathers, and even gems, scarcely surpass in colouring some of those masses of stone.”
The view from the Pikes is, of course, of a most extensive description, embracing sucli a “ tumultuous waste of huge hill tops ” that the mind and eye alike become confused in the endeavour to distinguish the various objects. The mountains having lost the shapes they possessed when viewed from beneath, are only to be recognized by those acquainted with the locality of each; however, with the aid of his compass, map, and our directions, the enquiring gazer will be able to assign its name to most of them. Turning to the south, Morecambe Bay and the Lancashire coast to a great extent are seen, and on clear days tho prospect comprehends a portion of the Welsh Highlands. Scawfcll intercepts the view of Wast Water and part of the Screes. To tho left Eskdale and Miterdale are seen contributing their waters to the ocean. Furness and the Isle of Walney are visible in the samo direction, as well as Devolce Water, placed on an elevated moor, beyond which Black Combe is a prominent object. Still more to the east Wrynose, Wetherlam, Coniston Old Man, with the rest of104
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
the mountains at the head of Eskdalo, Soatlnvaite and Little Langdale are conspicuous. Bowfoll, obscuring Langdale, appears in the east, and beyond, part of the middle of Windermere. Far away, beyond, are the Yorkshire hills, with Ingleborough, the monarch of them all, plainly visible. To the left of Bowfell, Langdale Pikes are descried, and in the east the eyo rests upon Hill Bell, High Street, Wansfell, Fairfield, Seat Sandal, and Helvellyn in succession. In the north Skiddaw and Saddleback cannot be mistaken, beyond which, the blue mountains of Scotland bound the prospect. Immediately beneath the spectator he will perceive Sty Head Tarn dwindled to a little spot. Great End conceals Borrowdale, and a little to the left rises the mighty mass of Great Gable. Castle Crag, Grange Crag, and Gate Crag, shut out the greater part of Derwentwater. In the north-west are a series of hills, the principal of which arc, Causey Pike, Grize-dale Pike, Maiden-mawr, Hindscarth and Robinson. Then come the Buttermerc and Crummock mountains, with Grasmoor conspicuously visible. Nearer are the Pillar, Hay Cock, High Stile, and Red Pike. Westward the eye sinks into the depths of Wast-dale, round which are piled Kirkfell, Yewbarrow, Seat-allan, and Buckbarrow. The Irish sea bounds the whole western horizon, and over the extremity of the vale of Wast AVater the Isle of Man can be sometimes porcoivod.
HELVELLYN.
This mountain is more widely known by nameHELVELLYN.
105
than any other, partly from its easiness of access, and its proximity to a turnpike road, over which a coach passes daily within a mile and a half of the summit, and partly in connection with a melancholy accident which some years ago befell a stranger upon it, whose fate, the elegiac verses of Wordsworth and Scott have contributed to make universally lamented. It stands, the highest of a long chain of hills, at the angle formed by tho vales of Grasmere, Legberth-waite, and Pattordale, about half way between Keswick and Ambleside. From its central position and its great altitude it commands an extensive map-like view of the whole Lake district, no fewer than six lakes being visible from its summit, whilst the circumjacent mountains present themselves in fine arrangoment. Its height is 3055 feet above the level of the sea, being something more than a hundred feet lower than Scawfcll Pikes, and higher than Skiddaw by thirty-three feet. Its geological structure is slate in one part and in another a flinty porphyry.
The ascent of Ilelvellyn can be effected from several quarters. Grasmere, Legberthwaite, Wyth-burn, and Patterdale, severally afford advantageous points for the commencement of the escalade, the two latter, however, lying in diametrically opposite directions, arc the places where it is usually begun. It may be well perhaps to mention that ponies can be used for a great portion of the way if the lowland be quitted at Grasmere, a facility, of which none of the other paths will admit. The ascent from Wytli-burn, though the shortest, is the steepest. A guide106
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
can be procured at the little inn which stands near the chapel, but as the path is easily discovered without his assistance, many persons will feel inclined to dispenso with this restraint upon their motions and conversation. The path, which begins to ascend almost at the inn door, will ho pointed out by the people of the inn. A spring called Brownrigg’s Well, issuing from the ground within three hundred yards of the summit, sends out a stream, which, after rushing violently down the mountain’s side, crosses the highway 200 or 300 yards from the Horse’s Head at Wythburn. Taking this stream as a guide, the stranger need have no fear of losing his way, for Helvellyn Man is a little to the left, at the distance we have mentioned, above its source. In the ascent a small sheet of water called Ilarrop Tarn, will bo seen under Tarn Crag, a lofty precipice on the opposite side of the receding valley. The scars, seams and ravines
((the history of forgotten storms,
On the blank folds inscribed of drear Helvellyn,” *
which indent the mountain on all sides, will forcibly impress upon every beholder the possible vastness of the effects of those elements whose ordinary results are so trivial.
From Patterdale the glens of Grisedale and Glen-ridding may be either of them used as approaches to Helvellyn. The latter glen is to be preferred, as the stream flowing through it, which has its rise in the
* Hartley ColeridgeHELVELLYN.
107
lied Tarn, maybe taken as a guide up the mountain. This tarn lies GOO feet immediately below the highest elevation, fenced in 011 the south-east by a ridge of rock called Striding Edge, and on tho north-west by a similar barrier called Swirrel Edge. Catcliedecam, the termination of the latter, must be ascended, and the ridge crossed in order to attain the object of the climbers ambition. Although the path along this ridge may be somewhat startling, there is no real danger to be apprehended. Sometimes, from mistake or fool-hardiness, Striding Edge is taken, but this is at once appalling and perilous, for at ono part the path is not more than two yards broad, with a tremendous precipice on either side. It was. at this spot that Charles Gough met with the accident which caused his death.* The Edge being passed, little exertion is required to place the weary pedestrian by the side of Helvellyn Man—as the pile of stones on the sum-
* This unfortunate “ young lover of nature” attempted to cross Helvellyn from Patterdale, one day in the spring of 1005, after a fall of snow had partially concealed tho path, and rendered it dangerous. It could never be ascertained whether he was killed by liis fall, or he had perished from hunger. Three months elapsed before the body was found, attended by a faithful dog, which he had with him at the time of tho accident.
“ This dog had been through three months’ spaco A dweller in that savage place;
Yes—proof was plain, that since tho day On which tho traveller thus had died,
Tho dog had watched about the spot Or by his master’s side :
How nourish’d thero through such long time,
He knows, who gave that love sublime,
And gave that strength of feeling great Above all human estimate.”
Thus is this striking instance of brute fidelity commemorated by Wordsworth. Scott’s lines on this accident commencing, “ I climbed the dark brow of the mighty Helvellyn,” are too well known to be quoted at lengtsh. The remains of tho stranger now peacefully repos,c in the chapel yard at Patterdale.108
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
mit is called—thence to gaze on the wonderful display of mountains and lakes which every where surround him. This Man, and that on a lower elevation, to the north, form the separating landmarks between Cumberland and Westmorland. And now as to the view, and the multitudinous objects within its range. Northwards, Keppel Cove Tarn is perceived, having on tho right Catchedocam. Beyond the extremity of the tarn Saddleback rears its huge form, a little to the loft of which is Skiddaw. Between tho two, and in the north-west, a portion of tho Solway Firth is descried, and the extreme distanco is bounded by the Scottish mountains. Turning eastwards the Bed Tarn below its “ huge nameless rock,” lies between Swirrel Edge on the left and Striding Edgo on the right. Beyond is the crooked form of Ulleswater, on tho loft margin of which are Gowbarrow Park and Stybarrow Crag, whilst the right is hounded by the dwindled precipices of Place Fell, Beck Fell, and Swarth Fell. High Street and High Boll aro seen in the east over Striding Edge. Kirkstone, Fairfield, and Dolly Waggon Pike are moro to the south. A portion of Windermere is seen over the last named hill, whilst in a clear atmosphere Lancaster Castle can be descried beyond Windermere. Esthwaite water is directly south, and beyond is the sea in the Bay of Morccambe. In the south-west tho Old Man stands guarding the right shore of Coniston Lake. On the fight is the assemblage of hills termed Coniston Fells, whilst Black Combe, beheld through Wrynose Gap, lifts its dreary summit in the distance. Bowfell and Langdale PikesSKIDDAW.
109
are more to the west, having on tlio left Scaw-fell Pikes and Scawfcll, and on the right Great Gahle. The “gorgeous pavilions” of the Buttcrmere mountains are pitched in the west, amongst which the Pillar and Grasmoor are prominent. Cat Bells are visible, though Derwentwater, upon the west margin of which they stand, is hidden. Our old acquaintance Honister Crag may be seen in a hollow, a little to the left of Cat Bells. From the lower Man views of Thirlemere and Bassenthwaite Lake are commanded, both of which are concealed by a breast of the mountain from those on the highest Man.
SKIDDAW.
As this mountain stands at the head of an extensive valley, apart from the adjacent eminences, its huge bulk and great height are more strikingly apparent than those of the two former, although of inferior altitude to either of them. It is extremely easy of access, so much so, that ladies may ride on horseback from Keswick to the summit, a distance of six miles. According to the Government surveyors, its height is 3022 feet above the sea; upon one part of it granite is to bo found, but the great mass of this mountain, as well as of Saddleback, is composed of a dark schistose stone. It is seldom ascended from any other place but Keswick, at which town every thing necessary for the expedition will be furnished. The Penrith road must be pursued for half a mile, to a bridge which spans110
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
the Greta just beyond the turnpike gate. Crossing the bridge, the road passes Greta Bank, and skirts Latrigg, at an elevation sufficient to command delightful views of Keswick vale. “ This road,” says Green, “ is unequalled for scenic beauty in the environs of Keswick.” Traversing a plantation of wood, it enters another road, upon which the visitor, turning to the right, must proceed for a few yards only, as, just beyond a gate across the way, tho road to be taken turns to the left at right angles, by the side of a fence, to a hollow at the foot of the steepest hill on the ascent, having on the right a deep ravine, down which a transparent stream is seen falling. The path then holds along for about a mile by the side of a wall, which it crosses, and proceeds in a direct line forward, whilst the wall diverges to the right. A large and barren plain, called Skiddaw Forest, in the middle of which there is a spring of beautifully clear water, is then traversed for a mile, leaving a double-pointed elevation, called Skiddaw Low Man, the highest summit on the left; Skiddaw Man, will then be ascended.
Many persons prefer tho views which they obtain during the ascent to that from the summit, and reasonably so, if beauty of scenery bo sought for. A view will always be indistinct in proportion as it is extensive. Nothing can exceed the charming appearance of the valley and town of Keswick, of Derwentwater and its surrounding eminences, when beheld from the mountain’s side; the lake especially, with its bays and islands, is nowhere seen to such advantage. In consequence of Skiddaw being ex-DALF.HEAD.
Ill
posed to tho blasts of the west wind from the Irish Channel, the visitor will not be inclined, from the intense cold, to stay long on the summit; we shall therefore proceed to run over hastily tho names of the principal objects which are visible from that elevated position. In the north, beyond the lowlands of Cumberland, in which Carlisle and its cathedral are perceived, the Solway Frith is seen, on tho further side of which the Scottish mountains are displayed in fine arrangement. Criffell is seen over Skiddaw Far Man, and the Moffat and Cheviot hills stretch away to the right. Dumfries is visible at the mouth of the frith. In the north-west, over High Pike and Long Brow, the vale and to\<-n of Penrith are beheld, with Cross Fell (2901 feet) beyond. Directly east is the rival summit of Saddleback, separated by the tract called Skiddaw Forest from the mountain on which the spectator is standing. Helvellyn is in the south-east; beyond, Ingleborough in Yorkshire is dimly descried. Between Helvellyn and Saddleback, Place Fell, at the head of Ulleswater, and High Street are visible. When the atmosphere is clear, ] .ancaster Castle may be seen in the southeast. Derwentwater is not comprehended in the view from the highest man, being concealed by some of the other eminences of Skiddaw, but from the third man a perfect bird’s-eye prospect of that lake is obtained. In the south “ there is a succession of five several ranges of mountain seen out-topping each other, from a stripe of the lovely valley to the highest of tho Pikes. Grisedale in one grand line stretches from the inclosures at Braithwaite to its112
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
Pike, succeeded in the second range hy Barrow Stile End, and Uttersidc. Rising from the fields of New-lands, the third range commences with Rolling End, ascending from which are Causey Pike, Scar Crag, Top Sail, 111 Crags, and Grasmoor,—the latter lessening tho Pike of Grisedale by appearing over its top. The fourth line in this wild combination is composed of Cat Bells, Maiden-moor, Dalehead, Ilindsgarth, Robinson, High Crag, High Stile, and Red Pike. The fifth and last is that sublime chain of summits, extending on the south from Coniston, to Ennerdalo on tho north ; amongst these the High Pike or Man, standing towering over the rest, has on tho left Great End, Hanging Knott, Bow Fell, and the Fells of Coniston; on the right Lingmell Crags, Great Gable, Kirk Fell, Black Sail, the Pillar, the Steeple, and the Hay Cock, with Yew-barrow and part of the Screes through the pass at Black Sail. On the right of Grisedale Pike and Hobcarten Crag is Low Fell, succeeded by Wliin-field Fell, over wliicli, in a clear atmosphere, may be observed more than the northern half of the Isle of Man; and on a mistless sunny evening, even Ireland may be seen. The north-west end or foot of Bas-senthwaito Water is here seen, tho head being obscured by Long Side.”* Workington can be seen at the mouth of the Derwent in the west, and more to the north the coast towns of Maryport and Allonby. Tho town and castle of Cockermoutli are perceived over the extremity of Basscnthwaito Lake, seated
* Green’s Guide.CONISTON OLD MAN.
113
on tho Cocker. Such is an outline of this wonderful panorama, which may be fitly closed with Wordsworth’s fine sonnet:—
u Pelion and Ossa flourish side by side,
Together in immortal books enroll’d;
His ancient dower Olympus hath not sold,
And that aspiring hill, which did divide Into two ample horns his forehead wide,
Shines with poetic radiance as of old;
While not an English mountain we behold By the celestial Muses glorified.
Yet round our sea-girt shore they rise in crowds;
What was the great Parnassus’ self to thee,
Mount Skiddaw ? In his natural sovereignty,
Our British hill is nobler far, he shrouds His double front among Atlantic clouds,
And pours forth streams more sweet than Castaly.”
CONISTON OLD MAN.
This mountain stands at tho north-west angle of Coniston Lake, from the eastern shore of which it presents a magnificent appearance. It is 2577 feet in height, forming tho highest peak of the range called Coniston Fells. It is composed of a fine roofing slate, for the excavation of which there are several large quarries. The slates are carried down the lake hy means of boats, and, at its termination, are carted to Ulverston. There are also some valuable copper-mines upon this mountain, belonging to Lady le Fleming of Rydal, who is Lady of the Manor. There are three tarns upon the Old Man, called Levers Water, Low Water, and Gates Water. The first lies between that mountain and Wether-
H111.
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
lam, a stupendous liill on the north; and the last is placed at the foot of Dow Crag. Low Water, notwithstanding its name, is the highest.
The most eligible mode of ascending tho Old Man is to leave the village of Coniston by the Walna Scar road, and, pursuing the way along the common for a few hundred yards, to take a path which will be seen to climb tho mountain side on the right. This path leads directly up to the Man, finely built on the edge of a precipice overhanging Low Water. There is a fine open view to the south, embracing the estuaries of the Kent, Levon, and Duddon, a long lino of coast, and, in serene weather, the Isle of Man. Snowdon may be distinguished on a very clear day. It appears a little to the left of Black Combe, over Milium Park. In the homo views the eye will be attracted by Coniston Lake, the whole length of which is immediately below tho spectator. A part of Windermere can be seen more to tho east. On other sides the Old Man is surrounded by high mountains, which wear an aspect of imposing grandeur from this elevation. Scawfell and Bow-fell are particularly fine, and the apex of SkidJaw can be discerned in the distance.
LANGDALE PIKES.
The two peculiarly shaped hills, which stand at the head of the valley of Great Langdale, though known by the general name of Langdale Pikes, have separate names. The most southerly is termed Pike o’LANGDALE PIKES.
115
Stickle, and is lower by 100 feet than Harrison Stickle, which is 2400 feet in height. They are of a porpliyritic structure, and, on account of their steepness, are somewhat difficult to ascend. They are conspicuous objects from the upper end of Windermere, and from the road leading from Kendal to Ambleside. They are usually ascended during the Langdale excursion, (as to which see page 26,) but pedestrians would have no difficulty in making the ascent from the Stake, or from Grasmere through Easdale. The easiest mode, however, is that from Langdale. A guide can be procured at Milbecks, where Tourists commonly take some refreshment. The path pursues a peat road leading to Stickle Tarn, well known to the angler for its fine trout, which lies under a lofty ridge of rock called Pavcy Ark. This tarn must be left on the right, and a streamlet which runs down the hill side taken as a guide. The path becomes at this part exceedingly steep, but a little patient exertion will soon place the Tourist on the summit of Harrison Stickle. Though of considerably inferior elevation to the other mountains we have described, the views from this spot are extremely fine. Looking eastward, Helvellyn, Seat Sandal, and Fairfield bound the prospect ; and, in the north-west and north, Skiddaw and Saddleback are seen in the distance. Stickle Tarn is immediately below the eye, guarded by the frowning heights of Pavey Ark. In the south-east are the hills around the valley of Ambleside, beyond those at the head of Troutbeck and Kentmere. In turning to the south, the eye is attracted by theGUIDE TO THE LAKES.
valley of Great Langdale, containing El ter water and Loughrigg Tarn, and terminated by Winder-mere, with Curwon’s Isle and the other islands diversifying its smooth surface. Loughrigg Fell conceals a portion of the head of the lake as well as the town of Amhleside. Underbarrow Scar, near Kendal, is seen over Bowness. Esthwaite Water is seen in the south-south-east, and close at hand, towards the right, is tho bluff summit of Wetherlam End. A small part of the sea is embraced in the view in this direction. Through an opening, having on the left Pike o’ Bliscoe, and on the right Crinkle Crags, Gatescale is presented in the north. The Old Man and the Great Carrs shut in the prospect in the south-west.ITINERARY.
1. ULVERSTON—CONISTON LAKE-AMBLES1DE.—24 Milbs.
ON RIGHT FROM ULVKRST.
Penny Bridge, J. P. Mftcholf Esq.
Bridgo Field, Josoph Penny, Esq.
Tho oxtenslvo Iron forgo of Messrs. Harrison, Alnsllo, and Co.
Two promontories extend Into tho lake noar Its foot, which have a most picturesque effect. One is terminated by steep rocks, and both become insulated whon the lake *“ swollen.
Brantwood, Mrs. Copley, on tho left.
Coniston Bank, Wm. Brad shaw, Esq., on tho loft.
Tent Lodge, formerly the rosldonco of Miss Elizabeth Smith, a lady of ox-traordinary acquirements.
Waterhead House, James Marshall, Esq.
This Inn is pleasingly situate „.i tho margin of tho lake; boats, post-horses, and guides, can be supplied. A few days might bo spent agreeably here,
the excursions In the vicinity are numerous. Tho Old Man is in tho immediate neighbourhood ; its ascent, though a work of toil, would highly gratify the Tourist. A walk into tho narrow valloys of Yewdalo and TUborthwalte, will afford many grand scenes. Nowfleld,in tho retired vale of Scathwaito, can be reached by tho Walnn Scar road, which passes through Church Coniston, and under the Old Man. This road, which is very mountainous and rough, is six miles in length.
Blolham Tarn.
Pull Wyke, a hay of Wlnder-lerc, here makes an advance. Fansfell Holm, G. Warden, Isq., Dove Neat, and Low Food Inn, aro pleasing objects n tho opposito shore. Wans-; ■11 Pike (1590 feet) rises above,
Brathay Hall.
As tho road winds round the xtremlty of Loughrlgg Fell, he mountains surrounding tho alley of Amblosldo aro strik ugly unfolded.
18}
ULVERSTON.
On the shore of tho Levon ASstuary to Penny Bridge.
Along the loft hank of the Crako to cr. Lowick Bridgo.
Along tho right bank of tho Crake to
Nibthwaito, near the foot of
8*
CONISTON LAKE.
Along tho cast shoro of which tho road passes to
Waterhead Inn.
To Coniston Vill. 1 mile.
To Hawkslicad, 3 miles.
To Bowness, 8 miles.
On quitting Waterhead Inn, the road winds round tho grounds of Waterhead House, and is on the ascent for some distance. Tho lake presents a striking retrospect from tho summit of the ascent.
Borwiclc Ground.
Road to the Ferry.
cr. Brathay Bridgo. enter Westmorland. Clappcrsgato Vill. cr. Rothay Bridge. AMBLESIDE.
153
174
194
204
ON LEFT FROM ULVBKST.
Tho Crako issues from Coniston Lake, and enters tho Leven near Penny Bridge.
Hero arc the remains of a fine old hall, part of which is occupied by a farmer.
Water Park, Benson Harrison, Esq. Fine view of the mountains round tho head of tho lako.
From an eminenco near tho highest promontory, a beautiful view of the lake may bo obtained. On tho opposite shore, aro tho dark Fells of Torvcr. Further up, Coniston Hall, surrounded with trees, is descried. This hall has changed owners but twice sinco the Conquest, most of which time it lias belonged to the Flemings. Beyond aro the towering Fells of Coniston. Just below, is the rocky islet, Peel.
This lako, called also Thurston Water, is six miles long, and nearly three-quarters of a mile broad, its depth is stated to bo 102 l’cct. Its margin is very regular, having few indentations of any magnitude. ‘Two small islands are situate near tho eastern shore. Its principal feeders are the streams from Yewdalo and Tllberth-walte, and those running from the tarns on tho Man Mountain. It abounds with trout and char; tho latter flsh thought to bo found in greater perfection here than elsewhere. Tlio scenery at the foot is tame, but thatat the upper extremity is of tho grandest description. Tho Old Man, (2577 feet,) and Wothorlam, (2400 foet) aro extremely majestic. The greatest
Iiortiou of tho lako belongs to .ady lo Fleming of Ilydal Hall, who has some valuable copper mines upon tho Old Man.
Flno vlow of the Rydal and Amblesido Mountains.
Loughrlgg Fell is before the eye.
Croft Lodge, James Brancker, Esq.118
II. KENDAL—BOWNESS—H AWKS HE AD—CONISTON.—IB AIii.es.
Kendal must he loft by the road over tho House of Correction hill.
I Bowness village, iialf-a-mlle to the right.
In crossing, the views up tho lake, and of tho mountains round tho head, are extremely lino.
Looking down, Rummer» How, on tho east margin, is conspicuous.
Bowness, with its church, school, and villas, is a pretty object.
Bello Isle on the right. Stran-gors are allowed to land. Itcon-tains upwards of thirty acres, Mr. Curwen’s houso, of a circular shape, is upon it.
From tho summit of tho ascent from tho Ferry, Inglo-borough is visiblo.
The Old Man is in sight.
This lake is two miles In length, and one-third of a mile in breadth. Tho scenery around it is pleasing, but destitute of any features of gramiour. A peninsula swells from tho wcBt shoro, and pleasantly relieves the monotonous regularity of tho margin. The stream which issues from it, is eallcdthe Oun-sev; it enters Windermere * mile and a half below tho Ferry. Many handsome villas enliven the banks of tho lake. In a pond near tho head, is a dlminuttvo floating island, having upon it several small trees.
At tho termination of tho ascent, tho lake and vale of Coniston, hemmod in by magnificent mountains, break upon tho eye with almost theatrical surprise.
Watorhead House, Marshall, Esq., on the left.
Coniston Village lies immediately under the Man mountain, half a mile from the western margin of tho lake. It haa, two small inns.
KENDAL.
Turnpike Gate.
Ovor moorish and hilly ground to Crook vill. First view of Windermere.
FERRY.
Between the two promon torics, the lake is only 400 yards across. The Ferry boats are kept on tho Lancashire side.
Ferry Inn. Enter Lancashire.
Sawrcy vill. along the east shoro of ESTHWAITE LAKE, and round its head to
HAWKSHEAD.
Inn, Rod Lion.
To Amblesidc, 5 miles. To Newby Bridge, 0 inilos. To Ulverston, 16 miles.
Ovor elevated ground to I Coniston Watorhead Inn, a better Inn, and more pleasantly situated than those at Coniston village,
CONISTON VILL.
St. Thomas’ Church.
Keep to tho loft; tho road on the right is to Amblesidc.
Furness Fells In tho distant foreground.
Storr’s Hall, Mrs. Bolton.
Berkshire Isle, and a little beyond, the Storr’s Point pro ‘ jects. At the Ferry Inn, on quire for the Station House, whence there is a splendid view of tho lake.
This vngrant owl hath learn’d his cheer On tho banks of Windermere ; Where a band of them make merry,
Mocking tho man that keeps tho Ferry,
Hallooing from an open throat, Like travellers shouting for a boat,”—
W’iwls worth’s Waggoner.
Langdalo Pikes arc visible: on the right is tho Pass of l)un-mail Raise, to the east of which are Holvellyn, Sent Sandal, and Fairfield. The apex of Skid-daw is seen through Dunmail Raise gap.
Hawkshcad is a small but ancient mnrkot-town at tho head of tho valley of Estliwaito. Tho old hall where the Abbots of Furness held their Courts, is a llum-housc, lying about a mllo distant. St. Michael’s Cliureli, a structure of great antiquity, is placed on a rocky eminence Immediately over tho town, commanding fine views of tho adjacent country.
—“ tho grassy churchyard hangs Upon a slopo ab«vo tho villago school.”
This school was founded in 15(15, by Archbishop Sundys, member of nn ancient family still seated in the neighbourhood, The poet Wordsworth, and his brother, tho present Master of TrlnityCollege,Cambridge, wore educated here. In tho verses of tho formor, allusion is frequently made to “ Tho antique market village* where were passed My school-days.”
From Coniston village, or the Inn at Waterhead, a mountain road, flvo and a half miles In length, passes through Tilbcrthwalte, between Oxen Fell Cross on tho right, and Wetherlam on the left, and Joins tho Little Langdalo road at Follfoot. The pedestrian might proceed by way of Blca Tarn into Great Langdalo. Another road, five miles in length, passing through Vowdale, and climbing the moor on tho east of Oxen Foil, enters tho road loading from Amblosido to Littlo Langdalo, half a milo above Skelwlth Bridge. _ . ,
A pleasing excursion round the lake might be made by Tourists staying at tho Watorhcnd Inn. Coniston village, one milo ; Coniston Hall, formerly a soat of the Flemings of Rydal, but now a farm-house, two miles; on tho loft, some elevated fells ate then interposed between the road and lake. Torvcr village, three anil a half miles. A little boyond Torver Church, turn to the left, the road crosses the rivulet flowing from Guteswater, which lies at tho foot of Dow-Crng on the Old Man, and approaches the lake at Oxen Houses, flvo ami a half miles. A short distance from tho foot, Bowdray Bridge over tho Crake, eight and a half miles. Nlbthwaito villngc, nine miles, by the east murgin to Waterhead Inn, 17 miles.119
III KENDAL TO AMBLESIDE.—14 MlJ.ES.
ON RIGHT FROM KENDAL.
Kendal must bo left by the road over tho House of Correction Hill.
St Thomas’ Church.
Keep to tho right.
Obelisk. Tolson Hall, Mr Bateman;
The valley ofKcntmcro diver, gcs to tho right. It is five or six miles long, and pent in by tho hugo mountains of Hill Hell, (24:«5 feet.) High Street, (2700 foot,) and Harter Fell. Tho remains of a Roman road, tho highest in England, aro still to be traced upon the two former. At Kentmcro Hall, a ruined pocl-tower, now occupied as * form houso, Bernard Gilpin “ tho Apostle of the North,’ was born 1617.
Tho pedestrian, after as-ccnding High Street, which commands an extensive prospect, might descend to Haws Water, or lntoMartindnlc, proceeding thonco to Patterdalo.
Orrost Head, John Braltli-vnite, Esq. A mile beyond is Slleray, belonging to Professor Wilson, but occupied by I. lamllton, Esq., the nuthor of lyrll Thornton. Tho view from .ho front of the houso is very ine.
Tho Wood, Mr Pennington. St Catherines, Earl of Bradford.
Road along tho banks of tho ircam to Troutbeck vill, ono ltd a half miles distant.
At the turn of tho road, a little ayond the eleventh milestone, lie mountains round Amble-,de vale open out in n boantl 11 manner.
An excellent establishment n tho margin of tho lake boro is a fine expanse of water isiblo from tho windows. Tho jurist will find employment .r many days in rambling bout the adjacent country, or oatlng upon tho lake.
Wansfell Holm, Goo. War-
Wntorend Houso, MrThoa. ackson.
75
KENDAL. Toll bar.
Staveley vill.
Watered by tho Kent, upon which there aro several bobbin, and woollon mills.
From the road between tho fourth and fifth milestones Coniston Fells aro visible.
Ings Chapel.
Bannerigg Head. Orrest llead.
Road on tho left to Bowness, two miles.
Cook’s House.
Road on the left to Bowness. On tho right a road leads through Troutbeck, over Kirkstone, and descends to Ulleswater.
cr. Troutbeck Bridge.
On tho margin of Winder-mero,
Low Wood Inn.
To Bowness, 4 miles.
To Hawkshead by tho Ferry, 9 miles.
To Newby Bridge, 12 miles.
Toll bar; head of tho Lake.
ambleside.
InnSjSalutation&Commcrclal
ON LEFT FROM KENDAL.
Fine views on tho right of the valley of Kendal. Shnpand Howgill Fells in tho distance. Road on tho left to Bowness, 0 miles from Kendal.
Ings Chapol was eroctcd at the expense of Richard Bateman, a Leghorn merchant. He was a native of tho township; and, being a clever lad, he was sent by the inhabitants to London. Ho rose by diligence and industry, ft-om the situation oi a menial servant to be his master’s partner, and amassed considerable fortune. For some years ho resided at Leghorn, whence he forwarded tho slalis of marble with which the chapel is floored. His story is alluded to in Wordswortil’s
Michaelbut his tragical end is not told. Tho captain of tho vessel in which he was sailing to England, poisoned him, and seized tho ship and cargo.
First view of Windermere. From this eminence, and hence to tho lake, splendid views of the mountains in the weflt are commanded. Lang-dale Pikes, from their peculiar shape, are easily known. Bow-fell, a broad topped mountain, is on the south. Between tho two,Great End and Great Gnblo arc seen. On tho south of Bow-fell, Scawfell Pike may be seen in clear weather. Farther south arc Crinkle Crags, Wrynose, Wetherlam and Coniston Old Man. To the south east of Long, dale Pikes, in tho foreground, is Loughrigg Fell; farther back, aro Fairfield and Scandale.
Calgarth Park, built by tho eminent Bishop Watson.
This portion of tho routo is eminently beautiful.
Loughrigg Fell is seen on tho opposite shore. At its foot, Brathay Hall, G. Redmayne, Esq.
Dovo Nest, a house inhabited, during one summer, by Mrs Hcmans, is a short distance farther on the right.
Waterside, Mr Newton. Road to Clapper agate.[ 120 ]
IV. CIRCUIT OF WINDERMERE.
AVe have deferred entering upon any description of tliis Queen of the Lakes, until we could at the same time detail the route which forms a circuit round its margin. AVe would by all means recommend those strangers who have sufficient time to circumambulate this lake, which is the largest sheet of water in tho district, to do so at an early period of their visit, that tho quiet scenery with which it is surrounded may not be considered tame, as will probably be the case if the survey be delayed until the bolder features of tho country have been inspected.
AVindermere, or more properly AVinandermere, is about eleven miles in length, and one mile in breadth. It forms part of the county of AArestmor-land, although the greatest extent of its margin belongs to Lancashire. It lias many feeders, the principal of which is formed by tho confluence of the Brathay and Rothay shortly before entering the lake. The streams from Troutbeck, Blelham Tarn, and Esthwaite Abater also pour in their waters at difforent points. Numerous islands, varying considerably in size, diversify its surface at no great distance from one another,—none of them being more than four and a half miles from the central part of the lake. Their names commencing with the most northerly are—Rough Holm, (opposite Rayrigg,) Lady Ilolm, (so called from a chapel dedicated to our Lady, which once stood upon it,) Hen Holm, House Holm, Thompson’s Holm, Cur-MHtMMft *ia’ ‘ vr t ,•
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Statute Miles.WINDERMERE.
121
wen’s or Belle Isle, (round which are several nameless islets,) Berkshire Island, (a little below the Ferry points,) Ling Holm, Grass Holm, and Silver Holm. Windermere is deeper than any of the other lakes, with the exception of Wast Water, its depth in some parts being upwards of 240 feet. It is plentifully stocked with perch, pike, trout, and char, which last, at the proper season, is potted in largo quantities and forwarded to the south. It is a remarkable fact, that at the spawning season, when the trout and char leave the lake, the former fish invariably takes the Rothay, and the latter the Brathay.
The prevailing character of the scenery around Windermere is soft and graceful beauty. It shrinks from all approach to that wildness and sublimity which characterise some of tho other lakes, and challenges admiration on the score of grandeur only at its head, where tho mountains rise to a considerable height, and present admirable outlines to tho eye of tho spectator. Tho rest of tho margin is occupied by gentle eminences, which, being exuberantly wooded, add a richness and a breadth to the scenery which bare hills cannot of themselves bestow. Numerous villas and cottages, gleaming amid the woods, impart an aspect of domestic beauty which further contributes to enrich tho character of the landscape. Around tho shores of the lake there are many places which may be made the temporary residence of the tourist while exploring the beauties of tho adjacent country, and probably he may find it advantageous to make several of them his abode in succession:122
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
Amhleside, one mile beyond the head of the lake; Low Wood Inn, a mile and a half from its head on the east shore; Bowness, also on the east shore, half way hctwoen the two oxtromitics, and, therefore, perhaps, the most eligible; the Ferry Inn on the promontory over against Bowness; and Newby Bridge at its foot,—all furnish comfortable quarters for tho tourist, where boats, guides, and all his other wants can he supplied.
Wo shall commence our perambulation at tho town first named, proceeding along the west border, and returning by the east border of the water. Passing Croft Lodge, (James Brancker, Esq.) on the right, Brathay Bridge is crossed at Clappers-gate, one mile from Amhleside, and shortly afterwards Brathay Hall, (G. Redinayne, Esq.) is seen on the left. A hay, called Pull Wyke, there makes a deep indentation; and looking across tho lako, Wansfell Ilolm, Low Wood Inn, and lower down, Calgarth, tho seat of the late Bishop Watson, are pleasing objects. Wansfell Pike and tho Troutbeck Hundreds tower above thom. The road to Hawks-head having deviated to the right, the village of High Wray is gained, five miles from Amhleside; and three miles beyond is the Ferry Inn. At this place the shores suddenly contract, and between tho two promontories a public ferry is established, by means of which passengers, cattle, and vehicles are conveyed across the lake at a trifling charge. About the year 1635, a marriage was celebrated at Hawks-head, between a wealthy yeoman from the neighbourhood of Bowness, and a lady of the family Sawrcy ofWINDERMERE.
123
Sawrey. As is still customary in Westmorland amongst the rustic population, the married couple were attended by a numerous concourse of friends, some of whom were probably more than cheerful. In conducting the bridegroom homewards, and crossing the ferry, the boat was swamped, either by an eddy of wind or by too great a pressure on one side, and thus upwards of fifty persons, including the bride and bridegroom, perished. While at tho Ferry Inn, the tourist should not fail to visit tho Station, a pleasure house belonging to Mr. Curwcn of Bolle Isle, standing on a spot whence fine views of the circumjacent scenery are commanded. “ Tho view from the Station,” says Professor Wilson, “ is a very delightful one, but it requires a fine day. Its character is that of beauty, which disappears almost utterly in wet or drizzly weather. If there be strong bright sunshine, a ‘ blue breeze’ perhaps gives animation to the scene. You look down on the islands which are here very happily disposed. The banks of Winder-mere are rich and various in groves, woods, coppice, and com-fiolds. The large deep valley of Troutbeck stretches finely away up to the mountains of High Street and Ilill-Bell—hill and eminence are all cultivated wherever the trees have been cleared away, and numerous villas are visible in every direction, which, although not perhaps all built on very tasteful models, have yet an airy and sprightly character; and, with their fields of brighter verdure and sheltering groves, may be fairly allowed to add to, rather than detract from, the beauty of a scene, one of whose chief charms is that it is the cheerful abode of124
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
social life.” At a sliort distance from the land is Belle Isle, upon which stands—
“ A Grecian temple rising from the deop”—
the residence of II. Curwen, Esq. The island is rather more then a mile in circumference, containing upwards of thirty acres. Neat walks, over which fine trees throw their massive arms, intersect the island, which in high floods is cut in two. Strangers are allowed to land; and as the views arc extremely pleasing, they should avail themselves of the privilege. The village of Bowness is a pretty object on the east margin of tho lake.* One mile and a half
* This island was formerly the property and residence of the Philip-sons, an ancient Westmorland family, who were also owners of Calgartli. During tho civil war between Charles I. and the Parliament, there were two brothors, both of whom had espoused the royal cause. The cider, to whom the island belonged, was a Colonel, and tho youngor a Major in the royal army. The latter was a man of high and adventurous courage; and from some of his dosperatc exploits had acquired amongst the Parliamentarians the appellation of Robin the Dovil. It happened when tho king’s death had extinguished for a time the ardour of the cavaliers, that a certain Colonel Briggs, an officer in Oliver’s army, resided in Kendal, who having heard that Major Philipson was socrotod in his brother’s house on Belle Isle, went thither armed with his double authority, (for he \vas a civil magistrate as well as a military man—
Great on the bench, great in the saddle,
Mighty ho was at both of these,
And styled of War as well as Peace,)
with the view of making a prisoner of so obnoxious a person. The Major, however, was on the alert, and gallantly withstood a sicgo of eight months until his brother came to his relief. The attack being thus repulsed, the Major was not a man who would sit down quietly under the injury ho had received. He therefore raised a small band of horse and set forth one Sunday morning in search of Briggs. Upon arriving at Kendal, ho was informed that the Colonel was at prayers. Without further consideration ho proceeded to the church, and having posted his men at the entrance, dashed forward himself down the principal aisle into the midst of the assemblage. Whatever were his intentions—whether to shoot tho Colonel on the spot, or merely to carry him off prisoner —WINDERMERE.
12.5
from tlie Ferry Inn, tlio stream called Cunsey, which runs from Esthwaite Water, is crossed. At a short distance from the place where this stream joins the lake, is the island called Ling Ilolm. On tho opposite margin, the Storrs promontory is seen
they were defeated: his enemy was not present. The congregation was at first too much surprised to scizo the Major, who, in discovering that his object could not be effected, galloped up the next aisle. As he was making his exit from the church, his head came violently in contact with the arch of the door-way, which was much smaller than that through which he had entered. His helmet was struck oft’ by the blow, his saddle girth gave way, and he himself wus much stunned. The congregation, taking advantage of the confusion, attempted to seize him; but with the assistance of his followers, tho Major made his escape after a violent struggle and rode back to his brother’s house. The helmet still hangs in one of the aisles of Kendal church. This incident furnished Sir Walter Scott with a hint for his description of a similar adventure in Rokoby, canto vi.
“ All eyes upon the gateway hung,
When through tho Gothic arch there sprung A horseman arm’d, at headlong speed—
Sable his cloak, his plume, his steed—
Fire from the flinty floor was spurn’d,
The vaults unwonted clang return’d!
One instant’s glance around he threw,
From saddle-bow his pistol drew,
Grimly determin’d was his look,
His charger with his spurs he struck—
All scatter’d backward as he came,
For all knew Bertram Risingham.
Throe bounds that noble courser gave,
The first has reach’d tho central nave,
Tho second clear’d the chancel wide,
The third he was at Wyclifte’s side. *******
While yet the smoke the deed conceals,
Bertram his ready charger wheels—
But flounder’d on the pavement floor,
Tho steed and down tho rider boro—
And bursting in the headlong sway,
Tho faithless saddle-girths gave way.
’Twas while ho toil’d him to be freed,
And with the rein to raise the steed,
That from amazement’s iron trance,
All Wycliffe’s soldiers waked at once.”—126
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
projecting into the lake. Two miles beyond is the village of Graithwaite, in the vicinity of which is Graithwaite Hall, (J. J. ltawlinson, Esq.) From this place to Newby Bridge the road passes through a woodland section of the country, consisting chiefly of coppices. As the foot of the lake is approached, it narrows rapidly and becomes truly
“ Wooded Winandermere the nrer-lake.”
Landing, (John Harrison, Esq.,) is passed on the left shortly before reaching Newby Bridge, .at which there is a comfortable inn. The stream which issues from the lake takes the name of the Leven. From this place to the principal towns in the neighbourhood, the distances are :—Ulverston, eight miles. Kendal, by way of Cartmell Fell, ten miles—by Levens Bridge, fifteen miles. Ambleside, by the road we have described, fifteen miles. Bowness, nine miles. On crossing the bridge, Mr. MachoH’s neat residence is seen on the right, and further on,
Fell Foot, (—— Starkie, Esq.,) is passed on the
left; a short distance beyond, Town Head, (Wm. Townley, Esq.,) is near the road on the left, about two miles from Newby Bridge. The road passes under an eminence of tho Cartmell Fell chain, called Glimmers How, which forms a conspicuous object in all views from tho upper end of the lake. Six miles from Newby Bridge is Storrs Ilall, the mansion of Mrs. Bolton, widow of tho late John Bolton, Esq., seated amongst fine grounds which extend to the margin of the lake. It was built by Sir John Legard, Bart., but extensive additions were made by its lateWINDERMERE.
127
owner. Here Mr. Canning was wont to pay frequent visits, withdrawing for a time front the cares of public life to breathe the fresh air of nature.* Tho road loading from Kendal to the ferry is next crossed, and soon afterwards Ferney Green, (George Greaves, Esq.,) Burnside, (G. A. Aufrere, Esq.,) and Belle Field, (Mark Beaufoy, Esq.,) are successively passed immediately before Bowness is entered. This pretty village is placed on tho edge of a large bay, opposite Belle Isle, about eight miles from Kendal, and six from Ambleside. It has two excellent hotels, which, from tho delightful character of the adjacent country, and the convenient situation of
• T11e following passage from Mr. Lockhart’s Life of Scott graphically describes one of these visits, to which the presence of Wordsworth, Southey, Scott, and Professor Wilson gave peculiar interest.
“ A largo company had been assembled at Mr. Bolton’s seat in honour of the minister—it included Mr. Wordsworth and Mr. Southey. It has not, I suppose, often happened to a plain English merchant, wholly the architect of his own fortunes, to entertain at one time a party embracing so many illustrious names. He was proud of his guests; they respected him, and honoured and loved each other ; and it would have been difficult to say which star in the constellation shone with the brightest or the softest light. Thcro was ‘ high discourse,’ intermingled with os gay flashings of courtly wit as ever Canning displayed; and a plentiful allowance on all sides of those airy transient pleasantries in which tho fancy of poets, however wise and grave, delights to run riot when they are sure not to he misunderstood. There were beautiful and accomplished women to adorn and enjoy this circle. Tho weather was as Elysian as the scenery. There were brilliant cavalcades through the woods in tho mornings, and delicious boatings on the lake by moonlight ; and the last day, Professor Wilson (‘ the Admiral of the Lake,’ as Canning called him) presided over one of the most splendid regattas that ever enlivened Windermere. Perhaps thoro were not fewer than fifty barges following in tho Professor’s radiant procession when it paused at tho point of Storrs to admit into the place of honour the vessel that carried kind and happy Mr. Bolton and his guests. The three bards of the lakes led the cheers that hailed Scott and Canning; and music, and sunshine, flags, streamers, and gay dresses, tho merry hum of voices, and tho rapid splashing of innumerable oars, made up a dazzling mixture of sensations as tho flotilla wound its way among the riclily-foliagcd islands, and along bays and promontories peopled with enthusiastic spectators.”128
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
the village for making excursions, are much frequented during the touring season. The Church, dedicated to St. Martin, is an ancient structure with a square tower, and a finely painted chancel window, which originally belonged to Furness Abbey. The churchyard contains a monument erected to tho memory of Richard Watson, the late learned Bishop of Llandaff, the author of “the Apology for tho Bible,” and other well known works. He was born at Heversham, in another part of the county, in which village his father was schoolmaster for upwards of forty years. He was interred at this place : the inscription upon his tomb is simple and unpretending. “ Ricardi Watson, Episcopi Landavensis, cineribus sacrum obiit Julii 1. A.D. 181G, iEtatis 79.” Tho interior of the Church may be described in these lines, taken from “ the Excursion,” which have doubtless been suggested by this, or a similar structure.
te 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 cross’d Like leafless underbouglis, ’mid some thick grove, y All wither’d by the depth of shade above.
Admonitory texts inscribed the walls—
Each in its ornamental scroll enclosed,
Each also crown’d with winged heads—a pair Of rudely-painted cherubim. Tho floor Of nave and aisle, in unpretending guise,
Was occupied by oaken benches, ranged
In seemly rows———–
And marble monuments were here display’d Thronging the walls, and on the floor beneath Sepulchral stones appear’d with emblems graven,
And foot-worn epitaphs, and some with small And shining effigies of brass inlaid.”WINDERMERE.
J2G
The school-house has been lately rebuilt through tho munificence of the late Mr. Bolton of Storrs. It stands on an eminence to the east of the village, and forms a handsome edifice. The view from the front is exquisitely beautiful, comprising the whole of the upper half of the lake. The mountains round the head, into the recesses of which the waters seem to penetrate, arrange themselves in highly graceful forms, and the wooded heights of the opposite shore cast a deep shadow upon “tho bosom of the steady lake.” From this point Belle Isle appears to be a portion of the main land.
In addition to the villas already enumerated, there are in tho neighbourhood—Il6lly Hill, (Mrs. Bellasis,) The Craig, (Sir T. S. Pasley,) Birthwaite, (G. Gardner, Esq.,) Rayrigg, (Rev. F. Fleming,) The Wood, (Mr. Pennington,) St. Catherine’s, (the Earl of Bradford,) Elleray, (Thomas Hamilton, Esq.,) Orrest Head, (John Braithwaite, Esq.,) Belle Grange, (Ed. Curwen, Esq.,) Wray, (Wm. Wilson, Esq.)
Several interesting walks will be pointed out to strangers, amongst which we may mention those through the parsonage-land to tho Ferry Point, and to Storrs. If the tourist will take the trouble to proceed about half a mile along the road to Brant Fell, he will be rewarded by one of the finest views of the lake he can obtain. The Fells of Furness 1ye seen across the lake, but the murmur of
“ bees that soar for bloom,
High as the highest peak of Furness Fells,” *
* WOBDSWOKTH.
1130
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
is of course inaudible. A pleasing walk of four or five miles may be obtained thus; pursue the road to Ambleside until it enters that from Kendal, (this portion of the walk will be particularized presently:) turn to the right, and keop on this road for about a mile. The Wood, St. Catherine’s, and Elleray, are passed on the loft. The last is the property of Professor Wilson of Edinburgh, but at present it is occupied by Thomas Hamilton, Esq., the author of Cyril Thornton, of a history of the Peninsular Campaigns, and other literary Works. The house is perched upon the hill-side, having beautiful views of the surrounding scenery visiblo from its windows. It is thus alluded to in one of tho poems of its owner.
“ And sweet that dwelling rests upon the brow (Beneath its sycamore,) of Orrest Hill,
As if it smiled on Windermere below,
Her green recesses and her islands still 1 ”
A narrow lano branches off from the Kendal road near the Orrest Head gate, by which Bowness will be reached one mile and a half from Orrest Head.
The moro distant excursions will include the valley of Troutbeck,* the circuit of the two sections of Windermere, Esthwaite Water, and Coniston Lake. These aro but a few, but an inspection of the chart will suggest others.
Quitting Bowness for Ambleside, tho stately woods of Rayrigg are entered three quarters of a mile from tho former place. A bay of the lake is then seen to project almost to the road. Rayrigg House stands
* For a description of this valley refer to page 2st.WINDERMERE.
131
on the left near the waters edge ; shortly before emerging from the wood the road ascends a steep hill and then pursues a level course, affording from its terrace a magnificent view of the lake—a view “ to which,” says Wilson, “ there was nothing to compare in the hanging gardens of Babylon. There is the widest breadth of water—the richest foreground of wood—and the most magnificent background of mountains, not only in Westmorland, but—believe us —in all the world.” Our old acquaintances, the two Pikes of Langdale, are easily recognized. On the left is Bowfell, a square topped hill, between which and the Pikes, Great End and Great Gable peep up. On the left of Bowfell the summit of Scawfell Pike is faintly visible. The road is intersected two miles from Bowuess by the Kendal and Ambleside road, at a place called Cook’s House, nine miles from Kendal. A road proceeds into Troutbeck in a line with the one over which we have been conducting the tourist. From Cook’s House to Troutbeck Bridge is almost a mile. From this place a road conducts by the west bank of the stream to the village of Troutbeck, the nearest part of which is a mile and a half distant. Continuing our progress towards Ambleside, Calgarth, embosomed in trees, is passed on the left. The late Bishop Watson built this mansion, and resided here during the latter years of his life; it is still occupied by his descendants. Two miles beyond is Low Wood Inn, which, standing pleasantly on the margin of tho lake at its broadest part, is an excellent station for those who are able to devote a few days to the beauties of the neighbourhood. Most of the excur-132
GUIDE TO THE LAKES.
sions recommended to be made from Ambleside may, with almost equal advantage, be performed from this inn. Close at band is Dove’s Nest, the house Mrs. Piemans inhabited ono summer. Her description of the place, taken from her delightful letters, will not be deemed uninteresting:—“ The house was originally meant for a small villa, though it has long passed into the hands of farmers, and there is, in consequence, an air of neglect about the little demesne, which does not at all approach desolation, and yet gives it something of touching interest. You see everywhere traces of love and care beginning to be effaced—rose-trees spreading into wildness—laurels darkening the windows with too luxuriant branches ; and I cannot help saying to myself, ‘ Perliaps some heart like my own in its feelings and sufferings has here sought refuge and repose.’ The ground is laid out in rather an antiquated style; which, now that nature is beginning to reclaim it from art, I do not at all dislike. There is a little grassy terrace immediately under the window, descending to a small court, with a circular grass plot, on which grows one tall white rose-tree. You cannot imagine how much I delight in that fair, solitary, neglected-looking tree. I am writing to you from an old fashioned alcove in tho little garden, round which tho sweet briar and the rose-troo have completely run wild ; and I look down from it upon lovely Winander-mere, which seems at this moment even like another sky, so truly is every summer cloud and tint of
azure pictured in its transparent mirror.
*****WINDERMERE.
133
“ I am so delighted with the spot, that I scarcely know how I shall leave it. The situation is one of the deepest retirement; but the bright lake before me, with all its fairy barks and sails, glancing like ‘ things of life’ over its blue water, prevents the solitude from being overshadowed by anything like sadness.” Wansfell Holm, (George Warden, Esq.) is seen on the right, immediately before reaching the head of Windermere. The road for the last three or four miles has been alternately approaching to and receding from the margin of the lake, but never retiring further from it than a few fathoms. At Waterhead is the neat residence of Mr. Thomas Jackson, and further on, Waterside, (Mr. William Newton,) is passed on the left. Ambloside, the termination of our perambulation of twenty-nine miles, is entered one mile beyond.134
V. AMBLESIDE—RYDAL—GRASMERE—THIRLEMERE—KESWICK.— 1G Miles.
ON RIGHT FROM AMBLESID.
Green Bank, Benson Harrison, Esq.
Fairfield, (2950 feet,) with its offshoots, closing in tho vale Behind is Wansfell l’ikc.
There is a pretty peep into the glen through which Rydul Beck runs.
Rydal Hall, (Lady le Fleming,) seated in large park containing some noble trees. There arc two cascades within the pai k, shown on application ut the lodge.
Rydal Mount. Wordsworth’s residence stands a little above tho chapel, built by Lady le Fleming in 1R24. A splendid view of the valley obtained by climbing the heights behind Rydal Mount.
The Knab, a house formerly oceupiod by the English Opium Eater. Mr. Hartley Coleridge, eldest son of the great S. T. Coleridge, now lives here.
Excavations of great size have been made here. At this place the old rood to Grasmere branches off. It is shorter, and to be preferred by those on toot, for the line views it commands of ltydal and Grasmere akes. It leads past “ The Wishing Gate.”
One of these cottages was Wordsworth’s dwelling for seven years, Bo Quincey afterwards resided in it for some time.
Tho Hollins.
PartlcB Btaying at Grasmere or the Swan, should visit Ease-dale, a recess of Grasmere. It contains a lonely tarn, surrounded by lofty rocks.
Who does not know the famous Swan?”
A mile beyond the inn, a mountain road strikes off into l’atterdale, climbing on tho way a steep haws between Fair Field and Seat Sandal, and passing a desolate sheet of water, called Grisedale Tarn, lying between Seat Sandal, and Hel vellyn.
154
124
12*
AMBLESIDE.
2 cr. Scandalc Beck.
14* HYDAL VILL.
Ivy Cottage, — Ball, Esq. at tho turn of tho road.
RYDAL LAKE.
Tho towering heights of Knab Scar on tho right. Loughrigg Foil on the left.
White Moss Slate Quarry.
Along tho margin of GRASMERE LAKE.
Town End.
Road on the loft to Grasmere village, a sweet little place, near which is Allan Bank, Thomas Dawson, Esq., and tho Cottage, — Orrell, Esq.
113 Swan Inn,
Tho ascent of Helvellyn is not unusually commenced here.
ON LEFT FROM AMBLESIDE
4 Loughrigg Fell bounds the vale upon the left.
1 Through tho meadows on the left, the Rothay llows. A tall straight oak, growing in the wall, is called “ Lord’s Oak.’’ Pcltcr Bridge. The road over it divides into two on the other side, ono leads back to Amble-side, tho other to Grasmere, both extremely beautiful walks.
Loughrigg Fell here projects, and with a corresponding protrusion from Fairfield, called Rydal Knab, on the opposite side of tho valley, leaves room for little more space than what is occupied by the road and the stream flowing from Rydal Merc.
This lake is only nbout three-quarters of a mile long, by scarcely afourtli ofa mile broad. It has two small islands, upon one of which there Isa heronry, belonging to Lady le Fleming, tho owner of the lake.
The road hero winds round a projecting rock. Grasmere Lake suddenly breaks upon the view beyond tho projection.
This lako is one mile and a quarter in length, and one-third of a mile broad. Ithasasinglo island in tho centre. The hllla around are happily disposed.
Tho view from tho road near tho head of tho lake, looking forward, is extremely fine. Silver How is seen over tho southwest angle of the water; right onward, is Helm Crag, the summit of which is strewn with large blocks of stone, presenting many eccentric forms. Green .1 thought lie saw a likeness to a ® lion and a lamb. West, to a mnss of antediluvian remains, and Otley sayB, that viewed from Dunmail Raise, a mortar elevated for throwing shells into the valley, is no unapt comparison. T ho road is seen to pass over Dunmail Raise, a depression between two hills, that on tho left, is Steel Fell, the other, Seat Sandal.135
AMBLESIDE TO KESWICK .-Continued.
ON RIGHT FROM AMBLEBID.
Helm Crag.
I-hncretrospective views: from the summit, Skiddaw is visible.
The tradition is, that Dun-mail, King of Cumberland, was defeated hero by Edmund the Saxon king, in 945. A cairn still in part remaining, wai raised as a memorial of the vie tory. The conqueror put out the eyes of his adversary’s two sons, and gave the territory to Malcolm, king of Scotland, to preserve tho peace of the northern part of tne kingdom.
The road is too near the foot of Helvellyn to allow any notion to be formed of that mountain’s immense height.
Armboth House, W. Jackson, Esq., on the west shore.
Half way down tho lake on the right, are some houses called Fisher’s Place, near which arc some pretty cascades formed by a stream flowing off IIcl vcllyn.
Pedestrians frequently cross Armboth Fell to tho village of Wntendlath,proceeding thence to Keswick. Splendid views of Derwentwater are obtained in the descent. Near tho foot of Thirlemere, one extremity of tho vale of St. John is passed. The views nlong it, with Saddleback beyond, are very fine. The celebrated “ Castle Kock ’ stands at the entrance on the right. ” From a field on the eastern side of tho road, and a little short of the tenth milestone, the view of the vale of St. John presents a mostslngulurly interesting assemblage of tho wild and the lovely.”—Green.
Naddlo Fell.
Hence may bo seen tho three mountains, Skiddaw, Saddleback, and Helvellyn.
From this place, there is the view of tho vale of the Derwent and its two lakes, which Gray regretted so much to leave. Skiddaw is immediately before the eye.
ioa
The road rises gradually until it attains the height of 720 feet, at the pass of
DUNMAIL RAISE.
Enter Cumberland.
Steel Fell on the left. Scat Sandal on the right.
8i Horse’s Head, Wytheburn. The village, called locally “ the city,” is half a mile distant on the left.
THIRLEMERE LAKE,
called also WythcburnWa-ter and Loathes Water, washing the base of Helvellyn.
Road on the right through St. John’s Vale. 1
43 cr. Smcathwaito
Bridge over St. John’s Beck, which issues from TIIirlemerc.
ON LEFT FROM AMHLBSIDE.
Causey Foot. Summit of Castlerigg. KESWICK.
Hi
Fair Field. Scat Sandal.
They now have reach’d that pile of stones,
Heap’d over bravo King Dun-mail’s bones,
He who once held supreme command,
Last king of rocky Cumberland; His bones, and those of all his power,
Slain here in a disastrous hour.”—
Wordsworth,
Thirlemere is in view.
The ascent of Helvellyn from this inn is shorter, but steeper, than from any other place. Opposite the inn, is the chapel which Wordsworth describes
Wytheburn’s modest house of prayer,
As lowly as the lowliest dwelling.”
Engle Crag is seen hanging over the upper end of the lake, a sheet of water, environed by frowning precipices, two and a half miles long, 600 feet above the level of the sea, and about 100 feet in depth. There is a small islnnd near the shore at its foot. 11 is so narrow as to allow a wooden bridge to be thrown across its middle. To obtain some picturesque views, the lake should be crossed by this bridge, and the road on the west slioro taken, which joins tho turnpike road, a little blond the twelfth mile-stone, taven Crag is a fine object near the foot. This lake is the
.property of T. S. Loathes, Esq., whose residence, Dalehead House, is in tho neighbourhood.
Shoulthwnito Moss, backed by a rocky hill called Bend
A farm-house on the left, shaded by wood, is named Causey Foot.
143 When the pedestrian reaches
a piece of open ground in the descent, he is advised to enter ‘one of the fields on the left, to jobtain n view of the whole expanse of Derwentwater.■
13 6
VI. AMBLESIDE.—LANG DALE.—ESKDALE.—EGREMONT.—WHITEHAVEN.—30 Milks.
*** Tho whole of this route is seldom travelled continuously; but as most of it will bo travorsod in detached portions, it has been thought better to place the totnljdistance under one description, from which the Tourist may select the sections ho requires. In consequence of there being no inn at which post* horses are kept between Amblesido and Culdcr Bridge, carriages cannot pursue this route.
OS RIGHT HUOM AMHLKSIDK.
Croft Lodgo, James Branckor, Esq.
Loughrigg Fell.
Two miles and a half from Amblesido, a road turns into! Great Lnngdalc.
Thero is a waterfall a short distance abovo the bridge 20l feet in height. Tho views of Langdalo l’ikes are extremely fine.
From tho terrace attained soon after passing Skelwith Br, there is a superb view of Klter-water, and of Great and Little Langdalo, separated by Ling-moor.
Road into Great Langdalo skirting tho head of Eltervvater Tarn.
Lingmoor.
I A rood bends to tho right, and, after passing Blea Tarnj cnturs tho head of Great Lang* dale. Along this road tho Bikes wear their boldest features.
At tho spot where tho Counties of Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire unite, tho Throe Shire S ton os are placed.
The ascent of Hardknot is be-
?:un; tho highest part of the; dll is on tho right i
IP
IJs
I AMBLESIDE.
j cr- Kothay Bridge. 37 Clappcrsgate vill.
From this summit thero is a! magnificent view of Scawfell; Bikes and Scawfell. On the left the Irish Sea is seen ; and, in clear weather, tho Isle of Man.
Half way down tho hill, and about 120 yards fVom the road, are the faintly visible remains of n Roman fortification called Hardknot Castle, onco a place of importance.
—— that lone camp on Hard-knot’i height,
Who.c Guardians bent the lcn«a to Jove and Mar*.
The mountains encircling 24$ Eakdalfi, are the Seathwalte Fells on tho loft, and projections from Scawfell on the right.
On thebanksof the Bratliay, Brathay Chapel.
cr< Skelwith Bridge.
Enter Lancashire.
Having crossed the bridge , the road on tho right loading up a steep hill must bo taken.
33J -^0 cr. Colwith Bridge. Re-enter Westmorland.
Foil Foot.
The road winds steoply to tho summit of WRYNOSE,
(Pronounced locally Ray num.)
Enter Lancashire.
Descend to Cocldey Beck Bridge, over the Duddon. Enter Cumberland.
Summit of IIAltD KNOT.
29$
27$
* I.BFT FROM AMniJUIUB.
Doscend into ESKDALE.
cr. Esk Bridge.
A road on tho left, lending to Hawkshcad, orossos tho Brathay and enters Lancashire.
Sweeter stream scenory, with richer fore and loftier back grounds, is no whore to bo seen within tho four seas.—Wilson
Road deviates between tho two bridges, passing on tho cast of Oxen Fell through Yew dide to Coniston.
A little above tho bridge in a deep dell near tho road is a fine waterfall culled Colwith Force, 70 feet in height. One milo beyond, Little Langdalo Tarn is perceived. Wether-lam, a stupendous mountain, rises on tho south of the tarn, Mountain road through Til-berthwalte to Coniston,6miles.
Tho toilsome ascent of Wry-noso is commenced at this place. The retrospective views are fine. Wansfell Biko is scon in the distance.
Tho Carrs, and Coniston Fells.
Trnces of a Roman road over both Hardknot and Wrynoso are yet remaining.
10$ Tho Duddon bends at this place; and, passing through tho beautiful valo of Sjeath-waite, enters Moroonmhe Buy, near Broughton. Tho distance between Gockley Beck and 12$ Broughton by the road is 12 miles. The pedestrian is strongly advised to traverse this valley, unsurpassed in pioturcsquo and retired beauty by any other in tho Lake district. It may be approached from Coniston Ibytlio Walna Scar road. Thero is an; inn at Newfleld, 4 or 5 miles down tho valley. Tho Duddon is tho subjootofa series of sonnets by Wordsworth.
This beautiftil vale is watered by tho Esk, which, after a j qi courso of about 10 miles, enters ‘ 3 the sea near Ruvcnglass. Tho valley is narrow at tho spot Where it is entered, but It widens rapidly towards tho| west. It contains two or three! hamlets and a few scattered houses. Greatnumbors of sheep are pastured in it. |137
AMBLESIDE TO WHITEHAVEN—Continued.
< IIIQHT FIIOM AMBI.HSIDE,
Tho Wool Pack, a small inn, 23 is a short distance from the! road.
T11o inn is a little to the1 right of tho road. At this place a mountain road leaves! Kskdulo,nnd passing Burnmoor; Tarn, enters Wastdale Head between the Screes and Scaw-fell, 0 miles. The latter mountain may bo ascended from Eskdalo.
011 elevated ground, 4 miles south of Bout, there is a lonely tarn, with a rocky island in its centre, called Devoko Water. About half a mile from its foot aro some ruins called Barn- which, according to tradition, were a Danish city. Tho situation is marked by several small piles of stones. No record of such a place has, however, come down to us. A number of silver coins have boon found at it.
Hero a road diverges to Strands, a small village, ono milo from the foot of Wast Water. From Lattcrbarrow eminence, under which tho road passes, there is a flue view of the lake.
Road to Strands, four miles,
Ono milo abovo this bridgo are tho remains of Oalder Abbey, founded in 1131, for monks of tho Cistercian order. The abbey stands on tho grounds pertaining to Captain Irwin’s residence.
Kecklo Grove, Mrs Alllnson.
Ingwoll, Mrs Gunson.
Hummer Grove, Major Spcd-dlng.
Dawson Ground.
tnfc] cr. Bridge over the Mite.
Fino view of tho coast from tho road between the two bridges.
16* cr. San ton Bridgo
across the Irt, which flows] from Wast Water,
13
Gosforth vill.
■rid cr. Calder Bridge.
EGREMONT.* Inn, King’s Arms.
WHITEHAVEN.
Inns, Block Lion, Globe.
21*
25
ON LEFT FROM AMHLES1 DE.
Bilker Force, a fine cascade, may bo seen from the road amongst the cliffs. Tho rocks around arc very grand.
At tho schoolhouso a road strikes off to tho left, conducting to Dalcgurth Hall, now a farm house, but formerly a residence of tho Stanleys of Fonsonby, at which directions will be given to a noble waterfall, called Stanley Gill or Dalegarth Force. Tho Btream is crossed three times by wooden bridges on approaching the fall. Tho chasm is exceedingly grand. Returning, the Esk-dalc and Wastdale mountains, with Scawfell amongst them, arc seen in lino outline.
Road to ltavenglass, n small town, 19 miles from Ulverston, and 16 miles from Whitehaven, seated in an arm of tho sea at the confluence of the Esk, lrt, anti Mite. A small coasting trade is carried on as well as ship-building and oyster fishing. Muneaster Castle, Lord M uncastor’s seat, is near it. Black Combo, a lofty hill, 7 miles to tho south of tho town, commands an extenslvo view of tho const. The Welsh mountains, and the Isle of Man, are within tho boundary of the view.
In tho churchyard is a stone pillar of great antiquity, covered with illegible carvings.
Fonsonby Hall, J.E.Stanley j Esq.
Ilero there is a good hotel.
Gill Foot, Thomas Hartley, Esq.
Spring Field, Robt. Jefferson, Esq.
Linethwnlte.
Henslnghnm House, Henry Jefferson, Esq.
* Egromont is a neat market town, containing about 1G00 inhabitants, seated at tho distance of two miles and a half from the coast, upon tho banks of the Ehon, tho stream which flows from Ennerdale Lake. It is stated to have been a borough at the period when Parliamentary representatives were remunerated for their services j and that, to avoid tho expense of a member, the burgesses petitioned to have tho burgh disfranchised, which was accordingly done. The Parish Church is on ancient edifice, dedicated to St Mary. It was granted by William do Meschions to tho Cell of St Bees- Upon an eminence to the west of tho town stand the ruins of Egromont Castle, formerly a place of great strength and importance. It was built by the above named William do Mesohiens soon after tho Norman Conquest. In the lapse of time it passed into tho possession of the Lucy family. There is a tradition respecting the fortress whilst belonging to tho Lucies, which Wordsworth has versified in some stanzas entitled, “ The Horn of Egromont Castle.” General Wyndham is the present owner of both tho Manor and Castle of Egromont. Largo quantities of iron oro aro excavated in the neighbourhood, which aro conveyed to Whitehaven unsmelted, and thence shipped to South Wales. St Bees, at which there is a fine Conventual Church, is two and a half miles distant. A good road, of seven miles in length, conducts to the foot of Enncrdalo Lake. Tho distances from Egromont to the neighbouring towns arc, — Raven-glass, 11 miles ; Broughton, 20 miles; Ulverston, 30 miles; Cockerxnouth, 13 miles; Maryport, 20 miles.138
VII. WHITEHAVEN—COCKERMOUTH—BASSENTHWAITE LAKE—KESWICK.—
27 MtLES.
ON RIGHT FROM WHITEHA.
Scilly Bunk, 500 foot.
In tho neighbourhood of Moresby, is tho site of Arbcin, a Roman station, whore various antique remains have been discovered. All marks of the station have been long defaced by tho plough.
Rose Hill, Milham Hartley, Esq.
Rosenoath, Mrs. Solomon.
Road to Lowes Water.
Prospect, Capt. Caldecott.
Gilgarron,
R.N.
Tho road is for some miles in tho vale of the Derwent. This river takes its name on issuing from Derwentwater. It subsequently enters Bassenthwaite Lake, and Anally, after winding through u pleasant country, enters the sea at Workington.
A description of this town is appended to No. VII. ‘
Capt. Walker,
Sale Foil.
Tho valley through which the road passes, is watered by a small stream, which enters tho largo bay, near tho foot of Bassenthwaite Water, called Peel YVyko.
Tho opposite shoro is pleasantly indented with several promontories, tho three principal of which are called Scar-ness, Braidness, and Bowness. There is a line breadth of cultivated land, sprinkled with hamlets and solitary houses, between the lake and the mountains.
Tho road traverses a thickly wooded country, at the base of Wythop Fells, Barf, and Lord’s Seat. One of West’s stations is at Beck Wythop, whence, says he, the whole cultivated land, between tho lake and tho mountains, is scon in all its beauty, and Skiddaw appears nowhere of such majestic height “s from this place.
Many pretty villas adorn this little village. From eminences in tho neighbourhood, views both of Derwentwater and Bus-scnthwuite Lake are commanded.
23s
WHITEHAVEN.
A couch travels this route daily; from Keswick it proceeds through Amblesido to Kendal. Seo Nos. lllJ and V.
Moresby Vill.
Distington Vill.
203
Brigham Chapel on the left. The village is half a mile to the right.
COCKERMOUTH, seated on the Derwent, at the junction of the Cocker. Wheat Sheaf.
BASSENTHWAITE
LAKE.
Pheasant Inn.
Smithy Green.
The road passes along the margin of Bassenthwaite Water.
Thornthwaitc Vill.
itnfl cr. tho stream from Newlands. Portinscale Vill. Long Bridge. KESWICK.
Inns,
ltoyal Oak and Queen’s Head.
ON LEFT FROM WHITEHA.
A handsome frecstono arch, with an entablature adorned with tho arms of tho Lowther family, spans tho road on leaving the town for the north.
Moresby Church: Moresby hill, Miss Tate.
Parton and Harrington, two small 8ea-ports,are near Moresby.
At tho south-end of the village, are tho ruins of Ilayes Castle, once tho residcnco of tho Moresby family.
Road to Workington.
Junction of tho road from Workington to Cockcrmouth. These towns are eight miles from each other. The former is a sea-port, carrying on a considerable coasting trade. There nro soveral extensive jh collieries in the neighbourhood, 4 chiefly belonging to H. C. Cur-won, Esq. of Workington Hall. 10 J Road to Carlisle, skirting tho foot of the lake.
This lake is approached at its widest part. It is four miles [in length, about three-quarters of a milq in breadth, and soventy-two feet in extreme depth.
Skiddaw on its east sldo.fur-20£ nishcs, in combination with tho water, many splendid views. Beyond tho head, are Wallow and Falcon Crags, backed by Bleabcrry Fell and Iligh Seat. At the foot of Skiddaw, is Dodd Fell, and in the distance Hol-vellyn is visible. In front of a portion of Skiddaw, culled Long Side, and near tho margin of the lake, stand Bassenthwaito Church and Mirehouse, the residence of Jolin Spcdding, Esq.
A road, nine miles in length, leads through Newlands to Buttermore. The lower part of the valo is picturesque, the upper, wild.
Griscdale Pike, a fine object.
Greta Hall, Robert Southey, Esq., P. L.139
VIII.—KESWICK.—BORROWDALE.—BUTTERMERE.—SCALE IIILL.-COCKEUMOUTII.—25* Miles.
ON RIGHT FROM KESWICK.
Vicar’s or Derwent Iale.
Lords Isle. Friar Crag projects Into tho loko a littlo beyond. Gat Bella are fine objects on the opposite shore, Grizo-dnle. and Causey Pikes are to tho left of them.
Behind Barrow House is a cascade of 124 feet full.
Tho many topped Sldddaw. lifting Its gigantic hulk beyond tho foot of tho lake, is a grand object. Crostliwalto Church will bo observed lying at its baso.
Grange Bridge, and tho village of Grange. Tho road returns to Keswick by tho west margin of Derwent Water. Borrowdale, a valley <1 miles long, and containing 2000 acres, is now entered. It is watered, In its whole length, by tho river Grange, which, after it issues from Derwent Water, takes the name of Derwent. At Caatlo Crag the road and tho bed of tho river occupy all tho jlevel portion, but beyond the vale widens considerably. A-bovo Rosthwaite the valley divides into two branches; the eastern branch is called Stone-thwaito. Borrowdale formerly belonged to Furness Abbey.
Hero is a smnll inn. This is 19* tho widest part of the valley.
Tho mountain Glnramnra is scon in front. Scawfell Pikes, Scawfell and Great Gavel are seen over Seathwalte.
10
Tho ascent of Buttormcrc 171 Ilaws, which rises to tho height of 1100 feet above tho sea, is now commenced. Tho retrospective views are fine. A portion of Helvollyn is seen over the Borrowdale and Armboth Fells.
23*
22-}
Yew Crag. Tho upper part of this vale is exceedingly wild and uncultivated.
KESWICK.
Road to tho Lake.
Barrow House. Pocklington, Esq
Lowdore Inn.
Castlo Crag on the right.
“ From tho summit of this rock the views are so singularly great and pleasing, that they ought never to bo omitted.”
West.
Rosthwaite vill.
cr. Seatollar Bridge.
Seatollar. Abraham Fisher, Esq. Descend into Buttermere dale.
Honister Crag.
ON LEFT FROM KESWICK.
Castlo Head, an eminence from which there is a beautiful view of tho lake.
Wallow Crag.
Falcon Crag.
Road to the hamlet called Watendlatli, placed near tarn in a desolate and narrow vale.
Timing Crag.
Tho celebrated fall lies behind tho inn, on the stream running from Watendlatli Tarn. Its height is loo feet. Gowder Crag on the left, Shepherd’s Crag on the right of tho fell.
Grange Crag.
There is a good view from this eminence. Shortly before reaching this poixt, n road deviates to, and passes, Bowder Stone, re-entering tho main road a little beyond. This mass of rock has been likened to A stranded ihip with keol upturn’ll that rout*
Careleii of windi or wave.
It is 62 feet long, 36 feet high, and 89 feet in circumference. It has been estimated to weigh 1971 tons, and to contain 23,000 cubic feet. The view hence is exquisitely beautiful.
Half a mile beyond, near Borrowdale Chapel, a road diverges to tho valley and villago of Stonethwalte. Eagle Crag is a lino rock near tho latter. A mountain path proceeds over tlio Stake, a lofty pass, into Langdale.
Near this bridge tho road into Wastdale, by Sty Hcud, strikes off.
The well known black lend mine, and tho immense Borrowdale Yews, are near Seatollar. Tho former is the only mine of tho kind in England. The largest of the yews is 21 feet in girth.
Honister Crag, 1700 feet high. Here nro some valuable slate quarries belonging to General Wyndham.140
KESWICK TO COCKERMOUTH — Continued.
OX RIGHT FROM KKSWICK,
A few houses placed half t mile above the head of Butter more Water, “ under the most extraordinary amphitheatre of mountainous rocks that ever eye beheld.”
This lake is one ana a naif miles long, and half a mile broad ; and at its deepest part is 90 feet deep. Char is taken plentifully. Tho distance between this lake and Orummock Water is about threo quarters of a mile. . , , ,
Tho Chapel has been lately rebuilt; beforo, it, was tho most diminutive in tho kingdom. A road, nine miles in lengthy climbs a steep Haws upwards of 1000 feet high, and descending into Keskadalo and Nowlands, proceeds to ICeswiek.
This lake is about threo miles long by three quarters of a mile broad. Its depth is in some parts 120 feet. It.abounds with char and fine ti’out. There are three small islands close to tho shore at the head of tho lako.
A little before reaching Long-thwaite, a few houses to the left, of tho road, some high ground is interposed between [the road and the lako. The road afterwards passes between Haws on the lest, and Whiteside on the right.
Lowes Water, which sends stream into Crummook Lako is about one milo and a half distant. This lake is threo quarters of a mile long, scarcely one quarter broad, and about 60 feet in oxtromo depth. It lies between Low Fell in tho south, and Blake Fell in tho north. The scenery round its foot is, contrary to the general rule, finest at its foot, and hero it is very grand. Molbveak forms a striking feature in tho views.
Road under Whiteside to Keswick which shortens tho distanco by two miles. For horsomcn and pedestrians it is tho preferable route.
Deviation of the road through Lorton vlll. to Keswick. The famous yew tree, “ pride of Lorton vale,” stands near tho junction of this road with that from Keswick to Cockermouth.
Ilonister Crag. Gatescarth.
On tho eastern margin of 13UTTERMERE LAKE
Ilasness; (General Benson) on the left.
Buttormere vill.
With a good Inn.
Along tho eastern shore of
CRITMMOCK WATER,
Tho mountains of the vale of Buttermere and Cnumnock are no where so impressive as from the bosom of Crummock Water.” Wordsworth.
Longthwaite vill.
Scale Hill.
To Whitehaven, 14 miles by Ullock and Moresby.
To Egrornont, 15 miles by Lamplugh and Ennerdale Bridge.
To Calder Bridge, by tho same places, 17 miles.
To Keswick by Lorton and Whinlatter, 12 miles.
Enter tho Keswick and Cockermouth road.
9 miles from Keswick. COCKERMOUTH. Inns, Globe, Sun.
eS!
2 fst ON LEFT FROM KESWICK.
12 I A mountain path conducts by tho pass called Scarf Gap into Ennerdale. Black Sail, another pass loads into Wastdalo.
The lofty mountains soon above tho opposite shore are Hay Stacks, High Crag, High Stile, and Rod Pike. Between Ithe two latter is a tarn, the stream running from which makes a pretty waterfall,
Scale Force, tho loftiest waterfall fibout the lakes, is 2 miles distant to tho westofCrummock Water. Its height is 166 feet, A mountain path lends by this fall, and Floutern Tarn into Ennerdale, 6 miles.
Having wound round a bold promontory called liannerdale Knott, a sploridid view of tho lake is presented. Melbreak is a grand object on the other margin. From its foot there juts a narrow promontory, a little above which there is a remarkably fine view. Tho mountains on tho east shore are Wliiteless Pike, Lad house, Grasmoor, and Whiteside.
Four miles from Buttormere, the road from Scale Hill to Cockermouth is entered. A turn must be made to the left.
Ifii There is a good inn at this place, where the tourist would do well to stay a few days. The village is nbout a quarter of a mile from the river Cocker, which Hows from Crummock Water, and is hero crossed by a bridgo of five arches. A, good prospect is obtained fVom an eminence in Mr Marshall’s wood. The pedestrian may make his way by the stream issuing from Floutern Tarn behind Melbreak into Ennerdale, seven miles.
Tho road to Cockermouth passes through the vale of Lorton on tho enst hank of tho Cocker. This vale presents many richly picturesque views. It is threo miles in length,with many elevated hills nround; but not lofty enough to cast a gloom upon tho smiling aspect of tho sconery. Lorton Hall, R. L. Bragg, Esq.COCKERMOUTH.
141
Cockermouth is an ancient borough and neat market-town of 4500 inhabitants, seated at the junction of the Cocker with the Derwent, from which circumstance it derives its name. It sent two representatives to Parliament as early as the twenty-third year of Edward I., and, by the Reform Act, it has still the privilege of returning two members. The honour and castle of Cockermouth belong to General Wyndham. The ruins of this ancient fortress, formerly a place of great strength, are seated on a bold eminence which rises from the east bank of the Cocker. It was built soon after tho Norman Conquest by Waldieve, first lord of Allerdale, of whose successors it was for many centuries the baronial seat. In 1648, it was garrisoned for King Charles, but being afterwards taken by the Parliamentarians, was dismantled by them, and has ever since lain in ruins, except a small part which the late Earl of Egremont sometimes inhabited. The Gateway Tower, embellished with the arms of the Umfravilles, Multons, Lucies, Percies, and Nevilles, is a striking object. On the north side of the town is a tumulus, called To6ts Hill; one mile to tho west are the remains of a rampart and ditch of an encampment, 750 feet in circuit, called Fitt’s Wood. On the summit of a hill at Pap Castle, a village one mile and a half south-west of Cockermouth, are the traces of a Roman castrum. A great number of antique remains have been discovered at this place, and in the neighbourhood. The castle was subsequently tho residence of the above-mentioned Waldieve, by whom it was demolished, and the materials used in the construction of Cockermouth Castle. Tickell, the poet, Addison’s friend, was born at Bridekirk, two miles distant.*
The seats in the neighbourhood are—Dovenby Hall, (F.L.B. Dykes, Esq.,) three miles north-west. Tallentire Hall, (William Browne, Esq.,) three and a half miles north. Isel Hall, (William Wybergh, Esq.,) three and a half miles north-east. Woodhall, (J. S. Fisher, Esq., two and a half miles north.
The best inns are, the Globe, and the Sun. The distances to the principal towns in the neighbourhood are—Maryport, seven miles, Workington, eight miles, Keswick, by Wliinlatter, twelve miles, by Bassenthwaite Water, thirteen and a half miles, Whitehaven, fourteen miles, Wigton, sixteen miles, Carlisle, twenty-soven miles.
• Cockermouth is tho birth place of the poet Wordsworth, who was born on the 7th April 1770.U2
IX. — KESWICK.—BORROW’D ALE.—WAST WATER.—EGREMONT.—31 Milks.
ON RIGHT FROM KESWICK.
The uutd mine is in n recess cnllod Gillercoom, In the side os the mountain on tho right. The path crosses the stream Far Bridge ; from this place immense mass of rock called Hanging Stone isvisible. Near the mine are the famous yew trees. Advancing, Taylor’s (Jill forms a tine cascade after rain.
Sty Head Tarn, a desolate sheet of water, beyond which Great. End rises abruptly. Farther on is Scawfell Pikes.— Sprinkling Tarn, which sends a stream into Sty Head Tarn, is half a mile to tho east. These tarns serve as guides in tho ascent of the Pikes from Bor-rowdalo.
A mountain road of six miles conducts from Wastdale Head, between Llngmell and tho Screes, into Eskdale. Tho pedestrian and horseman may reach Ennerdalo by the pass of Black Sail, or, by traversing another pass called Hears Gap, may enter Buttermero dalo at Gatescarth. This path iB six miles in length.
Overbeck makes a pleasing cascade some distance above the bridge.
The finest view of tho valley is observed from the north west extremity of tho Screes.
Strands is a pretty little village with two inns. The tourist making it his head quarters for a few days, will find many pleasant excursions in the vicinity. Tho view of Wast Water commanded from Lat-terbarrow, a rocky hill in the neighbourhood, is extremely fine. A curious ravine called Hawl Gill, in tho south-east extremity of the Screes, is worth a visit; and those who are fond of mountain rambles, may pass along the summit of tho Screes and descend to Wastdale Iicqd. Tho views from this elevated situation are magnificent.
KESWICK.
For 7i miles tho road is the same as No. YIII.
cr. Seatollar Bridge,
Road to the left.
t??® cr. Seath waite Bridge.
KeppelCragandHind Crag on the left.
Seathwaite vill.
*!$?) cr. Stockley Bridge
The road winds precipitously up Aaron End.
Sty Head.
Wastdale Head.
Head of Wast Water, cr. Overbeck Bridge,
Turn to seo tho panorama of mountains at tho head of tho valley, Yew-barrow, Kirk fell, Great Gable, Lingmoll, Scawfell Pikes, and Scawfell.
Strands vill.
■*!$?] cr. Bleng Bridge. Gosfortli vill. cr. Caldcr Bridge. EGREMONT.
Oi
ON LEFT FItOM KKSWICK.
“Travellers who may not have been accustomed to pay attention to tilings so unobtrusive,” says Wordsworth, speaking of the rude bridges ot this district, “ will excuse mo if I point OUt Die proportion between tho span and elevation of the arch, the lightness of the parapet, and tho graceful manner in which its curve follows faithfully that of the arch.
Bay’s Brown.
Taylor’s Gill Band. Saddleback is seen over Bor-rowdale.
A magnificent pnss elevated 12S0 feet above the valley. The road descends very steeply between Great Gable on the right, nnd Great End and Scawfell on the left, to Wastdale Head, a level and secluded valley, of a few hundred acres, at the head of Wast Water, shut in by lofty mountains that rise like walls from it Hero is a chapel, but no inn. Garnets aro found embedded in the slate of Gable and Lingincll.
151. This lake is 8l miles in length, s and about hall’ a mile broad ; . its extreme depth is 270 feet. The grand mountains and bnro rocks around this lake, invest it with a peculiar air of desolation. Tho Screes, whose sides “ shiver in all the subdued colours ofthe rainbow,” extend along tiie whole length of the opposite shore, whilst ihe road passes under Yewbarrow and liuekbarrow Pike.
Crook End, Rawson, Esq.
From a field fronting Crook, there is one of the best views, not only of the head, but of the whole body, of the lake. From no other point of view are the colours of the Screes more beautiftxl, more majestic the 231 outline, more magnificent the frowning cliffs.
Wilson.
24 The road from Gosforth to Egremont has been described in No. V.143
X. KESWICK—TIIRELKELD—PENRITH.—18 Miles.
ON RIGHT FROM KESWICK.
Ono mile and three-quarters from Keswick, on an eminence to tho right os tho old road to Penrith, is a Druidical Circle.
153
Rond into St. .Tohn’sValo, also 15J through Mattordalo to IJlles;-water and Patterdalo, fourteen 143 and a half miles from Keswick.
Road into St. John’s Valo. 14 The road lies undor Saddlo-back, a mountain of somewhat inferior elevation to Skiddaw.
Its summit is dittieultof access, but tho viows are extensive. On ithe south and east, It commands finer prospects than Skiddaw. but on other sides they are much intercepted. Its geological structure is similar to that 121 of Skiddaw.
Moll Fell, a conical hist, formed of a curious conglomerate. 1
Road through Mattcrdalc to Ulleswatcr.
Slate lias now disappeared; and new red sandstone taken its place.
17 j
Rond through Dacro toPoolcy Bridge, at the fbot of lilies-water, four miles. Dacro Castle, formerly the residence of the famous border family of Dacre, has been converted Into a farmhouse. Tho name is derived from tho exploits of one of their ancestors, at the siege of Aero— the St. Jean d’Acre of modern times—in tho Holy Land under Richnrd Coour de Lion. Another branch of this clan was settled at Gilsland in Cumberland. There are many ballads and traditions which still —“ proclaim Douglas or Dacre’s conquering name.”
Bede says, that a monastery once stood at Dacro, and about 980, a congress was hold here, at which King Athelstan, ac’ companiod by the King of Cum berland, received homngo from Constantine, King of Scotland,
KESWICK.
cr. Naddle Bridge.
-1^53 cr. New Bridge.
THRELKELD VILL.
Tho Btrcnm ■watering this vale, is called the Glemle-rnmakin. until its confluence with St. John’s Beck, after which it is termed tho Greta.
Scales.
Over moorish uninteresting ground.
Moor End.
Spring Field.
Pcnruddock Vill.
Observe the peculiar shape of Blencatliara, from which the other name of that mountain is taken.
Stainton Vill.
Red Hills.
PENRITH.
Inns,
The Crown; George.
ON LEFT FROM KESWICK.
Greta Bank Bridge.
Greta Bank, J. S. Spedding, Esq.
Latrlgg, “ Sklddaw’s Cub.”
Tho Rlddings, Joseph Crosier, Esq.
And see beyond that hamlet small,
The ruin’d towers of Threshold Hull.”
Tills hall was once the residence of Sir Lancelot Threl-keld, a powerful knight in tho reign of Henry VII. It is now occupied as a farm-house. The Earl of Lonsdale is proprietor.
Rond to Heskoth-new-Mar-koti
From tho hill nenr the eighth milo-stono iVom Keswick, thore is a fine view over tho vale of Tbrclkeld to tho Newland’s Mountains.
Road to Caldbcck.
m
Greystock Castlo, two miles on the left. Tho park is very extensive. Tho mansion is a fine building, containing some good pictures. Greystock Church, built in tho reign of Edward II., contains some ancient monuments. Many relies of antiquity abound in tho neighbourhood.
Iga Ono mile and a half to tho right, Dnlenmin, E. W. Hnsell, Esq.
Half a mile beyond Stainton, tho road from Penrith toUlles-16£ water deviates to tho right. Henco there is a charming view of the Valo of Penrith, and tho mountains circling Ulleswatcr, which lake is hidden by Dun-mallot, a wooded hill at its foot. Yunwath Hall, is seen on the banks of tho Eamont, ono mile and a half from Pon-rith 011 tho right.
18
Sklrsgill, Mrs. Parkin.144
XI.—PENRITH.—ULLES WATER.—PATTERDALE—KIRKSTONE— AMBLE-SIDE.—24* Milks.
*•* Instead of the first five miles and throe quarters of tho road given below, tho Tourist may cross Eamont Bridge on tho road to Kendal, turning to tho right a little beyond, to Yanwath vill. (two miles,) leaving King Arthur’s Bound Table on tho lest. Ilore is Yamvath Hall, an ancient castellated building, a good specimen of the old Westmorland Hall. Sockhridgo vill. is a mile further. The hall at this place is a ruin deserving tho attention of the artist. Barton church is seen on the right a milo beyond. 1‘ooley Bridgo is reached five miles and three quarters from Penrith.
It has been recommended, that, in order to see tho lower part of Ullos Water to advantage, the Westmorland margin should be traversed for three or four miles; a boat might be in readiness to convey the stranger across the lake to the road usually taken.
ON ltfGHT FRORl PENRITH.
Eoad to Keswick.
Waterfoot, Col. Salmond,
To reach Pooley Bridgo a quarter of a mile distant at the foot of tho lake, a turn must be made to the left. There are two inns at this place, where post-horses and boats can be obtained. There is a good view of tho lake from Dunmallct, a hill near tho villago.
Bond to New Church, so called, in distinction from Old Church, which stood on the margin of the lake. The former was consecrated by Bishop |Oglctliorpo in 1558, while on [his way to crown Queen Elizabeth ; an office he had soon to regret having undertaken, when all tho other prelates had refused, for he as well as; the other Homan Catholic Bishops were shortly afterwards deprived.
This fine park, belonging to Henry Howard, Esq. of Corby,I contains upwards of 1000 acres. It is well stocked with deer. At Sandwyke, on tho opposite margin, a considerable stream called How Grain enters the lake.
Lyulph’s Tower, a hunting seat, the property of Mr Howard. There is a splendid view of tho lake from tho front.
Lint, ye who pan by Lyulph’t Tower At eve ; how aoftly then Doth Airn Force, that torrent hoarie,
Speak from the woody glen ! Fit muilc for a solemn vale !
And holler iecm« the ground To him who calchet 011 the gale The apirit of a mournful talo Embodied In the lound.
Wo iwHwoiiTn’aSomnambulut.
]
PENRITH, rursuo the Keswick road for two miles. Dalemain Park. cr* the Dacre.
ULLES WATER.
Rampsbeck Lodgo on tho left.
Watermillock.
15 Enter Gowbarrow Park.
13*
cr. Aircy Bridge.
Rond to Keswick through Matterdalo 10* miles.
ON LEFT FROM PENRITH.
Skirsgill, Mrs Parkin.
Dalemain, E.W. Hnsell, Esq.
Dunmallct,upon which stood a Eoman fort.
This lako is of a serpentine shape, nine miles long, a mile wide, and about 200 feet in extreme depth. It is divided by promontories into three sections, called reaches, of unequal size, the smallest being the highest, and the largest the middle reach. Four small islands adorn the uppermost, 71 the scenery around whieh is B of the grandest description.
Halsteads,———Marshall*
Esq. on a promontory, called Skeiley Neb.
Hallin Fell projects from the opposite shore, and terminates tho first, reach. Swarth Fell is below llallin Fell; between the two, Fuscdale Beck enters the lake in tho bay termed How Town Wyke.
ju In Gowbarrow Park, says “ Wordsworth, tho lover of Nature might linger for hours. Here is a powerful brook, whieh dashes amonri rocks through a deep glen hung on every si do with a rich and happy intermixture of native wood ; hero are beds of luxuriant fern, aged hawthorns, and hollies decked with honey suckles; and fallow deer glancing and bounding over the lawns and through the thickets.
A mile above tho bridge the stream is precipitated down a fall of eighty feet. Two wooden bridges are thrown across the brook, one above the other, below the fall. The banks are beautifully wooded, and the scenery around of inconceivable magnificence. Birk Fell rises rapldlv from the opposite margin.145
PENRITII TO AMBLESIDE—Continued.
ON RIGHT FROM PENRITH.
Glcncoyn Houso, an old picturesque farm house belonging to Mr Howard.
Stybarrow Crag. This rook merely allowB room for the road between it and the lake. The dale landers,headed by a Moun-sey, once made a successful stand against a troop of Scottish mosstroopers at this place. Tho leader was thereafter styled King of Putterdale,a title borne for many years by his descendants.
Bilberry Crag.
Patterdale Hall.
j I’atterdalcj Chapel. In tho ‘churchyard Is one of the many jlargo yews wh’ch grow in this country. The remainsof Charles Utough, who lost his life in .’crossing Helvellyn, aro interred Iherc.
I The streams from Griscdale and Deopdale join their waters shortly before entering the lake.
St Sundays Crag.
Brother’s Water, backed by Dove Crags and other acclivities. clothed with native wood. This small sheet of water is said to tako its name from the circumstance of two brothers having been once drowned in it whilst skating.
The summit of the pass is fenced In by the Red Screes on !the right, and Woundale Head ion the left.. The large block of
stone
wtioie Church-like frame
Given to the savage Putt it» Maine— stands on the right of the road. Tho Romans aro supposed to havo marched through this depression on their way northwards from the station at Ambleside. Near the summit, a road diverges on the left into the valley of Troutbeck. At the
Iioint of deviation, a small inn tas lately been erected. In the descent, which is excessively steep, the views of Windermere and the vale of Ambleside are very fine, Wansfell Piko is on the left, Loughrigg Fell on the right of tiie vale.
-^41 cr. Glcncoyn Beck. Enter Westmorland.
cr. Glenridding Beck.
cr. Grisedalo Beck. Patterdale vill.
m cr. Deepdale Beck.
High Ilartsope.
Enter the common and climb the pass of Kirkstonc.
AMBLESIDE.
Inns, Salutation, Commercial.
ON LEFT FROM PENRITH.
A promontory from Birk Fell terminates the second roach. 1 he first island, Houso Holm.
Glenridding IIouso, Itcv. II. Askew.
This stream takes Its rise in Koppel Cove and Red Tarns, which lie near tho summit of Helvellyn. That mountain may bo ascended through this glen.
Place Fell, with a patch of cultivated ground on which aro two farm houses lying nt its base, has a striking effect on tho opposite shore.
A mountain road, practicable only for horsemen and pedestrians, conducts through Grisc-dnlo into Grasmere.
There is a good inn nt this place, which, if tho Tourist have time, should bo made his head quarters for some days, as there is much to see in tlio neighbourhood.
Road into Mnrtindale across Deepdale Beck.
Tho road is now through flat meadows on the banks of tho stream, to another branch, which flows from Brother’s Wuter.
Hartsopo Village. Hayes’ Water, a tarn well known to, tho angler, lies between High Street and Grey Crag, two1 miles above Ilartsope. Anglo. Tarn in the same neighbourhood is noted for tho superior flavour of its trout.
Within (he mind atrong fancies work,
K deep delight the botom thrills.
Oft at I patt along the fork Of theto fraternal hills.
Atplrlng road I that lov’tt to hide
Thy daring in a vapoury bourn ;
Not teldom may the hour return When thou thalt be my guide.
* # * *
Who comet not hither ne’er thall know,
How beautiful the vale below ;
Nor can he gueti how lightly leapt The brook adown the rocky tleept.
Wordsworth.
14
15
ldi
1(1
21
10J
0*
(ij146
XII. PENIUTH-SHAP-KENDAL.-2G Miles.
I
ON KIGHT FROM PENRITH. ! g |
Tho Vicarage.
At tho corner of tho field, at tho first lano on tho right, beyond Eamont Bridge, is King Arthur’s Hound Table. A short distance down tho lane, on tho| right, is Mayborough, another relic of the dark ages. Tho road; proceeds through Tirrol andi Barton to Pooloy Bridge.
Clifton Hall, a farm-houso, an ancient turrotted mansion.
Hero arc tho gates leading to |tho Earl of Lonsdale’s magnificent Park of 000 acres, and to the Castle.
Hackthorpe Hall, also a farm house. Tho birth-place of John fi st Viscount Lonsdale. The Lowther family have immense possessions in tho neighbour-
Shap, anciently Hoppe, a long straggling village. Tho remains of an abbey, founded In 1150, arc a mile to tho west on the {banks of tho Lowther. Only a (tower of tho Church is standing, but it appears to have been at one time an extensive structure. A road turns off at Shap to Hawes Water, six miles.
Wastdale Head, a granitic (mountain, from which blocks, of immense size, have been car-Iried, by some extraordinary means, into Lancashire and Staffordshire, in one direction, and to tho coast of Yorkshire in another, upwards of 100 miles from the parent rock. In order to enter Yorkshire, they must have been drifted over Stain-moor, 1400 feet in elevation.
Low-Bridgo House, Richard Fothorgill, Esq.
Throe miles north of Kendal from Otter Bank, a beautiful view of that town, with the Castle Hill on tho loft, is oh tained.
Mint House, Mrs. Eldorton,
PENRITH.
cr. Eamont Bridge. Enter Westmorland.
3 cr. Lowther Bridge.
233
Clifton Vill.
Hackthorpe Vill.
Thrimby Vill.
Shap Vill.
Inns,
Greyhound, King’s Arms. Shap Toll Bar.
Over the elevated moorish tract culled Sluip Fells.
Steep descent under Bre-thcrdalo Bank to
High Borrow Bridge, over tho Lune. Forest Hall.
cr. Mint Bridge.
KENDAL.
Inns,
King’s Arms, Commercial.
ON LEFT FROM PENRITH.
Carleton Hall, Cowper, Esq.
Tho Eamont and Lowther! are tributaries of the Eden, before entering which they form a junction.
Brougham Hall, the Windsor of tho North. In the vicinity is Brougham Cnstle.a fino ruin, tho property of the Karl of Tlianot, a descendant from
Tho stout Lord Cliffords that did fight in France.”
Upon Clifton Moor, a skirmish took place inl745, between the retreating troops of the Pretender and the army under the Duke of Cumberland, in which fifteen were killed on both sides. Mention is made of this incident in Waverley.
On tho south-east of Shap, by the road side, arc two lines of unhewn granite, called Carl Lofts. A mile to the north-east of tho same village, there is an ancient circle of large stones, both these remains arc supposed to bo of Druldic origin.
Shap Spa, a medicinal spring which annually draws a crowd of visitors, is a milo to the cast in tho midst of tho moor. The water is of nearly similar quality to that at Leamington. There is an excellent hotel in tho vicinity of tho spring.
This is the last stage to Kendal.
Whinfell Beacon, 1500 feet.
IIollow through which tho
^>rint fromLongslcddalc flows.
hi* narrow and picturesque vale commences near Garnett Bridge, and runs six miles northwards, between steep and rocky declivities. A path at its head crosses Gatcscarth Pass, having Harter Fell on the left, and Branstree on the right, into Mardale, at the head of Hnwes Water.
Benson Knott, 1098 feot.
St. George’s Church.147
SYNOPTICAL VIEW OF THE MOUNTAINS OF THE LAKE DISTRICT.
Name of Mountains.
Scawfell Pike,
Scawfell, . . .
Helvellyn,
Skiddaw, . . .
Fairfield,
Great Gavel,
Bowfell,
Rydal Head,
Pillar,
Saddleback,
Grasmoor,
Bed Pike,
High Street,
Gnzedalc Pike,
Coniston Old Man,
Hill Bell,
Ilarrison Stickle,7 r nnC(ijile Pike p:ke o’ Stickle, j Lnngaaio i ikes
Carrock Fell,
High Pike, Caldbeck Fells,
Causey Pike,
Black Combe,
Lord’s Seat,
Wansfell,
Whinfell Beacon, near Kendal,
Cat Bell,
Latrigg, ….
Dent Hill, .
Bonson Knott, near Kendal, . Loughrigg Fell,
Penrith Beacon,
Mell Fell,
Kendal Fell,
Scillv Bank, near Whitehaven,
Passes
Sty Head, . . .
Haws, between Buttcrmero dale and Nowlands,
Ilaws, between Buttcrmero and Borrowdale,
Dunmail Raise, .
Height In Feet. County.
31GG Cumberland
3100 Cumberland
3055 Cumb. & Westm.
3022 Cumberland
2050 Westmorland
2925 Cumberland
2914 Westmorland
2910 Westmorland
2093 Cumberland
2707 27 56 Cumberland
2/50 Cumberland
2700 Westmorland
2680 Cumberland
2577 Lancashire
2500 Westmorland
2400 2300 ^Westmorland
2110 Cumberland
2101 Cumberland
2030 Cumberland
1919 Cumberland
1728 Cumberland
1590 Westmorland
1500 Westmorland
1448 Cumberland
1160 Cumberland
1110 Cumberland
1098 Westmorland
1108 Westmorland
1020 Cumberland
1000 Cumberland
648 Westmorland
500 Cumberland
1250 Cumberland
1160 Cumberland
1100 Cumberland
720 Cumb. & Wcstin.
Highest English Mountain, Scawfell Pike, Cumberland, 31C6 feet.
Highest Welsh Mountain, Snowdon, Caernarvonshire, 3571
Highest Irish Mountain, Gurrano Tual, Kerry, . 3404
Highest Scottish Mountain, Ben Mucdui, Aberdeenshire, 4410
Highest European Mountain, Mont Blanc, . – 15,781
Highest Mountain in tho World, Dliawalagiri, Asia, 26,062148
SYNOPTICAL VIEW OF LAKES.
Name. County. Extreme length In miles. Extreme brciulth in miles. Extreme depth in feet. Height in feet above the sea.
Windermere West. & Lane. 10 1 240
Ulles Water . Cumb. &West. 9 1 210 380
Conlston Water . Lancashire 6 j ICO
Bassenth waite Water Cumberland 4 i G8 210
Derwent Water . Cumberland 3 H 72 222
Crummoclc Water Cumberland 3 5 132 240
Wast Water Cumberland 3 * 270 160
Hawes Water Westmorland 3 i 443
Thirlcmere . Cumberland EJ i ion 473
Ennerdale Water Cumberland 2J i 80
Esthwaitc Water . Lancashire 2 I GO 198
Buttcrmere Cumberland 1* i 24“
Grasmere Westmorland 1* i 180 180
Lowes Water . Cumberland 1 i
Brother’s Water . Westmorland J i
Rydalmero Westmorland i i 156
SYNOPTICAL VIEW OF WATERFALLS.
Name. Height in feet. Situation. County.
Beale Force 156 South-w. side of Crummock
Lake, Cumberland.
Barrow Cascade 124 East side of Derwent Water, Cumberland.
Lowdore Cascade 100 East Bide of Derwent Water, Cumberland.
Colwith Force 90 Little Langdale, Westmorland.
Airey Force 80 West side of IJllcs Water, Cumberland.
Dungeon Gill Force 80 South-east side of Langdale
Pikes, Westmorland.
Stock Gill Forco 70 Amblesido, Westmorland.
Birker Force . 60 South sido of Eskdale, Cumberland.
Stanley Gill Force 60 South side of Eskdale, Cumberland.
Sour Milk Force 60 South side of Buttermore, Cumberland.
Upper Fall, Rydal 50 Rydal Park, Westmorland.
Skclwith Force 20 On tho stream flowing from
Eltcr Water, Westmorland.149
INDEX.
Abbot-Hall, 12.
Airey Force, 94.
Allan Bank, 20.
Amblcside, 12-30.
Arbeia, a lloman Station, 138. Armathwaito Hall, 57.
Arm both House, 135.
Arthur’s (King) Hound Table, 03,02. Askham, 06.
Bampton, 96.
Barf, 57.
Barnscar, 137.
Barrow House, 50, 139.
Barton, 02.
Bassenthwaite, 56.
Bateman, Richard, 110.
BcckansgiH, 34.
Bcckcrmct, 72.
Belle Field, 127.
Belle Isle, 110.
Belle Vue, 30.
Benson-Knott, 10,146.
Birk Fell, 02, 93.
Berkshire Island, 121.
Birker Force, 137-Black Combe, 137-Black Sail, 7L Blca Crag, 70.
Blea Tarn, 28.
Blcncatluira, 53.
Blowick, 05.
Borrowdalo, 130.
Borrowdalc Black Lead Mine, 58. Bowness, 122, 127-8.
Bowder Stone, 51, 130.
Braddyll, Family of, 33.
Brant Fell, 120.
Brathay, The, 27, 30, 122. Bremcntenracum, a Homan Station, 85.
Bridal of Triermain, Scene of this Boom, 55.
Broadlands, 30. ,
Brother’s Water, 145.
Brougham Castle, 78.
Brougham Hall, 85,.86, 146. Burnside, 127-Buttcrmcrc Haws, 58, 130. Buttcrmero Lake, 140.
Buttcrmerc Village, 60.
Caldgr Aubev, 73, 137.
Calder Bridge, 72.
Calgarth Park, 119,122.
Carloton Hall, 85, 146.
Carl Lofts, 146.
Cartmcll, 34.
Castle Crag, 51,130.
Castle Head, 40.
Castlc-how-hill, 0.
Castlo Inn, 57.
Castlo Rigg, 40, 56.
Cat Bells, 40, 52.
Catchcdecam, 107.
Char, Potted, 43.
Cherry Holm, 05.
Clifford. Sketch of the more distinguished members of this Family. Footnote, 79-80.
Clifton Hall, 146.
Clifton Moor, 146.150
INDEX.
Coal Mines at Whitehaven, GG. Cockermouth, 141.
Col with Force, 27, 13G.
Conishead Priory, 32, 33.
Coniston Lake, 117-
Coniston Old Man, Ascent of, 113.
Coniston Village, 113.
Cook’s House, 131.
Concangium, Roman Station of this name, 9.
Countess’s Pillar, The, 81.
Covey Cottage, 30.
Crake River, 117-Croft Lodge, 30, 122.
Crook End, 142.
Crosfell, 78.
Crosthwaitc’s Museum, 44.
Crow Park, 49.
Crummock Lake, G2, 140.
Curwen’s Isle, 120.
Dackk Castlk, 143.
Dalegarth Hall, 137*
Dalemain, 35.
Dallam Tower, 12.
DeQuinccy. His reflections on Wordsworth’s prosperity, Footnote, 17-Description of Buttermcro, GO. Derwentwater, 46-49. Derwentwater, Description of engraved View, x.
Devoke Water, 137.
Dictis, Roman Station of this name, 12.
Dove Nest, 119. Mrs. Hemans’ Description of, 132.
Druidical Circle, 50.
Drunken Barnaby’s Journal, extract from, with reference to Kendal. Footnote, 6.
Duddon, The, 136.
Dungeon Gill Force, 29.
Dunmail Raise, Tradition regarding, 135.
Dunraallct, 92.
Ea mont, 78, 92.
Easedalc, Valley of, 21.
Eden Hall, 36.
Esthwaite Lake, 118.
Egremont, 72, 137 Ehen, The River, 70.
Ellcray, 119, 130.
Elterwatcr Tarn, 30.
Eltcrwater Hall, 30.
Ennerdale Lake, 70.
Eskdalo, 136.
Euscmcrc, 92.
Fairfield, 13, 134.
Fell Foot, 126.
Ferney Green, 127.
Fllntotf’s, Mr., Model of the Lake District, 44.
Floating Island, The, 43.
Floutern Tarn, 62, 70.
Fisher’s Place, 135.
Fox Gill, 30.
Friar Crag, 49.
Froswick, 26.
Furness Abbey, 34-41.
Gatescartii, 59, 79.
Gates Water, 113.
Giant’s Caves, 33.
Giant’s Grave, The, 77-Giant’s Thumb, The, 78.
Gilgarron, 133.
Gill Foot, 68,137.
Gillerthwaite, 71 •
Glaramara, 59.
Glcncoyn House, 145.
Glencoyn Beck, 94.
Glenridding Beck, 95, 145. Glenridding House, 95, 145. Gosforth, 73.
Gowbarrow Park, 93, 94, 144. Gowdcr Crag, 51.
Gough, Charles, his lamentable death, 107.
Graithwaitc, 126.
Grasmoor, 62.
Grasmere, A Remembrance of, by Mrs. Hemans, Footnote, 18. Described by Gray, Footnote, 19; by Wordsworth, Footnote, 19, 134.
Grass Holm, 121.
Gray the poet, his description of Grasmere, Footnote, 19.INDEX.
151
Grange Bridge, 51, 139.
Grange Village, 52.
Great End, 101.
Great Dodd, 55.
Great Gable, 71, 74-Green Bank, 30.
Greta Hall, 44, 45, 130.
Greta, The River, 52.
Greystock Castle, 85, 143.
Grisodale, 145.
Grisedale Pike, 57.
Gummer’s How, 118.
Gunnerskeld Bottom, 98.
Hackthorpe Hall, 140.
Halim Fell, 92.
Halsteads, 92, 93.
Harrison Stickle, 29,115.
Harrop Tarn, 106.
Hasness, 59.
Harts-horn Tree, 82.
Hartsopc Village, 145.
Hawes Water, 96.
Hawkshead, 118.
Hawl Gill, 142.
Hayes Castle, 138.
Hay Stacks, The, 59.
Heaves Lodgo, 12.
Helm Lodge, 12.
Helm Crag, 20.
Helton, 90.
Helvellyn, 94, 90, 104.
Hcmans, Mrs., her description of Rydal Mount, 10; of Grasmere, Footnote, 18; of Dove Nest, 132. Herdhousc, 70.
Hermit’s Cell at Brougham Hall, 00. Hest Bank, 42.
Hcnsingham House, 00, 137.
Hen Holm, 120.
High Crag, 59.
High Street, 20, 90.
High Style, 59.
High Wray, 122.
Hill BeB, 20.
Hill Top, 12, 30.
Holkcr Hall, 33.
Holywell, 34.
Honister Crag, 59.
House Holm, 93, 95, 120.
Howe, The, 25.
Hutton Hall, 85.
Hutton’s Museum, 44.
Inglewood Forest, 75.
Isis Parlis, 83.
Itinerary, 117-140.
Ivy Cottage, 31.
Ings Chapel, 119.
Jones, Paul, his descent upon Whitehaven, 05.
Karl Loin^, 97-Kecklc Grove, 00.
Kendal, 1-12.
Kendal Castle, 8.
Kent, Tho River, 10.
Kent’s Bank, 42.
Kentmere, 96, 119.
Keswick, 42.
Kidsay Pike, 98.*
King Arthur’s Round Table, 140. KirkfeU, 7L 74.
Kirkstone, 18, 20, 96, 145.
Knab, The, 134.
Lady Holm, 120.
Lake District, its extent, 1; its peculiar attractions, 2.
Lakes, Table of, 148.
Lancaster and Preston Canal, 8. Lancaster Sands, 41.
Langdale, 20-30.
Langdalo Chapel, 30.
Langdale Pikes, Ascent of, 114. Latrigg, 49.
Levons Hall, 10.
Levers Water, 113.
Ling Holm, 121.
Lingmell, 74, 101.
Lingmoor, 27-Linking-Dalc-ITcad, 94.
Lincthwaitc, G8.
Liza, The River, 70.
Long Meg and her Daughters, 84. Lord’s Island, 47.
Lord’s Seat, 57.
Loughrigg Fell, 13, 27,134. Loughrigg Tarn, 30.1.52
INDEX.
Low-Bridge House, 12, 146.
Low Water, 113.
Low-Wood Inn, 122, 131.
Lowes Water, 63.
Lowdore Waterfall, 51, 133 Lowther, 70. 39.
Lowthcr Castle, 37-90.
Lowther, Sketch of the more distinguished members of this family, 89, 90.
Lyulph’s Tower, 94, 144.
Macartney, Lord, his remark on the situation of Lowther Castle, 3.9.
Mancsty, 52.
Mardale Green, 99.
Martindalc, 95.
Mary the Beauty of Buttermere, 61. Mayborough, 84, 92.
Mell Fell, 14.3.
Melbreak, 62, 70.
Middle Holm, 95.
Mill Becks, 29.
Mint House, 146.
Morecambe Bay, 41.
Moresby HaH, 63.
Mortal Man, The, inn of this name, 26.
Moscdale, 71 •
Moscrgh Houso, 12.
Moss Holm, 95.
Mountains, Table of, 147-Muncaster Castle, 137-
Naddle Fell, 54.
Naddle Forest, 98.
Newlands Vale, 60.
Oaks, The, 30.
Oak Bank, 30.
Orrest Head, 119.
Ouse Bridge, 57.
Overbeck, 142.
Patterdale Chapel, 145. Patterdale Hall, 95, 145.
Pelter Bridge, 134.
Penrith, 75-78.
Penrith, Old, 85.
Penny Bridge, 117.
Penruddock Village, 143.
Pike o’ Stickle, 29, 114.
Pikes, The, 74.
Pillar, The, Mountain of this name, 71-
Place Fell, 93, 145.
Place Fell Quarry, 95.
Ponsonby Hall, 73, 137.
Pooley Bridge, 92.
Pope’s lines on tho Earl of Wharton, 97.
Portinscale, 52, 50.
Pull Wyke, 122.
Quakers, their first place of worship, Footnote, 32.
Radclikfe, Mrs., her description os Furness Abbey, 35-41. Rampsbcck Lodge, 93.
Rampsholm, 48.
Ratclifte, Family of, Footnote, 43,44. Ravenglass, 137.
Raw Head, 12.
Rayrigg, 130.
Red Pike, 59.
Revclin, 70.
Robin tho Devil, Exploit of, Footnote, 124, 125.
Roman Stations \—Concanghim, 9; Dictis, 12; Castle Crag, 51; Bro-voniacum, 70; Brcmentcnracum, 85; Arbeia, 138.
Rose Hill, 130.
Roseneath, 138.
Rosthwaitc, 57, 139.
Rothay Bank, 30.
Rothay, Tho River, 13.
Rough Holm, 120.
Romncy the painter, Footnote, 33,34. Rydal Hall, 14.
Rydal Merc, 10, 134.
Rydal Mount, 16, 134.
Rydal Village, 14.
Saddleback, 143.
Scawfell, Ascent of, 101.
Scawfell Pikes, 73, 101.
Scale Force, 61.INDEX.
153
Scale Hill, 62.
Scales Turn, 53.
Scarf Gap, 59, 71.
Scott, Sir Walter, extract from tho Bridal of Tricrmain, descriptive of Scales Tarn, 53; of the Vale of St. John, 55, 56. Quotation from Rokeby, 125.
Screes, The, 74.
Scatallan, 74.
Scatoller, 57, 139.
Sedgwick House, 12.
Shap Abbey, 97.
Shap Spa, 140*.
Shap Village, 140.
Shaw End, 12.
Shepherd’s Crag, 51.
Silver Holm, 121.
Silver How, 21.
Sizergh Hall, 11.
Skcllcy Neb, 92.
Skelwith Bridge, 27.
Skiddaw, Ascent of, 109.
Skirsgill House, 05,
Slate Quarries, 59.
Sour Milk Gill, 21, 59.
Southey, Dr., His Residence, 44-45. Verses descriptive of tho view from his house, 45.
Springfield, GO, 137.
Stake, The, 57.
Station, The, 123.
Stanley Gill, 137.
Stavoley Villago, 119.
Stickle Tarn, 115.
Stock Gill Force, 13.
Stonethwaite, 57.
Storrs Hall, 120*.
Strands Villago, 73, 142.
Sty barrow Crag, 93, 94.
Stybarrow House, 145.
Sty Head, 57, 75.
Sty Head Tarn, 142.
St. Bees, 68, 137.
St. Herbert’s Isle, 47-St. John’s Beck, 54.
St. John’s Vale, 52, 135.
Summer Grove, GO.
Swartmoor, Footnote, 32.
Tail End, 19.
Tanwath, 92.
Thirlemere, 135.
Thirlspot Vale, 55.
Thornthwaite, 57.
Thompson’s Holm, 120.
Threlkeld Hall, 53.
Threlkeld Village, 143.
Tirer, Ralph, his quaint epitaph, 7-Tirrel, 92.
Tours, Abstract of, ix-xi.
Town Head, 12G.
Trenck, Baron, his feat of horsemanship on Great End, 75. Troutbeck, 23-25.
Ullkswater, 91-9G. Description of Engraving, xii.
Ulverston, 31.
Underbarrow Scar, 9.
Vicar’s Isle, 47.
Wallow Crag, 50.
Wansfell Pike, 14.
Wastdale Head, 71, 74, 142, 146. Wastwater, 142.
Watendlath, 50, 139.
Waterfalls, Table of, 140.
Watcrfoot, 93.
Waterhead Inn, 117.
Watermillock, 93.
Water Park, 117*
Watson, Bishop, his birth-place, 120. Wansfell House, 30.
Wcthcrlamb, 27.
Whitehaven, G4-G0.
Whitehaven Castle, G7.
Whitclcss, 62.
Whiteside, 62.
Whinfcll Beacon, 146.
Whinfell Forest, 02.
Whinlatter, 63.
Wilberforcc, W., his residence, 92. Wilson, Professor. His description of Rydal Park, Footnote, 14; of Windermere, 24-25, and 123. Windermere described by Wilson, 24-25. Circuit of, 120-133.Wishing Gate, The, 2L Wotobank, 72.
Wordsworth, William. Extract descriptive of Levons’ Gardens, 10; of Rydal Fall, 15; address to Lady 1c Fleming, 15-16; his places of residence, 1G and 20; De Quincoy’s reflections upon his prosperity. Footnote, 17; verses on the Wishing-Gate, 21-23; on Elea Tarn, 20; on St. Herbert, 40; on Bowder Stone, Cl; on the river Greta, Footnote, 52. Extract descriptive of Scales
Tarn, 53; of Thrclkcld Hall, 54 of the Borrow dale Yew-tree, 58; of tho Yew of Lorton Vale, G3 description of St. Bees, GO; verses on the Countess’s Pillar, Footnote, 01-02; on Lowther Castle 80; Sonnet on Skiddaw, 113.
Wrynosc, 130.
Wyke The, 19.
Ykwbaiwovv, 71-74.
Yew Crag, 139.
Yoke Tho, Mountain of this name, 26.
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