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THE ENGLISH LAKES.

THE route adopted by the great majority of visiters, on approaching the lovely and magnificent scenes which the lake country discloses, is by way of Lancaster and Kendal a route which at the same time that it is the most speedy and convenient, has also the advantage of introducing the tourist into the most beautiful and important part of the district. The precise period of the year for visiting the country is a matter which must be fixed on according to the taste of the visiter. Some prefer the spring, but by far the greatest influx takes place during the autumn months. In May and June the landscape presents a lively appearance; the meadows and mountain sides are clothed in verdure; the timber trees and coppice woods exhibit every variety of green; and while the eye feasts on the beauty of the varied prospect, the music of the woodland choristers falls deliciously on the ear. In August and September the scenery has undergone a considerable change the rich green of spring has given place to the golden and manifold hues of autumn. The foliage of the woods and forest trees displays a pleasing diversity of tints, and here and there is seen a field of yellow grain, waving in the breeze, or enlivened by a host of busy harvest labourers. The heavy showers of rain which occa

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sionally fall at this period may be looked on as unfavourable to the progress of the tourist; but the slight disadvantages they occasion are perhaps more than compensated by the freshness they impart to the landscape, and by their swelling the waterfalls, giving a highly picturesque appearance to some that would otherwise be scarcely worth visiting.

Passing from Lancaster to Kendal (a distance of upwards of twenty miles by the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway), the scenery presenting itself to the eye of the spectator is of a character which indicates his approach to the lake district. When about half way the passenger leaves a little to the right the small town of Burton-in-Kendal, and a few miles further, at a greater distance in the same direction, the town of Kirkby Lonsdale, situated on the western bank of the river Lune, in one of the most beautiful valleys in the kingdom. Though at some distance from the direct road to the lakes, this place is frequently visited by strangers, and the richness of the surrounding scenery amply repays the trouble of the deviation. Kirkby Lonsdale contains a population of nearly 1700; has a fine church, which, however, has lost its antique appearance through modern innovation; and a lofty bridge of three arches over the Lune. In the vicinage are a number of gentlemen's seats, and about a mile to the north-east the village of Casterton, where are two laudable institutions one a school for educating the daughters of the clergy, and the other for the training of female servants. There is an exceedingly neat chapel in the village. In the neighbourhood are also several caves, all of which may be conveniently visited from the town. When seven miles from Kendal, the line leaves, at a mile to the west, the salubrious little town of Milnthorpe, where, previous to the railway communication being opened,

tourists were in the habit of making a temporary stay; and a little further, on the same side, the rural village of Heversham, famed for its school, where several eminent characters have received their education, among whom are named the late Bishop Watson,* Professor Whewell, and others. Further still is Levens Hall, the seat of the Hon. Mrs. Howard, with its splendid park, on the banks of the river Kent. The gardens here were planned by Mr. Beaumont, gardener to James II., after the old French style, of which they are the finest specimens in the kingdom, and, together with the richly-carved oak in the library and hall, will be found rare and interesting objects. About three miles from Kendal the traveller catches a glimpse of Sizergh Castle, to the west, an ancient building that has long been in possession of the Stricklands, surrounded by park and woodland scenery. It is recorded that Queen Catherine Parr resided here a short time after the demise of the king, and prior to her marriage with Lord Seymour; and the room she occupied, hung with gobeline tapestry, is still pointed out, and is named the Queen's room. Arrived at the junction of the Kendal and Windermere Railway, one of the best views is obtained of the town of Kendal. Partly situated at the base of a hill which commands the river Kent and the vale for some distance, its irregular streets and scattered houses, when viewed from this elevated position, have a very pleasing appearance. Between the junction and the town, on the summit of a conical hill, stand the ruins of the castle, once the seat of the barons of Kendal, and the birth-place of Catherine Parr, the sixth and only surviving wife of "bluff King Hal." It has evidently once been en

Heversham was the birth-place of Bishop Watson, and the school here spoken of was taught by his father for nearly half a century.

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