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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 the sea. They are 320 yards in depth, and such 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. The sea has not unfrequently burst 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, Belfast, Dublin, and Douglas in the Isle of Man, by the packets of the Steam Navigation Company. A packet sails several times 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 be ascertained upon inquiry at the office of the Company, 36 King Street, or by reference to Bradshaw's Railway Guide. Railway Trains leave Whitehaven several times a-day for Workington, Cockermouth, and Maryport, in connection with the Maryport and Carlisle Railway, and for St Bees and Ravenglass, by the Furness Junction Railway. Customs dues collected in 1857, £73,201.

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The residences in the neighbourhood of Whitehaven are Whitehaven Castle (Earl of Lonsdale), on the south-east of the town; Hensingham House (H. Jefferson, Esq.), one mile south; Summer Grove (J, Spedding), two miles south; Keekle Grove (Mrs Perry), three miles south; Linethwaite (G. Harri son, Esq.), three miles south; Moresby Hall (Miss Tate), two miles north, built after a design of Inigo Jones; Roseneath (Mrs Solomon); Rose Hill (G. W Hartley, Esq.).

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 in 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 Bega, an Irish virgia and saint, who lived here, 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, parti

cularly 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. Un til 1810 the chancel was unroofed, but in that year it was repaired, and is now occupied as the divinity school" for the reception 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 the 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."

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The Grammar School, founded by Archbishop Grindal, stands near the church.

ENNERDALE LAKE is less visited than most of the other lakes, in consequence of its 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. The first mile and a ha 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 endi are thrown into magnificent groups. Long before reaching the head of the lake the scenery becomes wild and desolate. A mile and a half beyond the extre mity 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 Pil lar (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 there was won! to be 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. 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 Mosedale, having Yewbarrow on the right, reaches Wastdale Head, three miles from the sheet cote. Wastdale Head will be mentioned again in the description of our next

excursion.

WAST WATER

Is most generally visited from Keswick by following the road up Borrowdale (described pages 26 and 30), and as far as Seathwaite, and from that striking across the Slyhead Pass to Wastdale Head. It may also be visited by the Furness Junction Railway from Drigg or Seascale Station, the former of which is 14 and the latter 12 miles from Whitehaven, or by the road which passes through the town of Egremont. Following the road, 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 this 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 !"

"The name remains, and Wotobank is seen
From every mountain bleak and valley green."

MRS. COWLEY'S Edwina,

The road crosses Calder Bridge four miles from Egremont. There are two good inns in the village. Close at hand is Ponsonby Hall, the residence of E. Stanley, Esq., in a beautiful park. One mile above the village, on the north bank of the stream, are the picturesque remains of Calder Abbey, founded by Ranulph de Meschiens in 1134, for a colony of Cistertians who were detached from Furness Abbey. It subsequently received many valuable grants. At the dissolution it shared the common fate of the Romish ecclesiastical establishments.

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. The 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 of 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 has never been known to be iced over even in the severest winter. The mountains round this lake rise to a great altitude. The Screes hang over the south-east margin, and form an extraordinary feature in the landscape. Seatallon 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 moun

Standing at the head of slanting roof of a house,

tains surrounding this level area is strikingly grand. the lake, the spectator will have Yewbarrow, like the on his left, further up, Kirkfell, and immediately before him Great Gable,-s 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 Eskdale. Tourists on foot or horseback may proceed to Keswick, fourteen miles distant, by the pass of Sty Head-the highest in the lake district. The Borrowdale road is entered near Seathwaite. Great Gable is on the left of the pass, and Great End on the right. The summit, 1300 feet high, commands, as may be imagined, a most extensive view. The ascent is remarkably steep; and if horses are taken over, great caution should be 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 the bottom, and performed in one day a journey of fifty-six miles, through steep and difficult roads, which nearly killed his horse.

PENRITH.

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Penrith is an ancient market-town, seated at the foot of an eminence near the southern verge of the county of Cumberland. It contains 6668 inhabitants, and the appearance of the town is clean and neat. It lies in the neighbourhood of three rivers, the Lowther, Eamont, and Petterill, within the district called Inglewood Forest. The existence of Penrith may be traced back for many centuries. An army of 30,000 Scots laid it waste 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 are very trifling, consisting principally of linen goods and some woollen fabrics.

The ruins of the Castle, supposed to have been erected by the Nevilles, 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 lead, timber, and other materials were sold. In 1783, the late Duke of Portland sold it, to gether with the honour of Penrith, including Inglewood Forest, to the Duke 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 Church is a plain structure; it was partly rebuilt in 1722, and is dedi

• A dezerintion of the Pikes, and their ascent, is given on a subsequent page.

cated to St Andrew. It was given by Henry I. to the Bishop of Carlisle, who is still the patron of the cure.

On one of the walls is the following record of the ravages of a pestilence toward the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth :—“ A. D. м.D.XCVIII. ex gravi peste, quæ regionibus hisce incubuit, obierunt apud Penrith 2260, Kendal 2500, Richmond 2200, Carlisle 1196.

Posteri,
Avertite vos et vivite."

This memorial on orass has been substituted in the place of a more ancient in scription 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 church-yard is a singular monument of antiquity, called the Giant's Grave, the origin of which is involved in obscurity. It consists of two 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 the 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 the memory of Owen Cæsarius, a giant.

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; Crossfell (2900 feet high), and the eastern chain of hills stretching from Stanemoor in Yorkshire, through Westmorland and Cumberland into Scotland, being within the boundary of the prospect.

The antiquities in the neighbourhood of Penrith are numerous.

The 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 the right of the Appleby Road. The vallum of an encapment is still to be traced, and altars, coins, and other antiquities have often been found at the place.

A short distance beyond Brougham Castle stands the Countess's Pillar, erected in 1656, by Lady Anne Clifford.

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 large, 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

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