and Hawes Water, are descried in the distance. More to the left, but nearer the spectator, the two conical Mell Fells are readily distinguished. With the assistance of a glass, the castles of Lowther, Dacre, and Brougham can be perceived; Penrith, backed by Cross Fell, does not require so much trouble. In the vast plain which extends northward, there stands the city of Carlisle, a view of which is obtained between Atkinson's Man and Carrock Fell. Solway Firth then catches the eye, until Skiddaw closes the view for many a league. Between Lonscale Fell and Grisedale Pike the sea is again visible, with part of the country about Whitehaven. In this direction a lofty process of Blencathara himself is prominent, and on the left succeeds an assemblage of "craggy regions and chaotic wilds," including the Derwentwater, Borrowdale, Buttermere, and Wastwater ranges. Derwentwater forms a very pleasing object in the scene. When the tourist has gazed his fill upon these prospects, he may commence his return to Keswick, by traversing the brow of the hill (not omitting to notice the varied conformation of the sides), and thus passing the eminences called Lilefell, Priestman, and Knott Crag, whence the descent to Threlkeld is soon made. Nevertheless, he has the option of descending in a south-westerly direction to the Glenderaterra. A wooden bridge will conduct him across that stream, and he can then traverse Brundholm Wood by a road which commands delightful views of the sinuous Greta, and further on, of Derwentwater and the circumjacent hills. We may here appropriately introduce some lines from the pen of S. T. Coleridge, entitled, A THOUGHT SUGGESTED BY A VIEW OF SADDLEBACK. "On stern Blencathra's perilous height The winds are tyrannous and strong; Beneath the moon in gentle weather, They bind the earth and sky together; But oh! the sky and all its forms how quiet, The things that seek the earth, how full of noise and riot!" HIGH STREET. The name of this mountain is derived from the strange circumstance of a Roman road having been constructed upon it, within a few feet from the highest point. The line of this ancient way can still be discerned upon a slight inspection; the alternate excavation and elevation, and the darker green of the grass being quite noticeable to the eye when run along it for a little distance. "The massy ways, carried along these heights WORDSWORTH. This is undoubtedly the highest road ever formed in the island, for the altitude of the mountain is 2700 feet. Although no trace of the road can now be found upon the neighbouring height of Lade Pot, there is some ground for supposing that its course led across that hill, since Lád, in the Saxon language, signifies a way. High Street stands at the head of Kentmere, the valley which gave birth to Bernard Gilpin, "the apostle of the north," and near the upper end of Hawes Water. It is of the slate formation, and affords abundance of excellent material for roofing buildings. In former days, the shepherds from the adjacent vales annually met upon the grassy top of this hill, for the purpose of testing their strength and skill in various athletic exercises. Notwithstanding the extensive range of prospect commanded by this mountain, it is not often visited, principally on account of its distance from any comfortable hotel. It is, however, well worthy of being included in the pedestrian's list of rambles; and not much difficulty will be experienced in ascending from any of the neighbouring valleys, viz., Kentmere, Mardale, Pat M terdale, and Troutbeck. 1. From Kentmere the best path is to pursue the road leading above the west bank of the stream, from the chapel to the slate quarries, under Rainsborrow Crag; then proceeding in the same direction for about a mile and a half further, to ascend the hill on the left. When the ridge has been attained, a turn to the right leads the climber to the summit. 2. From Mardale the usual course is to track the stream, which runs through a narrow valley lying between Kidsty Pike and White Raise. The former eminence must be passed on the left by an easy bend, and the comparatively level summit traversed in a southern direction. This path is much shorter than the others, the distance from Mardale Chapel to the Street being about three miles. 3. The road from Patterdale lies through Low Hartsope to Hays Water; and when the cove, down which a main feeder approaches the tarn, has been ascended, a bend should be made to the left, and an easy climb leads to the summit. 4. From Troutbeck (Low Wood or Bowness having been his night quarters), the stranger must take the road conducting along the east side of the vale towards the Park slate quarries. A sheep-fold, at the foot of a tremendous gully, called Blue Gill, should be aimed at; and here the hill must be boldly attacked, the ascent being made at a sharp angle, with an inclination to the left. If the proper direction has been taken, he will arrive on the mountain's ridge at a place called Scots Rake, the spot where Troutbeck legends assert, that a party of rebels, in 1715, attempted to enter the valley. When the climber has surmounted the ridge, he will perceive Thornthwaite Crag, a rocky elevation, before him, and his easiest path lies across its right shoulder. Then making a slight descent, and passing close to a spring of water which gushes out at the side of the hill, and preserves a delicious coolness ("frigus amabile") through the heat of summer, a little more labour along a verdant slope suffices to place the wanderer on the level area which forms the summit. Looking in a north-eastern direction, the spectator sees Blea Water below, a dark peared-shaped tarn, enclosed by Blea Water Crag on the one hand, and Long Stile on the other. Mardale Green and Hawes Water are beyond, and Harter Fell is behind Blea Water Crag. In the distance, the country round Penrith and Appleby is visible, backed by a chain of hills, the highest of which is Cross Fell. Kidsty Pike, overhanging Hawes Water, then blocks up the view; but turning towards the west, there is an opening over the hills to the level country, and the blue outline of the Scotch border hills terminates the prospect. West, there is the broad bulk of Helvellyn, with Skiddaw peeping from behind on the right. Nearer the foreground, Place Fell and Hallin Fell, conceal Ulleswater; but a view of that lake is obtained from Thornthwaite Crag. Hays Water lies at the foot of Grey Crag, a ridge running from Thornthwaite Crag. Over this ridge is perceived the hollow in the side of Dow Crag, where Brothers Water lies embedded. On the left, a congeries of mountains is made up of Kirkstone, Scandale Fell, Rydal Head, Fairfield, Grisedale Pike, and St. Sunday's Crag. Through depressions in this chain, Langdale Pikes, Scawfell, and other mountains in the far west, are caught. Wetherlam and Coniston Old Man have their stand in front. Black Combe is the last of the hills, and then beyond Thornthwaite Crag, the sea about Broughton comes into sight. Almost the whole length of Windermere is visible, with its islands sufficiently distinct to challenge their names; Gummer's How is a hill on the eastern shore near the foot. Three elevations near at hand-Frossick, Hill Bell, and that part of the Yoke termed Rainsborrow Crag-present, on their Kentmere side, a very striking appearance. They seem as if they had been roughly split, and one half of their mass removed. It may be observed, by the way, that the mountains on the lake of Brienz, in Switzerland, have the same singularly shattered appearance when viewed from the Roth-horn. To the left, the sands of Morecambe Bay are discried in the distance; and a good eye will not fail to discover, in a clear day, the Castle and Church of Lancaster, in the same direction. Underbarrow Scar, a rocky escarpment near Kendal, may be remarked; and the situation of Kendal itself is easily made out by noting the two patches of dark plantation upon the hill above that town. Ingleborough dims the sky a little to the right. Having thus enumerated the principal objects in the distance, the spectator's attention is directed to the singular complication of mountains, on the highest point of which he has taken his stand. First, there is the series of elevations, dividing the valleys of Troutbeck and Kentmere, beginning at Applethwaite Common, and advancing in a straight line to Thornthwaite Crag. From this Crag, as from a new centre, three several ridges branch off, viz., connected by Thresthwaite mouth, a ridge runs on the west of Troutbeck, southward to Wansfell Pike; a second, comprising Codale Moor and Dodd, extends northward; and lastly, Grey Crag also diverges to the north. Standing at the north-east verge of High Street, the spectator perceives to the north, Kidsty Pike and its dependencies; north-east, the minor ridge, called Long Stile; and east, the "slack," termed Nan Bield, forming a connection with Harter Fell and the hills running south, between Kentmere and Longsleddale. CONISTON OLD MAN. This mountain stands at the north-west angle of Coniston Lake, to the views from the head and eastern shore of which it adds a grandeur exceedingly imposing. Its boldest aspect, however, is presented when viewed from the neighbourhood of Torver. It forms the highest peak of the Coniston Fell range, reaching an altitude of 2580 feet. It is composed of a fine roofing slate, for the excavation of which material there are several large quarries, now in a great measure unworked. The slates are carried down the lake by |