$%$J®n U<4 mt tf 35 Haweswater .. 27 Wastdale Head ••• 73 Hawkeshead .. 24 Wast water ... 74 Helvellyn 28, 36 Windermere Lake • • 13 Honister Crag •• 5i Wytiiburn 1 0 Kendal 7 Loudon & North WeaternBy. S*» ^*TWT»»I«i f; - U »ll.« yoi1;m S»/ ^Iakot.bstkb^^xoe)xo O WINDERMERE(L.&N.W.) Q Second] css)i'« >V< W-* H*JI# £ NoiHt* LlYKKPOOL (LlME StT) TO WINDERMERE(L&N.WJ VTA OXENHOUCE First] 521 S) fMNOERMiRE [Class FARE 1311 London & North WINDER VTA Third] nhw$> niNOERMIRE 2 cHE holiday seeker will find ample inducement to pleasure, active or restful as inclination may decide, in a visit to the charming and varied scenes unfolded in a tour through the delightful country known far and wide as the English Lake District, of which the numerous points of interest are pictured in the illustrations and descriptive letterpress of this brief booklet, dedicated to the convenience of an increasing section of the public intent on exploring the natural beauties of this most picturesque and romantic district of England. Although there are many guide books to the Lake District in existence, doubtless the issue of this booklet by the London and North Western Railway Company will be regarded as very appropriate because this Company is so closely identified with the Lake Country. It has been well said that “it is benignly ordained that green fields, clear blue skies, running streams of pure water, rich groves and woods, and all the ordinary varieties of rural nature should find an easy way to the affections of all men.” Certainly in no other tract of country will be found within so narrow a compass such infinite variety of all that is most charm- ing and romantic in scenery. Windermere, DerWentWater, UllsWater ! What visions diverse and beautiful the very names recall ; the sylvan charm of Windermere, the grandeur of the Through Carriage, Euston and Windermere. 3mountains donn i nati n g Der wen t - water, and the im- pressive and varied attractions of Ulls- water. Thanks to the well- organised service of the London and North Western Railway, the Lake District is with- in easy reach of Liver- pool, Manchester and the populous districts of Lancashire and Yorkshire ; and passengers from Lon- don and Birmingham have the accommodation of quick trains and through carriages. Through carriages of the most approved pattern are run by most of the trains, sketches of which, exterior and interior, appear in these pages. Windermere and Keswick lie but a very short distance away from the main line of the West Coast Royal Mail Route, which is celebrated for the excellenceof itspermanent way and rolling stock, and passengers travelling by this line are sure of every modern, up-to-date convenience, as well as of civility, attention and punctuality. Some of the trains afford the convenience of taking luncheon or dinner inspeciallv fitted up cars en route, and with all the trains luncheon baskets, hot or cold, can readily be obtained at the principal stations. Particulars of the Tourist, Week End, &c., fares, together with full information as to the availability of the tickets and the conditions applying to the provision of special accommodation will be found in the Appendix. 4A number of Coach Tours have been arranged in connection with the trains, thoroughly covering the district and giving access to points of interest which the railway cannot reach. Great pains have been taken to secure thoroughly accurate descriptive matter for this Guide, which has been provided by gentlemen of recognised ability. The numerous illustrations with which the pages are em- bellished have been carefully selected as representative of the most interesting of the diversified attractions of the district described in the letterpress, and will serve, not only to indicate the various picturesque views of the more prominent objects en route, but also as souvenir reminders of the delights of a journey through this beautiful and romantic country. It is confidently hoped that the booklet will receive a hearty welcome, and provide attractive and interesting reading for all. Carnforth, on the main line of the London and North Western Railway, may be regarded as one of the portals to the Lake District for visitors travelling from the South. From this point the Tourist may reach the Lakes either via the Furness or London and North Western Railway. The London and North Western Line runs direct through Kendal to Windermere village, to Penrith for Ullswater, and to Keswick and Cockermouth for Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite Lake, etc., passing on the way Sliap, the most convenient station for the beautiful Haweswater. The Furness Railway, the “ Coast Line,” has branches from its main line at Ulvers- ton for Windermere, Lake Side, and at Foxfield for Coniston, whilst Wastwater and Ennerdale may be reached from Seascale on the main line to Whitehaven. Dining Car and Kitchen.Carnforth Station, the Gateway to the Lake District. Carnforth, the point of communication between the London and North Western system and that of the Furness Railway, lies at the north-eastern extremity of Morecambe Bay, a short distance from Lancaster, and has, during the past thirty years, developed from a purely agricultural village into a place of no small industrial activity, the change being due to its having become a railway centre and to the large smelting works of the Carnforth Hematite Iron Company. These important works, the tall chimneys and great furnace towers of which stand out conspicuously in the landscape, contain six blast furnaces, and have a capacity for producing as much as 4,000 tons of pig iron per week, and new furnaces on American principles have recently been constructed. Many places of considerable interest to the Tourist lie within easy reach of Carnforth, one of these being the Parish Church of Warton, which stands at the foot Kendal Parish Church and Kendal Castle. 6Hawes Bridge. brings the passenger to Oxenholm line for Kendal and Windermere. of a limestone height called Warton Crag, and contains memorials of the Washing- tons, from whom George Washington, the first Presi- dent of the United States of America, was descended. Leaving Carnforth by the main line of the London and North Western Railway, a journey of thirteen miles e, the junction with the branch At Kendal, interest will be excited by the ruins of the Castle, with its moat and keep, which is said to have been built by the first Baron of Kendal, Ivo de Talebois, who came over with the Conqueror. The Parish Church is also well worth a visit. It is of great beauty, and, with the exception of the outer aisles, dates from the time of King John. There are many other his- torical associations attaching to theplace. In the reign of Edward III a number of Flemings settled here for the manu- facture (still pursued) of woollen cloth, the ‘‘three misbegotten Leuens Hall. knaves in Kendal Green " of the mendacious Falstaff in Henry IV being one of the many references to the prevailing colour of the local fabric. Kendal is well worth the study of the Tourist, and it also forms a convenient centre for visiting the Lakes. The magnifi- cent fell of “ Scout Scar " stands like a grim sentinel prominently above the ancient town. Near Kendal are Sizergh Castle, Levens Hall, Burneside Hall, Collin Field, Cuns- wick Hall, Helsfell Hall, Abbott Hall, Black Hall, Browns- word House and many other places of con- siderable interest. Serpentine Walks, Kendal. 7Bun'ness Bay, Windermere. Fhe Kendal (Serpentine) Golf Club have their course (eighteen holes) on high land to the west of the town, within twenty minutes’ walk from the station, adjacent to the public pleasure woods known as the Serpentine Walks. It has secured wide recognition, due to the excellence of the course from both the Golfing and the scenic point of view. Levens Hall is a particularly favourite excursion, being a venerable Old English mansion, situated in a splendid park on the banks of the Kent, about six miles to the south of Kendal. It dates from the fourteenth century, and was added to and decorated by the Bellingham family in the reign of Oueen Elizabeth. The quaint old gardens constitute a great attrac- tion, and the house itself is not without noteworthy features, as it contains many fine pictures and oak carvings, the latter including a chimneypiece in the library upon which areo WINDERMERE £L. Yachts Racing on Windermere.Windermere,—Rigg's Hotel. representations of the seasons and ornamental figures of Hercules and Samson. The gardens were laid out in the time of Janies II. West of Kendal is “Scout Scar," mentioned above, to which from the Kendal side there is an easy ascent, and from which a magnificent view of the surrounding mountains in the district is obtained. The distance is only a mile-and-a-half from Kendal, and the prospect, as seen from this point, is remarkably varied. Windermere Station, in the village of Windermere, is at a distance of about miles from the lake at Bowness. Omnibuses regularly ply between the Station and the Hotels at Bowness, and there is a motor-car service between the Station and Ambleside, Rydal, Grasmere, and Keswick. Four-in-hand coaches run between Windermere Station and Keswick, calling at Ambleside and Grasmere, and also between Windermere Station and Patterdale on Ullswater, Coniston, etc. Motor Car, W indermere-Grasmere-Kesu/ick Service. 9Lake Side Station. Windermere has a widely known and first-class hotel, and lodging-houses abound. From the front of the Hotel just above the Station there is a fine view of the Lake and surrounding mountains, while from Orrest Head, which rises up immedi- ately behind the Hotel, is one of the most famous and extensive of the Lake District panoramas, equal, probably, to anything of the kind in the kingdom. The BirthwaiteGolf Links are in close proximity to the Station. Bowness, an irregularly built village, is one of the most charming resorts on the Lake. The public navigation of the Lake is in the hands of the Furness Railway Company, who have at the Pier a Steamboat Station. In the season Bowness is the starting place of the yacht racing, which attracts many visitors, and is one of the prettiest sights on the Lake. The hotel and lodging accommodation is good, and Bowness is deservedly one of the most popular resorts in the district. There are splendid Golf Links, eighteen holes, delightfully situated about one Cartmel Priory Church. IO' Boivness Bay, Winc/ermere. mile from Bowness Pier. The Church, which is dedicated to St. Martin, and is the Parish Church for Windermere, affords many objects of interest to the visitor. The walks in the neighbourhood are many and varied, Biskey How and Brant Fell claiming atten- tion for most charming prospects of both lake and mountains. Leaving Carnforth by the Furness Company’s line the train skirts the coast line to Silverdale, a pleasant sea-side village, thence to Arnside, a picturesque little watering place, from whence a branch runs through Sandside and Hevershem to Kendal. Crossing the estuary of the Kent by a lengthy viaduct, we come to Grange-over-Sands, a charming health resort, where there is ample hotel and other accommodation. Less than three miles away is the fine old Cartmel Priory Church, built about a.d. 1200. The interior contains Woolmer’s fine monument of Lord Frederick Cavendish, one of the victims of the terrible Phoenix Park outrage in May, 1881. Leaving Grange, we proceed to Ulverston, eighteen miles from Carnforth, from whence the branch line runs to Lake Side, Windermere./siands on Windermere, Ulverston is the station for Conishead Priory, once the home of the Dodding family and of the P)radylls, now a Hydropathic Establishment. At Ulverston is the lighthouse-like Monument upon Hoad Hill to Sir John Barrow, at one time Secretary to the Admiralty. Amongst the places of interest in the neighbourhood may be mentioned Swarthmoor Hall, intimately associated with the name of George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends. Faking the Lake Side branch line, we reach in four miles Greenodd (where the river Crake, issuing from Coniston Lake, enters the Leven Estuary), thence to Lake Side Station, wherepassengers embark upon the steamers for Storrs Pier, the Ferry, Rowness, Lowwood and Ambleside. The Station at Lake Side has a pavilion or covered balcony in which luncheons and teas are served, and music is to be heard daily in the summer months. The landing stage adjoins the platform. Starting on the sail from Lake Side, we have Helvellyn directly in front, and catch glimpses of the Coniston Old Man, Langdale Pikes and Bowfell. Also in front, seen as in a vista, is Storrs Hall (now a first-class hotel), rendered famous by the hospitality of a former occupant, Mr. Bolton, who in 1825 entertained Wordsworth, Southey, Scott, Canning and Professor Wilson (Christopher North). A little temple at Coaches at Windermere Station. the end of a causeway is the spot where they witnessed the regatta. Storrs Park, the fairest demesne round Windermere, had, thirty years ago, two houses upon it, the Hall and the Farm. Now it bristles with well-to-do residences, great and small. Crossing from Storrs to the Ferry (one mile Westmorland to Lancashire), we pass Rampholme, a tree covered island. The Ferry Hotel is charmingly situated on a promontory, and from it to the Ferry Nab, on the other side, the ferry boats convey bipeds, quadrupeds, carriages and most other things that require transit across the lake, here a quarter of a mile from stage to stage. It forms part of the highway from Kendal to Hawkeshead. The background here is beautifully wooded from the margin of the lake to the top of Claife Heights. These lakeside hotels, with their verdant lawns and um- brageous surroundings, are favourite afternoon-tea resorts, both r 3Head of Windermere. with visitors and resi- dents. Windermere, in fact, was one of the first places to adopt —if it did not actual- ly originate — the al fresco afternoon-tea movement at a mod- erate charge. Hence we skirt Belle Isle, till in about a mile we find ourselves at the pier of Bowness, on approaching which the great surprise of the lake occurs. Hitherto Belle Isle has almost blocked the front view. Approaching its northern end, and, sweeping the Bowness Bay, an entirely fresh scene reveals itself—the wider and far grander upper reach of the lake, with its surround- ing amphitheatre of mountains. This is due to the graceful curves which dis- tinguish Windermere from all other lakes except Ullswater. The rest of the way over the broad ex- panse of the upper reach of the lake, the mountains come into view in rapid succession, the High Street range over the Troutbeck Valley on the right front, the Lancashire Fells, Coniston Old Man, and Wetherlam to the left; the Langdale Pikes and the great central cluster, Bowfell, Scawfell, the Great Gable over the Langdale Valley in front, till the whole of the famous Head of Windermere opens out without any disguise r or mystery. After calling at Low Wood we double a projecting rock and arrive at our ter- minus, Waterhead Pier for Ambleside, ready to start on foot or wheel for any and every part of the Lake District. The Rotfiay, A mbleside. Langdale Pikes from Tarn Hows. *4Yachts racing on \N indermere. The sail from Lake Side to Waterhead occupies an hour and ten minutes. It will be seen that passengers may reach Ambleside by alternative routes—viz., by the Coast Line to Lake Side and thence by steamer to Ambleside, or by rail direct to Windermere village and thence by coach or motor-car to Ambleside. Ambleside has been described by the poet as a place where “ Fairy bells ring with liquid lullaby, And shadows play upon the riven mountains.” The town is certainly beautifully situated. It stands on the border of a wooded valley which is watered by several streams Newby Bridge. 15that flow into Lake Winder- mere. From every point mag- nificent views are obtained of the picturesque surroundings. Fortunately for the tourist, who naturally makes this a centre in which to sojourn and pay visits to the many attractions in the immediate Rydal Water. 16WINDERMERE. TS Newby Bridge, Windermere.Ferry Nab, Windermere. neighbourhood, the hotel and other accommodation is ample. Near Ambleside is the Knoll, which was the residence of the late M iss Harriet Martineau, and between this and the lake is St. Mary’s Church, in the north-west corner of which is a stained glass window in memory of Wordsworth, presented by English and American admirers. So numerous are the delightful excursions within easy access of Ambleside, either by coach, on foot, or over the surface of Lake Windermere, that it is impossible to more than cursorily Stock Ghyll Force, 17W indermere from Adelaide Hill. refer to them in a Guide of this scope. One of the most popular with tourists is a visit to Stock Ghyll Force, a waterfall seventy feet in height, which tumbles over the face of an imposing rock and rushes through a mountain glen amid loose rocks and over- hanging foliage. Some rare ferns luxuriate along the banks of the stream. Another favourite excursion is a walk round Loughrigg Fell, which is considered one The Greta at Keswick, and Smeathwaite Bridge, St. John's Vale. 18of the finest in the country. On our way through a richly timbered valley we pass Fox How, formerly the residence of Dr. Arnold, of Rugby fame; and Rydal Mount, from 1813 until his death the residence of the poet Wordsworth. The mountains of Rydal Head, Fairfield and Nab Scar on the north-east, and Loughrigg Fell on the western side of the valley, open up a fine vista of varied scenery. Rydal Water is shortly reached, and the tourist may now proceed to Grasmere along the shore of the lake or return by way of Loughrigg Tarn, Clappersgate and Brathay Bridge. There are very many delightful rambles over every part of Loughrigg Ambles id e. Fell, which is a rocky and fern-clad hill, from the summit of which a noble view is obtained. Wansfell Pike lies to the north-east of Ambleside. The ascent is not difficult, and the view it commands of Windermere Lake and the mountains and vales by which it is surrounded is well worth the journey. Wordsworth, it may be remembered, apostrophised Wansfell as a “beautiful son of earth” in his well-known sonnet, and perhaps no view of the Lake of Windermere, with its numerous wood-clad islets, is more charming. As showing the convenience of Ambleside as a centre from which to explore the lakes and mountains of the locality, it may be mentioned that the main road from Windermere to Keswick l9Head of Ullsuuater. passes through it; there are two good roads to Coniston and Root at the head of Eskdale, and also one to Ullswater. The Ambleside and District Golf Links comprise an excellent nine-hole course, and are easily accessible. Brathay Bridge. Windermere, Bowness and Ambleside are the starting points for many of the most favourite motor and coach tours in the district, some of which we describe in detail : — Windermere to KesWick, 21 miles. Leaving Windermere Station we have on our right the entrance to Orrest Head and the Elleray Estate, and on the left the Church of St. Mary, close to which is the foot road to Millerground, the nearest point of the lake from the railway 20station. Troutbeck Bridge is next passed, and about two miles beyond we reach Low Wood Hotel. From this point to Water- head the road skirts the lake. The old town of Ambleside is less than a mile from the lake. Proceeding from Ambleside, Keswick way, we pass the picturesque and rustic village of Rydal, with the house of Wordsworth, Rydal Mount, peeping through the trees. A few yards further on to the left, by the reedy outlet of the lake, is the poet’s favourite seat. Towards the end of the lake is the erstwhile abode of Hartley Coleridge, locally known as Nab Cottage. The traveller next comes in sight of Grasmere, with its verdant but rather bare looking island. The Prince of Wales Wordsworth's Seat, Rydal. Hotel stands by the side of the lake, and in the vicinity is Dove Cottage with a small Wordsworth Museum attached, and the quaint old Parish Church, where visitors can avail themselves of the opportunity of inspecting the graves of Wordsworth and Hartley Coleridge. A favourite walk from Grasmere is to Easedale Tarn, 2\ miles distant. The village is a splendid centre for excursionists, and the hotel accommodation is equal to that round Windermere. Here it may be noted that, besides the regular coaches, special coaches make the circuit of Thirlmere and run on certain days of the week to Coniston, Ullswater, etc.From Grasmere we soon attack the heaviest ascent on the journey, that of Dunmail Raise, which rises to a height of 780 feet above sea level, and crosses the boundary line between Westmorland and Cumberland. On the top is a rude and unsightly heap of stones, which is supposed to mark the grave of Dunmail, “last King of Rocky Cumberland/’ Then we drop, as it were, to Thirlmere, which, after all the opposition that was made over twenty years ago, has not been, as was suggested it would be, turned into an abomination by the [Manchester Corporation. The hilly and decidedly picturesque slopes of Helvellyn lie on the right for many miles, and the lake and the wooded hills and crags on the other side, along Grasmere from Red Bank. which runs the beautiful west side route, are a continuous feast to the eye. At Wythburn, before reaching Thirlmere Lake, is the small Church on the right-hand side, and on the left the famous hostelry, the homely and comfortable Nag's Head, where, it may be mentioned, all coaches stop for the necessary and well- earned “breather.” Journeying still further on we entirely lose sight of the lake, leaving the inn at Thirlspot behind us, but eventually reach Smeathwaite Bridge, beneath which the waters of Thirlmere pass down the “Narrow Vale of St. John ” on their way to the Greta at Threlkeld. Just above this is the great dam of the waterworks by which the Thirlmere water is held 22Thirl mere and Heluellyn. back, and opposite, on the slope of the Helvellyn range, is the Castle Rock of Triermain, celebrated by Sir Walter Scott in the “ Bridal of Triermain.” Beyond this for about two miles the drive is very beautiful, with Skiddaw, Saddleback and Helvellyn in distant view, and more nearly the bold and well-wooded fronts of Ravencrag and Bleaberry and Castlerigg Fells. Then Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite come into view, and a rapid and steep descent brings us into Keswick, the famous capital of Lakeland. Windermere to UllsWater, 13£ miles. Patterdale and Ullswater have the advantage during the season of the old-established coach routes from Windermere and from Ambleside. From Windermere the route is via the beautiful Troutbeck Valley, passing the Church and quaint village of Troutbeck, up the Kirkstone Pass to the summit, seven miles from Windermere. Vale of St. John's and Saddleback. 23From Ambleside to this point there is an ascent of upwards of 1,300 feet in the three miles, commencing with what is aptly termed “the struggle out of Amble- side.'1 At the summit of the pass is the Travellers’ Rest, one of the highest licensed houses in the kingdom. From the inn—just be- yond which is the stone which gives to the wild pass its name of “ Kirkstone ”— —the road descends to Brothers Water and Patter- dale, whence from the Pier near may be enjoyed a delightful steamer trip along the entire length of the uppermost reach of U 11s- water, returning in time for the coaches back to Ambleside, Windermere and Bowness. Windermere and Ambleside to Ccnistcn. Another favourite coach drive from Windermere and Ambleside has Coniston for its destination. Coaches from Windermere make the journey via Bowness, the Ferry, Esthwaite Water, Hawksheadand High Cross, returning from Coniston via Oxenfell, Skelwith and Waterhead. From Amble- side the coaches make the round via Brathay Bridge, returning via Oxenfell. Hawkshead, one of the most curious and quaint old towns in England, is haunted by reminiscences of Words- worth. He was educated in the old Grammar School, STYBARROW CRAG I* ULLSWATER POOLEY PIER X DUNMALLET 24Langdale. where his name, carved on his desk by himself, still remains, and his lodgings are still shown to his many admirers. On the road from Hawkshead to Conis- ton, Barbara Scar gives one of the finest views of the lake and Coniston Old Man. From Coniston there is a de- lightful little excursion to Til- berth wai te Gill, a miniature Gorge de Pfaffers, progress up which is effected by wooden gallines and bridges, which are kept in repair Association. Dungeon Ghyll. bv the Lake District Windermere and Ambleside to Dungeon Ghyll. A sensational coach drive from Windermere and Ambleside is the Langdale round, through most beautiful scenery, with varia- tions of softness and wildness almost un- rivalled in the king- dom, within an equal length, its only com- peer is the celebrated Buttermere round from Keswick. It is accomplished by char-a-banc daily. It is a circular tour, the Skelwith Fall. abourne of the journey being Dungeon Ghyll, where some three hours are allowed for lunch at one of the hotels and visiting that most remarkable of all rock fissures in Lakeland, except, perhaps, Piers Gill, in Wastdale. The outward journey from Windermere is by the Low Wood Hotel, skirting the lake to Waterhead, where we join the Ambleside route, thence up the charming Brathay valley to Skelwith Bridge, where is a small, but charmingly embowered, waterfall. The traveller then reaches Colwith Force, Little Langdale, and, passing over a wild mountain road, proceeds past Blea Farm to a height of 700 feet, which commands one of the most impressive views of the district. Although safe, there is a somewhat nerve-shaking She! with Bridge and Langdale Pikes. descent into Great Langdale, in which pleasant locality are the two hotels, and towering above all is the famous Gill. The return journey is made by the village of Chapel Stile, and thence over a lower pass, followed by a descent of unusual steepness even for the Lake District—Red Bank—to Grasmere, where the main artery of the district is entered. From this interesting spot a pleasant four miles brings the tourist to Ambleside and on to Windermere. The Lake District Associa- tion, already mentioned, have made a beautiful and convenient footpath, which should, it is suggested, be preferred by every pedestrian to the coach descent of Red Bank. Oxenholme to Penrith. Resuming our journey at Oxenholme, the junction for Kendal and Windermere, the line climbs northward and enters the valley 26of the Lune at Low Gill, where to the right we have extensive and charming views of the valley. Leav- ing Tebay, the junction with the North Eastern line, we begin to climb the Shap Fells, and passing the Mineral Spa of Shap Wells on the left, the train reaches Shap Summit, a thousand feet above sea level. Shap is the station for the beautiful little Haweswater, five-and-a-half miles away. Shap Abbey, which is within easy distance in the valley of the Lowther, was founded for a colony of White Canons in the year 1150. Penrith, eleven-and-a-half miles from Shap, is best known as the point of departure for Keswick and Ullswater, and may be considered as the northern gateway of the Lake District. The Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway runs from Penrith, westward to Keswick eighteen miles, and Cockermouth thirty- one miles. Public conveyances run from Penrith to Pooley Bridge (five miles distant) at the foot of Ullswater in connection with the steam yachts of the Ullswater Navigation Company. Ullswater.—The five miles between Penrith and Pooley Bridge form a pleasant approach to a lake which deservedly ranks amongst the finest in the whole sisterhood. It is seven-and-a-half miles in length and has three distinct reaches, the first with pastoral borders ending in the delightful little nook of Howtown, with a quiet but popular hotel, the second diversified with wood and hill, and the third grand. The ter- ra i n u s of the steamer route is on the beautiful grounds of the Ulls- water Hotel, and the village (Pat- terdale) is within a short distance of the Lake. Penrith Castle. 27Patterdale is a favourite starting point for the ascent of Helvellyn, which on this side presents its boldest aspect. Additional interest attaches to the Ullswater district from the acquisition of the splendid demesne, Gowbarrow Park and Aira Force, which, with the meadow in front of Gowbarrow, and running down to the lake, have been recently purchased for the public for £"12,800, mainly owing to the exertions of Canon Rawnsley, of Keswick, and the National Trust for the Preservation of Places of Natural Beauty. Canon Rawnsley, it may be remembered, was also instrumental in obtaining for 1 Heluellgi7 Striding Edge and Red Tarn. the public the beautiful Brandlehow Park on the north side of Derwentwater. Steamers run from Poolev Bridge to Patterdale ; the journey may be continued by coach, if desired, to Ambleside, Winder- mere and Bowness, and similar facilities are afforded from Keswick to Ullswater, by train to Troutbeck, and on by coach to Patterdale, returning by steamer to Pooley Bridge and road to Penrith. Penrith has two good liostelries of the family and com- mercial order. A third, the Gloucester Arms, on a smaller scale and interesting for its oak wainscotting, was for a while a residence of the humpbacked monarch, Richard III. From the Beacon, one mile from the station, there is a fine 28Caere Castle. view Lllswater way of the lake backed by Helvellyn and other mountains. Penrith to Keswick and Cockermouth. It anyone misses the train for Keswick, lie can go for a ramble in one of the most interesting little towns in the North, Penrith, or as it was once written “ Peneret,” the Town of the “Red Sandstone Hill,” that received its charter in 1223. In the window of the Church of St. Andrew's he will find a contemporary portrait of Richard III, Duke of York, and Cicely Nevi-lle his wife ; in the Churchyard, remains of pre-Norman Parish Church, Penrith. 29hogback tombs, and remains of crosses set up to some Viking chief- tains who had been won to Christ—Igdrasils or Holy trees, sacred no longer to Balder but to the true Lord and Giver of Light, the “ Daystar from on high.” He can climb the Beacon hill, and look out on the place of the last skirmish with the Highlanders at Clifton Moor in 1745. He can bethink him how many times the beacon Penrith Beacon. flashed here to give warning of the coming of the Scots, and can see the ruins of the old castle near the station, which was built by the Nevilles under license of Edward III, for protection against the raiders who had reduced the town to ashes. He may remember that here, where for five years, 1452-1457, dwelt Richard III, Duke of Gloucester, in long ages before stood a Royal Hunting Lodge, some of whose stones may have been built into that castle wall. Rufus the King, when he took his pleasure in the merry green wood—the great Inglewood Forest that stretched from here to Carlisle—probably lay in that Hunting Lodge, and may have climbed the Beacon Hill. Brougham Castle. 30The days of Adam Bell, and Clym of the Clough, and William of Cloudeslie hav.e passed, but the memory of- great hunters of later days are still fresh hereabout. x\s one gazes out over the Eden Valley to the south and west, beyond Brougham Castle, one sees the hill where the Hart's Horn Tree once stood, and to the west, the country between Caldbeck and Low Denton Holme to Scratchmere Scar, still echoes with the sound of the horn of John Peel. Passing back through the town, we shall make a point of seeing Robert Bartram’s house by the Churchyard, and the XVIth century houses, the “Two Lions’” Inn and Dockwray Hall. In that Penrith Churchyard lie the ashes of Mrs. Wordsworth, the mother of the Poet, and Mrs. Hutchinson, the mother of the Ecunont Bridge. Poet’s wife ; and as one returns to the Station one may visit the house in Burrowgate, where the old mercer Cookson dwelt, who became the guardian of William and John and Dorothy Words- worth, when they were left orphans in 1783. Nor shall we forget that it was at a shop under the Liberal Club where dwelt the printer Brown, who collected the type and did the printing of “The Friend” for S. T. Coleridge in 1809. If we had time we could walk out by the Plague Stone to Eamont Bridge, and visit that wonderful tribal parliament place Mayborough Mound, and the Arthur’s Table close by, where doubtless in the olden time fiercer wager of battle was often fought ; but we must return to the station, and take train for the town of the Wyke of Ketel the Norseman, Keswick of to-day. On leaving the Penrith Station we keep a good look out on the left, and see the embattled hall by the one ford over the Famont, “Yanwath," where dwelt, in the middle of the XYth century, Sir Lancelot Threlkeld, who became the stepfather and guardian of the “Shepherd Lord" sung of in Wordsworths UI Is water from Goiubarrow Park, and Head of Ullsivater. “beast of Brougham Castle." Close by, though not visible from the train, is the grotto where the Poet of the Eamont Yale, the cultured yeoman farmer, the quaker Wilkinson, worked and sang till he fell on sleep at the ripe age of eighty-five in 1856. At that grotto, Clarkson of anti-slave fame, Charles Lloyd, Wordsworth, and Lord Lonsdale were ofttime guests. Away out to the south now rise up the mountain ranges round Ullswater. 1 he dark purple Hank of Place Fell and the High Street Range, gradually melting into the lowlands round Pooley Bridge. We 32,J2 WINDERMERE. O Wmm %Wx si;:/s ' Coniston Old Man, from Orrest Headthink of the Roman legionaries who marched and counter- marched along their high road close beneath the sky, and how, in a later time, Arthurian legend as witnessed by its most northerly height, Arthur’s Pike, with Tristermount beneath, found a habitation and a name on that swelling moorland east of Ullswater. To the west of the lake, we distinguish the front of St. Sunday Crag and nearer Gowbarrow Fell, and remember that this is now the property of the National Trust, and a Kirkstone Pass and Grisedale Pass9 pleasure ground for all who care to visit it or the Aira Force hard by. The hummock in the nearer distance is Dunmallet, with remains of early British and Roman camps upon it. Between us and Dunmallet, lie Sockbridge, whither from Penistone in Yorkshire migrated in the early part of the 18th century Richard Wordsworth, the grandfather of the Poet, and Dacre, where, according to William of Malmesbury, King Constantine of Scotland, Eugeni us King of Cumberland, and Athelstan King of England, made the Pact of Dacre in 927. 33If we look out to the north from the right-hand carriage window, we gaze beyond the Red Hill and Penrith Beacon to the Crossfell Range, famous for its helm wind, and remember that that great Pennine Range separates Cumberland from York- shire and Northumberland, and that the phenomenon of the helm wind and cloud bar is caused by the cold air of the York- shire moor descending upon the warm air current of the Eden Valley. In the middle distance is visible the rising ground that hides in its hollow the famous Scratchmere Scar, where, as we learn from John Peel’s hunting song, the sportsmen of his day “vied for the brush in the morning.” The train has been running round a great loop, which has had the effect of making the mountains to the west, noticeably the Blencathra group, jump about in a strange way first to right, then to left. It is clear we are mounting a long incline, for only the tops of these hills are visible. We pause at Blen- cow, then passing through larch and spruce plantations we get a fine view of Grey- stoke Castle and Church on the right; we stop at the Lesser Penrith, the “ little red hill ” of Penruddock. I know nothing more beauti- ful than the blue Pennine Range seen against the roseate hue of the fallows in this red sandstone country between Penrith and Pen- ruddock. If we were passing here in the Parliamentary vacation, we might see the Speaker on the platform. He dwells to the south just over the hill at Hutton John, a delightful border manor house, built round its “keep,” and flanked with a wonderful yew-tree terrace. There in old time dwelt John Huddlestone, the Confessor of Charles II. Between Penruddock Station and Troutbeck, Grevstoke Castle is once again, beneath “Summer Grounds,” away to the right. The old border fortress was destroyed by the Parliamentarians in 1648, and the castle that was built upon its site was partially destroyed by hre in the last century. The present owner of the seat of the Barony, that once included all Cumber- land between Inglewood, Penrith and Castlerigg at Keswick, is Henry Howard, who is Chairman of the County Council, and one of the Directors of the C. K. & P. R. The Howards have 34held Greystoke since 1569, and to Greystoke Castle in 1811 came on a visit the young poet Shelley, who spent his last guinea in a chaise to take him there and back to Keswick. The Church of St. Andrew, famous for its priest’s chamber, and its beautiful window, may be seen nestling amid the cottages and trees of the hamlet at the Castle gates. Greystoke gave the only Cumberland martyr to the flames for her faith’s sake at the Reformation. Elizabeth Foster was by Bonner’s orders burnt with six others at the stake at Smithfield, on January 27th, 1556, for n°t coming to Church.” The next Station we stop at is Troutbeck, and as we mount the incline towards it, on our left the quaint rounded mass of that puzzle to geologists Mell Fell rises on the left, and the range of Blencathra and Sou ter or Sowther Fell and Carrock Greystoke Castle. Fell, seems to grow up with increasing majesty on our right. That sudden nearness of Blencathra astonishes one. Troutbeck is the Station where we leave the train if we wish to go to Gowbarrow, Ullswater and Patterdale. Bleak and bare the moorland of Matterdale Common stretches away to the south west, but in the dullest day the traveller across the moor may be cheered by curlew pipe and sight of the grouse and plover. He who desires to sleep in sweet high moorland air 960 feet above the sea, will find hearty welcome and simple cheer at the little inn beside the station ; or if he walks through sunset light to Dockwray, will, at the hostelry there, be sure of all that kindness and unpretence can supply or the Lakeland wanderer who is unluxurious may need. As we descend now towards Threlkeld we see away to the left 35Wolf Crags and the hummocky range of Helvellyn. Watch Crags with its tale of border foray is seen between two of the more northerly Dodds upon Helvellyn ; ahead of him the tourist makes out the fine ranges to the west, of Grassmoor beloved of the dottrel, and of Grisedale Pike, and Lord s Seat. On his right hand he gazes across the Mungrisedale moor and can in imagi- nation see St. Mungo or St. Kentigern coming across the moor, after preaching the Gospel to the men of Caldbeck and Castle Sowerby in the year 553, to found the Church and set up the cross in the thwaite or clearing for the cross in the Keswick vale, Crosthwaite of to-day. The people then were sun worshippers. They had a great walled village at Threlkeld Knotts and a druid circle at Castrigg Fell, and thev were children of the Stybarrow Crag, Ullsuuater. people who gave the name to the beautiful stream we are cross- ing, the Glenderamackin, and to that noble mountain range of Blencathra. The miniature valley, birch-dotted, that the Glenderamackin has hollowed out for itself, and that debouches on to the Threlkeld and Matterdale common, is one of the most picturesque things we see on the way to Keswick, and for an artist, this is the point to get a water-colour sketch of Blencathra lifted above the yellow green moorland that slopes to the Threlkeld Station. Souter Fell, or Souther Fell, the nearest semi-detached mass of Blencathra, is famous as having on three occasions within history, in 1735, 1743, 1745, been the scene of that optical illusion, Fata Morgana. On Midsummer Eve, owing to the peculiar condition of the atmosphere and the Solway tide, the 36reflection of troops or horsemen, who were being exercised on the western coast of Scotland, were brought by masses of cloud and water across the Solway and dropped down upon this fell. As we pass down towards Threlkeld, the old farm houses of Walhhwaite and Guards contain for us echoes of a Roman military road, that runs parallel with us. But the farm house that most interests us is the one with a white front that peeps out behind a long grey barn, with wild scrub in the foreground, a farm house that gave its name Hall Fell to one of the great buttresses of Blencathra. This farm is all that remains of the Threlkeld Hall that belonged of old to Sir Lancelot Threlkeld, Scales Tarn, Saddleback. who in the XVth century gave shelter to that shepherd boy, the good Lord Clifford. Here the lad grew up among the dalesmen unbeknown, until on the accession of Henry VII he came to his own again. Of him Wordsworth wrote— “ Love had he found in huts where poor men lie, His daily teachers had been woods and rills ; The silence that is in the starrv sky, The sleep that is among the lonely hills. “ In him the savage virtues of his race, Revenge and all ferocious thoughts were dead ; Nor did he change but kept in lofty place, The wisdom which adversity had bred.” 37One cannot pass the spot, “ Where at Blencathras rugged feet Sir Lancelot gave a safe retreat To noble Clifford,” without remembering how much the simple shepherd’s life he led in this beautiful vale did to give him eyes and ears, and to rear him to be, though untutored, a distinguished man, an observer of nature, a lover of the stars, and a friend of science and learning. As we gaze out on Blencathra, we are glad that one of the three great buttresses of the mountain, Blease Fell, “ Dan Fearon ” Fell and Hall Fell, keeps a memory of the ancient manor farm that befriended the house of Clifford, as we are interested in the thought that Blease Fell may preserve the tradition of good St. Blasius, the Shepherds' patron Saint. f. • •• - . • Blencathra (Saddleback). Immediately on our left rises the quarry of a remarkable kind of felspathic granite, which makes the best sets in the world for streets that have heavy traffic, and yields a dust which is in turn by aid of cement turned into durable paving slabs. Above the quarry lies the remains of the most important Piet village in Cumberland. The beehive huts have fallen in, but are still distinguishable at the Knott, and the enclosures round the hut circles are visible. Rising up behind is the most northerly end of the great range of Helvellyn, Wanthwaite Crags. Originally perhaps Wodenthwaite Crags, they keep us in mind of the old sun-worship and star-worship of the Norse- men hereabout, who gave the name to the spring of cold water or keld of Thorolf, which preserves a memory of the Viking occupation. 33Keswick from Latrigg. Threlkeld in modern times, as Caldbeck of old, is famed for its memories of the hunt. Squire Crozier was the John Peel of the last part of the XIXth century hereabout. The Blencathra hounds were kennelled here, and the Churchyard contains a pillar of memory to generations of the running huntsmen of the pack. We leave Threlkeld and, with a fair sight of the now famed Sanatorium on the south slope of Blencathra, we cross the entrance to the valley of St. John, made famous by Sir Walter Scott’s “Bridal of Triermain,” thunder over the Glenderamakin, that here joins the river Bure, and are soon lost in admiration of the once woody gorge of Brundholme through which the Greta, which obtains its name at the confluence of these streams, goes with us to Keswick. Nearer Keswick we see the oaks as they used to flourish right up the Brundholme gorge. Latrigg is seen upon our right, the Market Square, Keswick. 3941 Ridge of the Llad, or Death,” the old cemetery hill of the \ iking chieftains hereabout, where seventy kist-vaens were discovered on its summit at the beginning of the XIXth century. Windebrowe House is seen above the wooded bank across the river, and the bridge we pass, Calvert’s Bridge, reminds us that to Windebrowe, the home of the brother of Raisley Calvert, who was the Poet’s benefactor, came, at the end of the XYIIIth and beginning of the XIXth century, Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy for guests. Now as on the left opens out a splendid view of Walla Crag and the Derwentwater Yale, upon Chestnut Hill may be seen the house that Shelley sojourned in with his bride in the year 6kiddaw from Greta Bridge. 1811. Beneath us lies the river bank with its little Nun's well that tells us how in the YIth century hither came the Lady Brigha, sister of St. Brandin, with her Irish missionary sisters to help the Christian life of the place that had heard the word of God from the lips of St. Kentigern. Suddenly as we pass into the Station there appears from behind the back of Latrigg what is the surprise of the whole journey, the triple coned mass of Skiddaw or “Skiddhr” as the shepherds call him. The feature of the Keswick valley is its spacious width of skyscape, its fine amphitheatre of mountain wall. In conse- quence of the width of the valley plain we have a bracing air, and there is an entire absence ot that relaxing feeling which is sometimes said to characterise the Lake District. 40isi*i * m m  I m