SCAFELL CRAGSSCAFELL CRAGSA, Top ofBroad Stand; B,Pisgah; C,Scafell Pillar; D, Head ofDeep Gill.
SCAFELL CRAGSA, Top ofBroad Stand; B,Pisgah; C,Scafell Pillar; D, Head ofDeep Gill.
The beginning of the climb is very easily overlooked by a stranger, being just a vertical slit about eighteen inches wide, by means of which it is easy to walk three or four yards straight into the mountain. It will be found by descendingthe Eskdale slope from Mickledoor ridge for twenty-one yards, and disregarding a much more promising point which presents itself midway and is noticed both by Professor Tyndall and Mr. Dymond. The floor of the proper 'adit' rises slightly towards the inner end, and consequently allows an easy exit to be made on the left-hand side. From this point three large steps in the rock, each 7 ft. to 10 ft. high have to be mounted, and many will be reminded of the ascent of the Great Pyramid. What builders call the 'riser' of each step is vertical, but the 'tread' of the two upper ones becomes very steep and smooth, and when there is ice aboutit, this is the chief danger of the climb. If a fall took place it would probably be to the left hand, in which direction the rock is much planed away, and forms a steep and continuous slope almost to the foot of the Mickledoor Chimney.
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PLAN OF SCAFELLPLAN OF SCAFELLA,Broad Stand; B,Mickledoor Ridge; C,Scafell Pillar; D,Lord's Rake; F,Pikes Crag; G,Deep Gill.
PLAN OF SCAFELLA,Broad Stand; B,Mickledoor Ridge; C,Scafell Pillar; D,Lord's Rake; F,Pikes Crag; G,Deep Gill.
This slope is climbable, but far from easy. At the top of the steps the Broad Stand proper begins, at the head of which there is one little bit to climb, and then a walk among huge blocks of stone leads out on to the ridge of Scafell, close to the head of Deep Gill.
The way is not easy to miss, but in descending—especially in misty weather—mistakes are often made, either in finding the entrance at the top or the steps at the bottom. The latter difficulty is the more serious, but may be obviated by keeping close to the foot of the cliff on the left hand and making straight for Mickledoor ridge; when further progress is barred, the exit is reached by a short descent to the right.
Scafell Pikes—the highest mountain in England (3,210 ft.). Curiously enough the name seems to be very modern. Till quite the end of last century it was always known as 'The Pikes,' and it was only when careful surveys promoted it that it became necessary to add the name of its finer-shaped and better-known neighbour, to show what 'Pikes' were being spoken of. The present name, therefore, and the older form, 'Pikes of Scafell,' really mean 'The Pikes near Scafell.'
On the Eskdale side there are a few climbs, includingDoe Crag; but the best are on the side ofGreat EndandLingmell, which are merely buttresses of it.
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SCAFELL PILLAR (SEEN ACROSS DEEP GILL)SCAFELL PILLAR (SEEN ACROSS DEEP GILL)
SCAFELL PILLAR (SEEN ACROSS DEEP GILL)
Scafell Pillarstands betweenDeep GillandSteep Gill. It has a short side close to the summit ridge ofScafell, and a long side towards theRake's Progress. The first ascent was made on the short side by the writer on September 3,1884, and the first from the Rake's Progress by Mr. Robinson and the writer on the 20th of the same month.
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SCAFELL PILLAR AND THE UPPER PITCH OF DEEP GILLSCAFELL PILLAR AND THE UPPER PITCH OF DEEP GILL
SCAFELL PILLAR AND THE UPPER PITCH OF DEEP GILL
They climbed by way ofSteep Gillon to the Low Man, and thence to the High Man. On July 15, 1888, a way was made up the outside of the rock from near the foot ofSteep Gillby Messrs. Slingsby, Hastings, E. Hopkinson, and the writer. Miss Corder made the first lady's ascent by the short way (August 1887), and Miss M. Watson the first by the outside route (June 1890), both ladies having the advantage of Mr. Robinson's escort. Marvellous feats of climbing and engineering have been performed by the brothers Hopkinson in their endeavours to make a way direct intoDeep Gill, in which they have not entirely succeeded.
Scree: thedébrisof decaying rocks, forming a talus on the lower parts of a mountain. It is the Icelandic 'skrida.'
Screes (The).—A long range flanking Wastwater on the south-west. They are often called the 'Wastdale' Screes, but it appears from Hutchinson that they were in his time known as the 'Eskdale' Screes, and—like most hills at that period—were said to be a mile high. Apparently in those days they thought less of the climbs on it than of the sheep-runs, which latter are in Eskdale. The rock is of very loose construction and comes away at a touch, or without one, sometimes many tons at a time; but it improves towards the foot of the lake, and the great bastion opposite Wastdale Hall is full of magnificent climbing. The writer, at the suggestion of Mr. G. Musgrave, tried the great gully both alone and in good company, namely, that of two of the partywhich ultimately succeeded. Dr. Collie contributed a vivid account of the first ascent to theScottish Mountaineering Journal, a publication which should be better known to climbers. The party found no difficulty till they were in the left-hand branch above the point where the gully divides, and the first pitch gave them some trouble, as the stream, being frozen, formed a cascade of ice, and they were forced on to the buttress which divides the two gullies. Hastings was sent on to prospect, whilst I had to back him up as far as possible. With considerable trouble he managed to traverse back to the left into the main gully, using infinitesimal knobs of rock for hand and foot hold. We then followed him, and found ourselves in a narrow cleft cut far into the side of the hill. Perpendicular walls rose on either side for several hundred feet; above us stretched cascade after cascade of solid ice, always at a very steep angle, and sometimes perpendicular. Up these we cut our way with our axes, sometimes being helped by making the steps close to the walls on either side, and using any small inequalities on the rock-face to steady us in our steps. At last we came to the final pitch. Far up above at the top, the stream coming over an overhanging ledge on the right had frozen into masses of insecure icicles, some being 20 ft. to 30 ft. long. Obviously we could not climb up these. However, at the left-hand corner at the top of the pitch a rock was wedged, which overhung, leaving underneath a cave of considerable size. We managed to get as far up as the cave, in which we placed Robinson, where he hitched himself to a jammed boulder at the back. I was placed ina somewhat insecure position; my right foot occupied a capacious hole cut in the bottom of the icicles, whilst my left was far away on the other side of the gully on a small, but obliging, shelf in the rock-face. In this interesting attitude, like the Colossus of Rhodes, I spanned the gulf, and was anchored both to the boulder and to Robinson as well. Then Hastings, with considerable agility, climbed on to my shoulders. From that exalted position he could reach the edge of the overhanging stone underneath which Robinson was shivering, and was thus enabled to pull himself up on to the top. Robinson and I afterwards ascended this formidable place by means of the moral support of the rope alone. But I know that in my case, if that moral support had not been capable of standing the strain produced by a dead weight of about ten stone, I should probably have been spoiling a patch of snow several hundreds of feet lower down the gill. Above this pitch the climbing is easier as the gully opens out.'
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WASTWATER AND THE SCREESWASTWATER AND THE SCREESA, A long gully, not very difficult; B, The great gully, extremely difficult; C, A minor gully, also very difficult.
WASTWATER AND THE SCREESA, A long gully, not very difficult; B, The great gully, extremely difficult; C, A minor gully, also very difficult.
Sergeant Crag.—About half a mile up the valley of Longstrath, which bounds Glaramara on the east as Borrowdale does on the west, there is a line of crag on the left hand. The part nearest to Eagle Crag is called Sergeant Crag, and is some 300 ft. higher than the other, which is Bull Crag.
In these rocks there is a very fine gully, discovered in 1886 by Mr. Robinson and the writer, for whom a high wet slab of smooth slate proved too difficult. In September last the former returned to the attack accompanied by Mr. O.G.Jones, who, taking a different and to all appearance more difficult way to the right, forced his way over the two stones which form the pitch. His companion followed by working out of the gill to the right and in again above the obstacle, and this way has commended itself to later climbers.
'There are six large pitches and several small ones. The total climb must be 500 ft., and the climbing is of exceptional interest all the way.'
Shamrock, in Cumberland, stands just east of thePillar Rock, divided from it only byWalker's Gully.
Seen fromScarf Gapit looks very well, and its outline can with difficulty be distinguished from that of the main rock. It derives its name (bestowed on it about 1882) from this deceptive character. The face of it towards the north affords a good climb, and on the east side there is a gully, which is choked near the top by a block, which makes one of the stiffest pitches in all Cumberland. It was first climbed, with the aid of deep snow, by a party led by Messrs. Hastings and E. Haskett Smith in March 1887, and in December 1890 Mr. Hastings succeeded in repeating his ascent without any snowdrift to help him, as did Dr. Collier exactly two years later.
Sharp Edge, on Saddleback, runs along the north side of Scales Tarn. Mr. Prior's 'Guide' observes: 'The ascent (or descent) by this Edge is considered something of an exploit, but without sufficient reason. To a giddy head, indeed, it is unquestionably several degrees worse than Striding Edge, which it somewhat resembles; possibly, to a head soconstituted, just without the limits of safety, as Striding Edge is decidedly well within them. The main difficulty lies in the descent of the cliff above the "Edge," and in the two or three rocky knolls by which this cliff connects itself with the latter, and from which there is an unpleasant drop on each side.... Exceptinghead, however, no other quality of a cragsman is required for Sharp Edge; the footing is ample, and the hands would be less called into requisition than even on Striding Edge.'
This is a very just estimate, but it need hardly be said that not only Sharp Edge but also those on the Threlkeld side undergo marvellous changes in winter, and then give splendid chances of real mountaineering practice.
Shuttenoeris mentioned by more than one of the old authorities as one of the rocks at Lowdore between which the water falls. My belief is that the intelligent travellers of that date, not having mastered the 'Cummerlan' mak o' toak,' mistook for the name of the rock what was merely intended for a casual description of it, namely, 'Shuttan' ower'—'shooting over,' 'projecting.'
Sike: a rill in marshy ground.
Silver Howe(1,345 ft.), near Grasmere, is only notable as being the scene of the annual fell race, or 'Guides' race,' as it is sometimes called, though there are few guides, and of them very few would have any chance of success in this race. The course is uphill to a flag and down again. The time is generally about ten minutes to go up and somethingless than five minutes to come down. It is a pretty race to watch, but the scientific interest for mountaineers would be increased if the course were free from all obstacles and of accurately measured height and length.
Skew Gill.—A curious deep channel in the Wastdale side of Great End, giving a convenient approach to the foot of the gullies on the other side. To go by Grainy Gill and this one, and so up Cust's Gully, has for many years been the regulation expedition for the first day of a winter sojourn at Wastdale Head.
Skiddaw(Cumberland, sh. 56) is 3,058 ft. high, 'with two heads like untoParnassus,' as old Camden observed, and Wordsworth and others have repeated it after him. On this characteristic, which is not very strongly marked, many derivations of the name have been based. In older writings, however, the word much more commonly ends in-ow, a termination which in countless instances represents the well-known word 'how.' Whatever its name may signify, Skiddaw is not a mountaineer's mountain, and no amount of snow and ice can make it so. As a local bard has truly sung:
Laal brag it is for any manTo clim oop Skidder side;Auld wives and barns on JackassesTo tippy twop ma ride.
Laal brag it is for any manTo clim oop Skidder side;Auld wives and barns on JackassesTo tippy twop ma ride.
It is true that there are great facilities for procuring gingerbeer on the way, but even that luxury is scarcely an adequate compensation for the complete absence of anything like a respectable rock on the mountain. Keswick has Skiddawalmost entirely to itself, and on the matter of routes it will be enough to say that by the back of Latrigg and the gingerbeer shanties is the easiest way, and by Millbeck and Carlside is the shortest and quickest, being made up of two miles of good road and of two of steep fell as against five miles of easy hillside.
The mountain used to enjoy a great reputation, and is put first in Camden's 'Byword':
Skiddaw, Lauvellin and CasticandAre the highest hills in all England,
Skiddaw, Lauvellin and CasticandAre the highest hills in all England,
and the early climbers of it were deeply impressed with the importance of their adventurous undertaking.
Mrs. Radcliffe, in 1795, ascended 'this tremendous mountain,' and says that when they were still more than a mile from the summit 'the air now became very thin,' and 'the way was indeed dreadfully sublime.' On reaching the top they 'stood on a pinnacle commanding the whole dome of the sky,' but unluckily 'the German Ocean was so far off as to be discernible only like a mist.'
Even Hutchinson remarks that, on the top, 'the air was remarkably sharp and thin compared with that of the valley, and respiration seemed to be performed with a kind of oppression.'
Skiddaw reserves what little natural ferocity it has forDead Cragson the north side, but there are also a few rocky bits on the side which faces Bassenthwaite Water.
Smoking Rockis at the head ofGreat Doup, east of thePillar Stoneand level with the ridge of thePillarFell. For fear of the name being adduced as a proof of recent volcanic action it is well to say that it is so called not as itself smoking, but because a well-known climber of the old school loved to smoke an evening pipe upon it.
It affords a pleasant climb taken on the outside straight up from the foot. This was done by a party of four, of whom the writer was one, on June 5, 1889. See a note in the Wastdale Head Visitors' Book at p. 250.
Somersetshirehas little to attract the mountaineer, except the very remarkable limestone scenery on the south side of the Mendips at Cheddar, Ebber and Wookey. There are magnificent cliffs and pinnacles, especially at the first-named place, but not many bits of satisfactory climbing. The cliffs are rotten at one point, unclimbably vertical at another, and perhaps at a third the climber is pestered by clouds of angry jackdaws. Ebber Rocks are rather more broken, but on the whole the climbing is not worth much at either place, though the scenery both above ground and below it is such as no one ought to miss.
Stand.—See underBroad Stand.
Steep Gill.—On Scafell, forming the boundary of the Scafell Pillar on the Mickledoor side. It contains a very striking vertical chimney more than 50 ft. high, the upper part of which is rather a tight fit for any but the slimmest figures. At the foot of this chimney on the right-hand side there is an exit by which either the ridge of the Scafell Pillar can be reached or the chimney circumvented. The Gillbecomes very wet and steep just below the top, and extreme care is necessary in following it out on to the neck between Scafell Pillar and the mountain. Except in dry weather this bit may be considered a little dangerous. It is usual and more interesting to work out here by a grass ledge on the right on to the Low Man. The Gill was discovered by the writer, and first climbed by him and Mr. Robinson in September 1884. A note by the former in the Visitors' Book at Wastdale Head describes it as 'a chimney of unusual steepness and severity.' The name is quite recent.
Steeple.—In Cumberland, separated fromPillar FellbyWind Gap. There are some grand scrambles on the Ennerdale side of it, and it is extremely interesting to the student of mountain structure to note the points of parallelism between this group and that ofScafell,Wind Gap, of course, representingMickledoor.
Stirrup Crag, on the north end of Yewbarrow, is probably the very nearest climb to Wastdale Head, and may therefore be useful in cases when a wet day clears up towards evening and exercise within easy reach is required. The quickest way to it is to cross the beck by the bridge behind the inn and go up the hill straight to the rectangular clump of larches, and then on beyond it in the same direction. There is a nice little climb on an isolated bit of rock, noted by Mr. Robinson in the Wastdale book, at Easter in 1888. The little rock should be crossed from north to south and the same course continued up to the open fell above, afterwhich a short descent towards Door Head, keeping rather to the left hand, will bring to light several small but pretty rock-problems.
Striding Edge, a ridge on the east side ofHelvellyn, is called in one of the old mapsStrathon Edge. The difficulties of it have been absurdly exaggerated. Miss Braddon wrote amusingly about the exploits upon it of a certain gallant colonel, identified by Colonel Barrow with himself. In winter it is sometimes an exciting approach toHelvellyn, in summer just a pleasant walk. The idea of its danger probably arose from the celebrity given to the death of Charles Gough by the poems of Scott and Wordsworth.
Sty Head.—This name applies to the top only of the pass from Borrowdale to Wastdale, though often incorrectly used to designate the whole way from Seathwaite to Wastdale Head. The natives always speak of the whole pass asThe StyorThe Stee. Hutchinson says, and the statement has been repeated by Lord Macaulay, that this was at one time the only road between Keswick and the West Coast. It has lately been proposed to construct a driving road across it, but the project is not likely to be carried out for some time. The way is not easy to find on a really dark night. Some years ago two tourists who had been benighted on the pass wrote a most amusing account of their experiences in theGraphic, and it is only a year or two since two well-known Cumberland climbers were caught in the same ignominious fashion.
Swarthbeck, in Westmorland, and on the east shore of Ullswater and the west slope ofArthur's Pike, would appear to be identical with the 'chasm' noticed by Mr. Radcliffe in 1795. 'Among the boldest fells that breast the lake on the left shore areHolling FellandSwarth Fell, now no longer boasting any part of the forest of Martindale, but showing huge walls of naked rock and scars which many torrents have inflicted. One channel only in this dry season retained its shining stream. The chasm was dreadful, parting the mountain from the summit to the base.' It occurred to Messrs. T. and E. Westmorland, of Penrith, to explore it, and they found it to be a capital little climb. They published a bright and vigorous account of their climb in a Penrith paper, in consequence of which a good sprinkling of climbers have been induced to visit it. The writer has cause to remember the steepness of this gill, for on one occasion, just as the last few feet of the climb were being done, the alpenstocks, which had been a great impediment all the way up, slipped and fell, and were afterwards found on the scree at the very bottom. The steamers stop at Howtown, about a mile further up the lake, and the inn at that place is much the most convenient place to start from.
Tarn Crag(Cumberland, sh. 57) is a precipitous bit of not very sound rock, perhaps 200 to 300 ft. in height, rising on the south-west side of Bowscale Tarn. There is a better-known crag of this name just by Scales Tarn on Saddleback, and, in fact, they are exceedingly numerous, which is natural enough, seeing that it is essential to every genuinetarn that it should be more or less under a precipice of some sort.
Toe-scrape.—May be defined as 'foot-hold at or below its minimum.'
Tors, onDartmoor(q.v.).—The word is also found in Derbyshire, though not there applied to quite the same kind of rock. The Ordnance also give it in some instances in the North of England; but there it is by no means clear that they have taken pains to distinguish it from the sound of the word 'haw' when there is a finaltin the preceding word. What, for instance, they call Hen Tor may be in reality Hent Haw. In Scotlandtoris, of course, a common component in place names.
A few of the more interestingtorsare—
Belliver Tor.—Turn squarely to the right two miles from Two Bridges on the Moreton Hampstead Road.Blackingstone Rock.—A true tor, though not on Dartmoor. It is a fine piece of rock two miles east of Moreton Hampstead. It is of loaf-like form, and gave a difficult climb until a staircase of solid and obtrusive construction was put there.Brent Tor.—A curious cone of volcanic rock a long mile south-west of Brentor Station, and fully four miles north of Tavistock.Fur Tor.—About six miles in a northerly direction from Merivale Bridge, Two Bridges, or Princetown.Hey Tor.—Four miles west of Bovey Tracy; was quite a nice climb, but has been spoilt by artificial aids.
Belliver Tor.—Turn squarely to the right two miles from Two Bridges on the Moreton Hampstead Road.
Blackingstone Rock.—A true tor, though not on Dartmoor. It is a fine piece of rock two miles east of Moreton Hampstead. It is of loaf-like form, and gave a difficult climb until a staircase of solid and obtrusive construction was put there.
Brent Tor.—A curious cone of volcanic rock a long mile south-west of Brentor Station, and fully four miles north of Tavistock.
Fur Tor.—About six miles in a northerly direction from Merivale Bridge, Two Bridges, or Princetown.
Hey Tor.—Four miles west of Bovey Tracy; was quite a nice climb, but has been spoilt by artificial aids.
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A TYPICAL TOR (HEY TOR, DARTMOOR)A TYPICAL TOR (HEY TOR, DARTMOOR)
A TYPICAL TOR (HEY TOR, DARTMOOR)
Links (Great) Tor.—About two miles east of Bridestow station.Longaford Tor.—Strike off to the left about halfway between Two Bridges and Post Bridge.Mis Tor (Great and Little).—Two miles north from Merivale Bridge. They are fine objects, especially the larger.Row Tor.—On the West Dart some four miles north of Two Bridges. It has a very striking block of granite on it.Sheep's Tor.—About two miles east of Dousland Station. It is finely shaped.Shellstone Tor.—Near Throwleigh, about halfway between Chagford and Oakhampton.Staple Tor.—Under a mile north-west from Merivale Bridge, and four miles east of Tavistock.Vixen Tor.—One mile from Merivale Bridge, or four miles north from Dousland Station. It is near the Walkham River, and is almost the only tor which has a distinct reputation as a climb. It is got at by means of the cleft shown in the illustration. Here it is usual to 'back up.' The struggles of generations of climbers are said to have communicated a high polish to the surface of the cleft.Watern Tor.—Five or six miles west of Chagford, on the left bank of the North Teign. It has three towers of friable granite much weathered.Yar Tor.—Halfway between Two Bridges and Buckland-in-the-Moor; it has a curiously fortified appearance.
Links (Great) Tor.—About two miles east of Bridestow station.
Longaford Tor.—Strike off to the left about halfway between Two Bridges and Post Bridge.
Mis Tor (Great and Little).—Two miles north from Merivale Bridge. They are fine objects, especially the larger.
Row Tor.—On the West Dart some four miles north of Two Bridges. It has a very striking block of granite on it.
Sheep's Tor.—About two miles east of Dousland Station. It is finely shaped.
Shellstone Tor.—Near Throwleigh, about halfway between Chagford and Oakhampton.
Staple Tor.—Under a mile north-west from Merivale Bridge, and four miles east of Tavistock.
Vixen Tor.—One mile from Merivale Bridge, or four miles north from Dousland Station. It is near the Walkham River, and is almost the only tor which has a distinct reputation as a climb. It is got at by means of the cleft shown in the illustration. Here it is usual to 'back up.' The struggles of generations of climbers are said to have communicated a high polish to the surface of the cleft.
Watern Tor.—Five or six miles west of Chagford, on the left bank of the North Teign. It has three towers of friable granite much weathered.
Yar Tor.—Halfway between Two Bridges and Buckland-in-the-Moor; it has a curiously fortified appearance.
Vixen Tor.—One of the finest of the DevonshireTors(q.v.).
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VIXEN TOR (DARTMOOR)VIXEN TOR (DARTMOOR)
VIXEN TOR (DARTMOOR)
Walker's Gullyis the precipice in which ends the East Scree, between thePillar Rockand theShamrock. It is named after an unfortunate youth of seventeen who was killed by falling over it on Good Friday, 1883. He had reached the rock with four companions, and found there two climbers from Bolton, who had been trying for nearly three hours to find a way up, and were apparently then standing in or near Jordan Gap. Seeing Walker, they shouted to him for advice as to the ascent. He thereupon endeavoured to join them by sliding down on the snow; but he had miscalculated the pace, and when he reached the rock at which he had aimed, it was only to find that his impetus was too powerful to be arrested. He shot off to one side, rolled over once or twice, and then darted away down the steep East Scree, passing the Bolton men, who could not see him owing to that position, and disappeared over the precipice.
Wallow Crag, a long mile south of Keswick, is abrupt but not high, and somewhat incumbered by trees. It containsLady's Rake, andFalcon Cragis really a continuation of it. Both are too near Keswick to please climbers, who do not enjoy having their every movement watched by waggon-loads of excursionists.
Wanthwaite Crags(Cumberland, sh. 64) rise on the east side of the stream which flows, or used to flow, from Thirlmere. There is good climbing in them, and they areeasily reached from Keswick (1 hour), or Grasmere, taking the Keswick coach as far as the foot of Thirlmere; and Threlkeld station is nearer still (half an hour). The rocky part has a height of 600 to 700 ft. Bram Crag, just a little south, is really part of it.
Wastdale.—There are two valleys of this name, one near Shap in Westmorland, and the other and more famous in Cumberland, at the head of Wastwater. It is the Chamouni of England, and would be the Zermatt also, only it lacks the charm of a railway. Fine climbs abound among the various fells which hem it closely in. (See under the heads ofScafell,Lingmell,Great Gable,Pillar,Yewbarrow,Steeple,Red Pike, andGreat End.) A well-filled 'Climbing book' is kept at the inn, where also are some fine rock-views and a very complete set of large-scale maps. Men with luggage must drive up from Drigg Station; those who have none can walk overBurnmoorfrom Boot Station in one hour and a half or less.
Westmorland, as a climber's county, is second only to Cumberland. Langdale is perhaps the pick of it, but about Patterdale, Mardale, and Kentdale abundant work may be found, and there are few parts of the whole county which have not small local climbs of good quality set in the midst of charming scenery. Defoe's account of it is extremely amusing:
'I now enteredWestmorland, a county eminent only for being the wildest, most barren, and frightful of any that I have passed over inEnglandor inWales. The west side,which borders onCumberland, is indeed bounded by a chain of almost unpassable Mountains, which in the language of the country are calledFells.... It must be owned, however, that here are some very pleasant manufacturing towns.'
The notion of lake scenery being rendered tolerable by manufacturing towns is one which may be recommended to the Defence Society; but Mr. Defoe has not done yet:
'When we entered at the South Part of this County, I began indeed to think of the mountains of Snowden in North Wales, seeing nothing round me in many places but unpassable Hills whose tops covered with snow seemed to tell us all the pleasant part of England was at an end.'
Westmorland's Cairnis a conspicuous object at the edge nearest to Wastwater of the summit plateau ofGreat Gable. There is a wide-spread impression that this cairn, which is built in a style which would do credit to a professional 'waller,' was intended to celebrate a climb; but Messrs. T. and E. Westmorland, of Penrith, who built it in July 1876, wished to mark a point from which they 'fearlessly assert that the detail view far surpasses any view fromScafell Pikes,Helvellyn, orSkiddaw, or even of the whole Lake District.' At the same time the short cliff on the edge of which the cairn stands is full of neat 'problems,' and it is customary to pay it a visit on the way to Gable Top after a climb on theNapes.
Wetherlam, in Lancashire, is about 2,500 ft., and has some crags on the north side among which here and theregood climbing may be found. They can be reached in about an hour and a half from either Coniston or the inn at Skelwith Bridge. In an article signed 'H.A.G.' (i.e. Gwynne), which appeared in thePall Mall Gazettein April 1892, the following description of a part of it is given: 'On the west face there is a bold cliff that stands between two steep gullies. The cliff itself can be climbed, and in winter either of the gullies would afford a good hour's hard step-cutting. Just now, after the late snowstorm, the mountaineer would have the excitement of cutting through a snow-cornice when he arrives at the top. The precipice itself is fairly easy. I happened to find it in very bad condition. All the rocks were sheeted with ice and extremely dangerous. In one part there was a narrow, steep gully ending in a fall. It was full of snow and looked solid. I had scarcely put my foot on it when the snow slipped away with a hiss and left me grabbing at a knob of iced rock that luckily was small enough for my grasp. This climb, however, in ordinary weather is by no means difficult.'
Whernside, in Yorkshire, was considered even as late as 1770 to be the highest mountain in England, 4,050 ft. above the sea.
White Gill, in Langdale, Westmorland, nearly at the back of the inn atMillbeck, derives its chief interest from the loss of the two Greens there, so graphically described by De Quincey.
This and the other gills between it andStickle Tarnafford good climbing up the walls by which they are enclosed.
Winter Climbs.—Only a few years ago a man who announced that he was going to the Lakes in the depth of winter would have been thought mad. Exclamations of this kind are even now not unfrequently called forth at that season of the year; yet they seem to have little or no effect in diminishing the number of those who year by year find themselves somehow attracted to the little inns which lie at the foot of Snowdon or of Scafell Pikes.
On Swiss mountains winter excursions have been made even by ladies, and perhaps the British public was first rendered familiar with the idea by Mrs. Burnaby's book on the subject. But, in truth, the invention is no new one, and those bold innovators who first dared to break through the pale of custom and to visit North Wales or the Lakes in mid-winter were richly repaid for their audacity; for there is hardly any time of year at which a trip to Lakeland is more thoroughly enjoyable.
In the first place, there is no crowd. You can be sure that you will get a bed, and that the people of the house will not be, as they too often are in the summer time, too much overworked to have time to make you comfortable, or too full of custom to care much whether you are comfortable or not. Out of doors there is the same delightful difference. You stride cheerily along, freed for a time from the din of toiling cities, and are not harassed at every turn by howling herds of unappreciative 'trippers.' The few who do meet on the mountains are all bent on the same errand and 'mean business'; half-hearted folk who have not quite made up their minds whether they care for the mountains or not,people who come to the Lakes for fashion's sake, or just to be able to say that they have been there, are snugly at home coddling themselves before the fire. You will have no companions but life-long lovers of the mountains, and robust young fellows whose highest ambition is to gain admission to the Alpine Club, or, having gained it, to learn to wield with some appearance of dexterity the ponderous ice-axes which are indispensable to the dignity of their position. Then what views are to be had through the clear, frosty air! How different are the firm outlines of those distant peaks from the hazy indistinctness which usually falls to the lot of the summer tourist! What sensation is more delightful than that of tramping along while the crisp snow crunches under foot, and gazing upward at the lean black crags standing boldly out from the long smooth slopes of dazzling white! There is no great variety of colour; for the rocks, though a few are reddish, are for the most part of grey in varying shades; yet there is no monotony.
It is true that January days have one fault; they are too short. Or shall we not rather say that they seem so because—like youth, like life itself—they are delightful? They would not be too short if they were passed (let us say) in breaking stones by the roadside. After all, the hills hereabouts are not so big but that in eight or nine hours of brisk exertion a very satisfactory day's work can be accomplished. In short, youth and strength (and no one can be said to have left these behind who can still derive enjoyment from a winter's day on the Fells) can hardly find a more delightful way of spending a week of fine frosty weather.
Wrynose.—The pass between Dunnerdale and Little Langdale, and the meeting-point of the three counties of Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire.
It would seem that we are poorer than our ancestors by one mountain, for all the old authorities speak of this as a stupendous peak.Defoe's Tour(1753) says: 'Wrynose, one of its highest Hills, is remarkable for its three Shire Stones, a Foot Distance each.' The name properly understood would have put them right. The natives pronounce it 'raynus,' and I have not the least doubt that it represents 'Raven's Hause.' Indeed, in early charters the form 'Wreneshals' is actually found, and the intermediate form 'Wrenose' is found in a sixteenth-century map.
Yewbarrow(2,058 ft.; Cumberland sh. 74) is a narrow ridge a couple of miles long, which, seen end-on from the shore of Wastwater, has all the appearance of a sharp peak. There is climbing at the north end aboutDoor HeadandStirrup Crag, while towards the south end there are two very interesting square-cut 'doors' in the summit ridge, apparently due to 'intrusive dykes,' and beyond them the little climb called Bell Rib End.
Yorkshire(seeAttermire,Calf,Craven,Gordale,Ingleborough,Malham,Micklefell,Penyghent,Pot-holes,Whernside)—a county whose uplands fall naturally into three great divisions, only one of which, however, demands the attention of the mountaineer. The chalkWoldsin the East Riding, and the moorland group formed by theHambletonandCleveland Hills, may be dismissed here with a mere mention. The third division, which constitutes a portion of thePennine Chain, and, entering the county from Westmorland and Durham on the north, stretches in an unbroken line down its western border to Derbyshire on the south, approaches more nearly to the mountain standard. Even in this division, however, only that portion which lies to the north of Skipton attains to any considerable importance. It is in this latter district—inCraven, that is, and in the valleys of the Yore, the Swale, and the Tees—that we must look for the finest hill scenery in Yorkshire. Most of these mountains consist of limestone, capped in many cases by millstone grit, and of such summits some twenty-five or thirty rise to a height of 2,000 ft. Very few of them, however, exhibit individuality of outline, and, with the exception of the low lines of limestone precipice which occasionally girdle them, and of the wasting mill-stone bluffs which, as in the case ofPen-hillorIngleborough, sometimes guard their highest slopes, they are altogether innocent of crag. If any climbing is to be found at all, it will probably be among the numerous 'pot-holes,' or on the limestone 'scars,' such asAttermireorGordale, which mark the line of the Craven Fault. TheHowgill Fells, north of Sedburgh, form an exception to the above remarks. (SeeCalf.)
Although the climber may find little opportunity to exercise his art among the Yorkshire mountains, yet the ordinary hill-lover will discover ample recompense for the time spent in an exploration of these hills and dales. The ascent ofMicklefell, ofGreat Whernside, ofPenyghent, or ofIngleborough, whilst not lacking altogether the excitement of mountain climbing, will introduce him to many scenes of novel character and of astonishing beauty. It is only fair to mention that the Yorkshire waterfalls are second to few in the kingdom.
It is necessary to add a word or two with regard to the coast. The rapidly wasting cliffs to the south of Flamborough are too insignificant for further notice. Flamborough Head, where the chalk attains to a height of 436 ft., is noticed elsewhere. (SeeChalk.) The line of coast from Flamborough to Saltburn, passing Filey, Scarborough, and Whitby, presents an almost unbroken stretch of cliff, which, however, will find greater favour with the landscape-lover than the climber. These cliffs, which consist chiefly of the oolite and lias series, are throughout crumbling and insecure, and are very frequently composed of little more than clay and shale.Rockcliff, orBoulby Cliff, however, near Staithes, merits a certain amount of attention. In addition to not a little boldness of outline, it enjoys—or, at any rate, enjoyed—the reputation of being the highest cliff (660 ft.) on the English coast.
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Transcriber's note: Inconsistent hyphenation is as in the original.