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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/37993-8.txt b/37993-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b77717c --- /dev/null +++ b/37993-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4741 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Climbing in The British Isles. Vol. 1 - +England, by W. P. Haskett Smith + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Climbing in The British Isles. Vol. 1 - England + +Author: W. P. Haskett Smith + +Illustrator: Ellis Carr + +Release Date: November 12, 2011 [EBook #37993] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CLIMBING IN THE BRITISH *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Rory OConor and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + + + + + CLIMBING IN THE BRITISH ISLES + + _ENGLAND_ + + + + + CLIMBING + IN THE BRITISH ISLES + + _3 vols. 16mo. Sold separately._ + + I. ENGLAND. + II. WALES. _In preparation._ + III. SCOTLAND. _In preparation._ + + LONDON AND NEW YORK: + LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. + + + + + CLIMBING + IN + THE BRITISH ISLES + + _I.--ENGLAND_ + + BY + W.P. HASKETT SMITH, M.A. + MEMBER OF THE ALPINE CLUB + + WITH TWENTY-THREE ILLUSTRATIONS + BY + ELLIS CARR + MEMBER OF THE ALPINE CLUB + + AND FIVE PLANS + + LONDON + LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. + AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16th STREET + 1894 + + _All rights reserved_ + + + + +CONTENTS + + +Introduction + +The headings, for convenience of reference, are arranged in +one continuous alphabetical series, comprising the following +classes of subject: + + I. COUNTIES AND DISTRICTS WHICH ARE OF INTEREST TO THE + MOUNTAINEER + (_e.g._ Cumberland, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Ennerdale) + + II. PLACES WHICH ARE CONVENIENT AS CLIMBING CENTRES + (_e.g._ Keswick, Patterdale, Wastdale Head) + + III. MOUNTAINS AND ROCKS WHICH AFFORD CLIMBS + (_e.g._ Dow Crag, Pillar, Scafell) + + IV. CLIMBS OF REPUTATION, WITH DIRECTIONS FOR FINDING AND + ACCOMPLISHING THEM + (_e.g._ Deep Gill, Mickledoor, Napes Needle) + + V. TECHNICAL TERMS AND EXPRESSIONS + (_e.g._ back-and-knee, chimney, toe-scrape) + + VI. LOCAL NAMES FOUND AMONG THE HILLS, WITH OCCASIONAL + NOTES ON THEIR ORIGIN AND MEANING + (_e.g._ bink, clough, gill, hause, hope) + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +For some years past there has been a remarkably rapid increase in the +number of men who climb for climbing's sake within the bounds of the +British Isles. + +When any young and active Englishman sees a rock and is told that the +ascent of it is regarded as a kind of feat, there is no doubt what he +will want to do. He will obey what has been the instinct of the race at +any time this forty years. But lately there has been a change. What was +formerly done casually and instinctively has for the last dozen years or +so been done systematically and of set purpose, for it is now recognised +that hill-climbing in these islands may form part of a real +mountaineering education. Many might-be mountaineers have missed their +vocation because they were in the position of the prudent individual who +would not go into the water until after he should have learned to swim: +they did not become Alpine because they were afraid that they should +make fools of themselves if they went on the Alps. Yet, had they only +known it, they might have found without crossing the sea many a place +which might have been to their undeveloped instincts what the little +pond at the end of the garden has been to many a would-be skater--a +quiet spot where early flounderings would be safe from the contemptuous +glances of unsympathetic experts. + +Icemanship can only be acquired through a long apprenticeship, by +tramping many a weary mile helplessly tied to the tail of a guide. But +one principal charm of hill-climbing lies in the fact that it may be +picked up by self-directed practice and does not demand the same +preliminary subjection. The course of Alpine instruction can only be +considered complete when Mr. Girdlestone's ideal of 'The High Alps +without Guides' is realised (an ideal, be it clearly understood, which +for fully ninety-nine out of every hundred climbers it would be +downright madness to attempt to carry into practice); whereas, while +rock-climbing may be enjoyed by amateurs without incurring the reproach +of recklessness, they at the same time experience the exquisite pleasure +of forming their own plans of attack, of varying the execution of them +according to their own judgment, and finally of meeting obstacles, as +they arise, with their own skill and with their own strength, and +overcoming them without the assistance of a hired professional. + +Nowhere can the mere manual dexterity of climbing be better acquired +than among the fells of Cumberland; excellent practising-ground presents +itself on nearly every hill. Compared with real mountains the crags of +Cumberland are but toys, but small as they are, they have made many and +many a fine climber; and the man who has gone through a course of +training among them, who has learnt to know the exact length of his own +stride and reach, and to wriggle up a 'chimney' in approved style with +shoulder, hip and knee, may boldly fly at higher game, and when he +proceeds to tackle the giants of the Alps or Caucasus has no cause to be +afraid of the result. + +As if with the express object of increasing their educational value to +the mountaineer, the hilly parts of Great Britain are peculiarly subject +to atmospheric changes. No one who has not experienced their effects +would believe the extent to which mist, snow, and even rain can change +the appearance of landmarks among the mountains; and, where landmarks +are less abundant or less striking, even the buffeting of violent wind +may cause an inexperienced man to change his direction unconsciously. +Valuable experience in things of this kind may be gained even in summer, +but in winter the conditions become more Alpine, and splendid practice +may be had in the use of the axe and rope. + +Not that the latter should be neglected on difficult rocks at any time +of the year. Even in places where it gives the leader no security and to +some extent actually impedes him, the moral effect of it is good. It +wonderfully increases those feelings of united and ordered effort, of +mutual dependence and mutual confidence, and finally of cheery +subordination of self, which are not the least of the virtues or the +joys of mountaineering. How these opportunities may be used the novice +will readily learn from Mr. Charles Pilkington's admirable chapters in +the Badminton 'Mountaineering,' and from Dr. Claude Wilson's excellent +little handbook on the same subject. It is the aim of the present work +to enable him to find suitable places where the principles so admirably +laid down by those authorities may be tested and applied, and to +understand the descriptions--often involving difficult technical and +local terms--which have been published of them. When anyone with +climbing instincts finds himself in a strange place his first desire is +to discover a climb, his second to learn what its associations are; what +is it called, and why? has anyone climbed it, and what did he think of +it? To such questions as these this book endeavours to provide an +answer. It offers, in short, to the would-be climber a link, with the +guidebook on the one hand and the local specialist on the other. + +It must always be remembered that a very fine rock may be a very poor +climb. It may be impossible or it may be too easy, or, again, the +material maybe dangerously rotten; and thus, though there are many +places where men can and do obtain useful climbing practice, there is +only one part of England to which resort is made simply for the sake of +its climbing. In consequence of this fact the greater part of the book +is devoted to the English Lakes, and especially to the south-west +portion of them, where the best climbs of all are to be found. But in +that district the art has been highly elaborated, and the standard of +difficulty and dexterity is even dangerously high. If men would be +content to serve an apprenticeship and to feel their way gradually from +the easier climbs onward, they would excite less apprehension in the +minds of those who know what these climbs are. If, on the other hand, +they rush, as too many do, straight from the desk in a crowded city, +with unseasoned lungs and muscles, in the cold and the wet, to attack +alone or with chance companions whatever climb enjoys for the moment +the greatest notoriety, frightful accidents are certain to occur. + +The books, too, which are kept specially for climbing records at some +places in the Lakes, such as Dungeon Gill, Buttermere, and, notably, +Wastdale Head, are misleading, owing to the widely different standards +of difficulty among the various writers. Printed accounts are so few +that this objection hardly applies to them. The most noteworthy beyond +all doubt are the two articles written for _All the Year Round_, in +November 1884, by Mr. C.N. Williamson, the late editor of _Black and +White_. It would be hard to exaggerate the effect which these articles +had in making the Lake climbs known. The same writer had previously +contributed articles of less permanent value to the _Graphic_ and the +_Daily News_. In 1837 two articles had appeared in the _Penny Magazine_ +(see _Lord's Rake_); in 1859 the late Professor Tyndall had written of +_Mickledoor_ in the _Saturday Review_, and more recently articles have +appeared in the _Pall Mall Gazette_, by Mr. W. Brunskill and by Mr. H. +A. Gwynne. The present writer contributed an article to the _Alpine +Journal_ of August 1892, and one containing very clear illustrations of +'back-and-knee' work and of an episode in the long climb on the Pillar +Rock to the pages of _Black and White_, in June 1892, while numerous +articles have appeared from time to time in such local papers as the +_Whitehaven News_ and the _West Cumberland Times_, and in the +Manchester, Leeds, and Bradford press. Of guidebooks the only one of any +value to climbers is Mr. Herman Prior's 'Pedestrian Guide.' + +Any value which the present book may have is largely due to the +excellent drawings of Mr. Ellis Carr, who most kindly came forward to +fill the place left by the lamented death of Professor A.M. Marshall. +Much assistance has been derived from sketches and photographs kindly +lent, those of Mr. Abraham, of Keswick, being especially useful. For the +valuable article on 'Chalk' I am indebted to Mr. A.F. Mummery, whose +knowledge of the subject is unrivalled; while Mr. J.W. Robinson, of +Lorton, has zealously assisted in all matters connected with Cumberland; +and I must gratefully acknowledge help given in other ways by Mr. J.E. +Morris and the Rev. C.J. Buckmaster. + + + + +CLIMBING +IN +THE BRITISH ISLES + +ENGLAND + + +=Alum Pot=, the name of which is also found in such forms as _Allen_ and +_Hellan_, lies just west of the Midland Railway, about halfway between +Horton and Ribblehead stations, and on the north-east side of +Ingleborough. It is one of the most striking and most famous of the +Yorkshire potholes, being an elliptical opening in the limestone, 120 +ft. long and 40 ft. wide, with a perpendicular depth of 200 ft. The +exploration of it was begun by Mr. Birkbeck of Anley in 1847, who, +assisted by Prof. Boyd Dawkins and a large party including three ladies, +made a complete examination in 1870. + + +=Angler's Crag=, on the south side of Ennerdale Water. The steep portion +is about 300 ft. There are also some similar crags on _Grike_ and +_Revelin_, close by; but none of them are worth a long walk, and the +only resting-place near is the Angler's Inn, at the foot of Ennerdale +Water. + + +=Apron-strings.=--Throughout Scotland and the North of England the +traditional explanation of large heaps of stones is that while some one +(generally the Devil or Samson) was carrying the stones in his apron the +strings broke and the stones fell in a heap. Many such heaps are to be +found, bearing the name of 'apronful' or 'bratful,' which means the same +thing. A good instance of the latter form is _Samson's Bratful_, in +Cumberland, between the rivers Bleng and Calder. For another good +instance see what is said about Wade's Causeway in _Murray's Handbook +for Yorkshire_, at p. 206. + + +=Aron.=--So Wilkinson (in his 'Select Views') calls _Great End_. It may +be that he misunderstood his guide, who was, perhaps, speaking at the +time of _Aaron Crags_, which are on _Sprinkling Fell_, and would be in +the line of sight to any one coming up from _Borrowdale_. In fact, the +path to _Sty Head_ passes not only _Aaron Crags_ on the left, but also +_Aaron Slack_ on the right. It is, of course, tempting to suggest that +Aron was the original Keltic name of Great End; but in Wales the name +Aran is generally applied to mountains of very different appearance to +_Great End_. + + +=Arrowhead=, a prominent rock in the _Napes_ of _Great Gable_, being +part of the ridge immediately west of _Eagle's Nest_. It was climbed on +April 17, 1892, by a large party, including Messrs. Horace Walker, +Baker, Slingsby, and others. In the following year, on the last day of +March, this climb was repeated by Messrs. Solly, Schintz, Brant, and +Bowen, who continued it right on to the top of the ridge. They kept +rather more on the ridge itself than the former party had done on the +way to the _Arrowhead_, and from that point the climb is along the +crest of the ridge. It is not a difficult climb for an experienced +party. The ridge has been called the _Arrowhead Ridge_. + +[Illustration: THE ARROWHEAD +(South side of Great Gable)] + + +=Ash Crag=, a rock in _Ennerdale_, near the _Black Sail_ end of the +_Pillar Fell_. It is the writer's belief that this is the rock which the +poet Wordsworth, in 'The Brothers,' has confused with the _Pillar Rock_. +At least a lad belonging to an old Ennerdale family, the Bowmans of +Mireside, was killed by falling from this rock at a date closely +corresponding to that indicated in the poem. + + +=Attermire=, one of the most picturesque limestone scars in Yorkshire. +It is reached from Settle on the Midland Railway, and may be seen on the +way to Malham Cove. + + +=Back-and-knee=: the process of supporting or raising the body in a +'chimney' by pressure against opposite sides with back and knees, or, +more usually, back and feet. + + +=Band.=--This word forms part of many hill names in the North of +England, and is also found in Scotland. Dr. Murray deals with it in the +'New English Dictionary,' but not in a satisfactory manner. He defines +it as 'a long ridge-like hill of minor height or a long narrow sloping +offshoot from a hill or mountain,' but it would be easy to adduce +instances where this could have no application. The word is used by +Douglas in his translation of Virgil to represent the Latin word +'jugum': + + Himself ascendis the hie _band_ of the hill; + +and from this Jamieson concluded that the word meant simply 'top of a +hill'--a definition almost as unsuitable as the last. The late Mr. +Dickinson, the leading authority on the Cumberland dialect, gave to the +word the meaning of 'a boundary on high uninclosed land,' and indeed the +frequent association of the word with personal names (often of clearly +Scandinavian character) seems to indicate some territorial significance. + + +=Bannerdale Crag= (C. sh. 57) may be taken on the way up _Saddleback_ +from Troutbeck station on the line between Keswick and Penrith. About +three miles up the stream is _Mungrisdale_, and still farther up along +the course of the stream one fork leads to _Scales Tarn_ and another to +_Bannerdale_, where there is a lead mine just north of the crags. There +is a rocky face some 600 ft. to 800 ft. high, offering climbing, which +is steep, but by no means first-rate. + + +=Barf.=--From the southern shore of Bassenthwaite Water there is a fine +steep scramble up this hill. On a bright winter's day it is rather +inspiriting, and the views are good. + +The name is more frequent in Yorkshire, where, according to Phillips, it +has the meaning of 'a detached low ridge or hill.' + + +=Beachy Head=, close to Eastbourne, in Sussex, is a very fine bold chalk +cliff, the first ascent of which is made about once in every two years, +if we may believe all that we see in the papers. The truth is that there +is a treacherous incline of some 600 ft., formed of chalk and grass, +both very steep and often dangerously slippery; and during the +Eastbourne season the coastguards at the top find their principal +occupation in supplying mechanical assistance to exhausted clamberers; +but for difficulty these cliffs will not for a moment compare with those +of half the height which carry on the line westward to _Birling Gap_. +The tops of these in many places literally overhang the sea, and there +are few points where a climber could make the slightest impression upon +them. On Beachy Head there is a dangerous-looking pinnacle, which was +climbed (by dint of cutting a step or two) in April 1894, by Mr. E.A. +Crowley. + + +=Bear Rock=, a queerly-shaped rock on _Great Napes_, which in the middle +of March 1889 was gravely attacked by a large party comprising some five +or six of the strongest climbers in England. It is a little difficult to +find, especially in seasons when the grass is at all long. + + +=Beck.=--In the North of England (except in Northumberland and Durham, +where 'burn' prevails) this is the usual word for a brook. It differs +from a 'gill' in being more open, and having banks less rocky and a +stream somewhat more copious. A gill may contain only a few drops of +water, or none at all, and still preserve its self-respect, but not so a +beck. Camden speaks of 'Beakes and Brookes.' + + +=Bell= enters into many North Country hill-names. It is commonly said to +indicate spots which were specially devoted to the worship of Baal, and +many arguments have been based upon its occurrence and distribution. If +there is anything in this assertion, the 'high places' for the worship +of Baal must have been most capriciously selected. My own belief is that +the term is purely descriptive and is applied to a convexity in the +slope of a hill. In Lowland Scotch the phrase 'bell of the brae' is not +uncommon and has the same significance. + + +=Bell Rib End=, a short drop on the narrow south ridge of _Yewbarrow_. +Though on a very small scale, it is not without interest, and was a +favourite with Mr. Maitland, one of the early explorers of Wastdale. + + +=Bield.=--This word not only occurs frequently in place names, but is +still part of living speech in North England and South Scotland. It +means shelter of any kind for man or beast, and in the latter case +especially a fox or a sheep. It is also used as a verb; in fox hunting, +for instance, the animal when run to earth is said to be 'bielded.' + + +=Bink=: a long narrow grassy ledge. (N. of Eng.) + + +=Black Sail.=--It has been suggested that this name, now borne by the +pass from Wastdale to Ennerdale between Pillarfell and Kirkfell, may +have originally been named from the mountain it crossed, and so may +possibly now preserve an older name of one of those two mountains. Dr. +Murray, writing to a local paper some years ago, did not hesitate to +affirm positively that Pillar Fell is entirely due to the Ordnance +surveyors, and that the original name was Black Sail, a fact which he +said could be proved by historical evidence. It would be extremely +interesting to see this evidence, but the name 'Pillar' certainly +appears in maps published long before that of the Ordnance. (See +_Sail_.) The pass (1,750 ft.) is very familiar to all climbing folk, +being the ordinary way of reaching the Pillar Rock from Wastdale Head. +It is generally preferred to _Wind Gap_ on account of greater variety +of view and better 'going,' and some make use of it even for the purpose +of reaching the Ennerdale side of _Great Gable_. + +The route, however, has one disadvantage. It is hot. It is no uncommon +thing to hear enthusiastic frequenters of the Lakes complaining of the +popular misapprehension that the sun never shines there, and urging that +people are so unreasonable as to notice the wet but to disregard the +warmth. Among these traducers of the Cumberland climate the frequenters +of the Black Sail route are not found. Argue not with such; but some +fair morning, when the reviler is most rampant, lead him gently into +Mosedale and watch with calm delight while he pants painfully up the +pass, trying his utmost to look cool, with the sun, which he has +maligned, beating down squarely upon his back and exacting a merciless +revenge. Many a time will he turn about and feign rapture at the taper +cone of Yewbarrow and the bold outline of Scafell; often will his +bootlace strangely come untied before his reverted glance catches the +welcome gleam of Burnmoor Tarn; but long before that time his heart +within him will have melted even as wax, and he will have registered a +vow that, when next the Cumberland sunshine is discussed, the seat of +the scornful shall know him no more. Mr. James Payn, having occasion to +allude to 'dry weather' in the Lakes, adds demurely, 'which is said to +have occurred about the year 1824'; but, from his own description of +Black Sail, it is clear that he deeply rued the sarcasm: 'You will begin +to find your pass quite sufficiently steep. Indeed, this is the severest +pull of any of the cols in the District, and has proved the friend of +many a gallant with his ladylove. To offer a young woman your hand when +you are going up Black Sail is in my mind one of the greatest proofs of +attachment that can be given, and, if she accepts it, it is tantamount +to the everlasting "Yes!"' We may be sure that, before he reached the +top, the witty novelist experienced remarkably 'dry weather,' and also +some of those symptoms which elsewhere he has himself described with +such scientific accuracy: 'Inordinate perspiration and a desperate +desire for liquids; if the ascent be persisted in, the speech becomes +affected to the extent of a total suspension of conversation. The temper +then breaks down; an unseemly craving to leave our companion behind, and +a fiendish resolution not to wait for him if his bootlace comes undone, +distinguish the next stage of the climbing fever; all admiration of the +picturesque has long since vanished, exuded, I fancy, through the pores +of the skin: nothing remains but Selfishness, Fatigue, and the hideous +reflection that the higher we go the longer will be our journey down +again. The notion of malignant spirits occupying elevated +regions--Fiends of the Fell--doubtless arose from the immoral +experiences of the Early Climbers.' + +Green's _Guide_ (1819) records a touching instance of a husband's +attentions surviving a test which we saw above, that even lovers find +severe: 'This is a steep and craggy ascent, and so laborious to man that +it might be imagined horses could not travel it; yet Mr. Thomas Tyson, +of Wasdale Head, has conducted Mrs. Tyson over this stony ground while +sitting on the back of her horse.' + +In Switzerland one might look back after a day's work, and fairly +forget ups and downs so slight as Black Sail; but many of the guide +books speak of it in terms which might apply to the Adler or the Felik +Joch. For instance, _Black's Picturesque Guide_ (ed. 1872) says: 'The +_hardy_ pedestrian with _very minute_ instructions _might_ succeed in +finding his way over the mountains, yet every one who has crossed them +will beware of the danger of the attempt and of the _occasional fatal +consequences_ attending a diversion from the proper path.' This is +highly encouraging; and the enterprising traveller who only breaks his +neck two or three times in the course of the journey will be of good +cheer, for he is making rather a prosperous expedition than otherwise. + + +=Blea Crag=, an isolated square stone on the left of the path to the +_Stake_, a long mile up _Longstrath_. It is climbed on the side which +looks down the valley. Messrs. Jones and Robinson recorded their ascent +of it in September 1893, but it seems that four or five years ago there +were traces on it of a previous ascent. + +'Crag' is not very commonly used of a single stone, as it is here and in +the case of _Carl Crag_. + + +=Borrowdale.=--'Divers Springes,' says old Leland in his 'Itinerary,' +'cummeth owt of Borodale, and so make a great _Lowgh that we cawle a +Poole_.' + +The 'Lowgh' is, of course, Derwentwater, and Borrowdale is the heart of +the finest scenery and the best climbing in England. It may be said to +stretch from _Scafell_ to _Skiddaw_, and excellent headquarters for +climbers may be found in it at _Lowdore_, _Grange_, _Rosthwaite_, and +_Seatoller_. With the aid of its wad mines and its _Bowder Stone_, it +probably did more during last century than anything else to arouse +public interest in the Lake country. The natives were not famed for +their intelligence, and many stories are told in support of their +nickname of 'Borrowdale gowks.' + +There is another _Borrowdale_ in Westmorland, and _Boredale_ is perhaps +the same name. + + +=Bowder Stone= in _Borrowdale_ was already a curiosity about a century +and a half ago, when it was visited by Mr. George Smith, the +correspondent of the _Gentleman's Magazine_. Clarke, writing some years +later, says it bore the alternative names of _Powderstone_ and +_Bounderstone_; and being 'thirty-one yards long by eight yards high, +must therefore weigh over 600 tons, and is said to be the largest +self-stone in England.' It is not really a 'boulder' at all, but the +word is rather loosely used in Cumberland. + + +=Bow Fell= (2,960 ft.).--The name is probably the same as that of _Baugh +Fell_, also called _Bow Fell_, in Yorkshire. This graceful peak, +standing as it does at the head of several important valleys--_Eskdale_, +_Langdale_, _Dunnerdale_, and _Borrowdale_--is a great feature in Lake +scenery. There is not much rock-work on it, but a good deal of rough +walking and scrambling. From _Borrowdale_ or _Wastdale_ it is approached +by way of _Esk Hause_. On this side there is no climbing, except that +_Hanging Knot_, as the N. end of Bow Fell is called, descends to _Angle +Tarn_ in a long, steep, rocky slope which offers a pleasant scramble. + +On the _Eskdale_ side there is a gully or two which might be worth +exploring. + +By inclining to the right hand on emerging at the top of _Hell Gill_, or +to the left hand from the pony-track at the foot of _Rossett Gill_ we +reach _Flat Crags_, huge glacier-planed slopes of rock, overlooked by +what in winter is a fine _couloir_ of most alpine appearance. When +Messrs. J. & A.R. Stogdon ascended it (_Alpine Journal_, v. p. 35) the +inclination of the snow increased from 30° at the foot to 63° after 350 +ft. or more, and there was a large cornice at the top. In the account +which the same party inserted at the time in the Wastdale Head Book +steeper angles are given. + +In summer it is merely an open scree-gully; but the +insignificant-looking chimney just N. of it, and only separated from it +by a narrow ridge, is quite worthy of attention, though it has but one +pitch in it after the one at the foot. The descent is harder than the +ascent, and takes about twenty minutes. + +There is a fine rocky walk along the S. ridge, called _Shelter Crags_ +and _Crinkle Crags_, which descends towards the head of Dunnerdale, but +it is extremely unfrequented. + + +=Bram Crag= and _Wanthwaite Crag_ flank the coach road between +_Threlkeld_ and _Grasmere_ on the east. The best part is rather more +than two miles south of Threlkeld station. The climbing is somewhat +similar to that about _Swarthbeck_ on Ullswater, but on better and +sounder rock, and there is more of it. A good day's work will be found +among these crags, and a fine specimen of a 'sledgate' is deserving of +notice. + + +=Brandreth= is between _Borrowdale_ and the head of _Ennerdale_. The +name, which occurs elsewhere in the neighbourhood, denotes a tripod +(literally a 'grate,' usually made with three legs). The meeting-point +of three boundaries of counties, parishes, &c. is often so named. +Brandreth has only one short bit of bold rock--one of the many _Raven +Crags_. It is hardly worth a special journey, but may very easily be +taken by any one who attacks _Great Gable_ from _Borrowdale_. + + +=Brimham Rocks=, in Yorkshire, are very easily visited from Harrogate or +from Pateley Bridge. From the latter they are only four miles to the +eastward. The station for those who come from Harrogate is Dacre Banks, +from which the Rocks may be reached in an hour's walking. They are of +millstone grit and well deserve a visit, for nowhere are the grotesque +forms which that material delights to assume more remarkable. Some +resemble the sandstone forms common about Tunbridge Wells, and many +might very well stand for Dartmoor Tors; but others at first sight seem +so evidently and unmistakably to suggest human handiwork that one can +feel no surprise at the common notion that they were fashioned by the +ingenuity of the Druids. Several of them, though very small, can only be +climbed with considerable difficulty. + + +=Broad Stand=--a term commonly but, in my opinion, incorrectly used to +denote a particular route by which the crags of _Scafell_ may be +ascended direct from _Mickledoor_. There are numerous other places +within a few miles of this into the names of which this word 'stand' +enters, and a consideration of them leads me to the belief that it +signifies 'a large grassy plot of ground awkward of access.' This is +exactly what we find here. A break in the cliffs produces a large open +space which is the key to the ascent by the _Mickledoor Chimney_, to +that by the _North Climb_, and to that which, being the oldest, easiest, +and most frequented, has arrogated to itself as distinctive the name of +a feature which it should only share with the other two. Really all +three routes are merely different ways of reaching the Broad Stand. + +One of the earliest recorded ascents is that of Mr. C.A.O. Baumgartner +in September 1850, an account of which was sent by one of the people of +the dale to the local paper in these terms: 'The Broad Stand, _a rocky +and dangerous precipice_, situated between _Scaw Fell_ and the _Pikes_, +an ascent which is perhaps more difficult than even that of the _Pillar +Stone_.' The late Professor Tyndall climbed it in 1859, and described it +in the _Saturday Review_ of that year. It evidently had a great +reputation then, which was not, in his opinion, entirely deserved. It +seems to have been known in 1837 (see the _Penny Magazine_) to the +shepherds; and even in Green's time, at the beginning of the century, +one or two daring spirits had accomplished the feat. + + +=Buckbarrow= (C. sh. 79).--_Broadcrag_ (more north-east) is really part +of it, and about 400 ft. high. Buckbarrow rises near the foot of +Wastwater, opposite the best part of the Screes. When approached from +the head of the lake it appears as two huge rocky steps; but, as in the +case of _Eagle Crag_ in _Greenup_, the steps are not really in the same +plane. Seen from the slopes of _Lingmell_, it forms the boundary between +the mountains and the plain, to which it sinks in one very graceful +concave curve. It is not lofty--there are perhaps some 400 ft. of +rock--but by the shepherds it is reputed inaccessible. This is only true +in the sense that there are stiff bits on it which have to be evaded. It +is haunted by both the fox and the buzzard--connoisseurs on whose taste +in rocks the climber can generally rely. There is also climbing in the +whole line of rock (Broad Crag) which stretches away towards +_Greendale_. Since 1884, when the writer first became acquainted with +it, Buckbarrow has become rather popular, considering its remoteness +from _Wastdale Head_.--At Christmas 1891 a strong party, led by Messrs. +Robinson, Hastings, and Collie, ascended it 'from the fox's earth to the +hawk's nest,' and on April 15, 1892, a party containing several of the +same members climbed 'the first main gully on this [the north] side. +There are two short chimneys at the end of this little gill--one in each +corner, about ten to twelve yards apart.' The left one, up which Mr. +Brunskill led, was considered the harder. Afterwards Dr. Collie led two +of the party up the face of the cliff to the right of the next gully on +the west, which is marked by a pitch of about fifty feet low down. To a +house near the foot of Buckbarrow old Will Ritson and his wife retired, +after giving up the inn which they had kept for so many years and made +so famous at _Wastdale Head_. + + +=Buresdale=, the proper name of the valley between Thirlmere and +Threlkeld. Hutchinson, for instance, says: 'At the foot of _Wythburn_ is +_Brackmere_ [i.e. Thirlmere], a lake one mile in length ... from the N. +end of this mere issues the river Bure, which falls into Derwent below +Keswick.' He also mentions Buresdale in connection with _Layswater_, yet +another equivalent for Thirlmere. Guidebook writers seem to have +conspired together to obliterate this name from the map, and to +substitute for it the name _Vale of St. John_, which Sir Walter Scott +made famous. To revive the name of the river would be an act of only +posthumous justice, now that the Manchester waterworks have taken away +all its water; but the valley is still there, and ought to be called by +its genuine old name, which is of Scandinavian origin; compare with it +the Bure river in Norfolk, and fishermen will recall similar names in +Norway. + + +=Burn=: the Scotch word for a brook is hardly found south of the river +Wear. In Wythburn, Greenburn, and other cases it probably represents +_borran_ (stone heap). + + +=Buttermere=, a pleasant stopping-place from which many of the +Cumberland fells can be explored. It is a good centre for _Grassmoor_, +_Melbreak_ and the _Red Pike_ range, while _Borrowdale_ and _Ennerdale_ +are quite within reach. Once a day the Keswick waggonettes swoop upon +the place, bringing trippers by the score, but at other times it is a +quiet and enjoyable spot. + + +=Calf (The)= (2,220 ft.), in Yorkshire, near _Sedbergh_. _Cautley Crag_, +on the E. side of it, is very steep. In this corner of the county the +Yorkshire climber experiences the intense relief of seeing rocks which +are neither chalk, limestone, nor millstone grit. + + +=Camping.=--Camping out by rivers has always been more popular in +England than the same form of airy entertainment among the mountains. +The labour of carrying tents or sleeping-bags acts as the chief +deterrent. It is true that some thirty years ago a distinguished member +of the Alpine Club applied to Scafell Pike, and one or two other spots +where England is loftiest, the practice, which he has carried out on +many of the higher peaks of the Alps and Pyrenees, of watching sunset +and sunrise from the loftiest possible _gîte_ which the mountain can +afford. Mr. Payn, too, has given us a most humorous narrative of how he +and his friends encamped on Fairfield. Also, about twenty years ago, +four stalwart climbers from Penrith made a regular camping tour of the +Lakes. Their tent was pitched on these spots: Penrith Beacon, Red Tarn +on Helvellyn, in Langdale under Pike o' Stickle, Sty Head, in Ennerdale +under Gable Crag, and on Honister. It weighed only 5-1/2 lbs., and yet +had a floor space of 8 ft. by 8 ft. + +It may be that, just as bicyclists suffered by the scathing definition +'cads on casters,' so the enthusiasm of the camper may have received a +check when he heard himself described with cruel terseness as 'a fool in +a bag.' Perhaps, again, our climate is not one which offers much +encouragement to any but the hardiest of campers. In the Lakes by far +the most popular (and probably, therefore, the most convenient) place +is the shore of Ullswater, where tents have been seen even in the depth +of winter. + + +=Carl Crag= lies on the sea-shore in Drigg parish. Mr. Jefferson says +that it is of syenite, and measures in feet twelve by nine by five and a +half, but it is deep in the sand. The legend is that while Satan was +carrying it in his apron to make a bridge over to the Isle of Man, his +_apron strings (q. vid.)_ broke and let it fall. It is probably an +erratic. With the name compare _Carlhow_, _Carlwark_, &c. + + +=Carrs=, in Lancashire, in the _Coniston_ range, north of the _Old Man_. +It is craggy on the east side. In _Far Easdale_ there is a line of crag +which bears the same name. Clearly neither can have anything to do with +'carrs' in its usual sense in the north, viz. 'low marshy ground.' + + +=Castle Rock= (C. sh. 64).--This rock in _Borrowdale_ is said to have +been crowned by a Roman fort. The west side is craggy for a couple of +hundred feet. It may serve to occupy a few odd hours for any one +stopping at _Grange_, _Rosthwaite_, or _Seatoller_. + + +=Caw Fell= (C. sh. 73).--The name is possibly the same as _Calf_, +_Calva_; compare also _Caudale_, _Codale_, &c. On the north side there +is a craggy bit about 200 ft. high. + + +=Chalk.=--Though this can hardly be regarded as a good rock for +climbing, much excellent practice can be gained on it. As a general +rule, it is only sufficiently solid for real climbing for the first +twenty feet above high-water mark, though here and there forty feet of +fairly trustworthy rock may be found. These sections of hard chalk are +invariably those which at their base are washed by the sea at high tide; +all others are soft and crumbly. + +[Illustration: CHALK CLIFFS NEAR DOVER] + +Whilst any considerable ascent, other than up the extremely steep slopes +of grass which sometimes clothes the gullies and faces, is out of the +question, traverses of great interest and no slight difficulty are +frequently possible for considerable distances. A good _objectif_ may be +found in the endeavour to work out a route to the various small beaches +that are cut off from the outer world by the high tide and cliffs. + +The best instances of this sort of work are to be found along the coast +to the eastward of Dover (between that town and St. Margaret's). Between +the ledges by which these traverses are in the main effected, and the +beach below, scrambles of every variety of difficulty may be found, some +being amongst the hardest _mauvais pas_ with which I am acquainted. +Owing to the proximity of the ground, they afford the climber an +excellent opportunity of ascertaining the upper limit of his powers. +Such knowledge is a possession of extreme value, yet in most other +places it is undesirable to ascertain it too closely. Chalk, it must be +remembered, is extremely rotten and treacherous, very considerable +masses coming away occasionally with a comparatively slight pull. In any +place where a slip is not desirable, it is unwise to depend exclusively +on a single hold, as even the hardest and firmest knobs, that have stood +the test of years, give way suddenly without any apparent reason. The +flints imbedded in the chalk are similarly untrustworthy; in fact, if +they project more than an inch or so, they are, as a rule, insecure. +The surface of the chalk is smooth and slimy if wet, dusty if dry, and +does not afford the excellent hold obtained on granite. As a whole it +may be regarded as a treacherous and difficult medium, and one which is +likely to lead those practising on it to be very careful climbers. + +To the westward of Dover (between it and Folkestone) a great amount of +climbing on grass and crumbly chalk slopes can be obtained; almost every +gully and face can be ascended from the sea, or the S.E. Railway, to +the top. It is desirable to remember that in dry weather the grass and +the earth which underlies it is of the consistency of sand, and great +care is requisite; after rain the grass is of course slippery; but the +underlying material adheres more firmly to the cliff. It is unnecessary +to add that a slip on any of these slopes would almost certainly prove +fatal. On the face of _Abbot's Cliff_, and to the westward (about +halfway between Dover and Folkestone), some traverses may be effected at +a height of 200 ft. or more above the base; they do not, however, +compare for climbing with the traverses on the other side of Dover. + +As one goes westwards, the angle of the cliffs becomes less, and from +_Abbot's Cliff_ towards Folkestone it is rarely necessary to use one's +hands, though very nice 'balance' is essential, as the results of a slip +would usually be serious. Above the _Warren_, still nearer Folkestone, +the slopes become easy, and after heavy snow afford excellent +_glissades_. + +The cliffs between Dover and St. Margaret's vary from 200 to 350 ft., +whilst those between Dover and Folkestone vary from 250 to 500 ft. in +height. + +In Sussex the chalk is well developed at and near _Beachy Head_, where +it attains a height of some 600 ft. Just west of this come several miles +of cliffs, lower indeed (about 300 ft.), but amazingly vertical. + +About _Flamborough Head_, in Yorkshire, this formation attains fine +proportions, while as far west as Devonshire _Beer Head_ is upwards of +400 ft. high. + + +=Chimney=: a recess among rocks resembling the interior of a chimney +open on one side. (See _Back-and-knee_.) + + +=Chockstone=: a northern word for a stone wedged between the sides of a +gully. A short word for this is greatly needed, and I would suggest that +it might be called a 'chock,' simply. + + +=Clapham=, a station on the Midland Railway, is an excellent centre for +_Ingleborough_ and the _Potholes_. + + +=Clark's Leap=, near _Swirl's Gap_ on Thirlmere, is a jutting rock, so +called from a suicide which took place there over 100 years ago. It is +one of many local absurdities of the novel called 'The Shadow of a +Crime' that this name is brought in as an antiquity in the eyes of +characters supposed to be living two centuries ago. + + +=Clough= (_Cleugh_, _Cloof_, _Cluff_, _Clowe_) is a North of England +word for a kind of valley formed in the slope of a hill. The first cut +in carving a shoulder of mutton produces a typical 'clough.' There is +seldom any climbing about a genuine clough, because it implies soil +rather than rock. Dr. Murray tells us that the word has no connection +with the Icelandic 'klofi,' yet assigns to the latter word the origin of +'cloof,' in the sense of the fork of a tree, or of the human body. To a +layman in such matters the two words bear a singular resemblance, both +in sound and in sense. + + +=Collier's Climb= on _Scafell_ was made by Messrs. Collier and Winser on +April 2, 1893, and a very severe climb it is. It begins from the _Rake's +Progress_ at a point 105 ft. west from the _North Climb_. After a direct +ascent of about 40 ft., a grassy platform on the right (facing the wall) +is reached. From here a narrow and somewhat awkward traverse leads back +to above the first part of the climb. This traverse could probably be +avoided by climbing directly upwards. There follows an easy ascent for +30 ft. still directly upwards. By traversing broad grassy ledges to the +right--i.e. towards _Moss Gill_--one of the inclined cracks so plainly +seen on the face of the cliff is reached, and the rest of the ascent +made in it. The only severe difficulties in the climb are: 1. at the +beginning, in leaving _Rake's Progress_; 2. at one point in the crack +where there is not much handhold for 10 or 15 ft. + + +=Combe Gill=, a fine gill in the north end of _Glaramara_. The climb is +a little over two miles from _Rosthwaite_, and about a mile less from +_Seatoller_. A very fine mass of rock (one of the many _Eagle Crags_) +stands at the head of the little valley, and up the centre of this crag +lies the way. It was climbed on September 1, 1893, by Messrs. J.W. +Robinson and W.A. Wilson, whose account of it is as follows: 'This very +fine gorge has three good-sized pitches in the lower part. These were +passed by climbing the right-hand edge of the gill--interesting work. A +return on to the floor of the gill was made near the top of the third +pitch, when a little scrambling led to a very fine waterfall more than +100 ft. high. Here climb in the water as little as you can; then diverge +slightly on to the right-hand wall of the gill just where the water +spouts over a small recess; next traverse across a rather difficult slab +into the cave under the final boulder, which is climbed on the left-hand +and is the last difficulty.' + + +=Coniston=, having the advantage of both railway and steamboat, is very +accessible, and, notwithstanding this, it is agreeably free from the +rush of excursionists. Practically it has one fine mountain--the _Old +Man_--and no more, though _Bow Fell_ and the _Langdale Pikes_ are not +entirely out of reach. There is much good scrambling in the rocks which +fringe the _Old Man_ and _Wetherlam_, and superb climbing in _Dow Crag_. + + +=Coniston Old Man.=--Quarrymen and miners have between them done an +immense deal towards spoiling a very fine mountain. They have converted +to base industrial uses the whole east side of the mountain, which +Nature intended for climbers. They have not yet invaded _Doe Crag_ +(q.v.), which is really part of it, but practically no one goes up the +_Old Man_ proper, except for the sake of the view, which is magnificent, +and no one ascends except from Coniston, varied in a few cases by +working north along the summit ridge and descending via _Grey Friars_ on +to the pass of _Wrynose_. + + +=Copeland.=--Camden says of Cumberland: 'The south part of this shire is +called _Copeland_ and _Coupland_, for that it beareth up the head aloft +with sharpedged and pointed hilles, which the Britans tearme _Copa_.' +Leland alludes to this when he makes a ludicrously pedantic suggestion: +'Capelande, part of Cumbrelande, may be elegantly caullid Cephalenia.' +_Cop_ is found in Derbyshire also, as a hill-name, and hunting men will +not need to be reminded of the Coplow in Leicestershire. + +[Illustration: CONISTON AND DOE CRAG] + + +=Cornwall.=--To the true-souled climber, who can enjoy a tough bit of +rock, even if it is only fifty, aye, or twenty feet high, the coast of +Cornwall with its worn granite cliffs and bays has much to offer. It is +interesting almost the whole way round the coast. Granite prevails, but +at _Polperro_ we have cliffs belonging to the Lower Devonian period, and +for some ten or twelve miles going west from _Chapel Point_ we find +rocks of the Silurian order. At many points round the _Lizard +Promontory_ there are remarkable rocks; but some of the finest cliff +scenery in England is to be found between the _Logan Rock_ and the +_Land's End_. These are on the regular tourist tracks, and conveniently +reached from good hotels; but the north coast of Cornwall is here easy +of access. There are fine cliffs about _Gurnard's Head_ and _Bosigran_, +which are well worth a visit, from St. Ives or Penzance (7 or 8 miles). +There is a small inn at _Gurnard's Head_. _Bedruthan Steps_ are +well-known, and _Trevose Head_, _Pentire_ (Padstow), _Tintagel_ and +_Penkenner Point_ are only a few of the many grand rock-scenes on this +coast. + + +=Coterine Hill.=--Leland, in his 'Itinerary,' says that Ure, Sawle, and +Edon rise in this hill, and that 'the Hedde of Lune River by al +Aestimation must be in _Coterine Hill_, or not far fro the Root of it,' +adding that, in the opinion of Mr. Moore of Cambridge, the river Lune +'risith yn a hill cawlled _Crosho_, the which is yn the egge of +Richemontshire.' + +There is _Cotter-dale_ on the Yorkshire slope of the hill in which these +rivers rise, and the celebrated Countess of Pembroke, in 1663, when she +crossed from _Wensleydale_ to _Pendragon Castle_, calls her journey +'going over _Cotter_, which I lately repaired,' the last words showing +that it was a recognised pass. + +In all probability Leland's form represents '_Cotter End_,' by which +name, though not given in most of the maps, part of the hill is still +known. + + +=Cove=: often means 'cave' in Yorkshire and Scotland, but as a rule it +is a large recess in a hill-side. + + +=Craven=--_Camden_ remarks that the country lying about the head of the +river Aire is called in our tongue _Craven_, 'perchance of the British +word _Crage_, that is a _Stone_. For the whole tract there is rough all +over, and unpleasant to see to; which [with?] craggie stones, hanging +rockes, and rugged waies.' + +Modern climbers, however, find it hardly rocky enough for them, at least +above ground, and have been driven to invent a new variety of +climbing--the subterranean. Exploration of the numerous _potholes_ which +honeycomb the limestone hills has of late years become a favourite +pastime, and, in truth, it combines science with adventure to a marked +degree. + +Any one who tarries for any length of time among these Yorkshire dales +should read Mr. H. Speight's handsome volume, which gives a very +complete account of the beauties and the curiosities which they have to +show. + + +=Cross Fell=, in Cumberland, long enjoyed the reputation being one of +the highest mountains in England, and as late as 1770 its height was +calculated at 3,390 ft., which is some 500 ft. more than it is entitled +to. It was earlier than most English mountains in becoming the object of +scientific curiosity, and an account of it will be found in the +_Gentleman's Magazine_ for 1747. It is chiefly celebrated for the Helm +Wind originating from it. + + +=Cumberland= is the premier climbing county. The best centres are +_Wastdale Head_, _Rosthwaite_ or _Seatoller_, _Buttermere_, _Keswick_ +and _Eskdale_. The cream of the climbing is on those fells which are +composed of rocks belonging to what is called 'the Borrowdale Series,' +such as _Scafell Pillar_, _Gable_, _Bowfell_, and as a rule the finest +climbs are found on the sides which face the north and east. _Cross +Fell_ does not belong to the same mountain-system as those just +mentioned, and offers little climbing. The best cliffs on the coast are +about _St. Bees_ Head. + + +=Cust's Gully=, on Great End.--To the large and increasing number of men +who visit the Lakes in winter, perhaps no climb is better known than +this. In the spring of 1880, a party, including one of the greatest of +lady mountaineers, and over twenty members of the Alpine Club, ascended +this 'very interesting chimney or couloir, which, being filled with ice +and snow, gave unexpected satisfaction. There is a very remarkable +natural arch in this couloir, which Mr. Cust claims to have been the +first to discover, and he was therefore entrusted with the guidance of +the party.' The orthodox approach is by way of Skew Gill, which is +conspicuous at the right hand on nearing Sty Head from Wastdale. A short +distance beyond the head of this gill our gully is seen rising on the +right, marked by the conspicuous block of stone. Being, as the Scotch +say, 'back of the sun,' this gully often holds snow till comparatively +late in the season. Indeed, in winter, it is sometimes so much choked +with snow that the arch disappears, and it is even said that +self-respecting climbers, who recognise that a gully ought to be +followed with strictness, have felt bound to reach the block by +tunnelling, instead of walking over the top. In the spring of 1890 there +was a tremendous fall of stones, by which the gully was nearly filled. +Except in snow time, loose stones are an objection, and many find it +more interesting to ascend by a small gully, almost a branch of +'Cust's,' on the right hand. As climbs neither of them will compare with +the more eastern gullies. + + +=Dale=: curiously used in Derbyshire for each separate section of a +river valley, which elsewhere would form only one dale. + + +=Dalegarth Force=, in Cumberland, near Boot, in Eskdale. The wall on the +north side of this extremely pretty little fall is very low; but, being +granite, offers one or two problems to the climber. _Stanley Gill_ is +another name for the same place. + + +=Dartmoor=, a high upland moor, forming a vast reservoir, from which +most of the Devonshire rivers are fed. It is curious rather than +beautiful, and more interesting to the geologist, the antiquary, and the +fisherman than it is to the mountaineer. Yet it is instructive even to +him, for the frequency of rain and mist and the paucity of landmarks +which can be seen more than a few yards off, coupled with the necessity +of constantly watching the ground, render it one of the easiest places +in the world in which to lose one's way in any but the finest weather. +There are no true hills, but here and there a gradual rise of the ground +is seen, with a lump or two of granite grotesquely planted on the top of +it. These are the _Tors_. As a rule they are very small, but often +present problems to the climber, and are seldom without interest of some +sort. + +A great many may be reached from Tavistock or the little inn at +_Merivale Bridge_. + + +=Dead Crags= (C. sh. 56) are lofty but disappointing rocks on the north +side of Skiddaw. There is perhaps 500 ft. of steep crumbly rock, +something like _Hobcarton_. + + +=Deep Gill.=--The name is not infrequent; for example, there is one on +the south side of _Great Gable_, east of the _Napes_, but now it is +always called _Hell Gate_. The Deep Gill is on _Scafell_, and falls into +the _Lord's Rake_. The first mention of it was made in August 1869 by +Mr. T.L. Murray Browne, who wrote in the Visitors' Book at Wastdale +Head: 'The attention of mountaineers is called to a rock on Scafell on +the right (looking down) of a remarkable gill which cleaves the rocks of +Scafell and descends into Lingmell Gill. It looks stiff.' The rock +alluded to is the _Scafell Pillar_ and the gill is _Deep Gill_. It is +well described by Mr. Slingsby in the _Alpine Journal_, vol. xiii. p. +93: 'After a couple of hundred steps had been cut in the snow in Lord's +Rake and at the bottom of Deep Gill, which joins the former at right +angles, we reached the first block--a large rock perhaps 15 ft. +square--which overhangs the gill, and so forms a cave. Below the rock +the snow was moulded into most fantastic shapes by occasional +water-drips from above. At the right hand of the big rock a few small +stones are jammed fast between it and the side of the ravine, and they +afford the only route up above the rock. These stones can be reached +from the back of the little cave, and occasionally from the snow direct. +Hastings--who is a very powerful fellow and a brilliant climber--and I +got on the stones, as we did last year. He then stood on my shoulder, +and, by the aid of long arms and being steadied by me, he reached a tiny +ledge and drew himself up. Mason and I found it no child's play to +follow him with the rope. Some two hundred more steps in hard snow +brought us to the only place where we could attack the second block. +Here three fallen rocks stop the way, and on the left hand is the +well-nigh ledgeless cliff which terminates far away overhead in the Sca +Fell Pinnacle, or Sca Fell Pillar. On the right a high perpendicular +wall effectually cuts off the gill from the terraces of Lord's Rake. On +the left hand of the gill a small tongue of rock, very steep, juts out +perhaps 40 ft. down the gully from the fallen block nearest to the +Pinnacle wall, and forms a small crack, and this crack is the only way +upward. From a mountaineer's point of view the stratification of the +rocks here is all wrong. The crack ends in a chimney about 20 ft. high, +between the wall and a smoothly polished boss of rock. Hastings, still +leading, found the crack to be difficult, but climbed it in a most +masterly way. All loose stones, tufts of grass and moss, had to be +thrown down, and, in the absence of hand and foot hold, the knees, +elbows, thighs, and other parts of the body had to do the holding on, +whilst, caterpillar-like, we drew ourselves upward bit by bit. The +chimney is best climbed by leaning against the Pinnacle wall with one's +back and elbows, and, at the same time, by walking with the feet +fly-like up the boss opposite. From the top of the boss a narrow sloping +traverse, perhaps 12 ft. long, leads into the trough of the gill. With a +rope this is an easy run; without one it would not be nice. A stone +thrown down from here falls over both blocks and rolls down the snow out +of the mouth of Lord's Rake on to the screes far away below. The crack, +chimney, and traverse, short distance though it is, took us about an +hour to pass. The climb from Deep Gill to the gap from which the +Pinnacle is ascended is a very good one, which two men can do much +better than one. The Pinnacle itself from the gap is perhaps 25 ft. +high, and is really a first-rate little climb, where the hands and the +body have to do the bulk of the work.' + +[Illustration: DEEP GILL, SCAFELL +(The Lower Pitch)] + +The date of Mr. Slingsby's attempt was March 2, 1885, and that of his +successful ascent March 28, 1886: but as early as 1882 this climb had +been made, piecemeal, by the present writer, who, however, never, so far +as he can remember, blended the different items into a continuous climb +until the summer of 1884, when he descended the whole length of the +gill in company with Mr. Chr. Cookson, of C.C.C., Oxford. A yet +earlier descent of the gill had been made at Easter 1882 by Messrs. +Arnold Mumm and J.E. King, of the same college, who found such a +phenomenal depth of snow that the obstacles were buried, and they were +able to walk from end to end without using their hands. The same thing +happened again in January 1887, when Messrs. Creak and Robinson were +able to walk up over both pitches without having even to cut a step. + +The lower pitch may also be passed by using a recess resembling one half +of a funnel in the red rock of the vertical south wall of the gill. The +worst part of this is where you leave the funnel and begin to coast +round in order to re-enter the gill. The space comprised between the two +pitches can be entered very easily by passing round the foot of the +_Scafell Pillar_, or with much more difficulty down the vertical south +wall. The upper pitch may be passed in two ways, besides the incline. +One is by means of a narrow side gully, the upper stage of which is most +easily passed by following the ridge which divides it from the main +gill. The third way is the most direct and the most difficult, lying +between the incline and the great block. Mr. Owen Jones seems to have +invented it in the year 1892, and took up a party by it on that occasion +with the assistance of a good deal of snow, and another party in the +month of August 1893, when there was no snow at all. There is no more +fashionable winter climb than _Deep Gill_, and about Christmas time the +clink of the axe echoes among its crags from dawn to dusk. + +It is reached from Wastdale Head in about an hour and a half. The +shoulder of _Lingmell_ has first to be rounded, and it makes little +difference either in time or fatigue whether this be done comparatively +high up or by taking the high road to the bridge near the head of the +lake or by an intermediate course. At any rate, a long grind up _Brown +Tongue_, in the hollow between _Lingmell_ and _Scafell_, cannot be +avoided, and when the chaos called _Hollow Stones_ is reached a vast +outburst of scree high up on the right hand indicates the mouth of +_Lord's Rake_. After a laborious scramble up this scree the rake is +entered, and only a few yards further the lower pitch of Deep Gill is +seen on the left hand. + + +=Deep Gill Pillar.=--See _Deep Gill_ and _Scafell Pillar_. + + +=Derbyshire= is well endowed in point of rock scenery, but it is not +really a climber's country. The rocks are of two kinds--the Limestone, +of which Dovedale may be taken as a type, and the Millstone Grit, which +prevails further north. The former shows many a sharp pinnacle and many +a sheer cliff, but is often dangerously rotten, while the latter assumes +strange, grotesque forms, and, when it does offer a climb, ends it off +abruptly, just as one thinks the enjoyment is about to begin. It is, +nevertheless, much more satisfactory than the limestone, and many +pleasing problems may be found on it, especially in the neighbourhood of +the _Downfall_ on _Kinder Scout_. For this Buxton or Chapel-en-le-Frith +is of course a better centre than Matlock. + + +=Devonshire.=--The inland climbing in this county is very limited. Of +granite there are the _Tors_ of Dartmoor and the Dewerstone near +Plymouth, and there is a remarkably fine limestone ravine at Chudleigh, +but there is little else worthy of mention. But the coast of Devonshire +is exceptionally fine, and perhaps no other county can show such a +variety of fine cliffs. At _Beer Head_ we have chalk; at _Anstis Cove_, +_Torbay_, and _Berry Head_ limestone; at _Start Point_ and _Stoke Point_ +slate. For bold cliff scenery few parts of the Channel can rival the +piece between _Start Point_ and _Bolt Tail_. + +On the north coast of Devon there are many striking cliffs. Among them +may be noticed _Heddon's Mouth_, _Castle Rock_ (at Lynton), some rocks +about Ilfracombe, the granite cliffs of _Lundy_, _Hartland Point_; in +fact much of the coast from Clovelly right away to Bude in Cornwall is +remarkably fine. + + +=Dixon's Three Jumps=, on Blea Water Crag (High Street, Westmorland), so +called from the famous fall here of a fox-hunter about the year 1762. + +Perhaps no one ever fell so far and yet sustained so little permanent +injury. As an instance of 'the ruling passion strong in death,' or at +least in appalling proximity to death, it may be mentioned that, on +arriving at the bottom, he got on his knees and cried out, 'Lads, t' fox +is gane oot at t' hee eend. Lig t' dogs on an' aa'l cum syun.' He then +fell back unconscious, but recovered, and lived many years after. + +Another Dixon fell while fox-hunting on Helvellyn in 1858, but was +killed. There is a monument to him on Striding Edge. + + +=Dodd=: a round-topped hill. The word is common in the Lowlands and in +the North of England. It is often said to mean a limb of a larger +mountain, but Dodd Fell in Yorkshire would alone refute this, being the +highest hill in its neighbourhood. + + +=Doe Crag=, in Eskdale (C. sh. 74), is a bold rock, long reputed +inaccessible, low down on the north side of the approach to _Mickledoor_ +from the east. The Woolpack in Eskdale is the nearest inn. The rock, as +a climb, is very inferior to its namesake at Coniston (see _Dow Crag_). + + +=Door Head=, the _col_ between _Yewbarrow_ and _Red Pike_. There is +capital scree here, and a very rapid descent into Mosedale may be made +by it. Men who have spent the day on the Pillar sometimes return to +Wastdale Head round the head of Mosedale, and wind up by racing down +these screes from the _col_ to the stream below. The distance is about +650 yards, and the perpendicular drop about 1,200 ft. Anything less than +five minutes is considered very 'good time.' + + +=Doup=: any semicircular cavity resembling half an egg-shell (N. of +Eng.). + + +=Dow= (or =Doe=) =Crag=, in Lancashire, lies just west of _Coniston Old +Man_, being only divided from it by _Goat's Water_. The climbing here is +second to none. There are three or four superb gullies. Perhaps the best +is in a line with the head of the tarn and the cairn on the _Old Man_, +and another scarcely, if at all, inferior is nearly opposite a very +large stone in the tarn. The first ascent of one was made by Mr. +Robinson and the writer in the year 1886; that of the other by a party +including Messrs. Slingsby, Hastings, E. Hopkinson, and the writer in +July 1888. The last-mentioned (with indispensable aid from the rope) +afterwards descended an intermediate gully of terrific aspect. + +[Illustration: DOE CRAG, CONISTON +The lowest pitch of the central gully. The top of the wedged block is +reached by mounting the shallow scoop on the left of the picture, and +then coasting round into the gully again.] + +Towards the foot of the tarn the gullies are much less severe. + +Above is an illustration of the first pitch of the gully climbed in +1888. Mr. Hastings led up the shallow crevice seen on the left of the +picture, and on reaching the level of the top of the pitch contoured the +intervening buttress into the chimney again. This is no easy matter and +required great care. + + +=Dunald Mill Hole.=--One of the earliest descriptions of a '_Pothole_' +will be found in the 'Annual Register' for 1760, where this curiosity is +treated of at some length. It is a good specimen of a common type, and +lies between Lancaster and Carnforth. + + +=Dungeon Gill=, in Langdale, deserves mention in any treatise on British +climbing, inasmuch as the poet Wordsworth has made it the scene of an +early deed of daring performed by an idle shepherd boy-- + + Into a chasm a mighty block + Hath fallen and made a bridge of rock, + The gulf is deep below. + +The gulf and the mighty block are both there still; but there is more +pleasure in seeing the former than there is excitement in crossing by +the latter. + + +=Eagle Crag.=--Rocks of this name are pretty numerous in the North of +England, and, like the 'Raven Crags,' are, as might be expected, always +bold and precipitous. + +_On Helvellyn._--Canon Butler, in his article on the Lakes in 1844, +which appeared in _Longman's Magazine_, describes in an amusing manner +an adventure which he had on this rock. It is on the right-hand side of +the track from Patterdale to Grisedale Hause. + +_In Easdale_ (W. sh. 17).--This is easily found by following up the +stream which runs into Easdale Tarn. There is not more than 200-300 ft. +of crag, and much of it is very rotten, but with pretty bits of climbing +here and there. Grasmere is the only place from which it is conveniently +reached. + +_In Greenup_ (C. sh. 75) is as noble a rock as can be found in England. +As seen from Borrowdale near Rosthwaite it has the appearance of two +huge steps of rock, but the steps are really separate rocks, one behind +the other--Eagle Crag and Pounsey Crag. Large portions of each of them +are quite unclimbable, and much of them is too easy to be worth doing, +so that the amount of interesting climbing to be met with is less than +might be expected. Close by is Longstrath, where there is a little work +which may be combined with this (see _Blea Crag_ and _Serjeant Crag_). +The foot of Eagle Crag is reached from Rosthwaite or Seatoller in less +than an hour. + + +=Eagle's Nest=--one of the ridges of the _Napes_ lying between the +_Needle_ and the _Arrowhead_. On April 15, 1892, Messrs. Slingsby, +Baker, Solly, and Brigg ascended it and found it extremely difficult for +150 ft. At one point, about on a level with the top of the _Needle_, +there is room for one person to sit down, and here the second man on the +rope joined the leader and gave him a shoulder up. To this place they +gave the name of the _Eagle's Nest_, and it is almost the only point at +which any material help can be given to the leader. + +The part just above this they considered the stiffest part of the climb; +but when they reached a patch of grass just below a slanting chimney the +difficulties moderated. From the bottom to where the ridge joins the +_Needle Ridge_ they took two hours and ten minutes. + + +=Eel Crag.=--The word 'Eel,' we are told, is identical with 'Ill,' which +is seen in _Ill Bell_ and the numerous _Ill Gills_, and means 'steep.' +If so the name ought to be more frequent in the Lake country than it is, +and it might be suggested that in some cases 'eagle' may have been worn +down to 'eel.' There are two crags of the name in Cumberland, not very +far apart. + +_In Coledale._--These rocks are steep, but too much broken up to be +really worth a visit on their own account. However, after _Force Crag_ +has been tried, these are conveniently near. + +_In Newlands_ (C. sh. 70).--Among the rocks which flank Newlands on the +east much good material may be found. One is reminded a little of the +Wastwater Screes, but of course these are not on anything approaching +that scale. The greatest height of the craggy part is only about 400 ft. + + +=Eight-foot Drop.=--On the Pillar Rock is the passage from the ridge of +the _Curtain_ down onto the lower part of the _Steep Grass_. It figures +in some of the earlier accounts as a formidable feature of the ascent. +Nowadays it is known how much easier it is to keep on the flank of the +curtain, and only leave it when at the top of the chimney which runs up +from the head of _Steep Grass_. No 'drop' is, in fact, necessary; but +the climb, though not in any sense difficult, is generally regarded as a +good test of neatness of style. + + +=Ennerdale.=--For a valley which not only is one of the largest and most +impressive in the Lake country, but contains moreover a share of the +most perfect mountain in broad England--Great Gable--and all of the most +famous rock--the Pillar--singularly little is popularly known of +Ennerdale. But, when we consider that the place is one which is, or +should be, hallowed to all devout Wordsworthians as the scene of one of +the finest productions of their poet, the thing becomes +incomprehensible. To begin with, the guide-books have never done it +justice. In area of paper covered with descriptions of it English +Lakeland is probably many square miles ahead of any equal portion of the +earth's surface. But guide-book writers love to stand upon the ancient +ways; and any one who takes the trouble to compare West or Otley with +the works of to-day must admit that, except in matters of detail, the +advance has been incredibly small. The public are better judges of +accuracy than of enterprise, and what pleases the public pays. These +gentlemen, therefore, worthy and painstaking as they are, share to some +extent in the narrow aspirations of the hireling, and, indeed, we are +tempted to believe that their motives in shunning Ennerdale were not +wholly foreign to the character of him who 'fleeth because he is +afraid,' for they have brought up a terrible report of the dale. If, +however, this has been a wise precaution on their part, a means of +deterring any inquirer from exposing their want of energy, it has been +rewarded with a large measure of success. Here is an inviting prospect +for a timid traveller: 'Ennerdale Lake ... is so wild in the character +of its shores and in its position among the mountains as to have caused +more terrors and disasters to strangers than any other spot in the +district. At every house from Wastdale Head to Ennerdale Bridge stories +may be heard of adventures and escapes of pedestrians and horsemen in +Mosedale and the passes of Black Sail and Scarf Gap' (Whellan's 'History +of Cumberland,' 1860). Can it be wondered at that, in the face of such +terrors as this, very few people find their way into Ennerdale, except +those who with fear and trembling cross the head of it on their way +between Buttermere and Wastdale Head? Every guide-book, indeed, mentions +Ennerdale and the Pillar by name, because it gives an opportunity for +quoting the well-worn lines from 'The Brothers,' after which a few +meagre remarks may be expected to follow on the 'Pillar Mountain,' the +'Pillar Rock,' and 'Ennerdale Lake,' expressions of which not one, +strictly speaking, is correct, for the proper name of the first is +beyond all doubt 'Pillar _Fell_,' 'mountain' being an innovation of +tourists and guide-book writers, who between them have made 'Pillar +_Rock_' sound more familiar than the genuine name 'Pillar _Stone_,' and +have almost ousted 'Broadwater' in favour of 'Ennerdale Lake.' + +Printed authorities are scanty, because Ennerdale is of very recent +discovery. The early guide-books simply know nothing about it. West +(1778) does not mention it, and the gifted authoress of that touching +poem 'Edwina' did not even know how to spell its name: + + But chiefly, Ennersdale, to thee I turn, + And o'er thy healthful vales heartrended mourn, + Vain do thy riv'lets spread their curving sides + While o'er thy glens the summer zephyr glides. + +And yet Mrs. Cowley was by no means indifferent to such points. Indeed, +we owe the origin of this exquisite poem to her etymological zeal and to +her desire to immortalise the brilliant suggestion that the name +'Wotobank' was derived from some one having once said, 'Woe to this +bank!' It may even be that the spelling is a symbolical subtlety--a kind +of refinement on 'word-painting' intended to shadow forth to less poetic +minds, by the sinuosity of the superfluous 's,' the unique manner in +which the rivulets of this happy valley are wont to 'spread their +curving sides.' One of the earliest visitors to Ennerdale appears to +have been the artist Smith, of Derby (1767), who sketched the lake, as +did also Wilkinson in 1810. Wordsworth had been there before 1800, and +Green's description shows that he was much struck by the scenery of +upper Ennerdale. But, though visitors to Ennerdale have been and still +are few, most of these few speak highly of its beauties, 'partly +perhaps,' says Mr. Payn, 'in consequence of their having endured certain +inconveniences (with which they are anxious that you should also become +acquainted) when belated in that lovely spot.' The dale is not without +its associations. Formerly it was a deer forest, the property of the +Crown by forfeiture from the father of the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey. The +Sandford manuscript speaks enthusiastically of 'the montaines and +fforest of Innerdale, wher ther is reed dear and as great Hartts and +Staggs as in any part of England. The bow-bearer is a brave gentleman.' +But it is now many years since the last of the herd was destroyed, and +no one living can remember the days when Ennerdale could show--what in +almost any landscape is a crowning beauty--the stately figure of a great +red stag. Certainly an element of romance has here been lost; but how +can that be felt so long as here and there some aged man survives to +keep green among the dalesmen the memory of 't' girt wild dog'? The +stories told of this remarkable animal would fill volumes and form a +highly interesting study in contemporary mythology; and yet, when we +consider the state of unparalleled excitement into which the whole +countryside was thrown at the time, and the assiduity with which it has +ever since been talking over the events of that stirring period, we +shall find cause to wonder, not that the story in some of its details +should have acquired a slight legendary flavour, but rather that the +great bulk of the incidents narrated should be so thoroughly well +authenticated. Certainly it is a lesson in faith, and makes it easier to +credit stories such as that which Ovid tells with so much spirit of the +Calydonian boar; for if in the days of modern firearms a dog can defy a +large district and kill a couple of sheep a day for nearly half a year +together, there is less reason for doubting that in old days an amount +of destruction and devastation which would not discredit a modern +minister could be wrought by the unaided exertions of one malevolent +pig. For months the dog was hunted and shot at, but seemed to lead a +charmed life; in the excitement farming operations were terribly +neglected, until at last, in the person of John Steel of Asby, arose the +modern Meleager. + +Many a story is told of that exciting time, and one especially has hit +the fancy of the dale. Until recently the custom was that fox-hunts +should take place on one particular day of the week--a day the selection +of which for a Southern meet would, however convenient, be regarded with +considerable surprise. Possibly this custom was held to govern +dog-hunting also; for one Sunday, as the Rev. Mr. Ponsonby (probably the +identical 'homely priest' who is mentioned in 'The Brothers') was +conducting Divine Service, the attentive cars of the congregation caught +the sound of some commotion without, followed by the rush of hounds and +the panting of human lungs. There could be no mistaking these signs. A +faint murmur passed round the sacred building, 'T' girt dog!' and in an +instant the reverend gentleman was the only male within the walls. A +moment's pause, and then female sympathy and female curiosity triumphed, +and the other and better half of the congregation disappeared. The story +goes in Ennerdale (but for this we decline to vouch) that the aged +pastor, casting a sorrowful glance upon the empty benches, hastily +adjusted the robes of his office, and ere the last petticoat had +fluttered from the porch was in full career to join the headlong hunt. + +For five months Ennerdale had been in a state of convulsive excitement, +for the first and last time, it is said, 'syn t' Flud'; the honour of +having enlivened the dale is fairly divided between the Deluge and the +Dog. + +To see Ennerdale as it should be seen, and to get a clear idea of the +surrounding district, there is no better plan than to mount from +Buttermere to Red Pike--the Rigi of Cumberland--and from there follow +with eye and, if necessary, map the following account of a 'run,' +telling how 'oald Jobby o' Smeathat tallyho't a fox ya Sunday mworning, +just as day brak, oot ov a borran o' steeans, abeunn Flootern Tarn, i' +Herdas end; an' hoo it teukk ower be t' Cleugh gill an' t' hoonds viewt +him sa hard 'at he teuk t' Broadwater an' swam 'cross t' hee end on't, +an t' dogs went roond an' oop t' Side Wood ... an' they whisselt him oop +be t' Iron Crag, an' be t' Silver Cwove an then throo t' Pillar, an' a +gay rough bit o' grund it is. Hoo he shakt 'em off a bit theer, an' they +at him agean an' meadd o' ring amang t' rocks. Hoo they ran him roond be +Black Sail, an' Lizza hee faulds an' clam oot be t' Scarf Gap an' on to +t' Wo' heead an' they beeldit 'am onder t' Brock Steeans an' he was +seaff aneugh theer.' + +With or without the fox-hunt this view from Red Pike is magnificent, yet +there are several others which run it very close. What, for instance, +can be better, just at the clearing of a shower, than the look-out from +the Pillar Fell on the opposite side of the valley? From the gloom and +grandeur around it the eye travels right along to the smiling green of +the open country beyond the lake bordered by a line of glittering sea. +This view has one drawback in that you cannot at one time be looking +both from the Pillar and at it; but then it is hardly possible to enter +Ennerdale at all without seeing this rock, the real glory of the valley, +from many effective points; and, moreover, no day there is complete +without a quiet half-hour spent in floating on the lake about sunset; +for, whether it be due to the westerly lie of the dale or to some other +cause, the fact remains that the Ennerdale sunsets are not to be beaten +among the Lakes. By the early morning light the upper part of the valley +should be explored, and the marvellous view enjoyed from Haystacks: from +the 'bulky red bluff of Grasmoor' on the right to the dark recess of +Mosedale half seen upon the left all is beautiful; separated from +Crummock and Buttermere, which are both well seen, by the steep Red Pike +range, Broadwater throws in a dash of life to relieve the desolation of +upper Ennerdale, while the richly coloured screes of Red Pike sweep down +in striking contrast to the forbidding frown of the Pillar Fell. We have +seen a fine water-colour sketch which renders this view with great +fidelity. It has additional interest as the work of the first amateur +who ever scaled the Pillar Stone--Lieut. Wilson, R.N. + +The scenery of Ennerdale, however, would not long have remained +beautiful if the Ennerdale Railway Bill, promoted in 1883 and 1884, had +been suffered to pass into law. That scheme was happily defeated, and +the only modern touches added to the dale have been the galvanised wire +railings recently erected along the sky-line, and the blue indicators +set up on the Black Sail and Scarf Gap track. + + +=Eskdale.=--There are two dales of the name in Cumberland, but the only +one which is of interest to mountaineers is reached by the little +railway from Ravenglass. Lodgings, largely used by Whitehaven people, +are to be had, but the most convenient inn is the Woolpack, about a mile +up the valley from the terminus of the line. From no place can +_Scafell_, _The Pikes_, or _Bow Fell_ be more easily explored, while the +Coniston range is quite within reach, and the Wastwater _Screes_ are +more accessible than they are from Wastdale Head. The valley itself is +only second to Borrowdale, and there are grand falls and deep pools in +the Esk. There are also some good rocks, though not quite equal to the +description of Hutchinson, who says that 'Doe Cragg and Earn Cragg are +remarkable precipices, whose fronts are polished as marble, the one 160 +perpendicular yards in height, the other 120 yards.' Both of these will +be seen on the way up to _Mickledoor_, the former standing on the +right-hand side at the foot of the steep ascent. It is strange that so +few climbers ever go to this valley. + + +=Esk Pike=, a name given by the shepherds to a peak of 2,903 ft., which +stands at the head of the Esk valley. Being left nameless by the +Ordnance six-inch map, it has attracted to itself the nearest name it +could find, and is very commonly called _Hanging Knot_, which, in +strictness, applies only to the north shoulder of Bow Fell, where it +hangs over Angle Tarn. It would save some confusion if this name had a +wider currency than it has. At the head of Eskdale there is a rather +good gully, which was climbed at the end of September 1892 by Messrs. +Brunskill and Gibbs, whose account of it is that 'its direction is +W.N.W., and it consists first of a short pitch of about 10 ft.; then a +slope of 20 ft. at an angle of 60°-65°, the holds in which are fairly +good; and, last, another pitch at a somewhat similar angle, with an +awkward corner of rock to round. Above this to the top is an easy +scramble.' + + +=Fairfield= (2,863 ft.), in Westmorland, sometimes called Rydal Head in +old books, stretches down to Grasmere and Ambleside; but it is from +Patterdale that it should be seen and climbed. One of the best things on +it is _Greenhow End_, which stands at the head of Deepdale. The steep +part, which is not wholly crag, is 400 or 500 ft. high, and faces N.E. + +This is the mountain which Miss Martineau so greatly longed to ascend, +and every one knows Mr. Payn's account of how he encamped upon it. + +There is another _Fairfield_ in the Coniston Fells. + + +=Falcon Crag=, a couple of miles from Keswick, beside the road to +Borrowdale, is not more than 150 or 200 ft. high, but at many points so +vertical as to be quite unclimbable. The steepest side is also the most +exposed to the public gaze. On the south side there is a deep gully in +which excellent scrambling is to be had. + + +=Fellpole= is a much better word than its foreign equivalent, +'alpenstock'. Except in the depth of winter on the highest fells it is +of much more use than an axe, which is, of course, indispensable when +there is much snow or ice. On difficult rocks either axe or pole is a +great incumbrance; but where there is much scree, or steep grass, or +broken ground, all three of which abound on the Fells, a pole is a very +great comfort on the descent. Of course, while being used for this +purpose, it must be kept behind the body. On the steep nose of +_Fleetwith_ a fatal accident occurred to a young woman solely in +consequence of her attempting to descend with her stick held improperly +in front of her. This is a fault which nearly all beginners commit. +Nevertheless, it is perfectly legitimate to use the pole in that way if +it is to break the force of an abrupt drop from rest to rest--as, for +instance, when a slope is broken into binks separated by drops of from +three to six feet. In such cases a jump is often dangerous, and the life +of Mr. Pope, lost on _Great Gable_ in 1882, is only one of many which +have been similarly sacrificed. + + +=Force Crag= is reached from Keswick by way of Braithwaite station and +the long _Coledale_ valley. Here the track of the disused mining tram is +a well-engineered road direct to the foot of the crag, where the +fragments of the baryta mine are littered about. The best climb is up to +the basin, into which pours the force, and then, leaving the force on +the right, ascend a steep, dry gully. The rock is very treacherous, +being not only loose, but covered with long fringes of rotten heather. +It is very difficult to get out, as the top part steepens rapidly. The +force is very fatal to sheep. On one occasion the writer counted no less +than six of their carcasses in the basin. + + +=Froswick.=--It is most easily reached from Staveley or Windermere by +following up the valley of the Kent, or from Ambleside by crossing the +Garbourn Pass into the same valley. This hill resembles _Ill Bell_ and +_Rainsborrow Crag_ in character, and has a very steep face towards the +north-east, 300 or 400 ft. high. It is on sheet 20 of the Ordnance map +of Westmorland. + + +=Gaping Gill Hole=, in Yorkshire, on the south side of _Ingleborough_, +is most easily got at from Clapham, on the Midland Railway. It lies +higher up than the well-known _Clapham_ or _Ingleborough Cave_, and both +should be visited in the same expedition. The actual funnel is about 8 +ft. by 20 ft., and Mr. Birkbeck, of Settle, partly descended it many +years ago. There is a ledge of rock about 190 ft. down, from which a +plumb-line drops a further distance of 166 ft. Strangers often pass +close to the place without finding it. + + +=Gash Rock.=--We are indebted to Colonel Barrow for this name, which he +bestowed on _Blea Crag_ in Langstrath apparently for no better reason +than that he knew a man called Gash, who did not know the name of the +rock, or how to climb it. + +This rock is the 'spy fortalice' spoken of in Prior's Guide. It is an +upstanding block of squarish outline, conspicuous on the left hand as +one ascends Langstrath from Borrowdale. It is climbed from the side +which faces down the valley, and is rather a stiff little rock of its +inches. + +It was climbed by Mr. Owen Jones and Mr. Robinson on September 6, 1893, +but there is some doubt whether it had not been done before (see _Blea +Crag_). + + +=Gavel=--apparently the local form in the North of England of the +Southern 'Gable.' In the older maps 'Great Gable' is usually spelt in +this way, and for part of that mountain the name _Gavel Neese_ (i.e. +nose) still lingers among the shepherds. Generally speaking, in the less +frequented parts, where the names are used only by the shepherds, we +find this form. Thus we have _Gavel Fell_ between Loweswater and +Ennerdale, _Gavel-pike_ on St. Sunday Crag, _Gavelcrag_ on the south end +of _High Street_, and again on _Seat Sandal_, and this form is used in +the Lowlands of Scotland, while on the more frequented _Skiddaw_ we get +_Gablegill_. In Icelandic, 'gafl' is said to mean 'the end of a house or +of a ship.' + + +=Gill= (or _Ghyll_).--In a large part of the North of England this is +the regular word for a stream flowing between walls of rock. It is by +many regarded as a test-word for Scandinavian settlements, and it is +certainly more abundant in such districts, but notice should be taken of +the fact that in Kent it is applied to the steep wooded slopes of a +brook-valley. There is good authority for both spellings, but the less +romantic of the two is to be preferred. + + +=Gimmer Crag=, just behind the inns at _Dungeon Gill_ in _Langdale_, has +good scrambling on it. Mr. Gwynne says of it: 'Between _Harrison +Stickle_ and the _Pike O' Stickle_, commonly called the _Sugarloaf_, +there is a splendid crag that is full of opportunities. This fine piece +of rock, although it has the appearance of being easy, has the +disadvantage of being wet, and therefore more or less dangerous. +However, there are times even in the Lake District when the rain ceases +and the sun shines, and it is then that the climber should gambol upon +this crag.' + + +=Glaramara=--a long broken hill stretching from Stonethwaite along the +east side of Borrowdale to Esk Hause. Its name is only less disguised +than its nature in the description given of it in the 'Beauties of +England,' p. 65: 'Glamarara is a perpendicular rock of immense height.' +Sir W. Scott has confused it with _Blencathra_. It contains very little +climbing, but _Combe Gill_ and _Pinnacle Bield_ may be mentioned. + + +=Gordale Scar=--a magnificent limestone ravine near _Malham Cove_, in +Yorkshire, on the line of the great Craven Fault. Bell Busk is the +nearest station, but Settle (6 miles) is generally more convenient. It +has been prosaically compared to a winding street between enormously +high houses, with a river falling out of the first-floor window of one +of them. It is easy to pass out at the head, leaving the water on the +right hand; but on the other side of the water there is quite a little +climb, which, however, the writer has seen a lady do without assistance. + + +=Goyal.=--This west-country word for a gully will not require +explanation for readers of Mr. Blackmore's 'Lorna Doone.' + + +=Grain=: the northern word for a prong, and hence the usual name for the +branches of a stream. + + +=Grassmoor= (2,791 ft.) in the older maps and guide-books (such as +Robinson's) is often called Grasmere or Grasmire. The only climbs which +it presents are on the side which drops steeply down towards the foot of +Crummock Water, and the only inns within a convenient distance are at +Scale Hill (1 mile) and Buttermere (3 miles). There are two gullies +which furrow the mountain side nearly from top to bottom. The more +southerly of these has two pitches in it close to the foot, and the +upper of the two is generally thought as hard as anything on the +mountain. The approved method of doing it is to keep the back to the +rock until the top of the pitch is nearly reached, and then to break out +on the south side. Above this pitch the gully is of little interest. The +north gully is of more sustained merit, but, as seen from below, less +prominent, and therefore easily overlooked. It may, however, be +recognised by its liberal output of scree. It has three pitches near the +foot, and in all three the hold is somewhat scanty. The first forms a +narrow gully rising from left to right, and is the highest and hardest. +Higher up than these a broad wall of rock some 40 ft. high cuts across +the gully and gives a pretty climb. Above the wall there is a branch to +the left containing one little pitch, but the main channel continues. +Loose stones are now the only source of excitement, and climbers are +recommended to get out to the right and finish the ascent along the +rocky ridge of the bank. It is very safe climbing on this face, yet full +of interest and instruction, and for the initiation of a 'young hand' +nothing could be better. + + +=Great End= (2,984 ft.) has not received justice at the hands of the +Government map-makers, who have scamped their work most shockingly. The +six-inch map would lead the innocent, stranger to imagine that he could +ascend from Sprinkling Tarn by a smooth and gradual slope. The cliffs +are on the right-hand side on the way from Sty Head to Esk Hause, and +are reached from Wastdale or Borrowdale by way of Sty Head, and from +Langdale by Rossett Gill. The best general view is from Sprinkling Tarn. +Col. Barrow, when citing Great End in his book as an instance of a +mountain with one impossible side, no doubt refers to these cliffs, +which, however, long before he wrote, had been climbed in every +direction. He might reasonably object to _Cust's Gully_, invented in +1880, as being quite at the end of the cliff; but from a point some way +below the foot of that gully there is an easy passage, sloping up the +face of the cliff very much like Jack's Rake on _Pavey Ark_, and this +passage was descended by Mr. Cust in the same year that he discovered +the gully. A little later a couple of ardent fox-hunters got into +difficulties in one of the main gullies, and so drew more attention to +these rocks. The whole face was pretty thoroughly explored by the +present writer in the summer of 1882. Two very fine gullies face +Sprinkling Tarn. _Great or Central Gully_, the nearer of the two to +_Cust's_, is also the wider, but not quite so long as the other. It has +a copious scree at the foot, and more than half-way up it divides into +three. The central fork is grassy, that to the right is more abrupt, +while the left-hand way lies for several yards up a wet slide of smooth +and very steep rock. On the slide itself there is hold enough for +comfort; but on getting off it at the head to the left hand there comes +a bit on a disgustingly rotten buttress which even good climbers have +often found very unpleasant. Above this the gully is more open and +very easy, but splendid climbing may be had on either side of it. + +[Illustration: GREAT END FROM SPRINKLING TARN +A, Position of _Brigg's climb_ (not seen); B, The east gully; C, The +great central gully; D, _Cust's gully_.] + +_The South-East Gully_, as it is usually called, has its mouth only some +20 yards east from that of the last. Being much narrower, it is bridged +by numerous 'choke-stones,' and, while less fine than the other in snow +time, offers in summer a better and rather longer climb. Half-way up or +less there is a fork, the dividing ridge forming quite a sharp _arête_. +Above it the forks coalesce, and as it nears the top the climb can be +varied a good deal. + +_Brigg's_ (or _Holmes'_) _Pitch_, of which a photograph will be found in +the Climbers' Book at Wastdale Head, is still nearer to Esk Hause, which +it faces. Mr. Holmes and the Messrs. Brigg, who climbed it on Easter +Monday 1893, describe the difficulty as consisting in a cave formed +quite at the foot of the cliff by a jammed stone, the top of which is +reached by way of the rocks on the north side of it. + + +=Great Gable= (2,949 ft.) may be ascended with equal ease from Wastdale +or the head of Borrowdale, and is within easy reach of Buttermere. The +simplest way up is by Sty Head, from which half an hour's rough walking +lands one on to the top. The only alternative for Wastdale is 'Moses +Sledgate,' alias _Gavel Neese_, a ridge of rather steep grass, which +offers a very direct way. There is a bit of scrambling on White Napes, a +rocky mass which tops the Neese. Beyond this _Westmorland's Cairn_ is +left on the right hand and the summit cairn comes into sight. People +coming from Buttermere usually go round the head of Ennerdale over +Green Gable, and this is the way generally taken by Borrowdale visitors +for the return journey. The climbing on this mountain is quite +first-class. The _Napes_, _Napes Needle_, and _Kern Knotts_ are +separately described, but in addition to these there are grand crags +overlooking Ennerdale. These are referred to in Col. Barrow's book in +the passage where he defies the Alpine Club to ascend the most difficult +side of certain Lake mountains. + +[Illustration: PLAN OF GREAT GABLE +A, _Westmorland's Cairn_; B, _White Napes_; C, E, _Little and Great Hell +Gate_; D, _Great Napes_; F, _Napes Needle_.] + +[Illustration: GREAT GABLE FROM THE SOUTH-EAST +A, _Kirkfell_; B, _Beckhead_; C, _White Napes_; D, _Great Napes_; +E, _Westmorland's Cairn_; F, Summit; G, _Tom Blue_; H, _Kern Knotts_. +The path to _Sty Head_ is seen mounting from left to right.] + +No one seems even to have looked at these crags till in 1882 Mr. Pope +met his death on this side of the mountain. In that year the writer +found that it was an easy matter to coast along the face of the cliff at +about two-thirds of the height of it, and a year or two later that for +all the ferocious appearance of these rocks there is a natural passage +by which a mountain sheep of ordinary powers might ascend them. Close to +this are the remains of a sort of hut of loose stones, evidently the +refuge of some desperate fugitive of half a century or more ago. Local +tradition speaks of a notorious distiller of illicit whisky, who was +known to have a 'hide' somewhere in this wild neighbourhood. The top of +the easy passage bears by prismatic compass 23° from the highest cairn, +and is marked by a large stone. + +To the east of this spot there is fine climbing, the rocks being on a +grand scale and difficult on that account. At intervals large masses are +detached by such agencies as frost, and heavy falls result. One of these +carried with it a slab pinnacle which, though only about 15 ft. high, +was remarkably difficult. The writer, and Messrs. Hastings and Robinson +gave themselves the trouble of climbing it, and consequently heard of +its untimely departure with deep regret. + +In April 1890 Mr. J.W. Robinson greatly assisted subsequent climbers by +inserting a sketch in the Wastdale Head book, and this sketch has been +the usual basis of later work. + +Gable has the threefold excellence of being splendid to look at, +splendid to look from, and splendid to climb; and one can easily +understand the enthusiasm of Mr. F.H. Bowring, who has ascended it over +one hundred times. + + +=Green Crag.=--A good piece of rock, though not as sound as it might be, +at the head of _Warnscale_, the recess between _Fleetwith_ and _Scarf +Gap_. It is reached from Buttermere by way of Gatesgarth, and then by +the quarry track which goes up on the south side of Fleetwith to _Dubs_. +There is a fine gully in the crag which is unmistakable. A note of the +ascent of it was made by Messrs. J.W. Robinson and W.A. Wilson in +August 1889. + + +=Griff=--a valley-name in east Yorkshire, probably connected with +'greave,' which is common in Derbyshire. Phillips says that the +Yorkshire word means 'a narrow, rugged valley.' + + +=Gurnard's Head=, in Cornwall, not far from St. Ives, is a fine +promontory on which there is good climbing. It is here that the +greenstone ends and the granite begins, prevailing from this point +practically right on to the Land's End. + + +=Hanging Knot.=--See also _Esk Pike_. The steep breast above Angle Tarn +contains no continuous climb, but there are several good bits in the +rocks and gullies which connect the terraces. + + +=Hard Knot.=--'Eske,' says Camden, 'springeth up at the foote of +_Hardknot_, an high steepe mountaine, in the top whereof were discovered +of late huge stones and foundations of a castle not without great +wonder, considering it is so steepe and upright that one can hardly +ascend up to it.' + +This refers of course to the Roman camp, which is nowhere near the top. +The 'mountaine' scarcely deserves the name; it is not high, and though +rugged offers no climbing. Writers much later than Camden refer to it as +if it were one of the highest hills in England. Even Gray, in his +_Journal_, says 'Wrynose and Hardknot, two great mountains, rise above +the rest.' + +[Illustration: HANGING KNOT FROM ANGLE TARN] + +The usually accurate West introduces in the funniest way both 'the +broken ridge of Wrynose' and 'the overhanging cliff of Hardknot' into +his description of the view from Belle Isle on Windermere, and says that +they, with others,'form as magnificent an amphitheatre, and as grand an +assemblage of mountains, as ever the genius of Poussin,' &c.; and then +adds a note to say that they 'are named as being in the environs, and +are in reality not seen from the island.' + + +=Harrison Stickle=, 'the next neighbour of _Pavey Ark_, is another happy +hunting-ground for beginners. There are at least four good routes up. +There is one to the north-east which is fairly difficult. Due south +there are two or three rather steep gills, that may be climbed with a +certain amount of ease. But in no case should the climber, even on the +easiest of these routes, omit to use the rope and take every precaution +against preventable accidents.' Thus speaks Mr. Gwynne in the _Pall Mall +Gazette_, and to his remarks little need be added, except that it must +be borne in mind nothing on this group is quite in the same class as +_Pavey Ark_. The obvious starting-point for either is Dungeon Gill at +the very foot, where there are two inns, but Grasmere is within easy +reach, being only about an hour further off. + + +=Hause= (_hass_, _horse_, _-ourse_, _-ose_): used in the North for a +pass. The word means 'neck' or 'throat,' the latter being the sense most +felt in local names, where it refers more to lateral contraction than to +vertical depression, being thus parallel to _gorge_ rather than to +_col_. + + +=Haystacks=, just east of Scarf Gap, has one craggy bit on it where, as +appears from the curious map published in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for +1751, eagles then built. The name is often quoted as an instance of the +Norse word which occurs in _Stack Polly_, and frequently on the Scotch +coast, but West says it was called _Hayrick_ (_sic_) on account of its +shape. + + +=Hell Gate.=--A channel on _Great Gable_, just by the east end of the +_Napes_. It is the outlet for immense quantities of scree. The older +name, _Deep Gill_, has during the last twenty years being quite +supplanted. The present name, if less pretty, is more precise, and saves +confusion with the better known _Deep Gill_ on _Scafell_. + + +=Hell Gill.=--There are many gills and becks bearing this name. Speaking +of one in Yorkshire, Leland says it is 'a Bek called Hell Gill because +it runnithe in such a deadely place. This Gill commithe to Ure.' The +idea is amplified by Camden: 'Where Richmondshire bordereth upon +Lancashire amongst the mountaines it is in most places so vast, +solitary, unpleasant and unsightly, so mute and still also that the +borderers dwelling thereby have called certaine riverets creeping this +waie "Hellbecks." But especially that about the head of the river Ure, +which having a bridge over it of one entier stone falleth downe such a +depth, that it striketh in a certaine horror to as many as looke downe.' +The best known Hell Gill, which at one time had considerable reputation +as a climb, is quite near the foot of _Bowfell_ on the Langdale side. +Though on a small scale, it is highly picturesque. The south fork is +hardly passable in ordinary weather owing to a small waterfall, below +which is a deep pool flanked by perpendicular walls of rock, and except +in very dry seasons it is necessary to crawl up the red rotten slabs, +steep, slimy, and wet, which form the north fork. The gill should be +visited more often than it is, as it is directly on one of the best ways +up the mountain from Dungeon Gill and Langdale generally. + + +=Helm Crag.=--Colonel Barrow, speaking of this hill, observes that +climbing among these rocks requires care. There are places quite as +dangerous and as difficult as on any rock-work on the Alps. He was +deterred from climbing the rock which is supposed to resemble a mortar, +by a slab of rock slanting sideways, but in his opinion there was no +great difficulty, except that arising from the absence of hold for hand +and foot--an exception of some importance. + + +=Helvellyn.=--A mountain which belongs equally to Grasmere and to +Patterdale, though the latter has by far the finest side of it. +_Striding Edge_ on this side was at one time considered to present +terrors such as the hardy mountaineer was not likely to encounter +elsewhere. This side is cut up into deep coves, which are exceedingly +steep and afford many opportunities for scrambling, and near the path in +Grisedale there is one of the numerous _Eagle Crags_. + +On the west side there is no climbing on the mountain itself, but on the +range of _Dodds_, which runs away to the north, there is capital work to +be found; see _Bram Crag_ and _Wanthwaite Crags_. It was in connection +with Helvellyn that Colonel Barrow issued his famous challenge to the +Alpine Club. After stating that he had ascended the mountain by every +possible way of getting up it, and that it is the easiest of mountains +to ascend from any direction that is possible, he continues: 'No one, I +think, will venture the impossible, which may be found on all the +highest mountains in the Lake District. They have their precipitous +sides for adventurous climbers, who, I promise, will never get up them +even if they have a mind to try--viz., these, _Great Gable_, _Great +End_, _Helvellyn_, _Fairfield_, &c. Most of the difficult things in the +Alps have been accomplished. Here is a new field for any of the +adventurous climbers of our club: let them try these precipitous sides!' +Helvellyn was long regarded as the loftiest of the Lake mountains, the +height assigned to it by West being 3,324 ft., and even its tame grassy +slopes towards _Wythburn_ were thought very terrible indeed. In the +'Beauties of England' Thirlmere is described as 'a scene of desolation +which is much heightened by the appearance of the immense craggy masses, +that seem to hang on the sides of Helvellyn, from whose slopes they have +apparently been severed, but arrested in their tremendous progress down +the mountain by the impulse of gravitation. Huge and innumerable +fragments of rocks hang pendant from its sides, and appear ready to fall +and overwhelm the curious traveller who dares to ascend its wild and +fantastic heights.' + + +=Heron Crag=, Eskdale.--A rock in _Eskdale_ (q.v.) which was long +reputed inaccessible. It was supposed to be 120 yards high, and to have +a front like polished marble. It will be found north of the Esk river, +not far from _Throstlegarth_ (Cumberland, sheet 79). + + +=High Level.=--This name was bestowed about the year 1880 on a +particular route, by means of which the north-east foot of the _Pillar +Rock_ may be reached from _Black Sail_ along the face of the mountain, +thus avoiding the descent into Ennerdale and the subsequent laborious +ascent to the rock. The saving in time is very considerable, but the way +is so easily missed in thick weather that a stranger who attempted it +would probably gain nothing but an exciting walk. + +After reaching the slight hollow between _Lookingstead_ and _Pillar +Fell_, _Green Cove_ is seen below. Here a descent may be made at once, +but it is better to proceed westward till about two dozen uprights of +the iron railing are passed, and then to descend, keeping as much to the +left as the cliffs will allow. The whole art of choosing a line along +this face is to cross each successive cove as high up as may be done +without getting impeded by rocky ground. The ridges which separate the +coves mostly form small headlands, and just above each headland a strip +of smooth grass crosses the ridge. Economy in time is usually of more +importance at the end than at the beginning of a day, and it is well to +know that, whereas from the foot of the rock to _Black Sail_ by way of +the valley would take up the greater part of an hour, Mr. Hastings and +the writer once timed themselves on the _High Level_, and found that +they reached _Lookingstead_ in 18 minutes and the ford in Mosedale in +seven minutes more. + + +=High Stile=, in Cumberland, between Ennerdale and Buttermere, has a +height of 2,643 ft., and on its north-west side a few good crags. It is +best reached by following up the course of _Sour Milk Gill_ from the +foot of Buttermere to _Bleaberry Tarn_, which can be reached from any of +the inns in an hour's walking. In a note made in the Wastdale Head book +in August 1887, Mr. Robinson called attention to these rocks, and he it +is who has done most of the exploration here. + +The principal climbing is in and about a gully in the centre. A course +may be taken up very steep grassy binks with the gully on the right +hand. The gully itself was climbed direct in September 1893 by Messrs. +Jones, Robinson and Wilson, and they found the second pitch very +difficult. The same party also ascended 'a short, black-looking chimney +away round on the left of the great crag, and nearer the top of the +mountain.' The very hard upper pitch was passed on the right hand, and +the final pull was by the arms alone. Both climbs are in full view from +Rigg's Buttermere Hotel. + +The mountain is called _High Steel_ in some early maps, and in that of +the Ordnance it comes on sheet 69. + + +=High Street=, with the Roman road running all along its ridge, lies +between Patterdale and Mardale Green, in Westmorland. It has a fine +precipitous side towards the latter place at Blea Water (see _Dixon's +Three Jumps_), and at the south end of it, about Gavel Crag and +Bleathwaite Crag, there are some good rocky faces, which can be readily +found by following up the course of the beck from Kentmere. + + +=Hobcarton Crags= have a considerable repute, which they have only +retained by reason of their not being very easily got at. The simplest +way of reaching them from Keswick is to take the train to Braithwaite, +then go up the straight Coledale until Force Crag is passed, then trace +the stream which comes down the hill on the right. Hobcarton is just +over the ridge, and the crags are on the left-hand side of the valley. A +descent may be made of a ridge which forms the right bank of a gill, +which runs from near the col where you are now standing; the gill itself +is too rotten. + +The _Crags_ are very steep and very rotten; but there is one curiosity +about them, in the shape of a continuous sloping ledge, growing very +narrow indeed towards the top. It rises gradually in the direction of +_Hopegillhead_. The crags are picturesque, but can be traversed in any +direction without difficulty, and present no definite climb. Another way +of reaching them from Keswick is by crossing Whinlatter Pass, and on the +far side turning up the first valley to the left hand. + + +=Honister=, one of the grandest crags in Cumberland, is reached from +either Buttermere or Borrowdale. It is one of the chief attractions of +the 'Buttermere Round' made by the breaks from Keswick. If quarrymen +could only have been persuaded to let it alone, it would have been a +delightful climbing ground; as things are, we can only look and long. +Apart from the great crag there is a fine view of the lakes below from +the summit (called _Fleetwith Pike_). Owing to its position near the +black-lead mines, this was one of the earliest Lake mountains of which +we have a recorded ascent. It was made before the middle of last +century, and, so far as can be made out, these early mountaineers +ascended from Seathwaite and passed to the northward of _Grey Knotts_, +and so to the top of Fleetwith. 'The precipices were surprisingly +variegated with apices, prominencies, spouting jets of water, cataracts +and rivers that were precipitated from the cliffs with an alarming +noise' [Sourmilkgill]. On reaching the apparent top, they were +astonished to perceive a large plain to the west, and from thence +another craggy ascent, which they reckoned at 500 yards. 'The whole +mountain is called _Unnisterre_ or, as I suppose, Finisterre, for such +it appears to be.' In about another hour two of the party gained this +summit--'the scene was terrifying--the horrid projection of vast +promontories, the vicinity of the clouds, the thunder of the explosions +in the slate quarries, the dreadful solitude, the distance of the plain +below, and the mountains heaped on mountains that were lying around us +desolate and waste, like the ruins of a world which we only had survived +excited such ideas of horror as are not to be expressed. We turned from +this fearful prospect, afraid even of ourselves, and bidding an +everlasting farewell to so perilous an elevation. We descended to our +companions, repassed the mines, got to Seathwayte, were cheerfully +regaled by an honest farmer in his _puris naturalibus_, and returned to +Keswic about nine at night.' + + +=Hope= (_-hop_, _-up_): used by Leland as equivalent to 'brook,' but +usually taken to mean a retired upland valley. The Icelandic 'hop' is +applied to landlocked bays. + + +=Hough=--a hill name in east Yorkshire. Phillips says that it is +equivalent to 'barf,' and means 'a detached hill.' It is pronounced +'hauf.' If this be the exact sense, it can hardly be the same word as +'heugh,' which is used further north for 'crag' or 'precipice,' and it +is perhaps merely another form of 'how' or 'haugh.' + + +=How= (_-oe_, _-ah_, _-a_, _-haw_): a Norse word for a burial mound, +found all over the North of England. + + +=Ice-axe.=--On the high Fells in time of snow an axe is a safeguard of +vital importance. Quite apart, too, from the comfort and security which +it alone can give, it is an implement which can only be properly +manipulated after long practice, and consequently a beginner should +eagerly avail himself of every opportunity of acquiring dexterity in the +use of it. From Christmas to Easter there is nearly always snow enough +on the fells of Cumberland to give excellent practice in step-cutting. + + +=Ill Bell.=--A Westmorland hill forming a series of three with +_Froswick_ and _Rainsborrow Crag_. Its north or north-easterly face is +very steep for a height of about 300 ft. Staveley is perhaps the best +starting-point for these three; but they can be managed quite easily +from Ambleside or Mardale Green. _Ill Bell_ is on sheet 20 of the +Ordnance map of Westmorland. + + +=Ingleborough=, 2,361 ft., one of the most striking of the Yorkshire +mountains, of which the poet Gray spoke as 'that huge creature of God.' +Readers of the 'Heart of Midlothian' will remember how it reminded +Jeannie Deans of her 'ain countrie.' The most exaggerated ideas of its +height formerly prevailed. Even in 1770 it was commonly reckoned at +3,987 ft., and Hurtley actually gives 5,280 ft. + +Its top is only about four miles from Clapham, and ponies can go all the +way. It is ascended far and away more frequently than any other +Yorkshire hill, and consists mainly of limestone cliffs and slopes of +shale, with a certain amount of millstone grit. + +Here are some very remarkable caves (see _Alum Pot_ and _Gaping Gill +Hole_), and of some of these there is an early description by Mr. Adam +Walker in the _Evening General Post_ for September 25, 1779, which is +quoted by West, and an account of an ascent of it made in the year 1761 +is also extant. + + +=Jack's Rake= is a natural passage across the face of _Pavey Ark_ in +Langdale. The first notice ever taken of it by any but shepherds was a +note in the visitors' book belonging to the inn at Dungeon Gill by Mr. +R. Pendlebury, who spoke highly of it, considering it to be a striking +yet simple excursion among magnificent rock scenery. After a time the +world came to look at _Pavey Ark_, and seeing an impossible-looking +combination of ravine and precipice, concluded, not unnaturally, that it +must be what Mr. Pendlebury had found a pleasant yet simple stroll. +Under this delusion, they began to try to climb what is now known as the +Great Gully in _Pavey Ark_, and did not expect to find a place anything +like the real _Jack's Rake_. + +Mr. Gwynne, in 1892, says of it: 'Along the face of the cliff there runs +a ledge that looks from below hardly wide enough for a cat to stand +upon. However, if an attempt is made to climb it, it will be found wide +enough for two fat men walking abreast. Towards the top it tapers off +again, and the climber will have to do a bit of scrambling to get on to +the summit of the precipice. This is a climb which offers no difficulty +whatever, unless the climber is given to attacks of giddiness, and if +that is the case there will hardly be any need to tell him that he has +no business there at all. This ledge, however, offers a multitude of +good opportunities to the climber. It runs obliquely across the face of +the precipice, but it need not necessarily be followed throughout its +length by the mountaineer who wishes for something a little more +exciting. + +'About halfway up there runs on to the ledge a chimney which, when it is +not a small waterfall, forms a pleasant climb to some broken rock above, +whence the summit is easily reached. If, however, the water in the +chimney makes it uncomfortable and unpleasant for the climber, he may +still arrive at the top of it by choosing a long bit of steep smooth +rock to the left. There are two cliffs which afford fairly good hand and +foot holds, and from there the top of the chimney is attained.' + +It is remarkable that a gallery more or less resembling this is found on +many of the chief precipices in the Lakes. There is a steeper one on the +Ennerdale Crags of _Great Gable_; there are two on the Ennerdale face of +the _Pillar Rock_, and on _Scafell_ the _Rake's Progress_ and _Lord's +Rake_ in their mutual relation closely resemble this rake and the wide +gully at the north end of it. + +[Illustration: PAVEY ARK AND STICKLE TARN +A, Narrow gully; B, Big gully; C, D, Smaller gullies; E, Wide scree +gully. From the foot of E to A runs _Jack's Rake_.] + + +=Kern Knotts= are on the south side of _Gable_, close to the _Sty Head_. +There is a short but difficult gully here on the side facing Wastdale, +which was climbed by Messrs. Owen Jones and Robinson in 1893, but +described by them under the name of _Tom Blue_, a rock much higher up +the mountain. + + +=Keswick.=--Though rather too distant from the very best climbing, this +is an excellent centre in point of variety. + +Of _Skiddaw_ and _Saddleback_ it enjoys a monopoly, while _Helvellyn_, +_Gable_ and _Scafell Pikes_ are all within the compass of a day's work. +The railway is a convenience, of course, but not as useful as one might +expect in extending the field of operations, because most of the places +to which it goes are of little interest. The town is very well supplied +with driving facilities, such as coaches, breaks and omnibuses. + +The clay-slate of which the Skiddaw and Grassmoor groups are composed +provides climbing of smaller quantity and inferior quality to that found +among the harder rocks of what is called the 'Borrowdale Series,' but +there are a few good scrambles west of Derwentwater, such as _Eel_ (or +_Ill_) _Crag_, _Force Crag_, and _Hobcarton_. The nearest good rocks are +in the neighbourhood of _Wallow Crag_, but there is no pleasure in +climbing with a crowd of gaping excursionists below. A much pleasanter +day may be spent in a visit to _Wanthwaite_. Of Keswick itself an early +writer says that the poorer inhabitants subsist chiefly by stealing or +clandestinely buying of those who steal the black-lead, which they sell +to Jews and other hawkers; but whatever changes the character of the +people has or has not undergone, it is not easy to believe that the +scenery is the same as that which the early writers describe. + +Camden's tone is neutral: 'Compassed about with deawy hilles and fensed +on the North side with that high mountaine _Skiddaw_ lieth _Keswike_;' +but two centuries later, when the place began to be fashionable, this +description would not have satisfied any one. The great characteristic +of the scenery was considered to be its power of inspiring terror. Dr. +Brown in his famous 'Letter' dwells upon the 'rocks and cliffs of +stupendous height hanging broken over the lake in horrible grandeur, +some of them a thousand feet high, the woods climbing up their steep and +shaggy sides, where mortal foot never yet approached. On these dreadful +heights the eagles build their nests, ... while on all sides of this +immense amphitheatre the lofty mountains rise round, piercing the clouds +in shapes as spiry and fantastic as the very rocks of Dovedale.... The +full perfection of Keswick consists of three circumstances, _beauty_, +_horror_ and _immensity_ united.' + + +=Kirkfell= has two fine buttresses of rock at the back, facing +Ennerdale, but they are broken up and so only fit for practice climbs. +They are, however, not unfrequently assailed by climbers who imagine +themselves to be scaling the crags of Great Gable. The direct ascent +from Wastdale is one of the steepest lengths of grass slope to be found +among these hills. The only gully on this fell is _Illgill_, which faces +_Lingmell_ and contains two or three severe pitches. It is rather seldom +visited, and is exposed to falling stones. + + +=Lancashire.=--Though some of the rough country which borders on +Yorkshire contains a rocky bit here and there, Lancashire climbing has +no real interest except in that part of it which belongs to the Lake +country. The climax of this part is reached in the neighbourhood of +_Coniston_. South of the Lakes there are some limestone crags of +striking form. The impression produced on Defoe by what we consider the +exceptionally beautiful scenery of the Lune valley is curious. 'This +part of the country seemed very strange and dismal to us (nothing but +mountains in view and stone walls for hedges; sour oatcakes for bread, +or clapat-bread as it is called). As these hills were lofty, so they had +an aspect of terror. Here were no rich pleasant valleys between them as +among the Alps; no lead mines and veins of rich ore as in the Peak; no +coal-pits as in the hills about Halifax, but all barren and wild and of +no use either to man or beast.' + + +=Langdale.=--(See _Bowfell_, _Pavey Ark_ and _Pike o'Stickle_, _Gimmer +Crag_, _Harrison Stickle_, _Oak How_.) By many thought the finest valley +in Westmorland; the name is often written Langden or Langdon by old +authorities. + +Dungeon Gill has always been a favourite haunt of climbing folk, and +from this base strong walkers can easily manage to reach _Scafell_, +_Gable_, _Coniston_, _Old Man_, or _Helvellyn_ in the day. + + +=Limestone= is abundant in Derbyshire and Yorkshire, and forms the fine +cliffs of Cheddar in Somerset, Berry Head in Devon, Anstis Cove and +others; indeed most of the south coast of Devon and Cornwall east of +Penzance is of this material. Chudleigh Rock and Morwell Rocks on the +river Tamar are very striking. West, speaking of this rock in +Lancashire, says, 'The whiteness and neatness of these rocks take off +every idea of _horror_ that might be suggested by their bulk or form.' +In England it is very rare to find limestone which is a satisfactory +material on which to climb. + + +=Lingmell=, called _Lingmoor_ by Wilkinson, is a mere shoulder of +Scafell Pike. It has, however, some fine cliffs facing those of _Great +Napes_ on Gable; between these two Housman thought a collision imminent. +These used to be thought inaccessible, but were climbed by Mr. Bowring +about 1880. There is a striking view of them from near Sty Head. The eye +looks right along the dark ravine of Piers Gill, which is apparently +overhung by the long line of these crags, rising from tongues of rock +divided by huge fan-shaped banks of scree. There is a good deal of +chance about the climbing here. It may be exciting, or you may just +happen to avoid what difficulties there are. It is a very treacherous +rock, especially low down, where curious long stone pegs are lightly +stuck in the ground and come away at the first touch. A few feet below +the top stands a curious pinnacle of forbidding appearance, of which a +sensational photograph has been taken; but Mr. Robinson found one side +from which the top is reached with ridiculous ease. Further west there +are gullies facing Kirkfell which are worth climbing, though there is +much unsound rock. (See also _Piers Gill_.) + +[Illustration: LINGMELL AND PIERS GILL] + + +=Lingmoor=, rather over a mile south-east of Millbeck Inn, and near Oak +How, is a little pinnacle of which a photograph and a description by Mr. +H.A. Gwynne will be found in the Climbers' book at that place. In old +maps the name is sometimes found applied to _Lingmell_. + +[Illustration: LORD'S RAKE AND RAKE'S PROGRESS +A, The foot of _Moss Gill_; B, The foot of _Steep Gill_; +C-D, _Lord's Rake_; C-A, Part of _Rake's Progress_.] + + +=Lord's Rake.=--A well-known scree-shoot in the north face of Scafell, +for the ascent of which from Mickledoor it offers an easy route without +climbing. The earliest account of its being used for this purpose is in +the _Penny Magazine_ for 1837 at p. 293: 'It is very laborious and looks +dangerous, but in fact there is no risk except that of a sprained +ankle. It is through the Lord's Rake, a shaft between two vertical walls +of rock about five yards across all the way up, and twenty or +twenty-five minutes' hard climbing on all fours up a slope of about 45°. +The place must have been cut out by a watercourse, but is now dry and +covered with light shingle. It looks right down into Hollow Stones (the +deep vale between the Pikes and Scafell), and most fearful it does look, +but it is not dangerous. When we reached the inn at Eskdale over Scafell +my shepherd was very proud of having brought me through the Lord's Rake, +and the people were much surprised. It seems to be rather a feat in the +country. It is the strangest place I ever saw. It may be recommended to +all who can bear hard labour and enjoy the appearance of danger without +the reality.' 'Prior's Guide' contained the first good description of +this rake. + + +=Luxulion=, in Cornwall, is of interest to the mineralogist and the +travelled mountaineer on account of its enormous block. + +According to Mr. Baddeley, this is the largest block in Europe, larger +than any of the famous boulders at the head of the Italian lakes, and it +may take rank with the largest known, the Agassiz blocks in the Tijuca +mountains near Rio Janeiro. He gives the dimensions as 49 feet by 27 +feet with 72 feet girth, yet makes no allusion to the _Bowder Stone_ in +_Borrowdale_, which in another work he describes as being 60 feet long, +30 feet high, and weighing 1,900 tons. It would appear, therefore, that +the _Bowder Stone_ is considerably larger than the largest stone in +Europe without being so remarkable for size as another stone in England. + + +=Malham Cove.=--A fine example of the limestone scenery of the Craven +Fault. The river Aire gushes forth from the base of the cove, which can +easily be seen in the same excursion as _Gordale Scar_. The nearest town +is Skipton-in-Craven and the nearest station Bell Busk, but Settle is +very little farther and will generally be found the most convenient +starting-point. + + +=Mardale Green=, at the head of Hawes Water, is a delightful and little +visited spot. In the way of climbing it commands _High Street_, _Harter +Fell_, _Froswick_, _Ill Bell_, and _Rainsborrow Crag_. The best near +climbs are about _Bleawater_ and _Riggindale_. + + +=Mellbreak.=--One of the few Cumberland fells which the indefatigable +Colonel Barrow seems to have left unvisited; yet no one who stops at +Scale Hill or Buttermere will consider wasted a day spent upon it. The +proper course is to begin at the end which faces Loweswater village and +ascend by _Frier's Gill_, a nice little climb. Having reached the top of +the gill and then the summit plateau, proceed to the hollow about the +middle of the mountain, and from there descend the highly curious +_Pillar Rake_, which gradually slopes down towards the foot of Crummock +Water. It is not a climb, but any one who is not content with the study +of mountain form can find climbing in the little gullies which ascend +the rocks above the rake. Sheet 63 of the Ordnance map of Cumberland +contains it. + + +=Mickledoor Chimney=, in the cliffs of Scafell, is not the easiest, but +the most obvious point at which to attack them. It is conspicuous from +the _Pikes_, and would probably be selected by any experienced stranger +as the most vulnerable point. It was visited about the year 1869 by Mr. +C.W. Dymond, who contributed to 'Prior's Guide' the earliest and best +description of it. He says that, 'leaving _Mickledoor_ Ridge, you pass +the fissure leading to _Broad Stand_, and continue descending steeply +for two minutes, which brings you to a narrow gully in the rock, with a +thread of water trickling down it over moss. This is the _cheminée_ to +be ascended, and there is no special difficulty in it until you are near +the top. Here the gully, of which the 'chimney' forms the lower section, +is effectually blocked for some distance, and the only alternative is to +climb out of it by the rock which forms the right wall, and which is +about 12 ft. high, the lower six vertical and the upper a steep slant. +This, which can only be scaled _à la_ chimney-sweep, is exceedingly +difficult, as is also the gymnastic feat of escaping to _terra firma_ +from the narrow shelf on which the shoulder-and-hip work lands you.' +This is very clear and in the main correct, but there is another and +easier exit much lower down called 'the Corner,' and there is a third +exit only a few feet from the mouth of the chimney. All these are on the +right hand, for the opposite bank is not only much higher and much +smoother, but would lead to nothing if it were surmounted. It is not +really necessary to enter the chimney at all, for the edge presented +where the bank cuts the wall bounding the screes is quite assailable, +and just right of it there is a point which may even be called easy; +but two terrible accidents which have occurred at this spot prove the +necessity of care. + +Until the extraordinarily dry season of 1893 the moss-grown block at the +very head of the chimney had never been climbed. It was accomplished on +the 12th of September by Mr. W.H. Fowler. By standing on the shoulders +of a tall man he was able to reach a slight hold and to establish +himself on a rough rectangular block forming the floor of a recess big +enough to hold one man. The block above it was holdless, and overhanging +and loose stones were a great nuisance. + + +=Micklefell.=--The highest mountain in Yorkshire, but except on that +account it possesses no special attraction. The best starting-point is +the High Force Inn in Teesdale, 5 miles from Middleton. By making the +round of the mountain from High Force to Appleby some very fine +rock-scenery may be enjoyed. + + +=Millstone grit.=--A material which is very abundant in Yorkshire and +Derbyshire. It is fairly firm, but seldom affords a climb of any +sustained interest. Few kinds of rock weather into such eccentric forms, +and of this propensity _Brimham Rocks_ are a good example. It forms most +of the 'Edges' in Derbyshire, and generally speaking a precipice at the +top of a hill is of this material, while those at the foot are of +limestone. + + +=Moses' Sledgate= is a curious track, which has evidently been +engineered with considerable care, running from near Seatoller in +Borrowdale at the back of _Brandreth_, round the head of Ennerdale below +_Green_ and _Great Gable_, and then over Beck Head and down Gavel Neese +into Wastdale. The question is, who made it and for what purpose was it +used? A few years ago, the writer, while climbing with two friends among +the crags on the Ennerdale side of _Great Gable_, stumbled quite by +chance on something which seemed to throw a side-light on the question. +This was a ruined hut thickly overgrown with moss, and showing no trace +of any wood having been employed in its construction. The spot had +evidently been chosen primarily with a view to concealment, and the +result of enquiries kindly made since then by one of my friends has been +to elicit proof of certain traditions still lingering among the older +inhabitants of these dales concerning a noted distiller of illicit +spirits, who flourished and defied the law among these wild retreats. At +the same time it is not easy to believe that a smuggler would have +undertaken the construction of such a path as this. In the South of +England, it is true that the smugglers were considerable roadmakers; but +that was at a time when smuggling was a great and well-organised +institution, and it seems much more probable in this case that Moses +made use of an old path constructed for some purpose which had at that +time been abandoned. + +The terms 'Moses' Path' and 'Moses' Trod' are also used to describe this +track. It is not noticed in the guide-books, but something is said about +it by Mrs. Lynn Linton. + + +=Moss Gill=, on Scafell, is the next gully on the east or _Mickledoor_ +side of _Steep Gill_. The name _Sweep Gill_ ('from the probable +profession of the future first climber of its extraordinary vertical +chimneys') was suggested for it by Mr. Gilson shortly after its +discovery, but that name has been entirely superseded. The first mention +of it in the Wastdale Head book is a note by the present writer in June +1889, recommending it to any one in search of a new and difficult +climb. His party on that occasion was repulsed after reaching the great +blocks, which have only been passed since by the aid of the artificial +step subsequently cut in the rock. It was tried again a fortnight later +by a party under Mr. R.C. Gilson, which got very nearly, but not quite +as far. Two days later the same party explored the gill from above and +descended in it for a considerable distance. It was not, however, till +three and a half years later, at Christmas, 1892, that the climb was +accomplished by Dr. J.N. Collie, G. Hastings, and J.W. Robinson, and +their account of it is: + +[Illustration: MOSS GILL AND STEEP GILL +A, _Moss Gill_ (Collie's exit); B, _Moss Gill_ (Collier's exit): +C, Top of _Steep Gill_. Just below the point to which A and B converge +is the artificial step.] + +'The chief points in this climb are, First--to begin on the rock wall to +the right of the foot of the gill and not in the very foot of the +chimney itself, then enter the gill just below the first great pitch, +which may be turned by climbing the wall on the right hand on to a grass +ledge of considerable size, called the "_Tennis Court_"; enter the gill +from here again, and pass into the cavern under the great boulder.' + +'We found,' says Dr. Collie, 'that below the great slab which formed the +roof, another smaller one was jammed in the gully, which, stretching +across from side to side, formed the top of a great doorway. Under this +we passed and clambered up on to the top of it. Over our heads the great +rock roof stretched some distance over the gill. Our only chance was to +traverse straight out along the side of the gill, till one was no longer +overshadowed by the roof above, and then, if possible, climb up the face +of rock and traverse back again above the obstacle into the gill once +more. This was easier to plan than to carry out; absolutely no +hand-hold, and only one little projecting ledge jutting out about a +quarter of an inch and about two inches long to stand on, and six or +eight feet of the rock wall to be traversed. I was asked to try it. +Accordingly, with great deliberation, I stretched out my foot and placed +the edge of my toe on the ledge. Just as I was going to put my weight on +to it, off slipped my toe, and if Hastings had not quickly jerked me +back, I should instantly have been dangling on the end of the rope. But +we were determined not to be beaten. Hastings' ice-axe was next brought +into requisition, and what followed I have no doubt will be severely +criticised by more orthodox mountaineers than ourselves. As it was my +suggestion I must take the blame. _Peccavi! I hacked a step in the +rock_--and it was very hard work. But I should not advise any one to try +and do the same thing with an ordinary axe. Hastings' axe is an +extraordinary one, and was none the worse for the experiment. I then +stepped across the _mauvais pas_, clambered up the rock till I had +reached a spot where a capital hitch could be got over a jutting piece +of rock, and the rest of the party followed. We then climbed out of the +gill on the left, up some interesting slabs of rock. A few days later +the gill was again ascended by a party led by Mr. J. Collier. They did +not follow our track to the left after the overhanging rock had been +passed, but climbed straight up, using a crack which looks impossible +from down below, thus adding an extra piece of splendid climbing to the +expedition.' + +Only four days after Dr. Collie, a party of five climbers, led by Dr. J. +Collier, made the second ascent of Moss Gill. The description given by +their precursors was of great assistance, and except that the gill was +entered much lower, the same line was followed up to the traverse from +the great boulder. Here, instead of climbing out to the sky line on the +left side, the ascent of the gill itself was completed by climbing the +vertical moss-grown wall on the right. This part was entirely new, and +Dr. Collier's note of his variation, or we may say correction, for his +climb is the more direct of the two, is that the ascent of the wall was +made by using the cleft of the gill for about 15 ft., when a resting +place was reached. Above this point they climbed about 15 ft., and then +traversed out on the face of the wall for about 8 ft. by some ledges +which afforded just sufficient hold. They then ascended vertically about +6 or 8 ft., re-entering the cleft above a small platform of jammed +stones ('Sentry Box'). This gave a starting-point for the completion of +the ascent, which was made by climbing out on to the face of the wall to +enable the jammed stones at the top of the pitch to be turned. These +last stones did not appear to be secure and were avoided. From this +point the gill continues upward at an easy slope, with one pitch of +about 15 ft. to the back of the small summit on the left of _Deep Gill_. +Two days later the ascent was repeated by Dr. Collier in company with +Professor H.B. Dixon and the late Professor A.M. Marshall, the latter +of whom inserted in the Climbers' book a remarkably bold and effective +outline sketch of the gill, with explanatory notes. Speaking of the +climb, he said that Mr. Collier led throughout, and that the success of +the climb was due entirely to him. The climb is a very fine one, and, +except for the leader, is entirely free from danger. At the very awkward +return from Tennis Court Ledge into the gully, the leader can by a short +traverse fix himself directly above the rest of the party. During the +traverse from the 'window' the leader can fix the rope over the +'belaying-pin.' In the great chimney the _Sentry Box_ is a place of +absolute safety. The climb is difficult, but no part of the chimney is +harder than the short rock face leading up to Tennis Court Ledge, and +the most awkward traverse (if covered with snow) is the one from Tennis +Court Ledge back into the gully. For a party of three 80 ft. of rope +would be enough; 100 ft. perhaps better. On January 9, 1893, Mr. O.G. +Jones attacked this formidable climb entirely by himself, following Mr. +Collier's route up to the foot of the Great Chimney, and then Mr. +Hastings' exit to the left. Heavy snow had fallen since the previous +ascents and the climb appeared to be exceedingly difficult. Almost every +hold had to be cleared of snow; essential precautions rendered the climb +of five hours' duration, and it was not completed till after dark (5.45 +p.m.). While clearing snow from the more remote portions of the _Collie +traverse_ from the _window_, in search of the third step, the difficulty +of balancing proved too great, and he fell into the gully below. A rope +had been secured round the _window_ and thus prevented his passing +beyond the snow patch on which he fell. The _window_ 'sill,' already +loose, was on the verge of falling, and was therefore pushed over into +the gully. Returning two days later, he found that the two lowest +chimneys in the gill could be taken straight up, and that the simplest +way of reaching Tennis Court Ledge is by 'backing up' the chimney till +the level of the recess in the right-hand face is reached. 'The recess +is near enough to be taken with a stride. It would seem that the Tennis +Court Ledge and traverse back into the gully may be entirely dispensed +with by continuing up the chimney, the small jammed stones being firm +enough to render the necessary assistance. While making these +suggestions concerning small details in the climb, it may be mentioned +that at the _Collie traverse_, which the writer's experience leads him +to think is the most dangerous piece in the gill, an axe may be of much +help to a party. A man fixed on the _window sill_ may press the point of +the axe into a conveniently placed notch in the slab facing him, so that +the lower end of the handle shall supply a firm hand-hold for any one +stretching round the third step. + + _Heights calculated by Mr. Jones._ + + Foot of Gill on Rake's Progress 2,625 ft. + Snow Patch below Tennis Court Ledge 2,805 " + Tennis Court Ledge 2,840 " + Foot of jammed stone pitch 2,870 " + Window in jammed stones 2,895 " + Snow patch above 2,920 " + Top of left-hand exit 3,140 " + Top of Moss Gill proper 3,170 " + +It must, however, be borne in mind that these measurements, though +useful for the purposes of comparison, cannot be absolutely correct, +seeing that Scafell itself is only 3,162 ft. high. On February 11 +Messrs. Slingsby, Woolley, and R. Williams found the gully very +difficult owing to ice, and recorded an emphatic protest against any +one following their example by attempting it, 'except when the rocks are +dry and quite free from ice.' + +On the last day of March Messrs. Brunskill and Gibbs followed, with a +slight improvement, Dr. Collier's route, and made the subjoined +observations, taken apparently with greater care than those by Mr. +Jones: + + Foot of Gill at Rake's Progress 2,570 ft. + Snow Patch above jammed stones 2,865 " + Top of Great Chimney or Moss wall 2,965 " + Top of Gill (neck leading to Deep Gill Pisgah) 3,065 " + +It will be seen that while the points are all made lower than Mr. +Jones's table, the height between the commencement of the climb and the +snow patch above the jammed stones is exactly the same--295 ft. In this +case an observation was taken at the cairn on the top of Scafell, and +the aneroid stood at almost exactly the correct figure, which somewhat +confirms the figures now given. + + +=Napes.=--A collection of fine rocks, starting up like a stack of organ +pipes on the south side of _Great Gable_. The extremity of them nearest +to _Kirkfell_ is called _White Napes_, and sometimes Gable Horn. East of +this is a gap known as _Little Hell Gate_. East of this comes _Great +Napes_, and east of them again is _Great Hell Gate_, which is called +Deep Gill in the Ordnance map. + +In September, 1884, a note by the present writer in the book at Wastdale +Head drew attention to these excellent rocks. They are now one of the +most favourite climbs in Wastdale, and contain the well-known _Needle_, +the _Bear Rock_, and the _Arrowhead_, with their respective gullies and +_arêtes_. + +Just west of _Hell Gate_ there is a considerable width of very large and +steep rock, which continues nearly to the _Needle Ridge_, with only a +few steep and shallow gullies, in which the grass is very rotten. West +of this ridge there is a deep gully, grassy, but exceedingly steep. The +ridge beyond this was ascended in April, 1892, by Messrs. Slingsby, +Baker, Solly, and Brigg, who called it the _Eagle's Nest_ (q.v.). The +narrow gully west of this ridge is apparently that which was climbed on +December 29, 1890, by Mr. R.C. Gilson. He describes it as 'the gully on +the left as you face the mountain of the gully coming down left of the +_Needle_.' He proceeds to say that it presented no special difficulty, +except at a point about one-third of the way up, where there was a large +boulder and a smooth slab thinly glazed with ice. It was claimed as a +first ascent when climbed on April 17, 1892, by Messrs. Solly and +Schintz. West again of this is the ridge of the _Arrowhead_ (q.v.). We +are here getting near the end of _Great Napes_, which are separated on +the west from _White Napes_ by the scree gully which is called _Little +Hell Gate_. + + +=Napes Needle.=--A rock of very striking form, which, by an eminent +mountaineer, has been compared to a violon-cello. + +It stands at the foot of the _Needle Ridge_ in the _Napes_, and was +first climbed by the writer about the end of June, 1886. The second +ascent was made on March 17, 1889, by Mr. G. Hastings, and the third +by Mr. F. Wellford on June 22, Mr. J.W. Robinson following on August 12 +in the same year. + +[Illustration: NAPES NEEDLE FROM THE WEST +A, _Needle Ridge_; B is reached from below by means of a deep crack +which goes right through the rock. In order to get to C from B it is +necessary to pass round behind to the crack seen at D, along which one +may pass to C, and thence direct to the top.] + +Miss Koecher (March 31, 1890) was apparently the first lady to ascend. + +It was first climbed from the west; the way on the opposite side is +perhaps less severe, but longer and more varied. + +The rock is frequently photographed, and an illustrated article on it +appeared in the _Pall Mall Budget_ of June 5, 1890. + + +=Needle Ridge= is that ridge of the _Napes_ on _Great Gable_ which is +immediately behind the _Napes Needle_. It was discovered in 1884 by the +writer and Mr. Robinson, and ascended by them in a somewhat desultory +fashion; that is to say, they cut in from the east side nearly at the +top of the difficult face which forms its lower extremity, and also +avoided the topmost piece by passing over on to the easy terrace on the +west side of the ridge. The _arête_ was climbed in a strict and +conscientious manner for the first time by the writer in 1886. This was +a descent, and apparently the first strict ascent was made by Messrs. +Slingsby, Hastings Hopkinson, and a brother of the writer. + + +=North Climb.=--The first to describe this climb on Scafell was Mr. +Seatree, who says: + +'From the ridge we traversed a ledge of grass-covered rock [the Rake's +Progress] to the right, until we reached a detached boulder, stepping +upon which we were enabled to get hand-hold of a crevice 6 or 7 ft. +from where we stood. To draw ourselves up so as to get our feet upon +this was the difficulty; there is only one small foot-hold in that +distance, and to have slipped here would have precipitated the climber +many feet below. Having succeeded in gaining this foot-hold, we found +ourselves in a small rectangular recess, with barely room to turn round. +From here it was necessary to draw ourselves carefully over two other +ledges into a small rift in the rocks, and then traverse on our hands +and knees another narrow ledge of about 8 ft. to the left, which brought +us nearly in a line with Mickledoor Ridge. From here all was +comparatively smooth sailing.' + +This climb had been made many years before (1869) by Major Ponsonby +Cundill, R.E., who left his stick in the deep crack behind the ledge +which Mr. Seatree traversed on his hands and knees. The stick was found +in 1884 by Mr. Chas. Cookson. This ledge, by the way, should certainly +be walked or at least sidled in an upright attitude, otherwise ungainly +gambollings are necessary when the time comes for stepping off at the +other end. The descent of the _North Climb_ is decidedly difficult, +unless the ascent has been made just previously, and the climb whether +up or down is an excellent test of style. + +A couple of yards to the left there is an alternative to the +'rectangular recess,' and it is known as the 'Rift.' It is to be done by +a wild struggle. It was at one time the wetter and harder of the two +ways, but the conditions are now reversed. + + +=Old Wall.=--On the east side of the Pillar Rock a natural line of rock +runs down to the head of _Walker's Gully_, having, however, a narrow +passage by means of which sheep may reach the Low Man. A hundred years +ago or more, the shepherds built a wall of loose stones to stop the +sheep, and though little of the wall remains, the name clings to the +spot. At one time the _North-east Route_ was usually spoken of as the +_Old Wall Way_. + + +=Patriarch.=--By this name the Rev. James Jackson, of Sandwith in +Cumberland, was very widely known. It is an abbreviation of one which he +himself invented and assumed--'Patriarch of the Pillarites.' Some +considerable mention of him is made by Mr. Williamson, but his readers +will be glad to have further particulars, for this was a man of no +ordinary stamp. Born at Millom just before the series of naval victories +which closed the eighteenth century, he passed his boyhood in the thick +of the Buonaparte struggle and shared in it personally when a mere lad. +However, he soon changed the colour of his coat and entered the Church; +but long before his connection with the Pillar he had ceased to take any +active part in his profession. Thenceforward he lived at his ease, +amusing himself by rambles and scrambles far and near among the fells. +'I have knocked about,' he said himself, 'among the mountains ever +since, till I may almost say "I knaw iv'ry craag."' That he was somewhat +of an egotist cannot be denied. In his letters as in his poems his own +feats form the burden of his song. To this point all topics converged +with the same certainty that all roads are said to lead to Rome. He was +never tired of relating how, for instance, in his sixty-ninth year he +had one day walked 46 miles in 14-1/2 hours, on the third day following +56 miles in 18 hours, and after a similar interval 60 miles in less than +20 hours, thus accomplishing within one week three walks, any one of +which might well knock up many a man of half his age; how, on another +occasion, he had found two brethren of his own cloth struggling feebly +to surmount the difficulties of Rossett Gill; how, taking pity upon +their tender years, he had transferred their knapsacks to his own +venerable shoulders and, striding on before, encouraged them to complete +their weary task. A man aged between sixty and seventy might fairly +plume himself on such an exploit. He also rejoiced greatly in the fact +that he had been the first student of St. Bees College--a distinction of +which, as he justly said, no one could ever deprive him. But the feat on +which he especially prided himself was one of bodily activity. During +the third part of a century he held the living of Rivington, near +Bolton-le-Moors. It chanced that the weathercock of his church had +become loose, and the masons rather shrank from the risk of going up to +secure it. Here was an opportunity which our friend could not forego; +and Rivington witnessed the unwonted spectacle of a beneficed clergyman +of the Church of England solemnly swarming up his own steeple and making +fast the vane 'under circumstances of terror which made the workmen +recoil from the task, and the gazing rustics turn sick with horror at +the sight!' While walking proudly back to his parsonage he composed a +commemorative epigram which will bear quotation: + + Who has not heard of Steeple Jack, + That lion-hearted Saxon? + Though I'm not he, he was my sire, + For I am 'Steeple Jackson'! + +Indeed, his fancy was as lively as his limbs were supple. He was ever on +the watch for some analogy or antithesis; ever producing some new +alliteration or epigram expressive of such contrasts as that between his +age and his activity. His favourite description of himself was 'senex +juvenilis'--an idea which he frequently put into English, e.g.: + + If this in your mind you will fix + When I make the Pillar my toy, + I was born in 1, 7, 9, 6, + And you'll think me a nimble old boy. + +On the late Mr. Maitland, a well-known climber, as only second to +himself in age and ardour, he bestowed the title 'Maitland of Many +Mounts' and 'Patriarch Presumptive of the Pillarites.' There is nothing +strange in his thus designating a successor and bestowing titles of +honour; for these are matter of royal privilege, and he looked upon +himself as the Mountain Monarch and always expected climbers to attend +his mimic court and pay him homage. But he had many a high-flown alias +besides. When Mr. Pendlebury came under his notice he contrasted himself +with the Senior Wrangler, rather neatly, as the 'Senior Scrambler'; +after his ascent of the Pillar he dubbed himself 'St. Jacobus Stylites'; +and many other titles are introduced into the occasional poems on which +he expended much of his ingenuity. + +His bodily powers were not allowed to rust away. 'My adopted motto,' he +said, 'is "Stare nescio,"' and some idea of his boundless love of +enterprise may be formed from one of his letters: 'I have been twelve +months afloat on the wide, wide sea. I have been beneath the falls of +Niagara. I have sung "God save the King" in the hall of St. Peter's; I +have ascended Vesuvius in the eruption of 1828; I have capped Snowdon in +Wales and Slieve Donard in Ireland, and nearly all the hills in this +district.... It only remains for me to mount the Pillar Rock!' Before +the end of the following May this hope was gratified, and a proud moment +it was for this veteran climber when, seated serenely on the summit, he +was able to record in a Greek inscription (written, as he carefully +notes, 'without specs') his ascent of the famous rock. Think of the +life, the energy, the determination that must have been in him! Years +seemed to be powerless to check the current of his blood. Where are we +to look for another of his age--he was now in his eightieth +year--showing any approach to the same combination of enterprise, pluck +and bodily vigour? It cannot be wondered at that his success filled him +with the keenest delight. He wrote off at once in high glee to his +friends and felt quite injured if, in their reply or their delay in +replying, he detected any sign of indifference to his exploit. But true +to his motto 'Stare nescio,' he was not content with this. Within a +month we find him expressing a fear that his title 'Patriarch of the +Pillarites' might not be acknowledged by 'the Western division of the +Order,' and announcing his intention of climbing the Pillar from the +west also in order to secure his claim. He playfully proposes, moreover, +that while he, 'the aged errant knight,' with his faithful squire +toiled up from the west, a certain fair Pillarite should arrive at the +summit from the east and crown his success on the spot by the bestowal +on him of her hand and heart. According to all approved precedent the +'aged errant knight' ought to have bound his lady's favour around his +clerical hat and ranged the mountains extorting from the passing tourist +at the point of his alpenstock a confession of her peerless beauty; or +for her sake betaken himself to the Rock and there passed nights of +vigil and days of toil assisting distressed damsels in the terrible +passage of the 'Slab.' Whatever he did, he made no attempt on the west +route. Perhaps despair of the reward had cooled his zeal--zeal +conditional like that of the Hindoo teacher who, when asked whether he +professed the creed which he was anxious to teach, naïvely replied, 'I +am not a Christian; but I expect to be one shortly--if sufficient +inducement offers.' + +There is a sad and sharp contrast in turning from his high spirits and +playful fancy to his sudden death. It has been described elsewhere. +Though fourscore and two was (as he himself expressed it on the very day +of his death) the 'howdah' on his back, it cannot be said that the +ever-growing howdah had crushed its bearer. His vigour was unimpaired. +Like Walter Ewbank, + + To the very last, + He had the lightest foot in Ennerdale. + +Indeed, the same thing might have happened to a boy. It was an accident; +but it might be rash to say that it was a misfortune, or that he would +himself have regarded any other death as preferable. His life had +already been longer and more varied than falls to ordinary men; but the +change could not long have been delayed. A few months would have seen +his faculties failing and his powers decayed. To a man of his habits and +temperament inaction would have been the most terrible affliction, and +though he might have dragged on for years, his strength would truly have +been labour and sorrow. + +Two years before he had stood close to this very spot. 'Almost all the +mountains,' he said, 'which I had known in youth, in manhood, and in old +age were visible, and seemed to give me a kindly greeting "for auld lang +syne." In the fervour of admiration I might have chanted, "Nunc +dimittis, Domine, servum tuum in pace."' We may well believe that, had +the old man foreseen his fate, he would have gladly welcomed it, and +have found for it no fitter place among all his beloved mountains than +this quiet cove almost within the shadow of the majestic rock. + + +=Patterdale= is a place where a climber may spend a week or two with +much enjoyment, though the quality of the rocks is by no means +first-rate. It is the best centre for _Helvellyn_, _Fairfield_, and _St. +Sunday Crag_, and convenient for _Swarthbeck_ and the whole _High +Street_ range. On _Place Fell_, fine as it looks, there is not much +worth climbing. _Deepdale_ and _Dovedale_ are both worth exploring. + + +=Pavey Ark=, one of the Langdale Pikes, is easily reached in +three-quarters of an hour from Dungeon Gill. On it will be found some +splendid climbing, including the _Big Gully_, the _Little Gully_, +_Jack's Rake_ (q.v.), and many minor points of interest. The two chief +gullies stand on either side of a buttress of rock, the top of which +forms a tooth on the sky line. The _Little Gully_ is on the south side +of it, and is V-shaped, giving a very straightforward but pleasant +climb. But the _Great Gully_ has two considerable difficulties, one low +down and the other near the top. The lower is caused by a huge block +covering a considerable cavern. The way is either right through the +cavern and out again through a narrow hole, or up a high grassy bank on +the right hand. In either case a narrow place is reached, walled in +between the big block and a smaller one on the right hand. Here the +difficulty is that the walls nearly meet towards the top, so that it is +necessary, in order to get room for the head, to go rather 'outside.' +However, a second man with a rope can hold the leader very securely, and +a piece of rock having come away, the headroom is much more commodious +than it used to be. Just below the level of _Jack's Rake_ there are some +very 'brant and slape' inclines of wet or muddy rock, which most people +consider the worst part of the climb. There is very little hold, and +what there is was on the occasion of the first ascent lubricated by a +film of fine mud. On reaching _Jack's Rake_ several variations may be +made, and straight ahead there is a very neat little chimney. These +upper rocks are of splendid gripping quality; rough as a cow's tongue, +it would be quite difficult to make a slip on them. The Big Gully was +climbed by the writer in the summer of 1882, and the small one in June +1886. In March 1887 Mr. Slingsby made a note about the former in the +Wastdale Head book. He says that it took his party two hours and forty +minutes, but his estimate of the height of the gully at 1,300 ft. is +more than double of the truth, and must be due to a slip of the pen. + +[Illustration: PAVEY ARK (NEAR VIEW) +A, Narrow gully; B, Big gully; C, D, Smaller gullies; E, Wide scree +gully. From the foot of E to A runs _Jack's Rake_.] + +In the book at Millbeck there is a note by the same distinguished +climber, dated May 30, 1887, in which he records an ascent of this gully +made by Miss Mabel Hastings, and gives the height of it as 600 or 650 +ft. + + +=Penyghent.=--The sixth in height of the Yorkshire hills, but long +supposed, on account of its finer shape, to be the highest of them all. +As late as 1770 it was reckoned at 3,930 ft. It can be ascended from +Horton station in little over an hour. Celtic scholars revel in the +name; they practically agree that it means 'head of something,' but +cannot accept each other's views as to what that something is. When +Defoe was in this neighbourhood he saw 'nothing but high mountains, +which had a terrible aspect, and more frightful than any in +Monmouthshire or Derbyshire, especially _Pengent Hill_.' + + +=Piers Gill=, in Wastdale, on the north front of _Lingmell_, has a vast +literature of its own. As a rock ravine, not in limestone, it is only +second to _Deep Gill_ on _Scafell_ and the great gully in the Wastwater +_Screes_, both of which are far less easy of access than this, which can +be reached from Wastdale Head in half an hour. The difficulties depend +entirely on the quantity of water. One, the 'cave pitch,' may be passed +at the cost of a wetting almost at any time; but above it is another, +known as the 'Bridge Fall,' from a vast column of fallen rock which +spans the stream a few yards above it, which is at all times difficult, +and in nineteen seasons out of twenty wholly impossible. + +Until the unprecedented drought of 1893 it had never been climbed. Even +then a less brilliant climber than Dr. Collier would scarcely have +succeeded. His ascent was made on April 29, 1893, and his companions +were Messrs. Winser, W. Jones, and Fairbairn. The big pitch was found to +be 40 or 50 ft. high, the lowest part of it apparently overhanging. The +first few feet were climbed about three feet to the right of the falling +water, after which the leader was able to reach the other side of the +gill by stretching his left foot across it just outside the water. By +this means this great and hitherto insuperable difficulty was overcome. +Unless we are entering on a cycle of dry seasons, the exploit is one +which will not be repeated for some time. + +Various accidents and minor mishaps have taken place in Piers Gill. One +is described by Mr. Payn, and the injured man was, I believe, a shepherd +called Tom Hale. Mr. W.O. Burrows had a bad fall above the bridge, and +people descending from the _Pikes_ are often pounded about the same +spot. Some years ago a tourist had to pass the night in the gill without +food, but protested that he was 'quite consoled by the beautiful +scenery.' The discovery of the route up the east side of the _Pillar +Rock_ was within an ace of being delayed for years, owing to the band of +bold explorers who were to work it out becoming entangled in _Piers +Gill_ while on their way to _Wastdale Head_. + +The name is spelt 'Pease' by Mr. Payn and by most of the early +authorities, and judging by the analogy of other places in the North of +England this would appear to be more correct. + + +=Pike o' Stickle=, also known as _Steel Pike_ and sometimes as the +_Sugarloaf_, drops into Langdale from the north in one continuous slope, +which for length and steepness has not many rivals in England. The top +piece of the hill is curiously symmetrical, and resembles a haycock or a +thimble. It is not easy to find satisfactory climbs on it. Mr. Gwynne +says of it: 'A very fine peak, that, viewed from the valley, has very +much the appearance of the Mönch. It runs down towards the _Stake_ Pass +in a spur, which must be the starting-point of most of the climbs on +this mountain. There is a curious gully here, too, which is worthy of +the climber's attention. It does not run from top to bottom, but +suddenly begins about the middle of the crag. The difficulty is to get +at this gully, and some pretty climbing can be obtained in the attempt.' + + +=Pillar Rock.=--There are but three directions from which the _Pillar_ +is commonly approached--namely, Ennerdale (Gillerthwaite), Buttermere, +and Wastdale Head. In each case the guide-books (except Baddeley's) +exhibit a suspicious shyness of specifying any time for the walk. +Wherever the present writer gives times, they must be understood to be +the quickest of which he happens to have made any note; for the best +test of times is a 'reductio ad minima.' A journey may be indefinitely +prolonged, but it cannot be shortened beyond a certain limit; thus, +_Scafell Pike_ cannot be reached from Wastdale Head in much less than 60 +minutes of hard going, while the walk up the Pillar Fell cannot be cut +down much below 75 minutes. This supplies us with a trustworthy +comparison, although for a hot day that pace is not to be recommended; +in each case double the time is not more than a fair allowance. Never +let yourself be hurried at starting, come home as hard as ever you like; +it is the chamois-hunter's system, and by far the best. Baddeley seems +to reverse the principle, for he allows 2 to 2-1/2 hours for the ascent +via Black Sail, and says that it is shorter by Wind Gap; yet for the +_descent_ from Wind Gap (which is, say, 20 minutes short of the summit) +he gives as a fair allowance 2 to 3 hours. Perhaps he preferred +conforming to what is apparently the approved fox-hunting style: + +[Illustration: PILLAR ROCK +A, B, Summits of Shamrock; C, Shamrock gully; D, Pisgah; E, High Man; +G, Curtain; H, Steep Grass; I, Foot of Great Chimney; I, K, Walker's +gully; J, Low Man; L, J, West route; M, Waterfall; N, I, East Scree.] + + Harkaway! See, she's off! O'er hill and through whol + We spank till we're gaily nar done, + Than, hingan a lip like a motherless fwol, + _Sledder heàmmward, but nit in a run_. + +[Illustration: PILLAR ROCK FROM THE NORTH +A, _High Man_; B, _Low Man_; C, _Shamrock_; D, _Walker's gully_; +E, Below this is the _waterfall_. The _terrace_ runs past the foot of +Walker's gully to the foot of the _waterfall_.] + +[Illustration: PILLAR ROCK FROM THE SOUTH +A, Top of rock and of _West Jordan climb_; B, Top of _Central Jordan +climb_; C, Top of _East Jordan climb_; D, G, The _Curtain_; +E, The _Notch_; F, The _Ledge_. The mass of rock in the foreground is +_Pisgah_.] + +_From Ennerdale_: From Gillerthwaite, a farmhouse nearly a mile and a +half above the lake, the Pillar is not far distant; but the direct way +is exceedingly rough, and it will be found best to make use of the path +up _Wingate Cove_, skirting round the mountain, when by that means a +considerable height has been gained. The way is so rough that many +people think it an economy of labour to go right on up the gap, and then +left over the summit of the mountain. + +One of the best ways of approaching the Pillar is to sleep at the little +inn at the foot of the lake and row up from there to the water head. For +walking the whole way from the inn to the fell-top Baddeley allows 3 to +3-1/2 hours. + +_From Buttermere_: After crossing _Scarf Gap_ some keep to the track as +far as the summit of the Black Sail Pass, and then turn to the right up +the ridge of the Pillar Fell, while others adopt the more laborious plan +of working upwards after descending the valley until nearly opposite the +Rock, which in this way is certainly seen to much greater advantage. If +the return be made by way of the mountain ridge, some little time may be +saved by descending into Ennerdale down _Green Cove_, nearly half a mile +short of Black Sail and 250 ft. higher; for Black Sail, being much +nearer the head of the valley than either Scarf Gap or the Pillar, can +only be used for going from one to the other at the expense of making a +considerable _détour_. For the ascent, however, Green Cove is not so +decidedly recommended, as many will prefer to make the round by the +regular pass for the sake of the more gradual rise. + +_From Wastdale_: The vast majority of visitors come from this direction, +and almost all follow the same track, plodding up from Mosedale to the +top of _Black Sail_ and then turning left along the ridge of the +mountain. Mosedale, by the way, must not be confused with any of the +numerous other valleys of the same name: it sometimes appears in the +form 'Moresdale' or 'Mossdale' (Moos-thal, near Laibach in Austria, is +exactly parallel), and generally indicates scenery of a dreary +character; for such valleys are often, as in this case, the half-drained +beds of ancient lakes, by the loss of which the scenery has seriously +suffered. + +[Illustration: PILLAR FELL] + +Ladies who ascend by Black Sail will find it best to keep to the path as +long as possible, i.e. as far as the top of the pass, but others may +save something by breasting the hill on the left soon after reaching +_Gatherstone Head_, apparently a glacier mound, which rises just beyond +where the track crosses the stream (Gatherstone Beck) which comes down +from the pass. + +On reaching the ridge it is no doubt safer, especially if there be mist +about, for those who are not familiar with the way to go right on to the +flat top of the mountain; the proper point from which to commence the +descent is easily found, in all weathers, by following the +compass-needle from the cairn to the edge of the mountain; a rough and +steep descent of 400 ft. follows, which in winter demands considerable +care. At first the course is to the right, but it soon strikes a small +ridge which curves down to the Rock. It is, however, a waste of labour +to ascend to the summit of the mountain at all. The ridge of the +mountain is divided into steps, and at the foot of the uppermost of +these a deep cove called _Great Doup_ is seen on the right. It may be +recognised even in a mist, as it is just beyond a curious rock running +out with a narrow edged top many feet from the hill-side. Less than 100 +yards down the Doup the falling scree has nearly buried the cairn and +iron cross erected to the memory of the Rev. James Jackson. Beyond this, +as soon as the big rocks on the left permit, the track skirts round, and +after one or two ups and downs comes into full view of the famous Rock. +If, however, the object be to reach the north or lowest side of the +Rock, it is not necessary to descend into Ennerdale from Black Sail; for +there is the _High Level_, a fine scramble all along the breast of the +mountain from _Green Cove_--the first large hollow on the right, just +beyond _Lookingsteads_; but the way is rather intricate, and unless +properly hit off involves considerable fatigue and loss of time. At the +very least half an hour will be required in either direction, and a +stranger will certainly take much longer. + +Those who are anxious to pursue 't' bainest rwoad' may save ten minutes +or more in the walk from Wastdale by making use of _Wind Gap_ at the +head of Mosedale. Hard work it undeniably is, but more shady than Black +Sail, and--when the way is familiar, though no one can go very far +wrong, unless he clings to the main valley too long and goes up to +_Blackem_ (Black Combe) _Head_--quicker also, occupying about ninety +minutes. Mr. James Payn calls it (poetically) 'a sort of perpendicular +shaft--a chimney such as no sweep would adventure, but would use the +machine--which is said to be the dalesman's pass into Ennerdale; you may +thank your stars that it is not _your_ pass.' + +It really adds little to the labour of this way and affords a far finer +walk if the complete circuit of Mosedale be made along the hill-tops. +Ascending behind the inn and keeping round just under _Stirrup +Crag_--the north end of _Yewbarrow_, _Dore Head_ is soon reached, and it +is easy walking by the _Chair_, _Red Pike_, _Black Crag_ and _Wind Gap_ +on to the _Pillar Fell_. + +For the return to Wastdale _Wind Gap_ is very rough and hardly to be +recommended. Mr. Baddeley is not very consistent about it, for he says, +'the best descent is by _Windy Gap_'; but again, 'the descent from +_Windy Gap_ to Wastdale is, for reasons stated before, unsatisfactory'; +and thereupon he recommends Black Sail. The latter gives a rapid +descent--the inn may be reached in twenty-five minutes from the top of +the pass; but a quicker return may be made by crossing the ridge after +emerging from Great Doup, and shooting down _Wistow Crags_ into +Mosedale by a large gully filled with deliciously fine scree. + +Should it be preferred to make the circuit of Mosedale on the return +journey, an equally fine glissade may be enjoyed from _Dore Head_; but +the screes require judicious selection and dexterity on the part of the +slider. + +[Illustration: PILLAR ROCK FROM THE WEST +A, Summit of _High Man_; B, _Pisgah_; C, _Low Man_; D, _Jordan Gap_. +The _West route_ ascends from this side to the depression between +A and C.] + +It may here be said that stout walkers may visit all the mountains of +Wastdale Head in one day comfortably, and in few places is a finer walk +to be found. Start, say, at 10 A.M. for Scafell; then, by Mickledoor, +the Pike, Great End, Sty Head, Great Gable and Kirkfell to the Pillar, +returning in the manner described above in time for dinner. In June +1864, as Ritson's Visitors' Book records, J.M. Elliott, of Trin. Coll. +Camb., made this round, including Steeple and Yewbarrow, and found that +it took eight and a half hours; probably, however, he came over Stirrup +Crag and not Yewbarrow _top_, which would entail something like three +miles extra walking. He approached Scafell by way of Mickledoor, +returning from it to the same point, and those who do not know the Broad +Stand well had better follow his example; for it is a bit of a climb, +and the descent especially is not easy to find. By going to Mickledoor +first (and there is no shorter way to Scafell) each man can see what he +has before him, and decide for himself whether it would not be better to +leave Scafell out of his programme. + +Before entering into the history of the Pillar it is almost +indispensable to give a short general description of its main features +in order to assist the comprehension of the facts narrated. Difficult as +it must always be to find an image which shall supply a stranger with +any clear idea of a mass so irregular and unsymmetrical as this, yet its +general appearance and the arrangement of its parts may be roughly +apprehended in the following manner:--Imagine a large two-gabled church +planted on the side of a steep hill. From the western and loftier gable +let there rise, at the end nearest the mountain, a stunted tower. +Finally let the building be shattered and all but overwhelmed under an +avalanche of _débris_. What will be the effect? Naturally the stream of +stones will be much deeper above than below, and, while nearly burying +the tower and upper ends of the roof, will flow along between the two +gables and run off, as rainwater would do, at the far end. Angular +fragments, however, remain at rest unless the slope is very steep, and +consequently a long talus will be formed sloping down to the brink of +the sudden drop at an angle of something like 45 degrees. Here we have a +fair representation of the Pillar mass: the tower will be the High Man, +and the gable from which it rises the Low Man. It will be readily +understood that the second gable may be a source of some confusion to +those who are ignorant that there is more than one, and from some points +may disguise or altogether conceal the tower. This is why it is called +the _Sham Rock_; but it is only from below that it would be recognised +as part of the Pillar mass, for from above it is wholly insignificant. +When viewed from immediately below, the tower is concealed behind the +gable from which it rises, and the whole mass of rock bears a rough +resemblance to the letter =M=; but from above, the High Man, with which +alone the climber from the east side has to reckon, is also the only +part of the rock which he is likely to observe. The result is that, when +the Low Man is mentioned to anyone who knows only the Easy Way, the +reply is usually on the model of the poet Wordsworth's only joke: 'Why, +my good man, till this moment I was not even aware that there _was_ a +Low Man!' Yet the Low Man is by far the finer object of the two, and its +cliffs are at least six times as high as those of what is called the +High Man. The only side from which the latter shows a respectable +elevation is the west, where the scree lies much lower, because it has a +free escape, instead of being pent up between the two gables like the +east scree. + +In winter-time, when the inequalities are all smoothed over with a sheet +of hard snow, both sides of the rock are rather dangerous, but +especially the eastern, where a man who slipped would have the greatest +difficulty in stopping himself before he shot over the precipitous gully +at the end. This gully (occupying, as it were, the place of the +water-pipe) is known, in allusion to an accident which occurred there in +1883, as _Walker's Gully_. + +When the question arises of how to climb the _High Man_, it is obvious +that the scree just above it will be the nearest point to the summit; +but equally obvious that the climb, though short, would be nearly +vertical. The plan which at once suggests itself for getting to the top +is to work round to the back of the rock and climb it from the top of +the ridge behind. The ridge may be reached from either side, and in this +fact we have the secret of two of the most important climbs. + +So much for the general appearance of the Pillar; but the part which +admits of the easiest and most varied attack is the east wall of the +_High Man_, and of this side it is necessary to give a more detailed +description. This part of the rock is the only one which is at all well +known to the general public, and its chief features, being well marked, +have for the most part received, by common consent of climbers, +distinctive names. In order to see the formation of the rock properly it +is well worth the climber's while to descend for a few yards and mount +the _Sham Rock_ on the other side of the east scree. The peculiar +structure of the opposite wall may now be clearly seen. + +[Illustration: PILLAR ROCK FROM THE SOUTH-EAST +A, _Pisgah_; B, _Jordan_; C, Summit; D, Top of _Curtain_; +E, Corner between the _Curtain_ and the main rock.] + +On our left hand, between the mountain and the rock, is seen an outlying +mass severed from the High Man by a deep square-cut gap. When the Pillar +is looked at from the direction of the mountain-top, this gap is +entirely concealed by the outlying piece, which then appears to present +a fairly easy way direct to the summit. 'The climber (says Mr. +Williamson) mounts gaily and with confidence, only to find himself cut +off from the High Man by an impassable cleft.' He sees it indeed with +his eyes, but he cannot go up thither. Hence the names--_Pisgah_ for the +false rock, and _Jordan_ for the chasm. A very well-known Pillarite once +proposed to bridge the cleft with a plank or ladder and hold a tea-party +on the top. This very original idea was not carried into execution, but +certainly, without some such application, the passage of _Jordan Gap_ is +a formidable undertaking; for the north wall is only less vertical than +the other, and though barely 60 ft. high--not much more, that is, than +half as much as must be climbed by any other route--this is decidedly +one of those cases in which the longer way round will prove to be the +shorter way up. + +On the extreme right--and rather below us--is the nearly level top of +the Low Man; while not far from where broken cliffs lead up to the +higher rock a curious natural post standing on the ridge marks the point +from which a small deep channel is seen to come down towards _Walker's +Gully_. This channel is of small importance, except that high up on the +southern bank of it the glacier markings are most distinctly to be seen. +The channel itself soon curves more towards the north and plunges over +the fearful cliff which faces the Liza, forming the key to the great +climb on that face. From the foot of _Jordan Gap_ a broad smooth slope +of rock runs horizontally along the face of the High Man, giving to it +somewhat the formation of the 'pent-house wall' of a tennis court. The +steepness of the scree, which runs down from left to right before our +feet, makes the drop from this slope much greater at the Low Man end; +but it will give no false idea of this side to say that, roughly +speaking, the cliff is broken into three fairly equal portions, of about +60 ft. each, namely, a vertical wall above, connected with a steep and +rugged part below by a smooth stretch sloping at an angle not far short +of 40 degrees. The importance of this 'pent-house' is very great; for, +as it gives an easy passage right across this face of the rock, every +climb which is possible from below may be cut into from the side, and +thus more than half the labour of the ascent is saved. Indeed, any +mountain which allows its entire front to be traversed in this way by a +passable ledge exposes every weak point in so reckless a manner that the +attack becomes marvellously simplified. + +Lastly should be noticed two rough curtains of rock which run down from +the top of the Stone near the centre, and enclose between them what is +called the _Great Chimney_. This chimney is the key to the climb on this +side. The curtain on the south of it is the only one which is at all +complete, and as it forms a kind of _arête_ running up to the summit, it +is known indifferently by either name--the _Curtain_ or the _Arête_. + +The easiest way to picture to oneself the features of the Great Chimney +is to imagine a huge armchair, the 'seat' of which measures 20 yards +from back to front and is tipped uncomfortably forward and downward at +an angle of nearly 45 degrees. The _Curtain_ forms the right 'arm,' and +from a level with the top of the 'back,' which is 50 ft. high, runs down +very nearly but not quite as far as the front edge of the 'seat.' In +the narrow space thus left lies the _Ledge_, which makes it possible to +pass round under the end of the arm and gain the 'seat,' which is called +the _Steep Grass_. The same point may also be reached by climbing, as an +alternative to the _Ledge_, over the lower part of the 'arm' through a +deep nick--the _Notch_; and in either case the joint between 'arm' and +'back,' being badly cracked, offers an easy way (the 'small chimney' or +'jammed-stone chimney') of reaching the top of the back, which is the +edge of a small plateau forming the summit of the High Man. Lastly, it +should be noticed that the _Steep Grass_ can only be reached from below +by a severe climb of 70 ft.--the _Great Chimney_ climb. + +The side from which the Pillar is commonly climbed is not that by which +the summit was first attained. The first successful attempt was made +from the West, and it is doubtful whether for a quarter of a century any +other route was known. But on the discovery of the Easy Way the older +route was forgotten, and now enjoys a reputation for difficulty which is +not deserved: it is looked upon as some little distinction to have +accomplished it. In the preface to one of Wordsworth's poems the year +1826 is mentioned as the date of the first ascent. This is confirmed by +a comparison of the second and third editions of Otley's 'Guide' (1825 +and 1827), in the former of which the rock is declared unclimbable, +while the latter mentions the victory of 'an adventurous shepherd.' The +successful climber was not, however, a shepherd, but a cooper, named +Atkinson, and living at Croftfoot, in Ennerdale. It is likely that his +adventurous soul may have been fired by Otley's declaration that the +rock was inaccessible. The perseverance of a friend has hunted out a +contemporary notice of the ascent in the county paper, which remarks +that, 'though the undertaking has been attempted by _thousands_, it was +always relinquished as hopeless.' This proves, at all events, that even +then the rock had a reputation. Subjoined is a list of those who have +followed on Atkinson's track, so far as is known, up to 1873: + + J. Colebank (shepherd); + W. Tyson (shepherd), and J. Braithwaite (shepherd); + Lieut. Wilson, R.N.; + C.A.O. Baumgartner; + M. Beachcroft and C. Tucker. + +Summarising the various methods of ascending the rock, we may say that +the west side first yielded in 1826; the east side probably about 1860; +the south side in 1882, and the north side in 1891. The _Easy Way_ (as +it is generally called) on the east side was discovered in 1863 by a +party of Cambridge men led by Mr. Conybeare, and Mr. A.J. Butler, the +late editor of the _Alpine Journal_. Mr. Leslie Stephen had visited the +rock earlier in that year without finding a way up it, but in 1865 he +was more successful, and wrote an account of it in Ritson's book; the +account, as usual, was first defaced and afterwards stolen. The +_Northeast_, or _Old Wall_, _way_ was discovered by Matthew Barnes, the +Keswick guide, while with Mr. Graves, of Manchester. The central and +western climbs from _Jordan_ were done by the writer in 1882, as was the +eastern one in 1884, the last being scarcely justifiable under any +circumstances, and especially without a rope. The direct climb of the +_Great Chimney_ (starting on the south wall of it) was done about the +same time, and curiously enough--for it is safe and comparatively +easy--does not appear to have been done since. The long climb on the +north face was accomplished by Messrs. Hastings, Slingsby, and the +writer in 1891. It has been described in an illustrated article in +_Black and White_ (June 4, 1892), and by Mr. Gwynne in the _Pall Mall +Budget_. It should not be touched except by experienced climbers. + + +=Pinnacle Bield=, on the east side of _Glaramara_, is a rocky part of +the mountain and a famous stronghold for foxes. On the way up from +_Langstrath_ there is a very steep bit for about 500 ft. + + +=Pisgah.=--A name given in 1882 to the outlying rock on the south side +of the Pillar Rock, from which it is severed by an all but impassable +chasm, not seen until it bars the way. The term has in subsequent years +been applied almost generically. + + +=Pitch=: any sudden drop in the course of a rock gully, usually caused +by some large stone choking the channel and penning back the loose +stones behind it. Such a stone is then said to be 'jammed,' 'wedged,' or +'pitched,' and is sometimes called a 'chockstone' (q.v.). + + +=Pot-holes= are frequent in the Yorkshire limestone. The rivers for +considerable distances have underground courses. At each spot where the +roof of one of these tunnels happens to fall in a 'pot-hole' is +produced. They are very numerous about Settle and Clapham. Some are of +very great depth and can only be explored with the aid of much cordage +and many lights. The explorer of pot-holes has to face all the perils of +severe rock climbing, and, moreover, to face them for the most part in +the dark. It would be hard to imagine anything more weird than one of +these darksome journeys, rendered doubly impressive by the roar of +unseen waters and the knowledge that abrupt pitches of vast depth are +apt to occur in the course of the channel without the slightest warning. +(See _Alum Pot_, _Dunald Mill Hole_, _Gaping Gill Hole_.) + + +=Pow=: a sluggish rivulet. + + +=Professor's Chimney.=--A name bestowed by Messrs. Hopkinson on the exit +most towards the left hand as one comes up _Deep Gill_ on _Scafell_. Out +of this chimney, again to the left, diverges that which leads up to the +neck between the _Scafell Pillar_ and its Pisgah. To this latter chimney +the name is erroneously applied by many, though, indeed, they might urge +with some reason that if it comes to a scramble for one name between two +gullies the more frequented ought to get it. + + +=Rainsborrow Crag.=--A noble rock in Kentdale, Westmorland. It is, +perhaps, most easily got at from Staveley, but from Ambleside it is only +necessary to cross the Garbourne Pass, and the crag is at once +conspicuous. It is of the same type as _Froswick_ and _Ill Bell_, but +finer and more sheer than either of them. + + +=Rake=: a word common in Derbyshire, Yorkshire, and the Lakes, which has +been much misunderstood. It usually happens to be a scree-gully, but the +fundamental idea is straightness. + + +=Rake's Progress.=--This is a natural gallery on the face of the +Mickledoor crags of _Scafell_. It has been best described by Mr. +Williamson, who says: '_Mickledoor_ may be reached by scrambling up the +steeply sloping screes which form its Wastdale slope; but the easier and +more romantic approach is by the grassy ledge, which will be seen +projecting from the face of the Scafell precipice. This ledge or shelf +is in but few places less than four feet wide. In places it is composed +of shattered heaps of rock, which seem barely to keep their equilibrium; +but though there is a precipice of considerable height on the left hand, +the passage along the ledge is free from risk so long as the rock wall +on the right is closely hugged. By one who watched from below the +passage along the ledge of some of the early pioneers of lake climbing +it was christened the _Rake's Progress_, and the name appears apt when +it is remembered that the ledge leads from the lower limb of the _Lord's +Rake_ to the _Mickledoor Ridge_.' The first published description of the +_Rake's Progress_ is contained in a letter by the late Mr. Maitland to +one of the local papers in October 1881. He there states that he had +recently traversed it for the fifth time, but had not previously to that +occasion visited Deep Gill. Several grand climbs start from the +_Progress_, including _North Climb_, _Collier's Climb_, _Moss Gill_, +_Steep Gill_, and the _Scafell Pillar_. + + +=Raven Crag.=--This name is generally the sign of a hard, if not of a +good, climb. One of the finest stands on the west side of Thirlmere, +near the foot, or what used to be the foot of it before Manchester took +it in hand; a second is on the _Pillar Fell_ just east of the rock; a +third and fourth on _Brandreth_ and _Gable_, and indeed there is one on +almost every fell. + + +=Red Pike=, in Cumberland, overlooking Buttermere, is a syenite hill, +and commands a glorious view, especially strong in lakes, but there is +next to no climbing to be had on it. The best way up it is to follow the +course of Ruddy Beck from the southernmost corner of Crummock Water, but +the rocky amphitheatre in which Bleaberry Tarn lies is better seen if +the somewhat rougher route by Sourmilkgill and its east bank be +followed. + + +=Red Pike=, also in Cumberland, is a Wastdale fell, and lies between +_Yewbarrow_ and the _Steeple_. The north side of it has abundance of +small climbs, which, with the exception of _Yewbarrow_, are, perhaps, +more easily reached than any others from the inn at Wastdale Head; but +they are little visited, because everyone wants to fly at the highest +game and do the climbs which are most talked about. This fell is +sometimes called _Chair_, from the fact of there being a curious stone +seat on it near the ridge, and not far from _Door Head_. + + +=Red Screes=, in Westmorland (2,541 ft.), are very steep in the +direction of the Kirkstone (after which the pass of that name is said +to be called), falling about 1,000 ft. in a horizontal distance of a +quarter of a mile; but the ascent is not more than an exhilarating +scramble. There is a well-known view from the top. + + +=Rope.=--Some remarks on the use of the rope as a safeguard in climbing +will be found in the Introduction. + + +=Rossett Gill.=--A rough pass just over 2,000 ft. in height, which is +the only approach from Langdale to Scafell, Gable, and the Wastdale +fells generally. On the Langdale side you cannot go far wrong, but it is +very rugged, so rugged that Mr. Payn has caustically observed that all +expeditions in this region admit of being made by driving, by riding, or +by walking, 'except Rossett Gill, which must be done on all fours.' On +the Eskhause side the walking is perfectly easy, but mistakes are very +liable to occur. On this high ground mists are extremely frequent, and +blinding rain is abundant. The result is that people making for Langdale +are surprised at having to mount again after the long descent to Angle +Tarn, and often end by going away to the left down Langstrath, and find +themselves to their great surprise in Borrowdale. The only safeguard is, +of course, to bear clearly in mind that the ups and downs hereabout are +considerable, and to arm oneself with map and compass. + + +=Saddleback= (2,847 ft.) was at one time thought to be higher than its +neighbour Skiddaw. To Mrs. Radcliffe, on the summit of the latter in +1795, the former was 'now preeminent over Skiddaw.' 'The Beauties of +England' informs us that 'the views from the summit are exceedingly +extensive, but those immediately under the eye on the mountain itself so +tremendous and appalling that few persons have sufficient resolution to +experience the emotions which those awful scenes inspire.' We have a +very full account of an ascent made in 1793. The narrator says: 'When we +had ascended about a mile, one of the party, on looking round, was so +astonished with the different appearance of objects in the valley so far +beneath us that he declined proceeding. We had not gone much further +till the other companion (of the relator) was suddenly taken ill and +wished to loose blood and return.' + +The great feature of the mountain is its southern front, which is cut +away to form enormous cloughs, divided by narrow ridges. The latter are +the Edges of Saddleback. Narrow Edge (as _Halls Fell top_ is now +generally called) is the finest and most romantic. It runs up from +Threlkeld, where there is a convenient station. The proper name of Broad +Edge is _Gategill Fell_. Part of _Middle Tongue_ straight behind the +lead-mine is also very narrow. A writer in the _Penny Magazine_ for 1837 +speaks of 'the serrated precipices above Threlkeld,' and adds, 'One of +these is called _Razor Edge_.' That name, however, has now for many +years at least been used as the equivalent of _Sharp Edge_, which is on +the east side of the mountain and on the north side of _Scales Tarn_, +and at one time enjoyed a tremendous reputation as a perilous climb. + +The name of the mountain itself has been jeered at as a post-boy's name, +and romantically-minded people use the name Blencathara, for which many +Celtic etymons have been suggested. The most usual form seems to have +been Blenkarthur, and only the more northern of the two peaks was so +called. + +The quickest ascent of the mountain is from Threlkeld up _Narrow Edge_, +but if the return is to Keswick, it should be made along the shoulder +towards Skiddaw, and so by Brundholme Wood. + + +=Sail.=--This word, in the opinion of Dr. Murray, the learned editor of +the new 'English Dictionary,' signifies 'a soaring dome-shaped summit.' +It occurs as a hill-name in the Grassmoor group, near Buttermere in +Cumberland; but the characteristics required by the above definition +are, to say the least, not conspicuously evident either there or in the +other cases where this element is found in fell-country place-names. +(See _Black Sail_.) + + +=St. Bees.=--In Cumberland, on the west coast. Several accidents have +occurred on the cliffs here. They are of sandstone, and incline to be +rotten. The best are about _Fleswick Bay_. The height is only about 200 +ft. The Rev. James Jackson--the Patriarch (q.v.)--lived at Sandwith +close by, and was fond of climbing about on these cliffs. + + +=St. John's Vale.=--A name of modern invention, which has ousted +_Buresdale_ (q.v.). It is used in an article in the _Gentleman's +Magazine_ for 1754, and also in 'Gray's Journal,' which possibly misled +Sir Walter Scott, whose poem caused it to meet with general acceptance. + + +=St. Sunday Crag=, in Westmorland (sheet 19 of the Ordnance map), is of +far more importance than _Helvellyn_ to the views of and from Ullswater. +Moreover, it has some capital crags facing north-west, among which many +a good rock-problem may be found. They were long a favourite +scrambling-ground with Major Cundill, R.E., the inventor of the _North +Climb_ on _Scafell_, and are within easy reach of Patterdale. + + +=Scafell= (3,162 ft.) presents some fine rocks to Eskdale, but the +grandest rocks, both to look at and to climb, are towards _Mickledoor_. +As a climbing-ground it is perhaps even more popular than the _Pillar_, +especially in winter. In consequence of this the ground has been gone +over very closely by climbers of exceptional skill, and climbing of a +somewhat desperate character has occasionally been indulged in. This +applies mainly to the west side of Mickledoor. The other side is easier, +and has long been more or less well known. + +Mr. Green says of it: 'The crags on the south-west [of Mickledoor], +though seeming frightfully to oppose all passage, have been ascended as +the readiest way to the top of Scafell, and, amongst other adventurers, +by Mr. Thomas Tyson, of Wastdale Head, and Mr. Towers, of Toes [in +Eskdale]; but Messrs. Ottley and Birkett contented themselves by +proceeding for some distance in the direction of Eskdale, to a deep +fissure, through which they scrambled to the top of Scafell.' + +It might be thought that this 'fissure' was 'Mickledoor Chimney,' but +it is more likely that it was another and easier gully a good way +farther down. + +Mr. Herman Prior's excellent 'Pedestrian Guide' (3rd edition, p. 194) +has a very clear and accurate account of it from the pen of Mr. C.W. +Dymond, who visited it about 1869, and another in Mr. C.N. Williamson's +second article in _All the Year Round_ for November 8, 1884; and in the +local press scores of descriptions have appeared. + +[Illustration: SCAFELL CRAGS +A, Top of _Broad Stand_; B, _Pisgah_; C, _Scafell Pillar_; +D, Head of _Deep 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 descending the 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 about it, 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. + +[Illustration: PLAN OF SCAFELL +A, _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, including _Doe Crag_; but +the best are on the side of _Great End_ and _Lingmell_, which are merely +buttresses of it. + +[Illustration: SCAFELL PILLAR (SEEN ACROSS DEEP GILL)] + + +=Scafell Pillar= stands between _Deep Gill_ and _Steep Gill_. It has a +short side close to the summit ridge of _Scafell_, and a long side +towards the _Rake'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. + +[Illustration: SCAFELL PILLAR AND THE UPPER PITCH OF DEEP GILL] + +They climbed by way of _Steep Gill_ on 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 of _Steep Gill_ by 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 into +_Deep Gill_, in which they have not entirely succeeded. + + +=Scree=: the _débris_ of 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 party which ultimately +succeeded. Dr. Collie contributed a vivid account of the first ascent to +the _Scottish 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 in a 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.' + +[Illustration: WASTWATER AND THE SCREES +A, 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 the _Pillar Rock_, +divided from it only by _Walker's Gully_. + +Seen from _Scarf Gap_ it 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 so +constituted, 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.... Excepting _head_, 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. + + +=Shuttenoer= is 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 something +less 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 +unto _Parnassus_,' 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 man + To clim oop Skidder side; + Auld wives and barns on Jackasses + To 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 Skiddaw almost 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 Casticand + Are 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 for _Dead Crags_ on +the north side, but there are also a few rocky bits on the side which +faces Bassenthwaite Water. + + +=Smoking Rock= is at the head of _Great Doup_, east of the _Pillar +Stone_ and level with the ridge of the _Pillar Fell_. 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. + + +=Somersetshire= has 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 under _Broad 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 Gill becomes 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 from _Pillar Fell_ by _Wind 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 of _Scafell_, _Wind +Gap_, of course, representing _Mickledoor_. + + +=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, +after which 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 of _Helvellyn_, is called in +one of the old maps _Strathon 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 to _Helvellyn_, +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 as _The Sty_ or _The 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 the +_Graphic_, 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 of _Arthur'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 are _Holling Fell_ and _Swarth 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 genuine tarn +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=, on _Dartmoor_ (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 final _t_ in the preceding word. +What, for instance, they call Hen Tor may be in reality Hent Haw. In +Scotland _tor_ is, of course, a common component in place names. + +A few of the more interesting _tors_ are-- + + _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. + +[Illustration: 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. + + +=Vixen Tor.=--One of the finest of the Devonshire _Tors_ (q.v.). + +[Illustration: VIXEN TOR (DARTMOOR)] + + +=Walker's Gully= is the precipice in which ends the East Scree, between +the _Pillar Rock_ and the _Shamrock_. 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 contains _Lady's Rake_, and _Falcon +Crag_ is 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 are easily 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 of +_Scafell_, _Lingmell_, _Great Gable_, _Pillar_, _Yewbarrow_, _Steeple_, +_Red Pike_, and _Great 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 over _Burnmoor_ from 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 entered _Westmorland_, a county eminent only for being the +wildest, most barren, and frightful of any that I have passed over in +_England_ or in _Wales_. The west side, which borders on _Cumberland_, +is indeed bounded by a chain of almost unpassable Mountains, which in +the language of the country are called _Fells_.... 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 Cairn= is a conspicuous object at the edge nearest to +Wastwater of the summit plateau of _Great 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 from _Scafell Pikes_, _Helvellyn_, or +_Skiddaw_, 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 the _Napes_. + + +=Wetherlam=, in Lancashire, is about 2,500 ft., and has some crags on +the north side among which here and there good 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 the _Pall Mall Gazette_ in 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 at +_Millbeck_, 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 and _Stickle Tarn_ afford 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 about +_Door Head_ and _Stirrup 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= (see _Attermire_, _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 chalk _Wolds_ in the East Riding, and the moorland +group formed by the _Hambleton_ and _Cleveland Hills_, may be dismissed +here with a mere mention. The third division, which constitutes a +portion of the _Pennine 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--in _Craven_, 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 of _Pen-hill_ +or _Ingleborough_, 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 as _Attermire_ or _Gordale_, which mark the line of the +Craven Fault. The _Howgill Fells_, north of Sedburgh, form an exception +to the above remarks. (See _Calf_.) + +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 of _Micklefell_, of _Great Whernside_, of _Penyghent_, +or of _Ingleborough_, 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. (See _Chalk_.) 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_, or _Boulby 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. + + +PRINTED BY +SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE +LONDON + + + + +THE BADMINTON LIBRARY. +Edited by the DUKE OF BEAUFORT, K.G. and A.E.T. WATSON. + + +ATHLETICS AND FOOTBALL. By MONTAGUE SHEARMAN. With an Introduction by +SIR RICHARD WEBSTER, Q.C. M.P. With 51 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 10_s._ +6_d._ + +BIG GAME SHOOTING. 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Haskett Smith -- a Project Gutenberg eBook + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + h1,h2,h3,h4 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; +} + + +.p2 {margin-top: 2em;} +.p4 {margin-top: 4em;} +.p6 {margin-top: 6em;} + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + color: #336699 /* added by ROC */ +} /* page numbers */ + +/* Tables */ /* added by ROC */ + +table { +} + +table.ti { + display:block; + margin-left:10%; +} + +td.tdr { + text-align:right; + padding-right:.5em; + vertical-align:top; +} + +td.tdp { + padding-left:1em; +} + +td.tdi { + text-indent:-1em; + padding-left:1em; +} + +.totoi { + position: absolute; + right: 2%; + font-size: 75%; + text-align: right; +} /* to Table of Illustrations link */ /* added by ROC */ + + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.sans-serif {font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;} /* added by ROC */ + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + +.caption {text-align: center;} /* changed by ROC */ + +/* Images */ +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; +} + +/* Poetry */ +.poem { + margin-left:10%; + margin-right:10%; + text-align: left; +} + +.poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + +.poem span.i0 { + display: block; + margin-left: 0em; + padding-left: 1em; /* changed by ROC */ + text-indent: -1em; /* changed by ROC */ +} + +/* Transcriber's notes */ +.transnote { + background-color: #E6E6FA; + color: black; + font-size:smaller; + padding:0.5em; + margin-bottom:5em; + font-family:sans-serif, serif; } + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Climbing in The British Isles. Vol. 1 - +England, by W. P. Haskett Smith + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Climbing in The British Isles. Vol. 1 - England + +Author: W. P. Haskett Smith + +Illustrator: Ellis Carr + +Release Date: November 12, 2011 [EBook #37993] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CLIMBING IN THE BRITISH *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Rory OConor and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<!--png 002--> + + + + + + +<h3 class="p6">CLIMBING IN THE BRITISH ISLES</h3> +<hr style="width:10%" /> +<h3><i>ENGLAND</i></h3> +<p class="p6"> </p> + + + + + + +<!--png 003--> + + + + + + +<p class="p6"> </p> +<div style="margin:10%; border-style:solid; border-width:1px;"> +<h3>CLIMBING<br /> +IN THE BRITISH ISLES</h3> +<p class="center"><i>3 vols. 16mo. Sold separately.</i></p> +<hr style="width:10%" /> +<table style="width:90%;" summary="Volumes"> +<tr><td style="width:30%;" class="tdr">I.</td> <td style="width:30%;">ENGLAND.</td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">II.</td> <td>WALES.</td><td class="tdr">[<i>In preparation.</i></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">III.</td> <td>SCOTLAND.</td> <td class="tdr">[<i>In preparation.</i></td></tr> +</table> +<hr style="width:10%" /> +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">London and New York</span>:</p> +<h4>LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.</h4> +</div> +<p class="p6"> </p> + + + + + + + +<!--png 004--> + + +<h1 class="p6">CLIMBING<br /> +<span style="font-size:40%;">IN</span><br /> +THE BRITISH ISLES</h1> +<h1><i>I.—ENGLAND</i></h1> + +<h2 class="p2"><span style="font-size:40%;">BY</span><br /> +W.P. HASKETT SMITH, M.A.<br /> +<span style="font-size:40%;">MEMBER OF THE ALPINE CLUB</span> +</h2> + +<p class="p2 center sans-serif">WITH TWENTY-THREE ILLUSTRATIONS</p> +<h2 style="margin-top:-.5em;"> +<span style="font-size:40%;">BY</span><br /> +ELLIS CARR<br /> +<span style="font-size:40%;">MEMBER OF THE ALPINE CLUB</span> +</h2> +<p class="center sans-serif">AND FIVE PLANS</p> + +<h4 class="p4">LONDON<br /> +<span style="font-size:120%;">LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.</span><br /> +<span style="font-size:80%;">AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16<sup>th</sup> STREET</span><br /> +1894 +</h4> +<p class="center"><i>All rights reserved</i></p> + +<!--png 006--> + + + + +<h2 class="p6">CONTENTS</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap"><a href="#INTRODUCTION">Introduction</a></span></p> + +<p style="text-indent:-1em; padding-left:2em;">The headings, for convenience of reference, are arranged in one +continuous alphabetical series, comprising the following classes +of subject:</p> + +<table summary="Contents"> +<tr><td class="tdr">I.</td> +<td class="tdi"><span class="smcap">Counties and Districts which are of Interest to the Mountaineer</span><br /> + (<i>e.g.</i> Cumberland, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Ennerdale)</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">II.</td> +<td class="tdi"><span class="smcap">Places which are Convenient as Climbing Centres</span><br /> + (<i>e.g.</i> Keswick, Patterdale, Wastdale Head)</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">III.</td> +<td class="tdi"><span class="smcap">Mountains and Rocks which afford Climbs</span><br /> + (<i>e.g.</i> Dow Crag, Pillar, Scafell)</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">IV.</td> +<td class="tdi"><span class="smcap">Climbs of Reputation, with Directions for Finding and +Accomplishing them</span><br /> + (<i>e.g.</i> Deep Gill, Mickledoor, Napes Needle)</td> +</tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">V.</td> +<td class="tdi"><span class="smcap">Technical Terms and Expressions</span><br /> + (<i>e.g.</i> back-and-knee, chimney, toe-scrape)</td> +</tr> +<tr><td style="vertical-align:top; text-align:right;">VI.</td> +<td class="tdi"><span class="smcap">Local Names found among the Hills, with Occasional Notes on +their Origin and Meaning</span><br /> + (<i>e.g.</i> bink, clough, gill, hause, hope)</td> +</tr> +</table> + + + + + +<p class="p6 transnote">Transcriber's note: List of Illustrations added.</p> + +<h2><a name="toi" id="toi">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS:</a></h2> + +<ul style="list-style-type:none;"> +<li><a href="#THE_ARROWHEAD">THE ARROWHEAD</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHALK_CLIFFS_NEAR_DOVER">CHALK CLIFFS NEAR DOVER</a></li> +<li><a href="#CONISTON_AND_DOE_CRAG">CONISTON AND DOE CRAG</a></li> +<li><a href="#DEEP_GILL_SCAFELL">DEEP GILL, SCAFELL</a></li> +<li><a href="#DOE_CRAG_CONISTON">DOE CRAG, CONISTON</a></li> +<li><a href="#GREAT_END_FROM_SPRINKLING_TARN">GREAT END FROM SPRINKLING TARN</a></li> +<li><a href="#PLAN_OF_GREAT_GABLE">PLAN OF GREAT GABLE</a></li> +<li><a href="#GREAT_GABLE_FROM_THE_SOUTH-EAST">GREAT GABLE FROM THE SOUTH-EAST</a></li> +<li><a href="#HANGING_KNOT_FROM_ANGLE_TARN">HANGING KNOT FROM ANGLE TARN</a></li> +<li><a href="#PAVEY_ARK_AND_STICKLE_TARN">PAVEY ARK AND STICKLE TARN</a></li> +<li><a href="#LINGMELL_AND_PIERS_GILL">LINGMELL AND PIERS GILL</a></li> +<li><a href="#LORDS_RAKE_AND_RAKES_PROGRESS">LORD'S RAKE AND RAKE'S PROGRESS</a></li> +<li><a href="#MOSS_GILL_AND_STEEP_GILL">MOSS GILL AND STEEP GILL</a></li> +<li><a href="#NAPES_NEEDLE_FROM_THE_WEST">NAPES NEEDLE FROM THE WEST</a></li> +<li><a href="#PAVEY_ARK_NEAR_VIEW">PAVEY ARK (NEAR VIEW)</a></li> +<li><a href="#PILLAR_ROCK">PILLAR ROCK</a></li> +<li><a href="#PILLAR_ROCK_FROM_THE_NORTH">PILLAR ROCK FROM THE NORTH</a></li> +<li><a href="#PILLAR_ROCK_FROM_THE_SOUTH">PILLAR ROCK FROM THE SOUTH</a></li> +<li><a href="#PILLAR_FELL">PILLAR FELL</a></li> +<li><a href="#PILLAR_ROCK_FROM_THE_WEST">PILLAR ROCK FROM THE WEST</a></li> +<li><a href="#PILLAR_ROCK_FROM_THE_SOUTH-EAST">PILLAR ROCK FROM THE SOUTH-EAST</a></li> +<li><a href="#SCAFELL_CRAGS">SCAFELL CRAGS</a></li> +<li><a href="#PLAN_OF_SCAFELL">PLAN OF SCAFELL</a></li> +<li><a href="#SCAFELL_PILLAR_SEEN_ACROSS_DEEP_GILL">SCAFELL PILLAR (SEEN ACROSS DEEP GILL)</a></li> +<li><a href="#SCAFELL_PILLAR_AND_THE_UPPER_PITCH_OF_DEEP_GILL">SCAFELL PILLAR AND THE UPPER PITCH OF DEEP GILL</a></li> +<li><a href="#WASTWATER_AND_THE_SCREES">WASTWATER AND THE SCREES</a></li> +<li><a href="#A_TYPICAL_TOR_HEY_TOR_DARTMOOR">A_TYPICAL_TOR_HEY_TOR_DARTMOOR</a></li> +<li><a href="#VIXEN_TOR_DARTMOOR">VIXEN TOR (DARTMOOR)</a></li> +</ul> + +<!--png 008--> + + + + + + +<h2 class="p6"><a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION"></a>INTRODUCTION</h2> + + +<p>For some years past there has been a remarkably rapid +increase in the number of men who climb for climbing's sake +within the bounds of the British Isles.</p> + +<p>When any young and active Englishman sees a rock and is +told that the ascent of it is regarded as a kind of feat, there +is no doubt what he will want to do. He will obey what has +been the instinct of the race at any time this forty years. +But lately there has been a change. What was formerly +done casually and instinctively has for the last dozen years +or so been done systematically and of set purpose, for it is +now recognised that hill-climbing in these islands may form +part of a real mountaineering education. Many might-be +mountaineers have missed their vocation because they +were in the position of the prudent individual who would +not go into the water until after he should have learned to +swim: they did not become Alpine because they were afraid +that they should make fools of themselves if they went +on the Alps. Yet, had they only known it, they might +have found without crossing the sea many a place which +might have been to their undeveloped instincts what the +little pond at the end of the garden has been to many a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span> +would-be skater—a quiet spot where early flounderings +would be safe from the contemptuous glances of unsympathetic +experts.</p> + +<p>Icemanship can only be acquired through a long apprenticeship, +by tramping many a weary mile helplessly tied to +the tail of a guide. But one principal charm of hill-climbing +lies in the fact that it may be picked up by self-directed +practice and does not demand the same preliminary subjection. +The course of Alpine instruction can only be considered +complete when Mr. Girdlestone's ideal of 'The High +Alps without Guides' is realised (an ideal, be it clearly +understood, which for fully ninety-nine out of every hundred +climbers it would be downright madness to attempt to carry +into practice); whereas, while rock-climbing may be enjoyed +by amateurs without incurring the reproach of recklessness, +they at the same time experience the exquisite pleasure of +forming their own plans of attack, of varying the execution +of them according to their own judgment, and finally of +meeting obstacles, as they arise, with their own skill and +with their own strength, and overcoming them without the +assistance of a hired professional.</p> + +<p>Nowhere can the mere manual dexterity of climbing be +better acquired than among the fells of Cumberland; excellent +practising-ground presents itself on nearly every hill. +Compared with real mountains the crags of Cumberland are +but toys, but small as they are, they have made many and +many a fine climber; and the man who has gone through +a course of training among them, who has learnt to know +the exact length of his own stride and reach, and to wriggle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span> +up a 'chimney' in approved style with shoulder, hip and +knee, may boldly fly at higher game, and when he proceeds +to tackle the giants of the Alps or Caucasus has no cause to +be afraid of the result.</p> + +<p>As if with the express object of increasing their educational +value to the mountaineer, the hilly parts of Great +Britain are peculiarly subject to atmospheric changes. No +one who has not experienced their effects would believe the +extent to which mist, snow, and even rain can change the +appearance of landmarks among the mountains; and, where +landmarks are less abundant or less striking, even the buffeting +of violent wind may cause an inexperienced man to change +his direction unconsciously. Valuable experience in things +of this kind may be gained even in summer, but in winter +the conditions become more Alpine, and splendid practice +may be had in the use of the axe and rope.</p> + +<p>Not that the latter should be neglected on difficult rocks +at any time of the year. Even in places where it gives the +leader no security and to some extent actually impedes him, +the moral effect of it is good. It wonderfully increases those +feelings of united and ordered effort, of mutual dependence +and mutual confidence, and finally of cheery subordination +of self, which are not the least of the virtues or the joys of +mountaineering. How these opportunities may be used the +novice will readily learn from Mr. Charles Pilkington's admirable +chapters in the Badminton 'Mountaineering,' and +from Dr. Claude Wilson's excellent little handbook on the +same subject. It is the aim of the present work to enable +him to find suitable places where the principles so admirably<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span> +laid down by those authorities may be tested and applied, +and to understand the descriptions—often involving difficult +technical and local terms—which have been published of +them. When anyone with climbing instincts finds himself +in a strange place his first desire is to discover a climb, his +second to learn what its associations are; what is it called, +and why? has anyone climbed it, and what did he think of +it? To such questions as these this book endeavours to provide +an answer. It offers, in short, to the would-be climber +a link, with the guidebook on the one hand and the local +specialist on the other.</p> + +<p>It must always be remembered that a very fine rock may +be a very poor climb. It may be impossible or it may be too +easy, or, again, the material maybe dangerously rotten; and +thus, though there are many places where men can and do +obtain useful climbing practice, there is only one part of +England to which resort is made simply for the sake of its +climbing. In consequence of this fact the greater part of +the book is devoted to the English Lakes, and especially to +the south-west portion of them, where the best climbs of all +are to be found. But in that district the art has been highly +elaborated, and the standard of difficulty and dexterity is even +dangerously high. If men would be content to serve an +apprenticeship and to feel their way gradually from the easier +climbs onward, they would excite less apprehension in the +minds of those who know what these climbs are. If, on the +other hand, they rush, as too many do, straight from the desk +in a crowded city, with unseasoned lungs and muscles, in the +cold and the wet, to attack alone or with chance companions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span> +whatever climb enjoys for the moment the greatest notoriety, +frightful accidents are certain to occur.</p> + +<p>The books, too, which are kept specially for climbing +records at some places in the Lakes, such as Dungeon Gill, +Buttermere, and, notably, Wastdale Head, are misleading, +owing to the widely different standards of difficulty among +the various writers. Printed accounts are so few that this +objection hardly applies to them. The most noteworthy +beyond all doubt are the two articles written for <i>All the +Year Round</i>, in November 1884, by Mr. C.N. Williamson, +the late editor of <i>Black and White</i>. It would be hard to +exaggerate the effect which these articles had in making +the Lake climbs known. The same writer had previously +contributed articles of less permanent value to the <i>Graphic</i> +and the <i>Daily News</i>. In 1837 two articles had appeared +in the <i>Penny Magazine</i> (see <i>Lord's Rake</i>); in 1859 the +late Professor Tyndall had written of <i>Mickledoor</i> in the +<i>Saturday Review</i>, and more recently articles have appeared +in the <i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>, by Mr. W. Brunskill and by +Mr. H.A. Gwynne. The present writer contributed an +article to the <i>Alpine Journal</i> of August 1892, and one +containing very clear illustrations of 'back-and-knee' work +and of an episode in the long climb on the Pillar Rock to the +pages of <i>Black and White</i>, in June 1892, while numerous +articles have appeared from time to time in such local papers +as the <i>Whitehaven News</i> and the <i>West Cumberland Times</i>, +and in the Manchester, Leeds, and Bradford press. Of +guidebooks the only one of any value to climbers is Mr. +Herman Prior's 'Pedestrian Guide.'</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span></p> + +<p>Any value which the present book may have is largely +due to the excellent drawings of Mr. Ellis Carr, who most +kindly came forward to fill the place left by the lamented +death of Professor A.M. Marshall. Much assistance has +been derived from sketches and photographs kindly lent, +those of Mr. Abraham, of Keswick, being especially useful. +For the valuable article on 'Chalk' I am indebted to Mr. +A.F. Mummery, whose knowledge of the subject is unrivalled; +while Mr. J.W. Robinson, of Lorton, has zealously +assisted in all matters connected with Cumberland; and I +must gratefully acknowledge help given in other ways by +Mr. J.E. Morris and the Rev. C.J. Buckmaster.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> + + + + + + + + + +<h2 class="p6">CLIMBING<br /> +<span style="font-size:40%;">IN</span><br /> +THE BRITISH ISLES</h2> +<hr style="width:10%" /> +<h2>ENGLAND</h2> + + +<p><b>Alum Pot</b>, the name of which is also found in such +forms as <i>Allen</i> and <i>Hellan</i>, lies just west of the Midland +Railway, about halfway between Horton and Ribblehead +stations, and on the north-east side of Ingleborough. It is +one of the most striking and most famous of the Yorkshire +potholes, being an elliptical opening in the limestone, 120 ft. +long and 40 ft. wide, with a perpendicular depth of 200 ft. +The exploration of it was begun by Mr. Birkbeck of Anley +in 1847, who, assisted by Prof. Boyd Dawkins and a large +party including three ladies, made a complete examination +in 1870.</p> + + +<p><b>Angler's Crag</b>, on the south side of Ennerdale Water. +The steep portion is about 300 ft. There are also some +similar crags on <i>Grike</i> and <i>Revelin</i>, close by; but none of +them are worth a long walk, and the only resting-place near +is the Angler's Inn, at the foot of Ennerdale Water.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Apron-strings.</b>—Throughout Scotland and the North of +England the traditional explanation of large heaps of stones +is that while some one (generally the Devil or Samson) was +carrying the stones in his apron the strings broke and the +stones fell in a heap. Many such heaps are to be found, +bearing the name of 'apronful' or 'bratful,' which means +the same thing. A good instance of the latter form is <i>Samson's +Bratful</i>, in Cumberland, between the rivers Bleng and +Calder. For another good instance see what is said about +Wade's Causeway in <i>Murray's Handbook for Yorkshire</i>, at +p. 206.</p> + + +<p><b>Aron.</b>—So Wilkinson (in his 'Select Views') calls <i>Great +End</i>. It may be that he misunderstood his guide, who was, +perhaps, speaking at the time of <i>Aaron Crags</i>, which are on +<i>Sprinkling Fell</i>, and would be in the line of sight to any one +coming up from <i>Borrowdale</i>. In fact, the path to <i>Sty Head</i> +passes not only <i>Aaron Crags</i> on the left, but also <i>Aaron +Slack</i> on the right. It is, of course, tempting to suggest that +Aron was the original Keltic name of Great End; but in +Wales the name Aran is generally applied to mountains of +very different appearance to <i>Great End</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Arrowhead</b>, a prominent rock in the <i>Napes</i> of <i>Great +Gable</i>, being part of the ridge immediately west of <i>Eagle's +Nest</i>. It was climbed on April 17, 1892, by a large party, +including Messrs. Horace Walker, Baker, Slingsby, and others. +In the following year, on the last day of March, this climb +was repeated by Messrs. Solly, Schintz, Brant, and Bowen, +who continued it right on to the top of the ridge. They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> +kept rather more on the ridge itself than the former party +had done on the way to the <i>Arrowhead</i>, and from that point<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> +the climb is along the crest of the ridge. It is not a difficult +climb for an experienced party. The ridge has been called +the <i>Arrowhead Ridge</i>.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="THE_ARROWHEAD"> +<img src="images/i_016.png" width="400" height="458" alt="THE ARROWHEAD (South side of Great Gable)" /> +<p class="caption">THE ARROWHEAD<br /> +(South side of Great Gable)</p> +</div> + + +<p><b>Ash Crag</b>, a rock in <i>Ennerdale</i>, near the <i>Black Sail</i> +end of the <i>Pillar Fell</i>. It is the writer's belief that this is +the rock which the poet Wordsworth, in 'The Brothers,' has +confused with the <i>Pillar Rock</i>. At least a lad belonging to +an old Ennerdale family, the Bowmans of Mireside, was +killed by falling from this rock at a date closely corresponding +to that indicated in the poem.</p> + + +<p><b>Attermire</b>, one of the most picturesque limestone scars +in Yorkshire. It is reached from Settle on the Midland +Railway, and may be seen on the way to Malham Cove.</p> + + +<p><b>Back-and-knee</b>: the process of supporting or raising the +body in a 'chimney' by pressure against opposite sides with back +and knees, or, more usually, back and feet.</p> + + +<p><b>Band.</b>—This word forms part of many hill names in the +North of England, and is also found in Scotland. Dr. Murray +deals with it in the 'New English Dictionary,' but not in a +satisfactory manner. He defines it as 'a long ridge-like hill +of minor height or a long narrow sloping offshoot from a hill +or mountain,' but it would be easy to adduce instances where +this could have no application. The word is used by Douglas +in his translation of Virgil to represent the Latin word +'jugum':</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Himself ascendis the hie <i>band</i> of the hill;<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>and from this Jamieson concluded that the word meant +simply 'top of a hill'—a definition almost as unsuitable as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> +last. The late Mr. Dickinson, the leading authority on the +Cumberland dialect, gave to the word the meaning of 'a +boundary on high uninclosed land,' and indeed the frequent +association of the word with personal names (often of clearly +Scandinavian character) seems to indicate some territorial +significance.</p> + + +<p><b>Bannerdale Crag</b> (C. sh. 57) may be taken on the +way up <i>Saddleback</i> from Troutbeck station on the line +between Keswick and Penrith. About three miles up the +stream is <i>Mungrisdale</i>, and still farther up along the course +of the stream one fork leads to <i>Scales Tarn</i> and another to +<i>Bannerdale</i>, where there is a lead mine just north of the crags. +There is a rocky face some 600 ft. to 800 ft. high, offering +climbing, which is steep, but by no means first-rate.</p> + + +<p><b>Barf.</b>—From the southern shore of Bassenthwaite Water +there is a fine steep scramble up this hill. On a bright +winter's day it is rather inspiriting, and the views are good.</p> + +<p>The name is more frequent in Yorkshire, where, according +to Phillips, it has the meaning of 'a detached low ridge or +hill.'</p> + + +<p><b>Beachy Head</b>, close to Eastbourne, in Sussex, is a +very fine bold chalk cliff, the first ascent of which is made +about once in every two years, if we may believe all that we +see in the papers. The truth is that there is a treacherous +incline of some 600 ft., formed of chalk and grass, both very +steep and often dangerously slippery; and during the Eastbourne +season the coastguards at the top find their principal +occupation in supplying mechanical assistance to exhausted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> +clamberers; but for difficulty these cliffs will not for a +moment compare with those of half the height which carry +on the line westward to <i>Birling Gap</i>. The tops of these in +many places literally overhang the sea, and there are few +points where a climber could make the slightest impression +upon them. On Beachy Head there is a dangerous-looking +pinnacle, which was climbed (by dint of cutting a step or two) +in April 1894, by Mr. E.A. Crowley.</p> + + +<p><b>Bear Rock</b>, a queerly-shaped rock on <i>Great Napes</i>, +which in the middle of March 1889 was gravely attacked by +a large party comprising some five or six of the strongest +climbers in England. It is a little difficult to find, especially +in seasons when the grass is at all long.</p> + + +<p><b>Beck.</b>—In the North of England (except in Northumberland +and Durham, where 'burn' prevails) this is the usual +word for a brook. It differs from a 'gill' in being more +open, and having banks less rocky and a stream somewhat +more copious. A gill may contain only a few drops of water, +or none at all, and still preserve its self-respect, but not so a +beck. Camden speaks of 'Beakes and Brookes.'</p> + + +<p><b>Bell</b> enters into many North Country hill-names. It +is commonly said to indicate spots which were specially +devoted to the worship of Baal, and many arguments have +been based upon its occurrence and distribution. If there is +anything in this assertion, the 'high places' for the worship +of Baal must have been most capriciously selected. My own +belief is that the term is purely descriptive and is applied to +a convexity in the slope of a hill. In Lowland Scotch the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> +phrase 'bell of the brae' is not uncommon and has the same +significance.</p> + + +<p><b>Bell Rib End</b>, a short drop on the narrow south ridge +of <i>Yewbarrow</i>. Though on a very small scale, it is not +without interest, and was a favourite with Mr. Maitland, one +of the early explorers of Wastdale.</p> + + +<p><b>Bield.</b>—This word not only occurs frequently in place +names, but is still part of living speech in North England +and South Scotland. It means shelter of any kind for man +or beast, and in the latter case especially a fox or a sheep. +It is also used as a verb; in fox hunting, for instance, the +animal when run to earth is said to be 'bielded.'</p> + + +<p><b>Bink</b>: a long narrow grassy ledge. (N. of Eng.)</p> + + +<p><b>Black Sail.</b>—It has been suggested that this name, now +borne by the pass from Wastdale to Ennerdale between +Pillarfell and Kirkfell, may have originally been named from +the mountain it crossed, and so may possibly now preserve an +older name of one of those two mountains. Dr. Murray, writing +to a local paper some years ago, did not hesitate to affirm +positively that Pillar Fell is entirely due to the Ordnance +surveyors, and that the original name was Black Sail, a fact +which he said could be proved by historical evidence. It +would be extremely interesting to see this evidence, but the +name 'Pillar' certainly appears in maps published long +before that of the Ordnance. (See <i>Sail</i>.) The pass (1,750 ft.) +is very familiar to all climbing folk, being the ordinary way +of reaching the Pillar Rock from Wastdale Head. It is +generally preferred to <i>Wind Gap</i> on account of greater<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> +variety of view and better 'going,' and some make use of it +even for the purpose of reaching the Ennerdale side of <i>Great +Gable</i>.</p> + +<p>The route, however, has one disadvantage. It is hot. It +is no uncommon thing to hear enthusiastic frequenters of the +Lakes complaining of the popular misapprehension that the +sun never shines there, and urging that people are so unreasonable +as to notice the wet but to disregard the warmth. +Among these traducers of the Cumberland climate the frequenters +of the Black Sail route are not found. Argue not +with such; but some fair morning, when the reviler is most +rampant, lead him gently into Mosedale and watch with calm +delight while he pants painfully up the pass, trying his +utmost to look cool, with the sun, which he has maligned, +beating down squarely upon his back and exacting a merciless +revenge. Many a time will he turn about and feign rapture +at the taper cone of Yewbarrow and the bold outline of +Scafell; often will his bootlace strangely come untied before +his reverted glance catches the welcome gleam of Burnmoor +Tarn; but long before that time his heart within him will +have melted even as wax, and he will have registered a vow +that, when next the Cumberland sunshine is discussed, the +seat of the scornful shall know him no more. Mr. James Payn, +having occasion to allude to 'dry weather' in the Lakes, adds +demurely, 'which is said to have occurred about the year +1824'; but, from his own description of Black Sail, it is clear +that he deeply rued the sarcasm: 'You will begin to find +your pass quite sufficiently steep. Indeed, this is the severest +pull of any of the cols in the District, and has proved the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> +friend of many a gallant with his ladylove. To offer a young +woman your hand when you are going up Black Sail is in my +mind one of the greatest proofs of attachment that can be +given, and, if she accepts it, it is tantamount to the everlasting +"Yes!"' We may be sure that, before he reached the top, the +witty novelist experienced remarkably 'dry weather,' and +also some of those symptoms which elsewhere he has himself +described with such scientific accuracy: 'Inordinate perspiration +and a desperate desire for liquids; if the ascent be persisted +in, the speech becomes affected to the extent of a total +suspension of conversation. The temper then breaks down; +an unseemly craving to leave our companion behind, and a +fiendish resolution not to wait for him if his bootlace comes +undone, distinguish the next stage of the climbing fever; all +admiration of the picturesque has long since vanished, +exuded, I fancy, through the pores of the skin: nothing +remains but Selfishness, Fatigue, and the hideous reflection +that the higher we go the longer will be our journey down +again. The notion of malignant spirits occupying elevated +regions—Fiends of the Fell—doubtless arose from the +immoral experiences of the Early Climbers.'</p> + +<p>Green's <i>Guide</i> (1819) records a touching instance of a +husband's attentions surviving a test which we saw above, +that even lovers find severe: 'This is a steep and craggy +ascent, and so laborious to man that it might be imagined +horses could not travel it; yet Mr. Thomas Tyson, of Wasdale +Head, has conducted Mrs. Tyson over this stony ground +while sitting on the back of her horse.'</p> + +<p>In Switzerland one might look back after a day's work,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> +and fairly forget ups and downs so slight as Black Sail; but +many of the guide books speak of it in terms which might +apply to the Adler or the Felik Joch. For instance, <i>Black's +Picturesque Guide</i> (ed. 1872) says: 'The <i>hardy</i> pedestrian +with <i>very minute</i> instructions <i>might</i> succeed in finding his +way over the mountains, yet every one who has crossed them +will beware of the danger of the attempt and of the <i>occasional +fatal consequences</i> attending a diversion from the +proper path.' This is highly encouraging; and the enterprising +traveller who only breaks his neck two or three times +in the course of the journey will be of good cheer, for he is +making rather a prosperous expedition than otherwise.</p> + + +<p><b>Blea Crag</b>, an isolated square stone on the left of the +path to the <i>Stake</i>, a long mile up <i>Longstrath</i>. It is climbed +on the side which looks down the valley. Messrs. Jones and +Robinson recorded their ascent of it in September 1893, but +it seems that four or five years ago there were traces on it of +a previous ascent.</p> + +<p>'Crag' is not very commonly used of a single stone, as it +is here and in the case of <i>Carl Crag</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Borrowdale.</b>—'Divers Springes,' says old Leland in +his 'Itinerary,' 'cummeth owt of Borodale, and so make a +great <i>Lowgh that we cawle a Poole</i>.'</p> + +<p>The 'Lowgh' is, of course, Derwentwater, and Borrowdale +is the heart of the finest scenery and the best climbing in +England. It may be said to stretch from <i>Scafell</i> to <i>Skiddaw</i>, +and excellent headquarters for climbers may be found in it at +<i>Lowdore</i>, <i>Grange</i>, <i>Rosthwaite</i>, and <i>Seatoller</i>. With the aid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> +of its wad mines and its <i>Bowder Stone</i>, it probably did more +during last century than anything else to arouse public +interest in the Lake country. The natives were not famed +for their intelligence, and many stories are told in support of +their nickname of 'Borrowdale gowks.'</p> + +<p>There is another <i>Borrowdale</i> in Westmorland, and <i>Boredale</i> +is perhaps the same name.</p> + + +<p><b>Bowder Stone</b> in <i>Borrowdale</i> was already a curiosity +about a century and a half ago, when it was visited by Mr. +George Smith, the correspondent of the <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i>. +Clarke, writing some years later, says it bore the +alternative names of <i>Powderstone</i> and <i>Bounderstone</i>; and +being 'thirty-one yards long by eight yards high, must therefore +weigh over 600 tons, and is said to be the largest self-stone +in England.' It is not really a 'boulder' at all, but the +word is rather loosely used in Cumberland.</p> + + +<p><b>Bow Fell</b> (2,960 ft.).—The name is probably the same +as that of <i>Baugh Fell</i>, also called <i>Bow Fell</i>, in Yorkshire. +This graceful peak, standing as it does at the head of several +important valleys—<i>Eskdale</i>, <i>Langdale</i>, <i>Dunnerdale</i>, and +<i>Borrowdale</i>—is a great feature in Lake scenery. There is +not much rock-work on it, but a good deal of rough walking +and scrambling. From <i>Borrowdale</i> or <i>Wastdale</i> it is +approached by way of <i>Esk Hause</i>. On this side there is no +climbing, except that <i>Hanging Knot</i>, as the N. end of Bow +Fell is called, descends to <i>Angle Tarn</i> in a long, steep, rocky +slope which offers a pleasant scramble.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span></p> + +<p>On the <i>Eskdale</i> side there is a gully or two which might +be worth exploring.</p> + +<p>By inclining to the right hand on emerging at the top of +<i>Hell Gill</i>, or to the left hand from the pony-track at the foot +of <i>Rossett Gill</i> we reach <i>Flat Crags</i>, huge glacier-planed +slopes of rock, overlooked by what in winter is a fine <i>couloir</i> +of most alpine appearance. When Messrs. J. & A.R. Stogdon +ascended it (<i>Alpine Journal</i>, v. p. 35) the inclination of the +snow increased from 30° at the foot to 63° after 350 ft. or more, +and there was a large cornice at the top. In the account +which the same party inserted at the time in the Wastdale +Head Book steeper angles are given.</p> + +<p>In summer it is merely an open scree-gully; but the +insignificant-looking chimney just N. of it, and only separated +from it by a narrow ridge, is quite worthy of attention, +though it has but one pitch in it after the one at the foot. +The descent is harder than the ascent, and takes about twenty +minutes.</p> + +<p>There is a fine rocky walk along the S. ridge, called +<i>Shelter Crags</i> and <i>Crinkle Crags</i>, which descends towards +the head of Dunnerdale, but it is extremely unfrequented.</p> + + +<p><b>Bram Crag</b> and <i>Wanthwaite Crag</i> flank the coach road +between <i>Threlkeld</i> and <i>Grasmere</i> on the east. The best +part is rather more than two miles south of Threlkeld station. +The climbing is somewhat similar to that about <i>Swarthbeck</i> +on Ullswater, but on better and sounder rock, and there is +more of it. A good day's work will be found among these +crags, and a fine specimen of a 'sledgate' is deserving of +notice.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Brandreth</b> is between <i>Borrowdale</i> and the head of +<i>Ennerdale</i>. The name, which occurs elsewhere in the +neighbourhood, denotes a tripod (literally a 'grate,' usually +made with three legs). The meeting-point of three boundaries +of counties, parishes, &c. is often so named. Brandreth +has only one short bit of bold rock—one of the many +<i>Raven Crags</i>. It is hardly worth a special journey, but may +very easily be taken by any one who attacks <i>Great Gable</i> +from <i>Borrowdale</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Brimham Rocks</b>, in Yorkshire, are very easily visited +from Harrogate or from Pateley Bridge. From the latter +they are only four miles to the eastward. The station for +those who come from Harrogate is Dacre Banks, from which +the Rocks may be reached in an hour's walking. They are +of millstone grit and well deserve a visit, for nowhere are the +grotesque forms which that material delights to assume more +remarkable. Some resemble the sandstone forms common +about Tunbridge Wells, and many might very well stand for +Dartmoor Tors; but others at first sight seem so evidently +and unmistakably to suggest human handiwork that one can +feel no surprise at the common notion that they were +fashioned by the ingenuity of the Druids. Several of them, +though very small, can only be climbed with considerable +difficulty.</p> + + +<p><b>Broad Stand</b>—a term commonly but, in my opinion, +incorrectly used to denote a particular route by which the +crags of <i>Scafell</i> may be ascended direct from <i>Mickledoor</i>. +There are numerous other places within a few miles of this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> +into the names of which this word 'stand' enters, and a consideration +of them leads me to the belief that it signifies 'a +large grassy plot of ground awkward of access.' This is +exactly what we find here. A break in the cliffs produces a +large open space which is the key to the ascent by the +<i>Mickledoor Chimney</i>, to that by the <i>North Climb</i>, and to +that which, being the oldest, easiest, and most frequented, +has arrogated to itself as distinctive the name of a feature +which it should only share with the other two. Really all +three routes are merely different ways of reaching the Broad +Stand.</p> + +<p>One of the earliest recorded ascents is that of Mr. C.A.O. +Baumgartner in September 1850, an account of which was +sent by one of the people of the dale to the local paper in +these terms: 'The Broad Stand, <i>a rocky and dangerous +precipice</i>, situated between <i>Scaw Fell</i> and the <i>Pikes</i>, an +ascent which is perhaps more difficult than even that of the +<i>Pillar Stone</i>.' The late Professor Tyndall climbed it in 1859, +and described it in the <i>Saturday Review</i> of that year. It +evidently had a great reputation then, which was not, in his +opinion, entirely deserved. It seems to have been known in +1837 (see the <i>Penny Magazine</i>) to the shepherds; and even in +Green's time, at the beginning of the century, one or two +daring spirits had accomplished the feat.</p> + + +<p><b>Buckbarrow</b> (C. sh. 79).—<i>Broadcrag</i> (more north-east) +is really part of it, and about 400 ft. high. Buckbarrow +rises near the foot of Wastwater, opposite the best part of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> +the Screes. When approached from the head of the lake +it appears as two huge rocky steps; but, as in the case of +<i>Eagle Crag</i> in <i>Greenup</i>, the steps are not really in the +same plane. Seen from the slopes of <i>Lingmell</i>, it forms +the boundary between the mountains and the plain, to which +it sinks in one very graceful concave curve. It is not +lofty—there are perhaps some 400 ft. of rock—but by the +shepherds it is reputed inaccessible. This is only true in +the sense that there are stiff bits on it which have to be +evaded. It is haunted by both the fox and the buzzard—connoisseurs +on whose taste in rocks the climber can generally +rely. There is also climbing in the whole line of rock (Broad +Crag) which stretches away towards <i>Greendale</i>. Since 1884, +when the writer first became acquainted with it, Buckbarrow +has become rather popular, considering its remoteness from +<i>Wastdale Head</i>.—At Christmas 1891 a strong party, led by +Messrs. Robinson, Hastings, and Collie, ascended it 'from +the fox's earth to the hawk's nest,' and on April 15, 1892, +a party containing several of the same members climbed +'the first main gully on this [the north] side. There are +two short chimneys at the end of this little gill—one in +each corner, about ten to twelve yards apart.' The left +one, up which Mr. Brunskill led, was considered the harder. +Afterwards Dr. Collie led two of the party up the face of +the cliff to the right of the next gully on the west, which is +marked by a pitch of about fifty feet low down. To a house +near the foot of Buckbarrow old Will Ritson and his wife +retired, after giving up the inn which they had kept for so +many years and made so famous at <i>Wastdale Head</i>.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Buresdale</b>, the proper name of the valley between +Thirlmere and Threlkeld. Hutchinson, for instance, says: +'At the foot of <i>Wythburn</i> is <i>Brackmere</i> [i.e. Thirlmere], a +lake one mile in length ... from the N. end of this mere +issues the river Bure, which falls into Derwent below Keswick.' +He also mentions Buresdale in connection with +<i>Layswater</i>, yet another equivalent for Thirlmere. Guidebook +writers seem to have conspired together to obliterate +this name from the map, and to substitute for it the name +<i>Vale of St. John</i>, which Sir Walter Scott made famous. +To revive the name of the river would be an act of only posthumous +justice, now that the Manchester waterworks have +taken away all its water; but the valley is still there, and +ought to be called by its genuine old name, which is of Scandinavian +origin; compare with it the Bure river in Norfolk, +and fishermen will recall similar names in Norway.</p> + + +<p><b>Burn</b>: the Scotch word for a brook is hardly found south of +the river Wear. In Wythburn, Greenburn, and other cases it +probably represents <i>borran</i> (stone heap).</p> + + +<p><b>Buttermere</b>, a pleasant stopping-place from which many +of the Cumberland fells can be explored. It is a good centre +for <i>Grassmoor</i>, <i>Melbreak</i> and the <i>Red Pike</i> range, while +<i>Borrowdale</i> and <i>Ennerdale</i> are quite within reach. Once a +day the Keswick waggonettes swoop upon the place, bringing +trippers by the score, but at other times it is a quiet and enjoyable +spot.</p> + + +<p><b>Calf (The)</b> (2,220 ft.), in Yorkshire, near <i>Sedbergh</i>. +<i>Cautley Crag</i>, on the E. side of it, is very steep. In this corner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> +of the county the Yorkshire climber experiences the intense +relief of seeing rocks which are neither chalk, limestone, nor +millstone grit.</p> + + +<p><b>Camping.</b>—Camping out by rivers has always been +more popular in England than the same form of airy entertainment +among the mountains. The labour of carrying tents or +sleeping-bags acts as the chief deterrent. It is true that some +thirty years ago a distinguished member of the Alpine Club +applied to Scafell Pike, and one or two other spots where +England is loftiest, the practice, which he has carried out on +many of the higher peaks of the Alps and Pyrenees, of watching +sunset and sunrise from the loftiest possible <i>gîte</i> which +the mountain can afford. Mr. Payn, too, has given us a most +humorous narrative of how he and his friends encamped on +Fairfield. Also, about twenty years ago, four stalwart climbers +from Penrith made a regular camping tour of the Lakes. +Their tent was pitched on these spots: Penrith Beacon, +Red Tarn on Helvellyn, in Langdale under Pike o' Stickle, +Sty Head, in Ennerdale under Gable Crag, and on Honister. +It weighed only 5½ lbs., and yet had a floor space of 8 ft. +by 8 ft.</p> + +<p>It may be that, just as bicyclists suffered by the scathing +definition 'cads on casters,' so the enthusiasm of the camper +may have received a check when he heard himself described +with cruel terseness as 'a fool in a bag.' Perhaps, again, our +climate is not one which offers much encouragement to any +but the hardiest of campers. In the Lakes by far the most +popular (and probably, therefore, the most convenient) place<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> +is the shore of Ullswater, where tents have been seen even in +the depth of winter.</p> + + +<p><b>Carl Crag</b> lies on the sea-shore in Drigg parish. Mr. +Jefferson says that it is of syenite, and measures in feet twelve +by nine by five and a half, but it is deep in the sand. The +legend is that while Satan was carrying it in his apron to +make a bridge over to the Isle of Man, his <i>apron strings +(q. vid.)</i> broke and let it fall. It is probably an erratic. With +the name compare <i>Carlhow</i>, <i>Carlwark</i>, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>Carrs</b>, in Lancashire, in the <i>Coniston</i> range, north of +the <i>Old Man</i>. It is craggy on the east side. In <i>Far Easdale</i> +there is a line of crag which bears the same name. Clearly +neither can have anything to do with 'carrs' in its usual sense +in the north, viz. 'low marshy ground.'</p> + + +<p><b>Castle Rock</b> (C. sh. 64).—This rock in <i>Borrowdale</i> +is said to have been crowned by a Roman fort. The +west side is craggy for a couple of hundred feet. It may +serve to occupy a few odd hours for any one stopping at +<i>Grange</i>, <i>Rosthwaite</i>, or <i>Seatoller</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Caw Fell</b> (C. sh. 73).—The name is possibly the +same as <i>Calf</i>, <i>Calva</i>; compare also <i>Caudale</i>, <i>Codale</i>, &c. +On the north side there is a craggy bit about 200 ft. high.</p> + + +<p><b>Chalk.</b>—Though this can hardly be regarded as a good +rock for climbing, much excellent practice can be gained on +it. As a general rule, it is only sufficiently solid for real +climbing for the first twenty feet above high-water mark, +though here and there forty feet of fairly trustworthy rock<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a><br /><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> +may be found. These sections of hard chalk are invariably +those which at their base are washed by the sea at high tide; +all others are soft and crumbly.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="CHALK_CLIFFS_NEAR_DOVER"> +<img src="images/i_032.png" width="400" height="534" alt="CHALK CLIFFS NEAR DOVER" /> +<p class="caption">CHALK CLIFFS NEAR DOVER</p> +</div> + +<p>Whilst any considerable ascent, other than up the extremely +steep slopes of grass which sometimes clothes the +gullies and faces, is out of the question, traverses of great +interest and no slight difficulty are frequently possible for +considerable distances. A good <i>objectif</i> may be found in the +endeavour to work out a route to the various small beaches +that are cut off from the outer world by the high tide and cliffs.</p> + +<p>The best instances of this sort of work are to be found +along the coast to the eastward of Dover (between that town +and St. Margaret's). Between the ledges by which these +traverses are in the main effected, and the beach below, +scrambles of every variety of difficulty may be found, some +being amongst the hardest <i>mauvais pas</i> with which I am acquainted. +Owing to the proximity of the ground, they afford +the climber an excellent opportunity of ascertaining the +upper limit of his powers. Such knowledge is a possession +of extreme value, yet in most other places it is undesirable to +ascertain it too closely. Chalk, it must be remembered, is +extremely rotten and treacherous, very considerable masses +coming away occasionally with a comparatively slight pull. +In any place where a slip is not desirable, it is unwise to +depend exclusively on a single hold, as even the hardest and +firmest knobs, that have stood the test of years, give way +suddenly without any apparent reason. The flints imbedded +in the chalk are similarly untrustworthy; in fact, if they +project more than an inch or so, they are, as a rule, insecure.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> +The surface of the chalk is smooth and slimy if wet, dusty if +dry, and does not afford the excellent hold obtained on granite. +As a whole it may be regarded as a treacherous and difficult +medium, and one which is likely to lead those practising on +it to be very careful climbers.</p> + +<p>To the westward of Dover (between it and Folkestone) a +great amount of climbing on grass and crumbly chalk slopes +can be obtained; almost every gully and face can be ascended +from the sea, or the S.E. Railway, to the top. It is desirable +to remember that in dry weather the grass and the earth +which underlies it is of the consistency of sand, and great +care is requisite; after rain the grass is of course slippery; +but the underlying material adheres more firmly to the cliff. +It is unnecessary to add that a slip on any of these slopes +would almost certainly prove fatal. On the face of <i>Abbot's +Cliff</i>, and to the westward (about halfway between Dover +and Folkestone), some traverses may be effected at a +height of 200 ft. or more above the base; they do not, +however, compare for climbing with the traverses on the +other side of Dover.</p> + +<p>As one goes westwards, the angle of the cliffs becomes +less, and from <i>Abbot's Cliff</i> towards Folkestone it is rarely +necessary to use one's hands, though very nice 'balance' is +essential, as the results of a slip would usually be serious. +Above the <i>Warren</i>, still nearer Folkestone, the slopes become +easy, and after heavy snow afford excellent <i>glissades</i>.</p> + +<p>The cliffs between Dover and St. Margaret's vary from +200 to 350 ft., whilst those between Dover and Folkestone +vary from 250 to 500 ft. in height.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p> + +<p>In Sussex the chalk is well developed at and near <i>Beachy +Head</i>, where it attains a height of some 600 ft. Just west +of this come several miles of cliffs, lower indeed (about 300 ft.), +but amazingly vertical.</p> + +<p>About <i>Flamborough Head</i>, in Yorkshire, this formation +attains fine proportions, while as far west as Devonshire +<i>Beer Head</i> is upwards of 400 ft. high.</p> + + +<p><b>Chimney</b>: a recess among rocks resembling the interior of +a chimney open on one side. (See <i>Back-and-knee</i>.)</p> + + +<p><b>Chockstone</b>: a northern word for a stone wedged between +the sides of a gully. A short word for this is greatly needed, and +I would suggest that it might be called a 'chock,' simply.</p> + + +<p><b>Clapham</b>, a station on the Midland Railway, is an +excellent centre for <i>Ingleborough</i> and the <i>Potholes</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Clark's Leap</b>, near <i>Swirl's Gap</i> on Thirlmere, is a +jutting rock, so called from a suicide which took place there +over 100 years ago. It is one of many local absurdities +of the novel called 'The Shadow of a Crime' that this name +is brought in as an antiquity in the eyes of characters +supposed to be living two centuries ago.</p> + + +<p><b>Clough</b> (<i>Cleugh</i>, <i>Cloof</i>, <i>Cluff</i>, <i>Clowe</i>) is a North of +England word for a kind of valley formed in the slope of a +hill. The first cut in carving a shoulder of mutton produces +a typical 'clough.' There is seldom any climbing about a +genuine clough, because it implies soil rather than rock. Dr. +Murray tells us that the word has no connection with the +Icelandic 'klofi,' yet assigns to the latter word the origin of +'cloof,' in the sense of the fork of a tree, or of the human<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> +body. To a layman in such matters the two words bear a +singular resemblance, both in sound and in sense.</p> + + +<p><b>Collier's Climb</b> on <i>Scafell</i> was made by Messrs. +Collier and Winser on April 2, 1893, and a very severe climb +it is. It begins from the <i>Rake's Progress</i> at a point 105 ft. +west from the <i>North Climb</i>. After a direct ascent of about +40 ft., a grassy platform on the right (facing the wall) is +reached. From here a narrow and somewhat awkward +traverse leads back to above the first part of the climb. This +traverse could probably be avoided by climbing directly upwards. +There follows an easy ascent for 30 ft. still directly +upwards. By traversing broad grassy ledges to the right—i.e. +towards <i>Moss Gill</i>—one of the inclined cracks so plainly seen +on the face of the cliff is reached, and the rest of the ascent +made in it. The only severe difficulties in the climb are: +1. at the beginning, in leaving <i>Rake's Progress</i>; 2. at one +point in the crack where there is not much handhold for +10 or 15 ft.</p> + + +<p><b>Combe Gill</b>, a fine gill in the north end of <i>Glaramara</i>. +The climb is a little over two miles from <i>Rosthwaite</i>, and +about a mile less from <i>Seatoller</i>. A very fine mass of rock +(one of the many <i>Eagle Crags</i>) stands at the head of the +little valley, and up the centre of this crag lies the way. It +was climbed on September 1, 1893, by Messrs. J.W. Robinson +and W.A. Wilson, whose account of it is as follows: 'This +very fine gorge has three good-sized pitches in the lower part. +These were passed by climbing the right-hand edge of the +gill—interesting work. A return on to the floor of the gill<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> +was made near the top of the third pitch, when a little +scrambling led to a very fine waterfall more than 100 ft. high. +Here climb in the water as little as you can; then diverge +slightly on to the right-hand wall of the gill just where the +water spouts over a small recess; next traverse across a rather +difficult slab into the cave under the final boulder, which is +climbed on the left-hand and is the last difficulty.'</p> + + +<p><b>Coniston</b>, having the advantage of both railway and +steamboat, is very accessible, and, notwithstanding this, it is +agreeably free from the rush of excursionists. Practically it +has one fine mountain—the <i>Old Man</i>—and no more, though +<i>Bow Fell</i> and the <i>Langdale Pikes</i> are not entirely out of +reach. There is much good scrambling in the rocks which +fringe the <i>Old Man</i> and <i>Wetherlam</i>, and superb climbing in +<i>Dow Crag</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Coniston Old Man.</b>—Quarrymen and miners have +between them done an immense deal towards spoiling a very +fine mountain. They have converted to base industrial uses +the whole east side of the mountain, which Nature intended +for climbers. They have not yet invaded <i>Doe Crag</i> (q.v.), +which is really part of it, but practically no one goes up the +<i>Old Man</i> proper, except for the sake of the view, which is +magnificent, and no one ascends except from Coniston, varied +in a few cases by working north along the summit ridge +and descending via <i>Grey Friars</i> on to the pass of <i>Wrynose</i>.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="CONISTON_AND_DOE_CRAG"> +<img src="images/i_038.png" alt="CONISTON AND DOE CRAG" width="568" height="400" /> +<p class="caption">CONISTON AND DOE CRAG</p> +</div> + +<p><b>Copeland.</b>—Camden says of Cumberland: 'The south +part of this shire is called <i>Copeland</i> and <i>Coupland</i>, for that it +beareth up the head aloft with sharpedged and pointed hilles,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a><br /><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> +which the Britans tearme <i>Copa</i>.' Leland alludes to this when +he makes a ludicrously pedantic suggestion: 'Capelande, part +of Cumbrelande, may be elegantly caullid Cephalenia.' <i>Cop</i> +is found in Derbyshire also, as a hill-name, and hunting men +will not need to be reminded of the Coplow in Leicestershire.</p> + + +<p><b>Cornwall.</b>—To the true-souled climber, who can enjoy +a tough bit of rock, even if it is only fifty, aye, or twenty feet +high, the coast of Cornwall with its worn granite cliffs and +bays has much to offer. It is interesting almost the whole +way round the coast. Granite prevails, but at <i>Polperro</i> we +have cliffs belonging to the Lower Devonian period, and for +some ten or twelve miles going west from <i>Chapel Point</i> we +find rocks of the Silurian order. At many points round +the <i>Lizard Promontory</i> there are remarkable rocks; but +some of the finest cliff scenery in England is to be found +between the <i>Logan Rock</i> and the <i>Land's End</i>. These are +on the regular tourist tracks, and conveniently reached from +good hotels; but the north coast of Cornwall is here easy of +access. There are fine cliffs about <i>Gurnard's Head</i> and +<i>Bosigran</i>, which are well worth a visit, from St. Ives or +Penzance (7 or 8 miles). There is a small inn at <i>Gurnard's +Head</i>. <i>Bedruthan Steps</i> are well-known, and <i>Trevose Head</i>, +<i>Pentire</i> (Padstow), <i>Tintagel</i> and <i>Penkenner Point</i> are only +a few of the many grand rock-scenes on this coast.</p> + + +<p><b>Coterine Hill.</b>—Leland, in his 'Itinerary,' says that +Ure, Sawle, and Edon rise in this hill, and that 'the Hedde +of Lune River by al Aestimation must be in <i>Coterine Hill</i>, +or not far fro the Root of it,' adding that, in the opinion of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> +Mr. Moore of Cambridge, the river Lune 'risith yn a hill +cawlled <i>Crosho</i>, the which is yn the egge of Richemontshire.'</p> + +<p>There is <i>Cotter-dale</i> on the Yorkshire slope of the hill +in which these rivers rise, and the celebrated Countess of +Pembroke, in 1663, when she crossed from <i>Wensleydale</i> +to <i>Pendragon Castle</i>, calls her journey 'going over <i>Cotter</i>, +which I lately repaired,' the last words showing that it was +a recognised pass.</p> + +<p>In all probability Leland's form represents '<i>Cotter End</i>,' +by which name, though not given in most of the maps, part +of the hill is still known.</p> + + +<p><b>Cove</b>: often means 'cave' in Yorkshire and Scotland, but as +a rule it is a large recess in a hill-side.</p> + + +<p><b>Craven</b>—<i>Camden</i> remarks that the country lying about +the head of the river Aire is called in our tongue <i>Craven</i>, +'perchance of the British word <i>Crage</i>, that is a <i>Stone</i>. For +the whole tract there is rough all over, and unpleasant to see +to; which [with?] craggie stones, hanging rockes, and rugged +waies.'</p> + +<p>Modern climbers, however, find it hardly rocky enough +for them, at least above ground, and have been driven to +invent a new variety of climbing—the subterranean. Exploration +of the numerous <i>potholes</i> which honeycomb the +limestone hills has of late years become a favourite pastime, +and, in truth, it combines science with adventure to a marked +degree.</p> + +<p>Any one who tarries for any length of time among these +Yorkshire dales should read Mr. H. Speight's handsome<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> +volume, which gives a very complete account of the beauties +and the curiosities which they have to show.</p> + + +<p><b>Cross Fell</b>, in Cumberland, long enjoyed the reputation +being one of the highest mountains in England, and as late +as 1770 its height was calculated at 3,390 ft., which is some +500 ft. more than it is entitled to. It was earlier than most +English mountains in becoming the object of scientific curiosity, +and an account of it will be found in the <i>Gentleman's +Magazine</i> for 1747. It is chiefly celebrated for the Helm +Wind originating from it.</p> + + +<p><b>Cumberland</b> is the premier climbing county. The best +centres are <i>Wastdale Head</i>, <i>Rosthwaite</i> or <i>Seatoller</i>, +<i>Buttermere</i>, <i>Keswick</i> and <i>Eskdale</i>. The cream of the +climbing is on those fells which are composed of rocks +belonging to what is called 'the Borrowdale Series,' such as +<i>Scafell Pillar</i>, <i>Gable</i>, <i>Bowfell</i>, and as a rule the finest +climbs are found on the sides which face the north and east. +<i>Cross Fell</i> does not belong to the same mountain-system as +those just mentioned, and offers little climbing. The best cliffs +on the coast are about <i>St. Bees</i> Head.</p> + + +<p><b>Cust's Gully</b>, on Great End.—To the large and increasing +number of men who visit the Lakes in winter, +perhaps no climb is better known than this. In the spring +of 1880, a party, including one of the greatest of lady +mountaineers, and over twenty members of the Alpine Club, +ascended this 'very interesting chimney or couloir, which, +being filled with ice and snow, gave unexpected satisfaction. +There is a very remarkable natural arch in this couloir, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> +Mr. Cust claims to have been the first to discover, and he +was therefore entrusted with the guidance of the party.' +The orthodox approach is by way of Skew Gill, which is +conspicuous at the right hand on nearing Sty Head from +Wastdale. A short distance beyond the head of this gill +our gully is seen rising on the right, marked by the conspicuous +block of stone. Being, as the Scotch say, 'back of +the sun,' this gully often holds snow till comparatively late +in the season. Indeed, in winter, it is sometimes so much +choked with snow that the arch disappears, and it is even +said that self-respecting climbers, who recognise that a gully +ought to be followed with strictness, have felt bound to +reach the block by tunnelling, instead of walking over the +top. In the spring of 1890 there was a tremendous fall of +stones, by which the gully was nearly filled. Except in +snow time, loose stones are an objection, and many find it +more interesting to ascend by a small gully, almost a branch +of 'Cust's,' on the right hand. As climbs neither of them will +compare with the more eastern gullies.</p> + + +<p><b>Dale</b>: curiously used in Derbyshire for each separate section +of a river valley, which elsewhere would form only one dale.</p> + + +<p><b>Dalegarth Force</b>, in Cumberland, near Boot, in Eskdale. +The wall on the north side of this extremely pretty little +fall is very low; but, being granite, offers one or two problems +to the climber. <i>Stanley Gill</i> is another name for the same +place.</p> + + +<p><b>Dartmoor</b>, a high upland moor, forming a vast reservoir, +from which most of the Devonshire rivers are fed. It<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> +is curious rather than beautiful, and more interesting to the +geologist, the antiquary, and the fisherman than it is to the +mountaineer. Yet it is instructive even to him, for the frequency +of rain and mist and the paucity of landmarks which +can be seen more than a few yards off, coupled with the necessity +of constantly watching the ground, render it one of +the easiest places in the world in which to lose one's way in +any but the finest weather. There are no true hills, but here +and there a gradual rise of the ground is seen, with a lump +or two of granite grotesquely planted on the top of it. These +are the <i>Tors</i>. As a rule they are very small, but often present +problems to the climber, and are seldom without interest +of some sort.</p> + +<p>A great many may be reached from Tavistock or the +little inn at <i>Merivale Bridge</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Dead Crags</b> (C. sh. 56) are lofty but disappointing rocks +on the north side of Skiddaw. There is perhaps 500 ft. of +steep crumbly rock, something like <i>Hobcarton</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Deep Gill.</b>—The name is not infrequent; for example, +there is one on the south side of <i>Great Gable</i>, east of the +<i>Napes</i>, but now it is always called <i>Hell Gate</i>. The Deep +Gill is on <i>Scafell</i>, and falls into the <i>Lord's Rake</i>. The first +mention of it was made in August 1869 by Mr. T.L. Murray +Browne, who wrote in the Visitors' Book at Wastdale Head: +'The attention of mountaineers is called to a rock on Scafell +on the right (looking down) of a remarkable gill which +cleaves the rocks of Scafell and descends into Lingmell Gill. +It looks stiff.' The rock alluded to is the <i>Scafell Pillar</i> and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a><br /><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> +the gill is <i>Deep Gill</i>. It is well described by Mr. Slingsby +in the <i>Alpine Journal</i>, vol. xiii. p. 93: 'After a couple of +hundred steps had been cut in the snow in Lord's Rake and +at the bottom of Deep Gill, which joins the former at right +angles, we reached the first block—a large rock perhaps +15 ft. square—which overhangs the gill, and so forms a cave. +Below the rock the snow was moulded into most fantastic +shapes by occasional water-drips from above. At the right +hand of the big rock a few small stones are jammed fast +between it and the side of the ravine, and they afford the +only route up above the rock. These stones can be reached +from the back of the little cave, and occasionally from the +snow direct. Hastings—who is a very powerful fellow and a +brilliant climber—and I got on the stones, as we did last +year. He then stood on my shoulder, and, by the aid of +long arms and being steadied by me, he reached a tiny ledge +and drew himself up. Mason and I found it no child's play +to follow him with the rope. Some two hundred more steps +in hard snow brought us to the only place where we could +attack the second block. Here three fallen rocks stop the +way, and on the left hand is the well-nigh ledgeless cliff +which terminates far away overhead in the Sca Fell Pinnacle, +or Sca Fell Pillar. On the right a high perpendicular wall +effectually cuts off the gill from the terraces of Lord's +Rake. On the left hand of the gill a small tongue of rock, +very steep, juts out perhaps 40 ft. down the gully from the +fallen block nearest to the Pinnacle wall, and forms a small +crack, and this crack is the only way upward. From a +mountaineer's point of view the stratification of the rocks<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> +here is all wrong. The crack ends in a chimney about 20 ft. +high, between the wall and a smoothly polished boss of +rock. Hastings, still leading, found the crack to be difficult, +but climbed it in a most masterly way. All loose stones, +tufts of grass and moss, had to be thrown down, and, in the +absence of hand and foot hold, the knees, elbows, thighs, and +other parts of the body had to do the holding on, whilst, +caterpillar-like, we drew ourselves upward bit by bit. The +chimney is best climbed by leaning against the Pinnacle +wall with one's back and elbows, and, at the same time, by +walking with the feet fly-like up the boss opposite. From +the top of the boss a narrow sloping traverse, perhaps 12 ft. +long, leads into the trough of the gill. With a rope this is an +easy run; without one it would not be nice. A stone thrown +down from here falls over both blocks and rolls down the +snow out of the mouth of Lord's Rake on to the screes far +away below. The crack, chimney, and traverse, short distance +though it is, took us about an hour to pass. The climb +from Deep Gill to the gap from which the Pinnacle is ascended +is a very good one, which two men can do much +better than one. The Pinnacle itself from the gap is perhaps +25 ft. high, and is really a first-rate little climb, where the +hands and the body have to do the bulk of the work.'</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="DEEP_GILL_SCAFELL"> +<img src="images/i_044.png" width="400" height="620" alt="DEEP GILL, SCAFELL (The Lower Pitch)" /> +<p class="caption">DEEP GILL, SCAFELL<br /> +(The Lower Pitch)</p> +</div> + +<p>The date of Mr. Slingsby's attempt was March 2, 1885, +and that of his successful ascent March 28, 1886: but as +early as 1882 this climb had been made, piecemeal, by the +present writer, who, however, never, so far as he can remember, +blended the different items into a continuous climb until +the summer of 1884, when he descended the whole length of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> +the gill in company with Mr. Chr. Cookson, of C.C.C., +Oxford. A yet earlier descent of the gill had been made at +Easter 1882 by Messrs. Arnold Mumm and J.E. King, of +the same college, who found such a phenomenal depth of +snow that the obstacles were buried, and they were able to +walk from end to end without using their hands. The same +thing happened again in January 1887, when Messrs. Creak +and Robinson were able to walk up over both pitches without +having even to cut a step.</p> + +<p>The lower pitch may also be passed by using a recess resembling +one half of a funnel in the red rock of the vertical +south wall of the gill. The worst part of this is where you +leave the funnel and begin to coast round in order to re-enter +the gill. The space comprised between the two pitches can +be entered very easily by passing round the foot of the +<i>Scafell Pillar</i>, or with much more difficulty down the +vertical south wall. The upper pitch may be passed in two +ways, besides the incline. One is by means of a narrow side +gully, the upper stage of which is most easily passed by following +the ridge which divides it from the main gill. The +third way is the most direct and the most difficult, lying between +the incline and the great block. Mr. Owen Jones +seems to have invented it in the year 1892, and took up a +party by it on that occasion with the assistance of a good +deal of snow, and another party in the month of August 1893, +when there was no snow at all. There is no more fashionable +winter climb than <i>Deep Gill</i>, and about Christmas time +the clink of the axe echoes among its crags from dawn to +dusk.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p> + +<p>It is reached from Wastdale Head in about an hour and +a half. The shoulder of <i>Lingmell</i> has first to be rounded, +and it makes little difference either in time or fatigue +whether this be done comparatively high up or by taking the +high road to the bridge near the head of the lake or by an intermediate +course. At any rate, a long grind up <i>Brown +Tongue</i>, in the hollow between <i>Lingmell</i> and <i>Scafell</i>, cannot +be avoided, and when the chaos called <i>Hollow Stones</i> +is reached a vast outburst of scree high up on the right +hand indicates the mouth of <i>Lord's Rake</i>. After a laborious +scramble up this scree the rake is entered, and only a few +yards further the lower pitch of Deep Gill is seen on the +left hand.</p> + + +<p><b>Deep Gill Pillar.</b>—See <i>Deep Gill</i> and <i>Scafell Pillar</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Derbyshire</b> is well endowed in point of rock scenery, +but it is not really a climber's country. The rocks are of two +kinds—the Limestone, of which Dovedale may be taken as a +type, and the Millstone Grit, which prevails further north. +The former shows many a sharp pinnacle and many a sheer +cliff, but is often dangerously rotten, while the latter assumes +strange, grotesque forms, and, when it does offer a climb, +ends it off abruptly, just as one thinks the enjoyment is about +to begin. It is, nevertheless, much more satisfactory than +the limestone, and many pleasing problems may be found +on it, especially in the neighbourhood of the <i>Downfall</i> on +<i>Kinder Scout</i>. For this Buxton or Chapel-en-le-Frith is of +course a better centre than Matlock.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Devonshire.</b>—The inland climbing in this county is +very limited. Of granite there are the <i>Tors</i> of Dartmoor +and the Dewerstone near Plymouth, and there is a remarkably +fine limestone ravine at Chudleigh, but there is little else +worthy of mention. But the coast of Devonshire is exceptionally +fine, and perhaps no other county can show such a +variety of fine cliffs. At <i>Beer Head</i> we have chalk; at +<i>Anstis Cove</i>, <i>Torbay</i>, and <i>Berry Head</i> limestone; at <i>Start +Point</i> and <i>Stoke Point</i> slate. For bold cliff scenery few +parts of the Channel can rival the piece between <i>Start Point</i> +and <i>Bolt Tail</i>.</p> + +<p>On the north coast of Devon there are many striking +cliffs. Among them may be noticed <i>Heddon's Mouth</i>, <i>Castle +Rock</i> (at Lynton), some rocks about Ilfracombe, the granite +cliffs of <i>Lundy</i>, <i>Hartland Point</i>; in fact much of the coast +from Clovelly right away to Bude in Cornwall is remarkably +fine.</p> + + +<p><b>Dixon's Three Jumps</b>, on Blea Water Crag (High +Street, Westmorland), so called from the famous fall here +of a fox-hunter about the year 1762.</p> + +<p>Perhaps no one ever fell so far and yet sustained so +little permanent injury. As an instance of 'the ruling +passion strong in death,' or at least in appalling proximity +to death, it may be mentioned that, on arriving at the bottom, +he got on his knees and cried out, 'Lads, t' fox is gane oot at +t' hee eend. Lig t' dogs on an' aa'l cum syun.' He then +fell back unconscious, but recovered, and lived many years +after.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span></p> + +<p>Another Dixon fell while fox-hunting on Helvellyn in +1858, but was killed. There is a monument to him on +Striding Edge.</p> + + +<p><b>Dodd</b>: a round-topped hill. The word is common in the +Lowlands and in the North of England. It is often said to mean +a limb of a larger mountain, but Dodd Fell in Yorkshire would +alone refute this, being the highest hill in its neighbourhood.</p> + + +<p><b>Doe Crag</b>, in Eskdale (C. sh. 74), is a bold rock, long +reputed inaccessible, low down on the north side of the +approach to <i>Mickledoor</i> from the east. The Woolpack +in Eskdale is the nearest inn. The rock, as a climb, is very +inferior to its namesake at Coniston (see <i>Dow Crag</i>).</p> + + +<p><b>Door Head</b>, the <i>col</i> between <i>Yewbarrow</i> and <i>Red Pike</i>. +There is capital scree here, and a very rapid descent into +Mosedale may be made by it. Men who have spent the day +on the Pillar sometimes return to Wastdale Head round the +head of Mosedale, and wind up by racing down these screes +from the <i>col</i> to the stream below. The distance is about +650 yards, and the perpendicular drop about 1,200 ft. Anything +less than five minutes is considered very 'good time.'</p> + + +<p><b>Doup</b>: any semicircular cavity resembling half an egg-shell +(N. of Eng.).</p> + + +<p><b>Dow</b> (or <b>Doe</b>) <b>Crag</b>, in Lancashire, lies just west of +<i>Coniston Old Man</i>, being only divided from it by <i>Goat's +Water</i>. The climbing here is second to none. There are +three or four superb gullies. Perhaps the best is in a line +with the head of the tarn and the cairn on the <i>Old Man</i>, +and another scarcely, if at all, inferior is nearly opposite a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a><br /><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> +very large stone in the tarn. The first ascent of one was made +by Mr. Robinson and the writer in the year 1886; that of the +other by a party including Messrs. Slingsby, Hastings, E. +Hopkinson, and the writer in July 1888. The last-mentioned +(with indispensable aid from the rope) afterwards descended +an intermediate gully of terrific aspect.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="DOE_CRAG_CONISTON"> +<img src="images/i_051.png" width="400" height="566" alt="DOE CRAG, CONISTON" /> +<p class="caption">DOE CRAG, CONISTON<br /> +The lowest pitch of the central gully. The top of the wedged block is reached + by mounting the shallow scoop on the left of the picture, and then coasting +round into the gully again.</p> +</div> + +<p>Towards the foot of the tarn the gullies are much less +severe.</p> + +<p>Above is an illustration of the first pitch of the gully +climbed in 1888. Mr. Hastings led up the shallow crevice +seen on the left of the picture, and on reaching the level of +the top of the pitch contoured the intervening buttress into +the chimney again. This is no easy matter and required +great care.</p> + + +<p><b>Dunald Mill Hole.</b>—One of the earliest descriptions +of a '<i>Pothole</i>' will be found in the 'Annual Register' for +1760, where this curiosity is treated of at some length. It +is a good specimen of a common type, and lies between Lancaster +and Carnforth.</p> + + +<p><b>Dungeon Gill</b>, in Langdale, deserves mention in any +treatise on British climbing, inasmuch as the poet Wordsworth +has made it the scene of an early deed of daring performed +by an idle shepherd boy—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> + Into a chasm a mighty block<br /> + Hath fallen and made a bridge of rock,<br /> +<span style="padding-left: 6em;">The gulf is deep below.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>The gulf and the mighty block are both there still; but there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> +is more pleasure in seeing the former than there is excitement +in crossing by the latter.</p> + + +<p><b>Eagle Crag.</b>—Rocks of this name are pretty numerous +in the North of England, and, like the 'Raven Crags,' are, as +might be expected, always bold and precipitous.</p> + +<p><i>On Helvellyn.</i>—Canon Butler, in his article on the Lakes +in 1844, which appeared in <i>Longman's Magazine</i>, describes +in an amusing manner an adventure which he had on this +rock. It is on the right-hand side of the track from Patterdale +to Grisedale Hause.</p> + +<p><i>In Easdale</i> (W. sh. 17).—This is easily found by following +up the stream which runs into Easdale Tarn. There +is not more than 200-300 ft. of crag, and much of it is very +rotten, but with pretty bits of climbing here and there. +Grasmere is the only place from which it is conveniently +reached.</p> + +<p><i>In Greenup</i> (C. sh. 75) is as noble a rock as can be found +in England. As seen from Borrowdale near Rosthwaite it +has the appearance of two huge steps of rock, but the steps +are really separate rocks, one behind the other—Eagle +Crag and Pounsey Crag. Large portions of each of them +are quite unclimbable, and much of them is too easy to +be worth doing, so that the amount of interesting climbing +to be met with is less than might be expected. Close by is +Longstrath, where there is a little work which may be combined +with this (see <i>Blea Crag</i> and <i>Serjeant Crag</i>). The foot +of Eagle Crag is reached from Rosthwaite or Seatoller in +less than an hour.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Eagle's Nest</b>—one of the ridges of the <i>Napes</i> lying +between the <i>Needle</i> and the <i>Arrowhead</i>. On April 15, 1892, +Messrs. Slingsby, Baker, Solly, and Brigg ascended it and +found it extremely difficult for 150 ft. At one point, about +on a level with the top of the <i>Needle</i>, there is room for one +person to sit down, and here the second man on the rope +joined the leader and gave him a shoulder up. To this place +they gave the name of the <i>Eagle's Nest</i>, and it is almost the +only point at which any material help can be given to the +leader.</p> + +<p>The part just above this they considered the stiffest part +of the climb; but when they reached a patch of grass just +below a slanting chimney the difficulties moderated. From +the bottom to where the ridge joins the <i>Needle Ridge</i> they +took two hours and ten minutes.</p> + + +<p><b>Eel Crag.</b>—The word 'Eel,' we are told, is identical +with 'Ill,' which is seen in <i>Ill Bell</i> and the numerous <i>Ill +Gills</i>, and means 'steep.' If so the name ought to be more +frequent in the Lake country than it is, and it might be suggested +that in some cases 'eagle' may have been worn down +to 'eel.' There are two crags of the name in Cumberland, +not very far apart.</p> + +<p><i>In Coledale.</i>—These rocks are steep, but too much broken +up to be really worth a visit on their own account. However, +after <i>Force Crag</i> has been tried, these are conveniently +near.</p> + +<p><i>In Newlands</i> (C. sh. 70).—Among the rocks which flank +Newlands on the east much good material may be found.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> +One is reminded a little of the Wastwater Screes, but of +course these are not on anything approaching that scale. +The greatest height of the craggy part is only about 400 ft.</p> + + +<p><b>Eight-foot Drop.</b>—On the Pillar Rock is the passage +from the ridge of the <i>Curtain</i> down onto the lower part of the +<i>Steep Grass</i>. It figures in some of the earlier accounts as a +formidable feature of the ascent. Nowadays it is known how +much easier it is to keep on the flank of the curtain, and only +leave it when at the top of the chimney which runs up from +the head of <i>Steep Grass</i>. No 'drop' is, in fact, necessary; but +the climb, though not in any sense difficult, is generally regarded +as a good test of neatness of style.</p> + + +<p><b>Ennerdale.</b>—For a valley which not only is one of the +largest and most impressive in the Lake country, but contains +moreover a share of the most perfect mountain in broad England—Great +Gable—and all of the most famous rock—the +Pillar—singularly little is popularly known of Ennerdale. +But, when we consider that the place is one which is, or +should be, hallowed to all devout Wordsworthians as the +scene of one of the finest productions of their poet, the thing +becomes incomprehensible. To begin with, the guide-books +have never done it justice. In area of paper covered with descriptions +of it English Lakeland is probably many square +miles ahead of any equal portion of the earth's surface. But +guide-book writers love to stand upon the ancient ways; and +any one who takes the trouble to compare West or Otley with +the works of to-day must admit that, except in matters of +detail, the advance has been incredibly small. The public<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> +are better judges of accuracy than of enterprise, and what +pleases the public pays. These gentlemen, therefore, worthy +and painstaking as they are, share to some extent in the +narrow aspirations of the hireling, and, indeed, we are tempted +to believe that their motives in shunning Ennerdale were not +wholly foreign to the character of him who 'fleeth because he +is afraid,' for they have brought up a terrible report of the +dale. If, however, this has been a wise precaution on their +part, a means of deterring any inquirer from exposing their +want of energy, it has been rewarded with a large measure +of success. Here is an inviting prospect for a timid traveller: +'Ennerdale Lake ... is so wild in the character of its shores +and in its position among the mountains as to have caused +more terrors and disasters to strangers than any other spot +in the district. At every house from Wastdale Head to Ennerdale +Bridge stories may be heard of adventures and escapes +of pedestrians and horsemen in Mosedale and the passes of +Black Sail and Scarf Gap' (Whellan's 'History of Cumberland,' +1860). Can it be wondered at that, in the face of such +terrors as this, very few people find their way into Ennerdale, +except those who with fear and trembling cross the head of +it on their way between Buttermere and Wastdale Head? +Every guide-book, indeed, mentions Ennerdale and the Pillar +by name, because it gives an opportunity for quoting the +well-worn lines from 'The Brothers,' after which a few +meagre remarks may be expected to follow on the 'Pillar Mountain,' +the 'Pillar Rock,' and 'Ennerdale Lake,' expressions of +which not one, strictly speaking, is correct, for the proper name +of the first is beyond all doubt 'Pillar <i>Fell</i>,' 'mountain' being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> +an innovation of tourists and guide-book writers, who between +them have made 'Pillar <i>Rock</i>' sound more familiar than the +genuine name 'Pillar <i>Stone</i>,' and have almost ousted 'Broadwater' +in favour of 'Ennerdale Lake.'</p> + +<p>Printed authorities are scanty, because Ennerdale is of +very recent discovery. The early guide-books simply know +nothing about it. West (1778) does not mention it, and the +gifted authoress of that touching poem 'Edwina' did not even +know how to spell its name:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> + But chiefly, Ennersdale, to thee I turn,<br /> + And o'er thy healthful vales heartrended mourn,<br /> + Vain do thy riv'lets spread their curving sides<br /> + While o'er thy glens the summer zephyr glides. +</div></div> + +<p>And yet Mrs. Cowley was by no means indifferent to such +points. Indeed, we owe the origin of this exquisite poem to +her etymological zeal and to her desire to immortalise the +brilliant suggestion that the name 'Wotobank' was derived +from some one having once said, 'Woe to this bank!' It may +even be that the spelling is a symbolical subtlety—a kind of +refinement on 'word-painting' intended to shadow forth to +less poetic minds, by the sinuosity of the superfluous 's,' the +unique manner in which the rivulets of this happy valley are +wont to 'spread their curving sides.' One of the earliest +visitors to Ennerdale appears to have been the artist Smith, +of Derby (1767), who sketched the lake, as did also Wilkinson +in 1810. Wordsworth had been there before 1800, and Green's +description shows that he was much struck by the scenery +of upper Ennerdale. But, though visitors to Ennerdale have +been and still are few, most of these few speak highly of its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> +beauties, 'partly perhaps,' says Mr. Payn, 'in consequence of +their having endured certain inconveniences (with which they +are anxious that you should also become acquainted) when +belated in that lovely spot.' The dale is not without its associations. +Formerly it was a deer forest, the property of the +Crown by forfeiture from the father of the ill-fated Lady +Jane Grey. The Sandford manuscript speaks enthusiastically +of 'the montaines and fforest of Innerdale, wher ther is +reed dear and as great Hartts and Staggs as in any part of +England. The bow-bearer is a brave gentleman.' But it is +now many years since the last of the herd was destroyed, and +no one living can remember the days when Ennerdale could +show—what in almost any landscape is a crowning beauty—the +stately figure of a great red stag. Certainly an element +of romance has here been lost; but how can that be felt so +long as here and there some aged man survives to keep green +among the dalesmen the memory of 't' girt wild dog'? The +stories told of this remarkable animal would fill volumes and +form a highly interesting study in contemporary mythology; +and yet, when we consider the state of unparalleled excitement +into which the whole countryside was thrown at the +time, and the assiduity with which it has ever since been +talking over the events of that stirring period, we shall find +cause to wonder, not that the story in some of its details should +have acquired a slight legendary flavour, but rather that the +great bulk of the incidents narrated should be so thoroughly +well authenticated. Certainly it is a lesson in faith, and +makes it easier to credit stories such as that which Ovid tells +with so much spirit of the Calydonian boar; for if in the days<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> +of modern firearms a dog can defy a large district and kill a +couple of sheep a day for nearly half a year together, there is +less reason for doubting that in old days an amount of destruction +and devastation which would not discredit a modern +minister could be wrought by the unaided exertions of one +malevolent pig. For months the dog was hunted and shot +at, but seemed to lead a charmed life; in the excitement +farming operations were terribly neglected, until at last, in the +person of John Steel of Asby, arose the modern Meleager.</p> + +<p>Many a story is told of that exciting time, and one +especially has hit the fancy of the dale. Until recently the +custom was that fox-hunts should take place on one particular +day of the week—a day the selection of which for a Southern +meet would, however convenient, be regarded with considerable +surprise. Possibly this custom was held to govern dog-hunting +also; for one Sunday, as the Rev. Mr. Ponsonby +(probably the identical 'homely priest' who is mentioned in +'The Brothers') was conducting Divine Service, the attentive +cars of the congregation caught the sound of some commotion +without, followed by the rush of hounds and the panting of +human lungs. There could be no mistaking these signs. +A faint murmur passed round the sacred building, 'T' girt +dog!' and in an instant the reverend gentleman was the +only male within the walls. A moment's pause, and then +female sympathy and female curiosity triumphed, and the +other and better half of the congregation disappeared. The +story goes in Ennerdale (but for this we decline to vouch) +that the aged pastor, casting a sorrowful glance upon the +empty benches, hastily adjusted the robes of his office, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> +ere the last petticoat had fluttered from the porch was in full +career to join the headlong hunt.</p> + +<p>For five months Ennerdale had been in a state of convulsive +excitement, for the first and last time, it is said, +'syn t' Flud'; the honour of having enlivened the dale is +fairly divided between the Deluge and the Dog.</p> + +<p>To see Ennerdale as it should be seen, and to get a clear +idea of the surrounding district, there is no better plan than +to mount from Buttermere to Red Pike—the Rigi of Cumberland—and +from there follow with eye and, if necessary, map +the following account of a 'run,' telling how 'oald Jobby o' +Smeathat tallyho't a fox ya Sunday mworning, just as day +brak, oot ov a borran o' steeans, abeunn Flootern Tarn, i' +Herdas end; an' hoo it teukk ower be t' Cleugh gill an' t' +hoonds viewt him sa hard 'at he teuk t' Broadwater an' +swam 'cross t' hee end on't, an t' dogs went roond an' oop +t' Side Wood ... an' they whisselt him oop be t' Iron Crag, +an' be t' Silver Cwove an then throo t' Pillar, an' a gay +rough bit o' grund it is. Hoo he shakt 'em off a bit theer, +an' they at him agean an' meadd o' ring amang t' rocks. +Hoo they ran him roond be Black Sail, an' Lizza hee faulds +an' clam oot be t' Scarf Gap an' on to t' Wo' heead an' they +beeldit 'am onder t' Brock Steeans an' he was seaff aneugh +theer.'</p> + +<p>With or without the fox-hunt this view from Red Pike is +magnificent, yet there are several others which run it very +close. What, for instance, can be better, just at the clearing +of a shower, than the look-out from the Pillar Fell on the +opposite side of the valley? From the gloom and grandeur<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> +around it the eye travels right along to the smiling green of +the open country beyond the lake bordered by a line of +glittering sea. This view has one drawback in that you +cannot at one time be looking both from the Pillar and at it; +but then it is hardly possible to enter Ennerdale at all +without seeing this rock, the real glory of the valley, from +many effective points; and, moreover, no day there is complete +without a quiet half-hour spent in floating on the lake about +sunset; for, whether it be due to the westerly lie of the dale +or to some other cause, the fact remains that the Ennerdale +sunsets are not to be beaten among the Lakes. By the +early morning light the upper part of the valley should be +explored, and the marvellous view enjoyed from Haystacks: +from the 'bulky red bluff of Grasmoor' on the right to the +dark recess of Mosedale half seen upon the left all is beautiful; +separated from Crummock and Buttermere, which are both +well seen, by the steep Red Pike range, Broadwater throws +in a dash of life to relieve the desolation of upper Ennerdale, +while the richly coloured screes of Red Pike sweep down in +striking contrast to the forbidding frown of the Pillar Fell. +We have seen a fine water-colour sketch which renders this +view with great fidelity. It has additional interest as the +work of the first amateur who ever scaled the Pillar Stone—Lieut. +Wilson, R.N.</p> + +<p>The scenery of Ennerdale, however, would not long have +remained beautiful if the Ennerdale Railway Bill, promoted +in 1883 and 1884, had been suffered to pass into law. That +scheme was happily defeated, and the only modern touches +added to the dale have been the galvanised wire railings<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> +recently erected along the sky-line, and the blue indicators +set up on the Black Sail and Scarf Gap track.</p> + + +<p><b>Eskdale.</b>—There are two dales of the name in Cumberland, +but the only one which is of interest to mountaineers is +reached by the little railway from Ravenglass. Lodgings, +largely used by Whitehaven people, are to be had, but the +most convenient inn is the Woolpack, about a mile up the +valley from the terminus of the line. From no place can +<i>Scafell</i>, <i>The Pikes</i>, or <i>Bow Fell</i> be more easily explored, +while the Coniston range is quite within reach, and the +Wastwater <i>Screes</i> are more accessible than they are from +Wastdale Head. The valley itself is only second to Borrowdale, +and there are grand falls and deep pools in the Esk. +There are also some good rocks, though not quite equal to the +description of Hutchinson, who says that 'Doe Cragg and +Earn Cragg are remarkable precipices, whose fronts are +polished as marble, the one 160 perpendicular yards in height, +the other 120 yards.' Both of these will be seen on the way +up to <i>Mickledoor</i>, the former standing on the right-hand side +at the foot of the steep ascent. It is strange that so few +climbers ever go to this valley.</p> + + +<p><b>Esk Pike</b>, a name given by the shepherds to a peak of +2,903 ft., which stands at the head of the Esk valley. Being +left nameless by the Ordnance six-inch map, it has attracted +to itself the nearest name it could find, and is very commonly +called <i>Hanging Knot</i>, which, in strictness, applies only to the +north shoulder of Bow Fell, where it hangs over Angle Tarn. +It would save some confusion if this name had a wider cur<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>rency +than it has. At the head of Eskdale there is a rather +good gully, which was climbed at the end of September 1892 +by Messrs. Brunskill and Gibbs, whose account of it is that +'its direction is W.N.W., and it consists first of a short pitch +of about 10 ft.; then a slope of 20 ft. at an angle of 60°-65°, +the holds in which are fairly good; and, last, another pitch +at a somewhat similar angle, with an awkward corner of rock +to round. Above this to the top is an easy scramble.'</p> + + +<p><b>Fairfield</b> (2,863 ft.), in Westmorland, sometimes called +Rydal Head in old books, stretches down to Grasmere and +Ambleside; but it is from Patterdale that it should be seen +and climbed. One of the best things on it is <i>Greenhow End</i>, +which stands at the head of Deepdale. The steep part, which +is not wholly crag, is 400 or 500 ft. high, and faces N.E.</p> + +<p>This is the mountain which Miss Martineau so greatly +longed to ascend, and every one knows Mr. Payn's account of +how he encamped upon it.</p> + +<p>There is another <i>Fairfield</i> in the Coniston Fells.</p> + + +<p><b>Falcon Crag</b>, a couple of miles from Keswick, beside +the road to Borrowdale, is not more than 150 or 200 ft. +high, but at many points so vertical as to be quite unclimbable. +The steepest side is also the most exposed to the public gaze. +On the south side there is a deep gully in which excellent +scrambling is to be had.</p> + + +<p><b>Fellpole</b> is a much better word than its foreign equivalent, +'alpenstock'. Except in the depth of winter on the +highest fells it is of much more use than an axe, which is, of +course, indispensable when there is much snow or ice. On<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> +difficult rocks either axe or pole is a great incumbrance; but +where there is much scree, or steep grass, or broken ground, +all three of which abound on the Fells, a pole is a very great +comfort on the descent. Of course, while being used for this +purpose, it must be kept behind the body. On the steep nose +of <i>Fleetwith</i> a fatal accident occurred to a young woman +solely in consequence of her attempting to descend with her +stick held improperly in front of her. This is a fault which +nearly all beginners commit. Nevertheless, it is perfectly +legitimate to use the pole in that way if it is to break the +force of an abrupt drop from rest to rest—as, for instance, +when a slope is broken into binks separated by drops of from +three to six feet. In such cases a jump is often dangerous, +and the life of Mr. Pope, lost on <i>Great Gable</i> in 1882, is only +one of many which have been similarly sacrificed.</p> + + +<p><b>Force Crag</b> is reached from Keswick by way of Braithwaite +station and the long <i>Coledale</i> valley. Here the track +of the disused mining tram is a well-engineered road direct +to the foot of the crag, where the fragments of the baryta +mine are littered about. The best climb is up to the basin, +into which pours the force, and then, leaving the force on the +right, ascend a steep, dry gully. The rock is very treacherous, +being not only loose, but covered with long fringes of rotten +heather. It is very difficult to get out, as the top part steepens +rapidly. The force is very fatal to sheep. On one occasion +the writer counted no less than six of their carcasses in the +basin.</p> + + +<p><b>Froswick.</b>—It is most easily reached from Staveley or +Windermere by following up the valley of the Kent, or from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> +Ambleside by crossing the Garbourn Pass into the same +valley. This hill resembles <i>Ill Bell</i> and <i>Rainsborrow Crag</i> +in character, and has a very steep face towards the north-east, +300 or 400 ft. high. It is on sheet 20 of the Ordnance +map of Westmorland.</p> + + +<p><b>Gaping Gill Hole</b>, in Yorkshire, on the south side of +<i>Ingleborough</i>, is most easily got at from Clapham, on the +Midland Railway. It lies higher up than the well-known +<i>Clapham</i> or <i>Ingleborough Cave</i>, and both should be visited +in the same expedition. The actual funnel is about 8 ft. by +20 ft., and Mr. Birkbeck, of Settle, partly descended it many +years ago. There is a ledge of rock about 190 ft. down, from +which a plumb-line drops a further distance of 166 ft. +Strangers often pass close to the place without finding it.</p> + + +<p><b>Gash Rock.</b>—We are indebted to Colonel Barrow for +this name, which he bestowed on <i>Blea Crag</i> in Langstrath +apparently for no better reason than that he knew a man +called Gash, who did not know the name of the rock, or how +to climb it.</p> + +<p>This rock is the 'spy fortalice' spoken of in Prior's Guide. +It is an upstanding block of squarish outline, conspicuous on +the left hand as one ascends Langstrath from Borrowdale. +It is climbed from the side which faces down the valley, and +is rather a stiff little rock of its inches.</p> + +<p>It was climbed by Mr. Owen Jones and Mr. Robinson on +September 6, 1893, but there is some doubt whether it had +not been done before (see <i>Blea Crag</i>).</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Gavel</b>—apparently the local form in the North of +England of the Southern 'Gable.' In the older maps 'Great +Gable' is usually spelt in this way, and for part of that +mountain the name <i>Gavel Neese</i> (i.e. nose) still lingers +among the shepherds. Generally speaking, in the less frequented +parts, where the names are used only by the +shepherds, we find this form. Thus we have <i>Gavel Fell</i> +between Loweswater and Ennerdale, <i>Gavel-pike</i> on St. Sunday +Crag, <i>Gavelcrag</i> on the south end of <i>High Street</i>, and again +on <i>Seat Sandal</i>, and this form is used in the Lowlands of +Scotland, while on the more frequented <i>Skiddaw</i> we get +<i>Gablegill</i>. In Icelandic, 'gafl' is said to mean 'the end of a +house or of a ship.'</p> + + +<p><b>Gill</b> (or <i>Ghyll</i>).—In a large part of the North of England +this is the regular word for a stream flowing between walls of +rock. It is by many regarded as a test-word for Scandinavian +settlements, and it is certainly more abundant in such +districts, but notice should be taken of the fact that in Kent +it is applied to the steep wooded slopes of a brook-valley. +There is good authority for both spellings, but the less +romantic of the two is to be preferred.</p> + + +<p><b>Gimmer Crag</b>, just behind the inns at <i>Dungeon Gill</i> +in <i>Langdale</i>, has good scrambling on it. Mr. Gwynne says +of it: 'Between <i>Harrison Stickle</i> and the <i>Pike O' Stickle</i>, +commonly called the <i>Sugarloaf</i>, there is a splendid crag that +is full of opportunities. This fine piece of rock, although it +has the appearance of being easy, has the disadvantage of +being wet, and therefore more or less dangerous. However,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> +there are times even in the Lake District when the rain +ceases and the sun shines, and it is then that the climber +should gambol upon this crag.'</p> + + +<p><b>Glaramara</b>—a long broken hill stretching from Stonethwaite +along the east side of Borrowdale to Esk Hause. Its +name is only less disguised than its nature in the description +given of it in the 'Beauties of England,' p. 65: 'Glamarara is +a perpendicular rock of immense height.' Sir W. Scott has +confused it with <i>Blencathra</i>. It contains very little climbing, +but <i>Combe Gill</i> and <i>Pinnacle Bield</i> may be mentioned.</p> + + +<p><b>Gordale Scar</b>—a magnificent limestone ravine near +<i>Malham Cove</i>, in Yorkshire, on the line of the great Craven +Fault. Bell Busk is the nearest station, but Settle (6 miles) +is generally more convenient. It has been prosaically compared +to a winding street between enormously high houses, +with a river falling out of the first-floor window of one of +them. It is easy to pass out at the head, leaving the water +on the right hand; but on the other side of the water there is +quite a little climb, which, however, the writer has seen a +lady do without assistance.</p> + + +<p><b>Goyal.</b>—This west-country word for a gully will not +require explanation for readers of Mr. Blackmore's 'Lorna +Doone.'</p> + + +<p><b>Grain</b>: the northern word for a prong, and hence the usual +name for the branches of a stream.</p> + + +<p><b>Grassmoor</b> (2,791 ft.) in the older maps and guide-books +(such as Robinson's) is often called Grasmere or Grasmire.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> +The only climbs which it presents are on the side which drops +steeply down towards the foot of Crummock Water, and the only +inns within a convenient distance are at Scale Hill (1 mile) +and Buttermere (3 miles). There are two gullies which furrow +the mountain side nearly from top to bottom. The more +southerly of these has two pitches in it close to the foot, and +the upper of the two is generally thought as hard as anything +on the mountain. The approved method of doing it is to +keep the back to the rock until the top of the pitch is nearly +reached, and then to break out on the south side. Above +this pitch the gully is of little interest. The north gully is of +more sustained merit, but, as seen from below, less prominent, +and therefore easily overlooked. It may, however, be recognised +by its liberal output of scree. It has three pitches near +the foot, and in all three the hold is somewhat scanty. The +first forms a narrow gully rising from left to right, and is the +highest and hardest. Higher up than these a broad wall of +rock some 40 ft. high cuts across the gully and gives a pretty +climb. Above the wall there is a branch to the left containing +one little pitch, but the main channel continues. Loose +stones are now the only source of excitement, and climbers +are recommended to get out to the right and finish the ascent +along the rocky ridge of the bank. It is very safe climbing +on this face, yet full of interest and instruction, and for the +initiation of a 'young hand' nothing could be better.</p> + + +<p><b>Great End</b> (2,984 ft.) has not received justice at the +hands of the Government map-makers, who have scamped +their work most shockingly. The six-inch map would lead<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> +the innocent, stranger to imagine that he could ascend from +Sprinkling Tarn by a smooth and gradual slope. The cliffs +are on the right-hand side on the way from Sty Head to Esk +Hause, and are reached from Wastdale or Borrowdale by way +of Sty Head, and from Langdale by Rossett Gill. The best +general view is from Sprinkling Tarn. Col. Barrow, when +citing Great End in his book as an instance of a mountain +with one impossible side, no doubt refers to these cliffs, which, +however, long before he wrote, had been climbed in every direction. +He might reasonably object to <i>Cust's Gully</i>, invented in +1880, as being quite at the end of the cliff; but from a point +some way below the foot of that gully there is an easy passage, +sloping up the face of the cliff very much like Jack's Rake on +<i>Pavey Ark</i>, and this passage was descended by Mr. Cust in +the same year that he discovered the gully. A little later a +couple of ardent fox-hunters got into difficulties in one of the +main gullies, and so drew more attention to these rocks. The +whole face was pretty thoroughly explored by the present +writer in the summer of 1882. Two very fine gullies face +Sprinkling Tarn. <i>Great or Central Gully</i>, the nearer of +the two to <i>Cust's</i>, is also the wider, but not quite so long as +the other. It has a copious scree at the foot, and more than +half-way up it divides into three. The central fork is grassy, +that to the right is more abrupt, while the left-hand way lies +for several yards up a wet slide of smooth and very steep +rock. On the slide itself there is hold enough for comfort; +but on getting off it at the head to the left hand there comes +a bit on a disgustingly rotten buttress which even good +climbers have often found very unpleasant. Above this the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a><br /><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> +gully is more open and very easy, but splendid climbing may +be had on either side of it.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="GREAT_END_FROM_SPRINKLING_TARN"> +<img src="images/i_070.png" width="602" height="400" alt="GREAT END FROM SPRINKLING TARN" /> +<p class="caption">GREAT END FROM SPRINKLING TARN:<br /> +A, Position of <i>Brigg's climb</i> (not seen); B, The east gully; C, The great central gully; D, <i>Cust's gully</i>.</p> +</div> + +<p><i>The South-East Gully</i>, as it is usually called, has its +mouth only some 20 yards east from that of the last. Being +much narrower, it is bridged by numerous 'choke-stones,' and, +while less fine than the other in snow time, offers in summer +a better and rather longer climb. Half-way up or less there +is a fork, the dividing ridge forming quite a sharp <i>arête</i>. +Above it the forks coalesce, and as it nears the top the climb +can be varied a good deal.</p> + +<p><i>Brigg's</i> (or <i>Holmes'</i>) <i>Pitch</i>, of which a photograph will be +found in the Climbers' Book at Wastdale Head, is still nearer +to Esk Hause, which it faces. Mr. Holmes and the Messrs. +Brigg, who climbed it on Easter Monday 1893, describe the +difficulty as consisting in a cave formed quite at the foot of +the cliff by a jammed stone, the top of which is reached by +way of the rocks on the north side of it.</p> + + +<p><b>Great Gable</b> (2,949 ft.) may be ascended with equal +ease from Wastdale or the head of Borrowdale, and is within +easy reach of Buttermere. The simplest way up is by +Sty Head, from which half an hour's rough walking lands +one on to the top. The only alternative for Wastdale is +'Moses Sledgate,' alias <i>Gavel Neese</i>, a ridge of rather steep +grass, which offers a very direct way. There is a bit of +scrambling on White Napes, a rocky mass which tops the +Neese. Beyond this <i>Westmorland's Cairn</i> is left on the right +hand and the summit cairn comes into sight. People coming +from Buttermere usually go round the head of Ennerdale<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> +over Green Gable, and this is the way generally taken by +Borrowdale visitors for the return journey. The climbing on +this mountain is quite first-class. The <i>Napes</i>, <i>Napes Needle</i>, +and <i>Kern Knotts</i> are separately described, but in addition to +these there are grand crags overlooking Ennerdale. These +are referred to in Col. Barrow's book in the passage where he +defies the Alpine Club to ascend the most difficult side of +certain Lake mountains.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="PLAN_OF_GREAT_GABLE"> +<img src="images/i_072.png" width="488" height="400" alt="PLAN OF GREAT GABLE" /> +<p class="caption">PLAN OF GREAT GABLE:<br /> +A, <i>Westmorland's Cairn</i>; B, <i>White Napes</i>; C, E, <i>Little and Great Hell Gate</i>; +D, <i>Great Napes</i>; F, <i>Napes Needle</i>.</p> +</div> + +<p>No one seems even to have looked at these crags till in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> +1882 Mr. Pope met his death on this side of the mountain. +In that year the writer found that it was an easy matter to +coast along the face of the cliff at about two-thirds of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> +height of it, and a year or two later that for all the ferocious +appearance of these rocks there is a natural passage by which +a mountain sheep of ordinary powers might ascend them. +Close to this are the remains of a sort of hut of loose stones, +evidently the refuge of some desperate fugitive of half a +century or more ago. Local tradition speaks of a notorious +distiller of illicit whisky, who was known to have a 'hide' +somewhere in this wild neighbourhood. The top of the easy +passage bears by prismatic compass 23° from the highest +cairn, and is marked by a large stone.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="GREAT_GABLE_FROM_THE_SOUTH-EAST"> +<img src="images/i_073.png" width="400" height="419" alt="GREAT GABLE FROM THE SOUTH-EAST" /> +<p class="caption">GREAT GABLE FROM THE SOUTH-EAST<br /> +A, <i>Kirkfell</i>; B, <i>Beckhead</i>; C, <i>White Napes</i>; D, <i>Great Napes</i>; E, <i>Westmorland's +Cairn</i>; F, Summit; G, <i>Tom Blue</i>; H, <i>Kern Knotts</i>. +The path to <i>Sty Head</i> is seen mounting from left to right.</p> +</div> + +<p>To the east of this spot there is fine climbing, the rocks +being on a grand scale and difficult on that account. At +intervals large masses are detached by such agencies as frost, +and heavy falls result. One of these carried with it a slab +pinnacle which, though only about 15 ft. high, was remarkably +difficult. The writer, and Messrs. Hastings and Robinson +gave themselves the trouble of climbing it, and consequently +heard of its untimely departure with deep regret.</p> + +<p>In April 1890 Mr. J.W. Robinson greatly assisted subsequent +climbers by inserting a sketch in the Wastdale Head +book, and this sketch has been the usual basis of later work.</p> + +<p>Gable has the threefold excellence of being splendid to +look at, splendid to look from, and splendid to climb; and one +can easily understand the enthusiasm of Mr. F.H. Bowring, +who has ascended it over one hundred times.</p> + + +<p><b>Green Crag.</b>—A good piece of rock, though not as sound +as it might be, at the head of <i>Warnscale</i>, the recess between +<i>Fleetwith</i> and <i>Scarf Gap</i>. It is reached from Buttermere<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> +by way of Gatesgarth, and then by the quarry track which +goes up on the south side of Fleetwith to <i>Dubs</i>. There is a +fine gully in the crag which is unmistakable. A note of the +ascent of it was made by Messrs. J.W. Robinson and W.A. +Wilson in August 1889.</p> + + +<p><b>Griff</b>—a valley-name in east Yorkshire, probably connected +with 'greave,' which is common in Derbyshire. +Phillips says that the Yorkshire word means 'a narrow, rugged +valley.'</p> + + +<p><b>Gurnard's Head</b>, in Cornwall, not far from St. Ives, +is a fine promontory on which there is good climbing. It is +here that the greenstone ends and the granite begins, prevailing +from this point practically right on to the Land's End.</p> + + +<p><b>Hanging Knot.</b>—See also <i>Esk Pike</i>. The steep breast +above Angle Tarn contains no continuous climb, but there +are several good bits in the rocks and gullies which connect +the terraces.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="HANGING_KNOT_FROM_ANGLE_TARN"> +<img src="images/i_076.png" width="615" height="400" alt="HANGING KNOT FROM ANGLE TARN" /> +<p class="caption">HANGING KNOT FROM ANGLE TARN</p> +</div> + + +<p><b>Hard Knot.</b>—'Eske,' says Camden, 'springeth up at +the foote of <i>Hardknot</i>, an high steepe mountaine, in the top +whereof were discovered of late huge stones and foundations +of a castle not without great wonder, considering it is so steepe +and upright that one can hardly ascend up to it.'</p> + +<p>This refers of course to the Roman camp, which is +nowhere near the top. The 'mountaine' scarcely deserves +the name; it is not high, and though rugged offers no climbing. +Writers much later than Camden refer to it as if it were one +of the highest hills in England. Even Gray, in his <i>Journal</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a><br /><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> +says 'Wrynose and Hardknot, two great mountains, rise +above the rest.'</p> + +<p>The usually accurate West introduces in the funniest way +both 'the broken ridge of Wrynose' and 'the overhanging +cliff of Hardknot' into his description of the view from Belle +Isle on Windermere, and says that they, with others,'form as +magnificent an amphitheatre, and as grand an assemblage of +mountains, as ever the genius of Poussin,' &c.; and then adds +a note to say that they 'are named as being in the environs, +and are in reality not seen from the island.'</p> + + +<p><b>Harrison Stickle</b>, 'the next neighbour of <i>Pavey Ark</i>, +is another happy hunting-ground for beginners. There are +at least four good routes up. There is one to the north-east +which is fairly difficult. Due south there are two or three +rather steep gills, that may be climbed with a certain amount +of ease. But in no case should the climber, even on the +easiest of these routes, omit to use the rope and take every +precaution against preventable accidents.' Thus speaks Mr. +Gwynne in the <i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>, and to his remarks little +need be added, except that it must be borne in mind nothing +on this group is quite in the same class as <i>Pavey Ark</i>. The +obvious starting-point for either is Dungeon Gill at the very +foot, where there are two inns, but Grasmere is within easy +reach, being only about an hour further off.</p> + + +<p><b>Hause</b> (<i>hass</i>, <i>horse</i>, <i>-ourse</i>, <i>-ose</i>): used in the North for a pass. +The word means 'neck' or 'throat,' the latter being the sense +most felt in local names, where it refers more to lateral contraction +than to vertical depression, being thus parallel to <i>gorge</i> rather +than to <i>col</i>.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Haystacks</b>, just east of Scarf Gap, has one craggy +bit on it where, as appears from the curious map published in +the <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i> for 1751, eagles then built. The +name is often quoted as an instance of the Norse word which +occurs in <i>Stack Polly</i>, and frequently on the Scotch coast, +but West says it was called <i>Hayrick</i> (<i>sic</i>) on account of its +shape.</p> + + +<p><b>Hell Gate.</b>—A channel on <i>Great Gable</i>, just by the east +end of the <i>Napes</i>. It is the outlet for immense quantities of +scree. The older name, <i>Deep Gill</i>, has during the last twenty +years being quite supplanted. The present name, if less +pretty, is more precise, and saves confusion with the better +known <i>Deep Gill</i> on <i>Scafell</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Hell Gill.</b>—There are many gills and becks bearing this +name. Speaking of one in Yorkshire, Leland says it is 'a +Bek called Hell Gill because it runnithe in such a deadely +place. This Gill commithe to Ure.' The idea is amplified +by Camden: 'Where Richmondshire bordereth upon Lancashire +amongst the mountaines it is in most places so +vast, solitary, unpleasant and unsightly, so mute and still also +that the borderers dwelling thereby have called certaine riverets +creeping this waie "Hellbecks." But especially that about +the head of the river Ure, which having a bridge over it of one +entier stone falleth downe such a depth, that it striketh in a +certaine horror to as many as looke downe.' The best known +Hell Gill, which at one time had considerable reputation as +a climb, is quite near the foot of <i>Bowfell</i> on the Langdale side. +Though on a small scale, it is highly picturesque. The south<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> +fork is hardly passable in ordinary weather owing to a small +waterfall, below which is a deep pool flanked by perpendicular +walls of rock, and except in very dry seasons it is +necessary to crawl up the red rotten slabs, steep, slimy, and +wet, which form the north fork. The gill should be visited +more often than it is, as it is directly on one of the best ways +up the mountain from Dungeon Gill and Langdale generally.</p> + + +<p><b>Helm Crag.</b>—Colonel Barrow, speaking of this hill, +observes that climbing among these rocks requires care. +There are places quite as dangerous and as difficult as on any +rock-work on the Alps. He was deterred from climbing the +rock which is supposed to resemble a mortar, by a slab of +rock slanting sideways, but in his opinion there was no great +difficulty, except that arising from the absence of hold for +hand and foot—an exception of some importance.</p> + + +<p><b>Helvellyn.</b>—A mountain which belongs equally to +Grasmere and to Patterdale, though the latter has by far the +finest side of it. <i>Striding Edge</i> on this side was at one time +considered to present terrors such as the hardy mountaineer +was not likely to encounter elsewhere. This side is cut up +into deep coves, which are exceedingly steep and afford many +opportunities for scrambling, and near the path in Grisedale +there is one of the numerous <i>Eagle Crags</i>.</p> + +<p>On the west side there is no climbing on the mountain +itself, but on the range of <i>Dodds</i>, which runs away to the +north, there is capital work to be found; see <i>Bram Crag</i> +and <i>Wanthwaite Crags</i>. It was in connection with Helvellyn<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> +that Colonel Barrow issued his famous challenge to the +Alpine Club. After stating that he had ascended the mountain +by every possible way of getting up it, and that it is the +easiest of mountains to ascend from any direction that is +possible, he continues: 'No one, I think, will venture the +impossible, which may be found on all the highest mountains +in the Lake District. They have their precipitous sides for +adventurous climbers, who, I promise, will never get up them +even if they have a mind to try—viz., these, <i>Great Gable</i>, +<i>Great End</i>, <i>Helvellyn</i>, <i>Fairfield</i>, &c. Most of the difficult +things in the Alps have been accomplished. Here is a new +field for any of the adventurous climbers of our club: let them +try these precipitous sides!' Helvellyn was long regarded as +the loftiest of the Lake mountains, the height assigned to it +by West being 3,324 ft., and even its tame grassy slopes +towards <i>Wythburn</i> were thought very terrible indeed. In +the 'Beauties of England' Thirlmere is described as 'a scene +of desolation which is much heightened by the appearance of +the immense craggy masses, that seem to hang on the sides +of Helvellyn, from whose slopes they have apparently been +severed, but arrested in their tremendous progress down the +mountain by the impulse of gravitation. Huge and innumerable +fragments of rocks hang pendant from its sides, and +appear ready to fall and overwhelm the curious traveller who +dares to ascend its wild and fantastic heights.'</p> + + +<p><b>Heron Crag</b>, Eskdale.—A rock in <i>Eskdale</i> (q.v.) which +was long reputed inaccessible. It was supposed to be 120 +yards high, and to have a front like polished marble. It will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> +be found north of the Esk river, not far from <i>Throstlegarth</i> +(Cumberland, sheet 79).</p> + + +<p><b>High Level.</b>—This name was bestowed about the year +1880 on a particular route, by means of which the north-east +foot of the <i>Pillar Rock</i> may be reached from <i>Black Sail</i> +along the face of the mountain, thus avoiding the descent +into Ennerdale and the subsequent laborious ascent to the +rock. The saving in time is very considerable, but the way +is so easily missed in thick weather that a stranger who +attempted it would probably gain nothing but an exciting +walk.</p> + +<p>After reaching the slight hollow between <i>Lookingstead</i> +and <i>Pillar Fell</i>, <i>Green Cove</i> is seen below. Here a descent +may be made at once, but it is better to proceed westward +till about two dozen uprights of the iron railing are passed, +and then to descend, keeping as much to the left as the cliffs +will allow. The whole art of choosing a line along this face +is to cross each successive cove as high up as may be done +without getting impeded by rocky ground. The ridges which +separate the coves mostly form small headlands, and just +above each headland a strip of smooth grass crosses the +ridge. Economy in time is usually of more importance at +the end than at the beginning of a day, and it is well to know +that, whereas from the foot of the rock to <i>Black Sail</i> by +way of the valley would take up the greater part of an hour, +Mr. Hastings and the writer once timed themselves on the +<i>High Level</i>, and found that they reached <i>Lookingstead</i> in +18 minutes and the ford in Mosedale in seven minutes more.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>High Stile</b>, in Cumberland, between Ennerdale and +Buttermere, has a height of 2,643 ft., and on its north-west +side a few good crags. It is best reached by following up +the course of <i>Sour Milk Gill</i> from the foot of Buttermere to +<i>Bleaberry Tarn</i>, which can be reached from any of the inns +in an hour's walking. In a note made in the Wastdale Head +book in August 1887, Mr. Robinson called attention to these +rocks, and he it is who has done most of the exploration here.</p> + +<p>The principal climbing is in and about a gully in the +centre. A course may be taken up very steep grassy binks +with the gully on the right hand. The gully itself was +climbed direct in September 1893 by Messrs. Jones, +Robinson and Wilson, and they found the second pitch very +difficult. The same party also ascended 'a short, black-looking +chimney away round on the left of the great crag, +and nearer the top of the mountain.' The very hard upper +pitch was passed on the right hand, and the final pull was by +the arms alone. Both climbs are in full view from Rigg's +Buttermere Hotel.</p> + +<p>The mountain is called <i>High Steel</i> in some early maps, +and in that of the Ordnance it comes on sheet 69.</p> + + +<p><b>High Street</b>, with the Roman road running all along its +ridge, lies between Patterdale and Mardale Green, in Westmorland. +It has a fine precipitous side towards the latter +place at Blea Water (see <i>Dixon's Three Jumps</i>), and at the +south end of it, about Gavel Crag and Bleathwaite Crag, there +are some good rocky faces, which can be readily found by +following up the course of the beck from Kentmere.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Hobcarton Crags</b> have a considerable repute, which +they have only retained by reason of their not being very +easily got at. The simplest way of reaching them from +Keswick is to take the train to Braithwaite, then go up the +straight Coledale until Force Crag is passed, then trace the +stream which comes down the hill on the right. Hobcarton +is just over the ridge, and the crags are on the left-hand +side of the valley. A descent may be made of a ridge which +forms the right bank of a gill, which runs from near the +col where you are now standing; the gill itself is too rotten.</p> + +<p>The <i>Crags</i> are very steep and very rotten; but there +is one curiosity about them, in the shape of a continuous +sloping ledge, growing very narrow indeed towards the top. +It rises gradually in the direction of <i>Hopegillhead</i>. The crags +are picturesque, but can be traversed in any direction without +difficulty, and present no definite climb. Another way of +reaching them from Keswick is by crossing Whinlatter Pass, +and on the far side turning up the first valley to the left hand.</p> + + +<p><b>Honister</b>, one of the grandest crags in Cumberland, +is reached from either Buttermere or Borrowdale. It is one +of the chief attractions of the 'Buttermere Round' made +by the breaks from Keswick. If quarrymen could only have +been persuaded to let it alone, it would have been a delightful +climbing ground; as things are, we can only look and +long. Apart from the great crag there is a fine view of the +lakes below from the summit (called <i>Fleetwith Pike</i>). Owing +to its position near the black-lead mines, this was one of +the earliest Lake mountains of which we have a recorded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> +ascent. It was made before the middle of last century, and, +so far as can be made out, these early mountaineers ascended +from Seathwaite and passed to the northward of <i>Grey +Knotts</i>, and so to the top of Fleetwith. 'The precipices +were surprisingly variegated with apices, prominencies, +spouting jets of water, cataracts and rivers that were +precipitated from the cliffs with an alarming noise' +[Sourmilkgill]. On reaching the apparent top, they were +astonished to perceive a large plain to the west, and +from thence another craggy ascent, which they reckoned at +500 yards. 'The whole mountain is called <i>Unnisterre</i> or, +as I suppose, Finisterre, for such it appears to be.' In +about another hour two of the party gained this summit—'the +scene was terrifying—the horrid projection of vast +promontories, the vicinity of the clouds, the thunder of the +explosions in the slate quarries, the dreadful solitude, the +distance of the plain below, and the mountains heaped on +mountains that were lying around us desolate and waste, +like the ruins of a world which we only had survived +excited such ideas of horror as are not to be expressed. +We turned from this fearful prospect, afraid even of ourselves, +and bidding an everlasting farewell to so perilous +an elevation. We descended to our companions, repassed +the mines, got to Seathwayte, were cheerfully regaled by an +honest farmer in his <i>puris naturalibus</i>, and returned to +Keswic about nine at night.'</p> + + +<p><b>Hope</b> (<i>-hop</i>, <i>-up</i>): used by Leland as equivalent to 'brook,' +but usually taken to mean a retired upland valley. The Icelandic +'hop' is applied to landlocked bays.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Hough</b>—a hill name in east Yorkshire. Phillips says +that it is equivalent to 'barf,' and means 'a detached hill.' +It is pronounced 'hauf.' If this be the exact sense, it can +hardly be the same word as 'heugh,' which is used further +north for 'crag' or 'precipice,' and it is perhaps merely another +form of 'how' or 'haugh.'</p> + + +<p><b>How</b> (<i>-oe</i>, <i>-ah</i>, <i>-a</i>, <i>-haw</i>): a Norse word for a burial mound, +found all over the North of England.</p> + + +<p><b>Ice-axe.</b>—On the high Fells in time of snow an axe is +a safeguard of vital importance. Quite apart, too, from the +comfort and security which it alone can give, it is an +implement which can only be properly manipulated after +long practice, and consequently a beginner should eagerly +avail himself of every opportunity of acquiring dexterity in +the use of it. From Christmas to Easter there is nearly +always snow enough on the fells of Cumberland to give +excellent practice in step-cutting.</p> + + +<p><b>Ill Bell.</b>—A Westmorland hill forming a series of +three with <i>Froswick</i> and <i>Rainsborrow Crag</i>. Its north +or north-easterly face is very steep for a height of about +300 ft. Staveley is perhaps the best starting-point for +these three; but they can be managed quite easily from +Ambleside or Mardale Green. <i>Ill Bell</i> is on sheet 20 of +the Ordnance map of Westmorland.</p> + + +<p><b>Ingleborough</b>, 2,361 ft., one of the most striking of +the Yorkshire mountains, of which the poet Gray spoke as +'that huge creature of God.' Readers of the 'Heart of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> +Midlothian' will remember how it reminded Jeannie Deans +of her 'ain countrie.' The most exaggerated ideas of its +height formerly prevailed. Even in 1770 it was commonly +reckoned at 3,987 ft., and Hurtley actually gives 5,280 ft.</p> + +<p>Its top is only about four miles from Clapham, and +ponies can go all the way. It is ascended far and away more +frequently than any other Yorkshire hill, and consists mainly +of limestone cliffs and slopes of shale, with a certain amount +of millstone grit.</p> + +<p>Here are some very remarkable caves (see <i>Alum Pot</i> +and <i>Gaping Gill Hole</i>), and of some of these there is an early +description by Mr. Adam Walker in the <i>Evening General +Post</i> for September 25, 1779, which is quoted by West, and +an account of an ascent of it made in the year 1761 is also +extant.</p> + + +<p><b>Jack's Rake</b> is a natural passage across the face of +<i>Pavey Ark</i> in Langdale. The first notice ever taken of it by +any but shepherds was a note in the visitors' book belonging +to the inn at Dungeon Gill by Mr. R. Pendlebury, who spoke +highly of it, considering it to be a striking yet simple excursion +among magnificent rock scenery. After a time the +world came to look at <i>Pavey Ark</i>, and seeing an impossible-looking +combination of ravine and precipice, concluded, not +unnaturally, that it must be what Mr. Pendlebury had found +a pleasant yet simple stroll. Under this delusion, they +began to try to climb what is now known as the Great Gully +in <i>Pavey Ark</i>, and did not expect to find a place anything +like the real <i>Jack's Rake</i>.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span></p> + +<p>Mr. Gwynne, in 1892, says of it: 'Along the face of the +cliff there runs a ledge that looks from below hardly wide +enough for a cat to stand upon. However, if an attempt is +made to climb it, it will be found wide enough for two fat +men walking abreast. Towards the top it tapers off again, +and the climber will have to do a bit of scrambling to get on +to the summit of the precipice. This is a climb which offers +no difficulty whatever, unless the climber is given to attacks +of giddiness, and if that is the case there will hardly be any +need to tell him that he has no business there at all. This +ledge, however, offers a multitude of good opportunities to the +climber. It runs obliquely across the face of the precipice, +but it need not necessarily be followed throughout its length +by the mountaineer who wishes for something a little more +exciting.</p> + +<p>'About halfway up there runs on to the ledge a chimney +which, when it is not a small waterfall, forms a pleasant +climb to some broken rock above, whence the summit is easily +reached. If, however, the water in the chimney makes it +uncomfortable and unpleasant for the climber, he may still +arrive at the top of it by choosing a long bit of steep smooth +rock to the left. There are two cliffs which afford fairly +good hand and foot holds, and from there the top of the +chimney is attained.'</p> + +<p>It is remarkable that a gallery more or less resembling +this is found on many of the chief precipices in the Lakes. +There is a steeper one on the Ennerdale Crags of <i>Great Gable</i>; +there are two on the Ennerdale face of the <i>Pillar Rock</i>, and on +<i>Scafell</i> the <i>Rake's Progress</i> and <i>Lord's Rake</i> in their mutual<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a><br /><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> +relation closely resemble this rake and the wide gully at the +north end of it.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="PAVEY_ARK_AND_STICKLE_TARN"> +<img src="images/i_088.png" width="591" height="400" alt="PAVEY ARK AND STICKLE TARN" /> +<p class="caption">PAVEY ARK AND STICKLE TARN<br /> +A, Narrow gully; B, Big gully; C, D, Smaller gullies; E, Wide scree gully. From the foot of E to A runs <i>Jack's Rake</i>.</p> +</div> + + +<p><b>Kern Knotts</b> are on the south side of <i>Gable</i>, close to +the <i>Sty Head</i>. There is a short but difficult gully here on +the side facing Wastdale, which was climbed by Messrs. +Owen Jones and Robinson in 1893, but described by them +under the name of <i>Tom Blue</i>, a rock much higher up the +mountain.</p> + + +<p><b>Keswick.</b>—Though rather too distant from the very +best climbing, this is an excellent centre in point of variety.</p> + +<p>Of <i>Skiddaw</i> and <i>Saddleback</i> it enjoys a monopoly, while +<i>Helvellyn</i>, <i>Gable</i> and <i>Scafell Pikes</i> are all within the +compass of a day's work. The railway is a convenience, of +course, but not as useful as one might expect in extending +the field of operations, because most of the places to which it +goes are of little interest. The town is very well supplied +with driving facilities, such as coaches, breaks and omnibuses.</p> + +<p>The clay-slate of which the Skiddaw and Grassmoor +groups are composed provides climbing of smaller quantity +and inferior quality to that found among the harder rocks +of what is called the 'Borrowdale Series,' but there are a few +good scrambles west of Derwentwater, such as <i>Eel</i> (or <i>Ill</i>) +<i>Crag</i>, <i>Force Crag</i>, and <i>Hobcarton</i>. The nearest good rocks +are in the neighbourhood of <i>Wallow Crag</i>, but there is no +pleasure in climbing with a crowd of gaping excursionists +below. A much pleasanter day may be spent in a visit to +<i>Wanthwaite</i>. Of Keswick itself an early writer says that +the poorer inhabitants subsist chiefly by stealing or clandes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>tinely +buying of those who steal the black-lead, which they +sell to Jews and other hawkers; but whatever changes the +character of the people has or has not undergone, it is not +easy to believe that the scenery is the same as that which +the early writers describe.</p> + +<p>Camden's tone is neutral: 'Compassed about with +deawy hilles and fensed on the North side with that high +mountaine <i>Skiddaw</i> lieth <i>Keswike</i>;' but two centuries later, +when the place began to be fashionable, this description +would not have satisfied any one. The great characteristic +of the scenery was considered to be its power of inspiring +terror. Dr. Brown in his famous 'Letter' dwells upon the +'rocks and cliffs of stupendous height hanging broken over +the lake in horrible grandeur, some of them a thousand feet +high, the woods climbing up their steep and shaggy sides, +where mortal foot never yet approached. On these dreadful +heights the eagles build their nests, ... while on all sides of +this immense amphitheatre the lofty mountains rise round, +piercing the clouds in shapes as spiry and fantastic as the +very rocks of Dovedale.... The full perfection of Keswick +consists of three circumstances, <i>beauty</i>, <i>horror</i> and <i>immensity</i> +united.'</p> + + +<p><b>Kirkfell</b> has two fine buttresses of rock at the back, +facing Ennerdale, but they are broken up and so only fit for +practice climbs. They are, however, not unfrequently +assailed by climbers who imagine themselves to be scaling +the crags of Great Gable. The direct ascent from Wastdale +is one of the steepest lengths of grass slope to be found<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> +among these hills. The only gully on this fell is <i>Illgill</i>, +which faces <i>Lingmell</i> and contains two or three severe +pitches. It is rather seldom visited, and is exposed to falling +stones.</p> + + +<p><b>Lancashire.</b>—Though some of the rough country which +borders on Yorkshire contains a rocky bit here and there, +Lancashire climbing has no real interest except in that part +of it which belongs to the Lake country. The climax of this +part is reached in the neighbourhood of <i>Coniston</i>. South of +the Lakes there are some limestone crags of striking form. +The impression produced on Defoe by what we consider the +exceptionally beautiful scenery of the Lune valley is curious. +'This part of the country seemed very strange and dismal to +us (nothing but mountains in view and stone walls for +hedges; sour oatcakes for bread, or clapat-bread as it is +called). As these hills were lofty, so they had an aspect of +terror. Here were no rich pleasant valleys between them as +among the Alps; no lead mines and veins of rich ore as in +the Peak; no coal-pits as in the hills about Halifax, but all +barren and wild and of no use either to man or beast.'</p> + + +<p><b>Langdale.</b>—(See <i>Bowfell</i>, <i>Pavey Ark</i> and <i>Pike +o'Stickle</i>, <i>Gimmer Crag</i>, <i>Harrison Stickle</i>, <i>Oak How</i>.) By +many thought the finest valley in Westmorland; the name is +often written Langden or Langdon by old authorities.</p> + +<p>Dungeon Gill has always been a favourite haunt of +climbing folk, and from this base strong walkers can easily +manage to reach <i>Scafell</i>, <i>Gable</i>, <i>Coniston</i>, <i>Old Man</i>, or <i>Helvellyn</i> +in the day.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Limestone</b> is abundant in Derbyshire and Yorkshire, +and forms the fine cliffs of Cheddar in Somerset, Berry Head +in Devon, Anstis Cove and others; indeed most of the +south coast of Devon and Cornwall east of Penzance is of this +material. Chudleigh Rock and Morwell Rocks on the river +Tamar are very striking. West, speaking of this rock in +Lancashire, says, 'The whiteness and neatness of these rocks +take off every idea of <i>horror</i> that might be suggested by +their bulk or form.' In England it is very rare to find limestone +which is a satisfactory material on which to climb.</p> + + +<p><b>Lingmell</b>, called <i>Lingmoor</i> by Wilkinson, is a mere +shoulder of Scafell Pike. It has, however, some fine cliffs +facing those of <i>Great Napes</i> on Gable; between these two +Housman thought a collision imminent. These used to be +thought inaccessible, but were climbed by Mr. Bowring about +1880. There is a striking view of them from near Sty Head. +The eye looks right along the dark ravine of Piers Gill, which +is apparently overhung by the long line of these crags, rising +from tongues of rock divided by huge fan-shaped banks of +scree. There is a good deal of chance about the climbing +here. It may be exciting, or you may just happen to avoid +what difficulties there are. It is a very treacherous rock, +especially low down, where curious long stone pegs are lightly +stuck in the ground and come away at the first touch. A +few feet below the top stands a curious pinnacle of forbidding +appearance, of which a sensational photograph has been taken; +but Mr. Robinson found one side from which the top is +reached with ridiculous ease. Further west there are gullies<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> +facing Kirkfell which are worth climbing, though there is +much unsound rock. (See also <i>Piers Gill</i>.)</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="LINGMELL_AND_PIERS_GILL"> +<img src="images/i_093.png" width="550" height="400" alt="LINGMELL AND PIERS GILL" /> +<p class="caption">LINGMELL AND PIERS GILL</p> +</div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Lingmoor</b>, rather over a mile south-east of Millbeck +Inn, and near Oak How, is a little pinnacle of which a photograph +and a description by Mr. H.A. Gwynne will be found +in the Climbers' book at that place. In old maps the name +is sometimes found applied to <i>Lingmell</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Lord's Rake.</b>—A well-known scree-shoot in the north +face of Scafell, for the ascent of which from Mickledoor it +offers an easy route without climbing. The earliest account +of its being used for this purpose is in the <i>Penny Magazine</i> +for 1837 at p. 293: 'It is very laborious and looks dangerous,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> +but in fact there is no risk except that of a sprained ankle. +It is through the Lord's Rake, a shaft between two vertical +walls of rock about five yards across all the way up, and +twenty or twenty-five minutes' hard climbing on all fours up +a slope of about 45°. The place must have been cut out by +a watercourse, but is now dry and covered with light shingle. +It looks right down into Hollow Stones (the deep vale between +the Pikes and Scafell), and most fearful it does look, +but it is not dangerous. When we reached the inn at Eskdale +over Scafell my shepherd was very proud of having +brought me through the Lord's Rake, and the people were +much surprised. It seems to be rather a feat in the country. +It is the strangest place I ever saw. It may be recommended +to all who can bear hard labour and enjoy the appearance of +danger without the reality.' 'Prior's Guide' contained the +first good description of this rake.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="LORDS_RAKE_AND_RAKES_PROGRESS"> +<img src="images/i_094.png" width="561" height="400" alt="LORD'S RAKE AND RAKE'S PROGRESS" /> +<p class="caption">LORD'S RAKE AND RAKE'S PROGRESS<br /> +A, The foot of <i>Moss Gill</i>; B, The foot of <i>Steep Gill</i>; C-D, <i>Lord's Rake</i>; +C-A, Part of <i>Rake's Progress</i>.</p> +</div> + + +<p><b>Luxulion</b>, in Cornwall, is of interest to the mineralogist +and the travelled mountaineer on account of its enormous +block.</p> + +<p>According to Mr. Baddeley, this is the largest block in +Europe, larger than any of the famous boulders at the head +of the Italian lakes, and it may take rank with the largest +known, the Agassiz blocks in the Tijuca mountains near Rio +Janeiro. He gives the dimensions as 49 feet by 27 feet with +72 feet girth, yet makes no allusion to the <i>Bowder Stone</i> in +<i>Borrowdale</i>, which in another work he describes as being +60 feet long, 30 feet high, and weighing 1,900 tons. It would +appear, therefore, that the <i>Bowder Stone</i> is considerably<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> +larger than the largest stone in Europe without being so remarkable +for size as another stone in England.</p> + + +<p><b>Malham Cove.</b>—A fine example of the limestone scenery +of the Craven Fault. The river Aire gushes forth from the +base of the cove, which can easily be seen in the same excursion +as <i>Gordale Scar</i>. The nearest town is Skipton-in-Craven +and the nearest station Bell Busk, but Settle is very +little farther and will generally be found the most convenient +starting-point.</p> + + +<p><b>Mardale Green</b>, at the head of Hawes Water, is a delightful +and little visited spot. In the way of climbing it +commands <i>High Street</i>, <i>Harter Fell</i>, <i>Froswick</i>, <i>Ill Bell</i>, and +<i>Rainsborrow Crag</i>. The best near climbs are about <i>Bleawater</i> +and <i>Riggindale</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Mellbreak.</b>—One of the few Cumberland fells which +the indefatigable Colonel Barrow seems to have left unvisited; +yet no one who stops at Scale Hill or Buttermere will consider +wasted a day spent upon it. The proper course is to +begin at the end which faces Loweswater village and ascend +by <i>Frier's Gill</i>, a nice little climb. Having reached the +top of the gill and then the summit plateau, proceed to the +hollow about the middle of the mountain, and from there +descend the highly curious <i>Pillar Rake</i>, which gradually +slopes down towards the foot of Crummock Water. It is not +a climb, but any one who is not content with the study of +mountain form can find climbing in the little gullies which +ascend the rocks above the rake. Sheet 63 of the Ordnance +map of Cumberland contains it.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Mickledoor Chimney</b>, in the cliffs of Scafell, is not the +easiest, but the most obvious point at which to attack them. +It is conspicuous from the <i>Pikes</i>, and would probably be +selected by any experienced stranger as the most vulnerable +point. It was visited about the year 1869 by Mr. C.W. +Dymond, who contributed to 'Prior's Guide' the earliest +and best description of it. He says that, 'leaving <i>Mickledoor</i> +Ridge, you pass the fissure leading to <i>Broad Stand</i>, and continue +descending steeply for two minutes, which brings you +to a narrow gully in the rock, with a thread of water trickling +down it over moss. This is the <i>cheminée</i> to be ascended, +and there is no special difficulty in it until you are near the +top. Here the gully, of which the 'chimney' forms the +lower section, is effectually blocked for some distance, and +the only alternative is to climb out of it by the rock which +forms the right wall, and which is about 12 ft. high, the +lower six vertical and the upper a steep slant. This, which +can only be scaled <i>à la</i> chimney-sweep, is exceedingly difficult, +as is also the gymnastic feat of escaping to <i>terra firma</i> +from the narrow shelf on which the shoulder-and-hip work +lands you.' This is very clear and in the main correct, +but there is another and easier exit much lower down called +'the Corner,' and there is a third exit only a few feet from +the mouth of the chimney. All these are on the right hand, +for the opposite bank is not only much higher and much +smoother, but would lead to nothing if it were surmounted. +It is not really necessary to enter the chimney at all, for the +edge presented where the bank cuts the wall bounding the +screes is quite assailable, and just right of it there is a point<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> +which may even be called easy; but two terrible accidents +which have occurred at this spot prove the necessity of care.</p> + +<p>Until the extraordinarily dry season of 1893 the moss-grown +block at the very head of the chimney had never been +climbed. It was accomplished on the 12th of September by +Mr. W.H. Fowler. By standing on the shoulders of a tall +man he was able to reach a slight hold and to establish himself +on a rough rectangular block forming the floor of a recess +big enough to hold one man. The block above it was holdless, +and overhanging and loose stones were a great nuisance.</p> + + +<p><b>Micklefell.</b>—The highest mountain in Yorkshire, but +except on that account it possesses no special attraction. +The best starting-point is the High Force Inn in Teesdale, +5 miles from Middleton. By making the round of the mountain +from High Force to Appleby some very fine rock-scenery +may be enjoyed.</p> + + +<p><b>Millstone grit.</b>—A material which is very abundant in +Yorkshire and Derbyshire. It is fairly firm, but seldom +affords a climb of any sustained interest. Few kinds of rock +weather into such eccentric forms, and of this propensity +<i>Brimham Rocks</i> are a good example. It forms most of the +'Edges' in Derbyshire, and generally speaking a precipice +at the top of a hill is of this material, while those at the foot +are of limestone.</p> + + +<p><b>Moses' Sledgate</b> is a curious track, which has evidently +been engineered with considerable care, running from near +Seatoller in Borrowdale at the back of <i>Brandreth</i>, round +the head of Ennerdale below <i>Green</i> and <i>Great Gable</i>, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> +then over Beck Head and down Gavel Neese into Wastdale. +The question is, who made it and for what purpose was it +used? A few years ago, the writer, while climbing with two +friends among the crags on the Ennerdale side of <i>Great Gable</i>, +stumbled quite by chance on something which seemed to +throw a side-light on the question. This was a ruined hut +thickly overgrown with moss, and showing no trace of any +wood having been employed in its construction. The spot had +evidently been chosen primarily with a view to concealment, +and the result of enquiries kindly made since then by one of +my friends has been to elicit proof of certain traditions still lingering +among the older inhabitants of these dales concerning +a noted distiller of illicit spirits, who flourished and defied the +law among these wild retreats. At the same time it is not +easy to believe that a smuggler would have undertaken the +construction of such a path as this. In the South of England, +it is true that the smugglers were considerable roadmakers; +but that was at a time when smuggling was a great and +well-organised institution, and it seems much more probable +in this case that Moses made use of an old path constructed +for some purpose which had at that time been abandoned.</p> + +<p>The terms 'Moses' Path' and 'Moses' Trod' are also used +to describe this track. It is not noticed in the guide-books, +but something is said about it by Mrs. Lynn Linton.</p> + + +<p><b>Moss Gill</b>, on Scafell, is the next gully on the east or +<i>Mickledoor</i> side of <i>Steep Gill</i>. The name <i>Sweep Gill</i> ('from +the probable profession of the future first climber of its extraordinary +vertical chimneys') was suggested for it by Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> +Gilson shortly after its discovery, but that name has been +entirely superseded. The first mention of it in the Wastdale +Head book is a note by the present writer in June 1889,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> +recommending it to any one in search of a new and difficult +climb. His party on that occasion was repulsed after reaching +the great blocks, which have only been passed since by +the aid of the artificial step subsequently cut in the rock. It +was tried again a fortnight later by a party under Mr. R.C. +Gilson, which got very nearly, but not quite as far. Two +days later the same party explored the gill from above and +descended in it for a considerable distance. It was not, +however, till three and a half years later, at Christmas, 1892, +that the climb was accomplished by Dr. J.N. Collie, G. +Hastings, and J.W. Robinson, and their account of it is:</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="MOSS_GILL_AND_STEEP_GILL"> +<img src="images/i_100.png" width="400" height="500" alt="MOSS GILL AND STEEP GILL" /> +<p class="caption">MOSS GILL AND STEEP GILL<br /> +A, <i>Moss Gill</i> (Collie's exit); B, <i>Moss Gill</i> (Collier's exit): C, Top of <i>Steep Gill</i>. +Just below the point to which A and B converge is the artificial step.</p> +</div> + +<p>'The chief points in this climb are, First—to begin on +the rock wall to the right of the foot of the gill and not in the +very foot of the chimney itself, then enter the gill just below +the first great pitch, which may be turned by climbing the +wall on the right hand on to a grass ledge of considerable +size, called the "<i>Tennis Court</i>"; enter the gill from here +again, and pass into the cavern under the great boulder.'</p> + +<p>'We found,' says Dr. Collie, 'that below the great slab +which formed the roof, another smaller one was jammed in +the gully, which, stretching across from side to side, formed +the top of a great doorway. Under this we passed and +clambered up on to the top of it. Over our heads the great +rock roof stretched some distance over the gill. Our only +chance was to traverse straight out along the side of the gill, +till one was no longer overshadowed by the roof above, and +then, if possible, climb up the face of rock and traverse back +again above the obstacle into the gill once more. This was +easier to plan than to carry out; absolutely no hand-hold,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> +and only one little projecting ledge jutting out about a +quarter of an inch and about two inches long to stand on, +and six or eight feet of the rock wall to be traversed. I was +asked to try it. Accordingly, with great deliberation, I +stretched out my foot and placed the edge of my toe on the +ledge. Just as I was going to put my weight on to it, off +slipped my toe, and if Hastings had not quickly jerked me +back, I should instantly have been dangling on the end of +the rope. But we were determined not to be beaten. +Hastings' ice-axe was next brought into requisition, and +what followed I have no doubt will be severely criticised by +more orthodox mountaineers than ourselves. As it was my +suggestion I must take the blame. <i>Peccavi! I hacked a +step in the rock</i>—and it was very hard work. But I should +not advise any one to try and do the same thing with an +ordinary axe. Hastings' axe is an extraordinary one, and +was none the worse for the experiment. I then stepped +across the <i>mauvais pas</i>, clambered up the rock till I had +reached a spot where a capital hitch could be got over a +jutting piece of rock, and the rest of the party followed. We +then climbed out of the gill on the left, up some interesting +slabs of rock. A few days later the gill was again +ascended by a party led by Mr. J. Collier. They did not +follow our track to the left after the overhanging rock had +been passed, but climbed straight up, using a crack which +looks impossible from down below, thus adding an extra +piece of splendid climbing to the expedition.'</p> + +<p>Only four days after Dr. Collie, a party of five climbers, +led by Dr. J. Collier, made the second ascent of Moss Gill.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> +The description given by their precursors was of great assistance, +and except that the gill was entered much lower, the +same line was followed up to the traverse from the great +boulder. Here, instead of climbing out to the sky line on the +left side, the ascent of the gill itself was completed by climbing +the vertical moss-grown wall on the right. This part +was entirely new, and Dr. Collier's note of his variation, or +we may say correction, for his climb is the more direct of +the two, is that the ascent of the wall was made by using the +cleft of the gill for about 15 ft., when a resting place was +reached. Above this point they climbed about 15 ft., and +then traversed out on the face of the wall for about 8 ft. by +some ledges which afforded just sufficient hold. They then +ascended vertically about 6 or 8 ft., re-entering the cleft +above a small platform of jammed stones ('Sentry Box'). +This gave a starting-point for the completion of the ascent, +which was made by climbing out on to the face of the wall to +enable the jammed stones at the top of the pitch to be turned. +These last stones did not appear to be secure and were +avoided. From this point the gill continues upward at an +easy slope, with one pitch of about 15 ft. to the back of the +small summit on the left of <i>Deep Gill</i>. Two days later the +ascent was repeated by Dr. Collier in company with Professor +H.B. Dixon and the late Professor A.M. Marshall, +the latter of whom inserted in the Climbers' book a remarkably +bold and effective outline sketch of the gill, with +explanatory notes. Speaking of the climb, he said that Mr. +Collier led throughout, and that the success of the climb was +due entirely to him. The climb is a very fine one, and,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> +except for the leader, is entirely free from danger. At the +very awkward return from Tennis Court Ledge into the +gully, the leader can by a short traverse fix himself directly +above the rest of the party. During the traverse from the +'window' the leader can fix the rope over the 'belaying-pin.' +In the great chimney the <i>Sentry Box</i> is a place of +absolute safety. The climb is difficult, but no part of the +chimney is harder than the short rock face leading up to +Tennis Court Ledge, and the most awkward traverse (if +covered with snow) is the one from Tennis Court Ledge back +into the gully. For a party of three 80 ft. of rope would be +enough; 100 ft. perhaps better. On January 9, 1893, Mr. O.G. +Jones attacked this formidable climb entirely by himself, +following Mr. Collier's route up to the foot of the Great +Chimney, and then Mr. Hastings' exit to the left. Heavy +snow had fallen since the previous ascents and the climb appeared +to be exceedingly difficult. Almost every hold had to +be cleared of snow; essential precautions rendered the climb +of five hours' duration, and it was not completed till after dark +(5.45 p.m.). While clearing snow from the more remote +portions of the <i>Collie traverse</i> from the <i>window</i>, in search of +the third step, the difficulty of balancing proved too great, +and he fell into the gully below. A rope had been secured +round the <i>window</i> and thus prevented his passing beyond +the snow patch on which he fell. The <i>window</i> 'sill,' already +loose, was on the verge of falling, and was therefore pushed +over into the gully. Returning two days later, he found that +the two lowest chimneys in the gill could be taken straight +up, and that the simplest way of reaching Tennis Court<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> +Ledge is by 'backing up' the chimney till the level of the +recess in the right-hand face is reached. 'The recess is near +enough to be taken with a stride. It would seem that the +Tennis Court Ledge and traverse back into the gully may be +entirely dispensed with by continuing up the chimney, the +small jammed stones being firm enough to render the +necessary assistance. While making these suggestions concerning +small details in the climb, it may be mentioned that +at the <i>Collie traverse</i>, which the writer's experience leads +him to think is the most dangerous piece in the gill, an axe +may be of much help to a party. A man fixed on the +<i>window sill</i> may press the point of the axe into a conveniently +placed notch in the slab facing him, so that the +lower end of the handle shall supply a firm hand-hold for +any one stretching round the third step.</p> + + +<table class="ti" summary="Heights calculated by Mr. Jones."> +<caption style="margin:1em;"><i>Heights calculated by Mr. Jones.</i></caption> + <tr><td>Foot of Gill on Rake's Progress</td> <td class="tdp">2,625 ft.</td></tr> + <tr><td>Snow Patch below Tennis Court Ledge</td> <td class="tdp">2,805 "</td></tr> + <tr><td>Tennis Court Ledge</td> <td class="tdp">2,840 "</td></tr> + <tr><td>Foot of jammed stone pitch</td> <td class="tdp">2,870 "</td></tr> + <tr><td>Window in jammed stones</td> <td class="tdp">2,895 "</td></tr> + <tr><td>Snow patch above</td> <td class="tdp">2,920 "</td></tr> + <tr><td>Top of left-hand exit</td> <td class="tdp">3,140 "</td></tr> + <tr><td>Top of Moss Gill proper</td> <td class="tdp">3,170 "</td></tr> +</table> + +<p>It must, however, be borne in mind that these measurements, +though useful for the purposes of comparison, cannot +be absolutely correct, seeing that Scafell itself is only +3,162 ft. high. On February 11 Messrs. Slingsby, Woolley, +and R. Williams found the gully very difficult owing to ice,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> +and recorded an emphatic protest against any one following +their example by attempting it, 'except when the rocks are +dry and quite free from ice.'</p> + +<p>On the last day of March Messrs. Brunskill and Gibbs +followed, with a slight improvement, Dr. Collier's route, and +made the subjoined observations, taken apparently with +greater care than those by Mr. Jones:</p> + +<table class="ti" summary="Heights2"> + <tr><td>Foot of Gill at Rake's Progress</td> <td class="tdp">2,570 ft.</td></tr> + <tr><td>Snow Patch above jammed stones</td> <td class="tdp">2,865 "</td></tr> + <tr><td>Top of Great Chimney or Moss wall</td> <td class="tdp">2,965 "</td></tr> + <tr><td>Top of Gill (neck leading to Deep Gill Pisgah)</td> <td class="tdp">3,065 "</td></tr> +</table> + +<p>It will be seen that while the points are all made lower +than Mr. Jones's table, the height between the commencement +of the climb and the snow patch above the jammed +stones is exactly the same—295 ft. In this case an observation +was taken at the cairn on the top of Scafell, and the +aneroid stood at almost exactly the correct figure, which +somewhat confirms the figures now given.</p> + + +<p><b>Napes.</b>—A collection of fine rocks, starting up like a +stack of organ pipes on the south side of <i>Great Gable</i>. The +extremity of them nearest to <i>Kirkfell</i> is called <i>White Napes</i>, +and sometimes Gable Horn. East of this is a gap known as +<i>Little Hell Gate</i>. East of this comes <i>Great Napes</i>, and east +of them again is <i>Great Hell Gate</i>, which is called Deep Gill +in the Ordnance map.</p> + +<p>In September, 1884, a note by the present writer in the +book at Wastdale Head drew attention to these excellent +rocks. They are now one of the most favourite climbs in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> +Wastdale, and contain the well-known <i>Needle</i>, the <i>Bear Rock</i>, +and the <i>Arrowhead</i>, with their respective gullies and <i>arêtes</i>.</p> + +<p>Just west of <i>Hell Gate</i> there is a considerable width of very +large and steep rock, which continues nearly to the <i>Needle +Ridge</i>, with only a few steep and shallow gullies, in which +the grass is very rotten. West of this ridge there is a deep +gully, grassy, but exceedingly steep. The ridge beyond this +was ascended in April, 1892, by Messrs. Slingsby, Baker, +Solly, and Brigg, who called it the <i>Eagle's Nest</i> (q.v.). The +narrow gully west of this ridge is apparently that which +was climbed on December 29, 1890, by Mr. R.C. Gilson. +He describes it as 'the gully on the left as you face the +mountain of the gully coming down left of the <i>Needle</i>.' He +proceeds to say that it presented no special difficulty, except +at a point about one-third of the way up, where there was +a large boulder and a smooth slab thinly glazed with ice. It +was claimed as a first ascent when climbed on April 17, +1892, by Messrs. Solly and Schintz. West again of this is +the ridge of the <i>Arrowhead</i> (q.v.). We are here getting near +the end of <i>Great Napes</i>, which are separated on the west +from <i>White Napes</i> by the scree gully which is called <i>Little +Hell Gate</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Napes Needle.</b>—A rock of very striking form, which, +by an eminent mountaineer, has been compared to a violon-cello.</p> + +<p>It stands at the foot of the <i>Needle Ridge</i> in the <i>Napes</i>, +and was first climbed by the writer about the end of June, +1886. The second ascent was made on March 17, 1889, by Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a><br /><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> +G. Hastings, and the third by Mr. F. Wellford on June 22, +Mr. J.W. Robinson following on August 12 in the same +year.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="NAPES_NEEDLE_FROM_THE_WEST"> +<img src="images/i_108.png" width="400" height="581" alt="NAPES NEEDLE FROM THE WEST" /> +<p class="caption">NAPES NEEDLE FROM THE WEST<br /> +A, <i>Needle Ridge</i>; B is reached from +below by means of a deep crack +which goes right through the rock. +In order to get to C from B it is +necessary to pass round behind to +the crack seen at D, along which +one may pass to C, and thence +direct to the top.</p> +</div> + +<p>Miss Koecher (March 31, 1890) was apparently the +first lady to ascend.</p> + +<p>It was first climbed from the west; the way on the +opposite side is perhaps less severe, but longer and more +varied.</p> + +<p>The rock is frequently photographed, and an illustrated +article on it appeared in the <i>Pall Mall Budget</i> of June 5, 1890.</p> + + +<p><b>Needle Ridge</b> is that ridge of the <i>Napes</i> on <i>Great +Gable</i> which is immediately behind the <i>Napes Needle</i>. It +was discovered in 1884 by the writer and Mr. Robinson, and +ascended by them in a somewhat desultory fashion; that is to +say, they cut in from the east side nearly at the top of the +difficult face which forms its lower extremity, and also +avoided the topmost piece by passing over on to the easy +terrace on the west side of the ridge. The <i>arête</i> was climbed +in a strict and conscientious manner for the first time by the +writer in 1886. This was a descent, and apparently the first +strict ascent was made by Messrs. Slingsby, Hastings +Hopkinson, and a brother of the writer.</p> + + +<p><b>North Climb.</b>—The first to describe this climb on +Scafell was Mr. Seatree, who says:</p> + +<p>'From the ridge we traversed a ledge of grass-covered +rock [the Rake's Progress] to the right, until we reached a +detached boulder, stepping upon which we were enabled to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> +get hand-hold of a crevice 6 or 7 ft. from where we +stood. To draw ourselves up so as to get our feet upon this +was the difficulty; there is only one small foot-hold in that +distance, and to have slipped here would have precipitated +the climber many feet below. Having succeeded in gaining +this foot-hold, we found ourselves in a small rectangular +recess, with barely room to turn round. From here it was +necessary to draw ourselves carefully over two other ledges +into a small rift in the rocks, and then traverse on our hands +and knees another narrow ledge of about 8 ft. to the left, +which brought us nearly in a line with Mickledoor Ridge. +From here all was comparatively smooth sailing.'</p> + +<p>This climb had been made many years before (1869) by +Major Ponsonby Cundill, <span class="smcap">R.E.</span>, who left his stick in the deep +crack behind the ledge which Mr. Seatree traversed on his +hands and knees. The stick was found in 1884 by Mr. Chas. +Cookson. This ledge, by the way, should certainly be walked +or at least sidled in an upright attitude, otherwise ungainly +gambollings are necessary when the time comes for stepping +off at the other end. The descent of the <i>North Climb</i> is +decidedly difficult, unless the ascent has been made just +previously, and the climb whether up or down is an excellent +test of style.</p> + +<p>A couple of yards to the left there is an alternative to +the 'rectangular recess,' and it is known as the 'Rift.' It +is to be done by a wild struggle. It was at one time the +wetter and harder of the two ways, but the conditions are +now reversed.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Old Wall.</b>—On the east side of the Pillar Rock a +natural line of rock runs down to the head of <i>Walker's Gully</i>, +having, however, a narrow passage by means of which sheep +may reach the Low Man. A hundred years ago or more, the +shepherds built a wall of loose stones to stop the sheep, and +though little of the wall remains, the name clings to the spot. +At one time the <i>North-east Route</i> was usually spoken of as +the <i>Old Wall Way</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Patriarch.</b>—By this name the Rev. James Jackson, of +Sandwith in Cumberland, was very widely known. It is an +abbreviation of one which he himself invented and assumed—'Patriarch +of the Pillarites.' Some considerable mention of +him is made by Mr. Williamson, but his readers will be glad +to have further particulars, for this was a man of no ordinary +stamp. Born at Millom just before the series of naval +victories which closed the eighteenth century, he passed his +boyhood in the thick of the Buonaparte struggle and shared +in it personally when a mere lad. However, he soon changed +the colour of his coat and entered the Church; but long +before his connection with the Pillar he had ceased to take +any active part in his profession. Thenceforward he lived +at his ease, amusing himself by rambles and scrambles far +and near among the fells. 'I have knocked about,' he said +himself, 'among the mountains ever since, till I may almost +say "I knaw iv'ry craag."' That he was somewhat of an +egotist cannot be denied. In his letters as in his poems his +own feats form the burden of his song. To this point all +topics converged with the same certainty that all roads are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> +said to lead to Rome. He was never tired of relating how, +for instance, in his sixty-ninth year he had one day walked +46 miles in 14½ hours, on the third day following 56 miles in +18 hours, and after a similar interval 60 miles in less than +20 hours, thus accomplishing within one week three walks, any +one of which might well knock up many a man of half his age; +how, on another occasion, he had found two brethren of his +own cloth struggling feebly to surmount the difficulties of +Rossett Gill; how, taking pity upon their tender years, +he had transferred their knapsacks to his own venerable +shoulders and, striding on before, encouraged them to complete +their weary task. A man aged between sixty and +seventy might fairly plume himself on such an exploit. He +also rejoiced greatly in the fact that he had been the first +student of St. Bees College—a distinction of which, as he +justly said, no one could ever deprive him. But the feat on +which he especially prided himself was one of bodily +activity. During the third part of a century he held the +living of Rivington, near Bolton-le-Moors. It chanced that +the weathercock of his church had become loose, and the +masons rather shrank from the risk of going up to secure it. +Here was an opportunity which our friend could not forego; +and Rivington witnessed the unwonted spectacle of a beneficed +clergyman of the Church of England solemnly swarming up +his own steeple and making fast the vane 'under circumstances +of terror which made the workmen recoil from the +task, and the gazing rustics turn sick with horror at the +sight!' While walking proudly back to his parsonage<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> +he composed a commemorative epigram which will bear +quotation:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Who has not heard of Steeple Jack,<br /> + That lion-hearted Saxon?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Though I'm not he, he was my sire,<br /> + For I am 'Steeple Jackson'!</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Indeed, his fancy was as lively as his limbs were supple. +He was ever on the watch for some analogy or antithesis; +ever producing some new alliteration or epigram expressive +of such contrasts as that between his age and his activity. +His favourite description of himself was 'senex juvenilis'—an +idea which he frequently put into English, e.g.:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">If this in your mind you will fix<br /> + When I make the Pillar my toy,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I was born in 1, 7, 9, 6,<br /> + And you'll think me a nimble old boy.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>On the late Mr. Maitland, a well-known climber, as only +second to himself in age and ardour, he bestowed the title +'Maitland of Many Mounts' and 'Patriarch Presumptive of +the Pillarites.' There is nothing strange in his thus designating +a successor and bestowing titles of honour; for these are +matter of royal privilege, and he looked upon himself as the +Mountain Monarch and always expected climbers to attend +his mimic court and pay him homage. But he had many a +high-flown alias besides. When Mr. Pendlebury came under +his notice he contrasted himself with the Senior Wrangler, +rather neatly, as the 'Senior Scrambler'; after his ascent of +the Pillar he dubbed himself 'St. Jacobus Stylites'; and +many other titles are introduced into the occasional poems +on which he expended much of his ingenuity.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span></p> + +<p>His bodily powers were not allowed to rust away. 'My +adopted motto,' he said, 'is "Stare nescio,"' and some idea +of his boundless love of enterprise may be formed from one +of his letters: 'I have been twelve months afloat on the wide, +wide sea. I have been beneath the falls of Niagara. I have +sung "God save the King" in the hall of St. Peter's; I have +ascended Vesuvius in the eruption of 1828; I have capped +Snowdon in Wales and Slieve Donard in Ireland, and nearly +all the hills in this district.... It only remains for me to mount +the Pillar Rock!' Before the end of the following May this +hope was gratified, and a proud moment it was for this veteran +climber when, seated serenely on the summit, he was able to +record in a Greek inscription (written, as he carefully notes, +'without specs') his ascent of the famous rock. Think of +the life, the energy, the determination that must have been +in him! Years seemed to be powerless to check the current of +his blood. Where are we to look for another of his age—he +was now in his eightieth year—showing any approach to the +same combination of enterprise, pluck and bodily vigour? It +cannot be wondered at that his success filled him with the +keenest delight. He wrote off at once in high glee to his +friends and felt quite injured if, in their reply or their delay +in replying, he detected any sign of indifference to his exploit. +But true to his motto 'Stare nescio,' he was not content with +this. Within a month we find him expressing a fear that his +title 'Patriarch of the Pillarites' might not be acknowledged +by 'the Western division of the Order,' and announcing his +intention of climbing the Pillar from the west also in order +to secure his claim. He playfully proposes, moreover, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> +while he, 'the aged errant knight,' with his faithful squire +toiled up from the west, a certain fair Pillarite should arrive +at the summit from the east and crown his success on the +spot by the bestowal on him of her hand and heart. According +to all approved precedent the 'aged errant knight' ought +to have bound his lady's favour around his clerical hat and +ranged the mountains extorting from the passing tourist at +the point of his alpenstock a confession of her peerless beauty; +or for her sake betaken himself to the Rock and there passed +nights of vigil and days of toil assisting distressed damsels in +the terrible passage of the 'Slab.' Whatever he did, he made +no attempt on the west route. Perhaps despair of the reward +had cooled his zeal—zeal conditional like that of the Hindoo +teacher who, when asked whether he professed the creed which +he was anxious to teach, naïvely replied, 'I am not a Christian; +but I expect to be one shortly—if sufficient inducement +offers.'</p> + +<p>There is a sad and sharp contrast in turning from his high +spirits and playful fancy to his sudden death. It has been +described elsewhere. Though fourscore and two was (as he +himself expressed it on the very day of his death) the 'howdah' +on his back, it cannot be said that the ever-growing +howdah had crushed its bearer. His vigour was unimpaired. +Like Walter Ewbank,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza center"> +To the very last,<br /> +He had the lightest foot in Ennerdale. +</div></div> + +<p>Indeed, the same thing might have happened to a boy. It +was an accident; but it might be rash to say that it was a +misfortune, or that he would himself have regarded any other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> +death as preferable. His life had already been longer and +more varied than falls to ordinary men; but the change +could not long have been delayed. A few months would have +seen his faculties failing and his powers decayed. To a man +of his habits and temperament inaction would have been the +most terrible affliction, and though he might have dragged on +for years, his strength would truly have been labour and +sorrow.</p> + +<p>Two years before he had stood close to this very spot. +'Almost all the mountains,' he said, 'which I had known in +youth, in manhood, and in old age were visible, and seemed +to give me a kindly greeting "for auld lang syne." In the +fervour of admiration I might have chanted, "Nunc dimittis, +Domine, servum tuum in pace."' We may well believe +that, had the old man foreseen his fate, he would have gladly +welcomed it, and have found for it no fitter place among all +his beloved mountains than this quiet cove almost within the +shadow of the majestic rock.</p> + + +<p><b>Patterdale</b> is a place where a climber may spend a week +or two with much enjoyment, though the quality of the rocks +is by no means first-rate. It is the best centre for <i>Helvellyn</i>, +<i>Fairfield</i>, and <i>St. Sunday Crag</i>, and convenient for <i>Swarthbeck</i> +and the whole <i>High Street</i> range. On <i>Place Fell</i>, fine +as it looks, there is not much worth climbing. <i>Deepdale</i> +and <i>Dovedale</i> are both worth exploring.</p> + + +<p><b>Pavey Ark</b>, one of the Langdale Pikes, is easily +reached in three-quarters of an hour from Dungeon Gill. On<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> +it will be found some splendid climbing, including the <i>Big +Gully</i>, the <i>Little Gully</i>, <i>Jack's Rake</i> (q.v.), and many minor +points of interest. The two chief gullies stand on either side +of a buttress of rock, the top of which forms a tooth on the +sky line. The <i>Little Gully</i> is on the south side of it, and is +V-shaped, giving a very straightforward but pleasant climb. +But the <i>Great Gully</i> has two considerable difficulties, one +low down and the other near the top. The lower is caused +by a huge block covering a considerable cavern. The way +is either right through the cavern and out again through +a narrow hole, or up a high grassy bank on the right hand. +In either case a narrow place is reached, walled in between +the big block and a smaller one on the right hand. Here +the difficulty is that the walls nearly meet towards the top, +so that it is necessary, in order to get room for the head, to +go rather 'outside.' However, a second man with a rope +can hold the leader very securely, and a piece of rock having +come away, the headroom is much more commodious than +it used to be. Just below the level of <i>Jack's Rake</i> there are +some very 'brant and slape' inclines of wet or muddy rock, +which most people consider the worst part of the climb. +There is very little hold, and what there is was on the occasion +of the first ascent lubricated by a film of fine mud. On +reaching <i>Jack's Rake</i> several variations may be made, and +straight ahead there is a very neat little chimney. These +upper rocks are of splendid gripping quality; rough as a cow's +tongue, it would be quite difficult to make a slip on them. +The Big Gully was climbed by the writer in the summer of +1882, and the small one in June 1886. In March 1887 Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a><br /><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> +Slingsby made a note about the former in the Wastdale +Head book. He says that it took his party two hours and +forty minutes, but his estimate of the height of the gully at +1,300 ft. is more than double of the truth, and must be due +to a slip of the pen.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="PAVEY_ARK_NEAR_VIEW"> +<img src="images/i_118.png" width="621" height="400" alt="PAVEY ARK (NEAR VIEW)" /> +<p class="caption">PAVEY ARK (NEAR VIEW)<br /> +A, Narrow gully; B, Big gully; C, D, Smaller gullies; E, Wide scree gully. +From the foot of E to A runs <i>Jack's Rake</i>.</p> +</div> + +<p>In the book at Millbeck there is a note by the same distinguished +climber, dated May 30, 1887, in which he records +an ascent of this gully made by Miss Mabel Hastings, and +gives the height of it as 600 or 650 ft.</p> + + +<p><b>Penyghent.</b>—The sixth in height of the Yorkshire hills, +but long supposed, on account of its finer shape, to be the +highest of them all. As late as 1770 it was reckoned at +3,930 ft. It can be ascended from Horton station in little +over an hour. Celtic scholars revel in the name; they practically +agree that it means 'head of something,' but cannot +accept each other's views as to what that something is. +When Defoe was in this neighbourhood he saw 'nothing but +high mountains, which had a terrible aspect, and more +frightful than any in Monmouthshire or Derbyshire, especially +<i>Pengent Hill</i>.'</p> + + +<p><b>Piers Gill</b>, in Wastdale, on the north front of <i>Lingmell</i>, +has a vast literature of its own. As a rock ravine, +not in limestone, it is only second to <i>Deep Gill</i> on <i>Scafell</i> +and the great gully in the Wastwater <i>Screes</i>, both of which +are far less easy of access than this, which can be reached +from Wastdale Head in half an hour. The difficulties depend +entirely on the quantity of water. One, the 'cave pitch,' +may be passed at the cost of a wetting almost at any time;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> +but above it is another, known as the 'Bridge Fall,' from a +vast column of fallen rock which spans the stream a few +yards above it, which is at all times difficult, and in nineteen +seasons out of twenty wholly impossible.</p> + +<p>Until the unprecedented drought of 1893 it had never +been climbed. Even then a less brilliant climber than Dr. +Collier would scarcely have succeeded. His ascent was +made on April 29, 1893, and his companions were Messrs. +Winser, W. Jones, and Fairbairn. The big pitch was found +to be 40 or 50 ft. high, the lowest part of it apparently +overhanging. The first few feet were climbed about three +feet to the right of the falling water, after which the leader +was able to reach the other side of the gill by stretching his +left foot across it just outside the water. By this means this +great and hitherto insuperable difficulty was overcome. Unless +we are entering on a cycle of dry seasons, the exploit is one +which will not be repeated for some time.</p> + +<p>Various accidents and minor mishaps have taken place +in Piers Gill. One is described by Mr. Payn, and the injured +man was, I believe, a shepherd called Tom Hale. Mr. W.O. +Burrows had a bad fall above the bridge, and people descending +from the <i>Pikes</i> are often pounded about the same spot. +Some years ago a tourist had to pass the night in the gill +without food, but protested that he was 'quite consoled by +the beautiful scenery.' The discovery of the route up the +east side of the <i>Pillar Rock</i> was within an ace of being +delayed for years, owing to the band of bold explorers who +were to work it out becoming entangled in <i>Piers Gill</i> while +on their way to <i>Wastdale Head</i>.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span></p> + +<p>The name is spelt 'Pease' by Mr. Payn and by most of +the early authorities, and judging by the analogy of other +places in the North of England this would appear to be more +correct.</p> + + +<p><b>Pike o' Stickle</b>, also known as <i>Steel Pike</i> and sometimes +as the <i>Sugarloaf</i>, drops into Langdale from the north +in one continuous slope, which for length and steepness has +not many rivals in England. The top piece of the hill is +curiously symmetrical, and resembles a haycock or a thimble. +It is not easy to find satisfactory climbs on it. Mr. Gwynne +says of it: 'A very fine peak, that, viewed from the valley, has +very much the appearance of the Mönch. It runs down +towards the <i>Stake</i> Pass in a spur, which must be the starting-point +of most of the climbs on this mountain. There is a +curious gully here, too, which is worthy of the climber's +attention. It does not run from top to bottom, but suddenly +begins about the middle of the crag. The difficulty is to get +at this gully, and some pretty climbing can be obtained in +the attempt.'</p> + + +<p><b>Pillar Rock.</b>—There are but three directions from which +the <i>Pillar</i> is commonly approached—namely, Ennerdale +(Gillerthwaite), Buttermere, and Wastdale Head. In each +case the guide-books (except Baddeley's) exhibit a suspicious +shyness of specifying any time for the walk. Wherever the +present writer gives times, they must be understood to be the +quickest of which he happens to have made any note; for +the best test of times is a 'reductio ad minima.' A journey +may be indefinitely prolonged, but it cannot be shortened<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> +beyond a certain limit; thus, <i>Scafell Pike</i> cannot be reached +from Wastdale Head in much less than 60 minutes of hard +going, while the walk up the Pillar Fell cannot be cut down +much below 75 minutes. This supplies us with a trustworthy +comparison, although for a hot day that pace is not to be +recommended; in each case double the time is not more +than a fair allowance. Never let yourself be hurried at +starting, come home as hard as ever you like; it is the +chamois-hunter's system, and by far the best. Baddeley<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> +seems to reverse the principle, for he allows 2 to 2½ hours for +the ascent via Black Sail, and says that it is shorter by Wind +Gap; yet for the <i>descent</i> from Wind Gap (which is, say, +20 minutes short of the summit) he gives as a fair allowance +2 to 3 hours. Perhaps he preferred conforming to what is +apparently the approved fox-hunting style:</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="PILLAR_ROCK"> +<img src="images/i_122.png" width="532" height="400" alt="PILLAR ROCK" /> +<p class="caption">PILLAR ROCK<br /> +A, B, Summits of Shamrock; C, Shamrock gully; D, Pisgah; E, High Man; +G, Curtain; H, Steep Grass; I, Foot of Great Chimney; I, K, Walker's gully; +J, Low Man; L, J, West route; M, Waterfall; N, I, East Scree.</p> +</div> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Harkaway! See, she's off! O'er hill and through whol<br /> + We spank till we're gaily nar done,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Than, hingan a lip like a motherless fwol,<br /> + <i>Sledder heàmmward, but nit in a run</i>.</span> +</div></div> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="PILLAR_ROCK_FROM_THE_NORTH"> +<img src="images/i_123.png" width="483" height="400" alt="PILLAR ROCK FROM THE NORTH" /> +<p class="caption">PILLAR ROCK FROM THE NORTH<br /> +A, <i>High Man</i>; B, <i>Low Man</i>; C, <i>Shamrock</i>; D, <i>Walker's gully</i>; E, Below this is the <i>waterfall</i>. +The <i>terrace</i> runs past the foot of Walker's gully to the foot of the <i>waterfall</i>.</p> +</div> + +<p class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="PILLAR_ROCK_FROM_THE_SOUTH"> +<img src="images/i_124.png" width="400" height="422" alt="PILLAR ROCK FROM THE SOUTH" /> +<p class="caption">PILLAR ROCK FROM THE SOUTH<br /> +A, Top of rock and of <i>West Jordan climb</i>; B, Top of <i>Central Jordan climb</i>; C, Top +of <i>East Jordan climb</i>; D, G, The <i>Curtain</i>; E, The <i>Notch</i>; F, The <i>Ledge</i>. +The mass of rock in the foreground is <i>Pisgah</i>.</p> +</div> + +<p><i>From Ennerdale</i>: From Gillerthwaite, a farmhouse nearly +a mile and a half above the lake, the Pillar is not far distant; +but the direct way is exceedingly rough, and it will be found +best to make use of the path up <i>Wingate Cove</i>, skirting round<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> +the mountain, when by that means a considerable height has +been gained. The way is so rough that many people think +it an economy of labour to go right on up the gap, and then +left over the summit of the mountain.</p> + +<p>One of the best ways of approaching the Pillar is to sleep +at the little inn at the foot of the lake and row up from there +to the water head. For walking the whole way from the inn +to the fell-top Baddeley allows 3 to 3½ hours.</p> + +<p><i>From Buttermere</i>: After crossing <i>Scarf Gap</i> some keep +to the track as far as the summit of the Black Sail Pass, and +then turn to the right up the ridge of the Pillar Fell, while +others adopt the more laborious plan of working upwards +after descending the valley until nearly opposite the Rock, +which in this way is certainly seen to much greater advantage. +If the return be made by way of the mountain ridge, +some little time may be saved by descending into Ennerdale +down <i>Green Cove</i>, nearly half a mile short of Black Sail and +250 ft. higher; for Black Sail, being much nearer the head +of the valley than either Scarf Gap or the Pillar, can only be +used for going from one to the other at the expense of making +a considerable <i>détour</i>. For the ascent, however, Green Cove +is not so decidedly recommended, as many will prefer to +make the round by the regular pass for the sake of the more +gradual rise.</p> + +<p><i>From Wastdale</i>: The vast majority of visitors come from +this direction, and almost all follow the same track, plodding +up from Mosedale to the top of <i>Black Sail</i> and then turning +left along the ridge of the mountain. Mosedale, by the way, +must not be confused with any of the numerous other valleys<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> +of the same name: it sometimes appears in the form 'Moresdale' +or 'Mossdale' (Moos-thal, near Laibach in Austria, is +exactly parallel), and generally indicates scenery of a dreary +character; for such valleys are often, as in this case, the +half-drained beds of ancient lakes, by the loss of which the +scenery has seriously suffered.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="PILLAR_FELL"> +<img src="images/i_126.png" width="598" height="400" alt="PILLAR FELL" /> +<p class="caption">PILLAR FELL</p> +</div> + +<p>Ladies who ascend by Black Sail will find it best to keep +to the path as long as possible, i.e. as far as the top of the +pass, but others may save something by breasting the hill on +the left soon after reaching <i>Gatherstone Head</i>, apparently +a glacier mound, which rises just beyond where the track +crosses the stream (Gatherstone Beck) which comes down +from the pass.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p> + +<p>On reaching the ridge it is no doubt safer, especially if +there be mist about, for those who are not familiar with the +way to go right on to the flat top of the mountain; the proper +point from which to commence the descent is easily found, +in all weathers, by following the compass-needle from the cairn +to the edge of the mountain; a rough and steep descent of +400 ft. follows, which in winter demands considerable care. At +first the course is to the right, but it soon strikes a small ridge +which curves down to the Rock. It is, however, a waste of +labour to ascend to the summit of the mountain at all. The +ridge of the mountain is divided into steps, and at the foot +of the uppermost of these a deep cove called <i>Great Doup</i> is +seen on the right. It may be recognised even in a mist, as +it is just beyond a curious rock running out with a narrow +edged top many feet from the hill-side. Less than 100 yards +down the Doup the falling scree has nearly buried the cairn +and iron cross erected to the memory of the Rev. James +Jackson. Beyond this, as soon as the big rocks on the left +permit, the track skirts round, and after one or two ups and +downs comes into full view of the famous Rock. If, however, +the object be to reach the north or lowest side of the Rock, +it is not necessary to descend into Ennerdale from Black +Sail; for there is the <i>High Level</i>, a fine scramble all along +the breast of the mountain from <i>Green Cove</i>—the first large +hollow on the right, just beyond <i>Lookingsteads</i>; but the way +is rather intricate, and unless properly hit off involves considerable +fatigue and loss of time. At the very least half an +hour will be required in either direction, and a stranger will +certainly take much longer.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span></p> + +<p>Those who are anxious to pursue 't' bainest rwoad' may +save ten minutes or more in the walk from Wastdale by +making use of <i>Wind Gap</i> at the head of Mosedale. Hard +work it undeniably is, but more shady than Black Sail, and—when +the way is familiar, though no one can go very far +wrong, unless he clings to the main valley too long and goes +up to <i>Blackem</i> (Black Combe) <i>Head</i>—quicker also, occupying +about ninety minutes. Mr. James Payn calls it (poetically) +'a sort of perpendicular shaft—a chimney such as no sweep +would adventure, but would use the machine—which is said +to be the dalesman's pass into Ennerdale; you may thank +your stars that it is not <i>your</i> pass.'</p> + +<p>It really adds little to the labour of this way and affords +a far finer walk if the complete circuit of Mosedale be made +along the hill-tops. Ascending behind the inn and keeping +round just under <i>Stirrup Crag</i>—the north end of <i>Yewbarrow</i>, +<i>Dore Head</i> is soon reached, and it is easy walking by the +<i>Chair</i>, <i>Red Pike</i>, <i>Black Crag</i> and <i>Wind Gap</i> on to the +<i>Pillar Fell</i>.</p> + +<p>For the return to Wastdale <i>Wind Gap</i> is very rough and +hardly to be recommended. Mr. Baddeley is not very consistent +about it, for he says, 'the best descent is by <i>Windy +Gap</i>'; but again, 'the descent from <i>Windy Gap</i> to Wastdale +is, for reasons stated before, unsatisfactory'; and thereupon +he recommends Black Sail. The latter gives a rapid descent—the +inn may be reached in twenty-five minutes from the +top of the pass; but a quicker return may be made by +crossing the ridge after emerging from Great Doup, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> +shooting down <i>Wistow Crags</i> into Mosedale by a large gully +filled with deliciously fine scree.</p> + +<p>Should it be preferred to make the circuit of Mosedale on +the return journey, an equally fine glissade may be enjoyed +from <i>Dore Head</i>; but the screes require judicious selection +and dexterity on the part of the slider.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="PILLAR_ROCK_FROM_THE_WEST"> +<img src="images/i_129.png" width="472" height="400" alt="PILLAR ROCK FROM THE WEST" /> +<p class="caption">PILLAR ROCK FROM THE WEST<br /> +A, Summit of <i>High Man</i>; B, <i>Pisgah</i>; C, <i>Low Man</i>; D, <i>Jordan Gap</i>. +The <i>West route</i> ascends from this side to the depression between A and C.</p> +</div> + +<p>It may here be said that stout walkers may visit all the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> +mountains of Wastdale Head in one day comfortably, and in +few places is a finer walk to be found. Start, say, at 10 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> +for Scafell; then, by Mickledoor, the Pike, Great End, Sty +Head, Great Gable and Kirkfell to the Pillar, returning in +the manner described above in time for dinner. In June +1864, as Ritson's Visitors' Book records, J.M. Elliott, of +Trin. Coll. Camb., made this round, including Steeple and +Yewbarrow, and found that it took eight and a half hours; +probably, however, he came over Stirrup Crag and not +Yewbarrow <i>top</i>, which would entail something like three +miles extra walking. He approached Scafell by way of +Mickledoor, returning from it to the same point, and those +who do not know the Broad Stand well had better follow +his example; for it is a bit of a climb, and the descent +especially is not easy to find. By going to Mickledoor first +(and there is no shorter way to Scafell) each man can see +what he has before him, and decide for himself whether it +would not be better to leave Scafell out of his programme.</p> + +<p>Before entering into the history of the Pillar it is almost +indispensable to give a short general description of its main +features in order to assist the comprehension of the facts +narrated. Difficult as it must always be to find an image +which shall supply a stranger with any clear idea of a mass +so irregular and unsymmetrical as this, yet its general +appearance and the arrangement of its parts may be roughly +apprehended in the following manner:—Imagine a large +two-gabled church planted on the side of a steep hill. From +the western and loftier gable let there rise, at the end +nearest the mountain, a stunted tower. Finally let the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> +building be shattered and all but overwhelmed under an +avalanche of <i>débris</i>. What will be the effect? Naturally +the stream of stones will be much deeper above than below, +and, while nearly burying the tower and upper ends of the +roof, will flow along between the two gables and run off, as +rainwater would do, at the far end. Angular fragments, +however, remain at rest unless the slope is very steep, and +consequently a long talus will be formed sloping down to the +brink of the sudden drop at an angle of something like +45 degrees. Here we have a fair representation of the Pillar +mass: the tower will be the High Man, and the gable from +which it rises the Low Man. It will be readily understood +that the second gable may be a source of some confusion to +those who are ignorant that there is more than one, and +from some points may disguise or altogether conceal the +tower. This is why it is called the <i>Sham Rock</i>; but it is +only from below that it would be recognised as part of the +Pillar mass, for from above it is wholly insignificant. When +viewed from immediately below, the tower is concealed +behind the gable from which it rises, and the whole mass of +rock bears a rough resemblance to the letter <b>M</b>; but from +above, the High Man, with which alone the climber from +the east side has to reckon, is also the only part of the rock +which he is likely to observe. The result is that, when the +Low Man is mentioned to anyone who knows only the Easy +Way, the reply is usually on the model of the poet Wordsworth's +only joke: 'Why, my good man, till this moment +I was not even aware that there <i>was</i> a Low Man!' Yet the +Low Man is by far the finer object of the two, and its cliffs<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> +are at least six times as high as those of what is called the +High Man. The only side from which the latter shows a +respectable elevation is the west, where the scree lies much +lower, because it has a free escape, instead of being pent up +between the two gables like the east scree.</p> + +<p>In winter-time, when the inequalities are all smoothed +over with a sheet of hard snow, both sides of the rock are +rather dangerous, but especially the eastern, where a man +who slipped would have the greatest difficulty in stopping +himself before he shot over the precipitous gully at the end. +This gully (occupying, as it were, the place of the water-pipe) +is known, in allusion to an accident which occurred there in +1883, as <i>Walker's Gully</i>.</p> + +<p>When the question arises of how to climb the <i>High Man</i>, +it is obvious that the scree just above it will be the nearest +point to the summit; but equally obvious that the climb, +though short, would be nearly vertical. The plan which at +once suggests itself for getting to the top is to work round to +the back of the rock and climb it from the top of the ridge +behind. The ridge may be reached from either side, and in +this fact we have the secret of two of the most important +climbs.</p> + +<p>So much for the general appearance of the Pillar; but +the part which admits of the easiest and most varied attack +is the east wall of the <i>High Man</i>, and of this side it is +necessary to give a more detailed description. This part of +the rock is the only one which is at all well known to the +general public, and its chief features, being well marked, +have for the most part received, by common consent of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> +climbers, distinctive names. In order to see the formation +of the rock properly it is well worth the climber's while to +descend for a few yards and mount the <i>Sham Rock</i> on the +other side of the east scree. The peculiar structure of the +opposite wall may now be clearly seen.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="PILLAR_ROCK_FROM_THE_SOUTH-EAST"> +<img src="images/i_133.png" width="496" height="400" alt="PILLAR ROCK FROM THE SOUTH-EAST" /> +<p class="caption">PILLAR ROCK FROM THE SOUTH-EAST<br /> +A, <i>Pisgah</i>; B, <i>Jordan</i>; C, Summit; D, Top of <i>Curtain</i>; E, Corner between the +<i>Curtain</i> and the main rock.</p> +</div> + +<p>On our left hand, between the mountain and the rock, is +seen an outlying mass severed from the High Man by a deep +square-cut gap. When the Pillar is looked at from the +direction of the mountain-top, this gap is entirely concealed +by the outlying piece, which then appears to present a fairly +easy way direct to the summit. 'The climber (says Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> +Williamson) mounts gaily and with confidence, only to find +himself cut off from the High Man by an impassable cleft.' +He sees it indeed with his eyes, but he cannot go up thither. +Hence the names—<i>Pisgah</i> for the false rock, and <i>Jordan</i> for +the chasm. A very well-known Pillarite once proposed to +bridge the cleft with a plank or ladder and hold a tea-party +on the top. This very original idea was not carried into +execution, but certainly, without some such application, the +passage of <i>Jordan Gap</i> is a formidable undertaking; for the +north wall is only less vertical than the other, and though +barely 60 ft. high—not much more, that is, than half as +much as must be climbed by any other route—this is +decidedly one of those cases in which the longer way round +will prove to be the shorter way up.</p> + +<p>On the extreme right—and rather below us—is the nearly +level top of the Low Man; while not far from where broken +cliffs lead up to the higher rock a curious natural post standing +on the ridge marks the point from which a small deep +channel is seen to come down towards <i>Walker's Gully</i>. +This channel is of small importance, except that high up on +the southern bank of it the glacier markings are most distinctly +to be seen. The channel itself soon curves more +towards the north and plunges over the fearful cliff which +faces the Liza, forming the key to the great climb on that +face. From the foot of <i>Jordan Gap</i> a broad smooth slope of +rock runs horizontally along the face of the High Man, +giving to it somewhat the formation of the 'pent-house wall' +of a tennis court. The steepness of the scree, which runs +down from left to right before our feet, makes the drop from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> +this slope much greater at the Low Man end; but it will +give no false idea of this side to say that, roughly speaking, +the cliff is broken into three fairly equal portions, of about +60 ft. each, namely, a vertical wall above, connected with +a steep and rugged part below by a smooth stretch sloping +at an angle not far short of 40 degrees. The importance of +this 'pent-house' is very great; for, as it gives an easy +passage right across this face of the rock, every climb which +is possible from below may be cut into from the side, and +thus more than half the labour of the ascent is saved. Indeed, +any mountain which allows its entire front to be +traversed in this way by a passable ledge exposes every weak +point in so reckless a manner that the attack becomes marvellously +simplified.</p> + +<p>Lastly should be noticed two rough curtains of rock which +run down from the top of the Stone near the centre, and +enclose between them what is called the <i>Great Chimney</i>. +This chimney is the key to the climb on this side. The curtain +on the south of it is the only one which is at all complete, +and as it forms a kind of <i>arête</i> running up to the +summit, it is known indifferently by either name—the +<i>Curtain</i> or the <i>Arête</i>.</p> + +<p>The easiest way to picture to oneself the features of the +Great Chimney is to imagine a huge armchair, the 'seat' of +which measures 20 yards from back to front and is tipped +uncomfortably forward and downward at an angle of nearly +45 degrees. The <i>Curtain</i> forms the right 'arm,' and from a +level with the top of the 'back,' which is 50 ft. high, runs +down very nearly but not quite as far as the front edge of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> +'seat.' In the narrow space thus left lies the <i>Ledge</i>, which +makes it possible to pass round under the end of the arm +and gain the 'seat,' which is called the <i>Steep Grass</i>. The +same point may also be reached by climbing, as an alternative +to the <i>Ledge</i>, over the lower part of the 'arm' through +a deep nick—the <i>Notch</i>; and in either case the joint between +'arm' and 'back,' being badly cracked, offers an easy way +(the 'small chimney' or 'jammed-stone chimney') of reaching +the top of the back, which is the edge of a small plateau +forming the summit of the High Man. Lastly, it should be +noticed that the <i>Steep Grass</i> can only be reached from below +by a severe climb of 70 ft.—the <i>Great Chimney</i> climb.</p> + +<p>The side from which the Pillar is commonly climbed is +not that by which the summit was first attained. The first +successful attempt was made from the West, and it is doubtful +whether for a quarter of a century any other route was +known. But on the discovery of the Easy Way the older +route was forgotten, and now enjoys a reputation for difficulty +which is not deserved: it is looked upon as some little +distinction to have accomplished it. In the preface to one of +Wordsworth's poems the year 1826 is mentioned as the date +of the first ascent. This is confirmed by a comparison of +the second and third editions of Otley's 'Guide' (1825 and +1827), in the former of which the rock is declared unclimbable, +while the latter mentions the victory of 'an adventurous +shepherd.' The successful climber was not, however, a +shepherd, but a cooper, named Atkinson, and living at Croftfoot, +in Ennerdale. It is likely that his adventurous soul +may have been fired by Otley's declaration that the rock was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> +inaccessible. The perseverance of a friend has hunted out a +contemporary notice of the ascent in the county paper, which +remarks that, 'though the undertaking has been attempted +by <i>thousands</i>, it was always relinquished as hopeless.' This +proves, at all events, that even then the rock had a reputation. +Subjoined is a list of those who have followed on +Atkinson's track, so far as is known, up to 1873:</p> + + +<table class="ti" summary="pillar"> + <tr><td>J. Colebank (shepherd);</td></tr> + <tr><td>W. Tyson (shepherd), and J. Braithwaite (shepherd);</td></tr> + <tr><td>Lieut. Wilson, R.N.;</td></tr> + <tr><td>C.A.O. Baumgartner;</td></tr> + <tr><td>M. Beachcroft and C. Tucker.</td></tr> +</table> + +<p>Summarising the various methods of ascending the rock, +we may say that the west side first yielded in 1826; the +east side probably about 1860; the south side in 1882, and +the north side in 1891. The <i>Easy Way</i> (as it is generally +called) on the east side was discovered in 1863 by a party +of Cambridge men led by Mr. Conybeare, and Mr. A.J. +Butler, the late editor of the <i>Alpine Journal</i>. Mr. Leslie +Stephen had visited the rock earlier in that year without +finding a way up it, but in 1865 he was more successful, +and wrote an account of it in Ritson's book; the account, as +usual, was first defaced and afterwards stolen. The <i>Northeast</i>, +or <i>Old Wall</i>, <i>way</i> was discovered by Matthew Barnes, +the Keswick guide, while with Mr. Graves, of Manchester. +The central and western climbs from <i>Jordan</i> were done by the +writer in 1882, as was the eastern one in 1884, the last being +scarcely justifiable under any circumstances, and especially<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> +without a rope. The direct climb of the <i>Great Chimney</i> (starting +on the south wall of it) was done about the same time, +and curiously enough—for it is safe and comparatively easy—does +not appear to have been done since. The long climb +on the north face was accomplished by Messrs. Hastings, +Slingsby, and the writer in 1891. It has been described in +an illustrated article in <i>Black and White</i> (June 4, 1892), +and by Mr. Gwynne in the <i>Pall Mall Budget</i>. It should +not be touched except by experienced climbers.</p> + + +<p><b>Pinnacle Bield</b>, on the east side of <i>Glaramara</i>, is a +rocky part of the mountain and a famous stronghold for +foxes. On the way up from <i>Langstrath</i> there is a very +steep bit for about 500 ft.</p> + + +<p><b>Pisgah.</b>—A name given in 1882 to the outlying rock on +the south side of the Pillar Rock, from which it is severed +by an all but impassable chasm, not seen until it bars the +way. The term has in subsequent years been applied almost +generically.</p> + + +<p><b>Pitch</b>: any sudden drop in the course of a rock gully, usually +caused by some large stone choking the channel and penning +back the loose stones behind it. Such a stone is then said to be +'jammed,' 'wedged,' or 'pitched,' and is sometimes called a +'chockstone' (q.v.).</p> + + +<p><b>Pot-holes</b> are frequent in the Yorkshire limestone. +The rivers for considerable distances have underground +courses. At each spot where the roof of one of these tunnels +happens to fall in a 'pot-hole' is produced. They are very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> +numerous about Settle and Clapham. Some are of very +great depth and can only be explored with the aid of much +cordage and many lights. The explorer of pot-holes has to +face all the perils of severe rock climbing, and, moreover, to +face them for the most part in the dark. It would be hard +to imagine anything more weird than one of these darksome +journeys, rendered doubly impressive by the roar of unseen +waters and the knowledge that abrupt pitches of vast depth +are apt to occur in the course of the channel without the +slightest warning. (See <i>Alum Pot</i>, <i>Dunald Mill Hole</i>, <i>Gaping +Gill Hole</i>.)</p> + + +<p><b>Pow</b>: a sluggish rivulet.</p> + + +<p><b>Professor's Chimney.</b>—A name bestowed by Messrs. +Hopkinson on the exit most towards the left hand as one +comes up <i>Deep Gill</i> on <i>Scafell</i>. Out of this chimney, again +to the left, diverges that which leads up to the neck between +the <i>Scafell Pillar</i> and its Pisgah. To this latter chimney +the name is erroneously applied by many, though, indeed, +they might urge with some reason that if it comes to a +scramble for one name between two gullies the more frequented +ought to get it.</p> + + +<p><b>Rainsborrow Crag.</b>—A noble rock in Kentdale, Westmorland. +It is, perhaps, most easily got at from Staveley, +but from Ambleside it is only necessary to cross the Garbourne +Pass, and the crag is at once conspicuous. It is of +the same type as <i>Froswick</i> and <i>Ill Bell</i>, but finer and more +sheer than either of them.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Rake</b>: a word common in Derbyshire, Yorkshire, and the +Lakes, which has been much misunderstood. It usually happens +to be a scree-gully, but the fundamental idea is straightness.</p> + + +<p><b>Rake's Progress.</b>—This is a natural gallery on the face +of the Mickledoor crags of <i>Scafell</i>. It has been best +described by Mr. Williamson, who says: '<i>Mickledoor</i> may +be reached by scrambling up the steeply sloping screes which +form its Wastdale slope; but the easier and more romantic +approach is by the grassy ledge, which will be seen projecting +from the face of the Scafell precipice. This ledge or +shelf is in but few places less than four feet wide. In places +it is composed of shattered heaps of rock, which seem barely +to keep their equilibrium; but though there is a precipice of +considerable height on the left hand, the passage along the +ledge is free from risk so long as the rock wall on the right +is closely hugged. By one who watched from below the +passage along the ledge of some of the early pioneers of lake +climbing it was christened the <i>Rake's Progress</i>, and the +name appears apt when it is remembered that the ledge +leads from the lower limb of the <i>Lord's Rake</i> to the <i>Mickledoor +Ridge</i>.' The first published description of the <i>Rake's +Progress</i> is contained in a letter by the late Mr. Maitland to +one of the local papers in October 1881. He there states +that he had recently traversed it for the fifth time, but had +not previously to that occasion visited Deep Gill. Several +grand climbs start from the <i>Progress</i>, including <i>North +Climb</i>, <i>Collier's Climb</i>, <i>Moss Gill</i>, <i>Steep Gill</i>, and the <i>Scafell +Pillar</i>.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Raven Crag.</b>—This name is generally the sign of a +hard, if not of a good, climb. One of the finest stands on +the west side of Thirlmere, near the foot, or what used to be +the foot of it before Manchester took it in hand; a second +is on the <i>Pillar Fell</i> just east of the rock; a third and +fourth on <i>Brandreth</i> and <i>Gable</i>, and indeed there is one on +almost every fell.</p> + + +<p><b>Red Pike</b>, in Cumberland, overlooking Buttermere, is +a syenite hill, and commands a glorious view, especially +strong in lakes, but there is next to no climbing to be had on +it. The best way up it is to follow the course of Ruddy +Beck from the southernmost corner of Crummock Water, +but the rocky amphitheatre in which Bleaberry Tarn lies is +better seen if the somewhat rougher route by Sourmilkgill +and its east bank be followed.</p> + + +<p><b>Red Pike</b>, also in Cumberland, is a Wastdale fell, and +lies between <i>Yewbarrow</i> and the <i>Steeple</i>. The north side of +it has abundance of small climbs, which, with the exception +of <i>Yewbarrow</i>, are, perhaps, more easily reached than any +others from the inn at Wastdale Head; but they are little +visited, because everyone wants to fly at the highest game +and do the climbs which are most talked about. This fell is +sometimes called <i>Chair</i>, from the fact of there being a +curious stone seat on it near the ridge, and not far from +<i>Door Head</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Red Screes</b>, in Westmorland (2,541 ft.), are very steep +in the direction of the Kirkstone (after which the pass of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> +that name is said to be called), falling about 1,000 ft. in a +horizontal distance of a quarter of a mile; but the ascent is +not more than an exhilarating scramble. There is a well-known +view from the top.</p> + + +<p><b>Rope.</b>—Some remarks on the use of the rope as a safeguard +in climbing will be found in the Introduction.</p> + + +<p><b>Rossett Gill.</b>—A rough pass just over 2,000 ft. in +height, which is the only approach from Langdale to Scafell, +Gable, and the Wastdale fells generally. On the Langdale +side you cannot go far wrong, but it is very rugged, so rugged +that Mr. Payn has caustically observed that all expeditions +in this region admit of being made by driving, by riding, or +by walking, 'except Rossett Gill, which must be done on all +fours.' On the Eskhause side the walking is perfectly easy, +but mistakes are very liable to occur. On this high ground +mists are extremely frequent, and blinding rain is abundant. +The result is that people making for Langdale are surprised +at having to mount again after the long descent to Angle +Tarn, and often end by going away to the left down Langstrath, +and find themselves to their great surprise in Borrowdale. +The only safeguard is, of course, to bear clearly in +mind that the ups and downs hereabout are considerable, +and to arm oneself with map and compass.</p> + + +<p><b>Saddleback</b> (2,847 ft.) was at one time thought to be +higher than its neighbour Skiddaw. To Mrs. Radcliffe, on +the summit of the latter in 1795, the former was 'now preeminent +over Skiddaw.' 'The Beauties of England' informs<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> +us that 'the views from the summit are exceedingly extensive, +but those immediately under the eye on the mountain +itself so tremendous and appalling that few persons have +sufficient resolution to experience the emotions which those +awful scenes inspire.' We have a very full account of an +ascent made in 1793. The narrator says: 'When we had +ascended about a mile, one of the party, on looking round, +was so astonished with the different appearance of objects in +the valley so far beneath us that he declined proceeding. +We had not gone much further till the other companion (of +the relator) was suddenly taken ill and wished to loose blood +and return.'</p> + +<p>The great feature of the mountain is its southern front, +which is cut away to form enormous cloughs, divided by +narrow ridges. The latter are the Edges of Saddleback. +Narrow Edge (as <i>Halls Fell top</i> is now generally called) is +the finest and most romantic. It runs up from Threlkeld, +where there is a convenient station. The proper name of +Broad Edge is <i>Gategill Fell</i>. Part of <i>Middle Tongue</i> +straight behind the lead-mine is also very narrow. A writer +in the <i>Penny Magazine</i> for 1837 speaks of 'the serrated +precipices above Threlkeld,' and adds, 'One of these is called +<i>Razor Edge</i>.' That name, however, has now for many +years at least been used as the equivalent of <i>Sharp Edge</i>, +which is on the east side of the mountain and on the north +side of <i>Scales Tarn</i>, and at one time enjoyed a tremendous +reputation as a perilous climb.</p> + +<p>The name of the mountain itself has been jeered at as a +post-boy's name, and romantically-minded people use the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> +name Blencathara, for which many Celtic etymons have +been suggested. The most usual form seems to have been +Blenkarthur, and only the more northern of the two peaks +was so called.</p> + +<p>The quickest ascent of the mountain is from Threlkeld +up <i>Narrow Edge</i>, but if the return is to Keswick, it should +be made along the shoulder towards Skiddaw, and so by +Brundholme Wood.</p> + + +<p><b>Sail.</b>—This word, in the opinion of Dr. Murray, the +learned editor of the new 'English Dictionary,' signifies 'a +soaring dome-shaped summit.' It occurs as a hill-name in +the Grassmoor group, near Buttermere in Cumberland; but +the characteristics required by the above definition are, to +say the least, not conspicuously evident either there or in +the other cases where this element is found in fell-country +place-names. (See <i>Black Sail</i>.)</p> + + +<p><b>St. Bees.</b>—In Cumberland, on the west coast. Several +accidents have occurred on the cliffs here. They are of +sandstone, and incline to be rotten. The best are about +<i>Fleswick Bay</i>. The height is only about 200 ft. The Rev. +James Jackson—the Patriarch (q.v.)—lived at Sandwith close +by, and was fond of climbing about on these cliffs.</p> + + +<p><b>St. John's Vale.</b>—A name of modern invention, which +has ousted <i>Buresdale</i> (q.v.). It is used in an article in the +<i>Gentleman's Magazine</i> for 1754, and also in 'Gray's +Journal,' which possibly misled Sir Walter Scott, whose +poem caused it to meet with general acceptance.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>St. Sunday Crag</b>, in Westmorland (sheet 19 of the Ordnance +map), is of far more importance than <i>Helvellyn</i> to the +views of and from Ullswater. Moreover, it has some capital +crags facing north-west, among which many a good rock-problem +may be found. They were long a favourite +scrambling-ground with Major Cundill, R.E., the inventor of +the <i>North Climb</i> on <i>Scafell</i>, and are within easy reach of +Patterdale.</p> + + +<p><b>Scafell</b> (3,162 ft.) presents some fine rocks to Eskdale, +but the grandest rocks, both to look at and to climb, are +towards <i>Mickledoor</i>. As a climbing-ground it is perhaps +even more popular than the <i>Pillar</i>, especially in winter. In +consequence of this the ground has been gone over very +closely by climbers of exceptional skill, and climbing of a +somewhat desperate character has occasionally been indulged +in. This applies mainly to the west side of Mickledoor. +The other side is easier, and has long been more or less well +known.</p> + +<p>Mr. Green says of it: 'The crags on the south-west [of +Mickledoor], though seeming frightfully to oppose all passage, +have been ascended as the readiest way to the top of Scafell, +and, amongst other adventurers, by Mr. Thomas Tyson, of +Wastdale Head, and Mr. Towers, of Toes [in Eskdale]; but +Messrs. Ottley and Birkett contented themselves by proceeding +for some distance in the direction of Eskdale, to a +deep fissure, through which they scrambled to the top of +Scafell.'</p> + +<p>It might be thought that this 'fissure' was 'Mickledoor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> +Chimney,' but it is more likely that it was another and easier +gully a good way farther down.</p> + +<p>Mr. Herman Prior's excellent 'Pedestrian Guide' (3rd +edition, p. 194) has a very clear and accurate account of it +from the pen of Mr. C.W. Dymond, who visited it about +1869, and another in Mr. C.N. Williamson's second article +in <i>All the Year Round</i> for November 8, 1884; and in the +local press scores of descriptions have appeared.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="SCAFELL_CRAGS"> +<img src="images/i_146.png" width="575" height="400" alt="SCAFELL CRAGS" /> +<p class="caption">SCAFELL CRAGS<br /> +A, Top of <i>Broad Stand</i>; B, <i>Pisgah</i>; C, <i>Scafell Pillar</i>; D, Head of <i>Deep Gill</i>.</p> +</div> + +<p>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 descending<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> +the 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 about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> +it, 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.</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="PLAN_OF_SCAFELL"> +<img src="images/i_147.png" width="553" height="400" alt="PLAN OF SCAFELL" /> +<p class="caption">PLAN OF SCAFELL<br /> +A, <i>Broad Stand</i>; B, <i>Mickledoor Ridge</i>; C, <i>Scafell Pillar</i>; D, <i>Lord's Rake</i>; +F, <i>Pikes Crag</i>; G, <i>Deep Gill</i>.</p> +</div> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + + +<p><b>Scafell Pikes</b>—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.'</p> + +<p>On the Eskdale side there are a few climbs, including +<i>Doe Crag</i>; but the best are on the side of <i>Great End</i> and +<i>Lingmell</i>, which are merely buttresses of it.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span></p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="SCAFELL_PILLAR_SEEN_ACROSS_DEEP_GILL"> +<img src="images/i_149.png" width="400" height="496" alt="SCAFELL PILLAR (SEEN ACROSS DEEP GILL)" /> +<p class="caption">SCAFELL PILLAR (SEEN ACROSS DEEP GILL)</p> +</div> + + +<p><b>Scafell Pillar</b> stands between <i>Deep Gill</i> and <i>Steep Gill</i>. +It has a short side close to the summit ridge of <i>Scafell</i>, and +a long side towards the <i>Rake's Progress</i>. The first ascent +was made on the short side by the writer on September 3,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a><br /><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> +1884, and the first from the Rake's Progress by Mr. Robinson +and the writer on the 20th of the same month.</p> + + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="SCAFELL_PILLAR_AND_THE_UPPER_PITCH_OF_DEEP_GILL"> +<img src="images/i_150.png" width="400" height="500" alt="SCAFELL PILLAR AND THE UPPER PITCH OF DEEP GILL" /> +<p class="caption">SCAFELL PILLAR AND THE UPPER PITCH OF DEEP GILL</p> +</div> + +<p>They climbed by way of <i>Steep Gill</i> on 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 of <i>Steep +Gill</i> by 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 into <i>Deep +Gill</i>, in which they have not entirely succeeded.</p> + + +<p><b>Scree</b>: the <i>débris</i> of decaying rocks, forming a talus on the +lower parts of a mountain. It is the Icelandic 'skrida.'</p> + + +<p><b>Screes (The).</b>—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 party<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a><br /><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> +which ultimately succeeded. Dr. Collie contributed a vivid +account of the first ascent to the <i>Scottish Mountaineering +Journal</i>, 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 in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> +a 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.'</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="WASTWATER_AND_THE_SCREES"> +<img src="images/i_152.png" width="530" height="400" alt="WASTWATER AND THE SCREES" /> +<p class="caption">WASTWATER AND THE SCREES<br /> +A, A long gully, not very difficult; B, The great gully, extremely difficult; C, A minor gully, also very difficult.</p> +</div> + + +<p><b>Sergeant Crag.</b>—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.</p> + +<p>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.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> +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.</p> + +<p>'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.'</p> + + +<p><b>Shamrock</b>, in Cumberland, stands just east of the +<i>Pillar Rock</i>, divided from it only by <i>Walker's Gully</i>.</p> + +<p>Seen from <i>Scarf Gap</i> it 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.</p> + + +<p><b>Sharp Edge</b>, 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 so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> +constituted, 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.... Excepting <i>head</i>, 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.'</p> + +<p>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.</p> + + +<p><b>Shuttenoer</b> is 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.'</p> + + +<p><b>Sike</b>: a rill in marshy ground.</p> + + +<p><b>Silver Howe</b> (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 something<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> +less 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.</p> + + +<p><b>Skew Gill.</b>—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.</p> + + +<p><b>Skiddaw</b> (Cumberland, sh. 56) is 3,058 ft. high, 'with +two heads like unto <i>Parnassus</i>,' 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 +<i>-ow</i>, 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:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Laal brag it is for any man<br /> + To clim oop Skidder side;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Auld wives and barns on Jackasses<br /> + To tippy twop ma ride.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>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 Skiddaw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> +almost 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.</p> + +<p>The mountain used to enjoy a great reputation, and is put +first in Camden's 'Byword':</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> + Skiddaw, Lauvellin and Casticand<br /> + Are the highest hills in all England, +</div></div> + +<p>and the early climbers of it were deeply impressed with the +importance of their adventurous undertaking.</p> + +<p>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.'</p> + +<p>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.'</p> + +<p>Skiddaw reserves what little natural ferocity it has for +<i>Dead Crags</i> on the north side, but there are also a few rocky +bits on the side which faces Bassenthwaite Water.</p> + + +<p><b>Smoking Rock</b> is at the head of <i>Great Doup</i>, east +of the <i>Pillar Stone</i> and level with the ridge of the <i>Pillar</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> +<i>Fell</i>. 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.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + + +<p><b>Somersetshire</b> has 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.</p> + + +<p><b>Stand.</b>—See under <i>Broad Stand</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Steep Gill.</b>—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 Gill<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> +becomes 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.</p> + + +<p><b>Steeple.</b>—In Cumberland, separated from <i>Pillar Fell</i> +by <i>Wind Gap</i>. 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 of <i>Scafell</i>, <i>Wind Gap</i>, of +course, representing <i>Mickledoor</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Stirrup Crag</b>, 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, after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> +which a short descent towards Door Head, keeping rather to +the left hand, will bring to light several small but pretty +rock-problems.</p> + + +<p><b>Striding Edge</b>, a ridge on the east side of <i>Helvellyn</i>, +is called in one of the old maps <i>Strathon Edge</i>. 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 to <i>Helvellyn</i>, 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.</p> + + +<p><b>Sty Head.</b>—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 as +<i>The Sty</i> or <i>The Stee</i>. 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 +the <i>Graphic</i>, and it is only a year or two since two well-known +Cumberland climbers were caught in the same ignominious fashion.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Swarthbeck</b>, in Westmorland, and on the east shore of +Ullswater and the west slope of <i>Arthur's Pike</i>, 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 are <i>Holling Fell</i> and <i>Swarth Fell</i>, 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.</p> + + +<p><b>Tarn Crag</b> (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 genuine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> +tarn that it should be more or less under a precipice of +some sort.</p> + + +<p><b>Toe-scrape.</b>—May be defined as 'foot-hold at or below +its minimum.'</p> + + +<p><b>Tors</b>, on <i>Dartmoor</i> (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 final <i>t</i> in the preceding word. +What, for instance, they call Hen Tor may be in reality +Hent Haw. In Scotland <i>tor</i> is, of course, a common component +in place names.</p> + +<p>A few of the more interesting <i>tors</i> are—</p> + +<blockquote> +<p><i>Belliver Tor.</i>—Turn squarely to the right two miles from +Two Bridges on the Moreton Hampstead Road.</p> + +<p><i>Blackingstone Rock.</i>—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.</p> + +<p><i>Brent Tor.</i>—A curious cone of volcanic rock a long mile +south-west of Brentor Station, and fully four miles +north of Tavistock.</p> + +<p><i>Fur Tor.</i>—About six miles in a northerly direction from +Merivale Bridge, Two Bridges, or Princetown.</p> + +<p><i>Hey Tor.</i>—Four miles west of Bovey Tracy; was quite +a nice climb, but has been spoilt by artificial aids.</p> +</blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="A_TYPICAL_TOR_HEY_TOR_DARTMOOR"> +<img src="images/i_164.png" width="773" height="400" alt="A TYPICAL TOR (HEY TOR, DARTMOOR)" /> +<p class="caption">A TYPICAL TOR (HEY TOR, DARTMOOR)</p> +</div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span></p> + +<blockquote> +<p><i>Links (Great) Tor.</i>—About two miles east of Bridestow +station.</p> + +<p><i>Longaford Tor.</i>—Strike off to the left about halfway +between Two Bridges and Post Bridge.</p> + +<p><i>Mis Tor (Great and Little).</i>—Two miles north from +Merivale Bridge. They are fine objects, especially the +larger.</p> + +<p><i>Row Tor.</i>—On the West Dart some four miles north of +Two Bridges. It has a very striking block of granite +on it.</p> + +<p><i>Sheep's Tor.</i>—About two miles east of Dousland Station. +It is finely shaped.</p> + +<p><i>Shellstone Tor.</i>—Near Throwleigh, about halfway between +Chagford and Oakhampton.</p> + +<p><i>Staple Tor.</i>—Under a mile north-west from Merivale +Bridge, and four miles east of Tavistock.</p> + +<p><i>Vixen Tor.</i>—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.</p> + +<p><i>Watern Tor.</i>—Five or six miles west of Chagford, on the +left bank of the North Teign. It has three towers of +friable granite much weathered.</p> + +<p><i>Yar Tor.</i>—Halfway between Two Bridges and Buckland-in-the-Moor; +it has a curiously fortified appearance.</p> +</blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a><br /><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Vixen Tor.</b>—One of the finest of the Devonshire +<i>Tors</i> (q.v.).</p> + +<p class="totoi"><a href="#toi">ToList</a></p> +<div class="figcenter" id="VIXEN_TOR_DARTMOOR"> +<img src="images/i_166.png" width="699" height="400" alt="VIXEN TOR (DARTMOOR)" /> +<p class="caption">VIXEN TOR (DARTMOOR)</p> +</div> + + +<p><b>Walker's Gully</b> is the precipice in which ends the +East Scree, between the <i>Pillar Rock</i> and the <i>Shamrock</i>. +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.</p> + + +<p><b>Wallow Crag</b>, a long mile south of Keswick, is abrupt +but not high, and somewhat incumbered by trees. It contains +<i>Lady's Rake</i>, and <i>Falcon Crag</i> is 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.</p> + + +<p><b>Wanthwaite Crags</b> (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 are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> +easily 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.</p> + + +<p><b>Wastdale.</b>—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 of <i>Scafell</i>, <i>Lingmell</i>, <i>Great Gable</i>, <i>Pillar</i>, <i>Yewbarrow</i>, +<i>Steeple</i>, <i>Red Pike</i>, and <i>Great End</i>.) 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 over <i>Burnmoor</i> from Boot Station in +one hour and a half or less.</p> + + +<p><b>Westmorland</b>, 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:</p> + +<p>'I now entered <i>Westmorland</i>, a county eminent only for +being the wildest, most barren, and frightful of any that I +have passed over in <i>England</i> or in <i>Wales</i>. The west side,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> +which borders on <i>Cumberland</i>, is indeed bounded by a chain +of almost unpassable Mountains, which in the language of +the country are called <i>Fells</i>.... It must be owned, +however, that here are some very pleasant manufacturing +towns.'</p> + +<p>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:</p> + +<p>'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.'</p> + + +<p><b>Westmorland's Cairn</b> is a conspicuous object at the +edge nearest to Wastwater of the summit plateau of <i>Great +Gable</i>. 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 from +<i>Scafell Pikes</i>, <i>Helvellyn</i>, or <i>Skiddaw</i>, 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 the <i>Napes</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Wetherlam</b>, in Lancashire, is about 2,500 ft., and has +some crags on the north side among which here and there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> +good 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 the <i>Pall Mall Gazette</i> in 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.'</p> + + +<p><b>Whernside</b>, in Yorkshire, was considered even as late +as 1770 to be the highest mountain in England, 4,050 ft. +above the sea.</p> + + +<p><b>White Gill</b>, in Langdale, Westmorland, nearly at the +back of the inn at <i>Millbeck</i>, derives its chief interest from +the loss of the two Greens there, so graphically described by +De Quincey.</p> + +<p>This and the other gills between it and <i>Stickle Tarn</i> afford +good climbing up the walls by which they are enclosed.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Winter Climbs.</b>—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.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>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,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> +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.</p> + +<p>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.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span></p> + + +<p><b>Wrynose.</b>—The pass between Dunnerdale and Little +Langdale, and the meeting-point of the three counties of +Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire.</p> + +<p>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. <i>Defoe's Tour</i> (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.</p> + + +<p><b>Yewbarrow</b> (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 about <i>Door Head</i> +and <i>Stirrup Crag</i>, 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.</p> + + +<p><b>Yorkshire</b> (see <i>Attermire</i>, <i>Calf</i>, <i>Craven</i>, <i>Gordale</i>, +<i>Ingleborough</i>, <i>Malham</i>, <i>Micklefell</i>, <i>Penyghent</i>, <i>Pot-holes</i>, +<i>Whernside</i>)—a county whose uplands fall naturally into three +great divisions, only one of which, however, demands the +attention of the mountaineer. The chalk <i>Wolds</i> in the East +Riding, and the moorland group formed by the <i>Hambleton</i> +and <i>Cleveland Hills</i>, may be dismissed here with a mere men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>tion. +The third division, which constitutes a portion of the +<i>Pennine Chain</i>, 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—in <i>Craven</i>, 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 of <i>Pen-hill</i> or <i>Ingleborough</i>, 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 as +<i>Attermire</i> or <i>Gordale</i>, which mark the line of the Craven +Fault. The <i>Howgill Fells</i>, north of Sedburgh, form an +exception to the above remarks. (See <i>Calf</i>.)</p> + +<p>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 of <i>Micklefell</i>, of <i>Great Whernside</i>, of <i>Penyghent</i>, or +of <i>Ingleborough</i>, whilst not lacking altogether the excite<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>ment +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.</p> + +<p>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. (See <i>Chalk</i>.) 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. <i>Rockcliff</i>, or <i>Boulby Cliff</i>, 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.</p> + + + + + +<p class="p6 center">PRINTED BY</p> + +<p class="center">SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE</p> + +<p class="center">LONDON +</p> + + + + + + + +<h2 class="p6"><a name="THE_BADMINTON_LIBRARY" id="THE_BADMINTON_LIBRARY"></a>THE BADMINTON LIBRARY.</h2> + +<h4>Edited by the DUKE OF BEAUFORT, K.G. and A.E.T. WATSON.</h4> + + +<p>ATHLETICS AND FOOTBALL. By <span class="smcap">Montague +Shearman</span>. With an Introduction by <span class="smcap">Sir Richard Webster, Q.C. M.P.</span> +With 51 Illustrations. 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Lyttelton</span>, <span class="smcap">W.C. +Marshall</span>, Miss <span class="smcap">L. Dodd</span>, <span class="smcap">H.W.W. Wilberforce</span>, <span class="smcap">H.F. Lawford</span>, &c. +With 79 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 10<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> + +<p>YACHTING. By Sir <span class="smcap">Edward Sullivan</span>, <span class="smcap">Lord Brassey</span>, +<span class="smcap">R.T. Pritchett</span>, the <span class="smcap">Earl of Onslow</span>, <span class="smcap">Lewis Herreshoff</span>, &c. With +309 Illustrations. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. 10<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> each.</p> + + +<p class="center">London: LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO.</p> + +<p class="p6 transnote">Transcriber's note: Inconsistent hyphenation is as in the original.</p> + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Climbing in The British Isles. Vol. 1 +- England, by W. P. 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Vol. 1 - +England, by W. P. Haskett Smith + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Climbing in The British Isles. Vol. 1 - England + +Author: W. P. Haskett Smith + +Illustrator: Ellis Carr + +Release Date: November 12, 2011 [EBook #37993] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CLIMBING IN THE BRITISH *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Rory OConor and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + + + + + CLIMBING IN THE BRITISH ISLES + + _ENGLAND_ + + + + + CLIMBING + IN THE BRITISH ISLES + + _3 vols. 16mo. Sold separately._ + + I. ENGLAND. + II. WALES. _In preparation._ + III. SCOTLAND. _In preparation._ + + LONDON AND NEW YORK: + LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. + + + + + CLIMBING + IN + THE BRITISH ISLES + + _I.--ENGLAND_ + + BY + W.P. HASKETT SMITH, M.A. + MEMBER OF THE ALPINE CLUB + + WITH TWENTY-THREE ILLUSTRATIONS + BY + ELLIS CARR + MEMBER OF THE ALPINE CLUB + + AND FIVE PLANS + + LONDON + LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. + AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16th STREET + 1894 + + _All rights reserved_ + + + + +CONTENTS + + +Introduction + +The headings, for convenience of reference, are arranged in +one continuous alphabetical series, comprising the following +classes of subject: + + I. COUNTIES AND DISTRICTS WHICH ARE OF INTEREST TO THE + MOUNTAINEER + (_e.g._ Cumberland, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Ennerdale) + + II. PLACES WHICH ARE CONVENIENT AS CLIMBING CENTRES + (_e.g._ Keswick, Patterdale, Wastdale Head) + + III. MOUNTAINS AND ROCKS WHICH AFFORD CLIMBS + (_e.g._ Dow Crag, Pillar, Scafell) + + IV. CLIMBS OF REPUTATION, WITH DIRECTIONS FOR FINDING AND + ACCOMPLISHING THEM + (_e.g._ Deep Gill, Mickledoor, Napes Needle) + + V. TECHNICAL TERMS AND EXPRESSIONS + (_e.g._ back-and-knee, chimney, toe-scrape) + + VI. LOCAL NAMES FOUND AMONG THE HILLS, WITH OCCASIONAL + NOTES ON THEIR ORIGIN AND MEANING + (_e.g._ bink, clough, gill, hause, hope) + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +For some years past there has been a remarkably rapid increase in the +number of men who climb for climbing's sake within the bounds of the +British Isles. + +When any young and active Englishman sees a rock and is told that the +ascent of it is regarded as a kind of feat, there is no doubt what he +will want to do. He will obey what has been the instinct of the race at +any time this forty years. But lately there has been a change. What was +formerly done casually and instinctively has for the last dozen years or +so been done systematically and of set purpose, for it is now recognised +that hill-climbing in these islands may form part of a real +mountaineering education. Many might-be mountaineers have missed their +vocation because they were in the position of the prudent individual who +would not go into the water until after he should have learned to swim: +they did not become Alpine because they were afraid that they should +make fools of themselves if they went on the Alps. Yet, had they only +known it, they might have found without crossing the sea many a place +which might have been to their undeveloped instincts what the little +pond at the end of the garden has been to many a would-be skater--a +quiet spot where early flounderings would be safe from the contemptuous +glances of unsympathetic experts. + +Icemanship can only be acquired through a long apprenticeship, by +tramping many a weary mile helplessly tied to the tail of a guide. But +one principal charm of hill-climbing lies in the fact that it may be +picked up by self-directed practice and does not demand the same +preliminary subjection. The course of Alpine instruction can only be +considered complete when Mr. Girdlestone's ideal of 'The High Alps +without Guides' is realised (an ideal, be it clearly understood, which +for fully ninety-nine out of every hundred climbers it would be +downright madness to attempt to carry into practice); whereas, while +rock-climbing may be enjoyed by amateurs without incurring the reproach +of recklessness, they at the same time experience the exquisite pleasure +of forming their own plans of attack, of varying the execution of them +according to their own judgment, and finally of meeting obstacles, as +they arise, with their own skill and with their own strength, and +overcoming them without the assistance of a hired professional. + +Nowhere can the mere manual dexterity of climbing be better acquired +than among the fells of Cumberland; excellent practising-ground presents +itself on nearly every hill. Compared with real mountains the crags of +Cumberland are but toys, but small as they are, they have made many and +many a fine climber; and the man who has gone through a course of +training among them, who has learnt to know the exact length of his own +stride and reach, and to wriggle up a 'chimney' in approved style with +shoulder, hip and knee, may boldly fly at higher game, and when he +proceeds to tackle the giants of the Alps or Caucasus has no cause to be +afraid of the result. + +As if with the express object of increasing their educational value to +the mountaineer, the hilly parts of Great Britain are peculiarly subject +to atmospheric changes. No one who has not experienced their effects +would believe the extent to which mist, snow, and even rain can change +the appearance of landmarks among the mountains; and, where landmarks +are less abundant or less striking, even the buffeting of violent wind +may cause an inexperienced man to change his direction unconsciously. +Valuable experience in things of this kind may be gained even in summer, +but in winter the conditions become more Alpine, and splendid practice +may be had in the use of the axe and rope. + +Not that the latter should be neglected on difficult rocks at any time +of the year. Even in places where it gives the leader no security and to +some extent actually impedes him, the moral effect of it is good. It +wonderfully increases those feelings of united and ordered effort, of +mutual dependence and mutual confidence, and finally of cheery +subordination of self, which are not the least of the virtues or the +joys of mountaineering. How these opportunities may be used the novice +will readily learn from Mr. Charles Pilkington's admirable chapters in +the Badminton 'Mountaineering,' and from Dr. Claude Wilson's excellent +little handbook on the same subject. It is the aim of the present work +to enable him to find suitable places where the principles so admirably +laid down by those authorities may be tested and applied, and to +understand the descriptions--often involving difficult technical and +local terms--which have been published of them. When anyone with +climbing instincts finds himself in a strange place his first desire is +to discover a climb, his second to learn what its associations are; what +is it called, and why? has anyone climbed it, and what did he think of +it? To such questions as these this book endeavours to provide an +answer. It offers, in short, to the would-be climber a link, with the +guidebook on the one hand and the local specialist on the other. + +It must always be remembered that a very fine rock may be a very poor +climb. It may be impossible or it may be too easy, or, again, the +material maybe dangerously rotten; and thus, though there are many +places where men can and do obtain useful climbing practice, there is +only one part of England to which resort is made simply for the sake of +its climbing. In consequence of this fact the greater part of the book +is devoted to the English Lakes, and especially to the south-west +portion of them, where the best climbs of all are to be found. But in +that district the art has been highly elaborated, and the standard of +difficulty and dexterity is even dangerously high. If men would be +content to serve an apprenticeship and to feel their way gradually from +the easier climbs onward, they would excite less apprehension in the +minds of those who know what these climbs are. If, on the other hand, +they rush, as too many do, straight from the desk in a crowded city, +with unseasoned lungs and muscles, in the cold and the wet, to attack +alone or with chance companions whatever climb enjoys for the moment +the greatest notoriety, frightful accidents are certain to occur. + +The books, too, which are kept specially for climbing records at some +places in the Lakes, such as Dungeon Gill, Buttermere, and, notably, +Wastdale Head, are misleading, owing to the widely different standards +of difficulty among the various writers. Printed accounts are so few +that this objection hardly applies to them. The most noteworthy beyond +all doubt are the two articles written for _All the Year Round_, in +November 1884, by Mr. C.N. Williamson, the late editor of _Black and +White_. It would be hard to exaggerate the effect which these articles +had in making the Lake climbs known. The same writer had previously +contributed articles of less permanent value to the _Graphic_ and the +_Daily News_. In 1837 two articles had appeared in the _Penny Magazine_ +(see _Lord's Rake_); in 1859 the late Professor Tyndall had written of +_Mickledoor_ in the _Saturday Review_, and more recently articles have +appeared in the _Pall Mall Gazette_, by Mr. W. Brunskill and by Mr. H. +A. Gwynne. The present writer contributed an article to the _Alpine +Journal_ of August 1892, and one containing very clear illustrations of +'back-and-knee' work and of an episode in the long climb on the Pillar +Rock to the pages of _Black and White_, in June 1892, while numerous +articles have appeared from time to time in such local papers as the +_Whitehaven News_ and the _West Cumberland Times_, and in the +Manchester, Leeds, and Bradford press. Of guidebooks the only one of any +value to climbers is Mr. Herman Prior's 'Pedestrian Guide.' + +Any value which the present book may have is largely due to the +excellent drawings of Mr. Ellis Carr, who most kindly came forward to +fill the place left by the lamented death of Professor A.M. Marshall. +Much assistance has been derived from sketches and photographs kindly +lent, those of Mr. Abraham, of Keswick, being especially useful. For the +valuable article on 'Chalk' I am indebted to Mr. A.F. Mummery, whose +knowledge of the subject is unrivalled; while Mr. J.W. Robinson, of +Lorton, has zealously assisted in all matters connected with Cumberland; +and I must gratefully acknowledge help given in other ways by Mr. J.E. +Morris and the Rev. C.J. Buckmaster. + + + + +CLIMBING +IN +THE BRITISH ISLES + +ENGLAND + + +=Alum Pot=, the name of which is also found in such forms as _Allen_ and +_Hellan_, lies just west of the Midland Railway, about halfway between +Horton and Ribblehead stations, and on the north-east side of +Ingleborough. It is one of the most striking and most famous of the +Yorkshire potholes, being an elliptical opening in the limestone, 120 +ft. long and 40 ft. wide, with a perpendicular depth of 200 ft. The +exploration of it was begun by Mr. Birkbeck of Anley in 1847, who, +assisted by Prof. Boyd Dawkins and a large party including three ladies, +made a complete examination in 1870. + + +=Angler's Crag=, on the south side of Ennerdale Water. The steep portion +is about 300 ft. There are also some similar crags on _Grike_ and +_Revelin_, close by; but none of them are worth a long walk, and the +only resting-place near is the Angler's Inn, at the foot of Ennerdale +Water. + + +=Apron-strings.=--Throughout Scotland and the North of England the +traditional explanation of large heaps of stones is that while some one +(generally the Devil or Samson) was carrying the stones in his apron the +strings broke and the stones fell in a heap. Many such heaps are to be +found, bearing the name of 'apronful' or 'bratful,' which means the same +thing. A good instance of the latter form is _Samson's Bratful_, in +Cumberland, between the rivers Bleng and Calder. For another good +instance see what is said about Wade's Causeway in _Murray's Handbook +for Yorkshire_, at p. 206. + + +=Aron.=--So Wilkinson (in his 'Select Views') calls _Great End_. It may +be that he misunderstood his guide, who was, perhaps, speaking at the +time of _Aaron Crags_, which are on _Sprinkling Fell_, and would be in +the line of sight to any one coming up from _Borrowdale_. In fact, the +path to _Sty Head_ passes not only _Aaron Crags_ on the left, but also +_Aaron Slack_ on the right. It is, of course, tempting to suggest that +Aron was the original Keltic name of Great End; but in Wales the name +Aran is generally applied to mountains of very different appearance to +_Great End_. + + +=Arrowhead=, a prominent rock in the _Napes_ of _Great Gable_, being +part of the ridge immediately west of _Eagle's Nest_. It was climbed on +April 17, 1892, by a large party, including Messrs. Horace Walker, +Baker, Slingsby, and others. In the following year, on the last day of +March, this climb was repeated by Messrs. Solly, Schintz, Brant, and +Bowen, who continued it right on to the top of the ridge. They kept +rather more on the ridge itself than the former party had done on the +way to the _Arrowhead_, and from that point the climb is along the +crest of the ridge. It is not a difficult climb for an experienced +party. The ridge has been called the _Arrowhead Ridge_. + +[Illustration: THE ARROWHEAD +(South side of Great Gable)] + + +=Ash Crag=, a rock in _Ennerdale_, near the _Black Sail_ end of the +_Pillar Fell_. It is the writer's belief that this is the rock which the +poet Wordsworth, in 'The Brothers,' has confused with the _Pillar Rock_. +At least a lad belonging to an old Ennerdale family, the Bowmans of +Mireside, was killed by falling from this rock at a date closely +corresponding to that indicated in the poem. + + +=Attermire=, one of the most picturesque limestone scars in Yorkshire. +It is reached from Settle on the Midland Railway, and may be seen on the +way to Malham Cove. + + +=Back-and-knee=: the process of supporting or raising the body in a +'chimney' by pressure against opposite sides with back and knees, or, +more usually, back and feet. + + +=Band.=--This word forms part of many hill names in the North of +England, and is also found in Scotland. Dr. Murray deals with it in the +'New English Dictionary,' but not in a satisfactory manner. He defines +it as 'a long ridge-like hill of minor height or a long narrow sloping +offshoot from a hill or mountain,' but it would be easy to adduce +instances where this could have no application. The word is used by +Douglas in his translation of Virgil to represent the Latin word +'jugum': + + Himself ascendis the hie _band_ of the hill; + +and from this Jamieson concluded that the word meant simply 'top of a +hill'--a definition almost as unsuitable as the last. The late Mr. +Dickinson, the leading authority on the Cumberland dialect, gave to the +word the meaning of 'a boundary on high uninclosed land,' and indeed the +frequent association of the word with personal names (often of clearly +Scandinavian character) seems to indicate some territorial significance. + + +=Bannerdale Crag= (C. sh. 57) may be taken on the way up _Saddleback_ +from Troutbeck station on the line between Keswick and Penrith. About +three miles up the stream is _Mungrisdale_, and still farther up along +the course of the stream one fork leads to _Scales Tarn_ and another to +_Bannerdale_, where there is a lead mine just north of the crags. There +is a rocky face some 600 ft. to 800 ft. high, offering climbing, which +is steep, but by no means first-rate. + + +=Barf.=--From the southern shore of Bassenthwaite Water there is a fine +steep scramble up this hill. On a bright winter's day it is rather +inspiriting, and the views are good. + +The name is more frequent in Yorkshire, where, according to Phillips, it +has the meaning of 'a detached low ridge or hill.' + + +=Beachy Head=, close to Eastbourne, in Sussex, is a very fine bold chalk +cliff, the first ascent of which is made about once in every two years, +if we may believe all that we see in the papers. The truth is that there +is a treacherous incline of some 600 ft., formed of chalk and grass, +both very steep and often dangerously slippery; and during the +Eastbourne season the coastguards at the top find their principal +occupation in supplying mechanical assistance to exhausted clamberers; +but for difficulty these cliffs will not for a moment compare with those +of half the height which carry on the line westward to _Birling Gap_. +The tops of these in many places literally overhang the sea, and there +are few points where a climber could make the slightest impression upon +them. On Beachy Head there is a dangerous-looking pinnacle, which was +climbed (by dint of cutting a step or two) in April 1894, by Mr. E.A. +Crowley. + + +=Bear Rock=, a queerly-shaped rock on _Great Napes_, which in the middle +of March 1889 was gravely attacked by a large party comprising some five +or six of the strongest climbers in England. It is a little difficult to +find, especially in seasons when the grass is at all long. + + +=Beck.=--In the North of England (except in Northumberland and Durham, +where 'burn' prevails) this is the usual word for a brook. It differs +from a 'gill' in being more open, and having banks less rocky and a +stream somewhat more copious. A gill may contain only a few drops of +water, or none at all, and still preserve its self-respect, but not so a +beck. Camden speaks of 'Beakes and Brookes.' + + +=Bell= enters into many North Country hill-names. It is commonly said to +indicate spots which were specially devoted to the worship of Baal, and +many arguments have been based upon its occurrence and distribution. If +there is anything in this assertion, the 'high places' for the worship +of Baal must have been most capriciously selected. My own belief is that +the term is purely descriptive and is applied to a convexity in the +slope of a hill. In Lowland Scotch the phrase 'bell of the brae' is not +uncommon and has the same significance. + + +=Bell Rib End=, a short drop on the narrow south ridge of _Yewbarrow_. +Though on a very small scale, it is not without interest, and was a +favourite with Mr. Maitland, one of the early explorers of Wastdale. + + +=Bield.=--This word not only occurs frequently in place names, but is +still part of living speech in North England and South Scotland. It +means shelter of any kind for man or beast, and in the latter case +especially a fox or a sheep. It is also used as a verb; in fox hunting, +for instance, the animal when run to earth is said to be 'bielded.' + + +=Bink=: a long narrow grassy ledge. (N. of Eng.) + + +=Black Sail.=--It has been suggested that this name, now borne by the +pass from Wastdale to Ennerdale between Pillarfell and Kirkfell, may +have originally been named from the mountain it crossed, and so may +possibly now preserve an older name of one of those two mountains. Dr. +Murray, writing to a local paper some years ago, did not hesitate to +affirm positively that Pillar Fell is entirely due to the Ordnance +surveyors, and that the original name was Black Sail, a fact which he +said could be proved by historical evidence. It would be extremely +interesting to see this evidence, but the name 'Pillar' certainly +appears in maps published long before that of the Ordnance. (See +_Sail_.) The pass (1,750 ft.) is very familiar to all climbing folk, +being the ordinary way of reaching the Pillar Rock from Wastdale Head. +It is generally preferred to _Wind Gap_ on account of greater variety +of view and better 'going,' and some make use of it even for the purpose +of reaching the Ennerdale side of _Great Gable_. + +The route, however, has one disadvantage. It is hot. It is no uncommon +thing to hear enthusiastic frequenters of the Lakes complaining of the +popular misapprehension that the sun never shines there, and urging that +people are so unreasonable as to notice the wet but to disregard the +warmth. Among these traducers of the Cumberland climate the frequenters +of the Black Sail route are not found. Argue not with such; but some +fair morning, when the reviler is most rampant, lead him gently into +Mosedale and watch with calm delight while he pants painfully up the +pass, trying his utmost to look cool, with the sun, which he has +maligned, beating down squarely upon his back and exacting a merciless +revenge. Many a time will he turn about and feign rapture at the taper +cone of Yewbarrow and the bold outline of Scafell; often will his +bootlace strangely come untied before his reverted glance catches the +welcome gleam of Burnmoor Tarn; but long before that time his heart +within him will have melted even as wax, and he will have registered a +vow that, when next the Cumberland sunshine is discussed, the seat of +the scornful shall know him no more. Mr. James Payn, having occasion to +allude to 'dry weather' in the Lakes, adds demurely, 'which is said to +have occurred about the year 1824'; but, from his own description of +Black Sail, it is clear that he deeply rued the sarcasm: 'You will begin +to find your pass quite sufficiently steep. Indeed, this is the severest +pull of any of the cols in the District, and has proved the friend of +many a gallant with his ladylove. To offer a young woman your hand when +you are going up Black Sail is in my mind one of the greatest proofs of +attachment that can be given, and, if she accepts it, it is tantamount +to the everlasting "Yes!"' We may be sure that, before he reached the +top, the witty novelist experienced remarkably 'dry weather,' and also +some of those symptoms which elsewhere he has himself described with +such scientific accuracy: 'Inordinate perspiration and a desperate +desire for liquids; if the ascent be persisted in, the speech becomes +affected to the extent of a total suspension of conversation. The temper +then breaks down; an unseemly craving to leave our companion behind, and +a fiendish resolution not to wait for him if his bootlace comes undone, +distinguish the next stage of the climbing fever; all admiration of the +picturesque has long since vanished, exuded, I fancy, through the pores +of the skin: nothing remains but Selfishness, Fatigue, and the hideous +reflection that the higher we go the longer will be our journey down +again. The notion of malignant spirits occupying elevated +regions--Fiends of the Fell--doubtless arose from the immoral +experiences of the Early Climbers.' + +Green's _Guide_ (1819) records a touching instance of a husband's +attentions surviving a test which we saw above, that even lovers find +severe: 'This is a steep and craggy ascent, and so laborious to man that +it might be imagined horses could not travel it; yet Mr. Thomas Tyson, +of Wasdale Head, has conducted Mrs. Tyson over this stony ground while +sitting on the back of her horse.' + +In Switzerland one might look back after a day's work, and fairly +forget ups and downs so slight as Black Sail; but many of the guide +books speak of it in terms which might apply to the Adler or the Felik +Joch. For instance, _Black's Picturesque Guide_ (ed. 1872) says: 'The +_hardy_ pedestrian with _very minute_ instructions _might_ succeed in +finding his way over the mountains, yet every one who has crossed them +will beware of the danger of the attempt and of the _occasional fatal +consequences_ attending a diversion from the proper path.' This is +highly encouraging; and the enterprising traveller who only breaks his +neck two or three times in the course of the journey will be of good +cheer, for he is making rather a prosperous expedition than otherwise. + + +=Blea Crag=, an isolated square stone on the left of the path to the +_Stake_, a long mile up _Longstrath_. It is climbed on the side which +looks down the valley. Messrs. Jones and Robinson recorded their ascent +of it in September 1893, but it seems that four or five years ago there +were traces on it of a previous ascent. + +'Crag' is not very commonly used of a single stone, as it is here and in +the case of _Carl Crag_. + + +=Borrowdale.=--'Divers Springes,' says old Leland in his 'Itinerary,' +'cummeth owt of Borodale, and so make a great _Lowgh that we cawle a +Poole_.' + +The 'Lowgh' is, of course, Derwentwater, and Borrowdale is the heart of +the finest scenery and the best climbing in England. It may be said to +stretch from _Scafell_ to _Skiddaw_, and excellent headquarters for +climbers may be found in it at _Lowdore_, _Grange_, _Rosthwaite_, and +_Seatoller_. With the aid of its wad mines and its _Bowder Stone_, it +probably did more during last century than anything else to arouse +public interest in the Lake country. The natives were not famed for +their intelligence, and many stories are told in support of their +nickname of 'Borrowdale gowks.' + +There is another _Borrowdale_ in Westmorland, and _Boredale_ is perhaps +the same name. + + +=Bowder Stone= in _Borrowdale_ was already a curiosity about a century +and a half ago, when it was visited by Mr. George Smith, the +correspondent of the _Gentleman's Magazine_. Clarke, writing some years +later, says it bore the alternative names of _Powderstone_ and +_Bounderstone_; and being 'thirty-one yards long by eight yards high, +must therefore weigh over 600 tons, and is said to be the largest +self-stone in England.' It is not really a 'boulder' at all, but the +word is rather loosely used in Cumberland. + + +=Bow Fell= (2,960 ft.).--The name is probably the same as that of _Baugh +Fell_, also called _Bow Fell_, in Yorkshire. This graceful peak, +standing as it does at the head of several important valleys--_Eskdale_, +_Langdale_, _Dunnerdale_, and _Borrowdale_--is a great feature in Lake +scenery. There is not much rock-work on it, but a good deal of rough +walking and scrambling. From _Borrowdale_ or _Wastdale_ it is approached +by way of _Esk Hause_. On this side there is no climbing, except that +_Hanging Knot_, as the N. end of Bow Fell is called, descends to _Angle +Tarn_ in a long, steep, rocky slope which offers a pleasant scramble. + +On the _Eskdale_ side there is a gully or two which might be worth +exploring. + +By inclining to the right hand on emerging at the top of _Hell Gill_, or +to the left hand from the pony-track at the foot of _Rossett Gill_ we +reach _Flat Crags_, huge glacier-planed slopes of rock, overlooked by +what in winter is a fine _couloir_ of most alpine appearance. When +Messrs. J. & A.R. Stogdon ascended it (_Alpine Journal_, v. p. 35) the +inclination of the snow increased from 30 deg. at the foot to 63 deg. after 350 +ft. or more, and there was a large cornice at the top. In the account +which the same party inserted at the time in the Wastdale Head Book +steeper angles are given. + +In summer it is merely an open scree-gully; but the +insignificant-looking chimney just N. of it, and only separated from it +by a narrow ridge, is quite worthy of attention, though it has but one +pitch in it after the one at the foot. The descent is harder than the +ascent, and takes about twenty minutes. + +There is a fine rocky walk along the S. ridge, called _Shelter Crags_ +and _Crinkle Crags_, which descends towards the head of Dunnerdale, but +it is extremely unfrequented. + + +=Bram Crag= and _Wanthwaite Crag_ flank the coach road between +_Threlkeld_ and _Grasmere_ on the east. The best part is rather more +than two miles south of Threlkeld station. The climbing is somewhat +similar to that about _Swarthbeck_ on Ullswater, but on better and +sounder rock, and there is more of it. A good day's work will be found +among these crags, and a fine specimen of a 'sledgate' is deserving of +notice. + + +=Brandreth= is between _Borrowdale_ and the head of _Ennerdale_. The +name, which occurs elsewhere in the neighbourhood, denotes a tripod +(literally a 'grate,' usually made with three legs). The meeting-point +of three boundaries of counties, parishes, &c. is often so named. +Brandreth has only one short bit of bold rock--one of the many _Raven +Crags_. It is hardly worth a special journey, but may very easily be +taken by any one who attacks _Great Gable_ from _Borrowdale_. + + +=Brimham Rocks=, in Yorkshire, are very easily visited from Harrogate or +from Pateley Bridge. From the latter they are only four miles to the +eastward. The station for those who come from Harrogate is Dacre Banks, +from which the Rocks may be reached in an hour's walking. They are of +millstone grit and well deserve a visit, for nowhere are the grotesque +forms which that material delights to assume more remarkable. Some +resemble the sandstone forms common about Tunbridge Wells, and many +might very well stand for Dartmoor Tors; but others at first sight seem +so evidently and unmistakably to suggest human handiwork that one can +feel no surprise at the common notion that they were fashioned by the +ingenuity of the Druids. Several of them, though very small, can only be +climbed with considerable difficulty. + + +=Broad Stand=--a term commonly but, in my opinion, incorrectly used to +denote a particular route by which the crags of _Scafell_ may be +ascended direct from _Mickledoor_. There are numerous other places +within a few miles of this into the names of which this word 'stand' +enters, and a consideration of them leads me to the belief that it +signifies 'a large grassy plot of ground awkward of access.' This is +exactly what we find here. A break in the cliffs produces a large open +space which is the key to the ascent by the _Mickledoor Chimney_, to +that by the _North Climb_, and to that which, being the oldest, easiest, +and most frequented, has arrogated to itself as distinctive the name of +a feature which it should only share with the other two. Really all +three routes are merely different ways of reaching the Broad Stand. + +One of the earliest recorded ascents is that of Mr. C.A.O. Baumgartner +in September 1850, an account of which was sent by one of the people of +the dale to the local paper in these terms: 'The Broad Stand, _a rocky +and dangerous precipice_, situated between _Scaw Fell_ and the _Pikes_, +an ascent which is perhaps more difficult than even that of the _Pillar +Stone_.' The late Professor Tyndall climbed it in 1859, and described it +in the _Saturday Review_ of that year. It evidently had a great +reputation then, which was not, in his opinion, entirely deserved. It +seems to have been known in 1837 (see the _Penny Magazine_) to the +shepherds; and even in Green's time, at the beginning of the century, +one or two daring spirits had accomplished the feat. + + +=Buckbarrow= (C. sh. 79).--_Broadcrag_ (more north-east) is really part +of it, and about 400 ft. high. Buckbarrow rises near the foot of +Wastwater, opposite the best part of the Screes. When approached from +the head of the lake it appears as two huge rocky steps; but, as in the +case of _Eagle Crag_ in _Greenup_, the steps are not really in the same +plane. Seen from the slopes of _Lingmell_, it forms the boundary between +the mountains and the plain, to which it sinks in one very graceful +concave curve. It is not lofty--there are perhaps some 400 ft. of +rock--but by the shepherds it is reputed inaccessible. This is only true +in the sense that there are stiff bits on it which have to be evaded. It +is haunted by both the fox and the buzzard--connoisseurs on whose taste +in rocks the climber can generally rely. There is also climbing in the +whole line of rock (Broad Crag) which stretches away towards +_Greendale_. Since 1884, when the writer first became acquainted with +it, Buckbarrow has become rather popular, considering its remoteness +from _Wastdale Head_.--At Christmas 1891 a strong party, led by Messrs. +Robinson, Hastings, and Collie, ascended it 'from the fox's earth to the +hawk's nest,' and on April 15, 1892, a party containing several of the +same members climbed 'the first main gully on this [the north] side. +There are two short chimneys at the end of this little gill--one in each +corner, about ten to twelve yards apart.' The left one, up which Mr. +Brunskill led, was considered the harder. Afterwards Dr. Collie led two +of the party up the face of the cliff to the right of the next gully on +the west, which is marked by a pitch of about fifty feet low down. To a +house near the foot of Buckbarrow old Will Ritson and his wife retired, +after giving up the inn which they had kept for so many years and made +so famous at _Wastdale Head_. + + +=Buresdale=, the proper name of the valley between Thirlmere and +Threlkeld. Hutchinson, for instance, says: 'At the foot of _Wythburn_ is +_Brackmere_ [i.e. Thirlmere], a lake one mile in length ... from the N. +end of this mere issues the river Bure, which falls into Derwent below +Keswick.' He also mentions Buresdale in connection with _Layswater_, yet +another equivalent for Thirlmere. Guidebook writers seem to have +conspired together to obliterate this name from the map, and to +substitute for it the name _Vale of St. John_, which Sir Walter Scott +made famous. To revive the name of the river would be an act of only +posthumous justice, now that the Manchester waterworks have taken away +all its water; but the valley is still there, and ought to be called by +its genuine old name, which is of Scandinavian origin; compare with it +the Bure river in Norfolk, and fishermen will recall similar names in +Norway. + + +=Burn=: the Scotch word for a brook is hardly found south of the river +Wear. In Wythburn, Greenburn, and other cases it probably represents +_borran_ (stone heap). + + +=Buttermere=, a pleasant stopping-place from which many of the +Cumberland fells can be explored. It is a good centre for _Grassmoor_, +_Melbreak_ and the _Red Pike_ range, while _Borrowdale_ and _Ennerdale_ +are quite within reach. Once a day the Keswick waggonettes swoop upon +the place, bringing trippers by the score, but at other times it is a +quiet and enjoyable spot. + + +=Calf (The)= (2,220 ft.), in Yorkshire, near _Sedbergh_. _Cautley Crag_, +on the E. side of it, is very steep. In this corner of the county the +Yorkshire climber experiences the intense relief of seeing rocks which +are neither chalk, limestone, nor millstone grit. + + +=Camping.=--Camping out by rivers has always been more popular in +England than the same form of airy entertainment among the mountains. +The labour of carrying tents or sleeping-bags acts as the chief +deterrent. It is true that some thirty years ago a distinguished member +of the Alpine Club applied to Scafell Pike, and one or two other spots +where England is loftiest, the practice, which he has carried out on +many of the higher peaks of the Alps and Pyrenees, of watching sunset +and sunrise from the loftiest possible _gite_ which the mountain can +afford. Mr. Payn, too, has given us a most humorous narrative of how he +and his friends encamped on Fairfield. Also, about twenty years ago, +four stalwart climbers from Penrith made a regular camping tour of the +Lakes. Their tent was pitched on these spots: Penrith Beacon, Red Tarn +on Helvellyn, in Langdale under Pike o' Stickle, Sty Head, in Ennerdale +under Gable Crag, and on Honister. It weighed only 5-1/2 lbs., and yet +had a floor space of 8 ft. by 8 ft. + +It may be that, just as bicyclists suffered by the scathing definition +'cads on casters,' so the enthusiasm of the camper may have received a +check when he heard himself described with cruel terseness as 'a fool in +a bag.' Perhaps, again, our climate is not one which offers much +encouragement to any but the hardiest of campers. In the Lakes by far +the most popular (and probably, therefore, the most convenient) place +is the shore of Ullswater, where tents have been seen even in the depth +of winter. + + +=Carl Crag= lies on the sea-shore in Drigg parish. Mr. Jefferson says +that it is of syenite, and measures in feet twelve by nine by five and a +half, but it is deep in the sand. The legend is that while Satan was +carrying it in his apron to make a bridge over to the Isle of Man, his +_apron strings (q. vid.)_ broke and let it fall. It is probably an +erratic. With the name compare _Carlhow_, _Carlwark_, &c. + + +=Carrs=, in Lancashire, in the _Coniston_ range, north of the _Old Man_. +It is craggy on the east side. In _Far Easdale_ there is a line of crag +which bears the same name. Clearly neither can have anything to do with +'carrs' in its usual sense in the north, viz. 'low marshy ground.' + + +=Castle Rock= (C. sh. 64).--This rock in _Borrowdale_ is said to have +been crowned by a Roman fort. The west side is craggy for a couple of +hundred feet. It may serve to occupy a few odd hours for any one +stopping at _Grange_, _Rosthwaite_, or _Seatoller_. + + +=Caw Fell= (C. sh. 73).--The name is possibly the same as _Calf_, +_Calva_; compare also _Caudale_, _Codale_, &c. On the north side there +is a craggy bit about 200 ft. high. + + +=Chalk.=--Though this can hardly be regarded as a good rock for +climbing, much excellent practice can be gained on it. As a general +rule, it is only sufficiently solid for real climbing for the first +twenty feet above high-water mark, though here and there forty feet of +fairly trustworthy rock may be found. These sections of hard chalk are +invariably those which at their base are washed by the sea at high tide; +all others are soft and crumbly. + +[Illustration: CHALK CLIFFS NEAR DOVER] + +Whilst any considerable ascent, other than up the extremely steep slopes +of grass which sometimes clothes the gullies and faces, is out of the +question, traverses of great interest and no slight difficulty are +frequently possible for considerable distances. A good _objectif_ may be +found in the endeavour to work out a route to the various small beaches +that are cut off from the outer world by the high tide and cliffs. + +The best instances of this sort of work are to be found along the coast +to the eastward of Dover (between that town and St. Margaret's). Between +the ledges by which these traverses are in the main effected, and the +beach below, scrambles of every variety of difficulty may be found, some +being amongst the hardest _mauvais pas_ with which I am acquainted. +Owing to the proximity of the ground, they afford the climber an +excellent opportunity of ascertaining the upper limit of his powers. +Such knowledge is a possession of extreme value, yet in most other +places it is undesirable to ascertain it too closely. Chalk, it must be +remembered, is extremely rotten and treacherous, very considerable +masses coming away occasionally with a comparatively slight pull. In any +place where a slip is not desirable, it is unwise to depend exclusively +on a single hold, as even the hardest and firmest knobs, that have stood +the test of years, give way suddenly without any apparent reason. The +flints imbedded in the chalk are similarly untrustworthy; in fact, if +they project more than an inch or so, they are, as a rule, insecure. +The surface of the chalk is smooth and slimy if wet, dusty if dry, and +does not afford the excellent hold obtained on granite. As a whole it +may be regarded as a treacherous and difficult medium, and one which is +likely to lead those practising on it to be very careful climbers. + +To the westward of Dover (between it and Folkestone) a great amount of +climbing on grass and crumbly chalk slopes can be obtained; almost every +gully and face can be ascended from the sea, or the S.E. Railway, to +the top. It is desirable to remember that in dry weather the grass and +the earth which underlies it is of the consistency of sand, and great +care is requisite; after rain the grass is of course slippery; but the +underlying material adheres more firmly to the cliff. It is unnecessary +to add that a slip on any of these slopes would almost certainly prove +fatal. On the face of _Abbot's Cliff_, and to the westward (about +halfway between Dover and Folkestone), some traverses may be effected at +a height of 200 ft. or more above the base; they do not, however, +compare for climbing with the traverses on the other side of Dover. + +As one goes westwards, the angle of the cliffs becomes less, and from +_Abbot's Cliff_ towards Folkestone it is rarely necessary to use one's +hands, though very nice 'balance' is essential, as the results of a slip +would usually be serious. Above the _Warren_, still nearer Folkestone, +the slopes become easy, and after heavy snow afford excellent +_glissades_. + +The cliffs between Dover and St. Margaret's vary from 200 to 350 ft., +whilst those between Dover and Folkestone vary from 250 to 500 ft. in +height. + +In Sussex the chalk is well developed at and near _Beachy Head_, where +it attains a height of some 600 ft. Just west of this come several miles +of cliffs, lower indeed (about 300 ft.), but amazingly vertical. + +About _Flamborough Head_, in Yorkshire, this formation attains fine +proportions, while as far west as Devonshire _Beer Head_ is upwards of +400 ft. high. + + +=Chimney=: a recess among rocks resembling the interior of a chimney +open on one side. (See _Back-and-knee_.) + + +=Chockstone=: a northern word for a stone wedged between the sides of a +gully. A short word for this is greatly needed, and I would suggest that +it might be called a 'chock,' simply. + + +=Clapham=, a station on the Midland Railway, is an excellent centre for +_Ingleborough_ and the _Potholes_. + + +=Clark's Leap=, near _Swirl's Gap_ on Thirlmere, is a jutting rock, so +called from a suicide which took place there over 100 years ago. It is +one of many local absurdities of the novel called 'The Shadow of a +Crime' that this name is brought in as an antiquity in the eyes of +characters supposed to be living two centuries ago. + + +=Clough= (_Cleugh_, _Cloof_, _Cluff_, _Clowe_) is a North of England +word for a kind of valley formed in the slope of a hill. The first cut +in carving a shoulder of mutton produces a typical 'clough.' There is +seldom any climbing about a genuine clough, because it implies soil +rather than rock. Dr. Murray tells us that the word has no connection +with the Icelandic 'klofi,' yet assigns to the latter word the origin of +'cloof,' in the sense of the fork of a tree, or of the human body. To a +layman in such matters the two words bear a singular resemblance, both +in sound and in sense. + + +=Collier's Climb= on _Scafell_ was made by Messrs. Collier and Winser on +April 2, 1893, and a very severe climb it is. It begins from the _Rake's +Progress_ at a point 105 ft. west from the _North Climb_. After a direct +ascent of about 40 ft., a grassy platform on the right (facing the wall) +is reached. From here a narrow and somewhat awkward traverse leads back +to above the first part of the climb. This traverse could probably be +avoided by climbing directly upwards. There follows an easy ascent for +30 ft. still directly upwards. By traversing broad grassy ledges to the +right--i.e. towards _Moss Gill_--one of the inclined cracks so plainly +seen on the face of the cliff is reached, and the rest of the ascent +made in it. The only severe difficulties in the climb are: 1. at the +beginning, in leaving _Rake's Progress_; 2. at one point in the crack +where there is not much handhold for 10 or 15 ft. + + +=Combe Gill=, a fine gill in the north end of _Glaramara_. The climb is +a little over two miles from _Rosthwaite_, and about a mile less from +_Seatoller_. A very fine mass of rock (one of the many _Eagle Crags_) +stands at the head of the little valley, and up the centre of this crag +lies the way. It was climbed on September 1, 1893, by Messrs. J.W. +Robinson and W.A. Wilson, whose account of it is as follows: 'This very +fine gorge has three good-sized pitches in the lower part. These were +passed by climbing the right-hand edge of the gill--interesting work. A +return on to the floor of the gill was made near the top of the third +pitch, when a little scrambling led to a very fine waterfall more than +100 ft. high. Here climb in the water as little as you can; then diverge +slightly on to the right-hand wall of the gill just where the water +spouts over a small recess; next traverse across a rather difficult slab +into the cave under the final boulder, which is climbed on the left-hand +and is the last difficulty.' + + +=Coniston=, having the advantage of both railway and steamboat, is very +accessible, and, notwithstanding this, it is agreeably free from the +rush of excursionists. Practically it has one fine mountain--the _Old +Man_--and no more, though _Bow Fell_ and the _Langdale Pikes_ are not +entirely out of reach. There is much good scrambling in the rocks which +fringe the _Old Man_ and _Wetherlam_, and superb climbing in _Dow Crag_. + + +=Coniston Old Man.=--Quarrymen and miners have between them done an +immense deal towards spoiling a very fine mountain. They have converted +to base industrial uses the whole east side of the mountain, which +Nature intended for climbers. They have not yet invaded _Doe Crag_ +(q.v.), which is really part of it, but practically no one goes up the +_Old Man_ proper, except for the sake of the view, which is magnificent, +and no one ascends except from Coniston, varied in a few cases by +working north along the summit ridge and descending via _Grey Friars_ on +to the pass of _Wrynose_. + + +=Copeland.=--Camden says of Cumberland: 'The south part of this shire is +called _Copeland_ and _Coupland_, for that it beareth up the head aloft +with sharpedged and pointed hilles, which the Britans tearme _Copa_.' +Leland alludes to this when he makes a ludicrously pedantic suggestion: +'Capelande, part of Cumbrelande, may be elegantly caullid Cephalenia.' +_Cop_ is found in Derbyshire also, as a hill-name, and hunting men will +not need to be reminded of the Coplow in Leicestershire. + +[Illustration: CONISTON AND DOE CRAG] + + +=Cornwall.=--To the true-souled climber, who can enjoy a tough bit of +rock, even if it is only fifty, aye, or twenty feet high, the coast of +Cornwall with its worn granite cliffs and bays has much to offer. It is +interesting almost the whole way round the coast. Granite prevails, but +at _Polperro_ we have cliffs belonging to the Lower Devonian period, and +for some ten or twelve miles going west from _Chapel Point_ we find +rocks of the Silurian order. At many points round the _Lizard +Promontory_ there are remarkable rocks; but some of the finest cliff +scenery in England is to be found between the _Logan Rock_ and the +_Land's End_. These are on the regular tourist tracks, and conveniently +reached from good hotels; but the north coast of Cornwall is here easy +of access. There are fine cliffs about _Gurnard's Head_ and _Bosigran_, +which are well worth a visit, from St. Ives or Penzance (7 or 8 miles). +There is a small inn at _Gurnard's Head_. _Bedruthan Steps_ are +well-known, and _Trevose Head_, _Pentire_ (Padstow), _Tintagel_ and +_Penkenner Point_ are only a few of the many grand rock-scenes on this +coast. + + +=Coterine Hill.=--Leland, in his 'Itinerary,' says that Ure, Sawle, and +Edon rise in this hill, and that 'the Hedde of Lune River by al +Aestimation must be in _Coterine Hill_, or not far fro the Root of it,' +adding that, in the opinion of Mr. Moore of Cambridge, the river Lune +'risith yn a hill cawlled _Crosho_, the which is yn the egge of +Richemontshire.' + +There is _Cotter-dale_ on the Yorkshire slope of the hill in which these +rivers rise, and the celebrated Countess of Pembroke, in 1663, when she +crossed from _Wensleydale_ to _Pendragon Castle_, calls her journey +'going over _Cotter_, which I lately repaired,' the last words showing +that it was a recognised pass. + +In all probability Leland's form represents '_Cotter End_,' by which +name, though not given in most of the maps, part of the hill is still +known. + + +=Cove=: often means 'cave' in Yorkshire and Scotland, but as a rule it +is a large recess in a hill-side. + + +=Craven=--_Camden_ remarks that the country lying about the head of the +river Aire is called in our tongue _Craven_, 'perchance of the British +word _Crage_, that is a _Stone_. For the whole tract there is rough all +over, and unpleasant to see to; which [with?] craggie stones, hanging +rockes, and rugged waies.' + +Modern climbers, however, find it hardly rocky enough for them, at least +above ground, and have been driven to invent a new variety of +climbing--the subterranean. Exploration of the numerous _potholes_ which +honeycomb the limestone hills has of late years become a favourite +pastime, and, in truth, it combines science with adventure to a marked +degree. + +Any one who tarries for any length of time among these Yorkshire dales +should read Mr. H. Speight's handsome volume, which gives a very +complete account of the beauties and the curiosities which they have to +show. + + +=Cross Fell=, in Cumberland, long enjoyed the reputation being one of +the highest mountains in England, and as late as 1770 its height was +calculated at 3,390 ft., which is some 500 ft. more than it is entitled +to. It was earlier than most English mountains in becoming the object of +scientific curiosity, and an account of it will be found in the +_Gentleman's Magazine_ for 1747. It is chiefly celebrated for the Helm +Wind originating from it. + + +=Cumberland= is the premier climbing county. The best centres are +_Wastdale Head_, _Rosthwaite_ or _Seatoller_, _Buttermere_, _Keswick_ +and _Eskdale_. The cream of the climbing is on those fells which are +composed of rocks belonging to what is called 'the Borrowdale Series,' +such as _Scafell Pillar_, _Gable_, _Bowfell_, and as a rule the finest +climbs are found on the sides which face the north and east. _Cross +Fell_ does not belong to the same mountain-system as those just +mentioned, and offers little climbing. The best cliffs on the coast are +about _St. Bees_ Head. + + +=Cust's Gully=, on Great End.--To the large and increasing number of men +who visit the Lakes in winter, perhaps no climb is better known than +this. In the spring of 1880, a party, including one of the greatest of +lady mountaineers, and over twenty members of the Alpine Club, ascended +this 'very interesting chimney or couloir, which, being filled with ice +and snow, gave unexpected satisfaction. There is a very remarkable +natural arch in this couloir, which Mr. Cust claims to have been the +first to discover, and he was therefore entrusted with the guidance of +the party.' The orthodox approach is by way of Skew Gill, which is +conspicuous at the right hand on nearing Sty Head from Wastdale. A short +distance beyond the head of this gill our gully is seen rising on the +right, marked by the conspicuous block of stone. Being, as the Scotch +say, 'back of the sun,' this gully often holds snow till comparatively +late in the season. Indeed, in winter, it is sometimes so much choked +with snow that the arch disappears, and it is even said that +self-respecting climbers, who recognise that a gully ought to be +followed with strictness, have felt bound to reach the block by +tunnelling, instead of walking over the top. In the spring of 1890 there +was a tremendous fall of stones, by which the gully was nearly filled. +Except in snow time, loose stones are an objection, and many find it +more interesting to ascend by a small gully, almost a branch of +'Cust's,' on the right hand. As climbs neither of them will compare with +the more eastern gullies. + + +=Dale=: curiously used in Derbyshire for each separate section of a +river valley, which elsewhere would form only one dale. + + +=Dalegarth Force=, in Cumberland, near Boot, in Eskdale. The wall on the +north side of this extremely pretty little fall is very low; but, being +granite, offers one or two problems to the climber. _Stanley Gill_ is +another name for the same place. + + +=Dartmoor=, a high upland moor, forming a vast reservoir, from which +most of the Devonshire rivers are fed. It is curious rather than +beautiful, and more interesting to the geologist, the antiquary, and the +fisherman than it is to the mountaineer. Yet it is instructive even to +him, for the frequency of rain and mist and the paucity of landmarks +which can be seen more than a few yards off, coupled with the necessity +of constantly watching the ground, render it one of the easiest places +in the world in which to lose one's way in any but the finest weather. +There are no true hills, but here and there a gradual rise of the ground +is seen, with a lump or two of granite grotesquely planted on the top of +it. These are the _Tors_. As a rule they are very small, but often +present problems to the climber, and are seldom without interest of some +sort. + +A great many may be reached from Tavistock or the little inn at +_Merivale Bridge_. + + +=Dead Crags= (C. sh. 56) are lofty but disappointing rocks on the north +side of Skiddaw. There is perhaps 500 ft. of steep crumbly rock, +something like _Hobcarton_. + + +=Deep Gill.=--The name is not infrequent; for example, there is one on +the south side of _Great Gable_, east of the _Napes_, but now it is +always called _Hell Gate_. The Deep Gill is on _Scafell_, and falls into +the _Lord's Rake_. The first mention of it was made in August 1869 by +Mr. T.L. Murray Browne, who wrote in the Visitors' Book at Wastdale +Head: 'The attention of mountaineers is called to a rock on Scafell on +the right (looking down) of a remarkable gill which cleaves the rocks of +Scafell and descends into Lingmell Gill. It looks stiff.' The rock +alluded to is the _Scafell Pillar_ and the gill is _Deep Gill_. It is +well described by Mr. Slingsby in the _Alpine Journal_, vol. xiii. p. +93: 'After a couple of hundred steps had been cut in the snow in Lord's +Rake and at the bottom of Deep Gill, which joins the former at right +angles, we reached the first block--a large rock perhaps 15 ft. +square--which overhangs the gill, and so forms a cave. Below the rock +the snow was moulded into most fantastic shapes by occasional +water-drips from above. At the right hand of the big rock a few small +stones are jammed fast between it and the side of the ravine, and they +afford the only route up above the rock. These stones can be reached +from the back of the little cave, and occasionally from the snow direct. +Hastings--who is a very powerful fellow and a brilliant climber--and I +got on the stones, as we did last year. He then stood on my shoulder, +and, by the aid of long arms and being steadied by me, he reached a tiny +ledge and drew himself up. Mason and I found it no child's play to +follow him with the rope. Some two hundred more steps in hard snow +brought us to the only place where we could attack the second block. +Here three fallen rocks stop the way, and on the left hand is the +well-nigh ledgeless cliff which terminates far away overhead in the Sca +Fell Pinnacle, or Sca Fell Pillar. On the right a high perpendicular +wall effectually cuts off the gill from the terraces of Lord's Rake. On +the left hand of the gill a small tongue of rock, very steep, juts out +perhaps 40 ft. down the gully from the fallen block nearest to the +Pinnacle wall, and forms a small crack, and this crack is the only way +upward. From a mountaineer's point of view the stratification of the +rocks here is all wrong. The crack ends in a chimney about 20 ft. high, +between the wall and a smoothly polished boss of rock. Hastings, still +leading, found the crack to be difficult, but climbed it in a most +masterly way. All loose stones, tufts of grass and moss, had to be +thrown down, and, in the absence of hand and foot hold, the knees, +elbows, thighs, and other parts of the body had to do the holding on, +whilst, caterpillar-like, we drew ourselves upward bit by bit. The +chimney is best climbed by leaning against the Pinnacle wall with one's +back and elbows, and, at the same time, by walking with the feet +fly-like up the boss opposite. From the top of the boss a narrow sloping +traverse, perhaps 12 ft. long, leads into the trough of the gill. With a +rope this is an easy run; without one it would not be nice. A stone +thrown down from here falls over both blocks and rolls down the snow out +of the mouth of Lord's Rake on to the screes far away below. The crack, +chimney, and traverse, short distance though it is, took us about an +hour to pass. The climb from Deep Gill to the gap from which the +Pinnacle is ascended is a very good one, which two men can do much +better than one. The Pinnacle itself from the gap is perhaps 25 ft. +high, and is really a first-rate little climb, where the hands and the +body have to do the bulk of the work.' + +[Illustration: DEEP GILL, SCAFELL +(The Lower Pitch)] + +The date of Mr. Slingsby's attempt was March 2, 1885, and that of his +successful ascent March 28, 1886: but as early as 1882 this climb had +been made, piecemeal, by the present writer, who, however, never, so far +as he can remember, blended the different items into a continuous climb +until the summer of 1884, when he descended the whole length of the +gill in company with Mr. Chr. Cookson, of C.C.C., Oxford. A yet +earlier descent of the gill had been made at Easter 1882 by Messrs. +Arnold Mumm and J.E. King, of the same college, who found such a +phenomenal depth of snow that the obstacles were buried, and they were +able to walk from end to end without using their hands. The same thing +happened again in January 1887, when Messrs. Creak and Robinson were +able to walk up over both pitches without having even to cut a step. + +The lower pitch may also be passed by using a recess resembling one half +of a funnel in the red rock of the vertical south wall of the gill. The +worst part of this is where you leave the funnel and begin to coast +round in order to re-enter the gill. The space comprised between the two +pitches can be entered very easily by passing round the foot of the +_Scafell Pillar_, or with much more difficulty down the vertical south +wall. The upper pitch may be passed in two ways, besides the incline. +One is by means of a narrow side gully, the upper stage of which is most +easily passed by following the ridge which divides it from the main +gill. The third way is the most direct and the most difficult, lying +between the incline and the great block. Mr. Owen Jones seems to have +invented it in the year 1892, and took up a party by it on that occasion +with the assistance of a good deal of snow, and another party in the +month of August 1893, when there was no snow at all. There is no more +fashionable winter climb than _Deep Gill_, and about Christmas time the +clink of the axe echoes among its crags from dawn to dusk. + +It is reached from Wastdale Head in about an hour and a half. The +shoulder of _Lingmell_ has first to be rounded, and it makes little +difference either in time or fatigue whether this be done comparatively +high up or by taking the high road to the bridge near the head of the +lake or by an intermediate course. At any rate, a long grind up _Brown +Tongue_, in the hollow between _Lingmell_ and _Scafell_, cannot be +avoided, and when the chaos called _Hollow Stones_ is reached a vast +outburst of scree high up on the right hand indicates the mouth of +_Lord's Rake_. After a laborious scramble up this scree the rake is +entered, and only a few yards further the lower pitch of Deep Gill is +seen on the left hand. + + +=Deep Gill Pillar.=--See _Deep Gill_ and _Scafell Pillar_. + + +=Derbyshire= is well endowed in point of rock scenery, but it is not +really a climber's country. The rocks are of two kinds--the Limestone, +of which Dovedale may be taken as a type, and the Millstone Grit, which +prevails further north. The former shows many a sharp pinnacle and many +a sheer cliff, but is often dangerously rotten, while the latter assumes +strange, grotesque forms, and, when it does offer a climb, ends it off +abruptly, just as one thinks the enjoyment is about to begin. It is, +nevertheless, much more satisfactory than the limestone, and many +pleasing problems may be found on it, especially in the neighbourhood of +the _Downfall_ on _Kinder Scout_. For this Buxton or Chapel-en-le-Frith +is of course a better centre than Matlock. + + +=Devonshire.=--The inland climbing in this county is very limited. Of +granite there are the _Tors_ of Dartmoor and the Dewerstone near +Plymouth, and there is a remarkably fine limestone ravine at Chudleigh, +but there is little else worthy of mention. But the coast of Devonshire +is exceptionally fine, and perhaps no other county can show such a +variety of fine cliffs. At _Beer Head_ we have chalk; at _Anstis Cove_, +_Torbay_, and _Berry Head_ limestone; at _Start Point_ and _Stoke Point_ +slate. For bold cliff scenery few parts of the Channel can rival the +piece between _Start Point_ and _Bolt Tail_. + +On the north coast of Devon there are many striking cliffs. Among them +may be noticed _Heddon's Mouth_, _Castle Rock_ (at Lynton), some rocks +about Ilfracombe, the granite cliffs of _Lundy_, _Hartland Point_; in +fact much of the coast from Clovelly right away to Bude in Cornwall is +remarkably fine. + + +=Dixon's Three Jumps=, on Blea Water Crag (High Street, Westmorland), so +called from the famous fall here of a fox-hunter about the year 1762. + +Perhaps no one ever fell so far and yet sustained so little permanent +injury. As an instance of 'the ruling passion strong in death,' or at +least in appalling proximity to death, it may be mentioned that, on +arriving at the bottom, he got on his knees and cried out, 'Lads, t' fox +is gane oot at t' hee eend. Lig t' dogs on an' aa'l cum syun.' He then +fell back unconscious, but recovered, and lived many years after. + +Another Dixon fell while fox-hunting on Helvellyn in 1858, but was +killed. There is a monument to him on Striding Edge. + + +=Dodd=: a round-topped hill. The word is common in the Lowlands and in +the North of England. It is often said to mean a limb of a larger +mountain, but Dodd Fell in Yorkshire would alone refute this, being the +highest hill in its neighbourhood. + + +=Doe Crag=, in Eskdale (C. sh. 74), is a bold rock, long reputed +inaccessible, low down on the north side of the approach to _Mickledoor_ +from the east. The Woolpack in Eskdale is the nearest inn. The rock, as +a climb, is very inferior to its namesake at Coniston (see _Dow Crag_). + + +=Door Head=, the _col_ between _Yewbarrow_ and _Red Pike_. There is +capital scree here, and a very rapid descent into Mosedale may be made +by it. Men who have spent the day on the Pillar sometimes return to +Wastdale Head round the head of Mosedale, and wind up by racing down +these screes from the _col_ to the stream below. The distance is about +650 yards, and the perpendicular drop about 1,200 ft. Anything less than +five minutes is considered very 'good time.' + + +=Doup=: any semicircular cavity resembling half an egg-shell (N. of +Eng.). + + +=Dow= (or =Doe=) =Crag=, in Lancashire, lies just west of _Coniston Old +Man_, being only divided from it by _Goat's Water_. The climbing here is +second to none. There are three or four superb gullies. Perhaps the best +is in a line with the head of the tarn and the cairn on the _Old Man_, +and another scarcely, if at all, inferior is nearly opposite a very +large stone in the tarn. The first ascent of one was made by Mr. +Robinson and the writer in the year 1886; that of the other by a party +including Messrs. Slingsby, Hastings, E. Hopkinson, and the writer in +July 1888. The last-mentioned (with indispensable aid from the rope) +afterwards descended an intermediate gully of terrific aspect. + +[Illustration: DOE CRAG, CONISTON +The lowest pitch of the central gully. The top of the wedged block is +reached by mounting the shallow scoop on the left of the picture, and +then coasting round into the gully again.] + +Towards the foot of the tarn the gullies are much less severe. + +Above is an illustration of the first pitch of the gully climbed in +1888. Mr. Hastings led up the shallow crevice seen on the left of the +picture, and on reaching the level of the top of the pitch contoured the +intervening buttress into the chimney again. This is no easy matter and +required great care. + + +=Dunald Mill Hole.=--One of the earliest descriptions of a '_Pothole_' +will be found in the 'Annual Register' for 1760, where this curiosity is +treated of at some length. It is a good specimen of a common type, and +lies between Lancaster and Carnforth. + + +=Dungeon Gill=, in Langdale, deserves mention in any treatise on British +climbing, inasmuch as the poet Wordsworth has made it the scene of an +early deed of daring performed by an idle shepherd boy-- + + Into a chasm a mighty block + Hath fallen and made a bridge of rock, + The gulf is deep below. + +The gulf and the mighty block are both there still; but there is more +pleasure in seeing the former than there is excitement in crossing by +the latter. + + +=Eagle Crag.=--Rocks of this name are pretty numerous in the North of +England, and, like the 'Raven Crags,' are, as might be expected, always +bold and precipitous. + +_On Helvellyn._--Canon Butler, in his article on the Lakes in 1844, +which appeared in _Longman's Magazine_, describes in an amusing manner +an adventure which he had on this rock. It is on the right-hand side of +the track from Patterdale to Grisedale Hause. + +_In Easdale_ (W. sh. 17).--This is easily found by following up the +stream which runs into Easdale Tarn. There is not more than 200-300 ft. +of crag, and much of it is very rotten, but with pretty bits of climbing +here and there. Grasmere is the only place from which it is conveniently +reached. + +_In Greenup_ (C. sh. 75) is as noble a rock as can be found in England. +As seen from Borrowdale near Rosthwaite it has the appearance of two +huge steps of rock, but the steps are really separate rocks, one behind +the other--Eagle Crag and Pounsey Crag. Large portions of each of them +are quite unclimbable, and much of them is too easy to be worth doing, +so that the amount of interesting climbing to be met with is less than +might be expected. Close by is Longstrath, where there is a little work +which may be combined with this (see _Blea Crag_ and _Serjeant Crag_). +The foot of Eagle Crag is reached from Rosthwaite or Seatoller in less +than an hour. + + +=Eagle's Nest=--one of the ridges of the _Napes_ lying between the +_Needle_ and the _Arrowhead_. On April 15, 1892, Messrs. Slingsby, +Baker, Solly, and Brigg ascended it and found it extremely difficult for +150 ft. At one point, about on a level with the top of the _Needle_, +there is room for one person to sit down, and here the second man on the +rope joined the leader and gave him a shoulder up. To this place they +gave the name of the _Eagle's Nest_, and it is almost the only point at +which any material help can be given to the leader. + +The part just above this they considered the stiffest part of the climb; +but when they reached a patch of grass just below a slanting chimney the +difficulties moderated. From the bottom to where the ridge joins the +_Needle Ridge_ they took two hours and ten minutes. + + +=Eel Crag.=--The word 'Eel,' we are told, is identical with 'Ill,' which +is seen in _Ill Bell_ and the numerous _Ill Gills_, and means 'steep.' +If so the name ought to be more frequent in the Lake country than it is, +and it might be suggested that in some cases 'eagle' may have been worn +down to 'eel.' There are two crags of the name in Cumberland, not very +far apart. + +_In Coledale._--These rocks are steep, but too much broken up to be +really worth a visit on their own account. However, after _Force Crag_ +has been tried, these are conveniently near. + +_In Newlands_ (C. sh. 70).--Among the rocks which flank Newlands on the +east much good material may be found. One is reminded a little of the +Wastwater Screes, but of course these are not on anything approaching +that scale. The greatest height of the craggy part is only about 400 ft. + + +=Eight-foot Drop.=--On the Pillar Rock is the passage from the ridge of +the _Curtain_ down onto the lower part of the _Steep Grass_. It figures +in some of the earlier accounts as a formidable feature of the ascent. +Nowadays it is known how much easier it is to keep on the flank of the +curtain, and only leave it when at the top of the chimney which runs up +from the head of _Steep Grass_. No 'drop' is, in fact, necessary; but +the climb, though not in any sense difficult, is generally regarded as a +good test of neatness of style. + + +=Ennerdale.=--For a valley which not only is one of the largest and most +impressive in the Lake country, but contains moreover a share of the +most perfect mountain in broad England--Great Gable--and all of the most +famous rock--the Pillar--singularly little is popularly known of +Ennerdale. But, when we consider that the place is one which is, or +should be, hallowed to all devout Wordsworthians as the scene of one of +the finest productions of their poet, the thing becomes +incomprehensible. To begin with, the guide-books have never done it +justice. In area of paper covered with descriptions of it English +Lakeland is probably many square miles ahead of any equal portion of the +earth's surface. But guide-book writers love to stand upon the ancient +ways; and any one who takes the trouble to compare West or Otley with +the works of to-day must admit that, except in matters of detail, the +advance has been incredibly small. The public are better judges of +accuracy than of enterprise, and what pleases the public pays. These +gentlemen, therefore, worthy and painstaking as they are, share to some +extent in the narrow aspirations of the hireling, and, indeed, we are +tempted to believe that their motives in shunning Ennerdale were not +wholly foreign to the character of him who 'fleeth because he is +afraid,' for they have brought up a terrible report of the dale. If, +however, this has been a wise precaution on their part, a means of +deterring any inquirer from exposing their want of energy, it has been +rewarded with a large measure of success. Here is an inviting prospect +for a timid traveller: 'Ennerdale Lake ... is so wild in the character +of its shores and in its position among the mountains as to have caused +more terrors and disasters to strangers than any other spot in the +district. At every house from Wastdale Head to Ennerdale Bridge stories +may be heard of adventures and escapes of pedestrians and horsemen in +Mosedale and the passes of Black Sail and Scarf Gap' (Whellan's 'History +of Cumberland,' 1860). Can it be wondered at that, in the face of such +terrors as this, very few people find their way into Ennerdale, except +those who with fear and trembling cross the head of it on their way +between Buttermere and Wastdale Head? Every guide-book, indeed, mentions +Ennerdale and the Pillar by name, because it gives an opportunity for +quoting the well-worn lines from 'The Brothers,' after which a few +meagre remarks may be expected to follow on the 'Pillar Mountain,' the +'Pillar Rock,' and 'Ennerdale Lake,' expressions of which not one, +strictly speaking, is correct, for the proper name of the first is +beyond all doubt 'Pillar _Fell_,' 'mountain' being an innovation of +tourists and guide-book writers, who between them have made 'Pillar +_Rock_' sound more familiar than the genuine name 'Pillar _Stone_,' and +have almost ousted 'Broadwater' in favour of 'Ennerdale Lake.' + +Printed authorities are scanty, because Ennerdale is of very recent +discovery. The early guide-books simply know nothing about it. West +(1778) does not mention it, and the gifted authoress of that touching +poem 'Edwina' did not even know how to spell its name: + + But chiefly, Ennersdale, to thee I turn, + And o'er thy healthful vales heartrended mourn, + Vain do thy riv'lets spread their curving sides + While o'er thy glens the summer zephyr glides. + +And yet Mrs. Cowley was by no means indifferent to such points. Indeed, +we owe the origin of this exquisite poem to her etymological zeal and to +her desire to immortalise the brilliant suggestion that the name +'Wotobank' was derived from some one having once said, 'Woe to this +bank!' It may even be that the spelling is a symbolical subtlety--a kind +of refinement on 'word-painting' intended to shadow forth to less poetic +minds, by the sinuosity of the superfluous 's,' the unique manner in +which the rivulets of this happy valley are wont to 'spread their +curving sides.' One of the earliest visitors to Ennerdale appears to +have been the artist Smith, of Derby (1767), who sketched the lake, as +did also Wilkinson in 1810. Wordsworth had been there before 1800, and +Green's description shows that he was much struck by the scenery of +upper Ennerdale. But, though visitors to Ennerdale have been and still +are few, most of these few speak highly of its beauties, 'partly +perhaps,' says Mr. Payn, 'in consequence of their having endured certain +inconveniences (with which they are anxious that you should also become +acquainted) when belated in that lovely spot.' The dale is not without +its associations. Formerly it was a deer forest, the property of the +Crown by forfeiture from the father of the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey. The +Sandford manuscript speaks enthusiastically of 'the montaines and +fforest of Innerdale, wher ther is reed dear and as great Hartts and +Staggs as in any part of England. The bow-bearer is a brave gentleman.' +But it is now many years since the last of the herd was destroyed, and +no one living can remember the days when Ennerdale could show--what in +almost any landscape is a crowning beauty--the stately figure of a great +red stag. Certainly an element of romance has here been lost; but how +can that be felt so long as here and there some aged man survives to +keep green among the dalesmen the memory of 't' girt wild dog'? The +stories told of this remarkable animal would fill volumes and form a +highly interesting study in contemporary mythology; and yet, when we +consider the state of unparalleled excitement into which the whole +countryside was thrown at the time, and the assiduity with which it has +ever since been talking over the events of that stirring period, we +shall find cause to wonder, not that the story in some of its details +should have acquired a slight legendary flavour, but rather that the +great bulk of the incidents narrated should be so thoroughly well +authenticated. Certainly it is a lesson in faith, and makes it easier to +credit stories such as that which Ovid tells with so much spirit of the +Calydonian boar; for if in the days of modern firearms a dog can defy a +large district and kill a couple of sheep a day for nearly half a year +together, there is less reason for doubting that in old days an amount +of destruction and devastation which would not discredit a modern +minister could be wrought by the unaided exertions of one malevolent +pig. For months the dog was hunted and shot at, but seemed to lead a +charmed life; in the excitement farming operations were terribly +neglected, until at last, in the person of John Steel of Asby, arose the +modern Meleager. + +Many a story is told of that exciting time, and one especially has hit +the fancy of the dale. Until recently the custom was that fox-hunts +should take place on one particular day of the week--a day the selection +of which for a Southern meet would, however convenient, be regarded with +considerable surprise. Possibly this custom was held to govern +dog-hunting also; for one Sunday, as the Rev. Mr. Ponsonby (probably the +identical 'homely priest' who is mentioned in 'The Brothers') was +conducting Divine Service, the attentive cars of the congregation caught +the sound of some commotion without, followed by the rush of hounds and +the panting of human lungs. There could be no mistaking these signs. A +faint murmur passed round the sacred building, 'T' girt dog!' and in an +instant the reverend gentleman was the only male within the walls. A +moment's pause, and then female sympathy and female curiosity triumphed, +and the other and better half of the congregation disappeared. The story +goes in Ennerdale (but for this we decline to vouch) that the aged +pastor, casting a sorrowful glance upon the empty benches, hastily +adjusted the robes of his office, and ere the last petticoat had +fluttered from the porch was in full career to join the headlong hunt. + +For five months Ennerdale had been in a state of convulsive excitement, +for the first and last time, it is said, 'syn t' Flud'; the honour of +having enlivened the dale is fairly divided between the Deluge and the +Dog. + +To see Ennerdale as it should be seen, and to get a clear idea of the +surrounding district, there is no better plan than to mount from +Buttermere to Red Pike--the Rigi of Cumberland--and from there follow +with eye and, if necessary, map the following account of a 'run,' +telling how 'oald Jobby o' Smeathat tallyho't a fox ya Sunday mworning, +just as day brak, oot ov a borran o' steeans, abeunn Flootern Tarn, i' +Herdas end; an' hoo it teukk ower be t' Cleugh gill an' t' hoonds viewt +him sa hard 'at he teuk t' Broadwater an' swam 'cross t' hee end on't, +an t' dogs went roond an' oop t' Side Wood ... an' they whisselt him oop +be t' Iron Crag, an' be t' Silver Cwove an then throo t' Pillar, an' a +gay rough bit o' grund it is. Hoo he shakt 'em off a bit theer, an' they +at him agean an' meadd o' ring amang t' rocks. Hoo they ran him roond be +Black Sail, an' Lizza hee faulds an' clam oot be t' Scarf Gap an' on to +t' Wo' heead an' they beeldit 'am onder t' Brock Steeans an' he was +seaff aneugh theer.' + +With or without the fox-hunt this view from Red Pike is magnificent, yet +there are several others which run it very close. What, for instance, +can be better, just at the clearing of a shower, than the look-out from +the Pillar Fell on the opposite side of the valley? From the gloom and +grandeur around it the eye travels right along to the smiling green of +the open country beyond the lake bordered by a line of glittering sea. +This view has one drawback in that you cannot at one time be looking +both from the Pillar and at it; but then it is hardly possible to enter +Ennerdale at all without seeing this rock, the real glory of the valley, +from many effective points; and, moreover, no day there is complete +without a quiet half-hour spent in floating on the lake about sunset; +for, whether it be due to the westerly lie of the dale or to some other +cause, the fact remains that the Ennerdale sunsets are not to be beaten +among the Lakes. By the early morning light the upper part of the valley +should be explored, and the marvellous view enjoyed from Haystacks: from +the 'bulky red bluff of Grasmoor' on the right to the dark recess of +Mosedale half seen upon the left all is beautiful; separated from +Crummock and Buttermere, which are both well seen, by the steep Red Pike +range, Broadwater throws in a dash of life to relieve the desolation of +upper Ennerdale, while the richly coloured screes of Red Pike sweep down +in striking contrast to the forbidding frown of the Pillar Fell. We have +seen a fine water-colour sketch which renders this view with great +fidelity. It has additional interest as the work of the first amateur +who ever scaled the Pillar Stone--Lieut. Wilson, R.N. + +The scenery of Ennerdale, however, would not long have remained +beautiful if the Ennerdale Railway Bill, promoted in 1883 and 1884, had +been suffered to pass into law. That scheme was happily defeated, and +the only modern touches added to the dale have been the galvanised wire +railings recently erected along the sky-line, and the blue indicators +set up on the Black Sail and Scarf Gap track. + + +=Eskdale.=--There are two dales of the name in Cumberland, but the only +one which is of interest to mountaineers is reached by the little +railway from Ravenglass. Lodgings, largely used by Whitehaven people, +are to be had, but the most convenient inn is the Woolpack, about a mile +up the valley from the terminus of the line. From no place can +_Scafell_, _The Pikes_, or _Bow Fell_ be more easily explored, while the +Coniston range is quite within reach, and the Wastwater _Screes_ are +more accessible than they are from Wastdale Head. The valley itself is +only second to Borrowdale, and there are grand falls and deep pools in +the Esk. There are also some good rocks, though not quite equal to the +description of Hutchinson, who says that 'Doe Cragg and Earn Cragg are +remarkable precipices, whose fronts are polished as marble, the one 160 +perpendicular yards in height, the other 120 yards.' Both of these will +be seen on the way up to _Mickledoor_, the former standing on the +right-hand side at the foot of the steep ascent. It is strange that so +few climbers ever go to this valley. + + +=Esk Pike=, a name given by the shepherds to a peak of 2,903 ft., which +stands at the head of the Esk valley. Being left nameless by the +Ordnance six-inch map, it has attracted to itself the nearest name it +could find, and is very commonly called _Hanging Knot_, which, in +strictness, applies only to the north shoulder of Bow Fell, where it +hangs over Angle Tarn. It would save some confusion if this name had a +wider currency than it has. At the head of Eskdale there is a rather +good gully, which was climbed at the end of September 1892 by Messrs. +Brunskill and Gibbs, whose account of it is that 'its direction is +W.N.W., and it consists first of a short pitch of about 10 ft.; then a +slope of 20 ft. at an angle of 60 deg.-65 deg., the holds in which are fairly +good; and, last, another pitch at a somewhat similar angle, with an +awkward corner of rock to round. Above this to the top is an easy +scramble.' + + +=Fairfield= (2,863 ft.), in Westmorland, sometimes called Rydal Head in +old books, stretches down to Grasmere and Ambleside; but it is from +Patterdale that it should be seen and climbed. One of the best things on +it is _Greenhow End_, which stands at the head of Deepdale. The steep +part, which is not wholly crag, is 400 or 500 ft. high, and faces N.E. + +This is the mountain which Miss Martineau so greatly longed to ascend, +and every one knows Mr. Payn's account of how he encamped upon it. + +There is another _Fairfield_ in the Coniston Fells. + + +=Falcon Crag=, a couple of miles from Keswick, beside the road to +Borrowdale, is not more than 150 or 200 ft. high, but at many points so +vertical as to be quite unclimbable. The steepest side is also the most +exposed to the public gaze. On the south side there is a deep gully in +which excellent scrambling is to be had. + + +=Fellpole= is a much better word than its foreign equivalent, +'alpenstock'. Except in the depth of winter on the highest fells it is +of much more use than an axe, which is, of course, indispensable when +there is much snow or ice. On difficult rocks either axe or pole is a +great incumbrance; but where there is much scree, or steep grass, or +broken ground, all three of which abound on the Fells, a pole is a very +great comfort on the descent. Of course, while being used for this +purpose, it must be kept behind the body. On the steep nose of +_Fleetwith_ a fatal accident occurred to a young woman solely in +consequence of her attempting to descend with her stick held improperly +in front of her. This is a fault which nearly all beginners commit. +Nevertheless, it is perfectly legitimate to use the pole in that way if +it is to break the force of an abrupt drop from rest to rest--as, for +instance, when a slope is broken into binks separated by drops of from +three to six feet. In such cases a jump is often dangerous, and the life +of Mr. Pope, lost on _Great Gable_ in 1882, is only one of many which +have been similarly sacrificed. + + +=Force Crag= is reached from Keswick by way of Braithwaite station and +the long _Coledale_ valley. Here the track of the disused mining tram is +a well-engineered road direct to the foot of the crag, where the +fragments of the baryta mine are littered about. The best climb is up to +the basin, into which pours the force, and then, leaving the force on +the right, ascend a steep, dry gully. The rock is very treacherous, +being not only loose, but covered with long fringes of rotten heather. +It is very difficult to get out, as the top part steepens rapidly. The +force is very fatal to sheep. On one occasion the writer counted no less +than six of their carcasses in the basin. + + +=Froswick.=--It is most easily reached from Staveley or Windermere by +following up the valley of the Kent, or from Ambleside by crossing the +Garbourn Pass into the same valley. This hill resembles _Ill Bell_ and +_Rainsborrow Crag_ in character, and has a very steep face towards the +north-east, 300 or 400 ft. high. It is on sheet 20 of the Ordnance map +of Westmorland. + + +=Gaping Gill Hole=, in Yorkshire, on the south side of _Ingleborough_, +is most easily got at from Clapham, on the Midland Railway. It lies +higher up than the well-known _Clapham_ or _Ingleborough Cave_, and both +should be visited in the same expedition. The actual funnel is about 8 +ft. by 20 ft., and Mr. Birkbeck, of Settle, partly descended it many +years ago. There is a ledge of rock about 190 ft. down, from which a +plumb-line drops a further distance of 166 ft. Strangers often pass +close to the place without finding it. + + +=Gash Rock.=--We are indebted to Colonel Barrow for this name, which he +bestowed on _Blea Crag_ in Langstrath apparently for no better reason +than that he knew a man called Gash, who did not know the name of the +rock, or how to climb it. + +This rock is the 'spy fortalice' spoken of in Prior's Guide. It is an +upstanding block of squarish outline, conspicuous on the left hand as +one ascends Langstrath from Borrowdale. It is climbed from the side +which faces down the valley, and is rather a stiff little rock of its +inches. + +It was climbed by Mr. Owen Jones and Mr. Robinson on September 6, 1893, +but there is some doubt whether it had not been done before (see _Blea +Crag_). + + +=Gavel=--apparently the local form in the North of England of the +Southern 'Gable.' In the older maps 'Great Gable' is usually spelt in +this way, and for part of that mountain the name _Gavel Neese_ (i.e. +nose) still lingers among the shepherds. Generally speaking, in the less +frequented parts, where the names are used only by the shepherds, we +find this form. Thus we have _Gavel Fell_ between Loweswater and +Ennerdale, _Gavel-pike_ on St. Sunday Crag, _Gavelcrag_ on the south end +of _High Street_, and again on _Seat Sandal_, and this form is used in +the Lowlands of Scotland, while on the more frequented _Skiddaw_ we get +_Gablegill_. In Icelandic, 'gafl' is said to mean 'the end of a house or +of a ship.' + + +=Gill= (or _Ghyll_).--In a large part of the North of England this is +the regular word for a stream flowing between walls of rock. It is by +many regarded as a test-word for Scandinavian settlements, and it is +certainly more abundant in such districts, but notice should be taken of +the fact that in Kent it is applied to the steep wooded slopes of a +brook-valley. There is good authority for both spellings, but the less +romantic of the two is to be preferred. + + +=Gimmer Crag=, just behind the inns at _Dungeon Gill_ in _Langdale_, has +good scrambling on it. Mr. Gwynne says of it: 'Between _Harrison +Stickle_ and the _Pike O' Stickle_, commonly called the _Sugarloaf_, +there is a splendid crag that is full of opportunities. This fine piece +of rock, although it has the appearance of being easy, has the +disadvantage of being wet, and therefore more or less dangerous. +However, there are times even in the Lake District when the rain ceases +and the sun shines, and it is then that the climber should gambol upon +this crag.' + + +=Glaramara=--a long broken hill stretching from Stonethwaite along the +east side of Borrowdale to Esk Hause. Its name is only less disguised +than its nature in the description given of it in the 'Beauties of +England,' p. 65: 'Glamarara is a perpendicular rock of immense height.' +Sir W. Scott has confused it with _Blencathra_. It contains very little +climbing, but _Combe Gill_ and _Pinnacle Bield_ may be mentioned. + + +=Gordale Scar=--a magnificent limestone ravine near _Malham Cove_, in +Yorkshire, on the line of the great Craven Fault. Bell Busk is the +nearest station, but Settle (6 miles) is generally more convenient. It +has been prosaically compared to a winding street between enormously +high houses, with a river falling out of the first-floor window of one +of them. It is easy to pass out at the head, leaving the water on the +right hand; but on the other side of the water there is quite a little +climb, which, however, the writer has seen a lady do without assistance. + + +=Goyal.=--This west-country word for a gully will not require +explanation for readers of Mr. Blackmore's 'Lorna Doone.' + + +=Grain=: the northern word for a prong, and hence the usual name for the +branches of a stream. + + +=Grassmoor= (2,791 ft.) in the older maps and guide-books (such as +Robinson's) is often called Grasmere or Grasmire. The only climbs which +it presents are on the side which drops steeply down towards the foot of +Crummock Water, and the only inns within a convenient distance are at +Scale Hill (1 mile) and Buttermere (3 miles). There are two gullies +which furrow the mountain side nearly from top to bottom. The more +southerly of these has two pitches in it close to the foot, and the +upper of the two is generally thought as hard as anything on the +mountain. The approved method of doing it is to keep the back to the +rock until the top of the pitch is nearly reached, and then to break out +on the south side. Above this pitch the gully is of little interest. The +north gully is of more sustained merit, but, as seen from below, less +prominent, and therefore easily overlooked. It may, however, be +recognised by its liberal output of scree. It has three pitches near the +foot, and in all three the hold is somewhat scanty. The first forms a +narrow gully rising from left to right, and is the highest and hardest. +Higher up than these a broad wall of rock some 40 ft. high cuts across +the gully and gives a pretty climb. Above the wall there is a branch to +the left containing one little pitch, but the main channel continues. +Loose stones are now the only source of excitement, and climbers are +recommended to get out to the right and finish the ascent along the +rocky ridge of the bank. It is very safe climbing on this face, yet full +of interest and instruction, and for the initiation of a 'young hand' +nothing could be better. + + +=Great End= (2,984 ft.) has not received justice at the hands of the +Government map-makers, who have scamped their work most shockingly. The +six-inch map would lead the innocent, stranger to imagine that he could +ascend from Sprinkling Tarn by a smooth and gradual slope. The cliffs +are on the right-hand side on the way from Sty Head to Esk Hause, and +are reached from Wastdale or Borrowdale by way of Sty Head, and from +Langdale by Rossett Gill. The best general view is from Sprinkling Tarn. +Col. Barrow, when citing Great End in his book as an instance of a +mountain with one impossible side, no doubt refers to these cliffs, +which, however, long before he wrote, had been climbed in every +direction. He might reasonably object to _Cust's Gully_, invented in +1880, as being quite at the end of the cliff; but from a point some way +below the foot of that gully there is an easy passage, sloping up the +face of the cliff very much like Jack's Rake on _Pavey Ark_, and this +passage was descended by Mr. Cust in the same year that he discovered +the gully. A little later a couple of ardent fox-hunters got into +difficulties in one of the main gullies, and so drew more attention to +these rocks. The whole face was pretty thoroughly explored by the +present writer in the summer of 1882. Two very fine gullies face +Sprinkling Tarn. _Great or Central Gully_, the nearer of the two to +_Cust's_, is also the wider, but not quite so long as the other. It has +a copious scree at the foot, and more than half-way up it divides into +three. The central fork is grassy, that to the right is more abrupt, +while the left-hand way lies for several yards up a wet slide of smooth +and very steep rock. On the slide itself there is hold enough for +comfort; but on getting off it at the head to the left hand there comes +a bit on a disgustingly rotten buttress which even good climbers have +often found very unpleasant. Above this the gully is more open and +very easy, but splendid climbing may be had on either side of it. + +[Illustration: GREAT END FROM SPRINKLING TARN +A, Position of _Brigg's climb_ (not seen); B, The east gully; C, The +great central gully; D, _Cust's gully_.] + +_The South-East Gully_, as it is usually called, has its mouth only some +20 yards east from that of the last. Being much narrower, it is bridged +by numerous 'choke-stones,' and, while less fine than the other in snow +time, offers in summer a better and rather longer climb. Half-way up or +less there is a fork, the dividing ridge forming quite a sharp _arete_. +Above it the forks coalesce, and as it nears the top the climb can be +varied a good deal. + +_Brigg's_ (or _Holmes'_) _Pitch_, of which a photograph will be found in +the Climbers' Book at Wastdale Head, is still nearer to Esk Hause, which +it faces. Mr. Holmes and the Messrs. Brigg, who climbed it on Easter +Monday 1893, describe the difficulty as consisting in a cave formed +quite at the foot of the cliff by a jammed stone, the top of which is +reached by way of the rocks on the north side of it. + + +=Great Gable= (2,949 ft.) may be ascended with equal ease from Wastdale +or the head of Borrowdale, and is within easy reach of Buttermere. The +simplest way up is by Sty Head, from which half an hour's rough walking +lands one on to the top. The only alternative for Wastdale is 'Moses +Sledgate,' alias _Gavel Neese_, a ridge of rather steep grass, which +offers a very direct way. There is a bit of scrambling on White Napes, a +rocky mass which tops the Neese. Beyond this _Westmorland's Cairn_ is +left on the right hand and the summit cairn comes into sight. People +coming from Buttermere usually go round the head of Ennerdale over +Green Gable, and this is the way generally taken by Borrowdale visitors +for the return journey. The climbing on this mountain is quite +first-class. The _Napes_, _Napes Needle_, and _Kern Knotts_ are +separately described, but in addition to these there are grand crags +overlooking Ennerdale. These are referred to in Col. Barrow's book in +the passage where he defies the Alpine Club to ascend the most difficult +side of certain Lake mountains. + +[Illustration: PLAN OF GREAT GABLE +A, _Westmorland's Cairn_; B, _White Napes_; C, E, _Little and Great Hell +Gate_; D, _Great Napes_; F, _Napes Needle_.] + +[Illustration: GREAT GABLE FROM THE SOUTH-EAST +A, _Kirkfell_; B, _Beckhead_; C, _White Napes_; D, _Great Napes_; +E, _Westmorland's Cairn_; F, Summit; G, _Tom Blue_; H, _Kern Knotts_. +The path to _Sty Head_ is seen mounting from left to right.] + +No one seems even to have looked at these crags till in 1882 Mr. Pope +met his death on this side of the mountain. In that year the writer +found that it was an easy matter to coast along the face of the cliff at +about two-thirds of the height of it, and a year or two later that for +all the ferocious appearance of these rocks there is a natural passage +by which a mountain sheep of ordinary powers might ascend them. Close to +this are the remains of a sort of hut of loose stones, evidently the +refuge of some desperate fugitive of half a century or more ago. Local +tradition speaks of a notorious distiller of illicit whisky, who was +known to have a 'hide' somewhere in this wild neighbourhood. The top of +the easy passage bears by prismatic compass 23 deg. from the highest cairn, +and is marked by a large stone. + +To the east of this spot there is fine climbing, the rocks being on a +grand scale and difficult on that account. At intervals large masses are +detached by such agencies as frost, and heavy falls result. One of these +carried with it a slab pinnacle which, though only about 15 ft. high, +was remarkably difficult. The writer, and Messrs. Hastings and Robinson +gave themselves the trouble of climbing it, and consequently heard of +its untimely departure with deep regret. + +In April 1890 Mr. J.W. Robinson greatly assisted subsequent climbers by +inserting a sketch in the Wastdale Head book, and this sketch has been +the usual basis of later work. + +Gable has the threefold excellence of being splendid to look at, +splendid to look from, and splendid to climb; and one can easily +understand the enthusiasm of Mr. F.H. Bowring, who has ascended it over +one hundred times. + + +=Green Crag.=--A good piece of rock, though not as sound as it might be, +at the head of _Warnscale_, the recess between _Fleetwith_ and _Scarf +Gap_. It is reached from Buttermere by way of Gatesgarth, and then by +the quarry track which goes up on the south side of Fleetwith to _Dubs_. +There is a fine gully in the crag which is unmistakable. A note of the +ascent of it was made by Messrs. J.W. Robinson and W.A. Wilson in +August 1889. + + +=Griff=--a valley-name in east Yorkshire, probably connected with +'greave,' which is common in Derbyshire. Phillips says that the +Yorkshire word means 'a narrow, rugged valley.' + + +=Gurnard's Head=, in Cornwall, not far from St. Ives, is a fine +promontory on which there is good climbing. It is here that the +greenstone ends and the granite begins, prevailing from this point +practically right on to the Land's End. + + +=Hanging Knot.=--See also _Esk Pike_. The steep breast above Angle Tarn +contains no continuous climb, but there are several good bits in the +rocks and gullies which connect the terraces. + + +=Hard Knot.=--'Eske,' says Camden, 'springeth up at the foote of +_Hardknot_, an high steepe mountaine, in the top whereof were discovered +of late huge stones and foundations of a castle not without great +wonder, considering it is so steepe and upright that one can hardly +ascend up to it.' + +This refers of course to the Roman camp, which is nowhere near the top. +The 'mountaine' scarcely deserves the name; it is not high, and though +rugged offers no climbing. Writers much later than Camden refer to it as +if it were one of the highest hills in England. Even Gray, in his +_Journal_, says 'Wrynose and Hardknot, two great mountains, rise above +the rest.' + +[Illustration: HANGING KNOT FROM ANGLE TARN] + +The usually accurate West introduces in the funniest way both 'the +broken ridge of Wrynose' and 'the overhanging cliff of Hardknot' into +his description of the view from Belle Isle on Windermere, and says that +they, with others,'form as magnificent an amphitheatre, and as grand an +assemblage of mountains, as ever the genius of Poussin,' &c.; and then +adds a note to say that they 'are named as being in the environs, and +are in reality not seen from the island.' + + +=Harrison Stickle=, 'the next neighbour of _Pavey Ark_, is another happy +hunting-ground for beginners. There are at least four good routes up. +There is one to the north-east which is fairly difficult. Due south +there are two or three rather steep gills, that may be climbed with a +certain amount of ease. But in no case should the climber, even on the +easiest of these routes, omit to use the rope and take every precaution +against preventable accidents.' Thus speaks Mr. Gwynne in the _Pall Mall +Gazette_, and to his remarks little need be added, except that it must +be borne in mind nothing on this group is quite in the same class as +_Pavey Ark_. The obvious starting-point for either is Dungeon Gill at +the very foot, where there are two inns, but Grasmere is within easy +reach, being only about an hour further off. + + +=Hause= (_hass_, _horse_, _-ourse_, _-ose_): used in the North for a +pass. The word means 'neck' or 'throat,' the latter being the sense most +felt in local names, where it refers more to lateral contraction than to +vertical depression, being thus parallel to _gorge_ rather than to +_col_. + + +=Haystacks=, just east of Scarf Gap, has one craggy bit on it where, as +appears from the curious map published in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for +1751, eagles then built. The name is often quoted as an instance of the +Norse word which occurs in _Stack Polly_, and frequently on the Scotch +coast, but West says it was called _Hayrick_ (_sic_) on account of its +shape. + + +=Hell Gate.=--A channel on _Great Gable_, just by the east end of the +_Napes_. It is the outlet for immense quantities of scree. The older +name, _Deep Gill_, has during the last twenty years being quite +supplanted. The present name, if less pretty, is more precise, and saves +confusion with the better known _Deep Gill_ on _Scafell_. + + +=Hell Gill.=--There are many gills and becks bearing this name. Speaking +of one in Yorkshire, Leland says it is 'a Bek called Hell Gill because +it runnithe in such a deadely place. This Gill commithe to Ure.' The +idea is amplified by Camden: 'Where Richmondshire bordereth upon +Lancashire amongst the mountaines it is in most places so vast, +solitary, unpleasant and unsightly, so mute and still also that the +borderers dwelling thereby have called certaine riverets creeping this +waie "Hellbecks." But especially that about the head of the river Ure, +which having a bridge over it of one entier stone falleth downe such a +depth, that it striketh in a certaine horror to as many as looke downe.' +The best known Hell Gill, which at one time had considerable reputation +as a climb, is quite near the foot of _Bowfell_ on the Langdale side. +Though on a small scale, it is highly picturesque. The south fork is +hardly passable in ordinary weather owing to a small waterfall, below +which is a deep pool flanked by perpendicular walls of rock, and except +in very dry seasons it is necessary to crawl up the red rotten slabs, +steep, slimy, and wet, which form the north fork. The gill should be +visited more often than it is, as it is directly on one of the best ways +up the mountain from Dungeon Gill and Langdale generally. + + +=Helm Crag.=--Colonel Barrow, speaking of this hill, observes that +climbing among these rocks requires care. There are places quite as +dangerous and as difficult as on any rock-work on the Alps. He was +deterred from climbing the rock which is supposed to resemble a mortar, +by a slab of rock slanting sideways, but in his opinion there was no +great difficulty, except that arising from the absence of hold for hand +and foot--an exception of some importance. + + +=Helvellyn.=--A mountain which belongs equally to Grasmere and to +Patterdale, though the latter has by far the finest side of it. +_Striding Edge_ on this side was at one time considered to present +terrors such as the hardy mountaineer was not likely to encounter +elsewhere. This side is cut up into deep coves, which are exceedingly +steep and afford many opportunities for scrambling, and near the path in +Grisedale there is one of the numerous _Eagle Crags_. + +On the west side there is no climbing on the mountain itself, but on the +range of _Dodds_, which runs away to the north, there is capital work to +be found; see _Bram Crag_ and _Wanthwaite Crags_. It was in connection +with Helvellyn that Colonel Barrow issued his famous challenge to the +Alpine Club. After stating that he had ascended the mountain by every +possible way of getting up it, and that it is the easiest of mountains +to ascend from any direction that is possible, he continues: 'No one, I +think, will venture the impossible, which may be found on all the +highest mountains in the Lake District. They have their precipitous +sides for adventurous climbers, who, I promise, will never get up them +even if they have a mind to try--viz., these, _Great Gable_, _Great +End_, _Helvellyn_, _Fairfield_, &c. Most of the difficult things in the +Alps have been accomplished. Here is a new field for any of the +adventurous climbers of our club: let them try these precipitous sides!' +Helvellyn was long regarded as the loftiest of the Lake mountains, the +height assigned to it by West being 3,324 ft., and even its tame grassy +slopes towards _Wythburn_ were thought very terrible indeed. In the +'Beauties of England' Thirlmere is described as 'a scene of desolation +which is much heightened by the appearance of the immense craggy masses, +that seem to hang on the sides of Helvellyn, from whose slopes they have +apparently been severed, but arrested in their tremendous progress down +the mountain by the impulse of gravitation. Huge and innumerable +fragments of rocks hang pendant from its sides, and appear ready to fall +and overwhelm the curious traveller who dares to ascend its wild and +fantastic heights.' + + +=Heron Crag=, Eskdale.--A rock in _Eskdale_ (q.v.) which was long +reputed inaccessible. It was supposed to be 120 yards high, and to have +a front like polished marble. It will be found north of the Esk river, +not far from _Throstlegarth_ (Cumberland, sheet 79). + + +=High Level.=--This name was bestowed about the year 1880 on a +particular route, by means of which the north-east foot of the _Pillar +Rock_ may be reached from _Black Sail_ along the face of the mountain, +thus avoiding the descent into Ennerdale and the subsequent laborious +ascent to the rock. The saving in time is very considerable, but the way +is so easily missed in thick weather that a stranger who attempted it +would probably gain nothing but an exciting walk. + +After reaching the slight hollow between _Lookingstead_ and _Pillar +Fell_, _Green Cove_ is seen below. Here a descent may be made at once, +but it is better to proceed westward till about two dozen uprights of +the iron railing are passed, and then to descend, keeping as much to the +left as the cliffs will allow. The whole art of choosing a line along +this face is to cross each successive cove as high up as may be done +without getting impeded by rocky ground. The ridges which separate the +coves mostly form small headlands, and just above each headland a strip +of smooth grass crosses the ridge. Economy in time is usually of more +importance at the end than at the beginning of a day, and it is well to +know that, whereas from the foot of the rock to _Black Sail_ by way of +the valley would take up the greater part of an hour, Mr. Hastings and +the writer once timed themselves on the _High Level_, and found that +they reached _Lookingstead_ in 18 minutes and the ford in Mosedale in +seven minutes more. + + +=High Stile=, in Cumberland, between Ennerdale and Buttermere, has a +height of 2,643 ft., and on its north-west side a few good crags. It is +best reached by following up the course of _Sour Milk Gill_ from the +foot of Buttermere to _Bleaberry Tarn_, which can be reached from any of +the inns in an hour's walking. In a note made in the Wastdale Head book +in August 1887, Mr. Robinson called attention to these rocks, and he it +is who has done most of the exploration here. + +The principal climbing is in and about a gully in the centre. A course +may be taken up very steep grassy binks with the gully on the right +hand. The gully itself was climbed direct in September 1893 by Messrs. +Jones, Robinson and Wilson, and they found the second pitch very +difficult. The same party also ascended 'a short, black-looking chimney +away round on the left of the great crag, and nearer the top of the +mountain.' The very hard upper pitch was passed on the right hand, and +the final pull was by the arms alone. Both climbs are in full view from +Rigg's Buttermere Hotel. + +The mountain is called _High Steel_ in some early maps, and in that of +the Ordnance it comes on sheet 69. + + +=High Street=, with the Roman road running all along its ridge, lies +between Patterdale and Mardale Green, in Westmorland. It has a fine +precipitous side towards the latter place at Blea Water (see _Dixon's +Three Jumps_), and at the south end of it, about Gavel Crag and +Bleathwaite Crag, there are some good rocky faces, which can be readily +found by following up the course of the beck from Kentmere. + + +=Hobcarton Crags= have a considerable repute, which they have only +retained by reason of their not being very easily got at. The simplest +way of reaching them from Keswick is to take the train to Braithwaite, +then go up the straight Coledale until Force Crag is passed, then trace +the stream which comes down the hill on the right. Hobcarton is just +over the ridge, and the crags are on the left-hand side of the valley. A +descent may be made of a ridge which forms the right bank of a gill, +which runs from near the col where you are now standing; the gill itself +is too rotten. + +The _Crags_ are very steep and very rotten; but there is one curiosity +about them, in the shape of a continuous sloping ledge, growing very +narrow indeed towards the top. It rises gradually in the direction of +_Hopegillhead_. The crags are picturesque, but can be traversed in any +direction without difficulty, and present no definite climb. Another way +of reaching them from Keswick is by crossing Whinlatter Pass, and on the +far side turning up the first valley to the left hand. + + +=Honister=, one of the grandest crags in Cumberland, is reached from +either Buttermere or Borrowdale. It is one of the chief attractions of +the 'Buttermere Round' made by the breaks from Keswick. If quarrymen +could only have been persuaded to let it alone, it would have been a +delightful climbing ground; as things are, we can only look and long. +Apart from the great crag there is a fine view of the lakes below from +the summit (called _Fleetwith Pike_). Owing to its position near the +black-lead mines, this was one of the earliest Lake mountains of which +we have a recorded ascent. It was made before the middle of last +century, and, so far as can be made out, these early mountaineers +ascended from Seathwaite and passed to the northward of _Grey Knotts_, +and so to the top of Fleetwith. 'The precipices were surprisingly +variegated with apices, prominencies, spouting jets of water, cataracts +and rivers that were precipitated from the cliffs with an alarming +noise' [Sourmilkgill]. On reaching the apparent top, they were +astonished to perceive a large plain to the west, and from thence +another craggy ascent, which they reckoned at 500 yards. 'The whole +mountain is called _Unnisterre_ or, as I suppose, Finisterre, for such +it appears to be.' In about another hour two of the party gained this +summit--'the scene was terrifying--the horrid projection of vast +promontories, the vicinity of the clouds, the thunder of the explosions +in the slate quarries, the dreadful solitude, the distance of the plain +below, and the mountains heaped on mountains that were lying around us +desolate and waste, like the ruins of a world which we only had survived +excited such ideas of horror as are not to be expressed. We turned from +this fearful prospect, afraid even of ourselves, and bidding an +everlasting farewell to so perilous an elevation. We descended to our +companions, repassed the mines, got to Seathwayte, were cheerfully +regaled by an honest farmer in his _puris naturalibus_, and returned to +Keswic about nine at night.' + + +=Hope= (_-hop_, _-up_): used by Leland as equivalent to 'brook,' but +usually taken to mean a retired upland valley. The Icelandic 'hop' is +applied to landlocked bays. + + +=Hough=--a hill name in east Yorkshire. Phillips says that it is +equivalent to 'barf,' and means 'a detached hill.' It is pronounced +'hauf.' If this be the exact sense, it can hardly be the same word as +'heugh,' which is used further north for 'crag' or 'precipice,' and it +is perhaps merely another form of 'how' or 'haugh.' + + +=How= (_-oe_, _-ah_, _-a_, _-haw_): a Norse word for a burial mound, +found all over the North of England. + + +=Ice-axe.=--On the high Fells in time of snow an axe is a safeguard of +vital importance. Quite apart, too, from the comfort and security which +it alone can give, it is an implement which can only be properly +manipulated after long practice, and consequently a beginner should +eagerly avail himself of every opportunity of acquiring dexterity in the +use of it. From Christmas to Easter there is nearly always snow enough +on the fells of Cumberland to give excellent practice in step-cutting. + + +=Ill Bell.=--A Westmorland hill forming a series of three with +_Froswick_ and _Rainsborrow Crag_. Its north or north-easterly face is +very steep for a height of about 300 ft. Staveley is perhaps the best +starting-point for these three; but they can be managed quite easily +from Ambleside or Mardale Green. _Ill Bell_ is on sheet 20 of the +Ordnance map of Westmorland. + + +=Ingleborough=, 2,361 ft., one of the most striking of the Yorkshire +mountains, of which the poet Gray spoke as 'that huge creature of God.' +Readers of the 'Heart of Midlothian' will remember how it reminded +Jeannie Deans of her 'ain countrie.' The most exaggerated ideas of its +height formerly prevailed. Even in 1770 it was commonly reckoned at +3,987 ft., and Hurtley actually gives 5,280 ft. + +Its top is only about four miles from Clapham, and ponies can go all the +way. It is ascended far and away more frequently than any other +Yorkshire hill, and consists mainly of limestone cliffs and slopes of +shale, with a certain amount of millstone grit. + +Here are some very remarkable caves (see _Alum Pot_ and _Gaping Gill +Hole_), and of some of these there is an early description by Mr. Adam +Walker in the _Evening General Post_ for September 25, 1779, which is +quoted by West, and an account of an ascent of it made in the year 1761 +is also extant. + + +=Jack's Rake= is a natural passage across the face of _Pavey Ark_ in +Langdale. The first notice ever taken of it by any but shepherds was a +note in the visitors' book belonging to the inn at Dungeon Gill by Mr. +R. Pendlebury, who spoke highly of it, considering it to be a striking +yet simple excursion among magnificent rock scenery. After a time the +world came to look at _Pavey Ark_, and seeing an impossible-looking +combination of ravine and precipice, concluded, not unnaturally, that it +must be what Mr. Pendlebury had found a pleasant yet simple stroll. +Under this delusion, they began to try to climb what is now known as the +Great Gully in _Pavey Ark_, and did not expect to find a place anything +like the real _Jack's Rake_. + +Mr. Gwynne, in 1892, says of it: 'Along the face of the cliff there runs +a ledge that looks from below hardly wide enough for a cat to stand +upon. However, if an attempt is made to climb it, it will be found wide +enough for two fat men walking abreast. Towards the top it tapers off +again, and the climber will have to do a bit of scrambling to get on to +the summit of the precipice. This is a climb which offers no difficulty +whatever, unless the climber is given to attacks of giddiness, and if +that is the case there will hardly be any need to tell him that he has +no business there at all. This ledge, however, offers a multitude of +good opportunities to the climber. It runs obliquely across the face of +the precipice, but it need not necessarily be followed throughout its +length by the mountaineer who wishes for something a little more +exciting. + +'About halfway up there runs on to the ledge a chimney which, when it is +not a small waterfall, forms a pleasant climb to some broken rock above, +whence the summit is easily reached. If, however, the water in the +chimney makes it uncomfortable and unpleasant for the climber, he may +still arrive at the top of it by choosing a long bit of steep smooth +rock to the left. There are two cliffs which afford fairly good hand and +foot holds, and from there the top of the chimney is attained.' + +It is remarkable that a gallery more or less resembling this is found on +many of the chief precipices in the Lakes. There is a steeper one on the +Ennerdale Crags of _Great Gable_; there are two on the Ennerdale face of +the _Pillar Rock_, and on _Scafell_ the _Rake's Progress_ and _Lord's +Rake_ in their mutual relation closely resemble this rake and the wide +gully at the north end of it. + +[Illustration: PAVEY ARK AND STICKLE TARN +A, Narrow gully; B, Big gully; C, D, Smaller gullies; E, Wide scree +gully. From the foot of E to A runs _Jack's Rake_.] + + +=Kern Knotts= are on the south side of _Gable_, close to the _Sty Head_. +There is a short but difficult gully here on the side facing Wastdale, +which was climbed by Messrs. Owen Jones and Robinson in 1893, but +described by them under the name of _Tom Blue_, a rock much higher up +the mountain. + + +=Keswick.=--Though rather too distant from the very best climbing, this +is an excellent centre in point of variety. + +Of _Skiddaw_ and _Saddleback_ it enjoys a monopoly, while _Helvellyn_, +_Gable_ and _Scafell Pikes_ are all within the compass of a day's work. +The railway is a convenience, of course, but not as useful as one might +expect in extending the field of operations, because most of the places +to which it goes are of little interest. The town is very well supplied +with driving facilities, such as coaches, breaks and omnibuses. + +The clay-slate of which the Skiddaw and Grassmoor groups are composed +provides climbing of smaller quantity and inferior quality to that found +among the harder rocks of what is called the 'Borrowdale Series,' but +there are a few good scrambles west of Derwentwater, such as _Eel_ (or +_Ill_) _Crag_, _Force Crag_, and _Hobcarton_. The nearest good rocks are +in the neighbourhood of _Wallow Crag_, but there is no pleasure in +climbing with a crowd of gaping excursionists below. A much pleasanter +day may be spent in a visit to _Wanthwaite_. Of Keswick itself an early +writer says that the poorer inhabitants subsist chiefly by stealing or +clandestinely buying of those who steal the black-lead, which they sell +to Jews and other hawkers; but whatever changes the character of the +people has or has not undergone, it is not easy to believe that the +scenery is the same as that which the early writers describe. + +Camden's tone is neutral: 'Compassed about with deawy hilles and fensed +on the North side with that high mountaine _Skiddaw_ lieth _Keswike_;' +but two centuries later, when the place began to be fashionable, this +description would not have satisfied any one. The great characteristic +of the scenery was considered to be its power of inspiring terror. Dr. +Brown in his famous 'Letter' dwells upon the 'rocks and cliffs of +stupendous height hanging broken over the lake in horrible grandeur, +some of them a thousand feet high, the woods climbing up their steep and +shaggy sides, where mortal foot never yet approached. On these dreadful +heights the eagles build their nests, ... while on all sides of this +immense amphitheatre the lofty mountains rise round, piercing the clouds +in shapes as spiry and fantastic as the very rocks of Dovedale.... The +full perfection of Keswick consists of three circumstances, _beauty_, +_horror_ and _immensity_ united.' + + +=Kirkfell= has two fine buttresses of rock at the back, facing +Ennerdale, but they are broken up and so only fit for practice climbs. +They are, however, not unfrequently assailed by climbers who imagine +themselves to be scaling the crags of Great Gable. The direct ascent +from Wastdale is one of the steepest lengths of grass slope to be found +among these hills. The only gully on this fell is _Illgill_, which faces +_Lingmell_ and contains two or three severe pitches. It is rather seldom +visited, and is exposed to falling stones. + + +=Lancashire.=--Though some of the rough country which borders on +Yorkshire contains a rocky bit here and there, Lancashire climbing has +no real interest except in that part of it which belongs to the Lake +country. The climax of this part is reached in the neighbourhood of +_Coniston_. South of the Lakes there are some limestone crags of +striking form. The impression produced on Defoe by what we consider the +exceptionally beautiful scenery of the Lune valley is curious. 'This +part of the country seemed very strange and dismal to us (nothing but +mountains in view and stone walls for hedges; sour oatcakes for bread, +or clapat-bread as it is called). As these hills were lofty, so they had +an aspect of terror. Here were no rich pleasant valleys between them as +among the Alps; no lead mines and veins of rich ore as in the Peak; no +coal-pits as in the hills about Halifax, but all barren and wild and of +no use either to man or beast.' + + +=Langdale.=--(See _Bowfell_, _Pavey Ark_ and _Pike o'Stickle_, _Gimmer +Crag_, _Harrison Stickle_, _Oak How_.) By many thought the finest valley +in Westmorland; the name is often written Langden or Langdon by old +authorities. + +Dungeon Gill has always been a favourite haunt of climbing folk, and +from this base strong walkers can easily manage to reach _Scafell_, +_Gable_, _Coniston_, _Old Man_, or _Helvellyn_ in the day. + + +=Limestone= is abundant in Derbyshire and Yorkshire, and forms the fine +cliffs of Cheddar in Somerset, Berry Head in Devon, Anstis Cove and +others; indeed most of the south coast of Devon and Cornwall east of +Penzance is of this material. Chudleigh Rock and Morwell Rocks on the +river Tamar are very striking. West, speaking of this rock in +Lancashire, says, 'The whiteness and neatness of these rocks take off +every idea of _horror_ that might be suggested by their bulk or form.' +In England it is very rare to find limestone which is a satisfactory +material on which to climb. + + +=Lingmell=, called _Lingmoor_ by Wilkinson, is a mere shoulder of +Scafell Pike. It has, however, some fine cliffs facing those of _Great +Napes_ on Gable; between these two Housman thought a collision imminent. +These used to be thought inaccessible, but were climbed by Mr. Bowring +about 1880. There is a striking view of them from near Sty Head. The eye +looks right along the dark ravine of Piers Gill, which is apparently +overhung by the long line of these crags, rising from tongues of rock +divided by huge fan-shaped banks of scree. There is a good deal of +chance about the climbing here. It may be exciting, or you may just +happen to avoid what difficulties there are. It is a very treacherous +rock, especially low down, where curious long stone pegs are lightly +stuck in the ground and come away at the first touch. A few feet below +the top stands a curious pinnacle of forbidding appearance, of which a +sensational photograph has been taken; but Mr. Robinson found one side +from which the top is reached with ridiculous ease. Further west there +are gullies facing Kirkfell which are worth climbing, though there is +much unsound rock. (See also _Piers Gill_.) + +[Illustration: LINGMELL AND PIERS GILL] + + +=Lingmoor=, rather over a mile south-east of Millbeck Inn, and near Oak +How, is a little pinnacle of which a photograph and a description by Mr. +H.A. Gwynne will be found in the Climbers' book at that place. In old +maps the name is sometimes found applied to _Lingmell_. + +[Illustration: LORD'S RAKE AND RAKE'S PROGRESS +A, The foot of _Moss Gill_; B, The foot of _Steep Gill_; +C-D, _Lord's Rake_; C-A, Part of _Rake's Progress_.] + + +=Lord's Rake.=--A well-known scree-shoot in the north face of Scafell, +for the ascent of which from Mickledoor it offers an easy route without +climbing. The earliest account of its being used for this purpose is in +the _Penny Magazine_ for 1837 at p. 293: 'It is very laborious and looks +dangerous, but in fact there is no risk except that of a sprained +ankle. It is through the Lord's Rake, a shaft between two vertical walls +of rock about five yards across all the way up, and twenty or +twenty-five minutes' hard climbing on all fours up a slope of about 45 deg.. +The place must have been cut out by a watercourse, but is now dry and +covered with light shingle. It looks right down into Hollow Stones (the +deep vale between the Pikes and Scafell), and most fearful it does look, +but it is not dangerous. When we reached the inn at Eskdale over Scafell +my shepherd was very proud of having brought me through the Lord's Rake, +and the people were much surprised. It seems to be rather a feat in the +country. It is the strangest place I ever saw. It may be recommended to +all who can bear hard labour and enjoy the appearance of danger without +the reality.' 'Prior's Guide' contained the first good description of +this rake. + + +=Luxulion=, in Cornwall, is of interest to the mineralogist and the +travelled mountaineer on account of its enormous block. + +According to Mr. Baddeley, this is the largest block in Europe, larger +than any of the famous boulders at the head of the Italian lakes, and it +may take rank with the largest known, the Agassiz blocks in the Tijuca +mountains near Rio Janeiro. He gives the dimensions as 49 feet by 27 +feet with 72 feet girth, yet makes no allusion to the _Bowder Stone_ in +_Borrowdale_, which in another work he describes as being 60 feet long, +30 feet high, and weighing 1,900 tons. It would appear, therefore, that +the _Bowder Stone_ is considerably larger than the largest stone in +Europe without being so remarkable for size as another stone in England. + + +=Malham Cove.=--A fine example of the limestone scenery of the Craven +Fault. The river Aire gushes forth from the base of the cove, which can +easily be seen in the same excursion as _Gordale Scar_. The nearest town +is Skipton-in-Craven and the nearest station Bell Busk, but Settle is +very little farther and will generally be found the most convenient +starting-point. + + +=Mardale Green=, at the head of Hawes Water, is a delightful and little +visited spot. In the way of climbing it commands _High Street_, _Harter +Fell_, _Froswick_, _Ill Bell_, and _Rainsborrow Crag_. The best near +climbs are about _Bleawater_ and _Riggindale_. + + +=Mellbreak.=--One of the few Cumberland fells which the indefatigable +Colonel Barrow seems to have left unvisited; yet no one who stops at +Scale Hill or Buttermere will consider wasted a day spent upon it. The +proper course is to begin at the end which faces Loweswater village and +ascend by _Frier's Gill_, a nice little climb. Having reached the top of +the gill and then the summit plateau, proceed to the hollow about the +middle of the mountain, and from there descend the highly curious +_Pillar Rake_, which gradually slopes down towards the foot of Crummock +Water. It is not a climb, but any one who is not content with the study +of mountain form can find climbing in the little gullies which ascend +the rocks above the rake. Sheet 63 of the Ordnance map of Cumberland +contains it. + + +=Mickledoor Chimney=, in the cliffs of Scafell, is not the easiest, but +the most obvious point at which to attack them. It is conspicuous from +the _Pikes_, and would probably be selected by any experienced stranger +as the most vulnerable point. It was visited about the year 1869 by Mr. +C.W. Dymond, who contributed to 'Prior's Guide' the earliest and best +description of it. He says that, 'leaving _Mickledoor_ Ridge, you pass +the fissure leading to _Broad Stand_, and continue descending steeply +for two minutes, which brings you to a narrow gully in the rock, with a +thread of water trickling down it over moss. This is the _cheminee_ to +be ascended, and there is no special difficulty in it until you are near +the top. Here the gully, of which the 'chimney' forms the lower section, +is effectually blocked for some distance, and the only alternative is to +climb out of it by the rock which forms the right wall, and which is +about 12 ft. high, the lower six vertical and the upper a steep slant. +This, which can only be scaled _a la_ chimney-sweep, is exceedingly +difficult, as is also the gymnastic feat of escaping to _terra firma_ +from the narrow shelf on which the shoulder-and-hip work lands you.' +This is very clear and in the main correct, but there is another and +easier exit much lower down called 'the Corner,' and there is a third +exit only a few feet from the mouth of the chimney. All these are on the +right hand, for the opposite bank is not only much higher and much +smoother, but would lead to nothing if it were surmounted. It is not +really necessary to enter the chimney at all, for the edge presented +where the bank cuts the wall bounding the screes is quite assailable, +and just right of it there is a point which may even be called easy; +but two terrible accidents which have occurred at this spot prove the +necessity of care. + +Until the extraordinarily dry season of 1893 the moss-grown block at the +very head of the chimney had never been climbed. It was accomplished on +the 12th of September by Mr. W.H. Fowler. By standing on the shoulders +of a tall man he was able to reach a slight hold and to establish +himself on a rough rectangular block forming the floor of a recess big +enough to hold one man. The block above it was holdless, and overhanging +and loose stones were a great nuisance. + + +=Micklefell.=--The highest mountain in Yorkshire, but except on that +account it possesses no special attraction. The best starting-point is +the High Force Inn in Teesdale, 5 miles from Middleton. By making the +round of the mountain from High Force to Appleby some very fine +rock-scenery may be enjoyed. + + +=Millstone grit.=--A material which is very abundant in Yorkshire and +Derbyshire. It is fairly firm, but seldom affords a climb of any +sustained interest. Few kinds of rock weather into such eccentric forms, +and of this propensity _Brimham Rocks_ are a good example. It forms most +of the 'Edges' in Derbyshire, and generally speaking a precipice at the +top of a hill is of this material, while those at the foot are of +limestone. + + +=Moses' Sledgate= is a curious track, which has evidently been +engineered with considerable care, running from near Seatoller in +Borrowdale at the back of _Brandreth_, round the head of Ennerdale below +_Green_ and _Great Gable_, and then over Beck Head and down Gavel Neese +into Wastdale. The question is, who made it and for what purpose was it +used? A few years ago, the writer, while climbing with two friends among +the crags on the Ennerdale side of _Great Gable_, stumbled quite by +chance on something which seemed to throw a side-light on the question. +This was a ruined hut thickly overgrown with moss, and showing no trace +of any wood having been employed in its construction. The spot had +evidently been chosen primarily with a view to concealment, and the +result of enquiries kindly made since then by one of my friends has been +to elicit proof of certain traditions still lingering among the older +inhabitants of these dales concerning a noted distiller of illicit +spirits, who flourished and defied the law among these wild retreats. At +the same time it is not easy to believe that a smuggler would have +undertaken the construction of such a path as this. In the South of +England, it is true that the smugglers were considerable roadmakers; but +that was at a time when smuggling was a great and well-organised +institution, and it seems much more probable in this case that Moses +made use of an old path constructed for some purpose which had at that +time been abandoned. + +The terms 'Moses' Path' and 'Moses' Trod' are also used to describe this +track. It is not noticed in the guide-books, but something is said about +it by Mrs. Lynn Linton. + + +=Moss Gill=, on Scafell, is the next gully on the east or _Mickledoor_ +side of _Steep Gill_. The name _Sweep Gill_ ('from the probable +profession of the future first climber of its extraordinary vertical +chimneys') was suggested for it by Mr. Gilson shortly after its +discovery, but that name has been entirely superseded. The first mention +of it in the Wastdale Head book is a note by the present writer in June +1889, recommending it to any one in search of a new and difficult +climb. His party on that occasion was repulsed after reaching the great +blocks, which have only been passed since by the aid of the artificial +step subsequently cut in the rock. It was tried again a fortnight later +by a party under Mr. R.C. Gilson, which got very nearly, but not quite +as far. Two days later the same party explored the gill from above and +descended in it for a considerable distance. It was not, however, till +three and a half years later, at Christmas, 1892, that the climb was +accomplished by Dr. J.N. Collie, G. Hastings, and J.W. Robinson, and +their account of it is: + +[Illustration: MOSS GILL AND STEEP GILL +A, _Moss Gill_ (Collie's exit); B, _Moss Gill_ (Collier's exit): +C, Top of _Steep Gill_. Just below the point to which A and B converge +is the artificial step.] + +'The chief points in this climb are, First--to begin on the rock wall to +the right of the foot of the gill and not in the very foot of the +chimney itself, then enter the gill just below the first great pitch, +which may be turned by climbing the wall on the right hand on to a grass +ledge of considerable size, called the "_Tennis Court_"; enter the gill +from here again, and pass into the cavern under the great boulder.' + +'We found,' says Dr. Collie, 'that below the great slab which formed the +roof, another smaller one was jammed in the gully, which, stretching +across from side to side, formed the top of a great doorway. Under this +we passed and clambered up on to the top of it. Over our heads the great +rock roof stretched some distance over the gill. Our only chance was to +traverse straight out along the side of the gill, till one was no longer +overshadowed by the roof above, and then, if possible, climb up the face +of rock and traverse back again above the obstacle into the gill once +more. This was easier to plan than to carry out; absolutely no +hand-hold, and only one little projecting ledge jutting out about a +quarter of an inch and about two inches long to stand on, and six or +eight feet of the rock wall to be traversed. I was asked to try it. +Accordingly, with great deliberation, I stretched out my foot and placed +the edge of my toe on the ledge. Just as I was going to put my weight on +to it, off slipped my toe, and if Hastings had not quickly jerked me +back, I should instantly have been dangling on the end of the rope. But +we were determined not to be beaten. Hastings' ice-axe was next brought +into requisition, and what followed I have no doubt will be severely +criticised by more orthodox mountaineers than ourselves. As it was my +suggestion I must take the blame. _Peccavi! I hacked a step in the +rock_--and it was very hard work. But I should not advise any one to try +and do the same thing with an ordinary axe. Hastings' axe is an +extraordinary one, and was none the worse for the experiment. I then +stepped across the _mauvais pas_, clambered up the rock till I had +reached a spot where a capital hitch could be got over a jutting piece +of rock, and the rest of the party followed. We then climbed out of the +gill on the left, up some interesting slabs of rock. A few days later +the gill was again ascended by a party led by Mr. J. Collier. They did +not follow our track to the left after the overhanging rock had been +passed, but climbed straight up, using a crack which looks impossible +from down below, thus adding an extra piece of splendid climbing to the +expedition.' + +Only four days after Dr. Collie, a party of five climbers, led by Dr. J. +Collier, made the second ascent of Moss Gill. The description given by +their precursors was of great assistance, and except that the gill was +entered much lower, the same line was followed up to the traverse from +the great boulder. Here, instead of climbing out to the sky line on the +left side, the ascent of the gill itself was completed by climbing the +vertical moss-grown wall on the right. This part was entirely new, and +Dr. Collier's note of his variation, or we may say correction, for his +climb is the more direct of the two, is that the ascent of the wall was +made by using the cleft of the gill for about 15 ft., when a resting +place was reached. Above this point they climbed about 15 ft., and then +traversed out on the face of the wall for about 8 ft. by some ledges +which afforded just sufficient hold. They then ascended vertically about +6 or 8 ft., re-entering the cleft above a small platform of jammed +stones ('Sentry Box'). This gave a starting-point for the completion of +the ascent, which was made by climbing out on to the face of the wall to +enable the jammed stones at the top of the pitch to be turned. These +last stones did not appear to be secure and were avoided. From this +point the gill continues upward at an easy slope, with one pitch of +about 15 ft. to the back of the small summit on the left of _Deep Gill_. +Two days later the ascent was repeated by Dr. Collier in company with +Professor H.B. Dixon and the late Professor A.M. Marshall, the latter +of whom inserted in the Climbers' book a remarkably bold and effective +outline sketch of the gill, with explanatory notes. Speaking of the +climb, he said that Mr. Collier led throughout, and that the success of +the climb was due entirely to him. The climb is a very fine one, and, +except for the leader, is entirely free from danger. At the very awkward +return from Tennis Court Ledge into the gully, the leader can by a short +traverse fix himself directly above the rest of the party. During the +traverse from the 'window' the leader can fix the rope over the +'belaying-pin.' In the great chimney the _Sentry Box_ is a place of +absolute safety. The climb is difficult, but no part of the chimney is +harder than the short rock face leading up to Tennis Court Ledge, and +the most awkward traverse (if covered with snow) is the one from Tennis +Court Ledge back into the gully. For a party of three 80 ft. of rope +would be enough; 100 ft. perhaps better. On January 9, 1893, Mr. O.G. +Jones attacked this formidable climb entirely by himself, following Mr. +Collier's route up to the foot of the Great Chimney, and then Mr. +Hastings' exit to the left. Heavy snow had fallen since the previous +ascents and the climb appeared to be exceedingly difficult. Almost every +hold had to be cleared of snow; essential precautions rendered the climb +of five hours' duration, and it was not completed till after dark (5.45 +p.m.). While clearing snow from the more remote portions of the _Collie +traverse_ from the _window_, in search of the third step, the difficulty +of balancing proved too great, and he fell into the gully below. A rope +had been secured round the _window_ and thus prevented his passing +beyond the snow patch on which he fell. The _window_ 'sill,' already +loose, was on the verge of falling, and was therefore pushed over into +the gully. Returning two days later, he found that the two lowest +chimneys in the gill could be taken straight up, and that the simplest +way of reaching Tennis Court Ledge is by 'backing up' the chimney till +the level of the recess in the right-hand face is reached. 'The recess +is near enough to be taken with a stride. It would seem that the Tennis +Court Ledge and traverse back into the gully may be entirely dispensed +with by continuing up the chimney, the small jammed stones being firm +enough to render the necessary assistance. While making these +suggestions concerning small details in the climb, it may be mentioned +that at the _Collie traverse_, which the writer's experience leads him +to think is the most dangerous piece in the gill, an axe may be of much +help to a party. A man fixed on the _window sill_ may press the point of +the axe into a conveniently placed notch in the slab facing him, so that +the lower end of the handle shall supply a firm hand-hold for any one +stretching round the third step. + + _Heights calculated by Mr. Jones._ + + Foot of Gill on Rake's Progress 2,625 ft. + Snow Patch below Tennis Court Ledge 2,805 " + Tennis Court Ledge 2,840 " + Foot of jammed stone pitch 2,870 " + Window in jammed stones 2,895 " + Snow patch above 2,920 " + Top of left-hand exit 3,140 " + Top of Moss Gill proper 3,170 " + +It must, however, be borne in mind that these measurements, though +useful for the purposes of comparison, cannot be absolutely correct, +seeing that Scafell itself is only 3,162 ft. high. On February 11 +Messrs. Slingsby, Woolley, and R. Williams found the gully very +difficult owing to ice, and recorded an emphatic protest against any +one following their example by attempting it, 'except when the rocks are +dry and quite free from ice.' + +On the last day of March Messrs. Brunskill and Gibbs followed, with a +slight improvement, Dr. Collier's route, and made the subjoined +observations, taken apparently with greater care than those by Mr. +Jones: + + Foot of Gill at Rake's Progress 2,570 ft. + Snow Patch above jammed stones 2,865 " + Top of Great Chimney or Moss wall 2,965 " + Top of Gill (neck leading to Deep Gill Pisgah) 3,065 " + +It will be seen that while the points are all made lower than Mr. +Jones's table, the height between the commencement of the climb and the +snow patch above the jammed stones is exactly the same--295 ft. In this +case an observation was taken at the cairn on the top of Scafell, and +the aneroid stood at almost exactly the correct figure, which somewhat +confirms the figures now given. + + +=Napes.=--A collection of fine rocks, starting up like a stack of organ +pipes on the south side of _Great Gable_. The extremity of them nearest +to _Kirkfell_ is called _White Napes_, and sometimes Gable Horn. East of +this is a gap known as _Little Hell Gate_. East of this comes _Great +Napes_, and east of them again is _Great Hell Gate_, which is called +Deep Gill in the Ordnance map. + +In September, 1884, a note by the present writer in the book at Wastdale +Head drew attention to these excellent rocks. They are now one of the +most favourite climbs in Wastdale, and contain the well-known _Needle_, +the _Bear Rock_, and the _Arrowhead_, with their respective gullies and +_aretes_. + +Just west of _Hell Gate_ there is a considerable width of very large and +steep rock, which continues nearly to the _Needle Ridge_, with only a +few steep and shallow gullies, in which the grass is very rotten. West +of this ridge there is a deep gully, grassy, but exceedingly steep. The +ridge beyond this was ascended in April, 1892, by Messrs. Slingsby, +Baker, Solly, and Brigg, who called it the _Eagle's Nest_ (q.v.). The +narrow gully west of this ridge is apparently that which was climbed on +December 29, 1890, by Mr. R.C. Gilson. He describes it as 'the gully on +the left as you face the mountain of the gully coming down left of the +_Needle_.' He proceeds to say that it presented no special difficulty, +except at a point about one-third of the way up, where there was a large +boulder and a smooth slab thinly glazed with ice. It was claimed as a +first ascent when climbed on April 17, 1892, by Messrs. Solly and +Schintz. West again of this is the ridge of the _Arrowhead_ (q.v.). We +are here getting near the end of _Great Napes_, which are separated on +the west from _White Napes_ by the scree gully which is called _Little +Hell Gate_. + + +=Napes Needle.=--A rock of very striking form, which, by an eminent +mountaineer, has been compared to a violon-cello. + +It stands at the foot of the _Needle Ridge_ in the _Napes_, and was +first climbed by the writer about the end of June, 1886. The second +ascent was made on March 17, 1889, by Mr. G. Hastings, and the third +by Mr. F. Wellford on June 22, Mr. J.W. Robinson following on August 12 +in the same year. + +[Illustration: NAPES NEEDLE FROM THE WEST +A, _Needle Ridge_; B is reached from below by means of a deep crack +which goes right through the rock. In order to get to C from B it is +necessary to pass round behind to the crack seen at D, along which one +may pass to C, and thence direct to the top.] + +Miss Koecher (March 31, 1890) was apparently the first lady to ascend. + +It was first climbed from the west; the way on the opposite side is +perhaps less severe, but longer and more varied. + +The rock is frequently photographed, and an illustrated article on it +appeared in the _Pall Mall Budget_ of June 5, 1890. + + +=Needle Ridge= is that ridge of the _Napes_ on _Great Gable_ which is +immediately behind the _Napes Needle_. It was discovered in 1884 by the +writer and Mr. Robinson, and ascended by them in a somewhat desultory +fashion; that is to say, they cut in from the east side nearly at the +top of the difficult face which forms its lower extremity, and also +avoided the topmost piece by passing over on to the easy terrace on the +west side of the ridge. The _arete_ was climbed in a strict and +conscientious manner for the first time by the writer in 1886. This was +a descent, and apparently the first strict ascent was made by Messrs. +Slingsby, Hastings Hopkinson, and a brother of the writer. + + +=North Climb.=--The first to describe this climb on Scafell was Mr. +Seatree, who says: + +'From the ridge we traversed a ledge of grass-covered rock [the Rake's +Progress] to the right, until we reached a detached boulder, stepping +upon which we were enabled to get hand-hold of a crevice 6 or 7 ft. +from where we stood. To draw ourselves up so as to get our feet upon +this was the difficulty; there is only one small foot-hold in that +distance, and to have slipped here would have precipitated the climber +many feet below. Having succeeded in gaining this foot-hold, we found +ourselves in a small rectangular recess, with barely room to turn round. +From here it was necessary to draw ourselves carefully over two other +ledges into a small rift in the rocks, and then traverse on our hands +and knees another narrow ledge of about 8 ft. to the left, which brought +us nearly in a line with Mickledoor Ridge. From here all was +comparatively smooth sailing.' + +This climb had been made many years before (1869) by Major Ponsonby +Cundill, R.E., who left his stick in the deep crack behind the ledge +which Mr. Seatree traversed on his hands and knees. The stick was found +in 1884 by Mr. Chas. Cookson. This ledge, by the way, should certainly +be walked or at least sidled in an upright attitude, otherwise ungainly +gambollings are necessary when the time comes for stepping off at the +other end. The descent of the _North Climb_ is decidedly difficult, +unless the ascent has been made just previously, and the climb whether +up or down is an excellent test of style. + +A couple of yards to the left there is an alternative to the +'rectangular recess,' and it is known as the 'Rift.' It is to be done by +a wild struggle. It was at one time the wetter and harder of the two +ways, but the conditions are now reversed. + + +=Old Wall.=--On the east side of the Pillar Rock a natural line of rock +runs down to the head of _Walker's Gully_, having, however, a narrow +passage by means of which sheep may reach the Low Man. A hundred years +ago or more, the shepherds built a wall of loose stones to stop the +sheep, and though little of the wall remains, the name clings to the +spot. At one time the _North-east Route_ was usually spoken of as the +_Old Wall Way_. + + +=Patriarch.=--By this name the Rev. James Jackson, of Sandwith in +Cumberland, was very widely known. It is an abbreviation of one which he +himself invented and assumed--'Patriarch of the Pillarites.' Some +considerable mention of him is made by Mr. Williamson, but his readers +will be glad to have further particulars, for this was a man of no +ordinary stamp. Born at Millom just before the series of naval victories +which closed the eighteenth century, he passed his boyhood in the thick +of the Buonaparte struggle and shared in it personally when a mere lad. +However, he soon changed the colour of his coat and entered the Church; +but long before his connection with the Pillar he had ceased to take any +active part in his profession. Thenceforward he lived at his ease, +amusing himself by rambles and scrambles far and near among the fells. +'I have knocked about,' he said himself, 'among the mountains ever +since, till I may almost say "I knaw iv'ry craag."' That he was somewhat +of an egotist cannot be denied. In his letters as in his poems his own +feats form the burden of his song. To this point all topics converged +with the same certainty that all roads are said to lead to Rome. He was +never tired of relating how, for instance, in his sixty-ninth year he +had one day walked 46 miles in 14-1/2 hours, on the third day following +56 miles in 18 hours, and after a similar interval 60 miles in less than +20 hours, thus accomplishing within one week three walks, any one of +which might well knock up many a man of half his age; how, on another +occasion, he had found two brethren of his own cloth struggling feebly +to surmount the difficulties of Rossett Gill; how, taking pity upon +their tender years, he had transferred their knapsacks to his own +venerable shoulders and, striding on before, encouraged them to complete +their weary task. A man aged between sixty and seventy might fairly +plume himself on such an exploit. He also rejoiced greatly in the fact +that he had been the first student of St. Bees College--a distinction of +which, as he justly said, no one could ever deprive him. But the feat on +which he especially prided himself was one of bodily activity. During +the third part of a century he held the living of Rivington, near +Bolton-le-Moors. It chanced that the weathercock of his church had +become loose, and the masons rather shrank from the risk of going up to +secure it. Here was an opportunity which our friend could not forego; +and Rivington witnessed the unwonted spectacle of a beneficed clergyman +of the Church of England solemnly swarming up his own steeple and making +fast the vane 'under circumstances of terror which made the workmen +recoil from the task, and the gazing rustics turn sick with horror at +the sight!' While walking proudly back to his parsonage he composed a +commemorative epigram which will bear quotation: + + Who has not heard of Steeple Jack, + That lion-hearted Saxon? + Though I'm not he, he was my sire, + For I am 'Steeple Jackson'! + +Indeed, his fancy was as lively as his limbs were supple. He was ever on +the watch for some analogy or antithesis; ever producing some new +alliteration or epigram expressive of such contrasts as that between his +age and his activity. His favourite description of himself was 'senex +juvenilis'--an idea which he frequently put into English, e.g.: + + If this in your mind you will fix + When I make the Pillar my toy, + I was born in 1, 7, 9, 6, + And you'll think me a nimble old boy. + +On the late Mr. Maitland, a well-known climber, as only second to +himself in age and ardour, he bestowed the title 'Maitland of Many +Mounts' and 'Patriarch Presumptive of the Pillarites.' There is nothing +strange in his thus designating a successor and bestowing titles of +honour; for these are matter of royal privilege, and he looked upon +himself as the Mountain Monarch and always expected climbers to attend +his mimic court and pay him homage. But he had many a high-flown alias +besides. When Mr. Pendlebury came under his notice he contrasted himself +with the Senior Wrangler, rather neatly, as the 'Senior Scrambler'; +after his ascent of the Pillar he dubbed himself 'St. Jacobus Stylites'; +and many other titles are introduced into the occasional poems on which +he expended much of his ingenuity. + +His bodily powers were not allowed to rust away. 'My adopted motto,' he +said, 'is "Stare nescio,"' and some idea of his boundless love of +enterprise may be formed from one of his letters: 'I have been twelve +months afloat on the wide, wide sea. I have been beneath the falls of +Niagara. I have sung "God save the King" in the hall of St. Peter's; I +have ascended Vesuvius in the eruption of 1828; I have capped Snowdon in +Wales and Slieve Donard in Ireland, and nearly all the hills in this +district.... It only remains for me to mount the Pillar Rock!' Before +the end of the following May this hope was gratified, and a proud moment +it was for this veteran climber when, seated serenely on the summit, he +was able to record in a Greek inscription (written, as he carefully +notes, 'without specs') his ascent of the famous rock. Think of the +life, the energy, the determination that must have been in him! Years +seemed to be powerless to check the current of his blood. Where are we +to look for another of his age--he was now in his eightieth +year--showing any approach to the same combination of enterprise, pluck +and bodily vigour? It cannot be wondered at that his success filled him +with the keenest delight. He wrote off at once in high glee to his +friends and felt quite injured if, in their reply or their delay in +replying, he detected any sign of indifference to his exploit. But true +to his motto 'Stare nescio,' he was not content with this. Within a +month we find him expressing a fear that his title 'Patriarch of the +Pillarites' might not be acknowledged by 'the Western division of the +Order,' and announcing his intention of climbing the Pillar from the +west also in order to secure his claim. He playfully proposes, moreover, +that while he, 'the aged errant knight,' with his faithful squire +toiled up from the west, a certain fair Pillarite should arrive at the +summit from the east and crown his success on the spot by the bestowal +on him of her hand and heart. According to all approved precedent the +'aged errant knight' ought to have bound his lady's favour around his +clerical hat and ranged the mountains extorting from the passing tourist +at the point of his alpenstock a confession of her peerless beauty; or +for her sake betaken himself to the Rock and there passed nights of +vigil and days of toil assisting distressed damsels in the terrible +passage of the 'Slab.' Whatever he did, he made no attempt on the west +route. Perhaps despair of the reward had cooled his zeal--zeal +conditional like that of the Hindoo teacher who, when asked whether he +professed the creed which he was anxious to teach, naively replied, 'I +am not a Christian; but I expect to be one shortly--if sufficient +inducement offers.' + +There is a sad and sharp contrast in turning from his high spirits and +playful fancy to his sudden death. It has been described elsewhere. +Though fourscore and two was (as he himself expressed it on the very day +of his death) the 'howdah' on his back, it cannot be said that the +ever-growing howdah had crushed its bearer. His vigour was unimpaired. +Like Walter Ewbank, + + To the very last, + He had the lightest foot in Ennerdale. + +Indeed, the same thing might have happened to a boy. It was an accident; +but it might be rash to say that it was a misfortune, or that he would +himself have regarded any other death as preferable. His life had +already been longer and more varied than falls to ordinary men; but the +change could not long have been delayed. A few months would have seen +his faculties failing and his powers decayed. To a man of his habits and +temperament inaction would have been the most terrible affliction, and +though he might have dragged on for years, his strength would truly have +been labour and sorrow. + +Two years before he had stood close to this very spot. 'Almost all the +mountains,' he said, 'which I had known in youth, in manhood, and in old +age were visible, and seemed to give me a kindly greeting "for auld lang +syne." In the fervour of admiration I might have chanted, "Nunc +dimittis, Domine, servum tuum in pace."' We may well believe that, had +the old man foreseen his fate, he would have gladly welcomed it, and +have found for it no fitter place among all his beloved mountains than +this quiet cove almost within the shadow of the majestic rock. + + +=Patterdale= is a place where a climber may spend a week or two with +much enjoyment, though the quality of the rocks is by no means +first-rate. It is the best centre for _Helvellyn_, _Fairfield_, and _St. +Sunday Crag_, and convenient for _Swarthbeck_ and the whole _High +Street_ range. On _Place Fell_, fine as it looks, there is not much +worth climbing. _Deepdale_ and _Dovedale_ are both worth exploring. + + +=Pavey Ark=, one of the Langdale Pikes, is easily reached in +three-quarters of an hour from Dungeon Gill. On it will be found some +splendid climbing, including the _Big Gully_, the _Little Gully_, +_Jack's Rake_ (q.v.), and many minor points of interest. The two chief +gullies stand on either side of a buttress of rock, the top of which +forms a tooth on the sky line. The _Little Gully_ is on the south side +of it, and is V-shaped, giving a very straightforward but pleasant +climb. But the _Great Gully_ has two considerable difficulties, one low +down and the other near the top. The lower is caused by a huge block +covering a considerable cavern. The way is either right through the +cavern and out again through a narrow hole, or up a high grassy bank on +the right hand. In either case a narrow place is reached, walled in +between the big block and a smaller one on the right hand. Here the +difficulty is that the walls nearly meet towards the top, so that it is +necessary, in order to get room for the head, to go rather 'outside.' +However, a second man with a rope can hold the leader very securely, and +a piece of rock having come away, the headroom is much more commodious +than it used to be. Just below the level of _Jack's Rake_ there are some +very 'brant and slape' inclines of wet or muddy rock, which most people +consider the worst part of the climb. There is very little hold, and +what there is was on the occasion of the first ascent lubricated by a +film of fine mud. On reaching _Jack's Rake_ several variations may be +made, and straight ahead there is a very neat little chimney. These +upper rocks are of splendid gripping quality; rough as a cow's tongue, +it would be quite difficult to make a slip on them. The Big Gully was +climbed by the writer in the summer of 1882, and the small one in June +1886. In March 1887 Mr. Slingsby made a note about the former in the +Wastdale Head book. He says that it took his party two hours and forty +minutes, but his estimate of the height of the gully at 1,300 ft. is +more than double of the truth, and must be due to a slip of the pen. + +[Illustration: PAVEY ARK (NEAR VIEW) +A, Narrow gully; B, Big gully; C, D, Smaller gullies; E, Wide scree +gully. From the foot of E to A runs _Jack's Rake_.] + +In the book at Millbeck there is a note by the same distinguished +climber, dated May 30, 1887, in which he records an ascent of this gully +made by Miss Mabel Hastings, and gives the height of it as 600 or 650 +ft. + + +=Penyghent.=--The sixth in height of the Yorkshire hills, but long +supposed, on account of its finer shape, to be the highest of them all. +As late as 1770 it was reckoned at 3,930 ft. It can be ascended from +Horton station in little over an hour. Celtic scholars revel in the +name; they practically agree that it means 'head of something,' but +cannot accept each other's views as to what that something is. When +Defoe was in this neighbourhood he saw 'nothing but high mountains, +which had a terrible aspect, and more frightful than any in +Monmouthshire or Derbyshire, especially _Pengent Hill_.' + + +=Piers Gill=, in Wastdale, on the north front of _Lingmell_, has a vast +literature of its own. As a rock ravine, not in limestone, it is only +second to _Deep Gill_ on _Scafell_ and the great gully in the Wastwater +_Screes_, both of which are far less easy of access than this, which can +be reached from Wastdale Head in half an hour. The difficulties depend +entirely on the quantity of water. One, the 'cave pitch,' may be passed +at the cost of a wetting almost at any time; but above it is another, +known as the 'Bridge Fall,' from a vast column of fallen rock which +spans the stream a few yards above it, which is at all times difficult, +and in nineteen seasons out of twenty wholly impossible. + +Until the unprecedented drought of 1893 it had never been climbed. Even +then a less brilliant climber than Dr. Collier would scarcely have +succeeded. His ascent was made on April 29, 1893, and his companions +were Messrs. Winser, W. Jones, and Fairbairn. The big pitch was found to +be 40 or 50 ft. high, the lowest part of it apparently overhanging. The +first few feet were climbed about three feet to the right of the falling +water, after which the leader was able to reach the other side of the +gill by stretching his left foot across it just outside the water. By +this means this great and hitherto insuperable difficulty was overcome. +Unless we are entering on a cycle of dry seasons, the exploit is one +which will not be repeated for some time. + +Various accidents and minor mishaps have taken place in Piers Gill. One +is described by Mr. Payn, and the injured man was, I believe, a shepherd +called Tom Hale. Mr. W.O. Burrows had a bad fall above the bridge, and +people descending from the _Pikes_ are often pounded about the same +spot. Some years ago a tourist had to pass the night in the gill without +food, but protested that he was 'quite consoled by the beautiful +scenery.' The discovery of the route up the east side of the _Pillar +Rock_ was within an ace of being delayed for years, owing to the band of +bold explorers who were to work it out becoming entangled in _Piers +Gill_ while on their way to _Wastdale Head_. + +The name is spelt 'Pease' by Mr. Payn and by most of the early +authorities, and judging by the analogy of other places in the North of +England this would appear to be more correct. + + +=Pike o' Stickle=, also known as _Steel Pike_ and sometimes as the +_Sugarloaf_, drops into Langdale from the north in one continuous slope, +which for length and steepness has not many rivals in England. The top +piece of the hill is curiously symmetrical, and resembles a haycock or a +thimble. It is not easy to find satisfactory climbs on it. Mr. Gwynne +says of it: 'A very fine peak, that, viewed from the valley, has very +much the appearance of the Moench. It runs down towards the _Stake_ Pass +in a spur, which must be the starting-point of most of the climbs on +this mountain. There is a curious gully here, too, which is worthy of +the climber's attention. It does not run from top to bottom, but +suddenly begins about the middle of the crag. The difficulty is to get +at this gully, and some pretty climbing can be obtained in the attempt.' + + +=Pillar Rock.=--There are but three directions from which the _Pillar_ +is commonly approached--namely, Ennerdale (Gillerthwaite), Buttermere, +and Wastdale Head. In each case the guide-books (except Baddeley's) +exhibit a suspicious shyness of specifying any time for the walk. +Wherever the present writer gives times, they must be understood to be +the quickest of which he happens to have made any note; for the best +test of times is a 'reductio ad minima.' A journey may be indefinitely +prolonged, but it cannot be shortened beyond a certain limit; thus, +_Scafell Pike_ cannot be reached from Wastdale Head in much less than 60 +minutes of hard going, while the walk up the Pillar Fell cannot be cut +down much below 75 minutes. This supplies us with a trustworthy +comparison, although for a hot day that pace is not to be recommended; +in each case double the time is not more than a fair allowance. Never +let yourself be hurried at starting, come home as hard as ever you like; +it is the chamois-hunter's system, and by far the best. Baddeley seems +to reverse the principle, for he allows 2 to 2-1/2 hours for the ascent +via Black Sail, and says that it is shorter by Wind Gap; yet for the +_descent_ from Wind Gap (which is, say, 20 minutes short of the summit) +he gives as a fair allowance 2 to 3 hours. Perhaps he preferred +conforming to what is apparently the approved fox-hunting style: + +[Illustration: PILLAR ROCK +A, B, Summits of Shamrock; C, Shamrock gully; D, Pisgah; E, High Man; +G, Curtain; H, Steep Grass; I, Foot of Great Chimney; I, K, Walker's +gully; J, Low Man; L, J, West route; M, Waterfall; N, I, East Scree.] + + Harkaway! See, she's off! O'er hill and through whol + We spank till we're gaily nar done, + Than, hingan a lip like a motherless fwol, + _Sledder heammward, but nit in a run_. + +[Illustration: PILLAR ROCK FROM THE NORTH +A, _High Man_; B, _Low Man_; C, _Shamrock_; D, _Walker's gully_; +E, Below this is the _waterfall_. The _terrace_ runs past the foot of +Walker's gully to the foot of the _waterfall_.] + +[Illustration: PILLAR ROCK FROM THE SOUTH +A, Top of rock and of _West Jordan climb_; B, Top of _Central Jordan +climb_; C, Top of _East Jordan climb_; D, G, The _Curtain_; +E, The _Notch_; F, The _Ledge_. The mass of rock in the foreground is +_Pisgah_.] + +_From Ennerdale_: From Gillerthwaite, a farmhouse nearly a mile and a +half above the lake, the Pillar is not far distant; but the direct way +is exceedingly rough, and it will be found best to make use of the path +up _Wingate Cove_, skirting round the mountain, when by that means a +considerable height has been gained. The way is so rough that many +people think it an economy of labour to go right on up the gap, and then +left over the summit of the mountain. + +One of the best ways of approaching the Pillar is to sleep at the little +inn at the foot of the lake and row up from there to the water head. For +walking the whole way from the inn to the fell-top Baddeley allows 3 to +3-1/2 hours. + +_From Buttermere_: After crossing _Scarf Gap_ some keep to the track as +far as the summit of the Black Sail Pass, and then turn to the right up +the ridge of the Pillar Fell, while others adopt the more laborious plan +of working upwards after descending the valley until nearly opposite the +Rock, which in this way is certainly seen to much greater advantage. If +the return be made by way of the mountain ridge, some little time may be +saved by descending into Ennerdale down _Green Cove_, nearly half a mile +short of Black Sail and 250 ft. higher; for Black Sail, being much +nearer the head of the valley than either Scarf Gap or the Pillar, can +only be used for going from one to the other at the expense of making a +considerable _detour_. For the ascent, however, Green Cove is not so +decidedly recommended, as many will prefer to make the round by the +regular pass for the sake of the more gradual rise. + +_From Wastdale_: The vast majority of visitors come from this direction, +and almost all follow the same track, plodding up from Mosedale to the +top of _Black Sail_ and then turning left along the ridge of the +mountain. Mosedale, by the way, must not be confused with any of the +numerous other valleys of the same name: it sometimes appears in the +form 'Moresdale' or 'Mossdale' (Moos-thal, near Laibach in Austria, is +exactly parallel), and generally indicates scenery of a dreary +character; for such valleys are often, as in this case, the half-drained +beds of ancient lakes, by the loss of which the scenery has seriously +suffered. + +[Illustration: PILLAR FELL] + +Ladies who ascend by Black Sail will find it best to keep to the path as +long as possible, i.e. as far as the top of the pass, but others may +save something by breasting the hill on the left soon after reaching +_Gatherstone Head_, apparently a glacier mound, which rises just beyond +where the track crosses the stream (Gatherstone Beck) which comes down +from the pass. + +On reaching the ridge it is no doubt safer, especially if there be mist +about, for those who are not familiar with the way to go right on to the +flat top of the mountain; the proper point from which to commence the +descent is easily found, in all weathers, by following the +compass-needle from the cairn to the edge of the mountain; a rough and +steep descent of 400 ft. follows, which in winter demands considerable +care. At first the course is to the right, but it soon strikes a small +ridge which curves down to the Rock. It is, however, a waste of labour +to ascend to the summit of the mountain at all. The ridge of the +mountain is divided into steps, and at the foot of the uppermost of +these a deep cove called _Great Doup_ is seen on the right. It may be +recognised even in a mist, as it is just beyond a curious rock running +out with a narrow edged top many feet from the hill-side. Less than 100 +yards down the Doup the falling scree has nearly buried the cairn and +iron cross erected to the memory of the Rev. James Jackson. Beyond this, +as soon as the big rocks on the left permit, the track skirts round, and +after one or two ups and downs comes into full view of the famous Rock. +If, however, the object be to reach the north or lowest side of the +Rock, it is not necessary to descend into Ennerdale from Black Sail; for +there is the _High Level_, a fine scramble all along the breast of the +mountain from _Green Cove_--the first large hollow on the right, just +beyond _Lookingsteads_; but the way is rather intricate, and unless +properly hit off involves considerable fatigue and loss of time. At the +very least half an hour will be required in either direction, and a +stranger will certainly take much longer. + +Those who are anxious to pursue 't' bainest rwoad' may save ten minutes +or more in the walk from Wastdale by making use of _Wind Gap_ at the +head of Mosedale. Hard work it undeniably is, but more shady than Black +Sail, and--when the way is familiar, though no one can go very far +wrong, unless he clings to the main valley too long and goes up to +_Blackem_ (Black Combe) _Head_--quicker also, occupying about ninety +minutes. Mr. James Payn calls it (poetically) 'a sort of perpendicular +shaft--a chimney such as no sweep would adventure, but would use the +machine--which is said to be the dalesman's pass into Ennerdale; you may +thank your stars that it is not _your_ pass.' + +It really adds little to the labour of this way and affords a far finer +walk if the complete circuit of Mosedale be made along the hill-tops. +Ascending behind the inn and keeping round just under _Stirrup +Crag_--the north end of _Yewbarrow_, _Dore Head_ is soon reached, and it +is easy walking by the _Chair_, _Red Pike_, _Black Crag_ and _Wind Gap_ +on to the _Pillar Fell_. + +For the return to Wastdale _Wind Gap_ is very rough and hardly to be +recommended. Mr. Baddeley is not very consistent about it, for he says, +'the best descent is by _Windy Gap_'; but again, 'the descent from +_Windy Gap_ to Wastdale is, for reasons stated before, unsatisfactory'; +and thereupon he recommends Black Sail. The latter gives a rapid +descent--the inn may be reached in twenty-five minutes from the top of +the pass; but a quicker return may be made by crossing the ridge after +emerging from Great Doup, and shooting down _Wistow Crags_ into +Mosedale by a large gully filled with deliciously fine scree. + +Should it be preferred to make the circuit of Mosedale on the return +journey, an equally fine glissade may be enjoyed from _Dore Head_; but +the screes require judicious selection and dexterity on the part of the +slider. + +[Illustration: PILLAR ROCK FROM THE WEST +A, Summit of _High Man_; B, _Pisgah_; C, _Low Man_; D, _Jordan Gap_. +The _West route_ ascends from this side to the depression between +A and C.] + +It may here be said that stout walkers may visit all the mountains of +Wastdale Head in one day comfortably, and in few places is a finer walk +to be found. Start, say, at 10 A.M. for Scafell; then, by Mickledoor, +the Pike, Great End, Sty Head, Great Gable and Kirkfell to the Pillar, +returning in the manner described above in time for dinner. In June +1864, as Ritson's Visitors' Book records, J.M. Elliott, of Trin. Coll. +Camb., made this round, including Steeple and Yewbarrow, and found that +it took eight and a half hours; probably, however, he came over Stirrup +Crag and not Yewbarrow _top_, which would entail something like three +miles extra walking. He approached Scafell by way of Mickledoor, +returning from it to the same point, and those who do not know the Broad +Stand well had better follow his example; for it is a bit of a climb, +and the descent especially is not easy to find. By going to Mickledoor +first (and there is no shorter way to Scafell) each man can see what he +has before him, and decide for himself whether it would not be better to +leave Scafell out of his programme. + +Before entering into the history of the Pillar it is almost +indispensable to give a short general description of its main features +in order to assist the comprehension of the facts narrated. Difficult as +it must always be to find an image which shall supply a stranger with +any clear idea of a mass so irregular and unsymmetrical as this, yet its +general appearance and the arrangement of its parts may be roughly +apprehended in the following manner:--Imagine a large two-gabled church +planted on the side of a steep hill. From the western and loftier gable +let there rise, at the end nearest the mountain, a stunted tower. +Finally let the building be shattered and all but overwhelmed under an +avalanche of _debris_. What will be the effect? Naturally the stream of +stones will be much deeper above than below, and, while nearly burying +the tower and upper ends of the roof, will flow along between the two +gables and run off, as rainwater would do, at the far end. Angular +fragments, however, remain at rest unless the slope is very steep, and +consequently a long talus will be formed sloping down to the brink of +the sudden drop at an angle of something like 45 degrees. Here we have a +fair representation of the Pillar mass: the tower will be the High Man, +and the gable from which it rises the Low Man. It will be readily +understood that the second gable may be a source of some confusion to +those who are ignorant that there is more than one, and from some points +may disguise or altogether conceal the tower. This is why it is called +the _Sham Rock_; but it is only from below that it would be recognised +as part of the Pillar mass, for from above it is wholly insignificant. +When viewed from immediately below, the tower is concealed behind the +gable from which it rises, and the whole mass of rock bears a rough +resemblance to the letter =M=; but from above, the High Man, with which +alone the climber from the east side has to reckon, is also the only +part of the rock which he is likely to observe. The result is that, when +the Low Man is mentioned to anyone who knows only the Easy Way, the +reply is usually on the model of the poet Wordsworth's only joke: 'Why, +my good man, till this moment I was not even aware that there _was_ a +Low Man!' Yet the Low Man is by far the finer object of the two, and its +cliffs are at least six times as high as those of what is called the +High Man. The only side from which the latter shows a respectable +elevation is the west, where the scree lies much lower, because it has a +free escape, instead of being pent up between the two gables like the +east scree. + +In winter-time, when the inequalities are all smoothed over with a sheet +of hard snow, both sides of the rock are rather dangerous, but +especially the eastern, where a man who slipped would have the greatest +difficulty in stopping himself before he shot over the precipitous gully +at the end. This gully (occupying, as it were, the place of the +water-pipe) is known, in allusion to an accident which occurred there in +1883, as _Walker's Gully_. + +When the question arises of how to climb the _High Man_, it is obvious +that the scree just above it will be the nearest point to the summit; +but equally obvious that the climb, though short, would be nearly +vertical. The plan which at once suggests itself for getting to the top +is to work round to the back of the rock and climb it from the top of +the ridge behind. The ridge may be reached from either side, and in this +fact we have the secret of two of the most important climbs. + +So much for the general appearance of the Pillar; but the part which +admits of the easiest and most varied attack is the east wall of the +_High Man_, and of this side it is necessary to give a more detailed +description. This part of the rock is the only one which is at all well +known to the general public, and its chief features, being well marked, +have for the most part received, by common consent of climbers, +distinctive names. In order to see the formation of the rock properly it +is well worth the climber's while to descend for a few yards and mount +the _Sham Rock_ on the other side of the east scree. The peculiar +structure of the opposite wall may now be clearly seen. + +[Illustration: PILLAR ROCK FROM THE SOUTH-EAST +A, _Pisgah_; B, _Jordan_; C, Summit; D, Top of _Curtain_; +E, Corner between the _Curtain_ and the main rock.] + +On our left hand, between the mountain and the rock, is seen an outlying +mass severed from the High Man by a deep square-cut gap. When the Pillar +is looked at from the direction of the mountain-top, this gap is +entirely concealed by the outlying piece, which then appears to present +a fairly easy way direct to the summit. 'The climber (says Mr. +Williamson) mounts gaily and with confidence, only to find himself cut +off from the High Man by an impassable cleft.' He sees it indeed with +his eyes, but he cannot go up thither. Hence the names--_Pisgah_ for the +false rock, and _Jordan_ for the chasm. A very well-known Pillarite once +proposed to bridge the cleft with a plank or ladder and hold a tea-party +on the top. This very original idea was not carried into execution, but +certainly, without some such application, the passage of _Jordan Gap_ is +a formidable undertaking; for the north wall is only less vertical than +the other, and though barely 60 ft. high--not much more, that is, than +half as much as must be climbed by any other route--this is decidedly +one of those cases in which the longer way round will prove to be the +shorter way up. + +On the extreme right--and rather below us--is the nearly level top of +the Low Man; while not far from where broken cliffs lead up to the +higher rock a curious natural post standing on the ridge marks the point +from which a small deep channel is seen to come down towards _Walker's +Gully_. This channel is of small importance, except that high up on the +southern bank of it the glacier markings are most distinctly to be seen. +The channel itself soon curves more towards the north and plunges over +the fearful cliff which faces the Liza, forming the key to the great +climb on that face. From the foot of _Jordan Gap_ a broad smooth slope +of rock runs horizontally along the face of the High Man, giving to it +somewhat the formation of the 'pent-house wall' of a tennis court. The +steepness of the scree, which runs down from left to right before our +feet, makes the drop from this slope much greater at the Low Man end; +but it will give no false idea of this side to say that, roughly +speaking, the cliff is broken into three fairly equal portions, of about +60 ft. each, namely, a vertical wall above, connected with a steep and +rugged part below by a smooth stretch sloping at an angle not far short +of 40 degrees. The importance of this 'pent-house' is very great; for, +as it gives an easy passage right across this face of the rock, every +climb which is possible from below may be cut into from the side, and +thus more than half the labour of the ascent is saved. Indeed, any +mountain which allows its entire front to be traversed in this way by a +passable ledge exposes every weak point in so reckless a manner that the +attack becomes marvellously simplified. + +Lastly should be noticed two rough curtains of rock which run down from +the top of the Stone near the centre, and enclose between them what is +called the _Great Chimney_. This chimney is the key to the climb on this +side. The curtain on the south of it is the only one which is at all +complete, and as it forms a kind of _arete_ running up to the summit, it +is known indifferently by either name--the _Curtain_ or the _Arete_. + +The easiest way to picture to oneself the features of the Great Chimney +is to imagine a huge armchair, the 'seat' of which measures 20 yards +from back to front and is tipped uncomfortably forward and downward at +an angle of nearly 45 degrees. The _Curtain_ forms the right 'arm,' and +from a level with the top of the 'back,' which is 50 ft. high, runs down +very nearly but not quite as far as the front edge of the 'seat.' In +the narrow space thus left lies the _Ledge_, which makes it possible to +pass round under the end of the arm and gain the 'seat,' which is called +the _Steep Grass_. The same point may also be reached by climbing, as an +alternative to the _Ledge_, over the lower part of the 'arm' through a +deep nick--the _Notch_; and in either case the joint between 'arm' and +'back,' being badly cracked, offers an easy way (the 'small chimney' or +'jammed-stone chimney') of reaching the top of the back, which is the +edge of a small plateau forming the summit of the High Man. Lastly, it +should be noticed that the _Steep Grass_ can only be reached from below +by a severe climb of 70 ft.--the _Great Chimney_ climb. + +The side from which the Pillar is commonly climbed is not that by which +the summit was first attained. The first successful attempt was made +from the West, and it is doubtful whether for a quarter of a century any +other route was known. But on the discovery of the Easy Way the older +route was forgotten, and now enjoys a reputation for difficulty which is +not deserved: it is looked upon as some little distinction to have +accomplished it. In the preface to one of Wordsworth's poems the year +1826 is mentioned as the date of the first ascent. This is confirmed by +a comparison of the second and third editions of Otley's 'Guide' (1825 +and 1827), in the former of which the rock is declared unclimbable, +while the latter mentions the victory of 'an adventurous shepherd.' The +successful climber was not, however, a shepherd, but a cooper, named +Atkinson, and living at Croftfoot, in Ennerdale. It is likely that his +adventurous soul may have been fired by Otley's declaration that the +rock was inaccessible. The perseverance of a friend has hunted out a +contemporary notice of the ascent in the county paper, which remarks +that, 'though the undertaking has been attempted by _thousands_, it was +always relinquished as hopeless.' This proves, at all events, that even +then the rock had a reputation. Subjoined is a list of those who have +followed on Atkinson's track, so far as is known, up to 1873: + + J. Colebank (shepherd); + W. Tyson (shepherd), and J. Braithwaite (shepherd); + Lieut. Wilson, R.N.; + C.A.O. Baumgartner; + M. Beachcroft and C. Tucker. + +Summarising the various methods of ascending the rock, we may say that +the west side first yielded in 1826; the east side probably about 1860; +the south side in 1882, and the north side in 1891. The _Easy Way_ (as +it is generally called) on the east side was discovered in 1863 by a +party of Cambridge men led by Mr. Conybeare, and Mr. A.J. Butler, the +late editor of the _Alpine Journal_. Mr. Leslie Stephen had visited the +rock earlier in that year without finding a way up it, but in 1865 he +was more successful, and wrote an account of it in Ritson's book; the +account, as usual, was first defaced and afterwards stolen. The +_Northeast_, or _Old Wall_, _way_ was discovered by Matthew Barnes, the +Keswick guide, while with Mr. Graves, of Manchester. The central and +western climbs from _Jordan_ were done by the writer in 1882, as was the +eastern one in 1884, the last being scarcely justifiable under any +circumstances, and especially without a rope. The direct climb of the +_Great Chimney_ (starting on the south wall of it) was done about the +same time, and curiously enough--for it is safe and comparatively +easy--does not appear to have been done since. The long climb on the +north face was accomplished by Messrs. Hastings, Slingsby, and the +writer in 1891. It has been described in an illustrated article in +_Black and White_ (June 4, 1892), and by Mr. Gwynne in the _Pall Mall +Budget_. It should not be touched except by experienced climbers. + + +=Pinnacle Bield=, on the east side of _Glaramara_, is a rocky part of +the mountain and a famous stronghold for foxes. On the way up from +_Langstrath_ there is a very steep bit for about 500 ft. + + +=Pisgah.=--A name given in 1882 to the outlying rock on the south side +of the Pillar Rock, from which it is severed by an all but impassable +chasm, not seen until it bars the way. The term has in subsequent years +been applied almost generically. + + +=Pitch=: any sudden drop in the course of a rock gully, usually caused +by some large stone choking the channel and penning back the loose +stones behind it. Such a stone is then said to be 'jammed,' 'wedged,' or +'pitched,' and is sometimes called a 'chockstone' (q.v.). + + +=Pot-holes= are frequent in the Yorkshire limestone. The rivers for +considerable distances have underground courses. At each spot where the +roof of one of these tunnels happens to fall in a 'pot-hole' is +produced. They are very numerous about Settle and Clapham. Some are of +very great depth and can only be explored with the aid of much cordage +and many lights. The explorer of pot-holes has to face all the perils of +severe rock climbing, and, moreover, to face them for the most part in +the dark. It would be hard to imagine anything more weird than one of +these darksome journeys, rendered doubly impressive by the roar of +unseen waters and the knowledge that abrupt pitches of vast depth are +apt to occur in the course of the channel without the slightest warning. +(See _Alum Pot_, _Dunald Mill Hole_, _Gaping Gill Hole_.) + + +=Pow=: a sluggish rivulet. + + +=Professor's Chimney.=--A name bestowed by Messrs. Hopkinson on the exit +most towards the left hand as one comes up _Deep Gill_ on _Scafell_. Out +of this chimney, again to the left, diverges that which leads up to the +neck between the _Scafell Pillar_ and its Pisgah. To this latter chimney +the name is erroneously applied by many, though, indeed, they might urge +with some reason that if it comes to a scramble for one name between two +gullies the more frequented ought to get it. + + +=Rainsborrow Crag.=--A noble rock in Kentdale, Westmorland. It is, +perhaps, most easily got at from Staveley, but from Ambleside it is only +necessary to cross the Garbourne Pass, and the crag is at once +conspicuous. It is of the same type as _Froswick_ and _Ill Bell_, but +finer and more sheer than either of them. + + +=Rake=: a word common in Derbyshire, Yorkshire, and the Lakes, which has +been much misunderstood. It usually happens to be a scree-gully, but the +fundamental idea is straightness. + + +=Rake's Progress.=--This is a natural gallery on the face of the +Mickledoor crags of _Scafell_. It has been best described by Mr. +Williamson, who says: '_Mickledoor_ may be reached by scrambling up the +steeply sloping screes which form its Wastdale slope; but the easier and +more romantic approach is by the grassy ledge, which will be seen +projecting from the face of the Scafell precipice. This ledge or shelf +is in but few places less than four feet wide. In places it is composed +of shattered heaps of rock, which seem barely to keep their equilibrium; +but though there is a precipice of considerable height on the left hand, +the passage along the ledge is free from risk so long as the rock wall +on the right is closely hugged. By one who watched from below the +passage along the ledge of some of the early pioneers of lake climbing +it was christened the _Rake's Progress_, and the name appears apt when +it is remembered that the ledge leads from the lower limb of the _Lord's +Rake_ to the _Mickledoor Ridge_.' The first published description of the +_Rake's Progress_ is contained in a letter by the late Mr. Maitland to +one of the local papers in October 1881. He there states that he had +recently traversed it for the fifth time, but had not previously to that +occasion visited Deep Gill. Several grand climbs start from the +_Progress_, including _North Climb_, _Collier's Climb_, _Moss Gill_, +_Steep Gill_, and the _Scafell Pillar_. + + +=Raven Crag.=--This name is generally the sign of a hard, if not of a +good, climb. One of the finest stands on the west side of Thirlmere, +near the foot, or what used to be the foot of it before Manchester took +it in hand; a second is on the _Pillar Fell_ just east of the rock; a +third and fourth on _Brandreth_ and _Gable_, and indeed there is one on +almost every fell. + + +=Red Pike=, in Cumberland, overlooking Buttermere, is a syenite hill, +and commands a glorious view, especially strong in lakes, but there is +next to no climbing to be had on it. The best way up it is to follow the +course of Ruddy Beck from the southernmost corner of Crummock Water, but +the rocky amphitheatre in which Bleaberry Tarn lies is better seen if +the somewhat rougher route by Sourmilkgill and its east bank be +followed. + + +=Red Pike=, also in Cumberland, is a Wastdale fell, and lies between +_Yewbarrow_ and the _Steeple_. The north side of it has abundance of +small climbs, which, with the exception of _Yewbarrow_, are, perhaps, +more easily reached than any others from the inn at Wastdale Head; but +they are little visited, because everyone wants to fly at the highest +game and do the climbs which are most talked about. This fell is +sometimes called _Chair_, from the fact of there being a curious stone +seat on it near the ridge, and not far from _Door Head_. + + +=Red Screes=, in Westmorland (2,541 ft.), are very steep in the +direction of the Kirkstone (after which the pass of that name is said +to be called), falling about 1,000 ft. in a horizontal distance of a +quarter of a mile; but the ascent is not more than an exhilarating +scramble. There is a well-known view from the top. + + +=Rope.=--Some remarks on the use of the rope as a safeguard in climbing +will be found in the Introduction. + + +=Rossett Gill.=--A rough pass just over 2,000 ft. in height, which is +the only approach from Langdale to Scafell, Gable, and the Wastdale +fells generally. On the Langdale side you cannot go far wrong, but it is +very rugged, so rugged that Mr. Payn has caustically observed that all +expeditions in this region admit of being made by driving, by riding, or +by walking, 'except Rossett Gill, which must be done on all fours.' On +the Eskhause side the walking is perfectly easy, but mistakes are very +liable to occur. On this high ground mists are extremely frequent, and +blinding rain is abundant. The result is that people making for Langdale +are surprised at having to mount again after the long descent to Angle +Tarn, and often end by going away to the left down Langstrath, and find +themselves to their great surprise in Borrowdale. The only safeguard is, +of course, to bear clearly in mind that the ups and downs hereabout are +considerable, and to arm oneself with map and compass. + + +=Saddleback= (2,847 ft.) was at one time thought to be higher than its +neighbour Skiddaw. To Mrs. Radcliffe, on the summit of the latter in +1795, the former was 'now preeminent over Skiddaw.' 'The Beauties of +England' informs us that 'the views from the summit are exceedingly +extensive, but those immediately under the eye on the mountain itself so +tremendous and appalling that few persons have sufficient resolution to +experience the emotions which those awful scenes inspire.' We have a +very full account of an ascent made in 1793. The narrator says: 'When we +had ascended about a mile, one of the party, on looking round, was so +astonished with the different appearance of objects in the valley so far +beneath us that he declined proceeding. We had not gone much further +till the other companion (of the relator) was suddenly taken ill and +wished to loose blood and return.' + +The great feature of the mountain is its southern front, which is cut +away to form enormous cloughs, divided by narrow ridges. The latter are +the Edges of Saddleback. Narrow Edge (as _Halls Fell top_ is now +generally called) is the finest and most romantic. It runs up from +Threlkeld, where there is a convenient station. The proper name of Broad +Edge is _Gategill Fell_. Part of _Middle Tongue_ straight behind the +lead-mine is also very narrow. A writer in the _Penny Magazine_ for 1837 +speaks of 'the serrated precipices above Threlkeld,' and adds, 'One of +these is called _Razor Edge_.' That name, however, has now for many +years at least been used as the equivalent of _Sharp Edge_, which is on +the east side of the mountain and on the north side of _Scales Tarn_, +and at one time enjoyed a tremendous reputation as a perilous climb. + +The name of the mountain itself has been jeered at as a post-boy's name, +and romantically-minded people use the name Blencathara, for which many +Celtic etymons have been suggested. The most usual form seems to have +been Blenkarthur, and only the more northern of the two peaks was so +called. + +The quickest ascent of the mountain is from Threlkeld up _Narrow Edge_, +but if the return is to Keswick, it should be made along the shoulder +towards Skiddaw, and so by Brundholme Wood. + + +=Sail.=--This word, in the opinion of Dr. Murray, the learned editor of +the new 'English Dictionary,' signifies 'a soaring dome-shaped summit.' +It occurs as a hill-name in the Grassmoor group, near Buttermere in +Cumberland; but the characteristics required by the above definition +are, to say the least, not conspicuously evident either there or in the +other cases where this element is found in fell-country place-names. +(See _Black Sail_.) + + +=St. Bees.=--In Cumberland, on the west coast. Several accidents have +occurred on the cliffs here. They are of sandstone, and incline to be +rotten. The best are about _Fleswick Bay_. The height is only about 200 +ft. The Rev. James Jackson--the Patriarch (q.v.)--lived at Sandwith +close by, and was fond of climbing about on these cliffs. + + +=St. John's Vale.=--A name of modern invention, which has ousted +_Buresdale_ (q.v.). It is used in an article in the _Gentleman's +Magazine_ for 1754, and also in 'Gray's Journal,' which possibly misled +Sir Walter Scott, whose poem caused it to meet with general acceptance. + + +=St. Sunday Crag=, in Westmorland (sheet 19 of the Ordnance map), is of +far more importance than _Helvellyn_ to the views of and from Ullswater. +Moreover, it has some capital crags facing north-west, among which many +a good rock-problem may be found. They were long a favourite +scrambling-ground with Major Cundill, R.E., the inventor of the _North +Climb_ on _Scafell_, and are within easy reach of Patterdale. + + +=Scafell= (3,162 ft.) presents some fine rocks to Eskdale, but the +grandest rocks, both to look at and to climb, are towards _Mickledoor_. +As a climbing-ground it is perhaps even more popular than the _Pillar_, +especially in winter. In consequence of this the ground has been gone +over very closely by climbers of exceptional skill, and climbing of a +somewhat desperate character has occasionally been indulged in. This +applies mainly to the west side of Mickledoor. The other side is easier, +and has long been more or less well known. + +Mr. Green says of it: 'The crags on the south-west [of Mickledoor], +though seeming frightfully to oppose all passage, have been ascended as +the readiest way to the top of Scafell, and, amongst other adventurers, +by Mr. Thomas Tyson, of Wastdale Head, and Mr. Towers, of Toes [in +Eskdale]; but Messrs. Ottley and Birkett contented themselves by +proceeding for some distance in the direction of Eskdale, to a deep +fissure, through which they scrambled to the top of Scafell.' + +It might be thought that this 'fissure' was 'Mickledoor Chimney,' but +it is more likely that it was another and easier gully a good way +farther down. + +Mr. Herman Prior's excellent 'Pedestrian Guide' (3rd edition, p. 194) +has a very clear and accurate account of it from the pen of Mr. C.W. +Dymond, who visited it about 1869, and another in Mr. C.N. Williamson's +second article in _All the Year Round_ for November 8, 1884; and in the +local press scores of descriptions have appeared. + +[Illustration: SCAFELL CRAGS +A, Top of _Broad Stand_; B, _Pisgah_; C, _Scafell Pillar_; +D, Head of _Deep 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 descending the 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 about it, 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. + +[Illustration: PLAN OF SCAFELL +A, _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, including _Doe Crag_; but +the best are on the side of _Great End_ and _Lingmell_, which are merely +buttresses of it. + +[Illustration: SCAFELL PILLAR (SEEN ACROSS DEEP GILL)] + + +=Scafell Pillar= stands between _Deep Gill_ and _Steep Gill_. It has a +short side close to the summit ridge of _Scafell_, and a long side +towards the _Rake'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. + +[Illustration: SCAFELL PILLAR AND THE UPPER PITCH OF DEEP GILL] + +They climbed by way of _Steep Gill_ on 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 of _Steep Gill_ by 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 into +_Deep Gill_, in which they have not entirely succeeded. + + +=Scree=: the _debris_ of 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 party which ultimately +succeeded. Dr. Collie contributed a vivid account of the first ascent to +the _Scottish 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 in a 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.' + +[Illustration: WASTWATER AND THE SCREES +A, 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 the _Pillar Rock_, +divided from it only by _Walker's Gully_. + +Seen from _Scarf Gap_ it 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 so +constituted, 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.... Excepting _head_, 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. + + +=Shuttenoer= is 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 something +less 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 +unto _Parnassus_,' 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 man + To clim oop Skidder side; + Auld wives and barns on Jackasses + To 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 Skiddaw almost 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 Casticand + Are 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 for _Dead Crags_ on +the north side, but there are also a few rocky bits on the side which +faces Bassenthwaite Water. + + +=Smoking Rock= is at the head of _Great Doup_, east of the _Pillar +Stone_ and level with the ridge of the _Pillar Fell_. 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. + + +=Somersetshire= has 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 under _Broad 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 Gill becomes 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 from _Pillar Fell_ by _Wind 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 of _Scafell_, _Wind +Gap_, of course, representing _Mickledoor_. + + +=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, +after which 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 of _Helvellyn_, is called in +one of the old maps _Strathon 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 to _Helvellyn_, +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 as _The Sty_ or _The 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 the +_Graphic_, 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 of _Arthur'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 are _Holling Fell_ and _Swarth 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 genuine tarn +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=, on _Dartmoor_ (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 final _t_ in the preceding word. +What, for instance, they call Hen Tor may be in reality Hent Haw. In +Scotland _tor_ is, of course, a common component in place names. + +A few of the more interesting _tors_ are-- + + _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. + +[Illustration: 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. + + +=Vixen Tor.=--One of the finest of the Devonshire _Tors_ (q.v.). + +[Illustration: VIXEN TOR (DARTMOOR)] + + +=Walker's Gully= is the precipice in which ends the East Scree, between +the _Pillar Rock_ and the _Shamrock_. 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 contains _Lady's Rake_, and _Falcon +Crag_ is 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 are easily 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 of +_Scafell_, _Lingmell_, _Great Gable_, _Pillar_, _Yewbarrow_, _Steeple_, +_Red Pike_, and _Great 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 over _Burnmoor_ from 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 entered _Westmorland_, a county eminent only for being the +wildest, most barren, and frightful of any that I have passed over in +_England_ or in _Wales_. The west side, which borders on _Cumberland_, +is indeed bounded by a chain of almost unpassable Mountains, which in +the language of the country are called _Fells_.... 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 Cairn= is a conspicuous object at the edge nearest to +Wastwater of the summit plateau of _Great 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 from _Scafell Pikes_, _Helvellyn_, or +_Skiddaw_, 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 the _Napes_. + + +=Wetherlam=, in Lancashire, is about 2,500 ft., and has some crags on +the north side among which here and there good 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 the _Pall Mall Gazette_ in 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 at +_Millbeck_, 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 and _Stickle Tarn_ afford 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 about +_Door Head_ and _Stirrup 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= (see _Attermire_, _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 chalk _Wolds_ in the East Riding, and the moorland +group formed by the _Hambleton_ and _Cleveland Hills_, may be dismissed +here with a mere mention. The third division, which constitutes a +portion of the _Pennine 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--in _Craven_, 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 of _Pen-hill_ +or _Ingleborough_, 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 as _Attermire_ or _Gordale_, which mark the line of the +Craven Fault. The _Howgill Fells_, north of Sedburgh, form an exception +to the above remarks. (See _Calf_.) + +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 of _Micklefell_, of _Great Whernside_, of _Penyghent_, +or of _Ingleborough_, 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. (See _Chalk_.) 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_, or _Boulby 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. + + +PRINTED BY +SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE +LONDON + + + + +THE BADMINTON LIBRARY. +Edited by the DUKE OF BEAUFORT, K.G. and A.E.T. WATSON. + + +ATHLETICS AND FOOTBALL. By MONTAGUE SHEARMAN. With an Introduction by +SIR RICHARD WEBSTER, Q.C. M.P. With 51 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 10_s._ +6_d._ + +BIG GAME SHOOTING. 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PRITCHETT, the +EARL OF ONSLOW, LEWIS HERRESHOFF, &c. With 309 Illustrations. 2 vols. +Crown 8vo. 10_s._ 6_d._ each. + + +London: LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO. + +... +Transcriber's note: Inconsistent hyphenation is as in the original. +... + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Climbing in The British Isles. Vol. 1 +- England, by W. P. 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