THbSOKDAY OKEGOJNJAN, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 4, 190.
Picturesque Breathing Spot of a -Crowded Island
In the Lake Country of England, Rich in History and
. Inspiring to Great Poets.
ii a YtmMmmmmjmmMmamf r rr , j.-7 .aaa 1:--.. - .:u:mmm England's Highest Peaks
WINDERMERE, England, Nov. 18.
(Special Correspondence of The
Sunday Oregonian.) This Is the
lake country of England, -which custom,
even stronger than law, has consecrated
to the lovers of Nature's beauties. Only
at this point does the screaming locomo
tive enter this lovely land; at all others,
railroads are jealously shut out and are
allowed only to reach Its outer bounds.
All communication Is by coach, bicycle,
automobile or steamer, as in Yellowstone
Park. Travel here Is a joy, for the Toads
are of - solid macadam, the coaches have
splendid teams andgo bowling along at
a spanking pace wherever they strike a
level stretch or even moderate grade.
Here come the tired workers of the
dirty, black, gloomy factory towns of the
north and. in less numbers, those of the
south of England, to revive the memories
of Nature unsmirched, which have become
dimmed by years of grubbing In the grime
for a living. Here the wealthy retire to
spend the evening of their lives away
from the din of factories and commerce.
In beautiful homes surrounded by wide
gardens and parks, planted with Eng
land's forest giants. It 15 the big breath
ing spot of a crowded island.
The mountains are generally great, long
ridges and rounded knolls, but they often
terminate In precipitous cliffs, below
which are treacherous rock slides, here
called skrees. The high ridges are almost
treeless, but the timber thrives in the
narrow valleys wherever it has not, ages
ago, made way for hayflelds. Doubtless,
the mountains were once as well timbered
as those of the Pacific Coast, for the
climate is as moist as that of - Oregon.
As the southwest winds of the Pacific un
load their burden of moisture on the Cas
cades, so do the west winds of the Atlan
tic pour frequent showers on the Pennine
Range, as these mountains are called.
There is no long, dry Summer, as with
us, though the rain does abate at that
season, but thunderstorms are frequent.
But there is a delicious softness in the air
and, when the sun breaks through the
clouds and. the sky clears, there could be
no lovelier eight than the roads winding
among comfortable residences standing
amid spacious grounds, with an occasional
row of stone cottages and here and .there
an ancient church, the lakes reflecting
the green, rounded knolls of the moun
tains in their clear, . calm, depths; the
knobs and crag3 and cliffs, of rock jutting
out among the sward: and the hardy
sheep feeding far up the slopes.
Windermere is the largest, and one of
the most beautiful of the lakes. It is
12 miles lonsr and is dotted with several
wooded Islets, one of which is occupied
by a solid gray stone building with tur-
Lrets and keep, called Wray Castle.. It Is
not ancient, as its name would indicate,
and no legends of medieval robber-barons
are associated with it. It was built
about 50 years ago by a London stock
broker named "Wray, whose fad it was to
imitate the fortresses of the middle, ages.
He did not live in it longj - probably be
cause baronial castles are not up to the
modern standard of comfort, and It stands
mainly as a monument to his vanity and
folly, though It by no means disfigures
the lanscape.
Highest House in England.
The main coach road runs north from
"Windermere over Klrkstone Pass to UI
leswater, past the Red Skrees, a cliff
stained a dull red which crowns the
mountain overlooking the; pass. On the
very summit of "the pass is an inn where
horses, driver and passengers all stop
"or a drink. t Above its door is a sign an
nouncing that It is 143S feet above the
sea, and Is the highest inhabited house in
England. The road leading Op to the pass
has on its right, beyond the brawling
Tfoutbeck, a long ridge of. mountains
about 2000 feet high, down whose side,
tumble many tiny cascades, here called
"ghylls." Along the summit, of this ridge
runs an old Roman road, which was built
to maintain communication between the
north and' south, , and which has given
the ridge the name . "High Street." The
Romans generally built their, rdads along
the sunmmit? of the ridges, for they did
not care to .give the natives an opportun
ity to roll rocks down on their legions.
After passing the inn, the road descends
rapidly, passing on the left" a lakelet
called Brothers Water, from the fact
that two brothers once drowned while
bathing here. Then it descends into a
vale, spreading out towards Ulleswater
to.th'e front and right; but cut off to the
left by the frovping" walls of st,eep gorges
and canyons. pretty village with many
fine houses weilJ shaded witty trees, ex
tends the rest "of the way along the road
to he steamer-landing on - XJJleswater,
wfclrb Is Ifi' front tf a hadsme botl,
standing in well-kept . grounds.' Ulles
water is second only in size to Winder
mere, but does not equal it in the beauty
of Its surroundings.
It is on the journey south from Winder
mere that one sees the full glory of the
lakes and mountains. Here one passes
under the very shoulder of Helvellyn.
England's second highest mountain, 30X5
feet above sea level, which seems little
harder to climb than Mount Tabor, as one
looks up from the road, but one finds, on
nearing tho summit, a black tarn sur
rounded by terrible cliffs. On this road,
too, one passes the houses where Words
worth, Coleridge, Southey and Mrs. He
mans sought their poetic inspiration. Pass
ing on to Rydal water, a small lake be
tween Windermere and Grasmere, one sees
on the shore a great rock with flat top.
which Wordsworth used to climb for
silent meditation. Beyond, the great lean
ing cliffs which form the twin summits
of the Longdate, Jikes loom Into view,
in form somewhat resembling Index
Mountain in Washington, though of less
than half its altitude.
To the right in the distance the outlines
of Scafell. highest mountain in England,
can be distinguished. Though but 3163
feet high, its almost vertical, deeply
seamed face of bare rock creates the im
pression of much greater height. Half
the huge pile appears to have split oft
and been swept away, leaving a precipice
to tempt the foolhardy mountaineer. Its
feet hidden In the steep, even slope of the
skrees. It was In attempting to climb this
cliff that four men lost their lives a
few years ago. In the dim distance, a lit
tle to the left of Scafell. is the cone
shaped summit of Sklddaw, England's
third highest mountain, only 33 feet lower
than Helvellyn. AH one can see. in driv
ing along the road, Is its outline, an.l
a nearer view might. remove the impres
sion that it is a cone.
Reviving an Old Industry.
From Grasmere. which furnishes the
great city of Manchester with, its wats;
supply, one climbs another ridge to Der
wentwater, passing through the pretty
village of Ambleside, and at its further
end Is the ancient .town of Keswick. Hera
wa3 once a thriving woolen Industry,
which decayed with the growth of the
great factory towns of West Yorkshire.
In the neighborhood are lead mines, and
the town still boasts of a pencil factory.
Its most Interesting sight, however, is
a factory where vessels and ornaments
of antique style are made of beaten cop
per and silver. This was established by
Canon Rawnsley, the rector, for the pur
pose of reviving an ancient industry and
at tho same time giving employment to
the poorer people in Winter, when outdoor
work is all but impossible, tourists come
not, and funds, therefore, run low. It
employs 40 or 50 men and the ware they
turn out makes one strain the tejitn
commandment to the breaking point. The
work is slow, and requires Infinite pa
tience, care and skill. There has been a
great revival of taste for such articles,
and the factory Is building up a thriving
business.
"Statesmen" and Their Sheep.
The chief industry of the lake country.
asI3e from supplying the wants of th
tourists who swarm here in Summer, i3
sheep raising. The land Is owned by
"statesmen," a very different kind from
that produced in Ohio, for they are simply
freehold farmers. They have a sort of
community ownership and divide the land
among them from time to time. They
cling to It with great tenacity, and In
order to "keep the property In the fam
ily" intermarry almost entirely among
themselves. A peculiar custom of these
people Is that when they transfer any
land the sheep upon it go with It. Tha
explanation is that their holdings are di
vided only by low, uncemented walls built
of the stones scattered in abundance on
the mountains, and the sheep have a
great homing instinct. Necessity has
made them athletic and, when removed
from their native range, they leap the
walls with ease and roam on and on till
they reach home again. It being easier to
humor them than endeavor to restrain
them, the sale of a farm includes its sheep.
Hardy as these sheep are. their own
ers often suffer heavy losses In the se
vere storms and deep snows which sweep
over these mountains. A farmer told ma
of such a storm which occurred four
years, ago. A high wind carried a deluge
of rain and slce.t along with It. and tna
sheep on the mountains sought shelter on
the Ice side of the walls. The sleet
changed to snow, and a sharp frost fol
lowed. The sheep, all huddled together
against the wails, were frosen to the
ground, and when their owners, came to
rescue them the only way to do so was to
chop off the wool with axes. Thousands
of sheep were found dead and groat dam
age was done to the fleece of the surviv
ors. The scenery of these lakes and moun
tains is apt to strike as tame and unin
teresting one who has seen the surpassing
grandeur of the Cascades. But what
Concluded on Pace 43.)