and the North of Lancashire. 427 



time of the Romans ; if so, the changes which' have taken 

 place in the bed of the Ribble must have been immense, as 

 that river is now fordable in many places below Ribchester, 

 and is not navigable for anything larger than a ferry-boat till 

 we arrive at the large and flourishing town of Preston, some 

 twelve miles down the stream. Below this town the river is 

 navigable for small craft. At the mouth, and on the north 

 bank of the Ribble, is situated the pleasant and fashionable 

 bathing village of Lytham. Following the line of the sea- 

 coast northwards, we arrive at Blackpool, another bathing 

 village ; this is placed so close to the margin of the sea, that 

 many parts have been undermined and washed away by the 

 action of the waves. The coast between Lytham and Black- 

 pool is much resorted to by water-fowl, and many specimens 

 are obtained there. Northwards we first arrive at the em- 

 bouchure of the river Wyre, next at that of the river Lune, 

 which flows past Lancaster, and finally at the Bay of More- 

 cambe, which is the limit of my personal observations north- 

 wards. 



The Bay of Morecambe, or Lancaster Sands, as it is more 

 usually called, is a vast expanse of land covered by the tide 

 at high water, and left dry at low water. Into this bay the 

 rivers Keer, Kent, Winster, Leven, and Crake, disembogue 

 themselves ; and at low water the mouths of these rivers are 

 the resort of myriads of water fowl. 



From Preston to Lancaster, going northwards, a distance 

 of twenty-two miles, taking the great north road as a centre, 

 to the left or west lies the Fylde country, a dead level, whilst 

 to the right or east we approach nearly to the foot of the 

 northern range of mountains, which there terminates ; from 

 the foot of the hills to the sea being, at a rough estimate, a 

 distance of fifteen miles. 



South of Blackburn commence the high moors of Darwen, 

 Anglezark, &c, which extend to the large town of Bolton-le- 

 Moors, the origin of which name is obvious. To the east of 

 Blackburn lies the small town of Clitheroe, at a distance of 

 ten miles ; near which town the lofty hill or mountain of Pen- 

 die rears its head : this is another portion of the great north- 

 ern chain above referred to. Still farther to the north-east is 

 the mountainous district called the Forest of Bowland. This 

 district, though the nearest part is scarcely sixteen miles from 

 Blackburn, is in the county of York ; it is the most moun- 

 tainous and most romantic part of this country ; is intersect- 

 ed by numerous mountain streams, and traversed by the river 

 Hodder, a celebrated trout and salmon stream, and the largest 

 affluent of the Ribble. 



rr 3 



