1862.] DENTDALE AND RIBBLESDALE. 229 



' Phy tologist ') determined to take a trip to the source of our 

 favourite river for the purpose of completing some observations 

 we were making in that neighbourhood about the end of May, 

 I860, when we were put to flight by a severe snowstorm. An oc- 

 casional companion in our rambles having almost at the last minute 

 resolved to accompany us, we started late one evening for Lan- 

 caster, where we were to stop for the night. Before " turning 

 in," we held a council as to the route we should take, which we 

 were not long in deciding should be by Hornby, through the 

 vale of the Lune, by Kirkby Lonsdale, from thence to Dent, and 

 from the latter place through the vale of the Dee to Newby Head, 

 the terminus of our journey. 1 will not expatiate upon the 

 beauties of the scenery, nor make more than a passing allusion to 

 the fine old castles of Hornby and Thurland, nor the handsome 

 mansions of Burrow, Whittington, Underley, and Casterton, all 

 of which we passed upon our road, such matters being foreign to 

 the purpose of the ' Phy tologist,' however they might be to the in- 

 dividual tastes of many of its readers. In justice to the Lune, 

 though I must say that we were compelled to allow that it ex- 

 ceeds the Eibble in point of beauty, and indeed, I can scarcely 

 fancy any river scenery more beautiful than the views from 

 Kirkby Lonsdale bridge and churchyard. I believe the Kibble 

 nevertheless has many more interesting places upon its banks 

 than the Lune, and that in consequence 'Loiterings by the 

 Lune,' if such a book were published, would not form so readable 

 a volume as ' Rambles by the Eibble.' I can say nothing of the 

 botany of the vale of the Lune, and not much of that of the vale 

 of the Dee, as we took a conveyance at Hornby, our time being 

 limited, and drove from thence to Dent and some distance beyond. 

 The first plants that caught my eye grew profusely upon walls 

 by the side of the road, for some distance before reaching Dent. 

 These were Saxifraga tridactylites , Geranium lucidum, Cysto- 

 pteris fragilis, Athyrium Filix-foemina, Asplenium Trichomanes. 

 After partaking of the staple dish of the district, ham and eggs, 

 we drove on from Dent a couple of miles to a place called Gibbs 

 Hall, where we left the conveyance for the purpose of inspecting 

 some romantic places in the Dee, rejoicing in the euphonious 

 names of " Hell's Cauldron" and " The Devil's Pulpit," the one 

 being a fine waterfall, or rather the abyss into which the water 

 flows, and the other a large stone by the top of the waterfall. 



