FIFTH TOUR. 



ASCENT OF SADDDLEBACK. 



An expedition to Saddleback affords a good oppor- 

 tunity of visiting- the Druids' Temple, a mile and a 

 half from Keswick. This very well- 



DBUIDS' TEMPLE. i "IP a ■ ■ i J. J 



preserved memorial ot antiquity stands 

 in a field near the entrance of St. John's Vale. 

 The stones, forty-eight in number, form an oval ; 

 and there is a peculiarity in this case which dis- 

 tinguishes it from all other Druid ical monuments 

 extant in England. On the eastern side, within 

 the circle, there is a small recess formed by ten 

 stones, forming an oblong square. As Southey 

 observed, the spot is the most commanding- that 

 could be chosen, short of a mountain-side ; and it 

 is indeed nearly surrounded by mountains, which 

 it recognises in their true forms, from the levels, — 

 with the exception of the plain towards Penrith, 

 — being sunk out of view. The old legend about 

 the last human sacrifice of the Druids may belong 

 to any of the monuments of that age in the dis- 

 trict; and it is probably claimed for them all. Ac- 

 cording to that old story ; when some people settled 

 in a clearing of the woods, beside a river, some- 

 where to the south of the district, the priests took 

 up their station further north, among the moun- 

 tains, where there were plenty of stones fit and 



