130 By Stream and Sea. 



spans the Derwent near its confluence with the Ashop. 

 Shall I not do well to admit at once that I have brought 

 you into the Peak country chiefly to take you by the button- 

 hole and gossip of the streams that lave its lower levels? 

 And is there not a cause ? The rodster and the gunster 

 coming with a purpose are the men who know most about 

 the Peak scenery, for they have an incentive to spur them 

 beyond the point where others retrace their steps ; the fur- 

 ther their explorations are forced the more successful are 

 they likely to be in their pursuits. Yet the field is so vast 

 that I cannot pretend to exhaust it; the best that can be 

 done within the limits of a single sketch is to skim the 

 surface with a light hand. 



The Little Ashop, to which I have above made reference, 

 is the tributary of a tributary, for the Derwent is, spite of its 

 goodly size at its junction with the Trent, but a feeder 

 of that magnificent midland river. The Ashop rises on the 

 northern face of the High Peak, and is formed by a number 

 of rivulets springing from Glossop and Alport moors. It is, 

 however, too small a stream to be mentioned in ordinary 

 guide books, or to be treated to more than a passing refer- 

 ence in the abundant angling literature which the Peak 

 country can claim as its own. Yet it is a noted haunt 

 of merry, if small, moorland trout, and is strictly preserved 

 by a few gentlemen of the district. In most of the Derby- 

 shire streams grayling abound; none, however, are to be 

 found so far up as this. The water is too shallow for those 

 lovers of deep, swift currents, and there are besides weirs 

 which would, if they attempted to act upon the " Excelsior" 

 motto, effectually check their advance. 



Watching an angler is to one who understands the science 

 almost as exciting and interesting as angling one's self. It 

 brings out your critical faculties ; it gives you a good 



