34 Country Rambles. 



mas, when the wind seems to mourn amid the denuded 

 boughs, here again we feel how grand is the contrasted 

 life of the great, green, shining, scarlet-beaded hollies 

 that in summer we took no note of. The gardens, 

 including conservatories and fernery, access to all of 

 which is likewise liberally permitted, are crowded with 

 objects of interest one hardly knows whether inside 

 their gates, or outside, is the more delectable. The park 

 was up till quite recently, the playground of nearly a 

 thousand deer, and still (1882) contains many hundreds. 

 The sight of them is one of the pleasures of the return 

 walk to Knutsford, to which place Tatton Park more 

 especially pertains. 



Knutsford, an admirable centre, is reached imme- 

 diately, by train. But it must not be overlooked 

 that there is a very pleasant field-way thereto from 

 Mobberley, and that the path to Mobberley itself, one of 

 the most ancient of the Cheshire villages, is always 

 interesting, starting, that is to say, from Ashley station. 

 Every portion of it is quiet and enjoyable, and those who 

 love seclusion would scarcely find another so exactly 

 suited to their taste. Soon after entering the fields, the 

 path dives through a little dell threaded by the Birkin 

 (an affluent of the Bollin), then goes on through lanes 

 which in May are decked plenteously with primroses. 

 The way, perhaps, is rather intricate, so much the better 

 for the exercise of our sagacity. Let not the "day of 

 small things" be despised. The Birkin is one of the 

 little streams that in the great concourse called the 



