Hardcastle Crags. 165 



except in parts where these have been cleared away with 

 a view to minute examination of the stone-work. So 

 bright is the colour of this heathy covering, compared 

 with that of the general vegetation of the hill, that when 

 the atmosphere is clear, and the sunshine favourably 

 subdued, the road may be plainly discerned from the 

 opposite side of the valley, a regular and well-defined 

 streak of green. Arrived at the summit, a few yards 

 over the level brow, we find the boundary-stone between 

 the two counties, and from this point may trace the road 

 for some distance onwards. 



Running on, past Rochdale and through the tunnel, 

 again there is a quite new sphere of enjoyment in the 

 country which lies on the northern side of the Todmorden 

 valley, everywhere picturesque, and constantly branching 

 into subordinate valleys with never-silent streams. The 

 finest of them are the Burnley valley and the vast and 

 romantic defile called, as a whole, Hardcastle Crags, 

 though this name applies strictly to no more than the 

 singular insulated masses of rock at the upper extremity 

 or beyond the bridge. A more charming resort for two- 

 thirds of a day the West Riding scarcely offers. The 

 path is first through the so-called "streets," at an angle 

 of forty-five degrees, that lead towards Heptonstall, then 

 along the crest of the hill until the point is reached for 

 descending through the wood, at the foot of which, if 

 the water be low enough, the stream may be crossed by 

 stepping-stones. Clinging to them will be found in plenty 

 that curious aquatic moss the Fontinalis antipyretica, so 



