6 FISHING IN EDEN 



touch than sight is weighty. Attractive is the 

 analogy drawn between the touch of the fisherman 

 and the touch of the golfer the writer can claim 

 to be an expert in both these fields of sport. 



These chapters, however, will be seen to make 

 a wider appeal to those who, like myself, have so 

 far forsaken our birthright as to be no more fisher- 

 men, but who have long known and loved the 

 Upper Eden Valley. They are indeed instinct 

 with the essential spirit of the Valley. There will 

 be found in that district features so varied as to 

 attract in one way or another all sorts of conditions 

 of men. The fisherman, for whom primarily this 

 book is written, will find the best of sport there, 

 and, with these chapters imprinted on his mind, 

 may hope to succeed even in the vexing days of 

 August. The student of nature will find full scope 

 for his study, whether in the valley itself or in 

 following the becks up to their source in the highest 

 part of the Pennines, or in traversing the quiet 

 spaces above and behind the western summits of 

 these mountains. The lover of history can have 

 no better place for the indulgence of his passion 

 than a country nearly every mile of which has some 

 association with the Border Wars or the stirring times 

 of the Tudors or the Great Civil War. The student 

 of human character will still find in the Valley 



