In Taddington Dale 49 



It is exceedingly narrow ; the giants of the 

 fairy tales would be able to take it nicely at 

 one stride, without stretching their legs 

 overmuch, and unfortunately — if that word 

 can be applied to anything in nature — it is 

 also very short. A few minutes after enter- 

 ing Demons Dale, from below, you find 

 yourself at the top, and in a beaten footpath 

 again amongst the open hills. The walls 

 of the Dale run sheer up on both sides at 

 its lowest and deepest end ; so steep, indeed, 

 are they that even the plants and ferns 

 which usually flourish in such spots can 

 scarcely find roothold. Entering this weird 

 place, we scared several jackdaws nesting 

 over the shelves of rock ; they rose and 

 winged themselves away without a protest, 

 silent as their haunt. The silence of the 

 place was indeed quite oppressive. We were 

 tempted to break it for a few moments. 

 To dislodge from above a huge boulder, roll 

 it to the edge, and push it over was accom- 

 plished almost as soon as thought of. It 

 passed into space with a rushing sound, fell 



D 



