HARDKNOT CAMP 147 



pass of Hardknot, midway between Kendal and 

 Eavenglass. It happened to be a very early season, 

 and I remarked on the abundance of grass on the 

 hills. 



'Ay,' replied the dalesman, 'there be plenty of 

 grass, seeing this be but yack-bob day.' 



I was puzzled, till I remembered it was May 29, 

 and ' yack-bob ' was Cumbrian for oak-apple. 



XLVII 



The employment which detained me in this remote 

 region for several days was a very in- Hardknot 

 teresting one. I was charged with the Camp 

 superintendence of a gang of workmen excavating 

 the fine Roman camp at Hardknot, at the head of 

 Esdale, in Cumberland. Esdale, or Eskdale, as it 

 should be written, extends from the ancient Roman 

 seaport of Ravenglass (now silted up) into the very 

 heart of the lake district, and is full of remains 

 of Roman occupation. At Ravenglass itself are the 

 remains of a Roman villa, of which the walls are 

 still eight or ten feet high, with the plaster quite 

 fresh inside. There is also a fine camp, which 

 has suffered much from agriculture and railway 



