6 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE RED DEER 



situated in the very heart of the Lake district. It is 

 bounded on the north by the long winding reaches of 

 Ulleswater Lake. I laweswater, a lonely loch, abound- 

 ing in charr and gwyniad, bars a way of escape to the 

 eastward, unless an outlying deer makes for Shap 

 Fell. High Street, across which the Roman sappers 

 engineered a military road, is a favourite haunt of the 

 red deer ; but they do not roam over to Windermere 

 or Potterdale under ordinary circumstances. Indeed, 

 the deer are most partial to the centre of Martindale, 

 which includes the valleys of Boarsdale, Bannerdale, 

 Rampsgill, and Fusedale. The nature of the rock 

 causes it to splinter at sharp angles, hence the crags 

 of the district frequently assume an irregular and 

 jagged outline, which adds variety to the scenery. In 

 the present day it is usual to reach Martindale by 

 driving from Pooley Bridge along the Westmorland 

 side of the lake. It is also easy to row across from 

 the Cumberland side in a small boat. But even a 

 century ago the stretch of hills, each divided by a 

 deep gully from its next neighbour, which ex- 

 tended from Shap to Patterdale, must have filled the 

 mind of a casual stranger with a sense of loneliness 

 and isolation, due for the most part to the weird 

 gloom with which the dark precipices that rise above 

 the four dales just mentioned are certainly invested. 



