THE ESK DISTRICT. 1 93 



the lower part is composed of the Lower Lias Shale, and the 

 upper part of the hard Ironstone and Marlstone beds, the 

 whole being surmounted by a cap of glacial drift. The more 

 notable plants of Huntclifif are Crambe maritima, Brassica 

 oleracea, Silybum Marianum, and Schistidium maritimu?n. Then 

 comes the Skinningrove hollow and the pleasant sylvan stream 

 and glen of Lofthouse, and beyond it the great cliff of Boulby, 

 the loftiest of all the English coast-crags. This stands boldly 

 out against the sea, and is altogether 679 feet in height, the cap- 

 rock being the hard arenaceous beds of the Lower Oolite, and 

 the lower part shewing an excellent section of the Lias from its 

 latest deposits down to a depth of 100 feet in the Lower Shale. 

 Then comes the Staithes hollow, with its branched glen, beyond 

 which the coast takes a more decidedly southern direction than 

 heretofore. By the Staithes fault we have the strata depressed 

 so that the Ironstone and Marlstone beds are brought down to 

 the shore, and between Staithes and Sandsend the Oolite every- 

 where extends down to the sea-cliffs, except at Runswick Bay, 

 the highest crag of this part being south of Kettleness, 370 feet 

 in height. This grand sweep of craggy coast is now penetrated 

 by the railway between Saltburn and Whitby, and is thus 

 brought within the range of easy access to tourists, and it is to 

 be expected that it will be more visited, and become better 

 known than it has been. The tide is often inconvenient for 

 paying a visit to the crags from below, and to skirt their upper 

 edge necessitates a good deal of rough scrambling, but to those 

 who are able to make it, and who care for cither magnificent 

 scenery or geology, the walk between Saltburn and Whitby wall 

 richly repay the exertion. 



At Sandsend the cliffs terminate and inland is the Mulgrave 

 hollow, penetrating to the Lias, with its two streams and undu- 

 lated shadowy woods, and antique and modern castles. The 

 following are the rarer plants of these woods and the adjacent 

 sea-shore : 



Bot. Tran'^. V.N.U., Vol. 3. N 



