12 2 WATERSIDE SKETCHES. 



Ilkley and Ben Rhydding receive much of their popu- 

 larity from the scenery of the Wharfe, and the former water- 

 ing-place, so well known to hydropathists, owes its repute 

 as much to the little impetuous stream galloping over the 

 breezy side of Rombalds, as to the bracing mountain air. 

 But we cannot afford to linger here, with Bolton Abbey 

 beckoning us onward. Bolton Bridge, reached from Ilkley 

 by a delightful five miles of road, overlooking the Wharfe on 

 the right and skirting umbrageous woods on the left, will 

 serve admirably as the wanderer's temporary head-quarters. 

 The hamlet itself offers nothing extraordinary either in land- 

 scape, architecture, or commerce, but the view above and 

 below from the bridge charmingly combines the pastoral and 

 romantic in harmonious proportions. 



Having procured his ticket, easily obtainable at the inns, 

 and turned into the meadow on the left bank of the river, it 

 would save time if the angler did not put his rod together 

 until he had arrived at the plantation adjoining the grounds 

 of Bolton Abbey. Indeed he would be wise, if a stranger 

 to the far-famed ruins, to inspect them before going 

 do^vn to the river, and possess himself of the legends and 

 architectural features of the place. Both are fascinating. 

 Let us sit down upon this meadow grass and hear the 

 legend-in-chief 



First look abroad. For a little space in front and across 

 the stream you have a park-like prospect, lawn and trees 

 appearing at intervals. Towards the priory, however, the 

 noble woods close in high and thick, making us curious to 

 see how the Wharfe, " the swift Werfe '' of the poet Spenser, 

 threads its way through the devious overhung course. In 

 many places yonder the fohage touches the water. The 



