LANCASTER. 183 
fteads, a pyramidal hill that rifes above the ftation at Ken¬ 
dal, is now in fight; at the bottom of the bay ftands Arn- 
jfide Tower, once a manfion of the Stanleys. The Cart- 
mel coaft now, as you advance, becomes more pleafing; 
between that and Silverdale-nab, (a mountain of naked 
grey rocks,) is a great break in the coaft, and through the 
opening the river Kennet rolls its waters to join the tide. 
In the mouth of the geftuary are two beautiful conical 
illes, clothed with wood and verdure; as you advance to¬ 
wards them, they feem to change their pofition, and hence 
often vary their appearance. At the lame time a grand 
view opens of the Weftmoreland mountains, tumbled about 
in a moll furprifing manner. At the head of the aeftu- 
ary, under a beautiful green hill, Hoverftiam village and 
church appear in fine perfpeftive. To the north, Whit- 
barrow fear, a huge arched and bended cliff of an im- 
jmenfe height, fhows its ftorm-beaten front; the interme¬ 
diate fpace is a mixture of rocks, woods, and cultivated 
patches, that form a romantic view. At the fide of the 
Eau, or River of the Sands, a guide on horfeback, called 
the Carter, is in waiting to conduct paffengers over the 
ford ; the priory of Cartmel was charged with this im¬ 
portant office, and had fynodals and Peter-pence allowed 
towards its maintenance. Since the diffolution of the 
priory, it is held by patent of the duchy of Lancafter, and 
the falaries, twenty pounds per annum, are paid by the 
receiver-general. 
Being provided with proper guides, crofting of the 
lands in fummer is thought a journey of little more dan¬ 
ger than any other ; but thofe who wiffi to avoid them 
may eafily go in one day round Ulverftone, by the head 
of the asftuary. The roads are in general very good, the 
ride about thirty-feven miles, and not wanting in the na¬ 
tural variety peculiar to the country. The route will be 
thus: from Lancafter to Bolton four miles; from the 
Thwaites, a little beyond the town, you have a fine view 
of Lancafter fands and the northern mountains ; from 
thence to Burton, feven miles. The- old venerable build¬ 
ing on the right-hand fide of the road, about two miles 
fhort of Burton, is Borwick-liall, formerly the refidence 
of fir Robert Bindlafs, but now only a farm-houfe. From 
thence go to Millthrop, four miles ; there you fee Dallum 
Tower; alfo a bold water-fall of the river at Beetham- 
jnill. From Millthrop you come to Levans, an ancient 
feat of the earl of Suffolk, where a curious fpecimen of 
the old ftyle of gardening may be feen, as laid out by the 
gardener of king James II. Two miles from thence you 
arrive at the nearer end of Long-caufeway, at Beathwaite- 
green. One mile from thence you come to the Black-bull 
in Witherflack. From Witherflack you come to Newton, 
over the hill Tawtop, four miles. Next you arrive at 
Newby-bridge, three miles, which is fituated at the lower 
end of Windermere-water. From thence you come to 
South, on the common turnpike road, three miles ; but 
it might be worth while to go a little out of the way, 
through a valley on the left hand, by Back-barrow and 
Low-wood furnaces and iron-works, which are very ro¬ 
mantically fituated. From Bouth you come to Penny- 
bridge, two miles; which brings you into the track of 
the tour by Ulverftone, now' only four miles diltant. If, 
on account of getting poft-chaifes, &c. it be thought more 
convenient to go through Kendal to Ulverftone, the jour¬ 
ney will be about feven miles more, all good turnpike- 
road. From Burton, where the two roads part to Kendal, is 
eleven miles; and from Kendal to the above-named Nevv- 
by-bridge, where they meet again, is about thirteen miles. 
This latter ftage, though mountainous and uneven, never- 
thelefs in many refpefts affords an agreeable ride. 
What moll attracts the notice of the traveller are not 
the objefls of the furrounding country, though they are 
fine, but the fands themfelves; for, when the traveller has 
got a few miles from the lliore, the nature of the plain on 
which he treads cannot but fuggeft a feries of ideas of a 
more fublime kind than thofe of rural elegance, and which 
will therefore gain a fuperior attention. The plain is then 
VOL. XII. No. 837. 
feemingly immenfe in extent, continued on in a dead le¬ 
vel, and uniform in appearance. As he purfues his of- 
ten-tracklefs way, he will recolleft, that probably but a 
few hours before the whole expanfe w’as covered with 
fome fathoms of water, and that in a few more it will as 
certainly be covered again ; at the fame time he may alfo 
perceive, on his left hand, the retreated ocean ready to 
obey the myfterious laws of its irrefiftible movement, with¬ 
out any vilible barrier to (lay it a moment where it is. 
Thefe laft confiderations, though they may not be fuffici- 
ent to alarm, tnuft yet be abletoroufe the mind to a ftate 
of more than ordinary attention ; which, co-operating 
with the other fingular ideas of the profpeft, muff affect 
it in a very fublime and unufual manner : this the bare 
appearance of the fands will do; but, when the traveller 
reaches the fide of the Eau, thefe affections will be great¬ 
ly increafed ; he there drops down a gentle defeent to the 
edge of abroad and feemingly-impaftabte river, where the 
only remains he can perceive of the furrounding lands 
are the tops of diftant mountains; and where a folitary 
being on horfeback, like fome ancient genius of the deep, 
is dei’eribed hovering on its brinks, or encountering its 
ftream with gentle fteps in order to conduft him through 
it. When fairly entered into the water, if a ftranger to 
this feene, and he do not feel himfelf touched with fome 
of the moli pleafing emotions, we fiiould think him desti¬ 
tute of common fenfibility ; for, in the midlt of apparent- 
ly-great danger, he will foon find that there is really 
none at all ; and the complacency which muft naturally 
refult from this confideration will be heightened to an 
unufual degree, byoblerving, during his pa ftage, the anxi¬ 
ous and faithful inftinft of his beaft, and the friendly 
behaviour and afpedt of his guide. All the fervour of 
grateful thankfulnefs will then be railed ; and if, with 
the ufual perquifite to his venerable conductor, he can 
forget to convey his bleffing, who would not conclude him 
to want one effential requifite for properly enjoying the 
tour of the lakes ? 
There is a cavern, about five miles from Lancafter, near 
the road to Kirkby-Lonfdale, called Dunald Mill hole, a 
curiofity inferior to none of the kind in Derbylhire. It 
is on the middle of a large common, and we were led to 
it by a brook nearly as broad as the New River; which, 
after turning a corn-mill juft at the entrance of the cave, 
runs in at its mouth by feveral beautiful cafcades, conti¬ 
nuing its courfe two miles under a large mountain, and 
at laft makes its appearance again near Carnford, a village 
in the road to Kendal. The entrance of this fubterrane- 
ous channel has fomething molt pleafirigly horrible in it; 
from the mill at the top you defeend for about ten yards 
perpendicular, by means of chinks in the rocks, and 
fhrubs or trees; the road is then almoft parallel to the ho¬ 
rizon, leading to the right, a little winding, till you have 
fome hundreds of yards thick, of rocks and minerals above 
you. In this manner we proceeded, fometimes through 
vaults fo capacious, that we could not fee either roof or 
fides; and fometimes on all-fours, from its narrownefs, 
ftill following the brook, which entertained us with a 
fort of harmony well fuiting the place ; for the different 
heights of its falls were as lo many keys of mufic, which, 
all being conveyed to us by. the amazing echo, greatly ad¬ 
ded to the majeftic horror which furrounded us. In our 
return, we were more particular in our obfervations. The 
lakes (formed by the brook in the hollow parts of the ca¬ 
verns) realize the fabulous Styx; and the murmuring 
falls from one rock to another broke the rays of our can¬ 
dles, fo as to form the mod romantic vibrations and ap¬ 
pearance upon the variegated roof. The fides too are not 
lefs remarkable for fine colouring ; the damps, the creeo- 
ing vegetables, and the learns in the marble and lime- 
ftone parts of the rocks, make as many tints as are feen 
in the rainbow, and are covered with a perpetual varnifh 
from the faftrweeping fprings that trickle from the roof. 
The curious in grottos, cafcades, &c. might here obtain 
a juft tafte of nature. When we arrived at the mouth, 
M m and 
