button to main menu  Gents Mag 1747 p.385
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Gentleman's Magazine 1747 p.385
Aldstone is the nearest town where one can get a safe conductor to cross these almost impervious wastes, a country extremely ill represented in all our maps yet published, not to mention their exhibiting the towns on the wrong side of the river [Nint]. About two in the afternoon we set forward three in company, and two who join'd us afterwards, out of the same curiosity. We pass'd the river Tine near its confluence with Blackaburn, beyond which this immense waste begins, and could plainly perceive the alteration of air in riding a few miles. On the top of Roderic heights is a pretty large lake, call'd Green-castle-loch, which receives no visible feeder, but emits a small stream northward to the said burn; nor is there any vestige of a castle, from which it could be presum'd to borrow the name. The Swallows, those incontestable remains of Noah's deluge, begin here to be very frequent. Some of these are 30 or 40 yards in diameter, and near as much deep, perfectly circular, but contain no water at any season, the ground having gradually fallen in at the sinking of the waters; but where they have happen'd amid rocks, the holes are left open to incredible depths. This naturally accounts for those surprizing phaenomena in the Pyrenean and Narbone mountains, and our Elden-hole in Derbyshire, whose depths have never been ascertained with the longest lines.
On the descent of Roderic-fell there is plenty of herbage, but few plants, save the scorpioides arvensis, and tormentil.
At the bottom of this height Blackaburn is divided into two branches, the eastermost tumbling over a precipice of 40 perpendicular yards, which makes a most wild, surprizing cascade.
From this rivulet we are to account the rise of Cross-fell. We were now so much environ'd with large and extended morasses, rocks and mountains, that they exhibited a very frightful appearance, not the vestige of a house, except some old shiels, where in former ages the people had resorted like the Asiatic Tartars to graze their cattle in summer, a practice now quite disus'd. There were a few sheep, but no deer, that we could see, tho' there are several on the heights; and notwithstanding the extraordinary drought, the water follow'd our horses footsteps for miles together, except where the ground was perfectly rotten. At a place call'd Bulmans cleugh there have been formerly lead-works, now left off. We had now ascended gradually about 3 miles, thro' very broken morassy wastes, when the mountain began to rise in three very formidable ascents, very steep, in the manner of mount Lebanon, pil'd one above another, with large and extensive plains to each of them, and loose shivery stones on ye brows, very troublesome to the horses which we now were obliged sometimes to quit. This continu'd for near 2 miles more, when we got on the edge of the highest, which forms a capacious plain of several hundred acres, if you reckon from the East ascent; but of such a barren soil, that there was not so much as a single leaf of grass, herb or plant to be found in so large a plain, exclusive of a few of those rings attributed to fairies, some of which are perfect circles of the Gramen gluinis variis, in botany, ascrib'd by Linnaeus in his description of the Baltic isles to a particular quality of its affecting the dirtiest soil, where no other grass can survive. This immense plain has no verdure, therefore, but a venerably grey aspect from the moss or down, and even this can hardly draw a subsistence to support itself; so inconceivably barren is this distinguish'd eminence. The West side towards the Cumberland plains is more rocky and steep than the way we ascended. Great part of six counties were to be seen, and notwithstanding our height, there seemed to be 4 or 5 mountains that disputed preheminence, the rest all look'd far below us. These were Skiddaw in the West of Cumberland, Criffield in Scotland, Pennygent and Ingleborough in Yorkshire, and the highest Cheviot in Northumberland. I computed the diameter of our visible horizon to exceed 120 miles, 60 each way from the center. The mountains in Cleveland by the east sea were very fair, and the West sea sufficiently discoverable. As to the perpendicular height of the mountain, I could not so well judge, having no barometer, and the top suffers too much by refraction to be ascertain'd on geometrical principles.
Whether it takes its name Cross-fell from its transverse situation to the common run of that ridge, or from a papistical conjuring a cross to dislodge the aerial daemons, which that religion has ascribed to this desolate mountain, I take not upon me to determine.
P. S. Being the 13th of August, and a long drought, and hot season, we were not able to find any least relicks of snow, in places most likely for it; which is very extraordinary.
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gazetteer links
button -- "Aldstone" -- Alston
button -- "Blackaburn" -- Black Burn
button -- Blackburn Shop
button -- "Bulmans Cleugh" -- Bullman Cleugh
button -- Cross Fell
button -- "Green Castle Loch" -- Greencastle Tarn
button -- "Roderic Heights" -- Rotherhope Fell
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