|
|
Page 148:-
inducement is the valley in which Blea Tarn lies,- the scene
of those books of Wordsworth's Excursion which relate to the
Solitary. The very rough road scrambles up from Langdale, by
Wall End, to the upland vale where the single farmhouse is,
and the tarn, and the stone, "like a ship, with keel
upturned," which is lodged in a stream near to the tarn.
Some people have unaccountably fixed on the Bowder Stone to
answer this description; but, besides that the Bowder Stone
is far away, it rests on its edge, instead of its "keel"
being "upturned." "The two huge peaks, that from some other
vale peer into this," are the Langdale Pikes and very fine
is the view of them from this wild and somewhat dreary
hollow. Since the Excursion was written, large plantations
of larch have arisen; but they do not much ameliorate the
desolation of the place. The road descends the common to
Little Langdale Tarn; whence it is described, in a reverse
manner, in its course to Colwith Force, Skelwith, and
Ambleside, at p.115.
|
|
|
In the third direction lies the way up the Pikes, and over
into Easedale. The guide from Milbeck will take the
traveller up the peat road to Stickle Tarn,- famous for its
trout, and much beloved by anglers. Its circular basin,
brimming with clear water, lies finely under the steep rocks
of Pavey Ark. There is nothing amidst this mountain scenery
more interesting than its tarns. Their very use is one which
gratifies one's sense of beauty. Their use is to cause such
a distribution of the waters as may fertilize without
inundating the lands below. After rains, if the waters came
down
|
Lakes Guides menu.
