button to main menu  Otley's Guide 1823 (5th edn 1834)
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Page 52:-
It will always be better to seize on a favourable opportunity for a mountain excursion, than to attempt to fix the time beforehand; other journies where the state of the air is of less importance may be deferred. A telescope may assist in the examination or recognition of a particular building or object; but in viewing the great features of the prospect it can render little assistance; it is only when the air is clear that it can be used with advantage; and then, the field of vision is so extensive, and the objects so numerous, that sufficient time is seldom afforded for individual contemplation.
  barometer
From Keswick to the top of Skiddaw the barometer falls very nearly three inches; and the air often feels colder than the thermometer would seem to indicate; which may be owing, partly to the heat acquired by the exertion in climbing, partly to the greater quantity of moisture in the air, and a current prevailing upon the summit; by which the heat evolved by the body is more rapidly dispelled from the clothing; but the difficulty of breathing, which some have apprehended from the diminished pressure of the atmosphere, is not found by experience.
The distance to be travelled from Keswick to the top of Skiddaw is nearly six miles. Since the inclosure of the common took place in 1810, the way has been varied at the discretion of the gentlemen through whose grounds it lies. At present it takes the Penrith road, by the side of the river
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