|
page 16:-
KESWICK.
Keswick, though a small town, is the largest among the
lakes; it is compactly built, consisting principally of one
street, which runs from north to south; two smaller ones
branch from it, one towards Penrith, and the other towards
Borrowdale.
Keswick is situated upon the river Greta, and about half a
mile from Derwent Water.
Keswick is 16 miles from Ambleside, 24 from Whitehaven, 18
from Penrith, and 21 from the Inn at Patterdale.
Derwent Water is about three miles long, and its greatest
breadth not more than a mile and a half; its promontories,
which stretch far into the water, are sometimes bold and
rugged: a give-and-take line would make this lake nearly
elliptical.
More than one half of the immediate boundary of the lake is
rich meadow and pasture ground, profusely decorated with
massy groups and scatterings of trees.
The Fells above Barrow common rise with magnificent grandeur
from the water. Falcon Crag and Eve Crag are prodigious
masses of rock, and reach nearly the summit of the mountain.
From this place, all the way to Grange, which lies at the
head of the lake, the scenery is chiefly of that bold
character already described at Barrow.
Castle Crag and Grange Fell not being high, the stately
summits of the Borrowdale and Wastdale mountains are
fortunately seen beyond them.
Catt Bells, on the opposite side of the lake, advance boldly
from it; but their surfaces being of green turf and loose
shiver, are tamer in appearance than the rugged rocks of
Barrow.
The top of Skiddaw in a straight line from Derwent Water is
between three and four miles. Skiddaw at a dis-
|