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The long hill of Dunmail Raise is next to be ascended. It rises
to the height of 750 feet above the level of the sea; and yet it
is the lowest pass through a chain of mountains which extends
from Black Combe on the southern verge of Cumberland, into the
county of Durham. Having overcome the steepest part of the road,
Skiddaw begins to shew his venerable head in the distance; and
here is a retrospect over Grasmere vale, and through a vista of
mountains, extending as far as Hampsfield Fell, near the sands of
Lancaster. At the highest part of the road, a wall separates the
counties of Westmorland and Cumberland; and a large heap of
stones is said to be the cairn, or sepulchre, of Dunmail last
king of Cumberland; who was defeated here by the Saxon monarch
Edmund, about the year 945. The lake Thirlmere, or Leathes'
Water, now comes in view, and the road passes between the Inn and
the Chapel of Wythburn; about eight miles and a half from
Ambleside, and the same distance from Keswick. The mountain
Helvellyn is now upon the right; but the road lies so near its
base, that the full height of the mountain cannot be seen. After
passing a little way upon the margin of the lake, we come to
another steep ascent, where Arm-
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