button to main menu   Ford's Description of the Lakes, 1839/1843

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Page 40:-
The inspection of the western sides ought to form a separate journey, the return to Ambleside being by the east.
Ambleside to Keswick
Bidding adieu to Ambleside, highly gratified with it and the neighbouring scenery, we shall now proceed on the direct route to Keswick.
  Low Fall, Rydal
  High Fall, Rydal

The road from Ambleside is adorned with beautiful trees, amongst which the Lord's Oak is conspicuous. On the right is Rydal Hall, the large mansion of Lady le Fleming, embosomed in a shady park, on a gently rising eminence at the junction of two vales; behind it, rise the steep and lofty Fairfield, and the ravine of Rydal Head. The Rydal Waterfalls are shown by a domestic; the stranger is introduced into a summer-house, from which he suddenly beholds the Lower Fall, forming an enchanting garden-scene. He is then conducted amidst groves of oaks, through whose opening glades peeps are obtained of the huge mountains above, and the sweet vale below, to the Upper Fall, which is fine in all seasons; the stream is much contracted, and precipitated down a perpendicular wall of rock into a dark basin. From the bed of the river at the top of the lower cascade, this Fall is a scene of considerable interest. The houses at Rydal are prettily covered with ivy and other creepers, and the old-fashioned picturesque chimneys are retained. It is now also ornamented by a tasteful little chapel, of the English style of architecture, and its hexagonal tower finished with pinnacles, is a beautiful object from various points.
gazetteer links
button -- "Upper Fall" -- High Fall
button -- "Lord's Oak" -- Lord's Oak
button -- "Lower Fall" -- Low Fall (?)
button -- Ambleside to Keswick
button -- "Rydal Hall" -- Rydal Hall
button -- Rydal
button -- St Mary's Church
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