Old Cumbria Gazetteer - Skiddaw: ascent 1827


included in:-	Skiddaw, Underskiddaw
	Skiddaw: ascent 1827
site name:-	Skiddaw
civil parish:-	Underskiddaw (formerly Cumberland)
civil parish:-	Bassenthwaite (formerly Cumberland)
county:-	Cumbria
locality type:-	historic ascent

evidence:-	old text:- goto source
source data:-	goto source Page 143:- "AN ACCOUNT OF AN EXCURSION TO THE TOP OF SKIDDAW." "IN A LETTER FROM A FRIEND." "WE rose at four in the morning, in order to ascend to the summit of Skiddaw, a distance of nearly six miles. The top of the mountain was veiled from our view by heavy clouds: but we were not to be intimidated by this circumstance; the barometer was rising, and we were in hopes of their clearing off; besides it was the only day we could spare for the purpose. We were advised to take ponies, but that we declined - naturalists should never follow a beaten track, and we were determined to be at liberty to explore on the right hand and on the left, as fancy might direct us." "Taking the Penrith road for half a mile, we crossed a bridge over the Greta, and turning at an acute angle to the left, we slanted by a pleasant occupation road along the side of Latrigg - a hill sometimes designated by the whimsical cognomen of 'Skiddaw's cub' - which we were told was about one third of the height of the parent mountain; but, judging by the eye at setting out, we" goto source Page 144:- "should have estimated it at much more. From this beautiful terrace is seen a richly cultivated foreground, in which the little town of Keswick is placed in a most favourable point of view; Derwent lake - finely bordered by noble woods, climbing the mountain sides to different altitudes; the Vicar's isle, most advantageously placed - the building upon it just perceived through the trees which are now reflected by the smooth surface of the lake; beyond which the southern and western groups of mountains arrange themselves with all that is vast, bold and dignified in effect and contour; varied however as to wood and rock, and terminated by the lofty crag of Great End, and the mountain Scawfell, now capped with clouds. On the other hand, we observe the beautiful villa of Ormathwaite, placed in a sweet recess, among well cultivated corn and pasture lands, finely decorated with trees, The parish church of Crosthwaite is a good object in the landscape, and the flat extending towards Bassenthwaite lake is beautifully bordered on the western side by the corn fields, woods and white buildings of Thornthwaite. Winding round the skirts of Latrigg, we found ourselves risen almost insensibly to a considerable elevation above the plain; but having passed a sort of hause, which forms the connection between Latrigg and Skiddaw, we now entered upon our" goto source Page 145:- "task in earnest, the ground here becoming much steeper, and our road being exchanged for a turfy path." "Persons who have not been accustomed to mountainous excursions, cannot form a conception of the toil they require, or the demands they make on the breath and patience of the traveller, and it requires no small degree of judgment and precaution to regulate the proportion of pause to exertion, for by too bold an effort to gain ground at the outset, time and strength are often ineffectually wasted." "As we advanced in altitude, the valley gradually lost its picturesque appearance, and began to put on the semblance of a map; and spots that an hour before had reared themselves with pride above us, now seemed almost levelled with the plain; the principal mountains however lost little of their importance, and new ones rose at a greater distance. One of the Pikes of Langdale appeared in the horizon, but its figure so different from what it assumed on Windermere, that we should not, without being told, have recognized it." "After half an hour's toil in this steep, we found ourselves upon a soft trackless turf of less acclivity by which our progress was greatly facilitated; but though our elevation was prodigious, we were not permitted to be amused by prospects, for the clouds had enveloped us, and nearly prevented" goto source Page 146:- "our seeing each other; the effect of so dense a medium in increasing the apparent distance of objects was now so remarkable, that the judgment formed very erroneous conclusions respecting their magnitude - and I actually mistook a large old ram for a bull. There was nothing but the ground we trod on to engage our attention; and we found Empetrum nigrum, and various species of Lycopodium and Vaccinium very abundant." "Following a sheep walk, we slanted along the side of one of the mammae of the mountain, and presently reached another, which we had no sooner gained than we halted, and proceeded to devour some meat, with which we had prudently stored our pockets. Nothing had ever tasted to our palates so exquisite; our limbs seemed to have lost the rigidity of fatigue, and our lungs to play with unusual freedom." "Having finished our repast, we began to ruminate upon the peculiarity of our situation: we were lifted three thousand feet above the level of the sea; but this immense height was of little avail to us - every thing below us was obscured by an impenetrable mist - the sun refused his cheering illumination, and gloom and silence reigned awfully around. We were now upon one end of a ridge which constitutes the highest part of the mountain: it is profusely strewed with fragments of" goto source Page 147:- "clay slate; among these we found a botanical rarity, the salix herbacea, which had fixed its roots in the scanty soil." "Proceeding along this ridge, we unexpectedly heard the sound of human voices, and presently descried some men engaged in building a large pile of stones around a structure of timber thirty feet high, upon the very summit. They proved to be a party of Royal Engineers and Artillerymen, who had been encamped here for several days, employed in erecting an object to be observed in the Trigonometrical Survey; as the Commanding Officer obligingly explained to us. Some philanthropic gentleman had caused a small cot to be constructed here for the accommodation of visitants, and on looking in we perceived that the men had spread their blankets on a little moss, and thus converted it into a temporary barrack." "The mist at length became so attenuated, that the glorious orb of day appeared through it like a large full moon; and in a moment the clouds opened and the north end of Bassenthwaite lake - with the variegated country around it - burst into view with the most astonishing brilliancy. We overlooked an extensive plain, spotted with houses, villages, and corn fields, extending to the Solway Firth, both shores of which were distinctly visible with their various indentations, and beyond it the" goto source Page 148:- "mountains of Scotland melting gradually into mist. The town of Cockermouth seemed near us, and we could here and there trace the course of the Derwent as it made its way towards the ocean. We distinctly saw the Isle of Man with its bifid summit, and some vessels were observed putting out to sea from the ports of Workington and Whitehaven. Now a cloud, which had been hovering some time upon Saddleback, suddenly transferred itself to our mountain, and we were once more enveloped in vapour which shut the sun awhile from our view, but on its departure served only to supply us with new and uncommon effects; for by the time we had begun to descend, the clouds again opened southward, and the lake of Derwentwater, with the glorious sunbeams playing upon its bosom as on a mirror, burst into view with the most ravishing beauty! The basin of the lake appeared entire - the mountains on its margin and in the more distant parts of Borrowdale, mottled with refulgence, and others nearer to us slowly stripping themselves of their vapoury vestments - together constituted one of the most noble spectacles that mortal eye could behold. We had full leisure to survey it, for our progress downward was necessarily slow, especially as we deviated from the usual route, ..." goto source Page 150:- "..." "... but recollecting our engagements, we hurried on to Keswick, which we reached soon after nine o'clock; and although we had taken a breakfast in the clouds we were fully ready for another at our inn." "..."

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