What to See in England Part 42

[Ill.u.s.tration: RUSKIN'S HOUSE AT BRANTWOOD.

The room with the turret window was Ruskin's bedroom.]

FOWEY

=How to get there.=--Train from Paddington. Great Western Rly.

=Nearest Station.=--Fowey.

=Distance from London.=--282 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies from 7 to 8 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 43s. 4d. 27s. 0d. 21s. 8d.

Return 75s. 10d. 47s. 6d. ...

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"The Fowey Hotel," "St. Catherine's Private Hotel," "Cotswold House," etc.

Fowey, now little more than a fis.h.i.+ng village and holiday resort, was once the chief port in Cornwall, and the equal of Plymouth and Dartmouth, a position it owed to its fine harbour, formed by the mouth of the river Fowey, on which it stands. On the west side of the harbour stands St. Catherine's Castle, dating from the reign of Henry VIII., and on the east the ruins of St. Saviour's Chapel, an old church. There are also remains of two square stone towers, erected for the protection of the entrance to the harbour in the reign of Edward IV. Between these forts, in mediaeval days, the men of Fowey used to draw a chain as an additional security. The houses are built chiefly of stone, but the streets are so narrow and full of angles that it is difficult for a vehicle of any size to pa.s.s through them. In the reign of Edward III. it sent forty-seven vessels to a.s.sist in the siege of Calais.

A heavy blow was dealt to the town by Edward IV. After he had concluded peace with France, the men of Fowey continued to make prizes of whatever French s.h.i.+ps they could capture, and refused to give up their piratical ways. This so incensed the king, that the ringleaders in the matter were summarily executed, a heavy fine was levied upon the town, and its vessels handed over to the port of Dartmouth, as a lesson against piracy. This treatment of Fowey seems a little hard in view of the fact that Dartmouth men were constantly raiding the coasts of Brittany.

The church, built in the reign of Edward IV. and restored in 1876, has one of the highest towers in Cornwall. The interior has a good timber roof, a carved oak pulpit, an old font, and several interesting monuments to the Treffry and Rashleigh families.

The finest and most interesting house in the town is Place House, the seat of the Treffrys, who have been connected with Fowey for many generations. Many of the apartments are exceedingly interesting, especially the hall, with its fine oak roof. The present owner allows the hall and other portions to be shown to visitors.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Valentine & Sons, Ltd._

FOWEY.

Showing the two little forts at the mouth of the harbour, across which in mediaeval time a chain was drawn.]

HEXHAM AND HADRIAN'S WALL

=How to get there.=--Train from King's Cross and St. Pancras _via_ Newcastle-on-Tyne. Great Northern Railway.

=Nearest Station.=--Hexham.

=Distance from London.=--289 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 5-1/2 to 8 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 40s. 10d. ... 24s. 4d.

Return 81s. 8d. ... 48s. 8d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Tynedale Hydropathic Mansion," etc.

=Alternative Route.=--Train from Euston and St. Pancras _via_ Carlisle.

London and North-Western Railway.

Hexham has a beautiful position, surrounded with woods and hills on three sides, while the broad Tyne flows past the historic town. Above the surrounding roofs the h.o.a.ry Abbey Church rises, with its one low central tower and flat roofs.

The history of Hexham begins with the granting of some land to St.

Wilfrid in 674, on which he built a monastery and church. A few years later Hexham was made a See, and the "Frithstool" still remains from the time when its cathedral received the right of sanctuary.

This early cathedral was destroyed by the Danes, and the building left a battered ruin. When monasticism rose to its height, after the Norman Conquest, a priory of Canons of St. Augustine was founded there. Its wealth and numbers gradually increased until, at the end of the thirteenth century, an entirely new building replaced the Saxon one, and Hexham became exceedingly powerful.

Hadrian's Wall.--Three miles north of Hexham, at Chollerford, one may see the remains of the piers of a Roman bridge over the North Tyne, and close at hand is one of the best preserved forts of Hadrian's Wall. It was about 124 A.D. that Hadrian started Aulus Plautorius Nepos on the building of the line of continuous fortifications running from the mouth of the Tyne to the Solway, a distance of over seventy miles. This was built on the chain of hills overlooking the valley which runs from Newcastle to Carlisle. The ma.s.sive and astonis.h.i.+ng ruins to be seen to-day fill one with surprise, for they suggest to a considerable extent the Great Wall of China. The remains of the wall proper are, as a rule, 8 feet thick, and are composed of hewn stone (the total height of the wall was probably about 18 feet). Turrets and small forts are built into the wall at frequent intervals. The object of the wall was undoubtedly to act as a military defence against the unconquerable tribes of the north.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._

A PORTION OF HADRIAN'S WALL.

The continuous line of fortifications built across England by Aulus Plautorius Nepos about 124 A.D.]

THE LAKE DISTRICT

=How to get there.=--Train to Keswick from Euston. L. and N.W.R.

=Nearest Station.=--Keswick (for visiting Derwent.w.a.ter, Skiddaw, Ba.s.senthwaite, b.u.t.termere, c.o.c.kermouth, Wytheburn).

=Distance from London.=--300 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 6 to 10 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 42s. 0d. 26s. 7d. 24s. 1d.

Return 81s. 0d. 47s. 6d. 43s. 0d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Keswick Hotel," "Royal Oak,"

"Queen's," etc.

=Alternative Routes.=--Train from King's Cross to Keswick, Great Northern Railway. Train from St. Pancras, Midland Railway.

Keswick, usually regarded as the capital of the north-western portion of the Lake District, is situated in the lovely vale of Derwent.w.a.ter, on the river Greta, shut in on all sides by mountain walls, the highest summit being the lofty Skiddaw, which crowns the range to the north of the valley. The old portion of the town is picturesque and interesting, especially the quaint old town hall in the market-place, marking the centre of the town.

Foremost among the attractions in the vicinity of Keswick is Lake Derwent.w.a.ter, within less than a mile of the town, and separated from it by rising ground. The lake is 3-1/2 miles in length and 1-1/2 wide, and is remarkable for the transparency of its waters, the s.h.i.+ngle and rocks at the bottom being clearly visible at a depth of 15 or 20 feet. The scenery of the lake is beyond description beautiful. "Here is Derwent.w.a.ter," says De Quincey, "with its lovely islands in one direction, Ba.s.senthwaite in another; the mountains of Newlands; the gorgeous confusion of Borrowdale revealing its sublime chaos through the narrow vista of its gorge; the sullen rear closed by the vast and towering ma.s.ses of Skiddaw and Blencathra." The valley of Borrowdale is to the south of the lake, and near the south-eastern extremity are the famous Falls of Lodore, so wonderfully described in Southey's celebrated poem.

Ba.s.senthwaite Water, connected with Derwent.w.a.ter by the Derwent, is a smaller lake, but exceedingly beautiful, and b.u.t.termere has a quaint little village which goes by the same name.

Among the many places within easy reach of Keswick are c.o.c.kermouth, the birthplace of Wordsworth; Wytheburn, the nearest village to Thirlmere; and Skiddaw, the ascent of which can be accomplished with comparative ease on pony-back. The summit is over 3000 feet above sea-level.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._

CRUMMOCK WATER AND b.u.t.tERMERE.]

KESWICK

AND THE HOME OF ROBERT SOUTHEY