E a g l e s .
It is taken in greateft plenty from the end o f September to the
end of November, but at other times is very rarely met with.
The monks o f the abby o f Furnefs had a grant from William
of Lancafter, privileging them to filh on this water with one
boat and twenty nets; but in cafe any of the fervants belonging
to the abby, and fo employed, miibehaved themfelves, they
were to be chaftiied by the Lord o f the water; and in cafe they
refufed to .fubmit, the abbot was bound to difcharge them, and
make them forfeit their wages for their delinquency*.
Remount my horfe, and continue my journey along the fides
o f the lake, and from an eminence about half a mile N. of the
village of Boulnefs, have a fine view o f the water and all it’s
windings; and obferve that the laft bend points very far to the
Weft.
On advancing towards the end have an auguft profpeft o f the
whole range o f thefe Northern apennines, exhibiting all the variety
o f grandeur in the uniform immenfe mafs, the conic fummit, the
broken ridge, and the overhanging crag, with the deep chafm-like
paflages far winding along their bafes, rendered more horrible by
the blackening ihade of the rocks.
Among the birds which pofiefs this exalted traft, the eagles
are the firft in rank; they breed in many places. I f one is killed,
the other gets a new mate, and retains it’s antient aery. Thofe
who take their nefts find in them remains of great numbers o f moor
game: they are befides very pernicious to the heronries : it is renarked,
in the laying feafon of the herons, when the eagles terrify
* Dugdale Mon aß. I, 706.
them
them from their nefts, that crows, watching the opportunity, will
fteal away their eggs.
The red deer which ftill run wild in Martindale foreft, fome-
times ftraggled into thofe parts.
Reach Amblefide, a fmall town above the extremity of the lake :
-the inhabitants o f thefe parts are very induftrious; are much employed
in knitting ftockings for Kendal market; in fpinning woollen
yarn, and in making thread to weave their linfies. The countenances
of the people begin to alter; efpecially in the tender
fex; the face begins to fquare, and the cheek bone begins to rife,
as if fymptomatic o f my approaching towards North Britain.
Below Amblefide, in a meadow near the river Brathay, is a Roman
camp, the fuppofed B iiiis o f the Notitia, where coins, bricks,
& c. have been often found. The outline o f the work is ftill vi-
fible, and its extent is four hundred feet one way, and three hun-
. dred the other; it was the ftation o f part o f the cohort o f the
Numerus Nerviorum Diclenfium, and placed very conveniently to
command feveral pafies.
At a fmall diftance from Amblefide, fee Rydal, the houfe of Sir
• Michael le Fleming, placed in a moft magnificent fituation; having
the lake full in front, a rich intervening fore-ground ; and on
i each fide a ftupendous guard o f mountains. This family have
been fixed in the north ever fince the conqueft, and became owners
of Rydal-hall by a marriage with one o f the coheirefies, daughter
•of Sir John de Lancafter, in the time of H en. IV.
Near the houfe is a lofty rocky brae, cloathed with multitudes
of gigantic yews and hollies, that from their fize and antiquity,
G give
A m e l e s i d e .
D icT in
May 23;
R y d a l - h a l l .