116 CRESSBROOK. A PERILOUS PATH. involved, his mind did not recover its accustomed serenity for some hours afterwards. The whole of this dell, with the exception of one single place, which includes a space of about twenty yards, may be passed with safety, though perhaps not without apprehension. I once made the experiment, and have no wish to repeat it. From Litton Mill I took the right of the river, along a narrow pathway which had been made by fishermen close upon its brink, until a projecting rock, that partly overhung the stream, presented an apparently insuperable barrier to my farther progress. I hesitated for a moment, and the question, "shall I recede or go on?" was soon determined by the anxious solicitude I felt to pass along the margin of the stream from Litton to Cressbrook. I therefore resolved at all hazards to persevere. Something like a sheep-track, not broad enough in any place to admit more than one foot at a time, was carried along the extreme verge of a narrow shelving of rock which overhung the river, that at the depth of many yards below appeared to sleep at its base. A thin slippery verdure covered the perilous path, and though I felt it dangerous to proceed, as a single unsafe tread would inevitably have precipitated me into the deep waters of the Wye, I soon found I had gone too far to recede. 66 Returning were as tedious as go o'er;" I therefore, with a wary step and a little unpleasant feeling, moved, or rather crept, cautiously along, until I had attained a place of safety. I now looked back upon the path I had passed, and trembled at my own temerity. Impending rock, to the height of several hundred feet, rose over my head: far beneath the narrow jutting crag where I had stood, flowed the Wye, which being dammed up at the mill below, is here a deep, silent, and apparently an immoveable stream, that is black with shadow. My mind, however, soon recovered its usual tone, and I felt myself amply repaid for the little inconvenience I had encountered. The scene that now lay before me was of the most magnificent description. The rocks on each side of the river form an immense portal, through these the stream, the foliage near, and the distant mountains, are seen most happily combined, and appear like a lovely picture in a massy frame. The right of the river looking towards Cressbrook is naked rock; the opposite bank is covered with trees, which overhang the stream. To this thickly wooded spot there is no access for either horse or carriage, and I observed that a number of trees had been recently cut down and thrown into the river, for the purpose of being floated out of this narrow chasm, whenever the Wye became flooded with heavy rains. Approaching Cressbrook Mill, another fine view occurs: some houses in the rock, amidst the trees-the river and the buildings on its banks-form an assemblage of objects which lie embosomed within the capacious hollow of a mighty hill, that constitutes a noble back-ground to the picture. This hill rises with a steep acclivity to a great height, and sometimes in winter it is one of the grandest objects in the mountainous districts in Derbyshire. At this season of the year, when the "wintry winds" sweep over the top of this lofty eminence, and the driven snow is accumulated upon its brow, where it hangs like a projecting cornice, and ornaments the immense curve of this vast natural crescent, it presents one of the most magnificent scenes that the lover of mountain landscape can behold. SECTION VI. -- Cressbrook-Dale.- Bright Pool. Waterfall.-Monsal-Dale. Summer Evening's Scene. - Moonlight view of MonsalDale. AFTER spending a pleasant hour with Mr. Newton, we proceeded to explore the hidden beauties of Cressbrook-dale. The entrance into this narrow dell, near the mill, is marked by some lovely scenery, which is reflected from the surface of as pure and lucid a current as ever adorned a mountain landscape. This sparkling brook abounds with water-cresses; in some places they float upon the stream; in others, the stream flowing over them gives to their leaves a fresher and a brighter green. As we loitered along the brink of this lovely rivulet, we observed the trout, as they lay quietly on the water; but they were only seen for a moment; suddenly they darted into the deeps with an astonishing rapidity, scarcely stirring the surface with their motion. A part of this brook had once the name of Bright Pool, and it was much resorted to as a favourite place for bathing: the water was then considered salutary, but it has since lost its reputation, and has gradually sunk from neglect into total disuse. I once passed along the whole line of Cressbrook, from near the toll-bar at Wardlow-Mears, where this little rivulet takes its rise. At its source, I remarked its beauty, and loitered on its margin with delight: but, proceeding onward through the dale, I observed, that, instead of an increasing stream, its progress could only be traced by the freshness of the verdure through which it strayed: shortly, it was lost, not only to the eye but the ear, and I now conjectured that it had probably entered one of those rocky chasms that frequently occur in the limestone districts of Derbyshire. In Cressbrook-dale, about half way between the mill and the water-fall, the same current, after having traversed a subterraneous passage of a mile and a half, emerges with great violence from out a cavern in the rock, and rushing over its craggy bed, tumbles into the brook below. Nearly half a mile from the entrance into this sequestered glen, the little river by which it is watered is precipitated through a narrow cleft, and falls into a capacious basin about fifty or sixty feet below. The naked rocks on the left beetle over their base; on the right they are clothed with trees, some hanging on their brow, and others shooting upwards from out the dell. The water is here so perfectly lucid, that the smallest objects are clearly distinguishable at the greatest depth: even the agitation produced by the fall of water from above, scarcely affects its transparency: I have no recollection of having seen at any time, or in any place, so clear and brilliant a stream. The hills that embosom this romantic glen are some of the loftiest in this part of the Peak: on every side they rise to an immense height, and denying to this retired spot the cheering rays of the sun, they involve all the lower part in continual shadow. 66 This dell has been called Dove-dale in miniature; but the name has no propriety. Rock, wood, and water may be found in both; so far they are alike; but their general character is extremely dissimilar: Dove-dale is in fact itself alone:" there is nothing like it in any other part of Derbyshire; and for confined scenery of a peculiar description, Cressbrook-dale is equally unique. Some beautiful combinations of rock and wood occur within it, and from a projecting crag near the cascade, a scene is presented which towards the close of a fine sunny day, assumes considerable grandeur. We placed ourselves on this jutting eminence, and looking up the dale, a perpendicular rock crowned with light foliage lay on our left: our right was an immense crescent hill, turreted with rugged crags, that appeared to rise out of the vast fragments of stone which formed their base: far below, the waterfall was seen through the trees that overhung its banks: a mass of shadow covered this part of the scene, while all above was glowing with the most brilliant light, which derived an additional force from the dark and sombre tone of undisturbed colouring that rested on all below. The stillness that prevailed increased the impressions produced by this delightful picture—nothing was heard except the hum of the bee, as he strayed among the flowers the noise of the waterfall, or the lapse of the stream, as it babbled unseen among the branches. The clothing of some of the rocks in this glen gives them a peculiar character: in many places they are covered with ivy, the stems of which form a beautiful interlaced trellis work; from these the lighter branches depend. Through this entwined texture the rock occasionally protrudes, and on its jutting cliffs the wild rose and heath-bell blossom, and fern and foxglove grow. Leaving this romantic dell, and emerging from twilight into day, the sun, which had already set upon us while rambling on the brink of Cressbrook, again saluted us with his closing splendour on our return to the top of Monsal-dale*. In this dale the course of the Wye, which had hitherto flowed through a close rocky channel, assumes a new appearance: its wild and rugged features are here softened into beauty, and sterility is succeeded by cultivation. From Cressbrook Mill, the dale expands, and meadows and corn-fields and luxuriant trees mark the windings of the river from thence to the village of Ashford. To this place the high hills continue to connect with each other, when they gradually subside, and a more open country succeeds. Monsal-dale has been the theme of admiration for all tourists, by whom it has been hitherto visited its various beauties have been repeatedly enumerated, and I would rather join in its commendation than dwell on that disappointed feeling which I experienced when I first beheld it—a disappointment that was perhaps attributable to my exploring the banks of the Wye downwards, which had the effect of an anti-climax. The magnificence of Chee Tor, and the rocky scenery between that place and Cressbrook, so fill the mind which expands to receive the impression, that all afterwards appears little in comparison. I would therefore suggest to the traveller who visits these dales, to commence his excursion at Rowsley, where the river Wye flows into the Derwent, and proceed upwards by Haddon, Bakewell, Ashford, and the dales that occur between thence and Chee Tor: in so doing, he will pass by easy gradations from beauty to grandeur and sublimity-though perhaps Chee Tor itself may suffer by the experiment. Many pleasing pictures arrested our attention as we passed through Monsal-dale. About half a mile from Cressbrook a * Since these observations were first published, Cressbrook-Dale has been despoiled of its finest features; many of the trees have disappeared from it; it has been robbed of its most picturesque accompaniments; and it is now, comparatively, a tame and insipid scene. |