Climbing in The British Isles Volume I Part 1

Climbing in The British Isles.

Vol. 1.

by W. P. Haskett Smith.

INTRODUCTION

For some years past there has been a remarkably rapid increase in the number of men who climb for climbing's sake within the bounds of the British Isles.

When any young and active Englishman sees a rock and is told that the ascent of it is regarded as a kind of feat, there is no doubt what he will want to do. He will obey what has been the instinct of the race at any time this forty years. But lately there has been a change. What was formerly done casually and instinctively has for the last dozen years or so been done systematically and of set purpose, for it is now recognised that hill-climbing in these islands may form part of a real mountaineering education. Many might-be mountaineers have missed their vocation because they were in the position of the prudent individual who would not go into the water until after he should have learned to swim: they did not become Alpine because they were afraid that they should make fools of themselves if they went on the Alps. Yet, had they only known it, they might have found without crossing the sea many a place which might have been to their undeveloped instincts what the little pond at the end of the garden has been to many a would-be skater--a quiet spot where early flounderings would be safe from the contemptuous glances of unsympathetic experts.

Icemans.h.i.+p can only be acquired through a long apprentices.h.i.+p, by tramping many a weary mile helplessly tied to the tail of a guide. But one princ.i.p.al charm of hill-climbing lies in the fact that it may be picked up by self-directed practice and does not demand the same preliminary subjection. The course of Alpine instruction can only be considered complete when Mr. Girdlestone's ideal of 'The High Alps without Guides' is realised (an ideal, be it clearly understood, which for fully ninety-nine out of every hundred climbers it would be downright madness to attempt to carry into practice); whereas, while rock-climbing may be enjoyed by amateurs without incurring the reproach of recklessness, they at the same time experience the exquisite pleasure of forming their own plans of attack, of varying the execution of them according to their own judgment, and finally of meeting obstacles, as they arise, with their own skill and with their own strength, and overcoming them without the a.s.sistance of a hired professional.

Nowhere can the mere manual dexterity of climbing be better acquired than among the fells of c.u.mberland; excellent practising-ground presents itself on nearly every hill. Compared with real mountains the crags of c.u.mberland are but toys, but small as they are, they have made many and many a fine climber; and the man who has gone through a course of training among them, who has learnt to know the exact length of his own stride and reach, and to wriggle up a 'chimney' in approved style with shoulder, hip and knee, may boldly fly at higher game, and when he proceeds to tackle the giants of the Alps or Caucasus has no cause to be afraid of the result.

As if with the express object of increasing their educational value to the mountaineer, the hilly parts of Great Britain are peculiarly subject to atmospheric changes. No one who has not experienced their effects would believe the extent to which mist, snow, and even rain can change the appearance of landmarks among the mountains; and, where landmarks are less abundant or less striking, even the buffeting of violent wind may cause an inexperienced man to change his direction unconsciously.

Valuable experience in things of this kind may be gained even in summer, but in winter the conditions become more Alpine, and splendid practice may be had in the use of the axe and rope.

Not that the latter should be neglected on difficult rocks at any time of the year. Even in places where it gives the leader no security and to some extent actually impedes him, the moral effect of it is good. It wonderfully increases those feelings of united and ordered effort, of mutual dependence and mutual confidence, and finally of cheery subordination of self, which are not the least of the virtues or the joys of mountaineering. How these opportunities may be used the novice will readily learn from Mr. Charles Pilkington's admirable chapters in the Badminton 'Mountaineering,' and from Dr. Claude Wilson's excellent little handbook on the same subject. It is the aim of the present work to enable him to find suitable places where the principles so admirably laid down by those authorities may be tested and applied, and to understand the descriptions--often involving difficult technical and local terms--which have been published of them. When anyone with climbing instincts finds himself in a strange place his first desire is to discover a climb, his second to learn what its a.s.sociations are; what is it called, and why? has anyone climbed it, and what did he think of it? To such questions as these this book endeavours to provide an answer. It offers, in short, to the would-be climber a link, with the guidebook on the one hand and the local specialist on the other.

It must always be remembered that a very fine rock may be a very poor climb. It may be impossible or it may be too easy, or, again, the material maybe dangerously rotten; and thus, though there are many places where men can and do obtain useful climbing practice, there is only one part of England to which resort is made simply for the sake of its climbing. In consequence of this fact the greater part of the book is devoted to the English Lakes, and especially to the south-west portion of them, where the best climbs of all are to be found. But in that district the art has been highly elaborated, and the standard of difficulty and dexterity is even dangerously high. If men would be content to serve an apprentices.h.i.+p and to feel their way gradually from the easier climbs onward, they would excite less apprehension in the minds of those who know what these climbs are. If, on the other hand, they rush, as too many do, straight from the desk in a crowded city, with unseasoned lungs and muscles, in the cold and the wet, to attack alone or with chance companions whatever climb enjoys for the moment the greatest notoriety, frightful accidents are certain to occur.

The books, too, which are kept specially for climbing records at some places in the Lakes, such as Dungeon Gill, b.u.t.termere, and, notably, Wastdale Head, are misleading, owing to the widely different standards of difficulty among the various writers. Printed accounts are so few that this objection hardly applies to them. The most noteworthy beyond all doubt are the two articles written for _All the Year Round_, in November 1884, by Mr. C.N. Williamson, the late editor of _Black and White_. It would be hard to exaggerate the effect which these articles had in making the Lake climbs known. The same writer had previously contributed articles of less permanent value to the _Graphic_ and the _Daily News_. In 1837 two articles had appeared in the _Penny Magazine_ (see _Lord's Rake_); in 1859 the late Professor Tyndall had written of _Mickledoor_ in the _Sat.u.r.day Review_, and more recently articles have appeared in the _Pall Mall Gazette_, by Mr. W. Brunskill and by Mr. H.

A. Gwynne. The present writer contributed an article to the _Alpine Journal_ of August 1892, and one containing very clear ill.u.s.trations of 'back-and-knee' work and of an episode in the long climb on the Pillar Rock to the pages of _Black and White_, in June 1892, while numerous articles have appeared from time to time in such local papers as the _Whitehaven News_ and the _West c.u.mberland Times_, and in the Manchester, Leeds, and Bradford press. Of guidebooks the only one of any value to climbers is Mr. Herman Prior's 'Pedestrian Guide.'

Any value which the present book may have is largely due to the excellent drawings of Mr. Ellis Carr, who most kindly came forward to fill the place left by the lamented death of Professor A.M. Marshall.

Much a.s.sistance has been derived from sketches and photographs kindly lent, those of Mr. Abraham, of Keswick, being especially useful. For the valuable article on 'Chalk' I am indebted to Mr. A.F. Mummery, whose knowledge of the subject is unrivalled; while Mr. J.W. Robinson, of Lorton, has zealously a.s.sisted in all matters connected with c.u.mberland; and I must gratefully acknowledge help given in other ways by Mr. J.E.

Morris and the Rev. C.J. Buckmaster.

CLIMBING IN THE BRITISH ISLES

ENGLAND

=Alum Pot=, the name of which is also found in such forms as _Allen_ and _h.e.l.lan_, lies just west of the Midland Railway, about halfway between Horton and Ribblehead stations, and on the north-east side of Ingleborough. It is one of the most striking and most famous of the Yorks.h.i.+re potholes, being an elliptical opening in the limestone, 120 ft. long and 40 ft. wide, with a perpendicular depth of 200 ft. The exploration of it was begun by Mr. Birkbeck of Anley in 1847, who, a.s.sisted by Prof. Boyd Dawkins and a large party including three ladies, made a complete examination in 1870.

=Angler's Crag=, on the south side of Ennerdale Water. The steep portion is about 300 ft. There are also some similar crags on _Grike_ and _Revelin_, close by; but none of them are worth a long walk, and the only resting-place near is the Angler's Inn, at the foot of Ennerdale Water.

=Ap.r.o.n-strings.=--Throughout Scotland and the North of England the traditional explanation of large heaps of stones is that while some one (generally the Devil or Samson) was carrying the stones in his ap.r.o.n the strings broke and the stones fell in a heap. Many such heaps are to be found, bearing the name of 'ap.r.o.nful' or 'bratful,' which means the same thing. A good instance of the latter form is _Samson's Bratful_, in c.u.mberland, between the rivers Bleng and Calder. For another good instance see what is said about Wade's Causeway in _Murray's Handbook for Yorks.h.i.+re_, at p. 206.

=Aron.=--So Wilkinson (in his 'Select Views') calls _Great End_. It may be that he misunderstood his guide, who was, perhaps, speaking at the time of _Aaron Crags_, which are on _Sprinkling Fell_, and would be in the line of sight to any one coming up from _Borrowdale_. In fact, the path to _Sty Head_ pa.s.ses not only _Aaron Crags_ on the left, but also _Aaron Slack_ on the right. It is, of course, tempting to suggest that Aron was the original Keltic name of Great End; but in Wales the name Aran is generally applied to mountains of very different appearance to _Great End_.

=Arrowhead=, a prominent rock in the _Napes_ of _Great Gable_, being part of the ridge immediately west of _Eagle's Nest_. It was climbed on April 17, 1892, by a large party, including Messrs. Horace Walker, Baker, Slingsby, and others. In the following year, on the last day of March, this climb was repeated by Messrs. Solly, Schintz, Brant, and Bowen, who continued it right on to the top of the ridge. They kept rather more on the ridge itself than the former party had done on the way to the _Arrowhead_, and from that point the climb is along the crest of the ridge. It is not a difficult climb for an experienced party. The ridge has been called the _Arrowhead Ridge_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE ARROWHEAD (South side of Great Gable)]

=Ash Crag=, a rock in _Ennerdale_, near the _Black Sail_ end of the _Pillar Fell_. It is the writer's belief that this is the rock which the poet Wordsworth, in 'The Brothers,' has confused with the _Pillar Rock_.

At least a lad belonging to an old Ennerdale family, the Bowmans of Mireside, was killed by falling from this rock at a date closely corresponding to that indicated in the poem.

=Attermire=, one of the most picturesque limestone scars in Yorks.h.i.+re.

It is reached from Settle on the Midland Railway, and may be seen on the way to Malham Cove.

=Back-and-knee=: the process of supporting or raising the body in a 'chimney' by pressure against opposite sides with back and knees, or, more usually, back and feet.

=Band.=--This word forms part of many hill names in the North of England, and is also found in Scotland. Dr. Murray deals with it in the 'New English Dictionary,' but not in a satisfactory manner. He defines it as 'a long ridge-like hill of minor height or a long narrow sloping offshoot from a hill or mountain,' but it would be easy to adduce instances where this could have no application. The word is used by Douglas in his translation of Virgil to represent the Latin word 'jugum':

Himself ascendis the hie _band_ of the hill;

and from this Jamieson concluded that the word meant simply 'top of a hill'--a definition almost as unsuitable as the last. The late Mr.

d.i.c.kinson, the leading authority on the c.u.mberland dialect, gave to the word the meaning of 'a boundary on high uninclosed land,' and indeed the frequent a.s.sociation of the word with personal names (often of clearly Scandinavian character) seems to indicate some territorial significance.

=Bannerdale Crag= (C. sh. 57) may be taken on the way up _Saddleback_ from Troutbeck station on the line between Keswick and Penrith. About three miles up the stream is _Mungrisdale_, and still farther up along the course of the stream one fork leads to _Scales Tarn_ and another to _Bannerdale_, where there is a lead mine just north of the crags. There is a rocky face some 600 ft. to 800 ft. high, offering climbing, which is steep, but by no means first-rate.

=Barf.=--From the southern sh.o.r.e of Ba.s.senthwaite Water there is a fine steep scramble up this hill. On a bright winter's day it is rather inspiriting, and the views are good.

The name is more frequent in Yorks.h.i.+re, where, according to Phillips, it has the meaning of 'a detached low ridge or hill.'

=Beachy Head=, close to Eastbourne, in Suss.e.x, is a very fine bold chalk cliff, the first ascent of which is made about once in every two years, if we may believe all that we see in the papers. The truth is that there is a treacherous incline of some 600 ft., formed of chalk and gra.s.s, both very steep and often dangerously slippery; and during the Eastbourne season the coastguards at the top find their princ.i.p.al occupation in supplying mechanical a.s.sistance to exhausted clamberers; but for difficulty these cliffs will not for a moment compare with those of half the height which carry on the line westward to _Birling Gap_.

The tops of these in many places literally overhang the sea, and there are few points where a climber could make the slightest impression upon them. On Beachy Head there is a dangerous-looking pinnacle, which was climbed (by dint of cutting a step or two) in April 1894, by Mr. E.A.

Crowley.

=Bear Rock=, a queerly-shaped rock on _Great Napes_, which in the middle of March 1889 was gravely attacked by a large party comprising some five or six of the strongest climbers in England. It is a little difficult to find, especially in seasons when the gra.s.s is at all long.

=Beck.=--In the North of England (except in Northumberland and Durham, where 'burn' prevails) this is the usual word for a brook. It differs from a 'gill' in being more open, and having banks less rocky and a stream somewhat more copious. A gill may contain only a few drops of water, or none at all, and still preserve its self-respect, but not so a beck. Camden speaks of 'Beakes and Brookes.'

=Bell= enters into many North Country hill-names. It is commonly said to indicate spots which were specially devoted to the wors.h.i.+p of Baal, and many arguments have been based upon its occurrence and distribution. If there is anything in this a.s.sertion, the 'high places' for the wors.h.i.+p of Baal must have been most capriciously selected. My own belief is that the term is purely descriptive and is applied to a convexity in the slope of a hill. In Lowland Scotch the phrase 'bell of the brae' is not uncommon and has the same significance.

=Bell Rib End=, a short drop on the narrow south ridge of _Yewbarrow_.

Though on a very small scale, it is not without interest, and was a favourite with Mr. Maitland, one of the early explorers of Wastdale.