Climbing in The British Isles Volume I Part 2

=Chalk.=--Though this can hardly be regarded as a good rock for climbing, much excellent practice can be gained on it. As a general rule, it is only sufficiently solid for real climbing for the first twenty feet above high-water mark, though here and there forty feet of fairly trustworthy rock may be found. These sections of hard chalk are invariably those which at their base are washed by the sea at high tide; all others are soft and crumbly.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHALK CLIFFS NEAR DOVER]

Whilst any considerable ascent, other than up the extremely steep slopes of gra.s.s which sometimes clothes the gullies and faces, is out of the question, traverses of great interest and no slight difficulty are frequently possible for considerable distances. A good _objectif_ may be found in the endeavour to work out a route to the various small beaches that are cut off from the outer world by the high tide and cliffs.

The best instances of this sort of work are to be found along the coast to the eastward of Dover (between that town and St. Margaret's). Between the ledges by which these traverses are in the main effected, and the beach below, scrambles of every variety of difficulty may be found, some being amongst the hardest _mauvais pas_ with which I am acquainted.

Owing to the proximity of the ground, they afford the climber an excellent opportunity of ascertaining the upper limit of his powers.

Such knowledge is a possession of extreme value, yet in most other places it is undesirable to ascertain it too closely. Chalk, it must be remembered, is extremely rotten and treacherous, very considerable ma.s.ses coming away occasionally with a comparatively slight pull. In any place where a slip is not desirable, it is unwise to depend exclusively on a single hold, as even the hardest and firmest k.n.o.bs, that have stood the test of years, give way suddenly without any apparent reason. The flints imbedded in the chalk are similarly untrustworthy; in fact, if they project more than an inch or so, they are, as a rule, insecure.

The surface of the chalk is smooth and slimy if wet, dusty if dry, and does not afford the excellent hold obtained on granite. As a whole it may be regarded as a treacherous and difficult medium, and one which is likely to lead those practising on it to be very careful climbers.

To the westward of Dover (between it and Folkestone) a great amount of climbing on gra.s.s and crumbly chalk slopes can be obtained; almost every gully and face can be ascended from the sea, or the S.E. Railway, to the top. It is desirable to remember that in dry weather the gra.s.s and the earth which underlies it is of the consistency of sand, and great care is requisite; after rain the gra.s.s is of course slippery; but the underlying material adheres more firmly to the cliff. It is unnecessary to add that a slip on any of these slopes would almost certainly prove fatal. On the face of _Abbot's Cliff_, and to the westward (about halfway between Dover and Folkestone), some traverses may be effected at a height of 200 ft. or more above the base; they do not, however, compare for climbing with the traverses on the other side of Dover.

As one goes westwards, the angle of the cliffs becomes less, and from _Abbot's Cliff_ towards Folkestone it is rarely necessary to use one's hands, though very nice 'balance' is essential, as the results of a slip would usually be serious. Above the _Warren_, still nearer Folkestone, the slopes become easy, and after heavy snow afford excellent _glissades_.

The cliffs between Dover and St. Margaret's vary from 200 to 350 ft., whilst those between Dover and Folkestone vary from 250 to 500 ft. in height.

In Suss.e.x the chalk is well developed at and near _Beachy Head_, where it attains a height of some 600 ft. Just west of this come several miles of cliffs, lower indeed (about 300 ft.), but amazingly vertical.

About _Flamborough Head_, in Yorks.h.i.+re, this formation attains fine proportions, while as far west as Devons.h.i.+re _Beer Head_ is upwards of 400 ft. high.

=Chimney=: a recess among rocks resembling the interior of a chimney open on one side. (See _Back-and-knee_.)

=Chockstone=: a northern word for a stone wedged between the sides of a gully. A short word for this is greatly needed, and I would suggest that it might be called a 'chock,' simply.

=Clapham=, a station on the Midland Railway, is an excellent centre for _Ingleborough_ and the _Potholes_.

=Clark's Leap=, near _Swirl's Gap_ on Thirlmere, is a jutting rock, so called from a suicide which took place there over 100 years ago. It is one of many local absurdities of the novel called 'The Shadow of a Crime' that this name is brought in as an antiquity in the eyes of characters supposed to be living two centuries ago.

=Clough= (_Cleugh_, _Cloof_, _Cluff_, _Clowe_) is a North of England word for a kind of valley formed in the slope of a hill. The first cut in carving a shoulder of mutton produces a typical 'clough.' There is seldom any climbing about a genuine clough, because it implies soil rather than rock. Dr. Murray tells us that the word has no connection with the Icelandic 'klofi,' yet a.s.signs to the latter word the origin of 'cloof,' in the sense of the fork of a tree, or of the human body. To a layman in such matters the two words bear a singular resemblance, both in sound and in sense.

=Collier's Climb= on _Scafell_ was made by Messrs. Collier and Winser on April 2, 1893, and a very severe climb it is. It begins from the _Rake's Progress_ at a point 105 ft. west from the _North Climb_. After a direct ascent of about 40 ft., a gra.s.sy platform on the right (facing the wall) is reached. From here a narrow and somewhat awkward traverse leads back to above the first part of the climb. This traverse could probably be avoided by climbing directly upwards. There follows an easy ascent for 30 ft. still directly upwards. By traversing broad gra.s.sy ledges to the right--i.e. towards _Moss Gill_--one of the inclined cracks so plainly seen on the face of the cliff is reached, and the rest of the ascent made in it. The only severe difficulties in the climb are: 1. at the beginning, in leaving _Rake's Progress_; 2. at one point in the crack where there is not much handhold for 10 or 15 ft.

=Combe Gill=, a fine gill in the north end of _Glaramara_. The climb is a little over two miles from _Rosthwaite_, and about a mile less from _Seatoller_. A very fine ma.s.s of rock (one of the many _Eagle Crags_) stands at the head of the little valley, and up the centre of this crag lies the way. It was climbed on September 1, 1893, by Messrs. J.W.

Robinson and W.A. Wilson, whose account of it is as follows: 'This very fine gorge has three good-sized pitches in the lower part. These were pa.s.sed by climbing the right-hand edge of the gill--interesting work. A return on to the floor of the gill was made near the top of the third pitch, when a little scrambling led to a very fine waterfall more than 100 ft. high. Here climb in the water as little as you can; then diverge slightly on to the right-hand wall of the gill just where the water spouts over a small recess; next traverse across a rather difficult slab into the cave under the final boulder, which is climbed on the left-hand and is the last difficulty.'

=Coniston=, having the advantage of both railway and steamboat, is very accessible, and, notwithstanding this, it is agreeably free from the rush of excursionists. Practically it has one fine mountain--the _Old Man_--and no more, though _Bow Fell_ and the _Langdale Pikes_ are not entirely out of reach. There is much good scrambling in the rocks which fringe the _Old Man_ and _Wetherlam_, and superb climbing in _Dow Crag_.

=Coniston Old Man.=--Quarrymen and miners have between them done an immense deal towards spoiling a very fine mountain. They have converted to base industrial uses the whole east side of the mountain, which Nature intended for climbers. They have not yet invaded _Doe Crag_ (q.v.), which is really part of it, but practically no one goes up the _Old Man_ proper, except for the sake of the view, which is magnificent, and no one ascends except from Coniston, varied in a few cases by working north along the summit ridge and descending via _Grey Friars_ on to the pa.s.s of _Wrynose_.

=Copeland.=--Camden says of c.u.mberland: 'The south part of this s.h.i.+re is called _Copeland_ and _Coupland_, for that it beareth up the head aloft with sharpedged and pointed hilles, which the Britans tearme _Copa_.'

Leland alludes to this when he makes a ludicrously pedantic suggestion: 'Capelande, part of c.u.mbrelande, may be elegantly caullid Cephalenia.'

_Cop_ is found in Derbys.h.i.+re also, as a hill-name, and hunting men will not need to be reminded of the Coplow in Leicesters.h.i.+re.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CONISTON AND DOE CRAG]

=Cornwall.=--To the true-souled climber, who can enjoy a tough bit of rock, even if it is only fifty, aye, or twenty feet high, the coast of Cornwall with its worn granite cliffs and bays has much to offer. It is interesting almost the whole way round the coast. Granite prevails, but at _Polperro_ we have cliffs belonging to the Lower Devonian period, and for some ten or twelve miles going west from _Chapel Point_ we find rocks of the Silurian order. At many points round the _Lizard Promontory_ there are remarkable rocks; but some of the finest cliff scenery in England is to be found between the _Logan Rock_ and the _Land's End_. These are on the regular tourist tracks, and conveniently reached from good hotels; but the north coast of Cornwall is here easy of access. There are fine cliffs about _Gurnard's Head_ and _Bosigran_, which are well worth a visit, from St. Ives or Penzance (7 or 8 miles).

There is a small inn at _Gurnard's Head_. _Bedruthan Steps_ are well-known, and _Trevose Head_, _Pentire_ (Padstow), _Tintagel_ and _Penkenner Point_ are only a few of the many grand rock-scenes on this coast.

=Coterine Hill.=--Leland, in his 'Itinerary,' says that Ure, Sawle, and Edon rise in this hill, and that 'the Hedde of Lune River by al Aestimation must be in _Coterine Hill_, or not far fro the Root of it,'

adding that, in the opinion of Mr. Moore of Cambridge, the river Lune 'risith yn a hill cawlled _Crosho_, the which is yn the egge of Richemonts.h.i.+re.'

There is _Cotter-dale_ on the Yorks.h.i.+re slope of the hill in which these rivers rise, and the celebrated Countess of Pembroke, in 1663, when she crossed from _Wensleydale_ to _Pendragon Castle_, calls her journey 'going over _Cotter_, which I lately repaired,' the last words showing that it was a recognised pa.s.s.

In all probability Leland's form represents '_Cotter End_,' by which name, though not given in most of the maps, part of the hill is still known.

=Cove=: often means 'cave' in Yorks.h.i.+re and Scotland, but as a rule it is a large recess in a hill-side.

=Craven=--_Camden_ remarks that the country lying about the head of the river Aire is called in our tongue _Craven_, 'perchance of the British word _Crage_, that is a _Stone_. For the whole tract there is rough all over, and unpleasant to see to; which [with?] craggie stones, hanging rockes, and rugged waies.'

Modern climbers, however, find it hardly rocky enough for them, at least above ground, and have been driven to invent a new variety of climbing--the subterranean. Exploration of the numerous _potholes_ which honeycomb the limestone hills has of late years become a favourite pastime, and, in truth, it combines science with adventure to a marked degree.

Any one who tarries for any length of time among these Yorks.h.i.+re dales should read Mr. H. Speight's handsome volume, which gives a very complete account of the beauties and the curiosities which they have to show.

=Cross Fell=, in c.u.mberland, long enjoyed the reputation being one of the highest mountains in England, and as late as 1770 its height was calculated at 3,390 ft., which is some 500 ft. more than it is ent.i.tled to. It was earlier than most English mountains in becoming the object of scientific curiosity, and an account of it will be found in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for 1747. It is chiefly celebrated for the Helm Wind originating from it.

=c.u.mberland= is the premier climbing county. The best centres are _Wastdale Head_, _Rosthwaite_ or _Seatoller_, _b.u.t.termere_, _Keswick_ and _Eskdale_. The cream of the climbing is on those fells which are composed of rocks belonging to what is called 'the Borrowdale Series,'

such as _Scafell Pillar_, _Gable_, _Bowfell_, and as a rule the finest climbs are found on the sides which face the north and east. _Cross Fell_ does not belong to the same mountain-system as those just mentioned, and offers little climbing. The best cliffs on the coast are about _St. Bees_ Head.

=Cust's Gully=, on Great End.--To the large and increasing number of men who visit the Lakes in winter, perhaps no climb is better known than this. In the spring of 1880, a party, including one of the greatest of lady mountaineers, and over twenty members of the Alpine Club, ascended this 'very interesting chimney or couloir, which, being filled with ice and snow, gave unexpected satisfaction. There is a very remarkable natural arch in this couloir, which Mr. Cust claims to have been the first to discover, and he was therefore entrusted with the guidance of the party.' The orthodox approach is by way of Skew Gill, which is conspicuous at the right hand on nearing Sty Head from Wastdale. A short distance beyond the head of this gill our gully is seen rising on the right, marked by the conspicuous block of stone. Being, as the Scotch say, 'back of the sun,' this gully often holds snow till comparatively late in the season. Indeed, in winter, it is sometimes so much choked with snow that the arch disappears, and it is even said that self-respecting climbers, who recognise that a gully ought to be followed with strictness, have felt bound to reach the block by tunnelling, instead of walking over the top. In the spring of 1890 there was a tremendous fall of stones, by which the gully was nearly filled.

Except in snow time, loose stones are an objection, and many find it more interesting to ascend by a small gully, almost a branch of 'Cust's,' on the right hand. As climbs neither of them will compare with the more eastern gullies.

=Dale=: curiously used in Derbys.h.i.+re for each separate section of a river valley, which elsewhere would form only one dale.

=Dalegarth Force=, in c.u.mberland, near Boot, in Eskdale. The wall on the north side of this extremely pretty little fall is very low; but, being granite, offers one or two problems to the climber. _Stanley Gill_ is another name for the same place.

=Dartmoor=, a high upland moor, forming a vast reservoir, from which most of the Devons.h.i.+re rivers are fed. It is curious rather than beautiful, and more interesting to the geologist, the antiquary, and the fisherman than it is to the mountaineer. Yet it is instructive even to him, for the frequency of rain and mist and the paucity of landmarks which can be seen more than a few yards off, coupled with the necessity of constantly watching the ground, render it one of the easiest places in the world in which to lose one's way in any but the finest weather.

There are no true hills, but here and there a gradual rise of the ground is seen, with a lump or two of granite grotesquely planted on the top of it. These are the _Tors_. As a rule they are very small, but often present problems to the climber, and are seldom without interest of some sort.

A great many may be reached from Tavistock or the little inn at _Merivale Bridge_.