[Day 1. From: Brough To: Penrith]

Wind [Gray uses the abbreviated form: W and a super-script 'D'] at N:W. clouds & sunshine. a mile & half [Gray uses the symbol to express the fraction.] from Brough on a hill [Brough Hill] lay a great army encamp'd. {In a footnote, Toynbee and Whibley quote Mason: 'There is a great fair for cattle kept on the hill near Brough, on this day and the preceding.' In his recent edition of Gray's 'Journal', William Roberts comments: 'He [Gray] had timed his visit, presumably by chance, to coincide with the Brough Hill Fair, one of the oldest cattle fairs in England, taking place then on 30th September and 1st October.'} to the left open'd a fine valley with green meadows & hedge-rows, a Gentleman's house peeping forth from a grove of old trees. on a nearer approach appear'd myriads of horses & cattle in the road itself & in all the fields round me, a brisk stream hurrying cross the way, thousands of clean healthy People in their best party-color'd apparel, Farmers & their families, Esquires & their daughters, hastening up from the dales & down the fells on every side, glittering in the sun & pressing forward to join the throng: while the dark hills, on many of whose tops the mists were yet hanging, served as a contrast to this gay & moving scene, which [Gray writes 'w' with 'ch' in superscript] continued for near two miles more along the road, and the crowd (coming towards it) reach'd on as far Appleby.

On the ascent of the hill [Brackenber Moor] above Appleby the thick hanging wood & the long reaches of the Eden [River Eden] (rapid, clear & full as ever) winding below with views of the Castle [Appleby Castle] & Town [Appleby] gave much employment to the mirror {Again, Toynbee and Whibley quote Mason in an explanatory footnote: 'Mr Gray carried usually with him on these tours a Plano-convex Mirror of about four inches diameter on a black foil, and bound up like a pocket-book. A glass of this sort is perhaps the best and most convenient substitute for a Camera Obscura, of any thing that has hitherto been invented.'} : but the sun was wanting & the sky overcast. oats & barley cut every where, but not carried in. passed Kirby-thore, Sr W: Dalston's house at Acorn-bank, Whinfield-park, Hawthorn-oaks, Countess-pillar, Brougham-Castle, Mr Brown (one of ye six Clerks) his large new house, crossed the Eden [River Eden] & the Eimot [Eamont] (pronounce Eeman) with its green vale [Eamont valley], & at 3 o'clock dined with Mrs Buchanan, at Penrith on trout & partridge. in the afternoon walk'd up the Beacon-hill a mile to the top, saw Whinfield and Lowther-parks, & thro' an opening in the bosom of that cluster of mountains, which the Doctor [Dr. Thomas Wharton] well remembers, the Lake of Ulz-water [Ullswater], with the craggy tops of a hundred nameless hills. these to W: & S., to the N: a great extent of black & dreary plains, to E: Cross-fell just visible thro' mists & vapours hovering round it.

[Day 2. From: Penrith To: Penrith]

Oct: I. Wd at S:W: a grey autumnal day, air perfectly calm & gentle. went to see Ulz-water [Ullswater] 5 miles distant. soon left the Keswick-road & turned to the left thro' shady lanes along the Vale of Eeman [Eamont valley], which runs rapidly on near the way, ripling over the stones. to the right is Delmaine [Dalemain], a large fabrick of pale red stone with 9 windows in front & 7 on the side built by Mr Hassell {In a footnote, Toynbee and Whibley state: 'Probably Edward Hasell (b. 1706) of Dalemain, who married a daughter of Sir Christopher Musgrave (d. 1736), fifth Baronet, of Edenhall.}, behind it a fine lawn surrounded by woods & a long rocky eminence rising over them. a clear & brisk rivulet [Dacre Beck] runs by the house to join the Eeman [River Eamont], whose course is in sight & at a small distance.

Farther on appears Hatton St John [Hutton St. John], a castle-like old mansion of Mr Huddleston. approached Dunmallert [Dunmallard Hill], a fine pointed hill cover'd with wood planted by old Mr Hassle beforemention'd, who lives always at home & delights in planting. walk'd over a spungy meadow or two & began to mount this hill thro' a broad & strait green alley among the trees, & with some toil gain'd the summit [Dunmallert] . from hence saw the Lake [Ullswater] opening directly at my feet majestic in its calmness, clear & smooth as a blew mirror with winding shores & low points of land cover'd with green inclosures, white farm-houses looking out among the trees, & cattle feeding. the water is almost every where border'd with cultivated lands gently sloping upwards till they reach the feet of the mountains, which rise very rude & aweful with their broken tops on either hand. directly in front at better than 3 mile's distance, Place-Fell, one of the bravest among them, pushes its bold broad breast into the midst of the Lake [Ullswater] & forces it to alter it's course, forming first a large bay to the left & then bending to the right.

I descended Dunmallert again by a side avenue, that was only not perpendicular, & came to Barton-bridge [Barton Bridge - in his letter to Wharton Gray italicises Barton but not Bridge] over the Eeman [River Eamont], then walking thro' a path in the wood round the bottom of the hill came forth, where the Eeman [River Eamont] issues out of the lake, & continued my way along it's western shore close to the water [Ullswater [western shore] ], & generally on a level with it. Saw a cormorant flying over it & fishing . . .

The figure of Ulz-water shore [Ullswater] nothing resembles that laid down in our maps: it is 9 miles long, & (at widest) under a mile in breadth. after extending itself 3m: & half in a line to S: W: it turns at the foot of Place-Fell, almost due West, and is here not twice the breadth of the Thames [River Thames] at London. it is soon again interrupted by the roots of Helvellyn, a lofty & very rugged mountain, & spreading again turns off to S: E:. & is lost among the deep recesses of the hills. to this second turning I pursued my way about four miles along its borders beyond a village scatter'd among trees & calle'd Water-malloch {Watermillock}, in a pleasant grave day, perfectly calm & warm, but without a gleam of sunshine: then the sky seeming to thicken, the valley to grow more desolate, & evening drawing on, I return'd by the way I came to Penrith.

[Day 3. From: Penrith To: Queen's Head, Keswick]

Oct: 2. Wind at S: E:, sky clearing, Cross-fell misty, but the outline of the other hills very distinct. set out at 10 for Keswick, by the road we went in 1767. saw Greystock-town [Greystoke] & castle [Greystoke Castle] to the right, which lie only 3 miles (over the Fells) from Ulz-water [Ullswater] . pass'd through Penradock {Penruddock} & Threlcot {Threlkeld} at the feet of Saddleback [Saddleback is also known as Blencathra.], whose furrow'd sides were gilt by the noon-day Sun, while its brow appear'd of a sad purple from the shadow of the clouds, as they sail'd slowly by it. the broad & green valley of Gardies [Guardhouse] and Low-side, with a swift stream [River Glenderamackin] glittering among the cottages & meadows to the left; & the much finer (but narrower) valley of St John's opening into it: Hill-top the large, tho' low, mansion of the Gaskarths {Toynbee and Whibley point out that Hill Top was the 'home of Joseph Gaskarth, Fellow of Pembroke.}, now a Farm-house, seated on an eminence among woods under a steep fell [Wallthwaite Crag], was what appear'd the most conspicuous, & beside it a great rock like some antient tower nodding to its fall. pass'd [Slight amendment to Gray's own spelling.] by the side of Skiddaw & its cub call'd Latter-rig {Latrigg}, & saw from an eminence at two miles distance the Vale of Elysium [Here, Gray is presumably referring to the town of Keswick, Derwent Water and, beyond that, the valley of Borrowdale.] in all its verdure, the sun then playing on the bosom of the lake [Derwent Water], & lighting up all the mountains with its lustre.

Dined by two o'clock at the Queen's Head [Queen's Head, Keswick], & then straggled out alone to the Parsonage {According to William Roberts, the 'Parsonage' is now known as Crosthwaite Grange}, fell down on my back across a dirty lane {Roberts suggests that the 'dirty lane' is, in fact, Vicarage Lane} with my glass open in one hand, but broke only my knuckles: stay'd nevertheless, & saw the sun set in all its glory.

[Day 4. From: Queen's Head, Keswick To: Queen's Head, Keswick]

Oct: 3. Wind at S: E:, a heavenly day. rose at seven, & walk'd out under the conduct of my Landlord {Toynbee and Whibley indicate, in a footnote, that Gray's 'Landlord' may have been a man called Hodgkins} to Borrodale [Borrowdale] [This is a classic example of the mapping problems presented by the non-linearity of Gray's account of his movement through the Lake District landscape: he begins by saying that he has travelled into Borrowdale but he then moves backwards in time to record his movement from the town of Keswick towards the valley.] the grass was cover'd with a hoar-frost, which soon melted, & exhaled in a thin blewish smoke. cross'd the meadows obliquely, catching a diversity of views among the hills over the lake [Derwent Water] & islands, & changing prospect at every ten paces, left Cockshut & Castle-hill [Castlehead Wood?] (which we formerly mounted) behind me, & drew near the foot of Walla Crag, whose bare & rocky brow, cut perpendicularly down above 400 feet, as I guess, awefully overlooks the way: our path here tends to the left, & the ground gently rising, & cover'd with a glade of scattering trees & bushes on the very margin of the water, opens both ways the most delcious view, that my eyes ever beheld.

behind you are the magnificent heights of Walla-crag ; opposite lie the thick hanging woods of Lord Egremont, & Newland-valley [Newlands Valley] with green & smiling fields embosom'd in the dark cliffs; to the left the jaws of Borodale [Jaws of Borrowdale], with that turbulent Chaos of mountain behind mountain roll'd in confusion; beneath you, & stretching far away to the right, the shining purity of the Lake [Derwent Water], just ruffled by the breeze enough to shew it is alive, reflecting rocks, woods, fields, & inverted tops of mountains, with the white buildings of Keswick, Crosthwait-church [Crosthwaite Church - Gray italicises Crosthwait but not Church], & Skiddaw for a back-ground at a distance. oh Doctor! I never wish'd more for you; & pray think, how the glass played its part in such a spot, which is called Carf-close-reeds [Calfclose Bay] : I chuse to set down these barbarous names, that any body may enquire on the place, & easily find the particular station, that I mean.

this scene continues to Barrow-gate, & a little farther, passing a brook called Barrow-beck, we enter'd Borodale [Borrowdale] . the crags, named Lodoor-banks now begin to impend terribly over your way; & more terribly, when you hear, that three years since an immense mass of rock tumbled at once from the brow, & bar'd all access to the dale [Borrowdale] (for this is the only road) till they could work their way thro' it. luckily no one was passing at the time of this fall; but down the side of the mountain & far into the lake [Derwent Water] lie dispersed the huge fragments of this ruin in all shapes & in all directions.

something farther we turn'd aside into a coppice [Screes Coppice], ascending a little in front of Lodoor water-fall. the height appears to be about 200 feet, the quantity of water not great, tho' (these three days excepted) it had rain'd daily in the hills for near two months before: but then the stream was nobly broken, leaping from rock to rock, & foaming with fury. on one side a towering crag, that spired up to equal, if not overtop, the neighbouring cliffs (this lay all in shade & darkness on the other hand a rounder broader projecting hill shag'd with wood & illumined by the sun, which glanced sideways on the upper part of the cataract. the force of the water wearing a deep channel in the ground hurries away to join the lake [Derwent Water] . we descended again, & passed the stream [Watendlath Beck] over a rude bridge, soon after we came under Gowder-crag, a hill more formidable to the eye & to the apprehension than that of Lodoor [Lodore] ; the rocks atop, deep-cloven perpendicularly by the rains, hanging loose & nodding forwards, seem just starting from their base in shivers: the whole way down & the road on both sides is strew'd with piles of the fragments strangely thrown across each other & of a dreadful bulk. the place reminds one of those passes in the Alps, where the Guides tell you to move on with speed, & say nothing, lest the agitation of the air should loosen the snows above, & bring down a mass that would overwhelm a caravan. I took their [guide(s)] counsel here and hasten'd on in silence.

{As Toynbee and Whibley point out, the following section of Gray's letter to Wharton was: 'First printed (in a garbled text) in Mason's 'Memoirs', pp. 357-60; now reprinted from original.'} Oct: 3. The hills here are cloth'd all up their steep sides with oak, ash, birch, holly &c: some of it has been cut 40 years ago, some within these 8 years, yet all is sprung again green, flourishing, & tall for its age, in a place where no soil appears but the staring rock, & where a man could scarce stand upright.

Met a civil young Farmer overseeing his reapers (for it is oat-harvest here) who conducted us to a neat white house in the village of Grange, which is built on a rising ground in the midst of a valley. round it the mountains form an aweful ampitheatre, & thro' it obliquely runs the Darwent [River Derwent] clear as glass, & shewing under it's bridge every trout that passes. beside the village [Grange] rises a round eminence of rock cover'd entirely with old trees [Holmcrag Wood], & over that more proudly towers Castle-crag, invested also with wood on its sides, & bearing on its naked top some traces of a fort said to be Roman.

by the side of this hill [Castle Crag], the valley [Borrowdale] turns to the left & contracts its dimensions, till there is hardly any road but the rocky bed of the river [River Derwent] . the wood of the mountains increases & their summits grow loftier to the eye, & of more fantastic forms: among them appear Eagle's-cliff, Dove's-nest, Whitedale-pike, &c: celebrated names in the annals of Keswick. the dale [Borrowdale] opens about four miles higher till you come to Sea-Whaite [Seathwaite] (where lies the way mounting the hills to the right, that leads to the Wadd-mines {Toynbee and Whibley comment: 'Wadd, or Wad, is the local name for plumbago or grapphite, commonly known as blacklead.'} ) all farther access is here barr'd to prying Mortals, only there is a little path winding over the Fells [Sty Head Pass?], & for some weeks in the year passable to the Dale's-men; but the Mountains know well, that these innocent people will not reveal the mysteries of their ancient kingdom, the reign of Chaos & old Night {Toynbee and Whibley highlight Gray's allusion to Book I of Milton's 'Paradise Lost' (line 543)} . only I learn'd, that this dreadful road dividing again leads one branch to Ravenglas {Ravenglass}, & the other to Hawkshead.

For me I went no farther than the Farmer's (better than 4m: from Keswick) at Grange: his Mother & he brought us butter, that Siserah would have jump'd at, tho' not in a lordly dish [Allusion to the Book of Judges.], bowls of milk, thin oaten-cakes, & ale; & we had carried a cold tongue thither with us. our Farmer was himself the Man, that last year plundered the Eagle's eirie: all the dale are up in arms on such an occasion, for they lose abundance of lambs yearly, not to mention hares, partridge, grous, &c: he was let down from the cliff in ropes to the shelf of rock, on which the nest was built, the people above shouting & hollowing to fright the old birds, which flew screaming round, but did not dare to attack him. he brought off the eaglet (for there is rarely more than one) & an addle egg. the nest was roundish & more than a yard over, made of twigs twisted together. seldom a year passes but they take the brood or eggs, & sometimes they shoot one, sometimes the other Parent, but the surviver has always found a mate (probably in Ireland) & they breed near the old place. by his description I learn, that this species is the Erne (the Vultur Albicilla of Linnaeus in his last edition {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'The twelfth edition of his Systma Naturae had been published at Stockholm in 1766-8.'}, but in yours Falco Albicilla) so consult Pennant about it. {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'Thomas Pennant (1726-98), the well-known traveller and naturalist, a friend of Gilbert White [ . . . ] . The work in question here was his British Zoology} .

Walk'd leisurely home [Keswick] the way we came, but saw a new landscape: the features indeed were the same in part, but many new ones were disclosed by the mid-day Sun, & the tints were entirely changed. take notice this was the best or perhaps the one day for going up Skiddaw, but I thought it better employ'd: it was perfectly serene, & hot as midsummer.

In the evening walk'd alone down to the Lake [Derwent Water] by the side of Crow-Park after sunset & saw the solemn colouring of night draw on, the last gleam of sunshine fading away on the hill-tops, the deep serene of the waters, & the long shadows of the mountains thrown across them, till they nearly touch'd the hithermost shore. at distance heard the murmur of many waterfalls not audible in the day-time. {Toynbee and Whibley suggest that this description is echoed by Wordsworth in lines in the White Doe of Rylstone} wish'd for the Moon, but she was dark to me & silent, hid in her vacant interlunar cave. {Toynbee and Whibley highlight the quotation from Book II, lines 86-89, of Milton's Samson Agonistes} .

[Day 5. From: Queen's Head, Keswick To: Queen's Head, Keswick]

Oct: 4. Wind E:, clouds & sunshine, & in the course of the day a few drops of rain. Walk'd to Crow-park, now a rough pasture once a glade of ancient oaks, whose large roots still remain on the ground, but nothing has sprung from them. if one single tree had remain'd, this would have been an unparallel'd spot, & Smith {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'The landscape painter, Thomas Smith (d. 1767), known from his birth-place as 'Smith of Derby', was one of the earliest delineators of the beauties of English scenery, and had a great reputation in his day. Many of his drawings were engraved by Vivares [ . . . ] and others; he himself engraved in 1767 from his own pictures a set of four views of the lakes of Cumberland, one of which doubtless was the print to which Gray here refers.} judged right, when he took his print of the Lake [Derwent Water] hence, for it is a gentle eminence, not too high, on the very margin of the water & commanding it from end to end, looking full into the gorge of Borodale [Borrowdale] . I prefer it even to Cockshut-hill , which lies beside it, & to which I walk'd in the afternoon: it is cover'd with young trees both sown & planted, oak, spruce, scotch-fir, &c: all which thrive wonderfully. there is an easy ascent to the top, & the view far preferable to that on Castle-hill (which you [Dr. Thomas Wharton] remember) because this is lower & nearer to the Lake [Derwent Water] : for I find all points, that are much elevated, spoil the beauty of the valley, & make its parts (which are not large) look poor & diminutive. while I was here, a little shower fell, red clouds came marching up the hills from the east {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'A reminiscence of Cowley, as appears from Gray's own note on line 52 of his Progress of Poesy: 'Or seen the Morning's well-appointed Star / Come marching up the eastern hills afar.' - which is a quotation (slightly altered) from stanza iv of Cowley's Brutus, An Ode.}, & part of a bright rainbow seem'd to rise along the side of Castle-hill.

From hence I got to the Parsonage [Crosthwaite Grange] a little before Sunset, & saw in my glass a picture, that if I could transmitt to you, & fix it in all the softness of its living colours, would fairly sell for a thousand pounds. this is the sweetest scene I can yet discover in point of pastoral beauty. the rest are in a sublimer style.

[Day 6. From: Queen's Head, Keswick To: Queen's Head, Keswick]

Oct: 5. Wind N:E: Clouds & sunshine. Walk'd thro' the meadows & corn-fields to the Derwent [River Derwent] & crossing it went up How-hill. it looks along Bassinthwaite-water {Bassenthwaite} & sees at the same time the course of the river [River Derwent] & a part of the Upper-Lake [Derwent Water] with a full view of Skiddaw. then I took my way through Portingskall {Portinscale} village to the Park [The Park], a hill so call'd cover'd entirely with wood: it is all a mass of crumbling slate. pass'd round its foot [The Park] between the trees & the edge of the water [Derwent Water], & came to a Peninsula [Otterbield Bay] that juts out into the lake [Derwent Water] & looks along it both ways. in front rises Walla-crag, & Castle-hill, the Town [Keswick], the road to Penrith, Skiddaw & Saddleback.

returning met a brisk and cold N: Eastern blast, that ruffled all the surface of the lake [Derwent Water] and made it rise in little waves that broke at the foot of the wood. After dinner walked up the Penrith-road 2 miles or more & turning into a corn-field to the right, call'd Castle-Rigg, saw a Druid-Circle of large stones 108 feet in diameter, the biggest not 8 feet high, but most of them still erect: they are 50 in number. the valley of St John appear'd in sight, & the summits of Catchidecam (called by Camden, Casticand) & Helvellyn, said to be as high as Skiddaw, & to rise from a much higher base. a shower came on, & I return'd. [Keswick]

[Day 7. From: Queen's Head, Keswick To: Queen's Head, Keswick]

Oct: 6. Wind E: Clouds & sun. went in a chaise along the east-side {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'The Murray MS. has 'W: side' - an obvious slip, Skiddaw being on the east side of the lake.} of Bassingth [Bassenthwaite Lake] : Water to Ouse-Bridge (pronounce Ews-bridge) the road in some part made & very good, the rest slippery & dangerous cart-road, or narrow rugged lanes but no precipices: it runs directly along the foot of Skiddaw. opposite to Widhope-Brows {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'Murray MS: 'opposite to Thornthwait-fells and the brows of Widhope.'} (cloth'd to the top with wood) a very beautiful view opens down the Lake [Bassenthwaite Lake], which is narrower & longer than that of Keswick [Derwent Water], less broken into bays & without islands. at the foot of it [Bassenthwaite Lake] a few paces from the brink gently sloping upward stands Armathwate [Armathwaite Hall] in a thick grove of Scotch firs {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'Murray MS: 'Scotch firs round it, & a large wood behind it. it looks directly up the whole length of the Lake almost to Keswick & beyond this a ridge of cultivated hills.}, commanding a noble view directly up the lake [Bassenthwaite Lake] .

at a small distance behind the house is a large extent of wood [Messengermire Wood], & still behind this a ridge of cultivated hills, on which (according to the Keswick-proverb) the Sun always shines. the inhabitants here on the contrary call the vale of Derwent-water the Devil's Chamber-pot, & pronounce the name of Skiddaw-fell (which terminates here) with a sort of terror & aversion. Armathwate-House [Armathwaite Hall] is a modern fabrick, not large, & built of dark-red stone, belonging to Mr Spedding, whose Gr:father was Steward to old Sir James Lowther {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'James Lowther (c. 1673-1755), fourth and last Baronet of Whitehaven (1731). On his death in 1755 his estates and a fortune estimated at two millions passed to his cousin, Sir James Lowther, fifth Baronet of Lowther.}, & bought this estate of the Himers. so you must look for Mr Michell in some other country. the sky was overcast & the wind cool, so after dining at a publick house, which stands here near the bridge [Ouse Bridge] (that crosses the Derwent [River Derwent] just where it issues from the lake [Bassenthwaite] ) & sauntering a little by the water-side I came home [Keswick] again. the turnpike is finish'd from Cockermouth hither (5 miles) & is carrying on to Penrith. several little showers to-day. A Man came in, who said there was snow on Cross-fell this morning.

[Day 8. From: Queen's Head, Keswick To: Queen's Head, Keswick]

Oct:7. Market-day here [Keswick] . Wind N:E: Clouds & Sunshine. little showers at intervals all day. yet walk'd in the morning to Crow-park, & in the evening up Penrith-road. the clouds came rolling up the mountains all round very [unpromising] {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'Supplied from the Murray MS. "Very" comes at the end of a page in Gray's transcript, and he omitted to write the word he had in mind when he began the next page.} ; yet the moon shone at intervals. it was too damp to go towards the lake [Derwent Water] . tomorrow mean to bid farewell to Keswick.

Botany might be studied here to great advantage at another season because of the great variety of soils & elevations all lieing within a small compass . I observed nothing but several curious Lichens, & plenty of gale or Dutch myrtle perfuming the borders of the lake [Derwent Water] . this year the Wadd mine had been open'd (which is done once in 5 years) it is taken out in lumps sometimes as big as a man's fist, & will undergo no preparation by fire, not being fusible. when it is pure soft, black, & close-grain'd, it is worth sometimes 30 shillings a pound. {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'The Murray MS. has here: 'the mine lies about a mile up the Fells, near See-wait [Seathwaite] at the head of Borrodale [Borrowdale] '.} there are no Charr ever taken in these lakes, but plenty in Butter-mere-water [Buttermere], which lies a little way N: of Borrodale [Borrowdale], about Martlemas {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'Martinmas, 11 Nov.'}, which are potted here. they sow chiefly oats & bigg {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'The Murray MS. has here: "there is some hay not yet got in."'} here, which are now cutting, & still on the ground. {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'The Murray MS. has here: "there is some hay not yet got in."'} the rains have done much hurt; yet observe, the soil is so thin & light, that no day has passed in which I could not walk out with ease, & you [Dr. Thomas Wharton] know, I am no lover of dirt. {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'The Murray MS. has here: "their wheat comes from Cockermouth or Penrith."'} Fell-mutton is now in season for about six weeks; it grows on the mountains, & nearly resembles venison: excellent Pike & Perch (here called Bass {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'Gray omitted the stop after "Bass)"; "trout" begins a new line.'} trout is out of season. partridge in great plenty.

Receipt to dress Perch (for Mrs Wharton)

Wash, but neither scale, nor gut them. broil till enough; then pull out the fins, & open them along the back, take out the bone & all the inwards without breaking them. put in a large lump of butter & salt, clap the sides together, till it melts, & serve very hot. it it excellent. the skin must not be eaten. {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'At this point the first of the Murray note-books came to an end. At the beginning of the second one Gray wrote two pages of notes on the roads from Keswick, Kendal, &c., before continuing the Journal. These notes are printed by Tovey as if they were part of the Journal (vol. iii, pp. 247-8).'}

[Day 9. From: Queen's Head, Keswick To: White Lion Hotel, Kendal]

Oct: 8. Left Keswick & took the Ambleside-road in a gloomy morning. Wind E: & afterwards N:E:. about 2m: from the Town [Keswick] mounted an eminence call'd Castle-rigg, & the sun breaking out discover'd the most enchanting view I have yet seen of the whole valley behind me, the two lakes [Derwent Water and Bassenthwaite], the river [River Derwent], the mountains all in their glory! had almost a mind to have gone back again. the road in some few parts is not compleated, but good country-road thro' sound, but narrow & stony lanes, very safe in broad day-light. this is the case about Causeway-foot & among Naddle-Fells to Lanewaite. the vale [Naddle Valley] you go in has little breadth, the mountains are vast & rocky, the fields little & poor, & the inhabitants are now making hay, & see not the sun by two hours in a day so long as at Keswick.

came to the foot of Helvellyn along which runs an excellent road, looking down from a little height on Lees-water {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'Leatheswater (so called from the former owners) was, as Gray says below, one of the three names of Thirlmere.'} (call'd also Thirl-meer [Thirlmere], or Wiborn-water {Wythburn} ) & soon descending on its margin. the lake [Thirlmere] from its depth looks black (tho' really clear as glass & from the gloom of the vast crags, that scowl over it: it is narrow & about 3 miles long, resembling a river in its course. little shining torrents hurry down the rocks to join it, with not a bush to overshadow them, or cover their march. all is rock & loose stones up to the very brow, which lies so near your way, that not half the height of Helvellyn can be seen . .

[The Journal continues in a letter to Wharton which was first printed in Mason's Memoirs, pp. 364-79. In their edition of Gray's Correspondence, Toynbee and Whibley reprint the text 'from Gray's original version in his note-book. For a more comprehensive note on this portion of the text, see Toynbee and Whibley, p. 1098.] Past by the little Chappel of Wiborn {Wythburn Chapel}, out of which the Sunday-congregation were then issuing .

Past a beck [Raise Beck] near Dunmail-raise, & enter'd Westmoreland a second time. now begin to see Helm-Crag distinguish'd from its rugged neigbours not so much by its height, as by the strange broken outline of its top, like some gigantic building demolish'd, & the stones that composed it, flung cross each other in wild confusion. just beyond it opens one of the sweetest landscapes, that art ever attempted to imitate. (the bosom of the mountains spreading here into a broad bason) discovers in the midst Grasmere-water. [It seems as if Gray, in moving through the vale of Grasmere, followed the old road which passes over the hill on the eastern side of the lake. As a result, he would have by-passed the village itself; and he would have only seen the lake from an elevated position rather than from its edge.] its margin is hollow'd into small bays with bold eminences some of rock, some of soft turf, that half conceal, and vary the figure of the little lake [Grasmere [lake] ] they command, from the shore a low promonotory pushes itself far into the water, & on it stands a white village [Grasmere [village] ] with the parish-church [St Oswald's Church, Grasmere] rising in the midst of it, hanging enclosures, corn-fields, & meadows green as an emerald with their trees & hedges & cattle fill up the whole space from the edge of the water [Grasmere [lake] ] & just opposite to you is a large farm-house at the bottom of a steep smooth lawn embosom'd in old woods, which climb half way up the mountain's side, & discover above them a broken line of crags, that crown the scene. not a single red tile, no flaring Gentleman's house, or garden-walls, break in upon the repose of this little unsuspected paradise, but all is peace, rusticity, & happy poverty in its neatest most becoming attire.

The road winds over Grasmere-hill , whose rocks soon conceal the water [Grasmere [lake] ] from your sight, yet it is continued along behind them, & contracting itself to a river [River Rothay] communicates with Ridale-water [As in the vale of Grasmere, the road through the vale of Rydal would have taken Gray on an elevated route through the landscape.], another small lake, but of inferior size & beauty. it seems shallow too, for large patches of reeds appear pretty far within it. into this vale [Rydal] the road descends. on the opposite banks large & ancient woods mount up the hills, & just to the left of our ways stands Rydale-hall [Rydal Hall - Gray only italicises "Rydale"], the family seat of Sir Michael Fleming {Toynbee and Whibley point out: 'Sir Michael le Fleming, fourth Baronet of Rydal (1757-1806).'}, but now a farm-house, a large olf-fashion'd fabrick surrounded with wood & not much too good for its present destination. Sir Michael is now on his travels, & all this timber far & wide belongs to him. I tremble for it, when he returns. near the house rises a huge crag call'd Rydale-head [Nab Scar], which is said to command a full view of Wynander-mere [lake] [Windermere], & I doubt it not, for within a mile that great Lake [Windermere [lake] ] is visible even from the road. as to going up the crag one might as well go up Skiddaw.

Came to Ambleside, 18m: from Keswick meaning to lie there, but on looking into the best bed-chamber [Salutation Hotel] dark & damp as a cellar grew delicate, gave up Winandermere [Windermere [lake] ] in despair & resolved I would go to Kendal directly, 14 m: farther. the road in general fine turnpike, but some parts (about 3 m: in all) not made, yet without danger.

Unexpectedly was well-rewarded for my determination. the afternoon was fine, & the road for full 5 m: runs along the side of Winder-mere [eastern shore] [Windermere [lake] ] with delicious views across it & almost from one end to the other. it [Windermere] is ten miles in length, & at most a mile over, resembling the course of some vast & magnificent river, but no flat marshy grounds, no osier-beds, or patches of scrubby plantation on its banks. at the head of two vallies open among the mountains, one that by which we came down [Rydal], the other Langsledale {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'A mistake for Langdale. Longsleddale is in a different part of the district.}, in which Wreenose {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'Corrected in the Alderson transcript to 'Wrynose'.} & Hard-Knot [Hard Knott], two great mountains, rise above the rest. from thence the fells visibly sink & soften along its sides, sometimes they run into it (but with a gentle declivity) in their own dark & natural complexion, oftener they are green & cultivated with farms interspersed & round eminences on the border cover'd with trees: towards the South it seem'd to break into larger bays with several islands & a wider extent of cultivation. the way rises continually till at a place called Orrest-head it turns to S:E: losing sight of the water.

Pass'd by Ings-Chappel, & Staveley, but I can say no farther, for the dusk of evening coming on I enter'd Kendal almost in the dark, & could distinguish only a shadow of the Castle [Kendal Castle] on a hill, & tenter-grounds {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'A "tenter" is a wooden framework on which cloth is stretched after being milled, so that it may dry evenly; rows of these, of the length of a web of cloth, formerly used to stand in open spaces, hence known as "tenter-grounds", outside the town where the cloth was manufactured.'} spread far & wide round the Town, which I mistook for houses. my inn [White Lion, Kendal] [In his 2001 edition of Gray's 'Journal', William Roberts suggests that Gray 'apparently' stayed at the White Lion, Kendal.] promised sadly having two wooden galleries (like Scotland) in front of it. it was indeed an old ill-contrived house, but kept by civil sensible people, so I stay'd two nights with them & fared & slept very comfortably.

[Day 10. From: White Lion Hotel, Kendal To: Kendal]

Oct: 9. Wind N:W: clouds & sun. air mild as summer. all corn off the ground, sky-larks singing aloud (by the way I saw not one at Keswick, perhaps because the place abounds in birds of prey). went up the Castle-hill. the Town [Kendal] consists chiefly of three nearly parallel streets [Highgate, Stricklandgate, Stramongate] almost a mile long. except these all the other houses seem as if they had been dancing a country-dance & were out: there they stand back to back, corner to corner, some up hill, some down without intent or meaning. along by their side runs a fine brisk stream [River Kent], over which are 3 stone-bridges. the buildings (a few comfortable houses excepted) are mean, of stone & cover'd with a bad rough-cast. near the end of the Town [Kendal] stands a handsome house [Abbot Hall] of Col: Wilson's, & adjoining it the Church [Kendal Parish Church], a very large Gothick fabrick with a square Tower. it has no particular ornaments but double isles, & at the east-end 4 chappels, or choirs. one of the Pars, another of the Stricklands, the 3rd is the proper choir of the church, & the 4th of the Bellingcams, a family now extinct.

{Toynbee and Whibley note: 'The passage referring to the alter tombs (the next seventeen lines) was omitted in the transcript.} there is an alter-tomb of one of them [the Bellingcams] dated 1577 with a flat brass, arms & quarterings. & in the window their arms alone, Arg: a hunting-horn, sab: strung Gules. in the Strickland's chappel several modern monuments, & another old altar-tomb, not belonging to the family: on the side of it, a Fess dancetty between 10 Billets (Deincourt?) [At this point in the text, Toynbee and Whibley add a lengthy footnote quoting Thomas West's Guide to the Lakes in Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire: information which is not directly relevant to the present mapping project.] in the Parr-chappel is a third altar-tomb in the corner, no fig: or inscription, but on the side cut in stone an escutcheon of Roos of Kendal (3 Water-Budgets) quartering Parr (2 bars in bordure engrail'd). secondly an eschutcheon, Vaire, a Fess (for Marmion). thirdly. an escutcheon. three Chevronels braced & a Chief (which I take for Fitzhugh) at the foot is an escutcheon surrounded with the Garter, bearing Roos & Parr quarterly, quartering the other two beforemention'd. I have no books to look in, therefore can not say, whether this is the Lord Parr of Kendal (Queen Catharine's Father) or her Brother, the Marquis of Northampton. it is a Cenotaph for the latter, who was buried at Warwick in 1571.

the remains of the Castle [Kendal Castle] are seated on a fine hill [Castle Hill] on the side of the river [River Kent] [This is a classic example of a problem associated with the mapping process: Gray would appear to be looking down onto the River Kent from Castle Hill, but does this mean that he does not visit the river?] opposite to the Town. almost the whole enclosure of walls remains with 4 towers, 2 square & 2 or 3 round, but their upper part & embattlements are demolished. it is of rough stone & cement, without any ornament or arms, round enclosing a court of like form & surrounded by a mote, nor ever could have been larger than it is, for there are no traces of outworks. there is a good view of the town & river with a fertile open valley, thro which it winds.

After dinner went along the Milthrop {Milnthorpe} -turnpike 4 m: to see the falls [Force Bridge] (or force) of the river Kent. came to Siserge [Sizergh] (pronounce Siser) & turn'd down a lane to the left: Siser [Sizergh Castle], the seat of the Stricklands an old Catholick family, is an an ancient Hall-house, with a very large tower embattled: the rest of the buildings added to this are of later date, but all is white & seen to advantage on a back ground of old trees: there is a small park also well-wooded. opposite to this turn'd to the left & soon came to the river [River Kent] . it works its way in a narrow & deep rocky channel o'erhung with trees. the calmness & brightness of the evening, the roar of the waters, & the thumping of huge hammers ar an iron-forge not far distant make it a singular walk, but as to the falls (for there are two ) they are not 4 feet high. I went on down to the forge & saw the Daemons at work by the light of their own fires: the iron is brought in pigs to Milthrop [Milnthorpe] by sea from Scotland &c. & is here beat into bars & plates. two miles farther at Levens is the seat of Lord Suffolk, where he sometimes passes the summer. it was a favourite place of his late Countess : but this I did not see.

[Day 11. From: White Lion, Kendal To: Lancaster]

[Gray's journal entry for 10 October 1769 raises questions about the way in which we define the Lake District. Although the City of Lancaster lies well beyond the boundaries of the Lake District now imposed by the National Park Authority, there is a convincing argument that the town represented the important starting-point for Picturesque tours of the region: visitors often spent the night at Lancaster before embarking on the treacherous walk across the shifting sands of Morecambe Bay. As a result, I have included Gray's journal entries covering his time in Lancaster.] Oct: 10. went by Burton to Lancaster [This is an archetypal example of the problems presented by Gray's non-linear narration. He begins the entry for 10 October by indicating that he has travelled from Kendal, through Burton, and onto Lancaster; but he then moves backwards in time to provide an account of this particular journey. As a result, at this stage of the text, should we indicate that Gray has visited Lancaster?] Wind N:W: clouds & sun. 22m: very good country well enclosed & wooded with some common interspersed. passed at the foot of Farlton-Knot, a high fell. 4 m: N: of Lancaster on a rising ground calld' Bolton (pron: Bouton)-Wait [Bolton Wait] had a full view of Cartmell-sands with here and there a Passenger riding over them (it being low water) the points of Furness shooting far into the sea, & lofty mountains partly cover'd with clouds extending North of them. Lancaster also appear'd very conspicuous & fine, for its most distinguish'd features the Castle [Lancaster Castle] & Church [Lancaster Priory], mounted on a green eminence [Castle Hill], were all, that could be seen. woe is me! when I got thither, it was the second day of their fair. the Inn (in the principal street was a great old gloomy house full of people, but I found tolerable quarters, & even slept two nights in peace. [This final comment highlights the temporal problems presented by Gray's mode of retrospective narration.]

Ascended the Castle-hill in a fine afternoon. it takes up the higher top of the eminence on which it stands, & is irregularly round, encompassed with a deep mote. in front towards the Town is a magnificent Gothick Gateway, lofty & huge, the overhanging battlements are supported by a triple range of corbels, the intervals pierced thro' & shewing the day from above. on its top rise light watchtowers of small height. it opens below with a grand pointed arch: over this is a wrought tabernacle, doubtless once containing the Founders figure, on one side a shield of France semy quarter'd with England, on the other the same with a label ermine for John of Gant D: of Lancaster. this opens to a court within, which I did not much care to enter, being the County Gaol & full of Prisoners, both Criminals & Debtors. from this gateway the walls continue & join it to a vast square tower of great height, the lower part at least of remote antiquity, for it has small round-headed lights with plain short pillars on each side of them, there is a third tower also square & of less dimensions. this is all the castle, near it & but little lower stands the Church, a large & plain Gothic fabrick, the high square Tower at the West-end has been rebuilt of late years, but nearly in the same style. there are no ornaments of arms, &c: any where to be seen. within it is lightsome & spacious, but not one monument of antiquity, or piece of painted glass is left. from the Church-yard there is an extensive sea-view (for now the tide had almost cover'd the sands [Lancaster Sands], & fill'd the river [River Lune] ) & besides greatest part of Furness I could distinguish Peel-Castle [Gray only italicises "Peel"] on the isle of Fowdrey {Foulney}, which lies off its southern extremity. the Town [Lancaster] is built on the slope & at the feet of the Castle-hill more than twice the bigness of Aukland [Bishop Auckland] with many neat buildings of white stone, but a little disorderly in their position ad libitum like Kendal. many also extend below on the keys by the river-side, where a number of ships were moor'd, some of them three-mast vessels deck'd out with their colours in honor of the Fair. here is a good bridge of 4 arches over the Lune [River Lune], which runs (when the tide is out) in two streams divided by a bed of gravel, which is not cover'd but in spring-tides. below the town it widens to near the breadth of the Thames [River Thames] at London, & meets the sea [Irish Sea] at 5 or 6 m: distance to S:W:

[Day 12. From: Unclear, Lancaster To: Unclear, Lancaster]

[As with the entry for 10 October 1769, Gray is located in a landscape well beyond the modern boundaries of the Lake District as defined by the National Park Authority. But Poutlon, the coastal village in which he spends the day, can be seen to be part of a wider model of 'Greater Lakeland', to borrow a term used by the twentieth-century poet and topographer, Norman Nicholson. As William Roberts points out, the towns of 'Morecambe and Heysham did not exist at that time: they came later with the development of an Irish ferry terminal and the coming of the railway in the 1840s] Oct: 11. Wind S:W: clouds & sun. warm & a fine dappled sky. cross'd the river [River Lune] & walk'd over a peninsula 3 miles to the village of Pooton [Poulton] which stands on the beach. an old Fisherman mending his nets (while I enquired about the danger of passing those sands [Lancaster Sands] ) told me in his dialect a moving story, how a brother of the trade, a Cockler (as he styled him) driving a little cart with two daughters (women grown) in it, & his Wife on horseback following, set out one day to pass the 7 mile sands, as they had frequently been used to do, for nobody in the village knew them better than the old Man did. when they were about haf way over, a thick fog rose, & as they advanced, they found the water much deeper than they expected. the old man was puzzled, he stop'd, & said he would go a little way to find some mark he was acquainted with. they staid a little while for him, but in vain. they call'd aloud, but no reply. at last the young women press'd their mother to think, where they were, & go on. she would not leave the place, she wander'd about forlon & amazed, she would not quit her horse, & get into the cart with them. they determined after much time wasted to turn back, & give themselves up to the guidance of their horses. the old Woman was soon wash'd off and perish'd. the poor Girls clung close to their cart, & the horse sometimes wading & sometimes swimming brought them back to land alive, but senseless with terror & distress & unable for many days to give an account of themselves. the bodies of their parents were found soon after; {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'The MS. has "next ebb" written above the line as an explanation of "soon after".'} that of the Father a vert few paces distant from the spot, where he had left them. {Toynbee and Whibley note: 'In the MS. there followed: "& all the village mourned over them," which was scored through.'}

In the afternoon wander'd about the town [Lancaster] & by the key [Lancaster Quay] till it grew dark. a little rain fell. [In his 2001 edition of 'Thomas Gray's Journal of his Visit to the Lake District in October 1769', William Roberts covers the next three days of Gray's tour of northern England: days in which, according to Roberts's own titles, Gray journeys from 'Lancaster to Settle'; visits 'Gordale Scar'; and, finally, travels from 'Settle to Otley'. Within the context of the current mapping project, the primary interest is Gray's account of his time spent travelling around the Lake District: the old counties of Cumberland, Westmorland and north Lancashire. As a result, Gray's excursion into north Yorkshire lies beyond the spatial parameters necessarily imposed - perhaps artificially - by the present project. ]