LIEUT. T. E Y. SEDDON’S EXPERIENCES

Hokitika Guardian, 13 April 1917, Page 4

LIEUT. T. E Y. SEDDON’S EXPERIENCES

Among the Cambrian Hills.

Wg arrivod late at Carlisle —cold' and lonelj, but the message ftom Miss Davidson at Wigton that a West Coast welcome awaited us, cheered us mightly. 15 was very late when we arrived, and a pair of cold and traveltired New Zealanders blinked ao the cheery fires and lamp lighted rooms of “ Kumara House.” Gracious, how we < talked over old times. The wood pigeon stew —a fair imitation of the stew made from our Christchurch road pigeons—was palatable ; but the talk of old times, of the days of Seddon Street celebrities from the Denfields and Taranaki Bill’s, almost saw in the dawn. Naturally there were lots of things lo talS about by two old townies—much to say of old friends and old places,

At about ten in the 'morning Mr Mark, Miss Davidson’s uncle, had arranged a motor tour for us round some of the lakes, This was a great surprise for us, and we fairly danced with delight at the prospect of seeing these sights, It was a cold, clear day and the car fair<y ate up the miles, We arrived at the “ Pheasant Inn ” for lunch. When looking at the sign over the door—a well painted cock pheasant—and wJtion one saw the low ceiling, the black old oaken rafters, the big open fire place, the comfortable looking host —one expected to hbftr the horn of the stage coach, and see its leaders swing round ths bend in the road. It was a typical old inn and kept a splendidly English bill of fare, We tasted the delicious mountain mutton,and the best brew that our unique host could provide to keep out the cold. It was the sort of place that Washington living describes in his books, and it was a place that a colonial admired for its age, for its history, and for being just what we haven’t got in New Zealand. Quite close was Ullswaier, the first of the lake?. It was abaautiful sheet of water, quite placid and just what we have expected of the Eaglish lakes. The bills surrounding the lake were not high, but Rome of them were covered with beech which resembled very closely our Mountain Beech. In the bracken we saw lota of pheasant, and occasionally partridge would fly oil with that whirr which startles ibß novice but delights the practiced shot.

Along the hillside there were dotted many cosy little fa? mi. The cottages were very comfortable-looking, and the stone wall very solidly built. The sheep which one saw at almost all these farms, were the b’ack-faced Herdwicke sheep, famous for the sweetness of their meat. In every farm there were Shorthorns. Some farms had perhaps only six or seven, others, perhaps, fifty to a hundred ; but the astonishing thing was the splendid type of animal that even the smallest farmer possessed, On making enquiries I found that the Shorthorns from this district had “caught on” with the South American buyers and that very high prioes indeed were paid at the sales for them. It was certainly remarkable to find the cattle so uniformly good throughout a district.

Tbe lakes are rather d fficult to describe to a West Coaster. Sometimes they reminded me of our lakes in South Westland, but there was not the high mountains, tho grandeur, nor the wilderness about them. Picture Lake lauthe with the hills about it robbed of their trees and forest, and imagine snug farsrs dotted oa the landscape with occasionally a patch of beech, and a mansion set apart from the cotters’ places and you have some idea of Ullswater.

The road skirts the lake for miles and miles and leads yon on to the chain of lakes past Keswick and Perith—small towns snugly set in the valley. The Cambiian Hills in the distance with their peaks and crags and gorges and touches of snow reminded one cf the hills of Canterbury before one comes to the Alps proper.

Derwent waters, with its dark beech forests reaching down from the slopes

of the hills to the water—with its islands studded about it—was more like Lake Kanien. In fact, the place where Ruskin first viewed this enchanted spot is extraordinarily like the view one gets first when one drives np the fern road to Lake Kanii ri. On the islands and in tha bays half hidden in the woods were ma'.y -ta.biy crjiueiux. The air had a nip uf winter in it, but oue could imagine what these waters must bo like when summer makes all tainge glad. In winter the spot was deserted and there was a solemn! stillness over the place except for the occasional cry of a wild fo Raskin’s slab, and tha view from there, will live always in my memory. We returned to our car tlnough a bush track which reminded us all of the road that used to lead through the mountain beech to the river bed near the spot called Siberia. Derwent water was a p/easan? suipiisß. It waa more beautiful i«ao I had ever suspected, aid no wonder in tha s aboo, it ie the Mecca of thousands of tourists. The towu of Penrith which is quite close, is built of grey granite and looks very solid and cold. The Speaker of the House of Commons has a house in this district. He is very fond of the place and has large parties to his country seat. The Kaiser end the Crown Prince have —so tha story in the district goas—expressed their liking for the place. It was, when German arms had eonqusred Britain, to be the coantry seat of the Marauders !! So inoßueed were the folk of the district when they heard this, that trees which had been planted to commemorate the visit of these august persons, were cut down and destroyed. It is a pretty story. I don’t voueh for its veracity ! The next lake we visited was Baseenthwaite. This seemed a larger stretch of water, and the light was growing dim. The lake had the same characteristics as the others we had pasted. There was the same small cottagn farms where lights were now twinkling. The cawing of the crows had ceased, and occasionally we heard the bleat of same sheep high up in the hills. There was a perfect stillness about the valleys, an almost entire absence of wind.

Presently, our way lay over a winding track, and we seemed to climb upwards and upwards. At last wa reached the top of the hill and then we passed through miles of lonely and deserted moor country. Only mos 3 and heather grow here. * After reaching the top of the hills we could see little of the scenery. The drive into Carlisle was chilly in the extreme, but what cared we after such a day. We had dinner at the hotel there, and arrived home late for supper—after spending a glorious day. Next morning there was a cattle sale in Wigton. What a stir and bustle there waa in the small town ! Farmers from far and near wera there and such excitement there was. Mr Mack and I went early into the yards to inspect the beasts. There were many Galloways being offered for sale -—great big black flat-faced animals—and many Shorthorns and some Clydesdale horses. The auctioneer told me that the American market for Cumberland Shorthorns was so good at that time, that email farmers, stud farmers, in fact all hands, were having a right royal time of it, but the danger was that the district was being depleted of its best blood. If the selling goes on uninterrupted the district most inevitably suffers. I could not say to see tho sale as it was necessary to push on—for those II days of leave seemed to be vanishing all too quickly. We took our seats again in the oar and reluctantly said good-bye to “ Kumara House ” wnioh had been to a stranger so like a bit of home. (To be continued)