Having thus brought to a conclusion our details relative to the wonders
of the peak, and the various and interesting natural curiosities there
to be found, we subjoin a brief notice of several others, which have, in
England, attracted the notice of travelers.
Among the extraordinary caverns to be found in the mountains of the
north of England, may be reckoned Yordas cave, in the vale of Kingsland,
in Yorkshire, which contains a subterraneous cascade. Whethercot cave,
not far from Ingleton, is divided by an arch of limestones, passing
under which is seen a large cascade falling from a hight of more than
sixty feet. The length of this cave is about one hundred and eighty
feet, and the breadth ninety.
There are also in various parts of England many remarkable springs, of
which some are impregnated either with salt, (as that of Droitwich, in
Worcestershire,) or sulphur, (as the famous well of Wigan, in
Lancashire,) or bituminous matter, (as that at Pitchford, in
Shropshire.) Others have a petrifying quality, as that near Lutterworth,
in Leicestershire, and a dropping well in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
And, finally, some ebb and flow, as that of the peak described above,
and Laywell near Torbay, whose waters rise and fall several times in an
hour. To these we may add that remarkable fountain near Richard’s
Castle, in Herefordshire, commonly called Bone Well, which is generally
full of small bones, like those of frogs or fishes, though often cleared
out. At a cliff near Wigan, in Lancashire, is the famous burning well:
the water is cold, neither has it any smell; yet so strong a vapor of
sulphur issues out with the stream, that upon applying a light to it,
the top of the water is covered with a flame, like that of burning
spirits, which lasts several hours, and emits such a heat that meat may
be boiled over it.