[Illustration: HIGH TOR, MATLOCK.]
[Illustration: THE STRAITS, DOVEDALE.]
[Illustration: BANKS OF THE DOVE.]
Retracing the Derwent to the Wye again, the valley of the latter is open
below for several miles, and then as Matlock is approached a mass of
limestone stretching across the valley seems to bar all egress, and the
river plunges through a narrow glen. The bold gray crags of the High Tor
rise steeply on the left hand, and the gorge not being wide enough for
both river and railway, the latter pierces a tunnel through the High
Tor. The river bends sharply to the right, and the village makes a long
street along the bank and rises in terraces up the steep hill behind.
These are the "Heights of Abraham," while the pretty slope below the
High Tor is the "Lovers' Walk." Matlock is beautifully situated, and its
springs are in repute, while the caves in the neighborhood give plenty
of opportunity for that kind of exploration. The Derbyshire marbles are
quarried all about, and mosaic manufacture is carried on. It was near
Matlock that Arkwright first set up his cotton-spinning machine, and
when fortune and fame had made him Sir Richard Arkwright he built
Willersley Castle for his home, on the banks of the Derwent. The valley
of the little river Dove also presents some fine scenery, especially in
the fantastic shapes of its rocks. The river runs between steep hills
fringed with ash and oak and hawthorn, and Dovedale can be pursued for
miles with interest. One of its famous resorts is the old and
comfortable Izaak Walton Inn, sacred to anglers. In Dovedale are the
rocks called the Twelve Apostles, the Tissington Spires, the Pickering
Tor, the caverns known as the Dove Holes, and Reynard's Hall, while the
entire stream is full of memories of those celebrated fishermen of two
centuries ago, Walton and his friend Cotton.
[Illustration: TISSINGTON SPIRES.]