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4 unusual facts about Black Combe


Black Combe

On the seaward side views extend from the Cumbrian coast, and from Criffel, 49 miles to the north, a mountain on the Scottish coast near Dumfries, round to the Isle of Man, 45 miles due west, then round to Snowdon which may be seen on days of exceptionally good visibility, 85 miles to the south, to the coast of Lancashire.

The other stations were Dent ("Dent Hill"), Scilly Banks (on the outskirts of Whitehaven), High Pike and Cross Fell.

Silecroft

Black Combe, a hill near Silecroft, takes two hours to climb, with views on clear days of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and if you look down, England, a visit could be extended to cover White Combe, a neighbouring fell.

William Mudge

It is to Mudge that William Wordsworth alludes in his poem Written with a Slate Pencil on a Stone, on the Side of the Mountain of Black Comb, on Black Combe, written in 1811-1813; Wordsworth had heard in Bootle from the Rev. James Satterthwaite the story of the surveyor (identified with Mudge) on top of Black Combe, famous for its long-distance views inland and out to sea, who was not able to see even the map in front of him when fog or darkness closed in.



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