The notable objects were a castle and a cathedral; and we first found our
way to the castle, which stands on elevated ground, on the side of the
city towards Scotland. A broad, well-constructed path winds round the
castle at the base of the wall, on the verge of a steep descent to the
plain beneath, through which winds the river Eden. Along this path we
walked quite round the castle, a circuit of perhaps half a mile,--
pleasant, being shaded by the castle's height and by the foliage of
trees. The walls have been so much rebuilt and restored that it is only
here and there that we see an old buttress, or a few time-worn stones
intermixed with the new facing with which the aged substance is overlaid.
The material is red freestone, which seems to be very abundant in this
part of the country. We found no entrance to the castle till the path
had led us from the free and airy country into a very mean part of the
town, where the wretched old houses thrust themselves between us and the
castle wall, and then, passing through a narrow street, we walked up what
appeared like a by-lane, and the portal of the castle was before us.
There was a sentry-box just within the gate, and a sentinel was on guard,
for Carlisle Castle is a national fortress, and has usually been a depot
for arms and ammunition.
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