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In that year a certain Robert Willance, whose father appears to have
been a successful draper in Richmond, was hunting in the neighbourhood,
when he found himself enveloped in a fog. It must have been
sufficiently dense to shut out even the nearest objects; for, without
any warning, Willance found himself on the verge of the scar, and
before he could check his horse both were precipitated over the cliff.
We have no detailed account of whether the fall was broken in any way;
but, although his horse was killed instantly, Willance, by some almost
miraculous good fortune, found himself alive at the bottom with nothing
worse than a broken leg.
It is a difficult matter to decide which is the more attractive means
of exploring Swaledale; for if one keeps to the road at the bottom of
the valley many beautiful and remarkable aspects of the country are
missed, and yet if one goes over the moors it is impossible really to
explore the recesses of the dale. The old road from Richmond to Reeth
avoids the dale altogether, except for the last mile, and its ups and
its downs make the traveller pay handsomely for the scenery by the way.
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