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facilities have not been of the best hitherto. But it is a new order of
things now, and even the most outlying spots can be reached with a
wonderful degree of comfort impossible not so very long ago. Bewcastle,
for instance, and the once wild and trackless "Debateable Land" between
Canonbie and the Solway, have come within comparatively easy distance of
railroad and coaching centres. The crossing of the Solway Moss by the
Caledonian Route, and the opening out of the line from Alnwick to Wooler
and Cornhill, together with the numerous driving tours that are in daily
operation during the summer at least, have become the _open sesame_ to a
district practically shut up even less than a half century since. It is
now possible to breakfast in Carlisle, or Newcastle, or much further
south for that matter (or north), and within an hour or two to be
revelling in the most delightful rusticities at the foot of the
Cheviots, or in the very heart of them. The remotest localities are
rendered accessible even for a single day's outing, and a holiday on the
English Border is not likely to be a disappointing one. There is
something to suit every taste. If one is archaeologically inclined, for
instance, Northumberland has one of the finest collections of military
antiquities in the kingdom, from the rude circular camps and
entrenchments of the primitive inhabitants to the great castles and
peel-towers of mediaeval times. The Romans have left a mighty monument of
their power--none more significant--in the huge barrier thrown across
the lower half of the county, and in the stations and roads connected
with it. In some respects the Roman Wall may be accounted
Northumberland's principal attraction, and a pilgrimage between Tyne and
Solway must always repay itself. If one is artistically inclined, there
are beauty-spots for all canvases--as befits the birthplace of such
masters as Bewick and Foster. And as an angler's paradise the Cheviot
uplands have long been popular. The historical memories of the English
Border are outstanding. For centuries this little fringe of country was
a continuous warring-ground for the two nations that are now happily
one. Upon its soil were fought some of the bloodiest, and it must be
added, some of the most fool-hardy and unjustifiable fights on record.
In its religious story it has much to boast of. By its missionaries and
by its sword it won England from heathendom to the Christian Church. The
development of