In some parts the rocks are clothed lavishly with ivy, the knotted and rugged stems very plainly the growth of centuries, while the massive upper branches throw themselves elegantly into the aërial sea, imitating the glorious _abandon_ of the strong swimmer when he dives. The whole of the Lancashire border, at this part, including the neighbourhood of Burnley, Trawden Forest, and the Colne district, with the contiguous parts of Yorkshire, is immensely rich in scenery. Up here, too, it is that one catches aboriginal Lancashire at its best, the dialect in its prettiest modifications, and among the rural population the primitive manners and customs. Towneley Park, near Burnley, one of the most beautiful of the old county family seats, is distinguished not more for its associations than for the abundance of its venerable trees. Taking a great bend towards the west, after passing Stubbins, the line runs through Haslingden, Accrington, and Blackburn, to a spot of immemorial celebrity. Five or six miles from the last-named the Darwen flows through a secluded vale called Hoghton Bottoms. At times it is bordered by green and level meads; in certain parts great lateral walls of rock make it uproarious. The name refers to the very ancient and distinguished family seated here ever since the time of Henry II., the residence up to the middle of the sixteenth century having been not far from the edge of the water. Doubtless this would be constructed chiefly or wholly of wood, for the park, "in former tyme," says the old chronicler, was "so full of tymber that a man passing through it could scarcely have seen the sun shine at mid-day." Soon after the accession of Elizabeth the existing hall, upon the top of the hill, was erected, the builder being the celebrated Thomas Hoghton, who on account of his creed was constrained to forsake his ancestral home almost immediately after the completion, and thenceforwards live in exile upon the Continent. The story of the departure of the unfortunate man is told in the beautiful and pathetic ballad, "The Blessed Conscience," preserved in the late Mr. T. T. Wilkinson's well-known volume. It would seem to have been one of the earliest buildings of the kind constructed entirely of stone. Perfect in design, and in excellent preservation, Hoghton Tower presents to this day, an admirable example of the architecture of the period, as regards both adaptedness to domestic use and to defensive purposes. The great quadrangular lower court is spacious enough for the movement of five or six hundred men. The upper one gives access to noble staircases and long galleries, including one for the minstrels. All that is wanting is the very lofty tower which in the beginning rose above the central gateway, and from which the mansion was named. This tower was accidentally destroyed during the Civil Wars by an explosion of gunpowder, and there seems never to have been any disposition to reconstruct it.