Derwentwater is described in the old ballads, as "a bonny lord," with hair of gold, and kind love dwelling in his hawk-like eyes. He passionately loved his beautiful home in Tynedale, the foundations of which may still be seen. The wooded glen below the castle, with the little burn running through it, spanned by a grey bridge is romantically beautiful. His "Farewell" to all this beauty is pathetic. "Farewell to pleasant Ditson Hall, My father’s ancient seat; A stranger now must call thee his, Which gars[#] my heart to greet.[#] Farewell each kindly well-known face, My heart has held so dear: My tenants now must leave their lands, Or hold their lives in fear. [#] makes. [#] weep. No more along the banks of Tyne, I’ll rove in autumn grey; No more I’ll hear, at early dawn, The lav’rocks[#] wake the day: Then fare thee well, brave Witherington, And Forster ever true. Dear Shaftsbury and Errington, Receive my last adieu. [#] larks. And fare thee well, George Collingwood, Since fate has put us down, If thou and I have lost our lives, Our King has lost his crown. Farewell, farewell, my lady dear, Ill, ill thou counsell’dst me: I never more may see thy babe That smiles upon thy knee. And fare thee well, my bonny grey steed, That carried me aye so free; I wish I had been asleep in my bed, The last time I mounted thee. The warning bell now bids me cease; My troubles nearly o’er; Yon sun that rises from the sea, Shall rise on me no more. Albeit that here in London town It is my fate to die, O carry me to Northumberland, In my father’s grave to lie: There chant my solemn requiem In Hexham’s holy towers, And let six maids of fair Tynedale Scatter my grave with flowers. And when the head that wears the crown, Shall be laid low like mine, Some honest hearts may then lament For Radcliff’s fallen line. Farewell to pleasant Ditson Hall, My father’s ancient seat; A stranger now must call thee his, Which gars my heart to greet." Before his death, Earl Derwentwater signed a paper acknowledging "King James the Third" as his sovereign, and saying that he hoped his death would contribute to the service of his King. He is said to have looked closely at the block, and to have asked the executioner to chip off a rough place that might hurt his neck. Then, pulling off his coat and waistcoat, he tried if the block would fit his head, and told the executioner that when he had repeated "Lord Jesus receive my soul" for the third time, he was to do his office, which the executioner accordingly did at one blow.