After dinner we decided to visit the Castle of _Peveril of the Peak_,
and as the afternoon was very fine we were able to do so, under the
guidance of our friend. We were obliged to proceed slowly owing to my
partially disabled foot, and it took us a long time to reach the
castle, the road being very narrow and steep towards the top--in fact,
it was so difficult of approach that a handful of men could have
defeated hundreds of the enemy. We managed to reach the ruins, and there
we reposed on the grass to view the wild scenery around us and the
curious split in the limestone rocks through which led the path known as
the "Winnats," a shortened form of Wind Gates, owing to the force of the
wind at this spot. The castle was not a large one, and there were higher
elevations quite near; but deep chasms intervened, and somewhere beneath
us was the largest cave in England. While we were resting our friend
related the history of the castle, which had been built by William
Peverell in 1068, and rebuilt by Henry II in 1176-7 after he had
received here the submission of Malcolm, King of Scotland. Peverell was
a natural son of William the Conqueror, who had distinguished himself at
the Battle of Hastings, for which William had bestowed upon him many
manors in Derbyshire.
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