Gray's Journal Entry: ‘Grasmere lies about four miles from Ambleside, near the road to Keswick. The vale in which it is situated is about four miles in circumference. In the centre of this vale, beyond the lake, stands the church and village of Grasmere, above which rises Helme-Crag, of a pyramidal form, and particulary distinguished by the broken outline of its summit. On the right of this mountain are Steel- Fell and Seat-Sandle; between them passes the road leading to Keswick, the highest point of which, as seen in this view, marks the situation of Dunmail- Raise, a heap of stones, which perpetuate the name and fall of the last King of Cumberland, defeated there by the Saxon monarch, Edmund, about the year 945. Grasmere contains one island, and is not of great extent, but, with its vale, possesses particular beauty. Enriched with cultivation, the vale exhibits a variegated scene of peaceful industry, while the lofty mountains which surround it throw a gentle shade over the bosom of the secluded retreat, which adds to the air of stillness and retirement.’