A ride from hence to the Roach Rocks, will be highly gratifying to the curious traveller, or an admirer of natural curiosities. They consist of three immense piles of craggy ponderous stones, rising to a considerable height, and at a distance resembling an antient castle. On the summit of the pile, in the centre, stand the remains of a small building, which formerly contained two apartments, and is supposed to have been erected for religious purposes.
These rocks, says Dr. Maton, “consist of a white sparry quartz, mixed with schoerl, which appears in innumerable needle-like crystals. Two or three varieties of this substance are observable; in one the schoerl being more sparingly interspersed, and in another more abundantly.” A pile of rocks starting abruptly out of a wide green surface, and covering some space with enormous fragments, on which there are only a few vestiges of incipient vegetation, form a singular scene, exhibiting a kind of wild sublimity, peculiar to itself. The accompanying view was taken from the south side, and the chapel on the summit is a very beautiful and picturesque feature in the picture.
DESCRIPTION
OF THE
MINES IN CORNWALL,
WITH AN
Excursion to the Scilly Islands.