Ward & Lock's descriptive and pictorial guide to the Isle of Man ...

;From Douglas to Peel 107if ai\vbo(ly declares that T^-uwald Hill is a solar mytli, oraoything of that kind, we shall accept the statement withbecoming resignation ; even if we do remember somethingabout the description by Walter Scotfs " Antiquary," Monkbarns,of the traces of a Roman camp, and old Edie Ochiltree'spractical comment on the exposition.Peel and the Herring Fishery.Peel station is almost exactly three miles beyond St. John'sand when we quit the train we find ourselves on the quay ofthe little town which we might call the metropolis of thei\Ianx herring fishery. The station buildings stretch along theright-hand side of the quay, and on the other side is theharbour, the mouth of the river Neb, which rises on thesouthern slope of Sartfell, and is in the upper part one of theprettiest of the many pretty streams of the island. Theharbour, which at low water has a rather extensive " marginof mud," is crowded with vessels belonging to the famousherring fleet of Peel, which includes about two hundred boats,and gives employment to nearly two thousand hardy fishermenand boys, who prosper in their vocation. Some of theboats have perhaps just returned, and are laden with theirsilver freight ; others have discharged their cargoes, and cartsfiUed with the brilliant fish obstruct the narrow way, andthe visitor, w'hose laiidable curiosity prompts him to see all hecan, is compelled to take a serpentine path to avoid collisionwith carts and barrows, and men, women, and boys, ladenwith the spoils of the deep.The older part of the town of Peel is clustered togetherm naiTow tortuous streets and alleys ;but stretching alongthe shore of the fine bay, which in natural beauty almostrivals that of Douglas, are many prettj^ little cottages, someof which are also places of refreshment, where an excellentmeal can be obtained. The front gardens filled with flowers,the |clean entries, and small low-roofed rooms give a rusticaspect to these cottages ; but the lamb (lamb predominateshere as elsewhere on the island) is well cooked and wellserved, and the goosebeny tarts (another dehcacy to be metwith everj'where in the season) would do credit to any cook.There are several good hotels ; among them, the Peel Castle,in the Market Place, the Marine and the Peveril, on thePier, and the Boyal, in Athol Street.The Qiiaij was erected in 1810, and the Jetty (1,200 feetlong, with a lighthouse at the extremity) in 1830. TheChurcliy dedicated to St, Peter, a quaint old btiilding, is in