XXVUl INTRODUCTION. 



extremely dangerous. The entire face of the cliffs 

 shows evidences of these combined forces. In some places 

 precipitous from top to bottom ; in others, with a loose 

 gravelly soil, they slope gradually to the beach ; and 

 frequent evidences of former land-slips exist in the deep 

 indents of the upper surface, and in the grass covered 

 boulders, of all shapes and sizes, that form a rugged 

 undercliff. In these wild tracts the roving flocks of 

 Linnets and Finches find a rich seed-bed, and Chats, 

 Wagtails, and Titlarks, a safe resting place when scared 

 from their haunts above. Beneath the brow of the cliff 

 the softer portions are perforated almost continuously 

 by Sand-Martins (Rirundo ripariaj, and the Kestril 

 (Falco tinnunculus) breeds occasionally in some con- 

 venient fissure, but beyond these, in the actual face 

 of the cliff, there are no feathered residents. Between 

 Mundesley and Sherringham are several lofty bluffs, 

 which, though wanting the grandeur of the chalk 

 precipices on our southern shores, are noble objects as 

 viewed from the beach, and here and there the outline 

 of the cliffs is broken by a deep ravine or " gangway *' 

 communicating with the neighbouring village. A clear 

 run of water, half hidden by the verdure it creates 

 around, trickles through the hollow to the sands below, 

 a tempting spot to the weary migrant, and one which, 

 at all seasons, like an oasis in the desert, is enlivened 

 by the notes or sprightly forms of our smaller feathered 

 residents. At the base of the cliffs also, extending 

 without interruption between Cromer and Sherringham, 

 are large beds of flints denuded from the chalk, 

 locally termed " rocks " ; and these, together with 

 other "travelled fragments" of true primitive rocks 

 form, to some extent, a barrier against the inroads 

 of the sea, which, at low water, exposes their 

 rugged surfaces, picturesquely covered with seaweeds 

 — green, red, and brown. In some parts the chalk 



