Statistics. 



ENGLAND. 



675 



Vale of 



(Gloucester. 



Vale of 

 Berkeley. 



scenery commences with the Malvern hills ; and from 

 them, till it reaches Chepstow, its banks present a con- 

 tinuous scene of picturesque beauty. Indeed, it may 

 almost literally be deemed a garden of 40 miles extent, 

 the Severn winding through it with unusual freedom^ 

 while the Welsh mountains, in the distance, present a 

 striking contrast, and constitute a well-marked and 

 noble outline. 



The vale of Gloucester, or that vale which accom- 

 panies the Severn through Gloucestershire, and which 

 has already been noticed as part of the vale of the Se- 

 vern, deserves to be particularly noticed. It may be 

 divided into two districts, the vale of Gloucester, and 

 the vale of Berkeley. The form of the vale of Glou- 

 cester is semicircular, the Severn composing the chord, 

 and the environing hills the arch : in it lie the city of 

 Gloucester, and the towns of Tewksbury and Chelten- 

 ham. Its extent from Matson-hill to Bredon-hill, on 

 the north, is 15 miles; its breadth from the Severn to 

 Dowdeshill is seven or eight miles. It contains 100 

 square miles, or between 50,000 and 6'0,000 acres. 



The vale of Berkeley approaches, in its outlines, 

 nearer to the segment of a circle than to any other re- 

 gular figure: the river Severn forms an irregular chord 

 the hills to the south and east, a curve, which is con- 

 tinued to the northern angle by the Matson hills ; from 

 the foot of these hills to Anscliff, its extent is about 



miles ; its medium width about four miles. It con- 

 tins about 80 square miles, or 50,000 acres. The wa- 

 ers of the Severn, which here form a lengthened estu- 

 ary rather than a river, produce infinite grandeur when 

 hey mix in the view. The surface, which is some- 

 what irregular, is clad in perpetual verdure : the bot- 

 toms of the hills stretch in many places towards the 

 iver, hung with beech of the most luxuriant growth 

 2 sod is uniformly rich, and the scenery, in general, 

 xtremely fine. The land is almost entirely appropri- 

 ated to grass, there being scarcely 1000 acres under the 

 plough in the whole district 



L h .'i b ^," da ,7.. 1S contmued^ toward through it: it abounds in picturesque beauties? whTcn 



from the celebrated Grongar hill, and the castle of Dy- 

 nevor, afford the richest prospects. The vale of Gla- 

 morgan, or, more properly speaking, the great level 

 is a tract extending along the sea-coast of the county 

 of that name, stretching inland for eight or ten miles 

 (t is the most fertile part of Wales, rich in com, pas- 

 ture, and mineral treasures. 



Besides the vale districts which have been noticed Exte niive 

 and described, there are several other extensive level plains, 

 tracts in England, which must not be passed over in a 

 description f the country. The largest plain in the 

 kingdom extends from the banks of the Thames,tlirouffh 

 Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, comprehending also a con- 

 siderable part of the counties which border on these to 

 the west. The road from London to Norwich by New- 

 market, which passes along the western sides of Essex 

 and Suffolk, to the middle of Norfolk, being a distance 

 of one hundred and eight miles, is more level and un- 

 varied in its surface than any tract of ground of the 

 same length in England. Indeed, this extensive plain 

 may almost be said to extend through Lincolnshire and 

 crossing the Humber, to join the plain district of Hol- 

 derness in Yorkshire, which has been already describ- 

 ed. 



The Wealds of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, form a large 



The Trent, in many parts of its course, runs through Static, 

 vales which, though not of great extent, are not defi- v y ' 

 cient ,n beauty or fertility. The vale of Belvoir, in Vale of 

 Nottinghamshire deserves particularly to be noticed- Belvoir. 



forms a tract, that lies beyond the south-east bank of 

 that river to the borders of Leicestershire and Lincoln- 

 shire. Its rich loamy soil is cultivated with a mixture 

 ol arable and pasture. 



Rutlandshire boasts one vale of special name," ce- Vale of 

 lebrated by Drayton in his Polyolbion : this is the rich Catmose. 

 vale of Catmose, which runs from the western side to 

 the centre of the county, and is watered by the little 

 river Guash, or Wash. 



Wales, though a mountainous country, is not desti- Vales iu 

 tute of vales The vale of Mold, in Flintshire, is un- Wall 

 commonly rich and beautiful: but the most celebrated 

 of the Uelsh vales is the vale of Clwyd, in Denbigh- Valeof 



e. It commences in the middle of the county, ciwyd 

 stretching con S1 derably more than twenty miles from 

 its upper end to the sea. In breadth, it varies from 

 hree miles to eight, according as it approaches to, or 

 ecedes from, the mountains that enclose it. In many 

 parts of these mountains, gaps are formed by nature 

 seemingly for entrances into it. The vale of Clwyd' 



in a high state of cultivation, and is full of gentle- 

 men's seats, villages, and towns. The principal of the 

 st, are Ruthen and Denbigh. The river Clwyd runs 

 along the vale, and is joined in its course by several 

 small streams. 



The vale of Conway, in Caernarvonshire, along fConwa, 

 which flows the river of that name, is a long and narrow T> 



ict, celebrated for its romantic and picturesque beau- 

 ties. It affords rich pasturage, corn fields, and groves. 



s beauty and fertility are wonderfully set off by the 

 bleak region of Snowdon, that frowns above it. 



The vale of Festiniog, which, however, more aptly of Festi- 



cl justly falls under the denomination of a valley niog, 

 lies in Merionethshire, forming its north-western angle 



is small, but strikingly beautiful. 



. ... - w*inujr la uuiiuiiueu toward 

 le east by Blackdown hill, till it reaches the Honiton 

 The western boundary of the vale is the Hall- 

 down Hills, and a continuation of some heights that 

 to the north of Exeter : here the vale spreads to the 

 5st, till it approaches Crediton. It contains about 

 !00 square miles, and is watered by the Exe and the 

 Otter. 



The vale of Taunton lies in the north-west quarter 

 *>mersetehire. It is bounded on the north by the 

 itoc hills ; on the south, by the Blackdown hills 

 ich separate it from the vale of Exeter; on the west 

 s bounded by the skirts of Exmore: its boundaries 

 on the east are not accurately defined, but in general 

 hey are formed by the rising grounds of Curry, and 

 the marsh of South Sedgmore. The vale of Taunton 

 small, comprising only about 100 square miles the 

 Tone runs through it: its productions are corn, 

 pai icularly wheat, of remarkably fine quality 



The prolific vale of Aylesbury lies in the county of 

 Suckmgham. It is formed by the river Thames, and 

 11 stream which falls into that river at the bottom 

 vale. It furnishes a rich pasturage to an immense 

 sr of cattle, its amazing fertility being principal- 

 ly employed in the support of the dairy and 

 systems. 



