ENGLAND. 



681 



Statistics. 

 Ol'Durham. 



Of Lnc- 



Hartlepool is seated on a little neck of land, stretch- 

 ing itself into the sea, forming within a safe harbour. 

 The coast of Durham is flat for some distance from this 

 place ; but as it approaches Sunderland, it becomes 

 rocky, and is broken into deep caverns. Here the 

 cliffs seem composed of a peculiar stone, the work of 

 marine insects. Beyond Sunderland the coast is bleak 

 and dreary, to the point where the opposite towns of 

 North and South Shields mark the exit of the Tyne. 

 The bold ruin of Tynmouth Castle is the first object 

 that presents itself on the Northumberland coast. At 

 a small distance northwards stands Cullercoats, a com- 

 modious little port of artificial construction, though it 

 is dry at low water, and difficult at the entrance. A 

 little farther to the north is Seaton Sluice, or Seaton 

 Delaval, which, like Cullercoats, is an artificial har- 

 bour, formed by Sir Ralph Delaval, one of the ablest 

 admirals of the age before the last. From this place 

 the coast of Northumberland presents nothing remark- 

 able, except a small island at the mouth of the river 

 Cocquet, till we reach Bamborough Castle, situated on 

 a promontory, once a place of great strength. Nearly 

 opposite to it lies a group of rocky islets, called the 

 Farn Isles ; and to the south Holy Island. The coast 

 of Northumberland, from the mouth of the Tyne to 

 Bamborough Castle, is mostly low cliffs. From Barn- 

 borough to the mouth of the Tweed, a sandy shore ex- 

 tends. 



We shall now proceed to a description of the coast of 

 the west side of the island, beginning with that of 

 Cumberland. The coast of this county, and of the de- 

 tached part of Lancashire, called Furness, forms al- 

 most a semicircle, beginning at the mouth of the Eden, 

 and terminating at the isle of Walney. Toward the 

 Solway Frith, it is marshy, indenting the country af- 

 terwards with the bay of Kilbride. Workington, near 

 the mouth of the Dcrwent, is the first place of conse- 

 quence that presents itself. A little to the south of 

 this, is \Vhitehaven, situated on a small bay, surround- 

 ed with naked hills. It is supposed to have received 

 its name from the white cliffs, which lie on one side of 

 its port. About two leagues to the south of Whiteha- 

 ven, the promontory of St Bees Head stretches out into 

 the sea. It is noted for the resort of sea-fowl. 



The line of sea coast of the county of Lancaster is 

 very rudely indented by the Irish Sea; and will be 

 most intelligibly described, by dividing it into three 

 peninsulas. Of these the first is comprehended be- 

 tween the river Dudden, which divides it from Cum- 

 berland, and the Ken, which separates it from West- 

 moreland. The second lies between the Ken and the 

 Kibble ; and the third between the Ribble and the 

 Mersey, which is the boundary between this county 

 and Cheshire. The first of these, called Furness, al- 

 ready adverted to, presents a line of coast of nearly 30 

 miles. The long and narrow isle of Walney forms the 

 bulwark of this part of the coast of Lancashire, against 

 the waves of the Irish Sea ; between it and the main- 

 land are some islets. The port of this district is at Ul- 

 vertone, situated on a shallow arm of the sea, into 

 which the Leven and other streams flow. This arm, 

 as well as the broad estuary which separates Furness 

 from the rest of Lancashire, is crossed, though not 

 without danger, by horses and carriages at low water. 

 In front of Lancaster, the bay of Morecambe forms a 

 deep gulf, fed by the Dudden, the Ken, and the 

 Lune. 



The second part of the sea coast between Westmore- 



OL. vm. PART H. 



land and the Ribble, is more extensive, as well as flatter Statistics, 

 than the former division; to the south of the Lune, S "" - "Y~*** 

 the marshy tract surrounding Poulton, on the Wier, 

 succeeds ; afterwards the coast is indented by the great 

 estuary of the Ribble, descending from below Pres- 

 ton. 



In the last division between the Ribble and the Mer- 

 sey, the Lancashire coast makes another swell : in no 

 part is it bold or high, and, as it approaches the south- 

 ern confines of the county, it becomes quite flat. 



The sea coast of Cheshire is neither extensive nor in- of Che- 

 teresting, being formed entirely of that broad neck of shire. 

 land, which stretches far into the Irish Sea, between 

 the Mersey and the Dee. 



The coast of North Wales, from the mouth of the Q[ T$ or fa 

 Dee, is for a long space marshy ; but near Holywell, Wales. 

 in Flintshire, the mountains advance towards it, though 

 they again recede and give place to marshes, at the ter- 

 mination of the vale of Clwyd. As we enter Caernar- 

 vonshire, the first object on the coast that presents it- 

 self, is the promontory of Landudno, a steep precipice 

 hanging over the sea, and stretching out far to the 

 north, at the mouth of the Conway : this promontory 

 fonns one of the horns of a great bay, with Trwynder 

 point in Anglesey, at the Menai Straits. Beyond the 

 Conway is the once tremendous precipice of Penmaen- 

 mawr, overhanging the sea, now safely crossed by a 

 good road. The coast here is very rocky. The south- 

 ern extremity of the coast of this country is formed by 

 the peninsulated hundred of Lyn ; here many sharp 

 points of land run out into the sea, with bays between 

 them. Off the most westerly point of this peninsula 

 lies the small isle of Bardsey. 



The Menai Straits, which separate Anglesey from jj ena ; 

 Caernarvonshire, abound in peculiar beauties, some- Straits. 

 times appearing landlocked, like a great lake, and at 

 other times assuming the form of a large navigable ri- 

 ver, flowing with several curves, nearly in a direction 

 from north to south. The form of the island of Angle- 

 sey is nearly that of a parallelogram ; that part of its 

 coast which borders on the Menai Straits, is finely wood- 

 ed ; its northern, eastern, and western points, are sharp 

 and narrow, and the southern angle is more rounded. 

 In a peninsula which stretches out far to the west stands 

 Holyhead ; this peninsula terminates in a high moun- 

 tain, hollowed by caverns, and frequented by falcons 

 and sea fowl ; from Holyhead, the shore inclines to the 

 south-west, and thus completes the figure that the island 

 forms. Off the eastern point, is the steep rocky islet of 

 Priestholme ; and off the northern point is another, cal- 

 led the Skerries, or the Isle of Seals. 



The north-west horn of the great'bay of Cardigan, B of 

 which is the most considerable indenture made by the Cardigan, 

 sea on the west side of our island, and which is equally 

 distributed between North and South Wales, is formed 

 by the coast suddenly turning round the point of Aber- 

 daron. The sea coast of Merionethshire, which lies in 

 this bay, is wild and mountainous : the only port in 

 this county is Barmouth, on a little arm of the sea, into 

 which several small rivulets discharge themselves. 

 Below Aberystwyth, the coast of Cardiganshire fronts 

 the west for some distance, after which it diverges to- 

 wards the north ; the extent of this county along the 

 shore is nearly 40 miles; it has suffered greatly from 

 the depredations of the sea, having been formerly ce- 

 lebrated for numerous towns, but containing .now only 

 a lew poor villages. A promontory on the north of St 

 David's, in Pembrokeshire, fonns the southern horn of 



