226 BIRDS IN LONDON 



houses, gardenless, all exactly alike, as if made 

 in one mould, and coloured red and yellow to 

 suit the tenants' fancy. But at Plumstead, 

 unlovely and ignoble as it is in appearance, one 

 has the pleasant thought that at last here, on 

 this side, one is at the very end of London, that 

 the country beyond and on either side is, albeit 

 populous, purely rural. On the left hand is the 

 river ; on the right of Plumstead is Shooter's 

 Hill, with green fields, hedges, woods, and pre- 

 serves, and here some fine views of the sur- 

 rounding country may be obtained. Better 

 still, just beyond Plumstead is the hill which 

 the builder can never spoil, for here are Bostell 

 Woods and Heath, the last of London's open 

 spaces in this direction. 



The hill is cut through by a deep road ; on 

 one side are the woods, composed of tall fir-trees 

 on the broad level top of the hill, and oak, 

 mixed in places with birch and holly, on the 

 slopes ; on the other side of the road is the 

 Heath, rough with gorse, bramble, ling, and 

 bracken, and some pretty patches of birch wood. 

 From this open part there are noble views of the 

 Kent and Essex marshes, the river with its steely 

 bright sinuous band dividing the counties. 



