r38 CHASE OF THE WILD RED DEER 



Channel chafe and surge in vain. There, in the 

 valley, you may see the garden and grounds of 

 Holnicote, Sir Thomas Acland's lovely summer 

 abode.* Below us lie Cloutsham farm and the 

 famed coverts of Horner. We descend the steep, 

 cross the stream, and ascend again until we reach 



Cloutsham, 



the knoll on which the farmhouse stands. A ready 

 welcome greets us. Stalls and out-houses in which 

 we may shelter our steeds, and kindly offers of 

 refreshment from Mr Peeke, the excellent tenant 

 of the farm. But there is no time to be lost. The 

 covert is large and deep, and the chances are that 



* Holnicote, Sir T. Acland's summer residence, was destroyed by fire 

 in August 1851. It is now in the course of rebuilding. 



