The North Cotswold. 301 



They will then frequently make for the hilis ; but it is 

 quite an exceptional case when a fox leaves the top 

 country in order to sink the vale. This pretty strip 

 (round Admington to about Honeybourne) is, be it 

 understood, in The Warwickshire not in The North 

 Cotswold territory — and the fences are as big, and the 

 going as good, as even in the Shuckburgh and Grand- 

 borough district. 



From Honeybourne, back by Evesham to Winch- 

 combe, runs the Evesham Vale, between the prominent 

 height of Bredon Hill (within the Croome country) 

 and the steep side of the Cotswold. This vale takes 

 up the whole of the north-western length of the 

 country ; and is broken in upon only by the isolated 

 and comparatively small hill of Dumbleton. It is all 

 a strong good soil ; and, if it does not often carry a 

 burning scent, it will generally hold the line of a fox 

 even when he has gone a quarter of an hour. Fair 

 hedge-and-ditch fences that require some jumping 

 divide the fields, which in themselves are about 

 equally distributed between grazing and tillage. The 

 slope of the Cotswold range being on this side very 

 much steeper than where it gradually drops into vale 

 at its Warwickshire end, and being, besides, all grass, 

 hounds almost invariably run up it very much faster 

 than horses can follow ; and thus, when you reach the 

 top, the pack has often entirely disappeared, and it 

 becomes a matter of difficulty to decide in which 

 direction you must now ride. The vale foxes, more- 

 over, are only too apt to breast the ascent, or else to 

 reach and cling to the chain of coverts which succeed 

 each other at short intervals under the brow. Most 



