78 HUNTING IN MANY COUNTRIES. 



good covert the whole length of its course. The gradual rise 

 from the rivers to the backbone of the hill is about five miles 

 in the centre of the country, less towards its eastern end, and 

 more to the west, and the rise varies from 400ft. to 700ft., 

 which means that the hill immediately west of Axwell Park 

 is some 400ft. above the two rivers, while Barley Hill, south- 

 west of Minsteracres, is 700ft. above the Derwent, where it 

 flows through Shotley Bridge. 



The Derwent is a swift running river with a rapid descent 

 of water, and though Shotley Bridge is only ten miles by road 

 from Swalwell, where the Derwent flows into the tidal Tyne, 

 the bed of the river under Shotley Bridge is 300ft. above sea 

 level. The Tyne, on the other hand, is, at Stocksfield, prob- 

 ably not more than 50ft. above sea level, and this means that 

 there is a much greater rise from the Tyne to the summit 

 of the ridge than from the Derwent to the same place. Indeed, 

 before motors came, when one drove from Shotley to Riding 

 Mill, it was trotting ground everywhere, except the first half 

 mile, whereas, coming the other way, say, from Riding Mill 

 to Kiln Pit Hill, it was a steady climb, about two-thirds of 

 which was walking ground. And while the country between 

 the Derwent and the top of the hill is, for the most part, 

 a very gradual slope, the land on the north side of the hill 

 hasi three sharp rises and a small plain of nearly a. mile on 

 the top of each rise. The land, in fact, rises in tiers, and 

 there are two parallel high roads going north and south, and 

 not very far apart, while there are many cross lanes. To give 

 some idea of the country I may briefly describe the road from 

 the Derwent at Allansford to the Tyne at Riding Mill, a 

 distance of about ten miles. Allansford is a tiny hamlet 

 consisting of a country house and a couple of cottages on one 

 side and a mill and two cottages on the other side of the 

 river. From a picturesque point of view the place is beautiful, 

 for the river curves through steep and densely-wooded banks, 

 and the old stone bridge, which rises 8ft. from the ends to the 

 centre, and which some distance away looks more like an orna- 

 mental arch than a bridge, is a wonderful piece of masonry, 

 showing beautiful design. How old it is I do not know, 

 but the road was at one time a direct coach route from Leeds 

 to Edinburgh, and was originally a deviation from the Watling 



