[April, 1858.] 385 



ON THE BOTANY OF THE CLENT HILLS. 



It may be that the very name of Clent is as utterly un- 

 known to the majority of the readers of this periodical as it 

 was to ourselves only a few months ago. Yet within sight of 

 these hills^ and even within a moderate distance of their sum- 

 mits^ there are places famed in the political and literary history 

 of our nation. There are connected with this district^ associa- 

 tions and events which have a fame as wide as the world ; or at 

 least, their reputation is as extensive as the language and litera- 

 ture of England. But our intention is not to write on such 

 grand subjects as these; we are content with a humbler theme. 

 The praise of statesmen and orators, of historians and poets, who 

 have contributed to the renown of their country and of this their 

 natal soil, or who have honoured it by their notice, is neither to 

 be said nor sung by us. We have something to say, in an easy 

 way, about the vegetation, the soil (geological formation), pic- 

 turesque interest, antiquities, and present state of this remote 

 and original corner of old England. 



The Clent Hills are an -isolated group on the left of the 

 high-road between Stourbridge and Bromsgrove, in Worcester- 

 shire. They are nearly equidistant from Birmingham, Dudley, 

 Kidderminster, Droitwich, and Bromsgrove. From London they 

 may be reached by the London and North-western or by the 

 Great Western Railway, either via Birmingham, Dudley, and 

 Stourbridge, or by Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton, 

 leaving the rail either at Churchill or at Stourbridge station. 

 From the latter station the ride or drive along the base of the 

 south-western side of the Clent Hills is very attractive. They 

 rise rather abruptly in some places, and their sides and summits 

 are beautifully fringed or crowned with handsome trees. Clent 

 church is four miles from Stourbridge, through Old Swineford, 

 Pedmore, Hagley, and Holycross. From Churchill station the 

 distance is about three miles and a half, over a flat tract, which 

 is terminated by the hills of Clent. To such tourists as are 

 gifted with a pair of sturdy legs, and are not encumbered with 

 much luggage, we would recommend walking from Dudley 

 through Hales Owen. This would afford an opportunity of seeing 

 the country to a great distance, for Dudley is situated on a con- 



N. S. VOL. II. 3d 



