SCENERT. 461 
high elevations at Marshfield, Hawkesbury Upton (by the Somer- 
set Monument), Symonds Hall Hill, and Minchinhampton, forma 
a less prominent escarpment than the Inferior Oolite. North- 
west of Minchinhampton the Great Oolite is much broken up by 
faults and isolated by denudation. From the higher grounds of 
this formation we overlook the dip-slope, and the comparatively 
flat and monotonous tracts of the Forest Marble bordered by 
the Cornbrash (which seldom forms any marked feature) ; beyond 
which is the low-lying vale of Oxford Clay, &c. 
The Inferior Oolite, which makes no very conspicuous feature 
at Bath, becomes more and more prominent further north, for the 
strata increase in thickness, and the escarpment of the Great 
Oolite is more distant. This is more especially the case near 
Wotton-under-Eclge and north of Stroud. The line of hills is 
but little broken from Dyrham and Dodington to Hawkesbury, 
while beyond there are the fine and bold spurs of Nibley Hill 
(^crowned by the Tyndale Monument) ; Stinchcombe Hill, a bold 
grassy promontory, perhaps the boldest of all the Cotteswold 
Hills (720 feet); Uley Bury (755), and the outlier of Cam 
Long Down ; Selsley Hill, and Rodborough. The escarpment is 
broken by the deep valley at Stroud and Nailsworth, whose sharp 
slopes contribute to form a highly picturesque region. Beyond 
this valley we have Randwick Hill, Haresfield Beacon, Painswick 
Hill (800), Coopers Hill, Birdlip (963), Crickley Hill, Leckhamp- 
ton Hill (900), Cleeve Cloud (the highest point 1,071 feet); and 
further on, Stanway and Broadway Hills (about 900 feet). 
Many of these heights are crowned by ancient camps, and they 
have been utilized as beacon hills.* The slopes and summits in 
many places are richly wooded with beech, fir, ash, &c. the beech 
especially growing with luxuriance. Fine views in various direc- 
tions across the Vales of Gloucester and Berkeley are obtained 
from the different hills. 
The northern end of the Cotteswolds is a plateau intersected by 
deep valleys, while the strata are comparatively flat, and to a 
certain extent synclinal ; so that instead of a dip-slope towards the 
east, we have an escarpment also on that side overlooking the vale 
of Moreton. To the south we have the elevated tracts, of Great 
Oolite, &c., which extend from Cirencester to Northleach ; and 
which, between Fail-ford and Burford, form the Oxfordshire 
Downs ; eastwards we find the old Forest of Wychwood, a tract 
formed partly of Great Oolite, partly of Foreiit Marble, and 
higher beds. Northwards lies a plateau of Great and Inferior 
Oolite, which extends from Stonesfield to Chipping Norton and 
North Aston. 
The general trend of the outcrop of the Oolites is now towards 
the east, and while we find broad and deep valleys running across 
the dip-slope, there are other valleys in the country between 
Chipping Norton and Banbury, that traverse the area in an east 
and west direction. In this area the country is a fairly open one, 
* See G. F. Playne, Proc. Cotteswold Club, vol. vi. p. 202. 
