. E N G l 
tie head, a lofty promontory, which projefts perpendi¬ 
cularly aver the beach, and is called by feamen the Seven 
(Stiffs, into which it is divided. Within this point lies 
Ea ft bo urn Seaford, and the elegant town of Brighthelm- 
floqe ; which is alfo a place of regular embarkation for 
the continent in peaceable times, and from whence packets 
fail'for Dieppe, Havre de Grace, Cherbourg, &c. 1 he 
coaft from hynee continues low, as the South Downs re¬ 
cede fomewhat inland, prefenting -a fmoolh, fapcjy, and 
fometimes a deep clayey, (bore, Culver cliff, aqd Dunnofe, 
are the next objedlsof elevated grandeur; Bognorrackshe- 
ipg mere pebbles. Within the Wight, theepaft is more or 
left, .flat, but fuperbly variegated with the town.s pf Portf- 
mouth, Gofpo.rf, part and Weft Cowes, Yarmouth, the 
Southampton river, the p,prt of Lymington, Galfhof and 
Hurft caftles, the beautiful verdure of .the New Foreft, 
J^ide, St. Helen’s, and other fubordinate villages, The 
back of the Wight prefents a lefs pi&urefque, though a 
much more majeftic, feene. From Dunnofe to St, Ca¬ 
tharine’s point, the coaft is rocky and abrupt; but from 
this lofty eminence to the Needles, the eye is prefented 
with the*inp(t ftupendous cliffs thet any. wli.ere elfe ap¬ 
pears, partaking in the fpHeft fe.nfe pf the fubljme and 
beautiful. In part of the .months of May and June,, 
■which is the breeding fqafon, pliefe ftupendoqs rocks ffavp 
their native whitenefs darkened by immenie clouds ,of 
large migratory birds, which here annually perform the 
duties of incubation, and then retire ; no naturalift knows 
where, with their accumulated ofrppying. Thefe ele¬ 
vated cliffs, and the adjoining co)loflfi,l Needles, which 
hand e.reft in the fetj, conftantjy braving the moft tre¬ 
mendous wi,nps and -waves, have alike afforded ample 
1'coye to the genius of the painter and pf the poet. 
Fpom the Needle rocks to Chriftclmrch the fliore is 
flat, where it prefents a grand view of the church, (itu- 
ated in a rich fertile vale, vyhich terminates the coaft of 
Hampihire. The. fliore? of Dopfet next commence, and 
lead to the port .and handfome county-town of Poole, 
long enriched by its extenffve trade to Newfoundland, 
Studland Bay., Swanage,- St. Alban’s Head, and Ring, 
dead Bay, lead to the calm and beautiful c.ove of. Wey¬ 
mouth, formed by nature for a royal bathing-place, where 
the foft (liken fandy bottom declines with a gentle dope 
into the pureft water, and fuits every time of tide, with¬ 
out even a pebble to offend the nioft tender foot; and 
where the furrounding circular expapfe of elevated land 
fecludes the valetudinarian from the rude ferutinizing 
.eye of the bold and inquifi.tive. Yet is our bark rjp fooner 
•fleered from without this calm and unruffled cove, and 
the point or promontory of the Ifle of Portland weather¬ 
ed, than a .fea prefents itfelf, which, in tempeftuous wea¬ 
ther, fails not to appal the heart of the (touted feaman, 
and has conligncd too many to the horrors of a watery 
grave. This is the Race of Portland. On this coaft the 
lofs of the l-falfewell is for ever to be deplored. 
Palling Abbotjbitry and Lyme, we ppprpach the coaft 
of Devonlhir.e, and enter the fafe and fecure anchorage of 
Torbay, formed by Providence, as an afylum for our 
Britifh channel fleets in tempeftuous weather. This bay 
lies between Dartmouth and the broad mouth of the Ex, 
which carries veflels of a hundred tons burthen up to the 
quays of Exeter. Sidmouth is contiguous. The fpa- 
■cious haven of Dartmouth is alfo capable of containing a 
large number of (bjps, feeure from all winds. Beyond 
.this haven-is the Start Point-; from which promontory 
the coaft is interfe&ed with many little creeks and har¬ 
bours quite up to Plymouth Sound. In the midft of the 
fea, oppofite this place of anchorage, is the Eddiftonp 
.light-houfei a lading monument of the fttperior abilities 
of the late Mr. Smeaton, as a civil engineer and ar- 
chiteft. 
The-coaft of Cornwall begins With Ram-head, and paff- 
•ing Eaft Loo.e, extends along to Deadman’s Point, and Fal¬ 
mouth haven. The fhores .are here moft remarkably in. 
curvated, quite up to the Lizard Point; round-wliich \vp 
Vol. VI. No. 370. 
, A N II . - 
are led into Mount’s Bay, and to the Land’s End, wlieye 
the foil them coaft of England terminates. Weathering 
this remarkable point, the weftern coqft of England be¬ 
gins with Penzance, p.alfes the northern fide of the county 
of Cornwall, and enters the Briftol channel, which has 
the (bores of North Devon aqd Somerfetfliire on one fide, 
'and South Wales on the other; palling Cardiff aqd Briftol, 
and entering the broad mputh of the Severn, where the con¬ 
tending currents ponliantly prefent a troubled elenient. 
Turning out pf the Briftol channel to the northward, 
we enter Milford Haven, (aid to he the fnoft commodious 
harbour belonging to Great-Britain, and fufficiently fpa- 
cious to contain a thoufand fail of (hipping in perfedt fe- 
cm ity : but its approaches are (aid to participate of great 
danger- in tempeftuousWeather, and equally hazardous to 
get out of it, except with particular winds. Within the 
jiaven is, the town and port of Pembroke,, with feve.ral 
other bays, roads, and creeks. Proceeding-lienee into St. 
George’s channel, after wegtji.enng Grefholm or Gat- 
cholfii, we enter St. Bride’s Bay ; and then palling Ram- 
fey Ifle and the ancient city of St. David’s, we enter the 
fpacious .mouth of Cardigan Bay, wherein are many ports 
,and havens .011 the Welfli coaft. Turning out of this bay 
round JJardfey Ille, we pqfs the fhores of Caernarvon to 
flic Ifle of Aqgipfeq and Holyhead, the celebrated pojnt 
of embarkation and debarkation, tp crpls the Irifli Sea 
to and from Dublin. Palling round Craven Point, flip 
final 1 portions of the (hopes of Denbigh aqd Flint (hire 
prefent themfplves, whence we enter the riverD.ee, and 
approach the venerable city of.Chefter. Thus, in paffing 
from the Briftol channel to the rqpulh pf the Dee, the 
principality of V/ales occupies all the central part of the 
•w.eftqrn coaft, characterized by an a 1 nioft continued range 
of mountains ^nore or lefs vyild and lofty, with interjacent 
valleys' more or lefs extenfiye and fertile ; and .thus out 
of the twelve Welfli counties, all except three touch tjie 
fea coaft in fopac part or other of their boundary. 
Turnjpg out of the river Dee to the northward, we en¬ 
ter Liverpool harbour, and the Merfey ; which, after re¬ 
ceiving.above Stockport the wafers of the Tame, and 
fomewhat low,er thofe of the Irvyell, brings down a con¬ 
flux of other ft reams from. Mancbefter, winds through a 
rich and extenfiye vale, and, after paffing Warrington, di¬ 
lates into a wide fandy eftuary, which, contracting again, 
reaches the fea belpw Liverpool. Such an accefiion of 
ports anc} creeks, improved by the natural iqduftry of 
the inhabitants, lias contributed to djftinggifh this part 
,pf Laqcafhire, fop, .mapufT£ttirhig and commercial enter- 
prifq,. efppcially of late. years, beyond every other part of 
the kingdom. Here, inftead of haggard jealoufy and nar¬ 
row-minded oppofuion, the vaff; towns of Mancbefter and 
Liverpool are mutual aids to eacli other in the acquili- 
tion of wealth. 
Proceeding along the extended fhores of Lancafhire, 
we enter the Ribble, which is navigable up to Prefton. 
Bearing (till to the north, vve enter tlje expanded fandy 
bay which disjoins the hundred of Furnefs from its ap¬ 
propriate county, runs up to the fouth-vveftem corner of 
Weft.moreland, .and admits a navigation for fmall veft'els 
up to the port of Lancafter, the populous and well-built 
capital of the county, and which carries on a confiderable 
trade to the Weft r Indies. Furnefs, the disjoined part of 
the Lancafhire coaft, is extremely rugged and romantic, 
yielding great quantities of iron ore, and (late.. , The long 
and narrow Ifle of Walney ferves as its bul\y.ark_againll 
the waves of the Irifli Sea. The port of this diftricl is 
at Ulverftone, fituated on a (hallow arm of the fea, into 
which the Leven and other dreams enter. This arm, as 
well <ts the broad eftuary or bay which fopa rates Furnefs 
from the -reft of Lancafhire, is continually crofted by 
horfes .and carriages at lpw water; though not without 
frequent accidents, and uniform danger. 
After paffing Walney Ifle, we enter upon the coaft of 
the bleak and dreary county of Cumberland ; which 
thpugh barren and mountainous, is extremely rich in mi- 
6 U neral 
