What to See in England Part 32

=How to get there.=--Great Western Railway, Paddington Station.

=Nearest Stations.=--Dulverton or Minehead. For both stations change at Taunton.

=Distance from London.=--180 miles to Dulverton; 188 miles to Minehead.

=Average Time.=--To Dulverton varies between 5 to 6-1/2 hours. To Minehead varies between 5-1/2 to 7 hours.

=Fares.=-- Single Return 1st 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd Dulverton 30s. 9d. 19s. 3d. 15s. 4-1/2d. 53s. 10d. 33s. 9d. 30s. 9d.

Minehead 31s. 4d. 19s. 6d. 15s. 8d. 54s. 10d. 34s. 4d. 31s. 4d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--Dulverton--"Carnarvon Arms,"

"Lamb," etc. Minehead--"Metropole," "Beach," "Wellington,"

"Plume of Feathers," etc. Porlock--"The s.h.i.+p," etc.

Simonsbath--"Exmoor Forest Hotel."

Exmoor, like Dartmoor, can be approached from many different places, but to reach some of the finest and most typical stretches of the moor one cannot do better than choose Dulverton or Minehead. Porlock, six or seven miles by road (there is no railway) from Minehead, is a third place admirably suited for getting on to Exmoor; it is the nearest place of any size to Dunkery Beacon, which is the highest shoulder of the moor (1707 feet). The drawing given here shows the valley of the Horner, a small stream rising on the heathery slopes of Dunkery Beacon, which appears in the distance. This valley is one of the most romantic spots on Exmoor. After a long ride or ramble on foot over the open heather, with sweeping views which include Dartmoor, South Wales, the hills around Bath, as well as Brown w.i.l.l.y in Cornwall, one finds the ground falling steeply, and before long one is climbing down a water-worn path among st.u.r.dy oaks. The air also becomes full of the music of the rus.h.i.+ng Horner below. The stream is eventually discovered boiling over mossy stones in the green shade of the close-growing trees filling the deep valley. The quieter pools are frequently taken advantage of by a hard-pressed stag, for this particular piece of country is frequently hunted over by the Devon and Somerset staghounds, some of the most popular meets of the season being held at Cloutsham farm, on one of the slopes of the Horner valley. The neighbourhood of Dulverton includes some fine bits of river scenery--the Barle, the Haddeo, and the Exe meeting one another in the midst of lovely wooded hills. Many of the villages on the margin of Exmoor are exceedingly pretty. The churches, too, are generally of great interest.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ON EXMOOR.

Looking up the Horner valley towards Dunkery Beacon, which is shown under shadow.]

KNUTSFORD

THE HOME OF MRS. GASKELL

=How to get there.=--Train from Euston _via_ Crewe. L. and N.W. Rly.

=Nearest Station.=--Knutsford.

=Distance from London.=--180 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 4 to 5-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 24s. 6d. 16s. 6d. 14s. 3-1/2d.

Return 49s. 0d. 31s. 6d. 28s. 7d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Royal George Hotel," etc.

Knutsford still retains the air of old-world quaintness which Mrs.

Gaskell has made so familiar in her delightful _Cranford_. The whole of Knutsford breathes the fresh and bright tidiness one always involuntarily a.s.sociates with such ladies as "Miss Jenkyns," and every house rejoices in a beautifully neat garden. The Royal George Hotel, in the High Street, is a perfect feast to the eye of panelled wainscotting, oak settles, and Chippendale cabinets. The richness, all over the town, of ancient carvings, staircases, and chimney-pieces, is due to the prosperity which the coach traffic between Liverpool and Manchester brought to the place for many years.

Mrs. Gaskell was born in Chelsea in 1810, but her mother dying soon after, she went to live under the care of her mother's sister, who lived at Knutsford in Ches.h.i.+re. Mrs. Gaskell, as a child, was brought up in a tall red house, standing alone in the midst of peaceful fields and trees, on the Heath, with a wide view reaching to the distant hills. In a green hollow near this house there stand an old forge and mill, the former having existed for more than two hundred years. Mrs. Gaskell had a lonely childhood, occasionally relieved by a visit to her cousins at the old family house of Sandlebridge. This old house is now dismantled, but contains many interesting features. A shuffle-board, or extremely long table, with drawers and cupboards underneath, of which there now exist scarcely any specimens, a cradle of great antiquity, and the fine old wooden chimney-pieces in the front parlour, still remain.

A few places in Knutsford claim a.s.sociation with _Cranford_. One house is pointed out as being Miss Matty's tea-shop. The Knutsford ladies still gossip over toasted cheese and bezique. Mrs. Gaskell spent her married life in Manchester, where most of her books were written, but she used often to return and stay with her cousins, from whom she learnt many of the quaint stories still told in Knutsford.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _F. Frith & Co._

KNUTSFORD.

The village described by Mrs. Gaskell in _Cranford_.]

TORR STEPS ON THE BARLE, SOMERSET

=How to get there.=--Train from Paddington Station. Great Western Railway.

=Nearest Station.=--Dulverton.

=Distance from London.=--180 miles to Dulverton.

=Average Time.=--To Dulverton varies between 5 and 6-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 30s. 9d. 19s. 3d. 15s. 4-1/2d.

Return 53s. 10d. 33s. 9d. 30s. 9d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--Dulverton--"Carnarvon Arms,"

"Lamb," etc.

One of the very earliest forms of bridge in England is to be seen on the beautiful river Barle, about 7 miles above Dulverton. Torr Steps (the name is locally p.r.o.nounced Tarr) are a distinct advance upon stepping-stones, for although the entire bridge is submerged in flood-time, there are, in ordinary conditions, seventeen spans raised clear above the level of the water. The great stones which form the piers support slabs averaging from 6 to 8 feet in length. In the centre these are about 3 feet 6 inches wide, and the piers are supported by sloping stones to resist the force of the current. At the ends of the bridge the slabs are narrower, and are placed in pairs side by side, thus giving the advantage of the greatest weight where the force of the stream is most strongly felt. No traces of cement can be found among the stones, so that the structure has preserved itself purely by the weight of its individual parts.

Although it is impossible to make any definite statement as to the date of Torr Steps, it is probable that they were built by the Celtish inhabitants of this part of the west country, the bridge having been on the beaten track between one or two important centres. The size of the stones does not raise any obstacle to this theory, for though of great weight, they are not so unwieldy as the majority of those forming Stonehenge, which is generally accepted as the work of an exceedingly early race of sun-wors.h.i.+pping men. The name "Torr" is possibly derived from the Celtic word "Tochar," a causeway, modified to "Toher" and then to "Torr." The lanes leading from Dulverton to the village of Hawkridge, about 1-1/2 miles from the steps, are exceedingly beautiful, and the whole course of the river Barle is remarkable for the striking charm of its woodland scenery, which is frequently contrasted with the wild moorland commons on the hillsides above.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TORR STEPS ON THE RIVER BARLE.

An early form of bridge, probably of Celtic origin.]

CLEEVE ABBEY, SOMERSET

=How to get there.=--From Paddington. Great Western Station. To Washford Station _via_ Taunton.

=Nearest Station.=--Washford (2 or 3 minutes' walk).

=Distance from London.=--182-1/4 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 5-1/2 to 7 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 30s. 4d. 19s. 0d. 15s. 3d.

Return 53s. 0d. 33s. 3d. 30s. 4d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Luttrell Arms Hotel," "Dunster,"

4-1/2 miles from Washford. "Metropole," "Beach," "Plume of Feathers," etc., at Minehead, 6-1/2 miles from Washford.

At Cleeve the Cistercian abbey church has disappeared, save for the bases of the pillars in the nave, but the conventual buildings are some of the most perfect in England, those of Beaulieu in Hamps.h.i.+re and Fountains in Yorks.h.i.+re being the only ones able to compare with them.

One first pa.s.ses through the magnificent old gatehouse pictured here.

Inside is a large gra.s.sy s.p.a.ce, with the ma.s.s of buildings facing one.

They are arranged in a quadrangular form, enclosing a gra.s.sy cloister garth. On the south side is the refectory, a magnificent hall above some small rooms on the ground floor. It is believed to have been built by Abbot Dovell in the sixteenth century. The roof, of carved walnut, is in a perfect state of preservation. From the refectory one may pa.s.s into the Abbots' Lodge, then descending to the cloister garth again, one may penetrate all the different portions of the buildings--the day-room, where the monks did all sorts of work; the dormitory, where they slept; the chapter-house, where they conducted the business of the abbey; the sacristy, the parlour, and other smaller rooms. The buildings are so perfect that it is quite easy to obtain a comprehensive idea of the inner workings of one of these great mediaeval inst.i.tutions.

The monks' day-room is a large building 60 feet long by 22 feet wide.

The upper floor, forming one half of the dormitory, has disappeared, but there still remain the bases of the two central pillars which supported the groined roof. The restoration of Cleeve Abbey was carried out several years ago by Mr. G.F. Luttrell of Dunster Castle. Before that time the whole place was used as a farm, and floors of encaustic tiles were buried deep in farm-yard rubbish. There is practically no recorded history of Cleeve Abbey.

One s.h.i.+lling is charged for admission for one person, or sixpence each for a party of two or more.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE GATE-HOUSE OF CLEEVE ABBEY.