The Rivers of Great Britain, Descriptive, Historical, Pictorial: Rivers of the South and West CoastsVarious
History
The Rivers of Great Britain, Descriptive, Historical, Pictorial: Rivers of the South and West Coasts
Various
Great Britain -- Description and travel; Rivers -- Great Britain
Below Wroxeter, the undulation of the country through which the Severn
now flows, for a time with a straighter course, becomes rather
more strongly marked. The Cound brook joins the river on the right,
flowing down by Condover village, with its Hall, "a perfect specimen
of Elizabethan stonework," and its interesting church and monuments.
Then the Severn glides under a red sandstone cliff and beneath the
wooden bridge of Cressage, with its memories of old oak trees; then
through wooded ravines as the ground begins to rise. On its right bank
copse-clad slopes enrich the view, while in one direction or another
the great hill masses stand out against the sky. Among these the
Wrekin is generally the most conspicuous, and now for a time it rises
on the northern side of the river almost without a rival. It is the
Salopian's landmark--his Olympus or Parnassus--"all round the Wrekin"
is his toast. This is no wonder, for few hills in Britain, considering
its moderate elevation--1,320 feet above the sea--are more imposing in
aspect, because it rises so boldly and abruptly from the lowland; and
though the Salopian could not assert that "twelve fair counties saw the
light" of its beacon fire, as was said of the Malverns, still, from far
distances and from unexpected places the Wrekin is visible. In shape it
is a rather long ridge, steep on either side, capped by three fairly
distinct summits, of which the central is the highest. But from many
points the lower summits seem to be lost in the central one, and the
Wrekin assumes a form rudely resembling a huge tumulus. Like several of
the other hills, it is largely composed of very ancient volcanic rocks.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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