An English holiday with car and camera . rises. We fully expected to find thecountry comparatively tame and uninteresting afterExmoor; but tame it was not, for hill and dale,grey rock and winding river, waving woods andheathery slopes, with more than a suspicion ofwildness thrown in, called to mind the NorthCountrie, only perhaps the general tone of thelandscape was warmer, and the foliage of the treesmore luxuriant than is usually to be found north ofthe Thames. We had not proceeded far before wecame to a lovely reach of the river ; many-tintedwoods were all around us, backed by a blue distan
An English holiday with car and camera . rises. We fully expected to find thecountry comparatively tame and uninteresting afterExmoor; but tame it was not, for hill and dale,grey rock and winding river, waving woods andheathery slopes, with more than a suspicion ofwildness thrown in, called to mind the NorthCountrie, only perhaps the general tone of thelandscape was warmer, and the foliage of the treesmore luxuriant than is usually to be found north ofthe Thames. We had not proceeded far before wecame to a lovely reach of the river ; many-tintedwoods were all around us, backed by a blue distanceof undulating hills, and through a gap in the leafytrees by the side of our road we caught a vista ofthe Exe, flowing clear and full, gleaming and spark-ling, down the greenest of green valleys. A little way off the river was spanned by aquaint and primitive bridge built of three roughstone piers; great baulks of timber laid horizontallyfrom pier to pier carried the roadway above, anda strong wooden railing on either side of the road-. IX THE EXE VALLEY 147 way gave protection to foot-passengers and othertraffic. This primitive and picturesque form ofbridge is frequently found in North Wales, especi-ally in the Snowdon district, but I have rarely metwith it elsewhere : it is the simplest form of bridge-construction possible, and, I think, pleases the eyebecause of its simplicity; it calls for no skilledlabour in the building, still it is strong and sub-stantial, and when the roadway, as in Wales, iscarried on slabs of stone instead of timber, it is alsoenduring. Give a child a box of wooden bricks,and this is the form of bridge that he wouldnaturally make with them : so primitive man doubt-less thus constructed the first bridge with the roughmaterials at hand, as such construction calls for nospecial ingenuity. The rough stone piers and square lines of thesebridges suit well a wild landscape, for their squarelines contrast effectively with the flowing curves ofNature, though
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidcu3192, booksubjectlegends
