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PICTURESQUE ACCOUNT OF THE ISLAND

the same sort. Of these, one of the first is the view of the shoresof the Medina, from the road between West Cowes and Newport.At about a mile from Cowes, near a blacksmith’s shop, this sceneis viewed to the gi'eatest advantage.

The road which runs along the brow of the steep shore betweenWest Cowes and Gurnard’s bay is varied in a beautiful mannerwith hanging coppices, and the Solent sea has in this part theappearance of a noble river flowing with a rapid stream, as thecurrent of the tide is from this eminence most strikingly observ-able. The rich woods of the New Forest are seen from a nearerdistance than from any point before described, and the fewhabitations seated near the shore, sparkle in the sun, and relievethe deep green of the groves which surround them.

The immediate neighbourhood of Gatcombe possesses somevery pretty wooded scenes. The hills rise quick and high, andare of extremely various forms. The trees which clothe theirsides are principally elms, and of uncommonly luxuriant foliage,as well as considerable size.

The neighbouringvale of Bucombe, through which the road runsfrom Newport to Shorwell, is for nearly three miles a continuedseries of light open groves of elm, and from almost every part ofthe road, Carisbrook castle is seen rising above the trees, in themost advantageous points of view.

About Swainston, the ancient seat of the Barrington family,there is a large extent of woodland, which has a character con-siderably differing from that of the corresponding tract to theeast of the Medina. The ground which it covers is lower andless varied than that tract, yet it is by no means a flat; thewoods, which are almost entirely oak, are much affected by the