The valley of rocks at Linton, in the north of Devonshire, from its wild and desolate appearance, presents a singular contrast to the high cultivation of the surrounding country. The road to this singular valley leads through numerous chasms, like hollows, which are bordered by rocky precipices thickly clothed with wood, reaching down to the sea, or rather, to the mouth of the Severn, which here forms a considerable estuary.
As the traveller advances, all appearance of wood and foliage vanishes, and the scene changes to "a valley bounded by large naked rocks, or rather, fragments of rocks, piled one upon another. The heights on each side are of a mountainous magnitude, but composed, to all appearance, of loose unequal masses, which form here and there rude natural columns, and are fantastically arranged along the summits, so as to resemble extensive ruins impending over the pass." Advancing into this extraordinary valley, a magnificent view of the Severn presents itself through an abrupt opening in the rocks. The valley is nearly a mile long, but it is not above 300 feet wide; so that the idea that presents itself is, that the valley was once the bed of a vast and impetuous torrent, which, from the broad openings towards the sea, and the rugged summits of the mountains on that side, would seem to have poured itself into the Severn at the western extremity.
Nearly in the centre of the valley are some stone circles, which are supposed to be Druidical remains; and in several places immense blocks of stone are found, that appear of a different texture to those which constitute the natural rocks.
Previously to the year 1824, there existed a very curious rock on the south coast of Devonshire, near Sidmouth, which was called Chit Rock, and was, in fact, a mass of indurated clay, rising up at some distance from the coast when the tide was up, though it could be easily reached at low water. It was, however, completely washed away by a great storm which took place in November, 1824.
In Cornwall and some other places, the action of the weather has, in several instances, worn away part of the jointings of large blocks of granite, which are in consequence left resting on a kind of central pivot, and are, from that circumstance, easily moved, notwithstanding their immense weight and bulk. Some of these are called logan or rocking stones, because they are so nicely balanced, as to be in continual motion; others are fixed; and among these latter is the celebrated pile of rocks called the Cheese Wring.
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The Cheese Wring is a natural pile or combination of eight rough granite rocks, rising to the height of thirty-two feet, and standing near the top of a high hill. The stones are placed one above another; and from the shape of some of them resembling a large cheese in an old fashioned press, the pile has obtained its name.
The upper and middle stones are much larger than those below. "The uppermost was formerly a logan, or rocking stone; but, part of it having been broken off, the equipoise was destroyed, and it is now immovable; on the top were two hollows or basins, one of which is yet whole. The great weight of the upper part, and the slender bearing between the third and fourth stones, have excited much admiration how such an ill-constructed pile could resist the storms of such an exposed situation for so many ages. On the same hill are several other smaller piles of granitic rocks; and one of the stones is of the enormous measurement of eleven yards in length, and nine in breadth, the thickness, on a medium, being little more than two feet. The hill is of a conical shape, and the diameter of the summit is about one hundred yards. Round the top is an immense number of small stones, seemingly ranged by art, and forming a rampart of wall. Within the circle are many large masses of rocks, with excavations on the tops of some of them, called rock basins; these are nearly regular and uniform, and generally two together, with a spout or channel between them."
The Kilmarth rocks form a lofty range about half a mile in length. They are about two miles from the Cheese Wring, and stand in the Parish of Linkinhorn. The highest pile is about twenty-eight feet, and it overhangs so much to the north, that, when viewed from the east, it looks as though a strong man could easily push it over. When examined on the west, however, it is found to be quite firm. The stones of which it is composed are all of granite.
Trevethy Stone is another remarkable pile of rocks near Liskeard in Cornwall. It consists of six upright stones, and one laid on them horizontally, the latter appearing to have been placed by the hand of man.
Another very remarkable stone, which bears some traces of the hand of man, is to be seen on the summit of Carnbrae, near Redruth. "The surface of the rock is hollowed into several basins; between the higher and lower basins is a communication by an open breach in their common separation; sometimes the depth of this breach is the same as that of the upper basin, and thus that basin is completely drained; in other cases, a second and a third are in the same manner left dry. Occasionally, a small cistern of the clearest water is found in these hollow places; a striking circumstance to the beholder, both from the nature of the contrast, and the seeming improbability of such an occurrence. It must be remarked that the surface of the whole rock, and particularly of the interior of these basins, exhibits a decidedly water-worn appearance; and, not unfrequently, a considerable sediment is found in these little wells, evidently derived from the wearing of the rock, as it consists of crystalline particles, belonging to the substance of the rock, and bearing the same appearance as the surface of the whole mass." The block is in a slanting position, and looks as though the least touch would make it slide downwards. It is, however, perfectly steady, and will probably remain in its present position for centuries, unless it should be subjected to any violent convulsion of nature. There are many of these basins in Cornwall, where they are called kettles and pans; and there are also some in the Scilly Islands.
The Logan Stone. — At Treryn, about two miles from the Land's End, is a stupendous group of gigantic rocks, which rise in pyramidal clusters to a great height, and overhang the sea. On one of these pyramids lies the celebrated Logan Stone, an immense block of granite, weighing about sixty tons, which is so nicely balanced, that the strength of a single man is sufficient to make it rock to and fro. In the year 1824, a young man, a lieutenant in the Preventive Service, with the assistance of his men, very foolishly threw this stone off its balance, but when it was made known that he had done so, the Board of Admiralty compelled him to replace it at his own expense, and it took the labour of sixty men for three days to do so.
At Scratchell's Bay, in the Isle of Wight, is a magnificent arch, 150 feet high, which is one of the numerous bays that pierce Fresh-water Cliffs, some of which are 400 feet high, and one 600 feet. At a little distance from this natural arch, are the singular looking rocks called the Needles, a name which they are said to have derived from one of their number, which rose about 120 feet above low-water mark, but which fell in the year 1764. There are several other remarkable rocks in the Isle of Wight, particularly the Pulpit Rock, near Bonchurch, Black Gang Chine, Culvers Nass, and many others, as the rocks there consist chiefly of a species of hard sandstone mixed with clay, and hence, as the clay is more easily acted upon by the weather than the sandstone, it crumbles away in situations where the sandstone is left.
At Tonbridge Wells are several curious rocks, jutting out from the ground, and rising to the height of from forty to seventy feet. These rocks are of sandstone, and some of them, such as the toad rock, are of very curious shapes. The Eridge rocks in this neighbourhood are remarkable for their beauty.
In Wales there are many remarkable rocks, but none are more extraordinary than those in Cardiganshire, South Wales, between Hafod and Aberystwith, over which a curious bridge has been built, the difficulties of the construction of which must have been exceedingly great. The bridge is thrown across a deep rent or chasm in the rocks, through which, about 118 feet below the arch, the river Mynach forces its way, and after flowing onwards for a few yards, dashes down in a succession of cataracts to the depth of upwards of 300 feet. At each end of the bridge there is a steep rough path down the rocky sides of the chasm to some ledges hanging over the stream, where the visitor may stand almost immediately under the arch of the Devil's Bridge, as it is called, and enjoy the full effect of the scene. The rocks are more beautiful than in most similar situations, as they are richly covered with foliage; and on looking upwards from the bottom, the glittering leaves and waving branches produce the happiest effects.
Coldwell Rocks are on the banks of the river Wye, which are celebrated for their beauty, and they form, according to Gilpin, the first grand scene on the Wye, as they stand in naked grandeur amidst immense masses of foliage.
In Scotland there is in the heart of the north Highlands a narrow pass between the mountains in the neighbourhood of Bendearg, which, at a little distance, has the appearance of an immense artificial bridge thrown over a tremendous chasm, but which is, in fact, formed of vast and rugged bodies of solid rock, "piled on each other, as if the giant sport of the architect. The sides of this pass are in some places covered with trees of a considerable size, and the passenger who has a head steady enough to look down the precipice, may see the eyries of birds of prey beneath his feet. The path across is so narrow, that it cannot admit of two persons passing alongside; and, indeed, none but natives accustomed to the scene from infancy, would attempt the dangerous route at all, though it saves a circuit of three miles. Yet it sometimes happens, that two travellers meet in the middle, owing to the curve formed by the pass preventing a view across from either side; and when this is the case, one is obliged to lie down while the other crawls over his body." There are many other curious passes in the Highlands, but it would take too much space to give detailed descriptions of them.
CONTINENTAL ROCKS.
The Risenherg, or Giant's Castle in Franconia, "is a rock of most stupendous height, and the number of recesses, windows, arches, rooms, &c., in its interior is truly astonishing. But the attention is forcibly struck with a most singular freak of nature, the form of a human being of gigantic dimensions, in the rocky roof of one of the halls; the head, limbs, and ribs are distinctly developed. The castle derives its name from this figure."
At Hirniskretschen in Bohemia, there is what is called the Prebischthor. This extraordinary caprice of nature has all the appearance of a triumphal arch of the most colossal proportions; and, being situated in the midst of the wildest scenery, forms, as it were, a frame to the immense picture seen through it in the distance. The top of the arch is upwards of 1400 feet above the level of the sea. Nearly adjoining, there is also an isolated rock in the shape of a cone, and an inaccessible chasm 1200 feet in depth.