The Colourful British Isles [antikvár]

Enaland If England is given pride of place in a record of the British Isles, it is not out,of disrespect for Ireland, Scotland and Wales, but merely that it is conventional to do so, just as it is conventional to begin a survey of England in the heart of that country - in London. London, the capital of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, has an indefinable charm of her own and a spirit which has enabled her to defy every crisis in her long history, and to be ready to welcome her many thousands of present-day visitors with the same graciousness that she has always shown to her guests. It is quite impossible in a few days, or even weeks, to take stock of all that London has to offer. There is always something new to be discovered, somé fresh approach to a familiar scene, somé curious facet of history to be investigated. From Kent to Cornwall the southern counties of England present an ever-changing picture of colourful beauty and interest. The traveller returning from abroad, the stranger setting foot for the first time on these shores cannot fail to be thrilled by the sight of the white eliffs of Dover as his ship nears the coast of Kent. It was this corner of England that was the landingplace of the Komans under Julius Caesar and of St Augustine, it was to Kent that the great rescued army returned from Dunkirk in 1940, and it was Kent which stood in the forefront of battle throughout the Second World War. East and West Sussex are the counties of rolling downs, thriving seaside resorts, fine old towns and picturesque villages, and East Sussex is famed in history as the county in which WTilliam of Normandy won his celebrated victory. Among Hampshire's many attractions is the fascination of two great ports - Portsmouth and Southampton, and south across the water lies the Isle of Wight with its old English charm. Dorset, with her seventy miles of coast, has numbered many famous men among her seafarers and is one of the most unspoiled parts of England. Devon is undoubtedly the most romantic county of the south-west; its bays, coves and headlands, its moors and tors are a constant source of delight, and both North and South Devon seaside resorts are among the most popular in the country. The Royal Duchy of Cornwall, with its roots deep in the past, has an irresistible appeal which is difficult to define: its coastal scenery is somé of the finest in the country. 'Smiling' Somerset, famous for its cheeses and its cider, invites us to Glastonbury, the cradle of Christianity in England, and Avon invites us to beautiful eighteenth-century Bath and to the city-port of Bristol, the gateway to the entrancing Cotswold country, where village life has changed but little through the centuries and where the spirit of rural England has been kept so wonderfully alive. The River Thames rises in the Cotswolds and its valley leads us into Oxfordshire and to the ancient university city of Oxford, where history is enshrined in stone. On the Thame, one of the many tributaries of the Thames, stands Dorchester, once the focal-point of a large diocese. Notable among many picturesque inns of the little town is the George Hotel which still retains much of the atmosphere of old coaching days. Farther south in Wiltshire we find the famous prehistoric monuments of Stonehenge and Avebury, and the lovely old cathedral city of Salisbury. The Thames is a peaceful river and on its banks in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Middlesex and Surrey are many places which