AVONMOUTH, FROM PILL.
Three miles, bearing to the right, bring the traveller down to the Avon estuary9 again, at the hillside and waterside village of Pill; a queer little place, clinging and huddling10 closely to the steep banks, and ending in a short quay11, where pilots and other strange waterside folk lean and sit on walls and look across to Avonmouth, plainly visible on the Gloucestershire shore, at the meeting 18of the Avon and the Bristol Channel; a distant congeries of clustered masts, great warehouses12, railway signal-posts, and puffs13 of smoke and steam: all signs of the great series of docks constructed by the somewhat belated enterprise of Bristol, between 1880 and 1908. The delays and dangers attending the progress of modern shipping14 up and down the Avon, to and from the docks of Bristol city, have long hindered the expansion of the port, and have left Bristol behind in that race for commercial greatness in which Liverpool and Glasgow have emerged foremost; and now it remains15 to be seen what the expenditure16 of millions will be able to effect in recovering tonnage and redressing17 the balance of missed opportunities. There is a ferry across to Shirehampton from Pill and those eager for light on the subject may readily make the passage into Gloucestershire and satisfy themselves on the 19spot of the likelihood of Avonmouth’s future prosperity. The rise of Avonmouth, at any rate, means loss to the pilots of Pill, in the diminished call there will be for their services in guiding vessels18 up and down the muddy meanderings of the Avon.
A pleasant land opens out before the traveller who wends from Pill through Easton-in-Gordano (called for short, “St. George’s”) and Portbury, to Portishead, where the open coast is first reached.
Portishead is almost wholly delightful19. The straggling village is surprisingly unspoiled, considering its nearness to Bristol and the fact that places further removed have been ruined by overmuch building in recent times. There are docks, with an area of some twelve acres, at Portishead, in the level lands below the great bluff20 of Woodhill and Black Nore, and there is a single-track railway, with a terminus here; but the brilliant future once prophesied21 and confidently expected for Portishead docks has not yet been realised; and now that the great modern docks of Avonmouth have been opened, there is even less prospect22 of those of Portishead coming into that predicted success.
Attempts have been made to popularise Portishead, but as the derelict villas on the wooded crest23 of Woodhill sufficiently24 prove, entirely25 without success, and the beautiful underwoods, traversed in every direction by footpaths26, and commanding fine views over the Channel, are 20as yet unspoiled. There is great beauty in this outlook upon the narrow Channel; great beauty alike in the outlook and in the spot whence it is obtained. It is not found in the hue27 of the water, which is here coffee-coloured; but rather in the glimpses across the five-mile-wide estuary to another land—to Monmouthshire—where the misty28 levels of Caldicot are relieved by a gleam on Goldcliff.
On this side the estuary are the long levels beyond Avonmouth, in Gloucestershire, ending in the sudden rise of cliff at Aust, where the Old Passage across the dangerous Severn was situated29 in the old coaching days, before railways and the Severn Tunnel were thought of.
This boldly projecting hill of Portishead commands the entire panorama30 of the shipping that comes to and from the docks at Gloucester and Avonmouth; and every wind that blows beats against it, so that the scrub woods are closely knitted and compacted together. It is a place of piercing cold and howling blasts in winter, and in summer the most invigorating spot on the Somerset coast. The ivy-clad, storm-tossed dwarf31 oaks and gnarled thorns reach down to the low, black, seaweedy rocks, and here and there are fine houses, with gardens and conservatories32, perched within reach of the spray.
Woodhill Bay, westward33 of this windy point, is as sheltered as the heights of Woodhill are exposed. Near by is the imposing34 new Nautical35 School, which has replaced the old Formidable 21training-ship that for many years was a familiar sight in the anchorage of King Road.
The rise and fall of the tide at Portishead, ranging from 33 feet at neaps to 44 feet at spring-tides, is said to be the greatest, not only in England, but in Europe.
IN PORTISHEAD CHURCH.
The old village of Portishead is quite distinct from the modern Portishead just described. A broad straggling street, a mile long, connects the 22two. Some very charming old-world houses are clustered around this original inland Portishead, whose noble pinnacled36 church-tower, rising in four stately stages, is one of the finest in these parts of Somerset. The north aisle37 has towards its east end a transverse masonry38 strainer, built in the middle of the fifteenth century to prevent the walls collapsing39, owing to a subsidence of the soil. As in the case of the great stone inverted40 arches inserted to support the central tower of Wells Cathedral, a century earlier, the architects employed have attempted to mask the merely utilitarian41 addition by decorative42 treatment. The attempt has here met with a greater degree of success than was possible at Wells, and although the broad arch spanning the north aisle has obviously no ecclesiastical use or purport43, save that of shoring up walls that were in danger of falling, it is not the offensive blot44 it might, with less careful treatment, easily have been made.
At Portishead is the terminus of that quaint45 short railway, some twelve miles in length with the long many-jointed name, like some lengthy46 goods-train—the Weston, Clevedon, and Portishead Light Railway; familiarly (for life is short and busy) the “W.C. and P.L.R.” This is a single-track line, of ordinary gauge47, originally planned for a steam-tramway, when the Parliamentary powers for its construction, as between Weston and Clevedon, were first obtained in 1887. The Act authorising the extension to Portishead was obtained in 1898.
23The first portion, between Weston and Clevedon, was opened December 1st, 1897. In the interval48 between 1887 and 1897 the Light Railways Act had been passed, and the methods of construction were modified in accordance. This was the first line to be opened under the Light Railways Act, and has therefore the interest attaching to a pioneer. The W.C. and P.L.R. has, in the few years it has been opened, conferred many benefits upon a district almost wholly agricultural and hitherto peculiarly inaccessible49.
The coast between Portishead and Clevedon is formed principally by the long steeply shelving hill-range known for the greater part of its length as Walton Down, thickly covered with woods. The road on to Clevedon runs in the valley formed between the landward dip of these heights and the rise of other hills yet further inland, dominated by the camp-crested summit of Cadbury Hill. In the pleasant vale thus formed, runs easily the W.C. and P.L.R. aforesaid.
There are two villages along this road, Weston and Walton, both equipped with the “Gordano” suffix50, lest they should, perhaps, be confounded with other Westons and Waltons. They are not remarkable51 villages, and the church at Walton has been rebuilt; so that the place holds no particular interest for the stranger. But the church of Weston-in-Gordano, a small Perpendicular52 building, retains in its porch an unusual and very interesting feature: a wooden musicgallery 24over the doorway53, approached by a short flight of stone steps in the thick side wall of the porch itself. This gallery appears to have been used by the church choir54 in olden times, principally for the singing of the canticle for Palm Sunday, “Gloria Laus et Honor,” and for Christmas hymns55; but it has, for centuries past, remained unused and is now merely an arch?ological curiosity.
As the stranger approaches Clevedon, his attention cannot fail to be attracted by a singular castle-like group of buildings upon the skyline, on the right hand. This is the so-called “Walton Castle,” built in the reign56 of James the First by the Paulets, then owners of the surrounding lands, as a hunting-lodge57. Castle-building after the medi?val style had long been extinct, but this lodge was designed, for picturesqueness’ sake, in that old manner. It is a flimsy and fast-decaying sham58.
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1
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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borough
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| n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇 | |
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glades
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| n.林中空地( glade的名词复数 ) | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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Vogue
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| n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的 | |
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suburban
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| adj.城郊的，在郊区的 | |
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villas
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| 别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅 | |
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8
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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9
estuary
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| n.河口，江口 | |
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huddling
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| n. 杂乱一团, 混乱, 拥挤 v. 推挤, 乱堆, 草率了事 | |
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quay
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| n.码头，靠岸处 | |
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warehouses
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| 仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 ) | |
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13
puffs
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| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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14
shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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16
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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17
redressing
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| v.改正( redress的现在分词 )；重加权衡；恢复平衡 | |
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18
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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19
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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21
prophesied
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| v.预告，预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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23
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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24
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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footpaths
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| 人行小径，人行道( footpath的名词复数 ) | |
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27
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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28
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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29
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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panorama
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| n.全景，全景画，全景摄影，全景照片[装置] | |
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31
dwarf
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| n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小 | |
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32
conservatories
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| n.（培植植物的）温室，暖房( conservatory的名词复数 ) | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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34
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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nautical
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| adj.海上的，航海的，船员的 | |
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pinnacled
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| 小尖塔般耸立的，顶处的 | |
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aisle
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| n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道 | |
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38
masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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39
collapsing
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| 压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂 | |
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40
inverted
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| adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
utilitarian
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| adj.实用的，功利的 | |
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42
decorative
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| adj.装饰的，可作装饰的 | |
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43
purport
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| n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是... | |
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44
blot
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| vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍 | |
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45
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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46
lengthy
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| adj.漫长的，冗长的 | |
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47
gauge
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| v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器 | |
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48
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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49
inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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50
suffix
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| n.后缀；vt.添后缀 | |
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51
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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52
perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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53
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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54
choir
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| n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱 | |
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55
hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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56
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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57
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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58
sham
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| n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的) | |
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