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Cobbett 1830
... Or way, therefore, this morning, was over Butser-hill to Petersfield, in
the first place; then to Lyphook and then to this place [Thursley], in all about
twenty-four miles. Butser-hill belongs to the back chain of the South-downs;
and, indeed, it terminates that chain to the westward. It is the highest hill in
the whole country. Some think that Hindhead, which is the famous sand-hill over
which the Portsmouth road goes at sixteen miles to the north of this great
chalk-hill; some think that Hindhead is the highest hill of the two. Be this as
it may, Butser-hill, which is the right-hand hill of the two between which you
go at three miles from Petersfield going towards Portsmouth; this Butser-hill
is, I say, quite high enough; and was more than high enough for us, for it took
us up amongst clouds that wet us very nearly to the skin. In going from Mr.
Goldsmith's to the hill, it is all up hill for five miles. Now and then a little
stoop; not much; but regularly with these little exceptions, up hill for these
five miles. The hill appears, at a distance, to be a sharp ridge on its top. It
is, however, not so. It is, in some parts, half a mile wide or more.
The road lies right along the middle of it from west to east, and, just when
you are at the highest part of the hill, it is very narrow from north to south;
not more, I think, than about a hundred or a hundred and thirty yards. This is
as interesting a spot, I think, as the foot of man ever was placed upon. Here
are two valleys, one to your right and the other to your left, very little less
than half a mile down to the bottom of them, and much steeper than a tiled roof
of a house. These valleys may be, where they join the hill, three or four
hundred yards broad. They get wider as they get farther from the hill. Of a
clear day you see all the north of Hampshire; nay, the whole county, together
with a great part of Surrey and of Sussex. You see the whole of the South-Downs
to the eastward as far as your eye can carry you; and, lastly, you see over
Portsdown Hill, which lies before you to the south; and there are spread open to
your view the isle of Portsea, Portchester, Wimmering, Fareham, Gosport,
Portsmouth, the harbour, Spithead, the Isle of Wight and the ocean. ... ... We
frequently talk of clouds coming from dews; and we actually see the heavy fogs
become clouds. We see them go up to the tops of hills, and, taking a swim round,
actually come and drop down upon us and wet us through; but, I am now going to
speak of clouds coming out of the sides of hills in exactly the same manner that
you see smoke come out of a tobacco-pipe, and, rising up, with a wider and wider
head, like the smoke from a tobacco-pipe, go to the top of the hill, or over the
hill, or very much above it, and then come over the valleys in rain. ... These
appearances take place, especially in warm and sultry weather. It was very warm
yesterday morning: it had thundered violently the evening before: we felt it hot
even while the rain fell upon us at Butser-hill.
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