Somerset | Page 4

and a stony foreshore at Clevedon, there are no
rocks worth mentioning. Brean Down and the North Hill near
Minehead are the only headlands, but notwithstanding this, the
watering places of Somerset are breezy and healthy.
Weston-super-Mare in particular has a high reputation for salubrity,
and has long been one of the most popular seaside resorts in England.
Somerset is peculiarly deficient in large rivers, for the Avon can hardly
be included amongst its belongings, since it is the dividing line between
the county and Gloucestershire. The Parrett is the one stream of any
moment. It is a sluggish and uninteresting bit of water, rising in Dorset,
entering Somerset near Crewkerne, and flowing, when it meets the tide
near Bridgwater, with a wearisomely circuitous course of some 12 m.
before it mixes with the Bristol Channel. The other rivers, the Frome
and Chew, which join the Avon; the Axe, which rises in Wookey Hole
and enters the sea near Brean Down; the Brue and Cary, which empty
themselves into the estuary of the Parrett; and the Parrett's own
tributaries, the Yeo, Ivel, and Tone, are unimportant. Exmoor is drained
by the Exe and Barle, which, when united, flow southward into Devon.
Such, however, is the character of Somerset scenery that the absence of
water in it is hardly noticed. From what has been said it will be seen
that the county has much in it to arrest the attention of the traveller who

can appreciate quiet beauty, and, as will appear, even more to appeal to
one who is interested in his country's-past, whilst upon the affection of
its sons its hold is indisputable. As one of them writes:--
"Fair winds, free way, for youth the rover; We all must share the curse
of Cain: But bring me back when youth is over To the old crooked
shire again.
Ay, bring me back in life's declining To the one home that's home for
me, Where in the west the sunset shining Goes down into the Severn
sea."

V. FAUNA AND FLORA
The really interesting fauna of Somerset belongs to a past age, when
mammoths, elephants, and rhinoceroses, cave lions, bisons, bears, and
hyaenas roamed over its surface. Their remains have been found in the
caverns of Hutton, Bleadon, Banwell, and Wookey, and are preserved
in Taunton Museum. Of the wild creatures which at present occur in the
county, the only one which confers real distinction upon it is the red
deer, which roams at large on both Exmoor and the Quantocks. Badgers
are not uncommon near Dulverton and in the more uncultivated
districts. The very diversified character of Somerset makes it the home
of a large variety of birds, the Quantocks and Exmoor sheltering many
of the predatory kinds, the long coast-line attracting numerous seafowl,
and the fenny country of the centre affording a feeding ground for the
different kinds of waders. Of the resident species which are
comparatively uncommon elsewhere may be mentioned the hawfinch,
the greater and lesser spotted woodpecker, the carrion crow, the raven,
the buzzard, the hen-harrier, and the peregrine falcon. Among the
regular visitors are included the white wagtail, the pied flycatcher, the
nightjar, the black redstart, the lesser redpole, the snow bunting, the
redwing, the reed, marsh, and grasshopper warblers, the siskin, the
dotterel, the sanderling, the wryneck, the hobby, the merlin, the bittern,
and the shoveller. As occasional visitors may be reckoned the
wax-wing, golden oriole, cross-bill, hoopoe, white-tailed eagle, honey

buzzard, ruff, puffin, great bustard, Iceland gull, glaucous gull, and
Bewick's swan. Visitors that may be supposed to have reached the
county only by accident have scarcely a claim to be noticed here,
though perhaps allusion may be made to an Egyptian vulture seen at
Kilve in 1825, and specimens of Pallas's sand-grouse observed near
Bridgwater, Weston-super-Mare, and Bath.[1]
As regards the flora the elevated position of parts of the county makes
it the home of a number of plants which do not commonly occur in the
South of England. Thus there are found on Exmoor the crowberry
(_Empetrum nigrum_), the parsley fern (_Cryptogramme crispa_), and
the oak fern (_Phegopteris dryopteris_). Asplenium septentrionale is
found at Culbone; Listera cordata grows on Dunkery and near
Chipstable; and the cranberry (_Oxycoccus palustris_) is said to occur
at Selworthy and on the Brendons. On the other hand, Somerset
likewise furnishes congenial conditions for those plants that love
low-lying, marshy ground, and on the peat-moors in the Glastonbury
district the flowering fern (_Osmunda regalis_) and the bog myrtle
(_Myrica Gale_) are met with. Within the British Isles the following
are found only in Somerset: _Dianthus gratianopolitanus, Hieracium
stinolepis, Verbascum lychnitis_, and _Euphorbia pilosa. Arabis
stricta_ occurs only on the limestone near Clifton; Helianthemum
polifolium is confined to Somerset and Devon; Pirus latifolia to
Somerset and Denbigh.[2]
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