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300 CHANNEL i s l a n d s :
called the Creux, is the only accessible part of the
island, accessible however, in a singular way: for
when one steps on shore from the harbour, one is still
outside of Serk. You have still to pass through a
tunnel, about twenty yards in length, beneath the
solid rock; and on emerging from it, a winding path
up a narrow valley, leads to the table land. The
tunnel, or hole, of which I have spoken, appears to
have been partly natural, and partly excavated; and
I need scarcely say, that it might be defended against
almost any attack, either by a very trifling force, or
by the application of artificial defences. To detach
by gunpowder, a part of the roof, or side of the tunnel,
would render Serk inaccessible.
I have seldom spent a few days more to my mind,
than those which I spent in Serk; and they were fully
occupied,—wdiether in the contemplation of natural
objects,—in observing and talking with the islanders
—or in conversation with their respected chief: and I
shall make no apology for speaking somewhat in
detail, of all that I saw, and learnt, in this interesting,
and little known dependency of the British crown. I
shall first speak of its general features, and of all that
the eye takes cognizance of.
At first sight, one landed on Serk, and looking over
it, would take the island to be almost a plain,—a cultivated
and enclosed plain,—fertile,—and a grain
country: and it is only a part of this impression that
is proved to be erroneous, by a nearer survey. It
was towards the latter end of July, when I visited
Serk; and in walking through it, I everywhere found
the heavy wheat crops almost ready for the sickle:
SERK. 301
the barley crops had already been gathered. But the
first impression, that Serk is a plain, is soon agreeably
removed. Although Serk be what is usually called a
table land, it is intersected by deep, wooded, romantic
valleys; watered by little tumbling brooks. I
descended into all of these valleys, dells, and hollows ;
and found some of them surpassingly beautiful,—
singularly contrasting,—in my recollection, with the
barren and rocky coast, that so little prepares one for
scenes of soft and wooded fertility. In some spots, it
is indeed difficult to believe, that one is on a small
islet, two or three leagues in circumference. One
valley, the valley of Dixcard, is every way a charming
spot: it is a winding valley, about a quarter of a
mile broad, flanked by hills, that appear lofty, owing
to its great depth. Wood in infinite variety, fills the
lower part of the valley ; cottages with their little
gardens, and bit of orchard ground, are scattered in
its bosom; while the green sides of the hills, dotted
with cattle, entirely shut out the view of the sea ; and
the rush of the little rivulet by the pathway, as well
as the bend of the valley, hinder even the sound of
the waves from reaching this sweet seclusion.
Among the many charms of these dells, I must not
forget the abundance of singing birds, and fhe extraordinary
profusion of woodbine. Blackbirds, are
greatly more numerous here, than in any other of the
Channel Islands: from the depth of every hollow,
they were sending up their full mellow notes; and as
for the honeysuckle, it blossoms thickly upon every
hedge, and twines up half the trees that skirt the
roads and enclosures ; so that its fragrance,—one of
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