_Voyage up the Bristol Channel_.--Two steam-packets ply twice every week
throughout the year between Bristol and Swansea. The opposition has been
so great this season, that the cabin fare is only 5_s_. and the steerage
2_s_. 6_d_. for a distance of seventy-five miles. The voyage down is
performed in fine weather in about six hours; while, in consequence
of the tide being adverse, it requires from nine to ten hours to make the
voyage up the Channel. We hardly know any voyage so pleasant of the same
length, for the scenery along the shores of the Severn sea, as it is well
known, is singularly romantic and beautiful. We will give a rapid
description of the voyage to Bristol:--Let us suppose ourselves darting
between Swansea pier-heads, in the well-known _Palmerston_ steamer, with
her opponent, the _Bristol_, in her wake. After crossing Swansea Bay, you
pass Porthcawl, about fifteen miles from Swansea, where a harbour has been
formed, at a great expense, by an extensive new coal company, whose works
lie fourteen miles distant. This coast is exposed to all the fury of the
Atlantic, the surf against the cliffs appearing very distinct at Swansea;
and the task of forming the Breakwater must have been a difficult one. The
steamers now keep close along shore, in a channel inside the Nass
Sands--an extensive and dangerous bank to seaward. The contrast between
the immense and tumultuous masses of breakers over these sands,
particularly if the wind is fresh, and the calmness of the narrow channel
you are securely traversing, is very impressive. These sands, and another
large shoal called the Skerweathers, nearer Swansea, have been fatal to
many vessels. In rough weather, however, the steamers go outside, which
lengthens the passage considerably. A large West Indiaman, with a cargo of
rum, &c., was lost a few years ago on a rock near Porthcawl, called the
Tusca, which disappears at high-water; and a dreadful scene of riot
occurred amongst the peasantry along shore in consequence. The coast near
Porthcawl appears at Swansea to be the eastern extremity of the bay; but
the bluff point called the Nass, about eight miles farther, is so in
reality. The coast onwards past the Nass point is almost perpendicular,
the limestone lying in horizontal strata, so as to closely resemble a very
lofty wall. There are several breaks or openings of extreme natural beauty
as you proceed, which have a double effect on the mind when contrasted
with the stern scenery of this wild coast. St. Donat's Castle, the
residence of Mr. T.D.T. Drake, an extensive and antique structure in fine
preservation, with its venerable towers partly embosomed in wood, is
extremely beautiful. The park, studded with deer, shelves gradually down
to the shore; a lofty watch-tower on the heights, and the hanging terraces,
must command a splendid view. St. Donat's Castle is said to have been
built nearly a thousand years ago, and was very strongly fortified: as
many Roman coins have been found here, there has probably been a Roman
station near. An extensive cave, accessible only at low water, near here,
is said to have been the retreat of St. Donat.--The steamers still keep
close along shore, and pass Aberthaw, celebrated for its limestone, till
you near the Flat and Steep Holmes, two conspicuous islands in the middle
of the Channel, about three miles distant from each other. From a lofty
light-house on the Flat Holme, a magnificent view may be obtained on a
clear day of the Channel, with Lundy Island rearing its head above the
distant ocean:--
"Look round--behold
How proudly the majestic Severn rides
On the sea--how gloriously in light
It rides!"
The Flat Holme, which is nearly ten miles from Cardiff harbour, forms the
boundary of the port of Bristol; and every seven years the mayor and
corporation of that city visit it, and go through some ceremonies
prescribed by ancient custom. There are some remarkable and interesting
rocks on the Flat Holme: its only inhabitants are a man and his wife, the
attendants at the light-house. This man is created sole lord of the island
by the corporation of Bristol, and has the exclusive right of fishing
round its shores. The Steep Holme is a lofty and barren rock, tenanted
alone by the cormorant and the sea-mew: it is smaller than the Flat Holme.
The following lines are so beautifully descriptive of this lonely and
desolate spot, that we cannot resist transcribing them:
"The sea-bird claims that solitary spot,
And around, loud screaming, wheels
In undisturbed possession: other sounds,
Save those of shrieking winds and battling cliffs.
Are seldom heard in that deserted isle.
The spirit of desolation seems to dwell
Within it; and although the sun is high,
And Nature is at holy peace, it has
An aspect wild and dreary.
But in the wint'ry storm, when all that sea--
The terrible Atlantic--breasts its rocks
In thund'ring conflict, the unearthly howl
Might almost wake the dead."
_N.T. Carrington_.
But to proceed with our voyage:--Almost opposite the Holmes there is an
extensive view on your right of Bridgewater Bay, receding inland; and on
the left, Pennarth Roads, with the forest of shipping and town of Cardiff
elevated in the distance, present themselves. On this side the Channel
there is nothing more to mention--the thriving and very extensive port of
Newport on the Uske, in Monmouthshire, about twelve miles above Cardiff,
not being visible. This town has risen almost entirely within the present
century. It owes its prosperity partly to the excellent quality and
hardness of its coal, which is almost equal to that of Newcastle, and
partly to an unjust and exclusive act of parliament, which enacts that all
coals shipped eastward of the Holmes shall be free of duty, to the great
injury of Cardiff, Swansea, and other ports to the westward. The annual
shipments to the port of Bridgewater alone, in consequence, are 100,000
tons. You now stretch nearer the Somersetshire coast; and after passing
that beautiful and much-frequented little watering-place,
Weston-supra-mare, clustering on the side of a romantic declivity along
shore, the flood-tide reaches you on arriving in the far-famed King-Road
at the mouth of the Avon, which, in addition to the natural beauty of the
surrounding scenery, generally presents an animating scene of shipping and
steamers, lying off till there is sufficient tide up the river. But we
have progressed gently amidst a crowd of small craft past Pill, a fishing
village at its mouth; and after being entranced for five miles with the
magnificent and varied scenery of that lovely river, the classic and
palatial buildings of Clifton, cresting the pinnacle of the rocks, come in
sight as you near Cumberland Basin, and form a fit termination to such a
scene. But we must recur to this subject.