(_The favourite Retreat of his Majesty_.)
Virginia Water was planted, and the lake executed, under the direction of
Paul Sandby, at a time when this part of Windsor Forest was the favourite
residence of Duke William of Cumberland. The artificial water is the
largest in the kingdom, with the single exception of Blenheim; the
cascade is, perhaps, the most striking imitation we have of the great
works of nature; and the grounds are arranged in the grandest style of
landscape-gardening. The neighbouring scenery is bold and rugged, being
the commencement of Bagshot Heath; and the variety of surface agreeably
relieves the eye, after the monotony of the first twenty miles from town,
which fatigues the traveller either upon the Bath or Western roads. At
the time when the public were allowed to visit Virginia Water, the best
point of entrance was at the gate at Bishopsgate; near which very pretty
village, or rather green, the Royal Lodge is at present situated. Shelley,
who had a true eye for the picturesque, resided for some time at this
place; and it would have been difficult for a poet to have found, in any
of the highly cultivated counties of England, a spot so full of the most
exquisite variety of hill and dale, of wood and water,--so fitted to call
forth and cherish the feelings upon which poetry must depend for its
peculiar nurture.
Bishopsgate is situated about a mile to the right of the western road
from London, after you ascend the hill beyond Egham. To the left, St.
Anne's Hill, the favoured residence of Charles Fox, is a charming object;
and upon the ridge which the traveller ascends, is the spot which has
given a name to Denham's celebrated poem. "Cooper's Hill" is not shut out
from the contemplative searchers after the beauties of nature; and,
however the prospect here may be exceeded by scenes of wider extent, or
more striking grandeur, certainly the _locale_ of the earliest, and
perhaps the best, descriptive poem of our language, is calculated to
produce the warmest feelings of admiration, both for its actual beauty
and its unrivalled associations. From an elevation of several hundred
feet, you look down upon a narrow fertile valley, through which the
Thames winds with surpassing loveliness. Who does not recollect the
charming lines with which Denham describes the "silver river:"--
"Oh! could I flow thee, and make thy stream
My great example, as it is my theme;
Though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull;
Strong without rage; without o'erflowing full."
Immediately at your feet is the plain of Runnemede, where the great
battle between John and the Barons was fought; and in the centre of the
river is the little fishing island, where Magna Charta was signed. At the
extremity of the valley is Windsor Castle, rising up in all the pomp of
its massive towers. We recollect the scene as Windsor _was_. Whatever Mr.
Wyattville may have done for its internal improvement, and for its
adaptation to the purposes of a modern residence without sacrificing all
its character of antiquity, we fear that he has destroyed its picturesque
effect in the distant landscape. Its old characteristic feature was that
of a series of turrets rising above the general elevation. By raising the
intermediate roofs, without giving a proportionate height to the towers,
the whole line has become square and unbroken. This was, perhaps, an
unavoidable fault; but it is a fault.
From Cooper's Hill, the entrance to Virginia Water is a walk of a quarter
of an hour. We were accustomed to wander down a long and close plantation
of pines, where the rabbit ran across with scarcely a fear of man. A more
wild and open country succeeded; and we then followed the path, through
many a "bosky bourn," till we arrived at a rustic bridge, which crossed
the lake at a narrow neck, where the little stream was gradually lost
amongst the underwood. A scene of almost unrivalled beauty here burst
upon the view. For nearly a mile, a verdant walk led along, amidst the
choicest evergreens, by the side of a magnificent breadth of water. The
opposite shore was rich with the heather-bloom; and plantations of the
most graceful trees--the larch, the ash, and the weeping birch ("the lady
of the woods"), broke the line of the wide lake, and carried the
imagination on, in the belief that some mighty river lay beyond that
screening wood. The cascade was at length reached. Cascades are much upon
the same plan, whether natural or artificial; the scale alone makes the
difference. This cascade is sufficiently large not to look like a
plaything; and if it were met with in Westmoreland or Wales, tourists
would dilate much upon its beauties. At this point the water may be
easily forded; and after a walk of the most delicious seclusion, we used
to reach a bold arch, over which the public road was carried. Here have
been erected some of the antique columns, that, a few years ago, were in
the court-yard of the British Museum.
From this arch a variety of walks, of the most delightful retirement,
present themselves. They are principally bounded with various trees of
the pine tribe, intermingled with laurel and acacia. The road gradually
ascends to a considerable elevation, where there is a handsome building,
called the Belvidere. The road from this spot is very charming. We
descend from this height, through a wild path, by the side of trees of
much more ancient growth than the mass around; and, crossing the high
road, again reach the lake, at a point where its dimensions are ample and
magnificent. About this part a splendid fishing-temple has lately been
erected. Of its taste we can say nothing.
The common road from Blacknest (the name of this district of Windsor
Forest) to the Royal Lodge is strikingly beautiful. Virginia Water is
crossed by a very elegant bridge, built by Sandby; on one side of it the
view terminates in a toy of the last age--a Chinese temple; on the other
it ranges over a broad expanse of water. The road sometimes reminds one
of the wildness of mountain scenery, and at another turn displays all the
fertility of a peaceful agricultural district. We at length pass the
secluded domain of the Royal Lodge; and when we reach the edge of the
hill, we look upon a vista of the most magnificent elms, and over an
expanse of the most striking forest scenery, with the splendid Castle
terminating the prospect--a monument of past glories, which those who
have a feeling for their country's honour may well uphold and cherish.--
_London Magazine_.
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