We had now to climb to the top of the downs, and after about two miles,
nearly all uphill, reached the fine old Roman camp of Segsbury, where
we crossed the Icknield Way, known locally as the Rudge or the
Ridge-way--possibly because it followed the ridge or summit of the
downs. It had every appearance of having been a military road from one
camp to another, for it continued straight from Segsbury Camp to the
Roman camp on the White Horse Hill, about six miles distant. The "Rudge"
was now covered with turf, and would have been a pleasant road to walk
along; but our way lay in another direction along a very lonely road,
where we saw very few people and still fewer houses.
It was quite dark when we crossed the small River Lambourn at the
village of West Shefford, and after a further walk of about six miles we
arrived at the town of Hungerford, where we stayed the night. What a
strange effect these lonely walks had upon us when they extended from
one centre of population to another! We could remember the persons and
places at either end, but the intervening space seemed like a dream or
as if we had been out of the world for the time being, and only
recovered consciousness when we arrived at our destination and again
heard the sounds of human voices other than our own.
Pages:
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878