And this grandeur is heightened, not diminished, by the view presented in the midst of fertile fields, and the simple details of rural occupation. The peninsula of Laucaut, on the opposite bank of the Wye, is a comparatively extensive farm, cultivated to the highest perfection, and rich with the gifts of Ceres. It is dotted with trees, and a range of elms fringes it on the side of the river. Towards the middle of its pear-shaped area, or rather approaching the isthmus, stands the farm house, with rocks and woods behind. The principal points of view are the following:
1. The Lover’s Leap. 2. A seat near two beeches on the edge of the precipice. 3. The Giant’s Cave, which occupies the centre of the amphitheatre and overlooks Lancaut peninsula. 4. The halfway seat under a large beech tree. 5. The double view. 6. Above Piercewood. 7. The grotto. 8. The platform. 9. The alcove.
But other portions of the grounds not so frequently visited are noticed by an observant traveller. “From the Giant’s cave, a road winds beautifully along the brow of the cliff to a grove of lofty oak, beech, and sycamore, which is cleared from underwood, in the centre of the extensive forest which spreads beneath the Lover’s Leap. In this charming and sequestered spot is a cold bath supplied by a copious and transparent rill, which springs at the foot of the winding cliff, and ripples down the side of the declivity. The road then descends to Malridge meadow, on the bank of the Wye, where the river appears like a lake, and the fertile peninsula of Lancaut rises in a gentle declivity from the margin of the stream to the isthmus.
“A beautiful walk, two miles in length, skirts this meadow, at the foot of the stupendous range of Piercefield cliffs, and then mounts to the house by steps, cut in a steep rock. As the house stands several hundred feet above the river, the ascent is long and difficult, but the toil is amply repaid by the beauty and sublimity of the scene.”
From some of these points, it may be observed, the Severn, seen beyond the Wye, appears to be considerably above it; and, however easily explained the phenomenon may be, an indescribably puzzling effect is produced by the idea that the latter river, a few miles lower down, runs into the former. The fact is noticed by Mr. Coxe, whose description is truly excellent.
“From the Lover’s Leap the walk is carried through a thick mantle of forests, with occasional openings, which seem not the result of art or design, but the effect of chance or nature, and seats placed where the spectator may repose and view at leisure the scenery above, beneath, and around. This
Bowery walk
Of covert close, where scarce a speck of day
Falls on the lengthened gloom,
is conformant to the genius of Piercefield; the screen of wood prevents the uniformity of a bird’s eye view, and the imperceptible bend of the amphitheatre conveys the spectator from one part of the fairy region to the other without perceiving the gradation. Hence the Wye is sometimes concealed or half-obscured by overhanging foliage, at others, wholly expanding to view, is seen sweeping beneath in a broad and circuitous channel; hence in one place the Severn spreads in the midst of a boundless expanse of country, and on the opposite side to the Wye; at another both rivers appear on the same side, and the Severn seems supported on the summit of the cliffs which form the bank of the Wye. Hence the same objects present themselves in different aspects, with varied accompaniments; hence the magic transition from the impervious gloom of the forest to open groves; from meadows and lawns, to rocks and precipices, and from the beauties of English landscape, to the wildness of Alpine scenery.
“The summit of Wind Cliff, which towers above the northern extremity of the grounds, commands, in one point of view, the whole extent of this interesting scenery: as I stood on the brow of this precipice, I looked down on the fertile peninsula of Lancaut, surrounded with rocks and forests, contemplated the hanging wood, rich lawns, and romantic cliffs of Piercefield, the castle and town of Chepstow, and traced the Wye, sweeping in the true outline of beauty, from the Bangor crags to its junction with the Severn, which spreads into an estuary, and is lost in the distant ocean.