The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-10-14 00:00:00

A CRUISE UPON WHEELS.

The following Is an extract from a letter "N" sends to The
Times, in which he gives a very Interesting description of
what must have been a very pleasant excursion :
"Sir,—Having lately returned from a month's
cruise upon wheels,' I venture to point out, for the
information of your readers, how they may spend a
holiday in a most simple and enjoyable manner, without
the fatigue and excitement which many undergo in
their autumn travels. Few persons, in my experience,
are so well acquainted with the rural scenery of our
English high roads as they are with the mountf.'
and valleys of Switzerland or the Tyrol; yet a
by the road from London to any place at a distank
100 or 200 miles will provide numerous objects of i
rest to a traveller in search of recreation and exer,
To travel frsm place to place for a whole month
out entering a railway train is a new experienc
most persons of the present generation, but when ,
tried it proves so agreeable as to invite frequent rei

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ience,
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tion.
"Our caravan, which set off towards the end of
July, consistediof a small phaeton for my wife and
self, drawn by two little black Welsh ponies,and a I
dog-cart drawn by a larger pony, and containing
luggage, under the care of a groom. With t
vehicles we travelled, about 350 miles in the course o
our month's outing; and, besides being exempt from
any kind of accident, our ponies returned home as fat
and frisky as when they started. We were act y
on the road for only 17 days, or parts of days. The
rest of our time was spent either in fishing or in visits
at the homes of our friends.
"It is hardly necessary to describe particularly the
route which we adopted. On different occasions we
have tried various routes, and found every such excur-
sion full of interest. All our English country roads
are pleasant, and afford more or less beautiful views of
park and woodland, open heath, and well-timbered
landscape. In some places our road was along the sea-
coast, at other points far inland. We carried a case of
fishing-rods with us, and occasionally halted in the
neighbourhood of a river and filled our baskets with its
spoils. Often we drew up on some green spot in
park or valley, and allowed our little team of
ponies to bite the grass, while we gazed about us,
and enjoyed the refreshing shade at midday, or the
mild sunlight in the evening. Daring the intensely
hot weather our plan was to rise very early, and
commence our drive soon after five in the morning. The
soft, cool air of a summer morning, and the charr
aspect of nature in those early hours, added greatly
the pleasure of our journey. When the day beca
hot we halted to breakfast at some road-side inn
country town; and there our caravan rested during
heat of the day. We found occupation in explor.
shady woods or entering into friendly relations wi
the inmates of adjoining cottages. My wife is sligh
afflicted with the prevailing mania for collecting c
china, and as our drive carried us through ne,
secluded villages and towns remote from railways, thk
were abundant opportunities for making such a
collection at a small cost. %the leader of the expedi-
tion had not been inexorable, the ponies would have
dragged back to London a heavy burden of ancient
crockery, by way of addition to the original freight.
Late in the afternoon of each day we were again on
the road and completed our day's journey, which
usually covered from twenty-five to thirty miles.
During our afternoon driVe my wife claimed, not in
vain, the privilege of her usual five o'clock tea. A.
halt of half an hour for this purpose was always con-
ceded by acclamation; and one or more of your
country readers may, perhaps, remember having seen.
In some green spot by the roadside, far away from
London, three black ponies, in their harness, cropping
the grass beside a clear stream, while the travellers
were boiling their kettle or offering fragments of the
finished meal to rustic children.
"Having acquired considerable experience of country
inns, during my lest driving tour and some previous
ones, I may venture to speak approvingly of the
accommodation usually found there. Our demands on
their resources were not very exacting, nor were their
demands on our purse. As the cost of such an expedi-
tion may be a subject of interest to persons wishing to
follow our example, I may state that, after deducting
what our ponies would have coat in their stables at
home, the actual expenses of our journey amounted to
£1 15s. 6d. per day. This covered the hotel expenses
of my wife and myself and the groom (but not of
course his ordinary wages), the keep of three ponies
(beyond 2s. a day each, their coat at livery in London),
turnpikes (happily very few now remain), and every
other item of outlay. To travel on the Continent now
usually costs about £1 2e. 6d. a day for each person if
economically managed, so that a driving tour in England
is a less costly amusement for those who keep a horse
of any kind. It may be accomplished at a still lower
cost by travelling in a dog-cart or four-wheel- carriage
with only one horse, and without a servant. But
those who have horses in their stable will find them im-
proved rather than exhausted, by a month's excursion
through the country, if care is taken that they are
driven quietly, well fed, and carefully treated, both
on the road and in the stables of the inn visited. At
least two days' entire rest in each week should be
given to the horses. Any route that the traveller may
select will certainly lead him to places interesting
enough to invite a day's halt; and on such by-days ei
ramble on foot through town or country provides the
exercise necessary for the thorough enjoyment of a
summer holiday."
After remarking that the abolition of turnpikes had not
causbd the quality of th, reads ,to creteriorate so much as
might have beeh expected, abd that 'stime hi the bad ones
were within a few milet'of Lohdcrn,
.ther writer fir.bceddst—
" From pleasant recollections ofseveral ernch hididayl
journeys, I venture to recommend any of, your 'Udell;
• who have grown tired of Continental -tours to try a
driving excursion in their own country. A drive from.
London to the Land's End may be accomplished com-
fortably in 17 days, or more leisurely in three weeks,
and the traveller can either return by railway, or drive
home by quite a different route. A shorter but very
pleasant drive is from London to Cromer by Cambridge
and King's Lynn, with a return journey by Norwich
and the sea-coast of Suffolk. Even in the Eastern
counties each day's drive usually brings the traveller
through many miles of charming scenery little known
to Londoners. For the purpose of a driving tour,
'Paterson's Roads,' a book wall known in coaching and
posting days, will be found most useful. It contains the
correct distances between every town and village along
the principal roads, and gives a description of the various
country seats and objects of interest. As regards the
present owners of the soil, the information contained
In this book is, of course, considerably out of (kit?,
Perhaps in some cases the interest of the traveller
is
increased by this circumstance, as he is reminded of
the old county families who formerly occupied the
noble mansions that lie along his route, and whose
equipages once enlivened the now almost !silent and
deserted highways. I trust that their silence and
solitude may soon become less remarkable as the tastes
of our countrymen tend towards snore extensive travel
by read. They will thus realize a leisurely enjoyment
of the natural beauties of English scenery which can
hardly be attained under the necessary conditions of a
railwa- -ay.”

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