has been touched on in former pages; and the debt which the valley
owes to the stone which they provide, and the architectural style
which grew up amongst them, cannot be overestimated.

[Illustration: St. Egwin's Church Honeybourne]

Close to the town many of the field-paths have been bereft of their
charm, and almost lost in the intricate maze of currant bushes and
plum trees; but the river meadows are still untouched, and without
going far afield we may find villages yet retaining much of their
old-world character, and offering much that is picturesque and
interesting.

Hampton, which has been described in the last section may be
approached as easily by road as by river; from the top of the village
Clark's Hill may be gained, and from here the ferry may be crossed and
the town re-entered by Boat Lane.

Badsey, and Wickhamford, with the hamlet of Aldington, are all in
their different ways worth a visit. Badsey in addition to its church
has many interesting old houses; and at Wickhamford the church and
manor form an attractive group. In the church are some fine canopied
monuments, of Jacobean style, of the Sandys family, who owned the
adjacent manor house--a building of stone and timber, much of it
dating from the sixteenth century. The circular dovecote belonging to
monastic times is carefully preserved.

Bretforton, with its church built by the monks of Evesham, lies on the
road between Badsey and Honeybourne.