CHAPTER II

EVESHAM AND THE VALE

_Great Evesham's fertile glebe what tongue hath not extolled._
_As though to her alone belonged the crown of gold_.

--MICHAEL DRAYTON.


Evesham stands on a kind of peninsula formed by a deep loop of the
river Avon on its way from Stratford-on-Avon to Tewkesbury. The broad
vale in which it lies is enclosed by a semicircle of hills, which
provide a background to every varied landscape, and give a sense of
homeliness and seclusion which those who are familiar with unbroken
stretches of level country will at once recognise and appreciate. From
the east to the south-west range the Cotswolds, not striking in
outline but depending for their beauty in great part upon the play of
light and shade and the variety given by atmospheric effects. To
dwellers in the vale the appearance of the hills not only reflects the
feeling of the day but foretells the coming weather. When a delicate,
blue haze shrouds their forms, entirely obliterating the more distant
heights, the pleasure-seeker rests content in the promise of a fair
morn; but no pleasant expectations can be formed when, robed in
deepest purple, they seem to draw in and crowd together, and with
vastly increased bulk to frown upon the darkening vale.

[Illustration: EVESHAM AND BREDON HILL FROM THE PARKS]

At each end of the Cotswold range, as seen from Evesham, stands,