The ground suddenly sloped down into a valley, beyond which rose the
Downs; the castle stood on a green isolated low hill, about half-way
across the vale. To the left a river wound past; to the right the beech
forest extended as far as the eye could see. The slope at their feet had
been cleared of all but a few hawthorn bushes. It was not enclosed, but
a neatherd was there with his cattle half a mile away, sitting himself
at the foot of a beech, while the cattle grazed below him.

Down in the valley the stockade began; it was not wide but long. The
enclosure extended on the left to the bank of the river, and two fields
on the other side of it. On the right it reached a mile and a half or
nearly, the whole of which was overlooked from the spot where they had
passed. Within the enclosures the corn crops were green and flourishing;
horses and cattle, ricks and various buildings, were scattered about it.
The town or cottages of the serfs were on the bank of the river
immediately beyond the castle. On the Downs, which rose a mile or more
on the other side of the castle, sheep were feeding; part of the ridge
was wooded and part open. Thus the cultivated and enclosed valley was
everywhere shut in with woods and hills.

The isolated round hill on which the castle stood was itself enclosed
with a second stockade; the edge of the brow above that again was
defended by a stout high wall of flints and mortar, crenellated at the
top. There were no towers or bastions. An old and ivy-grown building
stood inside the wall; it dated from the time of the ancients; it had
several gables, and was roofed with tiles. This was the dwelling-house.
The gardens were situated on the slope between the wall and the inner
stockade. Peaceful as the scene appeared, it had been the site of
furious fighting not many years ago. The Downs trended to the south,