t order. I declare that I stood looking at that road in
amazement for pretty nearly quarter of an hour, and I am inclined to
think that if I had stayed there till now I should not have seen
anybody or anything coming along it in either direction. Will the
tide of English summer travel ever again turn towards England
itself?

The tide turns every Saturday and Sunday. But besides the tide, for
which policemen set traps along the level road, Hindhead maintains a
colony of its own. The western side of the hill and Grayshott on the
Hampshire slope are almost a town. Grayshott lies actually in Hampshire,
but geographically it belongs to Hindhead; so do Waggoner's Wells, a
string of ponds rather like the Shottermill trout hatchery, but set much
more prettily among trees.

Of Hindhead it is as true as of other places with magnificent views,
that you must live on the spot to be sure of getting them. It is only
the greatest good luck that allows a casual visitor full measure of the
splendour of clear air all round him, north, south, east, and west. Even
if it is clear to the south it may well be misty to the north, and, of
course, the angle of the sunlight makes all the difference to the
sharpness with which this or that detail of scenery stands out from its
surroundings. In one respect the view from the highest point of Hindhead
is never perfect. To the south-east, on a neighbouring slope, the pine
trees that crest the ridge block out the downs over Brighton and
Newhaven. It is a pity, for only from the tower on Leith Hill, not on
Leith Hill itself, is there another view in the south-east of England
with so wonderful an expanse of country seen clear away to the horizon.
St. George's Hill is blocked with trees, so is St. Anne's; Leith Hill is
almost clear, but from Hindhead, until those unlucky pines grew up, you
could see pretty nearly thirty miles on any side. Not that the Devil's
Dyke and the downs beyond cannot any longer be seen from Hindhead; you
can get a fine view of them a mile away to the north, from the old
Portsmouth road, on the other side of the new road, but from that point
the view is not nearly so fine on the other sides. The hill is not so
high. On Gibbet Hill you are 895 feet above sea level according to the
ordnance map; if you have no map, you can consult a brass disc which has
been erected on the plateau, which gives you also other interesting
information. All the distances to the neighb