Page:Walker (1888) The Severn Tunnel.djvu/37

4 towed up the estuary of the Severn, and docked at Sharpness Point, from which place there is a ship canal, known as the Berkeley Canal, to Gloucester.

Below Sharpness the estuary of the Severn continues to exhibit the same features—a waste of sand at low water and a broad channel of dirty water at high tide. The banks are generally low till we reach Aust Cliff, where the east bank rises to about 100 feet. This cliff shows the geological strata in a very distinct manner, the lower part being of the new red sandstone and the upper part lias. The cliff is famous for the number and beauty of the fossils which are obtained from the lias beds.

On the opposite side of the river there is a small island, on which are the ruins of the Chapel of St. Tecla; and here was one of the ferries by which, in the old days, general traffic between Bristol and South Wales was conveyed across the river. This is known as ‘Old Passage;’ and immediately below the river Wye runs into the Severn, about two miles from the town of Chepstow.

Chepstow, which contains about 3,000 inhabitants, is a picturesque town, with part of the old walls still remaining, as well as the ruins of the castle.

It is a favourite resort for tourists intending to visit the Wye Valley and Tintern Abbey, the latter being about 4½ miles to the north-west.

The tide rises at Chepstow Bridge to the height of 50 feet, and runs up the river Wye at high