Sharpham; -Durant, Esq. The road from Totness to Sharpham is a crooked narrow lane between high banks, in which two carriages can with difficulty pass. If widened and carried along an improved line, which might be almost on a perfect level, it would be one of the loveliest drives in the world, from the abundance of wood and the great beauty of the valley of the Dart, the water of which expands so as to resemble a winding lake. The narrow lane alluded to is two or three miles in length; and the approach road, after leaving the lodge, extends upwards of a mile. We passed many fine old trees, and among others the most magnificent Cornish elm that we ever beheld. By a rude measurement, we found the trunk to be 15 ft. in diameter; the diameter of the space covered by the branches to be 136 ft.; and the height 80 ft. The house is very well placed on a projecting platform, which forms, as it were, the corner between the valley of the Dart and another valley, which may be called that of Sharpham. Here the "sufficient reason" for choosing the situation is obvious at a glance. There is much natural beauty at this place, and many fine woods and trees; but it is in a state of sad neglect, nothing having been done to it for several years. It appears, indeed, never to have been completed; for the walls of the kitchen-garden have not been built, and there are the rafters of a vinery, under which vines are trained, but for which, we were informed, the sashes were never made.
