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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Downs
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A term misleading in its implication of something low rather than high. It comes from the Old English dun meaning 'hill', and is applied to the rolling chalk uplands, grassy and treeless, which are characteristic of much of southern England. The North Downs stretch from southwest of London to the coast near Dover, where the chalk ridge is broken off to form the famous white cliffs. The South Downs, running close to the coast through most of Sussex, reach the sea round Beachy Head. The Berkshire Downs lie south of the Chilterns, separated from them by the Thames valley. The North Wessex Downs are round Marlborough, and the West Wiltshire Downs stretch west from Salisbury.
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