picturesque
/ˈpɪktʃərəsk/Very pretty to look at, in the charming way a small village or a valley can be.
Example: We stopped in a picturesque valley for a picnic.
C120 words · Advanced
Countryside vocabulary — C1
Countryside vocabulary for landscape writing, including arable, pastoral and undulating land, plus a hedgerow, a weir and a coppice.
20 questions
Words in this set
20winding
/ˈwaɪndɪŋ/Bending repeatedly one way then the other instead of running straight.
Example:
A winding lane climbs through the hills to the farm.
arable
/ˈærəbəl/Describing land that is suitable for growing crops.
Example:
Most of this flat region is rich arable farmland.
undulating
/ˈʌndʒəˌleɪtɪŋ/Having gentle slopes that rise and fall like waves.
Example:
The path crosses undulating grassland before it reaches the woods.
hedgerow
A long line of bushes and small trees growing along the edge of a field.
Example:
Birds nest in the thick hedgerow between the two fields.
bucolic
/bjuˈkɑlɪk/Relating to pleasant, peaceful life in the countryside.
Example:
The painting showed a bucolic scene of farmers at work.
pastoral
/ˈpæstərəl/Relating to the countryside and farming, especially in a peaceful, idealised way.
Example:
The poem describes a pastoral life of shepherds and fields.
verdant
/ˈvɜrdənt/Covered with lush, healthy green grass or plants.
Example:
The train passed through verdant hills.
smallholding
A minor farm run by one family, on a much more modest scale than a typical commercial farm.
Example:
They grow vegetables to sell from their smallholding.
agrarian
/əˈɡrɛriən/Relating to farming or farmland.
Example:
The country's economy was once mostly agrarian.
fen
/fɛn/Low flat wet land that has been drained for farming.
Example:
Every field on the fen sits below the level of the river.
weir
/wir/A low wall built across a river to control the flow of water.
Example:
Salmon gather below the weir every autumn.
coppice
A small wood where trees are cut back regularly to produce new growth.
Example:
The coppice is cut on a seven-year cycle.
tillage
/ˈtɪlɑdʒ/The preparation of land for growing crops by ploughing it.
Example:
Heavy tillage on this soil does more harm than good.
wetland
/ˈwɛtˌlænd/An area of land that is permanently wet and rich in wildlife.
Example:
The wetland is protected and closed to visitors in spring.
moorland
/ˈmʊrˌlænd/A large area of open high ground with poor soil.
Example:
Nothing grows on that moorland but heather and gorse.
woodland
/ˈwʊdˌlænd/An area covered with trees, smaller than a forest.
Example:
Ancient woodland covers less than two per cent of the county.
glade
/ɡleɪd/An open space with no trees inside a wood.
Example:
They camped in a glade where the light came straight down.
brook
/brʊk/A small stream.
Example:
A brook runs under the road and comes out behind the church.
ridge
/rɪdʒ/A long narrow raised part of the land along the top of hills.
Example:
The path follows the ridge for four miles without a gate.
