Book ' ; ^3I 2 3d THE CAMBRIAN DIRECTORY. Boards^ 4*. 6d. CAM'll .THE CAMBRIAN DIRECTORY, / «* ■ ■ 08; CURSORY SKETCHES OF TKZ WELSH TERRITORIES. WITH A CHART, Comprehending at one View, 7bi advifabk Route — Bejl Inns — Diftances—and Objefls moft worthy of Attention, Authors, you know, of greateft fame, Thro' modefty fupprefs their name j And, wou'd you wifh me to reveal What thefe fuperior Wits conceal ? All my ambition is, I own, To profit, and to pleafe, unknown. Vifiom in Verfi, SECOND EDITION. RENTED AND SOLD BY J. EASTON, HIGH-STREETg SOLD ALSO BY T. HURST, PATER-NOSTER-ROW, LONDON* iSOl A CHART TO THE CAMBRIAN DIRECTORY a: Route Cheltenham to - Gloucefter - Newnham ... Lidney - Chepftow - Newport ... Cardiff - - - - Landaff - Cardiff to Caerphily MytherTidvil ... Pont Neath Vychan Neath - Swanfey ... By Oyftermouth and Penrice to Cheriton Llanelly crofs the Bury Kidwelly ... Caermarthen Llaugharne Tenby - Pembroke - Returned to Tenby Haverfordweft - St. David's - Fifhguard - Newport - Cardigan Aberaeron - Aberyftwith Havod . - - - Machynleeth over Plinlimnon Tal,l,., - - • - Dolgelly Barmouth . Harlech Returned to Barmouth Tan-y-bwlch by Dolgelly and Falls Beddgelert - Llanberris over Snowdon Caernarvon - Plas-Newydd Bangor - Conway - Abergele - St. Afaph Denbigh - Ruthin - Wrexham - Ruabon « Llangollen - Ofweftry - Welch Pool Montgomery - Bifhop's Caftle - Ludlow - Leominller - Hereford - Rofs - - * ~\ " Monmouth - Chepftow - Counties. Ghuce/let Monmouth Glamorgan 51 Cardigan Montgomery Mfrir.nrtb a, ,. . Anglefey Denbigh Fllntjhlre Denbigh Shropjhlre Montgomery Shropjhlre Hereford Miles Bejl Inns. Plough Hotel King's-Head Bear White-Swan Beaufort Arms King's-Head Angel Boar's-Head Star Angel Ship and Caftle Mackworth Arms A poor Poc-houfe Pelican Ivy-Bufh Caftle White-Lion Green-Drago Caftle Black-Lion Black-Lion Good accommodations Talbot Havod Arms Eagles Bjue.i.;.:, Golden- Lion Corfy-Gedol Arms Tan-y-bwlch Tolerable accommodations Hotel George and Dragon Bull and Harp Tolerable accommodations White-Lion Bull Crofs -Keys Eagles Hand Crofs -Keys Royal-Oak Dragon Caftle Crown Red-Lion New Inn Man of Rofs Beaufort Arms Beaufort Arms ObjeSs moji worthy Attention.— Rivers and noted Bridges. Pump-room-walk— Seat of the Earl of Fautonberg— Cleave-Hill— Dowdfwell Cathedral— Gaol— Pin manufaaory— Ifle of Alney— Severn— Drawbridge, called Weftgate Garden Cliff, at Weftbury— Flaxley Abbey— Church -yard view from Iron-works — Mrs. Bathurft's Caftle— Church— Piercefield, one mile from Chepftow— Llancaut Cliffs— Wye— Wooden bridge (Between C. and N. Caldecot Caftle— Caenvent pavement— Ruins of Caerleon) Uik— New bridge -Caftle " Caftle— Gaol— Bridge— Taff ■ Ruins of the Cathedral ■ Caftle ■ . Iron-works, the largeft in the kingdom— (Between C. and M. Pont y-prid) Falls of Scotenogam -Lower and Upper Culhepfte— Lady's Cafcade— Porthogo Cavern-Bwr Maen— Purthen and Neath rivers (Between P. and N. Aperdulas and Melinccurt waterfalls— The Knole) Abbey— Caftle— Copper-works View at Britton Ferry — Caftle— Pottery— Tawe . Situated on the Bury— In your way fee Oylermouth Caftle— Oxwich Bay— Penrice— King Arthur's ftone ■ Church Caftle — Tin-works— Bridge over the Towf __ __ ___ _ Caftle — Caermarthen Bay — — __ _ (Between L. and T. Green bridge, a curioui excavation in the rock) Caftle-Church— Rocks— Walk on the fends and croft Caftle— Bridge — Sail round Milford Haven jo Hubberftone, fixteen miles— Bum, Mr. Meredith's — ping Ferry — Piflon Caftle) Caftle— Friory at the extremity of the Parade — 's Bay) Cathedral — Biftiop's Palace— Rocking ftone two miles from St. David's landed) Gwain river — (Between T. and H. Carew Caftle— LandWJ (Between H. and St. Roach Caftle— St. Kcli (In your way take the place where the Fmci Two miles from N. Druidical monumenti I — (Velindre— At Lechryd bridge, tin-worla-Kil; >arran Caftle— Follow the Tyvi to Cardigan) Caftle— Gaol— Church— St.Dogmael's Abbey, one mile from Cardigai Druidical monuments — Caftle — — — _ round the Caftle — Lead mines — — — lynach — Havod houfe and grounds . — parliament— Dovey river — Bridge — -Pool of Three Grains —r- (Between A. and A. Llanwryan bridgej-'all; Devil's bridge-Fall of the Rhyddol— fthe 1 The houfe where Owen Glynd'wr afTenVd iis (Between M. and T. Dyflas river) Caldris- Beautiful fnuation — Avon vawr river — — From D. to B. extremely interefting — Pta: iotvvalk on the fands, and likewife on the hills over the town Caftle — A golden torques dug up here, ii t heyjear 169Z — (Between Dolgelly and Tan-y-bwlch, tie I alii of Doll-y-myllin— Cayne— Moddach) Vale of Feftiniog— Tan-y-bwlch hall— River Dryryd (Between T. and B. Pont-aber-glaflyn— Co flier mines) River Glaflyn Pafs of Llanberris— Dolbadern Caftle— Tvj n lakes Near C. River Rhyddol — Bridge— Caftle -Wythwar mountain — Religious feft called Jumpers — — The Menai— Lord Uxbridge— Cromlechs I View from the church-yard— Cathedral— Crofs the Menai to Beaumaris— Baron Hill (Between C. and B. Caftle of Penrhyn— Pen-mawn-mawr) Caftle— Church— College — (Between C. and A. Llandidno mines— Cavern-ar-ogo) Walk on the fands (Between A. and St. A. Rhuddlan Marlh— Caftle— River Clwyd) Vale of Clwyd— Cathedral Caftle— Ruins of an old church— Vale of Clwyd *—" * (Between D. and R. Well of St. Dyfnog) Caftle— Church— Gaol— Bowling-green— Vale of Clwyd ■ Church— Offa's Dyke— Erthig, the feat of P. York, Efq.— Church of Marchwiel — Wynftay park— Obelifk— Offa's Dyke ■ — "— (Between R. and L. Pontcyfyllty-River Dee) Bridge over the Dee-Caftle Dinas Bran-Lady E. Bulter's Cottage-Valle Cruets-Pillar of Ehfeg — - (Between L. and O. Chirk Caftle— Whittington) Ruins of a chapel— Caftle ■ ' ~~ (BetweenO.and W. Llanymynach Hill-Breddin-Column to Adm. Lord Rodney, recording the viclory over the French, April is, I78z.-V.MH7 nver-Powis Caftle Caftle and Gaol— Ellefmere canal ■ — ■ ■ Caftle— Church— Crofs— Walks round the Caftle walls— Bridge— Teme river — Market-houfe — Church — , __ Cathedral— Caftle walks— Gaol— Wye Church-View from « The ProfpecV'— Wilton Caftle-Bridge— Wye — - Mn „ moat ], Folly- Wye (Between A. and M. Goodrich Caftle-Symond's Yatch-Courtfield houfe-New Weir) Caftle-Priory— Town-haU-Walfc to^ion . Caftle— Church— Piercefield, one mile fflJ Chepftow— Llancaut Cliff- Wye— Wooden bridge (Between M. and C. LUndogo^U corruption from Wye Cliff) -tf " — Page. 3 6-8 9 9-'! 10 — »4 18 19 zz 2 3 26 28 3» 33 33 34 35 37 40 47 5° 55 57 60 6z 63 67 81 84 3 S 86 90 too 104 10; 114 •>7 124 128 131 '34 '35 .38 4' 4 6 150 57 161 63 .64 165 175 '75 Abbey— V/yn Cliff, a -196 r\ TO THE FRIENDLY AND TRULY HOSPITABLE INHABITANTS or THE PRINCIPALITY OF WALES, THSSB Ctusorp ^feetcfje& ARE RESPECTFULLY AND GRATEFULLY DEDICATED, BY TO THE INHABITANTS CF THE PRINCIPALITY OF WALES. xVs Dedications and Prefaces are confidered proper avant couriers to a Work, the omiffion of either might be deemed an effential breach of literary decorum :— I profefs myfelf an Old Bachelor, and am confequently anxious that all minutiae mould be properly attended to. It is generally cuftomary in Dedications, to folicit the patronage of an individual ; but, as thefe Curfory Sketches will fully prove, I by no means always purfue the common beaten track, truft ¥111 DEDICATION. fruft it will not be thought too prefumptuous, ad- drefling myfelf to Pluralities, and therefore hum- bly to requeft permiffion, that the Cambrian Directory may be looked upon as a Ward of the Welfh in general : for I can with fafety affirm, in no country will the Tourift experi- ence more true hofpitality and friendly atten- tion, than in the Principality of Wales ; I there- fore with true refpe6l and gratitude, beg leave to fubfcribe myfelf, Gentlemen, Your much obliged And moft obedient t Humble Servant, The Author, PRE. ^'O'wV PREFACE. X 1 AULTS, in the following Work, I readily allow, there are many, many; but, flatter my- felf, thofe who are beft able to difcover, will be moil ready to pardon them. Tours or Jour* mis, are now hackneyed fubje&s ; and, though this may be confidered as a trite apology, and (if I may fo exprefs rnyfelf ) an Author's Icop- hole a yet I can moft truly aflert, the prefent Obfervations were by no means at firft intended to be fcanned by the public eye ; but merely made for my own private amufement, as a memento, to have accefs to, when I wifhed to a breathe delight from Recollection's power; 5 * iny Remarks, therefore, were only fuch as any Traveller, an admirer of Nature, would with a pencil briefly put down ; and I mufl beg leave again to repeat, I had not then the moft diftant thought PREFACE, thought of appearing at the bar of the Public. On my return, I naturally placed my Obferva- tions in a more connected form ; an&fomc time afterwardsy accidentally converting with my Bookfeller, on the romantic beauties of Wales, and fhewing him a few of my Notes, was per- fuaded to prepare them for the prefs ; in confe- quence of which, I am now embarking on the literary ocean; and, as a candid behaviour ought to be preferred to all other confiderations, be- fore I fail on my cruize, beg leave to declare, that it is not the intention of the following fheets, either to rival the lively and impreflive de- fcriptions of a Wyndham or a Warner, — to contend with the literary and hiflorical anec- dotes of a Pennant, — or to equal the mine- ralogical ftudies of an A i kin : and here I can- didly acknowledge, when attempting a descrip- tion of Monmouthfhire, I found myfelf not a little intimidated, by the intended, and anxi- oufly expected publication of that county, by a Gentleman,* highly clafled in the literary world, * The Rev. William Coxk, reftor of Bemerton, and domeftic chaplain to the Lord Bifhop of Salisbury, for PREFACE. Xi for many celebrated productions ; confcious of my own inability to do ample juftice to that piclurefque county, and particularly the rich fcenery of the Wye, when it is already in fuch able hands : I beg from true refpect and efteem, to apply to him the following paffage : Oh, while along the flream of time, thy name Expanded flies, and gathers all its fame, Say, fhall my little bark attendant fail, Purfue the triumph, and partake the gale ? The Cambrian Directory, is therefore given to the Public, as a common Itinerary; nor does it prefume to have difcovered any thing unknown to the fage Antiquarian, — the deep Mineralogift, — and the buftling Traveller : ftill, however, the Author flatters himfelf, it may be fo far ufeful to the Public, that the Traveller will find it a convenient Pocket Companion; it will tell him the bejl Inns, and lay before him in one view, the Dijlances; the Mineralogift may occafionally learn, what Rocks will moft de- ferve his attention ; and it will point out to the And- XII PREFACE. Antiquarian, every venerable Ruin, that feems to tell the religious or military Hiftory of the Country. Such is the " plain unvarnifh'd tale:" in addition to which, I folicit permiffion to ad- drefs my Readers with a line from a favourite Author : t( Laugh where you mujl, be candid where you can,* 9 THE **£*^«t>G<^M^<^« THE CAMBRIAN DIRECTORY, THESE ARE THE HAUNTS OF MEDITATION, THESE THE SCENES WHERE ANCIENT BARDS TH' INSPIRING BREATH EXTATIC FELT! THOMSOH, X WO Friends, equally admirers of Nature's land- fcapes, and attached to pedeftrian independence, agreed to vifit the wild and impreflive fcenery of the Cambrian Mountains ; and the outlines of their Route being ar- ranged, fallied forth in the month of July, 1798, from CHELTENHAM, a place much reforted to during the fummer months, and celebrated for its mineral waters^ compofed of B one THE CAMBRIAN one ftreet, in almoft a ftraight line, nearly the length of a mile. Since it has become a place of fafhion, the lodging houfes have been confiderably improved, and rendered comfortable for the company, who make this place their fummer refidence. The feafon ufually commences* about May, and frequently continues till the beginning of November. The majority of the company who frequent Cheltenham, refort here not fo much for the purpofe of water-drinking, as to enjoy the delightful walks and rides, and partake of the fociability of the neighbourhood. The walk at the pump-room, well planned, and kept in excellent order, is planted on each fide with limes ; at the end is a fmall fquare, where the pump is fituate, with a room on the left for the accommodation of the company to promenade, meafuring fixty-fix feet by twenty-three; — on the oppofite fide a reading- room, with a billiard-table over, and a houfe, the refi- dence of the attendant at the Spa ; beyond that, is a fimilar walk of three hundred and twelve feet, which leads to another ferpentine walk ; from the end of this, the fpire of Cheltenham church forms a beautiful object. Near thefe walks, ftands, on an eminence, the feat of the Earl of Fauconberg : this was the royal refidence during their Majefties flay at this place, from July 12, to Auguft i6 ? 1788. In DIRECTORY. g In refped to the rides, Cleave-hill, Dowdefwell, &c* Tewkefbury, and Glocefter, are mod admired. Speaking of the hiftory of the place, we find Chel- tenham was a town in the reign of William the Con« queror : Edward likewife is fuppofed to have marched through it, before he encamped his army on the field of Tewkefbury, previous to the battle of the houfes of York and Lancafter. Of the efficacy of the water, to which this town is indebted for its prefent celebrity, I refer my readers to a treatife, published by Dr. Fothergill, of Bath. GLOCESTER. The. pin manufactory was eftablifhed here, by John Tifley, in the year 1626, and the bufinefs is now be- come To extenfive, that the returns from London alone arecftimated at near twenty thoufand pounds per ann> Before the introduction of pins into England, (1543) fkewers of brafs, filver, and gold, and likewife thorns curioufly fcraped, called by the Welch women pin* draen, were ufed. Though the pins themfelves are ap« parently fimple, yet their manufacture is not a little curious and complex. The wire in its mod rough B 2 irate THE CAMBRIAN ■kOHM ftate is brought from a wire company in the neighbour- hood of Briftol : till the year 1563, Englifh iron wire was drawn out by manual ftrength. The firft opera- tion attending this curious procefs, is the fixing the circular roll 'of wire to the circumference of a wheel, which in its rotation throwing the wire againft a board, with great violence, takes off the black external coat : vitriol is next applied to bring the brafs to its common colour. The brafs wire being too thick for the purpofe of being cut into pins, is reduced to any dimenfion the workman pleafes, by forcibly drawing it through an orifice in a fteel plate, of a fmaller diameter. The wire, being thus reduced to its proper dimenfions, is next ftraightened : it is then cut into portions of fix inches in length, and afterwards to the fize of the pin, and each piece refpe&ively fharpened on a grinding-ftone, turned by a wheel. We now come to a diftincl: branch of the manufactory: the forming the heads, or, as the workmen term it, bead /pinning: this is accomplished by means of a fpinning-wheel, which, with aftonifhing rapidity winds the wire round a fmall rod : this, when drawn out, leaves a hollow tube between the circumvo- lutions > every two circumvolutions, or turns, being cut with fheers, form one head. The heads, thus formed, are distributed to children, who, with great dexterity, by the afiiftance of an anvil, or hammer, worked by the foot, fix the point and the head together. The DIRECTORY. The pins, thus formed, are boiled in a copper, con«» taining a folution of block-tin pulverized, and the lees of Port ; and by this laft procefs, it changes its yellow brafTy colour, and aflumes the appearance of filver, or tin. The labourers are all paid according to the weight of their work, Near Glocefter, at the fmall ifland of Alney, formed by the river Severn, dividing itfelf into two branches, hiftorians relate, that Canute and Edmund, after many bloody engagements in EfTex, determined to prevent a farther effufion of blood by a fingle combat. Neither, however, as the ftory relates, obtaining a vi&ory, peace was concluded, and the kingdom divided between them. We paid, however, little regard to the fuppofed place of this conteft, as it was not for us, puifne antiqua- rians, to difcufs points, on which the greateft hiftorians had fo materially differed, I forbear. to make any remarks on the cathedral and gaol of Glocefter, as much has already been done to- wards their illuftration ; and as ample accounts of them are given in the Glocefter Guide> which the tourifl will meet with on the fpot. The walk from hence to B 3 WEST* 6 THE CAMBRIAN WESTBURY, is by no means uninterefting ; the country is ftudded with half-feen villas, and animated with churches, whilft the retrofpecl commands a fine view of Robin- hood's Hill, with the dark tower of Glocefter cathe- dral, juft rifing in the perfpective. At Weftbury is the feat of Maynard Colchefter, Efq. The church, with a detached fpire, {rands clofe to the houfe. Near this place mineralogifts will be highly gratified by vifiting a cliff, called Garden* or Golden Cliffe-y which is moft beautifully encrufted with mun- dic and cryftals. This rock, ftanding clofe to the Severn, is only acceflible at the reflux of the tide; and when illuminated by the fun wears a moft beautiful appearance. Between Weftbury and Newnham, in an extremely delightful valley, bordering on the foreft of Deane, is fituate FLAXLEY ABBEY, the feat of Sir Thomas Crawley Bovey. This valley was formerly called Cajliard> or the Happy Valley ; and DIRECTORY, and a monaftery, for Ciftercian Monks, was founded here by Roger, the fecond Earl of Hereford, and the charter confirmed by Henry II. The abbey was ftand- ing till the year 1777, when part of it was unfor«. tunately confumed by fire ; fince that a confiderable portion of building has been added, and is become a very defirable fummer refidence. The views from the park, behind the houfe, are very extenfive, commanding the vale of Glocefter, and the river Severn, gay with vefTels; whilft the extenfive foreft of Dean, and Flaxley Abbey, form nearer objects for admiration. This wood abounds with the moft charming walks ; and, while it affords refrefhing fhelter from a fummer's fun, admits partial views of the adjacent country. Camden, in fpeaking of the foreft of Dean, derives its name from Ardene^ a wood, in the Gaulic and Britifh languages. It lies between the two rivers Severn and Wye, and contains thirty thoufand acres. The foil is well adapted for the growth of oaks, and foreft timber; and the fituation particularly commodious for exporting it for fhip-building, and other purpofes. The immenfe quan- tities of wood annually felled for the ufe of the navy, have fo thinned this wood of its timber, that it is now preferved till a certain growth, by ad of parliament. Camden obferves, that the oak of this foreft was fa confiderable, that the Spanifh armada had orders to B 4 deftroy THE CAMBRIAN deftroy the timber of it in 1588 : it fuffered confidera- hly in the great rebellion.. The iron manufactory has long been carried on in this foreft: ; and to this day immenfe beds of iron emi- tters are found, the reliques of the Romans. Thefe cinders are not half exhaufled of their ore, and are con*- fequently worked over again : a proof that the Romans fcnew only the weak power of the foot blaft, As we drew near NEWNHAM, the Severn became more confiderable. The town 5 fituated on the banks of the river, and backed by the foreft of Dean, is very ancient, and in 1018 this manor was granted by King Canute to the Benedictine abbey pf Perfhorej in Worcefterfhire.* The church-yard affords a variety of objects worthy the attention of the pafling ftranger, amongft which the church of Weftbury forms the moft confpicuous fea- ture in the landfcape. P. dtkinfs Ght$erjhirt t DIRECTORY, The view, previous to our defcending the hill to LIDNEY, is extenfive and beautiful. In this place iron works are carried on by a Mr. Pitchcock. — About a mile from Lidney, the Old Paffage, — King's-road, with the merchant {hips lying off Briftol,— -Glocefterfhire and Somerfetfhire hills, ftudded with gentlemens' feats* churches, and hal f-feen cottages, formed a chearful landfcape. CHEPSTOW. The weather prevented our feeing the celebrated walks of Piercefield, but we promifed ourfelves the pleafure of vifiting them on our return down the Wye. The caftle of Chepftow, called Kafwent, or Caftelk Gwent, Hands on a rock warned by the river Wye* near its influx into the Severn. Topographical writers differ in their accounts concerning the antiquity of the caftle, but it is generally fuppofed to have been built at the fame time with the town, appearing at that period to have been a kind of citadel to Chepftow.* * Qrvfts Antiquitksi The lO THE CAMBRIAN The caftle was formerly of great extent, as, according to Leland's account, the « waulles began at the end of *' the great bridge over Wy," yet " in the caftel ys one u tower, as I heard fay, by the name of Langine." Little now remajns of its former grandeur : but, im- pelled by an irrefiftible curiofity, we afcended the de- cayed fteps of the tower, from whence the eye traced with pleafure the windings of the Wye, till it was at laft loft in its conjunction with the Severn. With horror we examined the dark dungeon, where Henry Martin, one of the twelve judges, who fat to condemn Charles I. was confined feven and twenty years. Grand views of the Briftol Channel ftill continued to form interefting objects from the road ; but about three miles from Chepftow, we turned into fome fields on the right, to examine the ivy-mantled walls of CALDECOT CASTLE. On our firft entrance, we gazed with that wrapt aftonifhment, that fears to difturb, or be difturbed, by the mutual communication of thought. — Mr. Warner, in his furvey of this ruin, was much difappointed -, but I cannot help allowing, although the view from it was inferior to Chepftow, yet its antiquated walls wear a nobler DIRECTORY. 11 nobler appearance ; and the gloom that reigns around it, forces a figh, and evinces the tranfitory nature of fublunary greatnefs. The antiquity of the building is very obfcure : it is fituate on a flat, and memorable for the birth of Henry VII. Failing through the village of Caldecotj we foon entered CAERWENT, on the weftern fide, through the broken fragments of its walls, of which one immenfe mafs has recently fallen. This ancient town is now little more than a village, with a few fcattered cottages, but formerly ce- lebrated, under the aufpices of Agricola, for its temples, theatre, porticoes, and baths; few veftiges of its for- mer fplendour are now extant. A few fragments of loofe ftones only remain to point out its former ex- tent. In an orchard, adjoining a farm-houfe be- longing to Mr. Lewis, is the beautiful teflalated Ro- man pavement, difcovered in the year 1777. The teflerae or dies, about an inch in breadth, and half in depth, are nearly cubical, confuting of four colours, red, yellow, blue, and white,* which are ftill in great prefervation ; the whole is furrounded with a border, cnuch refembling a Turkey carpet. The daily depre- • Warnvi Firji Walk through JVak^ dations 13 THE CAMBRIAN dations on thefe curious remains of antiquity are greatly to be lamented. In the road from Caerwent, amongft other objects for admiration,.the manfion of Sir Robert Salifbury, on the left, commanding an extenfive view, attracted our notice. Palling through the neat village of Chrift- church, animated with white-wafhed cottages, and graced with its fimple church, which ftands on an eminence, we left the turnpike road, at the thirteenth mile ftone; and following a footpath through fome fields, near the banks of the Uike, foon entered the an* cient city of CAERLEON, over a wooden bridge, built on the fame plan as Chep- flow. This city was formerly a metropolitan fee, but St. David, the national faint of Wales, thinking the noify intercourfe of a populous city, like Caer-LIeon, ill adapted for contemplation, or the folitary caft of his mind, removed it to Menevia, which from that period has been called Ty Dewi by the Welch, and St. David by the Englifh.* The remains of its ancient grandeur * He was buried in the cathedral church of St. David, and many lixmdred years after canonized by Pope Califtus the Second.— Godwin* are DIRECTORY, |g are ftill difcernible. Whilft tracing the extent of its amphitheatre, furrounded by a circular entrenchment, and the grandeur of its porticoes, we took a retrofpe& on the exertions of man, the fate of kingdoms, and of rulers \ and, marking the grand deftrucT:ion of ages, it feemed to convince us of the tranfientnefs of human worth and happinefs ! The fhips in the Briftol Chan- nel, with flat and fteep holmes rifing in the midft of the fea, formed pleafing objects in the diftant view, whilft the mellow green of nearer woods, and meadows watered by the Ufke, made a combination of hues gay and beautiful. Near NEWPORT a new (lone bridge is erecting by contract for ten thou- sand one hundred and fixty-five pounds, by Mr. Ed- wards, fon to the Edwards, who built the famous Pont y Pridd. It is to confift of five arches. Newport Caftle, ftanding on the bank of the river Ufke, is a fmall diftance from the bridge : it evidently appears to have been once a place of confiderable extent^ and built for the defence of the paflage over the river $ three ftrong towers commanded the Ufke, but towards the town a common wall, without any flanks, feems to have 14 THE CAMBRIAN have been its fole defence. Some of the windows ftill remain, the relics of Gothic architecture, and appear to have been elegantly decorated. From the tower is a fine view of the Uike. Between Newport and CARDIFF we crofTed the little ftream of Ebwith, near the park of Tridegar houfe, belonging to Sir Charles Morgan. The grounds are well planned, and command the hills of Machan and Tombalce, with the church of Paflanefs riling in the centre, on an eminence. The whole valley, indeed, is prettily fituated. Pafling through the villages of Pedifton and Caftletown, we foon reached the bridge of two arches, over the river Romney, which divides England from Wales. The fituation of Cardiff is on a low flat, near the mouth of the Taff, over which has lately been thrown a new bridge, built by Mr. Parry in 1796 : it confifts of three large and two fmaller arches. The tower of the church is very light, and of elegant workman- Ihip ; but nothing in the infide worthy of infpec"tion. The caftle derives its name from the river Taff, which wafhes its walls; Caertapb fignifying the town or caftle upon Taff. Robert Fitzham having con- quered DIRECTORY. Sg quered Glamorganfhire, divided the country into dif- ferent portions, among the twelve Norman knights, as a reward for their fervice, and took for his own fhare the town of Cardiff; and erected, in the year iiio 3 this caftle, in which he generally refided, and held his court of chancery and exchequer. In the beginning of May 1645, during the troubles under Charles I. it was in the pofieflion of the royal ifts, but it was furren- dered to parliament before Auguft 1646. We entered the caftle by two ftrong gates, which ftill remain in great prefervation, but we were difgufted with the modern architecture of the new-built manfion, erected by the late Marquis of Bute: the neat fhorn grafs, the gravel walk, were circumftances that ill ac- corded with the mutilated walls of an ancient ruin, which has braved the ftorms of fo many centuries. The circumftance which tends to render this caftle a melan- choly place in hiftory, is the unjuft confinement of Robert, Duke of Normandy, brother to William Rufus and Henry I. The accounts, however, of his confine- ment have been greatly exaggerated by htftorians ; but a dark vaulted room, beneath the level of the ground, meafuring nearly a fquare of fifteen feet and a half, is ftill pointed out as the place of his confinement^ a fmall crevice in the top, about half a yard in length, and three inches wide, was the only place to admit the air, |g THE CAMBRIAK sir. In this fituation he died, after an imprifonmcnt of fix and twenty years, and was buried in Glocefter cathedral, where his effigy as big as life, carved in lrifh oak, and painted, is yet (hewn. The keep, which is ftill very perfect, of an octagon fhape, ftands on an eminence in the centre of a large fquare. Having walked round the ramparts, which command extenfive views of the adjacent country, we vifited the caftle it- felf, which has, within thefe few years, been repaired, but ftill remains in an unfinifhed ftate. In the dining- room are fome portraits, in length, of the Windfor family : the moil ftriking are, lit. Sir William, who firft: raifed forces for Queen Mary. 2d. Sir Edward, who firft entered the breach at the taking of St. Quintin, in Flanders, where the famous conftable de Montmorency was taken prifoner. In the breakfaft-parlour is a family piece, confifting of feven figures: it was painted in the year 1568. Holbein, I rather imagine, was the painter : it confifts of two fitters playing at cards, and two brothers at drafts, with Edward, Earl of Windfor, and "his lady looking on. The ftyle is ftiff, with ruffs, fmall black caps and feathers, Andrew DIRECTORY. %J ■I i i • ' 'I I 'M II I llll I — — T I I ijj Andrew Windfor, to the right of the fire-place 3 eneral in the reign of Queen Ann* ferving in the wenty-eighth regiment of foot - Kneller, Thomas Windfor, to the left, who ferved in feveral yars of William and Queen Ann, and was colonel of he third regiment of dragoon guards, in the reign of jeorge I. - ~ - - Kneller* ' Lady Urfula Windfor - ibid, Hon, Matter Windfor - Painter unknown, \ A good painting of Urfula, Countefs of Windfor, with ler grand-daughter Urfula Windfor, Knelkr* X Thomas, Lord Windfor, governor If Jamaica «- Vandyke* l Hon. Charlotta Windfor - DahU Hon. Urfula Windfor - Dahl Hon. Dixia Windfor, ftorekeeper of the ordnance,, nd for fix fucceffive parliaments member for Cam- >ridge. This caftle belongs to a grand-fon of the Marquis Bute, In this place, Robert, Earl of Glocefter founded a riory of White-friars, and another of Black, which ontinued till the reign of Henry VIIL Only the C (hell l8 THE CAMBRIAN • ' I — — i— ■ — — M— — I I {hell of the White-friars is now extant, and the ruins of the Black- friars are inhabited by fifliermen. From hence we walked to infpect the remains of that once celebrated city LANDAFF; the ruins of the old cathedral are very beautiful ; the door cafes are all Norman architecture, elegantly moulded j two of which, on the north and fouth fides, are fine fpecimens of that aera. All the other parts are Gothic : the nave is unroofed. Within thefe ruins we entered the cathedral, which carries with it more the appearance of a modern theatre, than a place of divine worfhip, fo erroneous was the tafte of the architect, in combining with the facred Gothic, a fantaftical work of his own. Among feveral ancient monuments, are two very elegant ones of the Mathews family,* whofe defendants own the fcite of the bifhop's caftle, of which only the gate remains : the iWl, with the arch- deacon's houfe, was deftroyed by Owen Glendour.f There are likewife the monuments of two bifhops, with another, and the figure of Lady Godiva, full length, carved in marble on it. * milus landaff, p. 34. f Grofe,— Willis, LandafF DIRECTORY, v -. LandafF ftands on a fmall eminence, commanding 3, 'iew of Cardiff, and the furrounding country.-— .We returned again to Cardiff: and the firft fix miles of our road to CAERPHILY were not very interefting, till afcending Thorn Hill 3 the beauties of the vale below, with the ifiands of Flat and Steep Holmes rifing in the diftant profpec"t, the ruins of Cardiff Caftle, and the ivy-mantled walls of LandafF cathedral, amply compenfated for the trouble of climbing this eminence. A little farther on, Caer«? phily Caftle burft upon our fight, and -■■" feem'd to frown, *« In awful majefty on all around.' 3 The founder, and the time of its erection are very uncertain; but I refer my readers to the firft volume of the Archaologia ; to an ingenious Diflertation, by Paines Barrington, where it is fatisfa&orily proved to have been the work of £dward I, This caftle is one of the nobleft ruins of ancient architecture now remain- ing in the kingdom, and exceeds all in bignefs, except that of Windfor. The hall and the chapel may ftiil be traced ; the former meafures about feventy feet in length, thirty-four in breadth,, and feventeen in height, Qz The 20 THE CAMBRIAN The roof is vaulted about eight feet high, and fupported by twenty arches. On the north fide is a chimney, ten feet wide, with two windows on each fide, ex- tending down to the floor, and carried above the fup- pofed height of this room. At each angle was originally a round tower of four ftories, communicating with each other by a gallery. On the weft fide of the hall flairs, is a low round tower, of one ftory, called the mint-houfe, with three painted arches on the fouth fide, and a fquare well on the weft. The leaning tower, towards the eaft end, more particularly en- gaged our notice; it is divided into two feparate parts, by a large fiffure, which runs from the top down almoft to the middle. Its lineal projection is fuppofed to be on the outer fide, about eleven feet and a half. On the weft and north are vifible veftiges of a draw- bridge. The eaft wall, on the fouth fide of the prin- cipal entrance, is fluted between the buttrefles, with battlements on their tops, to protect the intermediate walls. At Caerphily we perceived a great change in the manners of the people 5 in the whole village, fcarcely one perfon was capable of fpeaking Englifh, We now came to the celebrated Vale of Glamorgan- fhire, fo juftly ftyled the Garden of South-Wales; the rapid DIRECTORY. £i rapid TafF forms an almoft continued uproar for many miles; on the oppofite fide the mountains rofe almoft perpendicularly in a mafly wall, and fometimes to the water's edge, finely clothed with wood. Every circum- fiance confpired to heighten the folitary grandeur of the fcene, and to prolong the luxurious melancholy, which the views infpired. In this celebrated vale is found the famous Pont y prid, or new bridge, about three quarters of a mile from the Duke of Bridgewater's Arms, a comfortable inn, and far furpaffing our mi- ferable quarters at Caerphily. This wonderful bridge, of one arch, is the fegment of a circle; the chord of it is one hundred and forty feet, and the height of the key-ftone, from the fpring of the arch, thirty-two feet and a half. It was erected in the year 1750* by Wil- liam Edwards, a country mafon, who failed in his at- tempt three times, till, by lightening the abutments, it has refitted, for many years, the torrents of the Taff, The intrufion of art in this romantic valley, where nature has been fo lavifh of her beauties, is much to be lamented: a canal, for the purpofe of conveying the iron from the Myther-works to Cardiff, renders it a place of frequent bufinefs and confufion; a place origin nally fo well adapted to retirement and reflection, C 3 MY< £2 THE CAMBRIAN MYTHER TIDVIL, is a molt miferable dirty place; the foil and the inhabi- tants both partook of a dark dingy colour : the women deflitute offhoes and flockings, the men and boys the Haves of Vulcan. The iron-works, under the direction of Mr. Crawfhaw, are the largeft in the kingdom ; not lefs than one thoufand hands are employed by ihis gen- tleman, who allows the perfon who infpe&s the ma- chinery, one-eighth of the profits, to keep them in re- pair. Four large blaft furnaces, with a number of a fmaller fize, befides a row of forges, are continually in ufe. An enormous wheel has lately been conftrucled, with feveral inferior ones, acting in contrary directions, which pumps the air into a large fpace, from whence it is diftributed, through various tubes, to each feparate furnace. This wheel is fifty feet one inch in diameter, and fix feet eight inches in width. The whole weight refts on gudgeons, of one hundred tons. The gudgeons of all the wheels, and of fuch parts of the machine where there is any friction, have water continually run- ning over them, to prevent their taking fire. It is the particular office of one man to greafe every part of the machine, whilft in motion; to accomplifh which, he is frequently obliged to ride on an iron bar, fimilar to the lever of a pump when in motion^ a confiderable way DIRECTORY. 23 way from the ground. The whole of this machinery is worked by water, not more than a foot deep, which is conveyed by a long fpout to the top of the wheel, where it difcharges itfelf. The ore, flux,* and coals, which they ufe to promote the fufion of the ore, are all found on the fpot. The ore, previous to its being thrown into the furnace, is burnt in a common lime- pit, the goodnefs of it afterwards proved, by its adhefion to the tongue: the coal is all charked, and continually put in the furnace, with certain proportions of ore. From the pigs, the iron is rolled into flat plates by a cylinder; this is performed with the greateft difpatch. The gaunt figures of the workmen excite both pity and terror, and the fallow countenances and miferable air of the people, prove it is a labour very prejudicial to their health. From hence we travelled the road to PONT NEATH VECHAN, inacceflible for carriages, indifferent for pedeftrians s and affording nothing worthy our attention. It lay over a barren heath, with mountains on one fide, and a dreary wafte of land before us. About a mile and a half from Vechan, we unexpectedly descended through a wood into a rich romantic valley, watered by Neath * u f. lime-ftone, C 4 river, &4 THE CAMBRIAN river. In this retired fituation we found the Angel inn, of Pont Neath Vechan. Defcription can fcarcely fuggeft the full grandeur and magnificence of this val- ley: woods, rocksj and waterfalls, aH unite, to render it beautiful. Our Ciceroni firft conducted us to the fall of Scotenogam, on the river Purthen, about a mile and a half from the houfe : this fall we faw to great advantage, the river having gathered in its courfe the accumulation of many torrents after the rain, preci- pitates itfelf in one majeftic expanfe of water, near feventy feet high $ whilft the dark lowering rocks, on each fide, contrafted finely with the varied vegetation around us. The defcent is by no means eafy, but the grandeur of the fcene amply compenfated for all diffi- culties. Our Ciceroni next conducted us to a very inferior one> called the Lady's Cafcade, on the river Neath ; but of this we caught a very indifferent prof- peel:, the afcent of the mountain being inacceflible, and the water too high to admit of our obtaining a due in- fpection of it. We then returned to our inn, and fet but a different road, in queft of nature's landfcapes*— liaving walked about three miles, we heard the angry roar of fmall cafcadesj this we confidered as preludes of fcenes, where the water-fall fwells into a torrent ; and we foon found ourfelves near the fall of Lower Culhepfte. The character of this cataract differs very $nuch from that of Scotenogam ; being broken in its defcent DIRECTORY* 2| defcent from projecting rocks, of an immenfe fize» About a quarter of a mile from hence, we defcended a rugged and fteep rock to examine the fall of Upper- Culhepfte, about fifty feet high. The fingularity of this fall invites the curiofity of the traveller more than any other in Wales: the whole river precipitates ifcfelf with fuch violence, as to leave a fpace between the rock and the fall fufficiently wide for a horfe path. Though in lefs than two minutes we were completely wet by the fpray, yet the effect was awful and fublime; and it was neceflary to remember the fixed foundation of the rocks above our heads, to foften the awe they infpired. Near this fall is Porthogo Cavern, through which the river Vendre runs. The water was too high to admit our entrance ; our Conductor, however, informed us, he had penetrated about half a mile, but found the river wind fo many ways, he judged it fafer to return, left he fhould fhare the fate of a poor man, who loft himfelf in this cavern for the fpace of three days. On our return, a very intelligent gentleman, flaying in the neighbourhood, ftrenuoufly recommended us to defcend a fteep mountain, on our left, to furvey a curious quad- rangular ftrata of marble in the rock below. With fome difficulty we effected our purpofe, having waded twice through the river. This ftrata in Welch is called bwr maen> which fignifies a ftone bow: it is lituated clofe to the river Dynnas, which, forcing its way 26 THE CAMBRIAN way through fome broken fragments of the rock, forms a cafcade a little above. The price offered for this grey marble, in London, is fifteen Shillings a foot fquare. About five -miles from Vechan is the feat of Mrs. Holbrow, on the right. We were prevented vifiting the water-falls of Melincourt and Aperdulas, the river, owing to the late floods, being too deep to ford. Our route ftill continued through the valley we had fo much admired the evening before. As we drew near NEATH, the tower of Knole Caftle had a pleafing effect from a diftance : it was built by Sir Herbert Mackworth, and is at prefent in the pofleifion of Lady Mackworth. The windows from the banqueting-room compre- hend a circle of many miles diameter, compofed of Neath valley and river, with the fmoky town of Neath — the Mumbles Point — Swanfea, and the Chan- nel. The artificial cafcade is well contrived, but, after the foaming torrents of Scotenogam and Cul- hepfte, appears very tame. The fcite of the refectory, the chapel, the hall, and i>IR££TORYo 2f and feveral other rooms in the ruins of Neath Abbey, may ftill be traced. It ftands on the eaft of the river* and was formerly, by Leland's account, the " fairelfc " abbay of all Wales 5" but in \\\%Colle£fanea* he feems to give Margam the preference of all the Ciftercian houfes in thefe parts. It was founded for white Monks, by Richard Granville. In this abbey, the unfortunate Edward II. fecreted himfelf, in the year 1326, when prevented by contrary winds from his intended efcape to Ireland 5 he was foon,, however, difcovered, and confined in the caftle of Kenelworth, under the cuftody of the Earl of Leicefter, Near the ruins are the cop- per-works. The ore is chiefly imported from Cornwall, and Wicklow in Ireland ; being calcined, and thereby lofing its fulphur, it is refined by the fimple procefs of Frequent melting, and taking off the drofs, which forms a fcum ; laftly, being moulded into.fmall plates, or pigs, it is fhipped for the market. The method of reducing the metal, when melted into fmall particles, is by pour* ing it into water, and, when thus reduced, it is called copper Jhot. Brafs is a compound of copper thus re- duced, and lapis calaminaris^ pulverized in crucibles, and moulded or caft into plates. Lapis calaminaris is dug in great quantities near Holywell in Flintihire. The town of Neath is very unpleafantly fituatcd, * Vol, ii, p. 93* and 2&* THE CAMBRIAN. and generally covered with the frnoke of the copper- works; a circumftance which I fhould imagine renders it an unhealthy fpot. On that account it is advifable, both for horfemen and pedeftrians, in their way to Swanfea, to take the road by Britton Ferry, in prefer- ence to the turnpike, which the fmoke always renders offenfive. BRITTON FERRY. This village is much reforted to, on account of its beautiful fituation; and many a white-wafhed cottage draggles through the hamlet. The plantations of Lord Vernon are well difpofed, and edge the water's brink : the river is conftantly filled with veflels, whofe gay ftreamers glittering to the fun-beam, prefent to the eye a conftant moving object. Having crofTed the Ferry, we proceeded on the fands to SWANSEA, The whole of this walk commanded a boundlefs view c*f the ocean to the weft, whilft to the fouth the faint hues of Somerfetfliire coaft fkirted the horizon, Swanfea is a well-built tea-port town, on the river Tawe* DIRECTORY. £g Tawe, much reforted to*during the fummer months. The machines for bathing are kept about half a mile from the town, under the direction of Mrs. Landey, who likewife keeps a lodging-houfe near the place: the charges are twenty-five Shillings a week, board and lodging; and ten millings and fix-pence a week for a private parlour. The caftle is fuppofed to have been erected by Henry, Earl of Warwick, in the reign of Henry I. ; the fmall arches round the top of it are ex- actly fimilar to the building of Lantphey Caftle, and King John's Hall, St. David's, Pembrokefhire. This caftle is now turned into a gaol and workhoufe. The Market-place is faid to be covered with the lead of St. David's cathedral, given by Cromwell to a gentle- man of Swanfea. The clay ufed for the pottery, long carried on in this place, is brought from Corfe in Dorfetfhire;- hav- ing been mixed with finely-ground flint, and diflblved in water, it is puffed through fieves, till it has loft all its coarfer particles, then expofed to heat, which eva- porates the water, and leaves the clay of a confiftency fufficient for working. The veflel is firft rudely formed by the hand, the clay being ftuck to a circular board, . which has an horizontal rotation. The other opera- tion confifts in the more perfect forming of the work by various procefies, and the colouring, glazing, paint* ing, 3<3 THE CAMBRIAN ing, and damping 5 drying and baking kilns, complete the work, OYSTERMOUTH CASTLE, about five miles from Swanfea, is finely fituated on an eminence, commanding a delightful profpe& of the furrounding country, and the Mumbles' Bay. The ivy-mantled walls of this caflle are fufficiently perfect, to diftinguifh what the apartments were originally de- iigned for. It formerly belonged to the lords of Gower, but is now in the pofTeffion of the Duke of Beaufort, Our curiofity being fatisfled, we haftened to the MUMBLES, celebrated far and near for the goodnefs and abundance of its oyfters. This village ftands at the extremity of Swanfea Bay, on a vaft mafs of fplintered rock : from this elevation, the wide expanfe of the ocean and Swan- fea Bay are viewed to great advantage. Thefe rocks are inacceffible at high-water, except in a boat $ on the fartheft is erected a light-houfe. At Pennard, we defcended fome immenfe fand-banks, which DIRECTORY. 31 which led us into Oxwich Bay : at the head of the fand -banks are the fmall remains of an old caftle,* fcarcely worthy of obfervation. The fands in this bay are extremely fine, and the bold projections of the rock exhibit nature in -her moft awful and impreffive attitudes. To the right of Oxwich Bay is fituate, at Penrice, the feat of Mr. Talbot : the grounds are well planned, and command extenfive views of the fea : the old caftle, riling behind the houfe, gave the whole a fine effect. Between Penrice and the neat village of CHERITON, we obferved to our right, on a hill, a large flat ftone, feveral tons weight, refting on about fix fmaller ones, placed perpendicularly, and (landing about five feet high : this is vulgarly called King Arthur* $ Jl one . It is here proper to forewarn both Tourifts and Travellers, not to fix on Pennard, Penrice, or Cheriton, as places for a night's abode, as they cannot poflibly be com- fortably accommodated. This advice I mention from experience, for at the latter place, we were under the * Pennarth, eight miles fouth-weft of Swanfea, necef= 32 THE CAMBRIAH " ..... i , nn , ,, mmm rmm t neceffity of contenting ourfelves with tables or chairs, as fubftitutes for beds, and even deftitute of neceflary provifions. On a hill, oppofite our inn, we dif- covered evident veftiges of a Roman encampment; from this elevation the eye caught a fine view of Car- marthen Bay, and the bold promontory of Worm's Head, to the fouth-wefr, : this rock is only'acceffible at low water. The country through which we traverfed for the four or five laft miles, is inhabited by a colony of Fle- mings, who fettled here in the reign of Henry I. In the reign of this king's father, a great number of Flemings, having been driven out of their habitations, by a very extraordinary inundation of the fea, fought protection in England, where they were cordially re- ceived. But fo manyofthefe people being difperfed in different parts of the kingdom, began, by the increafe of their numbers, to create fome uneafinefs ; which Henry I. removed, by fettling them as a colony in South Wale*;, and gave them the country adjoining to Tenby and Haverfordweft. By this wife policy, the king rid his own dominions of an incumbrance, and curbed the infolence of the then rebellious Cambrians.* The little territory they inhabit is called Gwyr^ and by the En« * William of Malmefbury, p, 158, glifh, DIRECTORY* 33 glifli, Little England beyond IVales, becaufe their manners and language are ftill diftinguifhable from the Welfh, and, in point of fpeech, affimilate the Englifh. Thefe Flemings, to this day, feldom or never intermarry with the Welch : they fpeak good Englifh, and are very much averfe to the manners and language of the country they inhabit; both fexes generally dif- tinguifh themfelves by wearing a (hort cloak> called Qowyr Wittle, In preference to a long walk, of near thirty miles 9 we crofTed the river Bury, as the pleafanteft and moft expeditious way to LLANELLY, a miferable, dirty place, filled with miners and failors, From hence to KIDWELY, the road leads over the Penbree Hills ; and from this elevation, the fcenery is viewed to great advantage. The caftle of I&dwely, otherwife, Cathweli, was formerly, I imagine, of great extent, and is ftill the D moil 34 THE CAMBRIAN moft perfect we had hitherto met with in Wales. The extent of the apartments is diftinguifhable ; fome of the ftaircafes acceflible ; and the four round towers, keep, gateway, and yard, fpread an awful gloom around, whofe beauties time had juft fufficiently impaired, to heighten its grandeur and fublimity. Our guide ex- patiated much on the hiftory and events of the caftle, and told the ftory with as much agitation and intereft, as if it had happened yefterday. The road to CAERMARTHEN, we found unpleafantly hilly, but occafional vallies to our left enlivened our walk. Near Caermarthen we croifed a bridge of free-ftone over the Towy. This river, running through the middle of this fhire, falls into the Britiih fea, at Caermarthen Bay, and is navi- gable for fmall veflels as far as the bridge. Imme- diately over it, upon a hanging rock, ftand the re- mains of a once renowned caftle. This town accor- ding to Giraldus's authority, was anciently a place of great ftrength, and fortified with brick walls, which are yet partly extant, near the river. This place, now cbnfidered as the capital of the county, was formerly the DIRECTORY* • 35 the refidence of the Prince of South- Wales; and the ancient Britons here held their parliaments. The chancery likewife, and exchequer for South-Wales, were kept here, when this territory was firft erected into a Principality, by the crown of England. In the thirty-eighth year of Henry VIII. it was created a borough- town. This place is famous for having given birth to Merlin, who is ftyled, by an ancient Author, « the " fonne of a badde angell, or of an incubus fpirit, the " Britaine's great Apollo, whom Geoffrey ap Arthur ft would ranke with the fouth-faying feer, or rather <' with the true prophets themfelves; being none other « than a meere feducer, and phantafticall vizard." He flourifhed in the year 480. At the inn (Old Ivy-Bum) Sir Richard Steel com- pofed his celebrated Play, called the Confcious Lovers, From Caermarthen, we were recommended to go to LAUGHARNE, in order to fee the caftle, but it by no means anfwered our expectation ; little part of it now remains - 9 and the D 2 neat 36 THE CAMBRIAN neat gravel walk in the garden, is ill adapted for the mutilated walls of an ancient ruin. From the gar- den walks, grand and extenfive fea-profpecls intereft the Traveller. About five miles from Laugharne, we patted a fmall place, called GREEN BRIDGE. It derives its name from an excavation in the rock, through which a little rivulet runs for a mile and a half. This cavity is completely concealed from the road, and impofiible to be difcovered unlefs pointed out by fome neighbouring inhabitant. Let me, however, advife all Tourifts to be cautious in their excurfions to this natural curiofity, as it is a place evidently calcu- lated for plunder, ftratagems, and murder; and is now infefted by an unawed banditti of fmugglers, who have frequently pradYifed the barbarous fcheme of decoying vefTels by falfe lights ; and by whom we ourfelves were infulted. Indeed, I would advife Travellers to alter their route from Swanfea, and purfue the ftraight road to Caermarthen, and fo to Tenby, by Narbeth. By thefe means they efcape the unpleafant roads (and al- moft, indeed, inacceflible for carriages), leading from Oyftermouth to Cheriton, and likewife from Llaug- harne to Tenby. But fhould the Tourift be led by an invin- DIRECTORY. 37 invincible curiofity to infpect the ruins of Kidwely Caftle, it may eafily be accompliftied, by purfuing the turnpike-road to Kidwely, and from thence to Caer- marthen : in this laft route you only omit vifiting the feat of Mr. Talbot, of Penrice j though an object highly worthy of infpec"tion. At Saunders' Foot is a fmall bay, formed on one fide by a rock called the Monkftone, and on the other by the Caermarthenfhire coaft. Near this place is fituate the feat of Capt. Ackland ; and from thence to Tenby, the dark lowering rocks rofe perpendicularly to a confiderable height, and then branched out into over- hanging crags. It was now dufk;— and at this trans- forming hour, the bold promontories became fhaded with unreal glooms,^-the projecting cliffs afTumed a more terrific afpect, — and the wild, overhanging un- derwood, «« Wav'd to the gale in hoarfer murmurs. " TENBY, is much reforted to, during the fummer months, for bathing. It ftands on a rock facing Caermarthen Bay: the bold promontory of the Monkftone Head to the D 3 north, 38 THE CAMBRIAN north, and St. Catherine's Point, to the fouth, form a fine amphitheatre. The fliore is well adapted for bathing; the machines excellent; and a fingular rock, rifing in the fea, clofe to the more, fhelters the bathing machines, even in the moft boifterous weather. On the fouth of Tenby, at the extremity of the fmall ifland of St. Catherine's, attainable at low water, are the remains of a Roman Catholic chapel. Entirely through this ifland is a fingular perforation, which, without any difficulty, may be penetrated at the reflux of the tide. The views from the fouth fands are re- markably beautiful ; the character of the rocks is here awfully wild, craggy, and impending ; and the diftant fifhing-boats with their white fails, and the voices of the fifhermen, who conftantly frequent this coaft, borne at intervals on the air, are circumftances which animate the fcene : whilft the iflands of Caldy and St. Marga- ret's opportunely rife, to render the terrific ocean beau- tiful. The retrofpecT: is equally interefting; the neat town of Tenby, with the mutilated walls of its caftle, clofes this charming fcene. The ancient walls of Tenby are ftill fufficiently per- fect, to fhew its former ftrength and extent ; and the four round towers, {landing on the extremity of the rock, point out the fituation of its caftle. Near this is a ruinous building, fuppofed to be the remains of a Flemifh DIRECTORY. 39 Flemifh manufactory, probably woollen. On the north fands is likewife another walk, equally beau- tiful, commanding the whole extent of Caermarthen Bay. On the fummit of the rocks, over thefe fands, is the walk called the Croft : on this eminence is fitua- ted the hotel kept by Mr. Shaw ; the accommodations are very good : the charges per week are eighteen {hil- lings board, finding your own tea, fugar, wine, and porter ; fix fhillings for a bed-room, and at the fame rate a private parlour. This place, from the vaft quantity of fifh caught near the coaft, is called Tenby-y-Pifcoid, If the Tourift has leifure and opportunity, many ex- curfions may be made during his ftay at Tenby. The firft, and moft important is, to Pembroke and Milford- Haven. The road affords many grand and extenfive fea views, with a faint profpect of Lundy Ifle. About four miles from Tenby, ftand the ruins of Mannorbeer Caftle, fuppofed to have been erected about the time of William Rufus. A little farther on, the ivy-mantled walls of Carew Caftle* burft upon us ; and about three miles from Pembroke, the decayed and broken walls of * The Pedeftrian will not poffibly find time to examine the ruins of Carew Caftle, in this day's route, but will find it move convenient to vifit it in his way from Tenby to Haverfordweft, D 4 Llan- 40 THfe CAMBRIAN Llanfeth, or Lantphey Caftle, attracted our notice, once the refidence of the Biftiops of St. David's, but now a monument of defolation. The three buildings of S wan- fea Caftle; Lantphey Court ; and King John's Hall, St David's, are very fimilar in their workmanfhip* We now arrived at PEMBROKE. Mr. Wyndham has fo minutely delineated the prefent ftate of this caftle, that I cannot do better than tran- fcribe his account : « The approach (fays this Author) to Pembroke " from the river, fhews the town and caftle to the w moft beautiful advantage. The town is fituated " upon the ridge of a long and narrow rock, gradually « afcending to the higheft point, on which ftands the " caftle, at the brink of the precipice. If I may com- " pare fmall things with great, it much refembles the *« fituation of Edinburgh. " The caftle is of Norman architecture, mixed with " early Gothic. The principal tower, which is un- " commonly high and perfect, has even its ftone vaulted « roof remaining. The walls of this tower are four- " teen DIRECTORY. 41 " teen feet in thicknefs, the diameter of the fpace ic within is twenty-five, and the heighth, from the " ground to the crown of the dome, is feventy-five «• feet; but vifible marks appear within, that its height * c was originally divided by four floors. " Henry VII. was born in the prefent caftle. The " natural cavern, called the Wogan, lies immediately called the Parfonage. Leaving Carew, we crofTed a fmall bridge over an arm of Milford Haven, and continued our route acrofs a barren and uninterefting heath j till, defcending to the village of CRESSELEY, the luxuriant plantation of firs, belonging to Sir Wil- liam Hamilton, attracted our attention. Small veffels conftantly frequent this quay, from whence a quantity of fmall coal is (hipped to different parts. From hence the 46 THE CAMBRIAN the road is extremely barren and unpicturefque 5 but, about three miles from LANDSHIPPING, an arm of Milford Haven again burft upon our fight. Near it is fituated the uninhabited houfe of Sir William Owen. In crofling the ferry, Piclon Cattle, the pro- perty of Lord Milford, formed a prominent feature in the gay fcene ; and Slebitch, the feat of Mr. Philips, (landing at the end of the Haven, contributes confider- ably to this picturefque profpect. The grounds of PICTON, through which we pafTed, about five miles in extent, feemed to be well planned, and kept in excellent order. This caftle has always been inhabited ; and having efcaped the fate of all other caftles in Wales, during the civil wars, it retained, till very late, hiuch of its original external form. It is now occupied by Lord Milford, and rendered a very comfortable fummer refi- dence. DIRECTORY. 4J dence. At the extremity of the park, a good turnpike- road foon conducted us to HAVERFORD-WEST, which is confidered as one of the largeft towns in South-Wales. It is very irregularly built, on the de- clivity of a hill, which is, in fome parts, fo very fteep, that the ground-rooms frequently overlook the neigh- bouring roofs ; yet there are fome good houfes. It is confidered as a county of itfelf, and fends one member to parliament. The town was formerly fortified by a itrong wall, or rampart, on the weftern fummit : the fhell of a once-exteniive caftle, is flill remaining 5 this is now converted into a gaol. The Parade, commanding a cheerful view of the neighbouring country, and the ruins of an ancient ab- bey, extends for a confiderable way, by the fide of a hill. At the extremity of this walk, ftand the ruins of an ancient priory of Black Canons : the remains are now very inconfiderable, but we eafily traced the chapel, over one end of which is an arch, flill in good pre- fervation, and beautifully enwreathed with the rich drapery of ivy. # Haver- 48 THE CAMBRIAN Haverford is called by the Welch, Hwlfordh* Hav- ing finifhed our furvey of Haverford, we ftarted early the next morning, propofing to breakfaft at NEWGIN BRIDGE, where we underftood we fhould meet with every thing comfortable ; but, to our difappointment, we found a moft miferable, dirty pot-houfe, deftitute of even the common comforts of life. We were literally obliged to ftoop, in order to gain accefs to the kitchen, which contained a fmall bed, and a few chairs; through this an elderly woman conducted us to what fhe diftinguifhed by the name of a parlour.: in this room the furniture confifted of two beds, a dirty table, and a few chairs. With difguft we left this miferable hovel, and con- tented ourfelves w 7 ith a bafon of milk: we declined eat- ing the bread, or rather oatmeal cake, which was of the coarfeft and hardeft nature. I here recollected Shen- • " This caftle (fays an eminent Author) is faid to have been built by " Gilbert, Earl of Clare, who lived in the reign of King Stephen j and* " Camden reports, that Richard, Earl of Clare, made Richard Fitz-Tan- u kred governor thereof. It was one of thofe in the hands of the Flo " mings, when they firft came into Dyvet, or Pembrokeshire." ftone's DIRECTORY, ^g ftone's complimentary lines on an inn, but could not apply them on the prefent occafion : % * Whoe'er has traveled life's dull rounds ** Where'er his ftages may have been, " May figh to think that he has found " The warmefi welcome at an inn."* The road from Haverford to Newgin we found very uninterefting ; and the fhell of ROACH GASTLE did not detain us long. It ftands on a rocky eminence, now completely in ruins, with only one tower remain- ing. il Roach Caftle (fays Leland) in Roufeland, to 'P the right of the road to St. David's, (hews a round " and fome double out- works, viable at a great diftance. « It belonged to the lords Ferrars, and old Langeyille^ « knt. of Bucks." In defcending the hill to Newgin, the dark lowering rocks, which form that fine bay, called St. Bride's, exhibited a grand profpecl. In the centre of this bay is fituated Newgin, bounded on the fouth by the ifland * Thefe lines were frequently repeated by Dr, Johnfon, whofe partly Uty to inns is well known, E of 5° THE CAMBRIAN of Skomar, and on the north by Ramfay. The fields adjacent to this place have been frequently inundated, by extraordinary overflowings of the fea : at the reflux of the tide, the fands admit of moft excellent walking. The faunter from hence to the city of ST. DAVIDS, now properly deferving the name of a village, was ra- ther more captivating than our walk before breakfaft: it was occafionally enlivened by the profpect of the wide ocean, boundlefs to our view on one fide, whilft before us the fantaftic fhapes of the rocks off St. David's Head, exhibited Nature, in her moft awful and ftriking attitudes. Above the reft, Caern Thydy lifted its bold promontory, as if to give effect to the rude landfcape. About half way between Nevvgin and St. Davids, the beautiful little village of Solva unexpectedly bur t upon our view; ftudded with neat white-wafhed cottages, and enclofed on each fide with lofty rocks, which here form a piclurefque and interefting chafm. Thefe rocks, indeed, I could almoft imagine, were torn afunder by fome convulfive rent of the earth. The cathedral, and dilapidated ruins of the epifcopal palace, are fituated at the bottom of a fteep hill, and fcarcely vifible in the town : DIRECTORY, 5* town : thefe, and the prebendal houfes, were formerly enclofed by a ftrong ftone wall, with four gates, com- puted at eleven hundred yards in circuit. David,* the national faint of Wales, with the confent of King Ar- thur, is faid to have removed the metropolitan fee from Caer Lleon to Menevia, which has ever fince beert called Ty Dewi, by the Welch, and St. David, by the Englifh. What was the condition and extent of this town formerly, is difficult to fay, having been fo fre- quently deftroyed. At prefent it is a very fmall city v and has nothing to boaft, but its ruined palace, and old cathedral, dedicated to St. Andrew and St. David s which has often been demolifhed, but rebuilt, in its prefent form, by Bifliop Peter, according to GiralduSj in the reign of Henry II. or as Willis, 11 10, in Rhos Vale, below the town. It is ftill efteemed a noble pile*, confiding of two tranfepts, meafuring in length, from eaft to weft, three hundred feet, and the body, with the aides, feventy-fix feet broad. * te This celebrated perfon was uncle to King Arthur, and {on of a 'I Prince of Wales. After being feated in the fee of St. David fixty five '! years, and having built twelve monafteties j after having been exem- " plary in the piety of thofe days, this holy perfon died, at a mod ad- " vanced period of human life 3 having attained, as it is faid, to the age V of one hundred and forty-fix years. He was buried in the cathedral te church of St. David j and many years after canonized by Pope Califtus ** the Second,"— Warrington's Hijiory of Wales, vol, ii. p, 385. E 2 " Behind 52 THE CAMBRIAN "— ———————— I '. — — I I Hi I II IF " Behind the choir is a moft beautiful chapel, with its original Britifh name ; it is likewife called in Latin Sabrina, From the top of Plinlimmon we for the firft time difcovered the ftiaggy fummit of Cader Idris, and the fpiral head of Snowdon. There is nothing particularly engaging in the character of this moun- tain, except in its giving rife to no lefs than fix or eight rivers, and on this account has frequently been cele- brated by the Poet. Though its fummit commands a circle of many miles diameter, yet the profpect by no means anfwered our expectations. We defcended into a fwampy bottom, which afforded us unpleafant walk- ing for two or three miles, when a moft delightful and well-cultivated valley unexpectedly enlivened our fpi- rits. The fun was making -" a golden fet, tc And by the bright track of his fiery car *« Gave fignal of a goodly day to-morrow," juft as we entered this interefting vale : the hay-makers, in the coolnefs of the evening, were returning to their homes, " Each by the lafs he loved." * Called in Latin Vaga* In DIRECTORY. 8i In fhort, the whole valley breathed delicious fragrance : add to this, innumerable cataracts rufhed from the mountain's fummits, occafioned by the late copious rains, From hence a gpod turnpike-road foon conducted us to the romantic town of MACHYNLLETH, confidered as the centre of the woollen manufactory in this part of the country, principally of the Jirong cloth, or high country cloth.* The fituation of Machynlleth, (or as it is pronounced by the Welch, Mahunthleth) is extremely romantic ; ftupendous mountains forming a natural rampart round the town. We here vifited the neglected manfion where Owen Glendwr affem- bled the ftates of the Principality, in 1402, and ac- cepted from their hands the crown of Wales. Part of the houfe is now allotted for the purpofe of a liable; the remainder is turned into a butcher's fhop :— <* Sic tranjit gloria mundi" In fine, the only evident remains of its ever having * See an excellent account of the woollen manufactory in the feventh chapter of Atkins tour through North Wales. G been 8a THE CAM6RIAN been celebrated in the annals of hiftory, is a fpacious door-way. The town itfelf, in many parts, bears the appearance of antiquity ; the ftreets are confiderably wider than Welch towns in general, and the market- place is well built. As we entered Machynlleth, being the firft town in North Wales, we were in a manner inftindtively in- duced to reflect on the various incidents that had be- fallen us from our firft fallying forth on our pedeftrian excurfion. We took a retrofpecl: of all our little trou- bles with equally as much delight, as the failor, who, by the bleffing of Providence, has efcaped the moft imminent dangers : all our paft imaginary dangers (for imaginary evils are frequently worfe than real ones) were over balanced with reflections on the many hours of pleafure that were flown unheeded by : thefe refledions brought to my recollection fome interefting lines in Bowles's Sonnets^ which I involuntarily ex- claimed aloud : " Fair fcenes ye lend a pleafure long unknown " To him who pafles weary on his way ; " The farewell tear, which now he turns to pay u Shall thank you : and whene'er of pleafures flown, " His heart fome long-loft image would renew, *• Delightful haunts ', he will remember you." The DIRECTORY. 83 The fublimity of the walk from hence to Talylyn* literally c< beggars defcription." Having crofTed a bridge of eight arches, thrown over the river Do- vey, high mountains clofed us on every fide, fhook into every poflible form of horror ; huge mafles of rock hung over the road, and it feemed neceflary to remember their firm bafis, to foften the terror they in- fpired ; whilft other misfhapen fragments lie fcattered at the fide of the road. The tranfparent Dyflas, whofe clear furface reflected the tremulous picture in all its colours, forms one continued cataract for five or fix miles, overflowing with the innumerable tributary tor- rents, which hurry themfelves down from the higheft fummit of the furrounding rocks ; whilft to give effect to the whole profpect, the fhaggy head of Cader Idris towers the majeftic fentinel of the fcene, whofe " cloud « cap'd" fummit the eye aches in furveying. Tp our great difappointment, the weather prevented our afcend- ing this celebrated mountain giant. Cader Idris is efteemed, in height, the fecond mountain in all Wales, rifing two thoufand eight hundred and fifty feet above the green of Dolgelly.* If the weather proves favourable to afcend Cader • See Pennant's Snowdonia, p. 89, and likewife Wilfon's excellent View of Cader Idris, G 2 Idris, 84 T HE CAMBRIAN Idris, travellers may be very comfortably accommo- dated with beds at TALYLYNj a fmall village, fituated, at the foot of the mountain ; and where they will likewife meet with a conductor, in every refpecl fuited for this Alpine excurfion. Mr. Jones, the landlord of the Blue Lion, ufed all his in- fluence to perfuade us, by largely expatiating on the comforts of his accommodations, to detain us till the weather wore a more favourable afpecl:, but knowing the unceuainty of his conjectures, we determined to make Barmouth our head quarters. Quitting therefore our officioufly polite landlord, we foon arrived 'at the Pool of Three Grains, which, though of inferior fize, yet is generally credited to be unfathomable ; it abounds in fifh, and derives its name from three immenfe ftones, or rather fragments of rock near it, which the common people confidently aflert, and believe, the giant Idris took out of his fhoes as he pafled this pool. Having afcended feveral hills, a quick defcent of three or four miles, foon brought us to DOL- DIRECTORY. 8g DOLGELLY; furrounded with « a tempeftuous fea of mountains," and watered by the rapid current of the river Avo'n- vawr, over which is thrown a large and handfome Hone bridge, at the entrance of the town. In the neighbourhood of this romantic fpot, and indeed in many parts of Merioneth/hire, the manufac- ture of ftrong cloth has long been carried on.* We were reluctantly neceffitated to leave this in- terefting town of Dolgelly, much fooner than we wifhed, had we obeyed our own inclinations. No one can picture to themfelves a more delightful fltuation than that of Dolgelly : — an enclofed vale, encircled with the craggy and fubjecT: mountains of Cader idris> forming an amphitheatre, — watered by the Alpine tor* * Mr. Pennant in his Snoivdoma, p. 397, publifhed in 178 1, " men- " tions, that there are brought annually to Salop fcven hundred thoufand " yards of web 5 and to Welch Pool, annually, between feven and eight " hundred thoufand yards of flannel j but he does not ftate the particulars " whence he reduces his general eftimate." I have quoted this paffage from Aikin's excellent chapter (vii.) on the Woollen Manufafiure of North Wakh not having in my poffemon Mr. P,'s Snowdemtt G 1 rent 86 THE CAMBRIAN rent of the Maw, — and richly clothed with wood. But neceffity has no law ; the beft inn was pre-occu- pied, and no comfortable accommodations could be found ; and, though drenched with rain, we were com- pelled to quicken our pace to the well-known bathing place of BARMOUTH. It is advifeable for all travellers, pedeftrians not excepted, to leave Dolgelly at high water, as without that, the fcenery lofes much of its beauty; if conve- nient, it is certainly preferable to hire a boat, at the Stoves ; the charge is three fhillings and iixpence -, by this you will fave a walk of eight miles, and both from youi fituation, and from being more at your eafe, will better admit of your obferving the furrounding fcenery, with which you cannot fail to be highly gratified. This fhort excurfion of eight miles, is truly grand, awful, and fublime ; and though many parts of this ftriking valley are richly cultivated, yet, by the fide of the road, enormous mountains, formed into the molt ca- pricious fhapes, fhoot into the clouds, fometimes pro- jecting fo far over the road, as feemingly defigning to impede our farther progrels : the wide expanfe of the ocean, in front, with the arm of the fea running up the country DIRECTORY. 8? country in the centre of* the valley ; in fine, the tout tnfemble claimed our higheft admiration, Barmouth though confidered as a bathing- place, is very inferior to Tenby, yet its fituation for grandeur of rocks, has been frequently compared, by many tourifts, to Gibraltar ; and by others, efteemed not unlike St. Kitts, in the Weft Indies. The vaft fand banks, formed by the tides immediately in front of the town, are the only barriers which protect it from the inundations of the fea. The fhore is extremely levels and affords, for many miles, excellent riding. In re- fpe and not uncommonly ftiled, the De- viPs DIRECTORY. IO3 vir$ Bridge, This laft appellation has very frequently milled ftrangers, who, confounding it with the well- known bridge at Havod, have been much difappointed, their expectations being raifed very high, from the ge- neral defcriptions of that place. Of this, indeed, we found an inftance on the very fpot. This bridge con- nects the two counties of Merionethfliire and Caernar- vonmire ; being, from the parapet to the water, forty feet. From the defcription of former tourifts, it did not anfwer our expectations; but the falmon-leap is an interefting object from the bridge : the height is about fifteen feet j and though we obferved very many attempt this furprifing feat of agility, not one fucceeded. Some fifliermen below foon excited our curiofity, and falmoa was here offered for fale at three-pence per pound. An intelligent man here offered himfelf as our guide to the rich copper-mines, in the vicinity of Pont Aber-Glaflyn. This miner, having worked both here and at the Paris mountain, confidently afferted, that one pound of this ore was now efteemed equivalent to twice the quantity, produced in Anglefea. Stupendous cliffs, by the road fide, literally rife eight hundred and fixty feet perpendicularly, and hang in the moft capricious forms over the torrent, which, draggling amongft the receffes of ftone, is haftening forward to difembogue itielf into the eftuary of Traeth Mawr. H 4 The 104 IHE CAMfiRlAN The pafs is not more than feventy feet j after much rain it is entirely inundated by the overflowings of the Glaflyn, which reflected, as in a mirror, the blacknefs of the impending cliffs. On the Caernarvonfhire fide are feveral lead mines ; but they have not proved fuf- ficiently rich, to reward the labour of working. The fituation of our inn at BEDDGELERT, is very romantic, and would form an interefting draw- ing, by taking in a fmall bridge of two arches below the houfe. It is completely encircled by lofty moun- tains, which may be confidered as fubjecl to the « cloud- f* capt Snowdon." How often has the idea of this ftupendous mountain filled my heart with enthufiaftic rapture ! Every time I caft my eyes on that folemn, that majeftic vifion, it is not without the moft powerful emotion ; it excites that tender melancholy, which exalts rather than deprefles the mind ! How delightful to bid adieu to all the cares and occupations of the world, for the reflection of thofe fcenes of fublimity and grandeur, which forms fuch contrail to the tranfientnefs of fubl unary greatnefs ! With DIRECTORY* IO5 With what anxiety have we watched the fetting fun, loitering juft below the horizon, and illuminating the higheft fummit of Snowdon with a golden tinge, and we ftill watch the palling clouds of night, fearing left the morning fhould prove unfavourable for our Alpine excurfion. SNOWDON. We engaged the miner, as our Conductor over the mountain, who entertained us much with difplaying, in ftrong colours, the tricks and impofitions of his bro- ther guides, and more particularly of the methodiftical landlord of our inn, who is generally employed on thefe occafions. His pride too is not a little elevated, by having conducted The Great Doctor to its higheft fum- mit; this feemingly ridiculous phrafe for fome time puzzled us ; but we have fince found out, that our guide was talking of no lefs a man, than the prefent refpe&able and learned dean of Chriftchurcb, who afcended this mountain laft year. Though our Guide* was pompous, and rather too partial to the marvellous, yet I firenuoufly recommend him to all tourifts. * Evan Thomas, works in the copper-works at Aber-Glaflin, and lives at a place called Dous Coreb, about a mile and an half beyond Beddgelert. At 06 THE CAMBRIAN At half paft twelve, we ftarted from our inn, deter- mined to fee the fun rife from its higheft fummit. The night was now very dark, and we could juft difcover, that the top of Snowdon was entirely enveloped in a thick, impenetrable mitt: this unpropitio«somen ftag- gered our refolutions ; and we for fome time hefitated re- fpedling our farther progrefs ; but our Guide afluring us, that his comfortable cottage was not far diftant, we again plucked up refolution; and, quitting the high way about two miles on the Caernarvon road, we turned to the right, through a boggy unpleafant land, and in danger of lofing our (hoes every ftep we took. This foon brought us to the comfortable cot, the filth and dirtinefs of which can better be imagined than defcribed ; a worm-eaten bed, two fmall (tools, and a table fixed to the wall, compofed the whole of his furniture, — two fighting cocks were perched on a beam, which Thomas feemed to pride himfelf in the pofleffion of; the fmoke of the fire afcended through a fmall hole in the roof of this comfortable manfton, the door of which did not ap- pear proof againft the " churl ifh chiding of the winter " Waft." Such, indeed, was the fituation of this Cambrian mountaineer; and though, in our own opinion, mifery, poverty, and dirt perfonified, feemed to be the real in- habitants of this cottage, yet there was fomething pre- pofleffing DIRECTORY, IO7 poileiling in his character ; for frequently, with the greateft vehemence imaginable, and in the true ftile of an anchorite, he declared, that " though he boafted " not riches, yet he boafted of independence ; and " though he poftefTed not wealth, yet he poflfefled the " home of happinefs, an honed bread." The morning appearing to wear a more favourable afpec"t, we again fallied forth j the bogs, however, ftill rendered it extremely unpleafant. But this inconveni- ence was only temporary : we foon came to a part of the mountain, entirely compofed of loofe ftones, and frag- ments of rock, which, by affording a very treacherous footing, you are liable to perpetual falls. The moun- tain now became much fteeper, the path lefs rocky, and our mountaineer, the higher we proceeded, more in- duced to exhibit feats of his agility, by occafionally running down a fhort precipice, and then, by a loud fhout or vociferation, fhewing us the obedience of the fheep, who inftantaneoufly flocked round him, at the found of his voice : it is fingular, the caution implanted in this animal, by inftin&y for the mutual protection of each other; from the liberty they enjoy, they feldom congregate in one flock, but are generally difcovered grazing in parties from fix to a dozen, one of which is regularly appointed centinel, to watch the motions of their inveterate enemies (foxes and birds of prey), which infeft 108 THE CAMBRIAN infeft this mountain. A wider expanfe of the hemi- fphere difclcfed itfelf, and every object below us gra- dually diminifhed, as we afcended. The freflinefs of the mountain whetted our appetites ; and our Con- ductor, with very little perfuafion, foon influenced us to open our little bafket of provifions. The fun, the " rich-hair'd youth of morn," was juft peeping from its bed ; and having refrefhed ourfelves, with eager impatience we again climbed the rugged precipice, for we had ftill a confiderable height to afcend. We now defcended feveral fteep declivities, by a narrow path, not more than three yards wide, with a dreadful per- pendicular on each fide, the fight of which almoft turned us giddy. As we were pafling this hazardous path, a thick mift enveloped us, and an impenetrable abyfs appeared on both fides; the effect, indeed, can fcarcely be conceived ; our footing to us, puifne mountaineers, feemed very infecure ; and a total deftruction would have been the confequence of one falfe ftep. The air grew intenfely cold, and by our Guide's recommenda- tion, we a fecond time produced our piftol of rum, di- luted with milk; but this cordial muft be ufed with caution, as a very fmall quantity of ftrong liquor effects the head, owing to the rarification of the air. On our reaching the fummit, all our difficulties were forgotten, and our imaginary complaints overborne with exclama- tions of wonder, furprife, and admiration. The light thin DIRECTORY. 10$ thin mifty cloud, which had for fome time enveloped us, as if by enchantment, fuddenly difperfed; the whole ocean appeared illuminated by a fiery fubftance, and all the fubject hills below us, for they refembled mole-hills, were gradually tinged by the rich glow of the fun ; whofe orb, becoming at length diftincHy vifible, difplayed the whole ifland of Anglefea fo diftin&ly, that we defcried, as in map, its flat and uncultivated plains, bounded by the rich and inexhauftible Paris Moun- tains, in the vicinity of Holyhead. The point on which we were Handing, did not exceed a fquare of five yards, and we fickened almoft at the fight of the fleep precipices which environed us; round it is a fmall parapet, formed by the cuftomary tribute of all flrangers, who vifit this fummit, and to which we like- wife contributed, by placing a large ftone on its top : this parapet, indeed, fheltered us from the chilly cold, and protected us from the piercing wind, which this height muft naturally be expofed to. We remained in this fituation for a confiderable time, and endeavoured, without fuccefs, to enumerate the feveral lakes, foreft, woods, and counties, which were expofed to us in one view j but, loft and confounded with the innumerable objects worthy of admiration, and regardlefs of the chilling cold, we took a diftincl furvey of the Ifle of Man, together with a faint profpeft of the HO THE CAMBRIAN the Highlands in Ireland, whieh appeared juft vifibly fkirting the diftant horizon ; but another object foon engrofled all our attention : " The wide, the unbounded profpects lay before us ; «« But lhadovvs, clouds, and darknefs reft upon it :" For we unexpectedly obferved long billows of vapour toffing about, half way down the mountain, totally excluding the country below, and occafionally dif- perfing, and partially revealing, its features, while above, the azure expanfe of the heavens remained un- obfcured by the thinned mift. This, however, was of no long continuance : a thick cloud prefently wet us through ; and the point on which we were ftanding could alone be diftinguifiied. As there appeared little or no chance of the clouds difperfing, we foon com- menced our defcent. — Refpecting this Alpine excur- fion, fuffice it to fay, that though our expectations were raifed exceedingly high, it infinately furpafTed all con- ception, and bafRed all defcription - 3 for no colour of language can paint the grandeur of the rifing fun, obferved from this eminence, or defcribe the lakes, woods, and forefb, which are extended before you ; for defcription, though it enumerates their names, yet it cannot draw the elegance of outline, cannot give the effect of precipices, or delineate the minute features, which reward the actual obferver, at every new choice of DIRECTORY. ill of his pofition, and by changing their colour and form in his gradual afcent, till at laft every object dwindles into atoms: in fhort, this interefting excurfion, which comprehends every thing that is awful, grand, and fub- lime, producing the moft pieafing fenfations, has left traces in the memory, which the imagination will ever hold dear. Various have been the conjectures on the definition of this mountain ; fome authors affirm that the Welch name of Snowdon fignifies the Eagle's Rocks^ deducing it from the number of thofe birds that formerly haunted thefe rocks ; but the moft fimple conjecture feems to be, that this name alludes to the frequency of the fnow on the higheft peaks. This mountainous tract was formerly celebrated for its fertility and woods ; and Leland affirms, that all Crigereri was foreft. It now yields no corn ; and its produce coniifts in cattle and black fheep, with large flocks of goats. «« Its height " (fays Pennant) has been varioufly reported. Mr. Caf- " well, who was employed by Mr. Adams, in a furvey « of Wales in 1682, meafured it by inftruments, made " by the direction of Mr. Flamftead, and aflerts it to " have been one thoufand two hundred and forty. Mr. " Lluyd fays, its perpendicular height is about one « thoufand three hundred yards above the fea level j but " later experiments have afcertained it at one thoufand « one 112 "' THE CAMBRIAN w one hundred and eighty-nine yards, reckoning from «* the quay at Caernarvon, to the higheft peak." The afcent is computed three miles -, the extremity, or fum- mit, three-quarters of a mile perpendicular. By the inhabitants of the country it is called Moel-y-Wydva, i. e. The Confpicuous Hilly and fometimes Krag Ey reri; and in the old Englifh maps it is always fpelt Snawdon. The lakes in this tract, amount to a confiderable num- ber, and abound with trout, eels, gwyniadd, and fome of them well-ftored with char. The moft noted peaks of this mountain are diftinguifhed by the names Moel- y-Wydva, y-Glyder, Karmedh Dhavidh, and Kar- medh Llewelyn.— Thefe hills are, in a manner, heaped on one another, near the fummit; and we only climbed one rock, to fee three or four more; between each is a cwtriy or valley, generally with a lake. We made par- ticular enquiries concerning y-Glyder-Bach, and found that the defer iption of it is by no means exaggerated. Several columnar (tones, of enormous fize, formed into the mod fantaftical fhapes, and lying in feyeral direc- tions, with many of their tops crowned with ftones, placed horizontally on them. One we obferved rocked with the flighteft touch. In the fiflures of the rock, cubic pyr it ee, are not uncommonly found ; the faxifraga nivalis^ and the fpecies called by Linnaeus athereal^ in great abundance. The DIRECTORY. % llg The firft two miles of our defcent, we by no means found difficult, but wifhing to take a minute furvey of the pi&urefque pafs of Llanberris, we changed the route generally prefcribed to Grangers, and defcended a rug- gee* and almoft perpendicular path, in oppofition to the propofals of our Guide, who ftrenuoufly endeavoured to diffuade us from the attempt, alleging the difficulty of the fteep, and relating a malancholy ftory of a gentle- man, who many years back had broken his leg. This had no effecT:. We determined to proceed 5 and the vale of Llanberris amply rewarded us for the trouble. It is bounded by the fteep precipices of Snowdon, and two large lakes, communicating by a river. It was formerly a large foreft, but the woods are now entirely cut down. We here difmiffed our Cambrian moun- taineer, and eafily found our way to Dolbadern (pro- nounced Dolbathern) Caftle, fituated between the two lakes, and now reduced to one circular tower, thirty feet in diameter, with the foundations of the exterior buildings completely in ruins; in this, Owen Gough, brother to Llewellin, laft prince, was confined in pri- fon. From hence a rugged horfe-path brought us to the Caernarvon turn pike- road, about fix miles diftantj the high towers of the caftle, the very crown and para- gon of the landfcape, at laft pointed out the fituation of CAER- 114 THE CAMBRIAN CAERNARVON ; and having crofTed a handfome modern ftone-bridge, thrown over the river Rhyddol, and built by " Harry " Parry, the modern Inigo, anno Domini 1791,'* we foon entered this ancient town, very much fatigued with our long excurfion. The hotel, newly built by Lord Uxbridge, for the convenience of ftrangers, at the end of the town, commands a fine profpecT: of the Strait of Menai, The view was bounded by the flat ifle of Anglefey ; while the light veflels, fkimming before the wind, gave the whole a lively and pleafing variety. The city of Caernarvon, beautifully fituated, and re- gularly built, is in the form of a fquare, enclofed on three fides, with thick ftone walls ; and on the fouth fide, defended by the caftle \ — the old town-hall is now falling to ruin. With refpect. to the caftle, we by no means agree with Mr. Warner, that " its high antiquity and an- « tient fplendor is interrupted and deftroyed by the i/99> P- 579«) This is, therefore, only to be confidered as a repetition j with the addition of a brief extracl from the two fubfequent letters, (September, I799> P» 741, and November, p. 938,) given to the public by different hands, through the medium of the Gentleman's Magazine* vifit DIRECTORY. ?2i vifit the chapel, that we might be enabled, in future, to contradict this ridiculous report. At fix in the evening the congregation afTembled, and on our entrance into the chapel, we obferved on the north fide, from a fort of ftage or pulpit, erected on the occafion, a man, in appearance, a common day- labourer, holding forth to an ignorant and deluded multitude. Our entrance at firft, feemed to excite a general difTatisfadrion $ and our near neighbours, as if confcious of their eccentricities, muttered bitter complaints againft the admittance of Grangers. The chapel, which was not divided into pews, and even deftitute of feats, contained near an hundred people; half way round was erected a gallery. The preacher continued raving, and, indeed, foaming at the mouth, in a manner too fhocking to relate : — he allowed him- felf no time to breathe, but feemingly intoxicated, uttered the moft difmal howls and groans imaginable, which were anfwered by the congregation, fo loud, as occafionally to drown even the voice of the preacher. At laft, being nearly exhaufted by continual vocifera- tion, and fainting from exertion, he funk down in the pulpit : the meeting, however, did not difperfe : a pfalm was immediately fung by a man, who, we ima- gined officiated as clerk, accompanied by the whole congregation. The pfalm had not continued long, before 122 THE CAMBRIAN before we obferved part of the afTembly, to our great furprife, jumping in fmall parties of three, four, and fometimes five in a kt, lifting up their hands, beat- ing their breafts, and making the moft horrid gefti- culations. Each individual feparately jumped, regu- larly fucceeding one another, while the reft generally afiifted the jumper by the help of their hands. The women always appeared more vehement than the men, and infinitely furpafTed them in numbers ; feeming to endeavour to excel each other in jumping, fcream- ing, and howling. We obferved, indeed, that many of them loft their fhoes, hats, and bonnets, with the utmoft indifference, and never condefcended to fearch after them - y in this condition, it is not unufual to meet them jumping to their homes. Their meetings are twice a week, Wednefdays and Sundays. Having accidentally met with a gentleman, at the hotel, a native of Siberia, we invited him to our party, and, induced by curiofity, he readily accompanied us to the chapel. On the commencement of the jumping, he in- treated us to quit the congregation, exclaiming, " Good «! God ! I for a moment forgot I was in a Chriftian H country ; the dance of the Siberians, in the worfhip c< of the Lama, with their fhouts and gefticulations, is " not more horrid !" This obfervation fo forcibly ftruck me, that L could not avoid inferting it in my note-book. With DIRECTORY. 12$ With difguft we left the chapel, and were given to underftand, by our landlord, they celebrate a particular day every year, when inftances have been known of women dying by too great an exertion ; and fainting is frequently the confequence of their exceffive jumping. This feci: is by no means confined to the town of Caernarvon, but in many villages, and in feveral mar- ket towns, both in North and South Wales,* they have eftablifhed regular chapels. " They have" (Jays a correfpondent to the Gentleman's Magazine^) " periodical meetings in many of the larger towns, to " which they come from thirty to forty miles round. " At one, held in Denbigh, about laft April, there H were, I believe, upwards of four thoufand people, " from different parts. At another, held in Bala, " foon afterwards, nearly double that number were ,c fuppofed to be prefent." The laft number appears rather to be exaggerated, though the letter, being dated from Denbigh, fhould be confidered as authoritative. Another correfpondent to the Gentleman's Maga- zine, gives the following information refpecling the feci: " That they are not a diftincl feci, but Metkodijls, • I have fince underftood, that they have a chapel at Caermarthen. t September, 1799, p. 74*» «of 124 THE CAMBRIANT *> m I II I I II - » . — — ^ " of the fame perfuafion as the late Mr. Whitfield ; «* for though there are feveral congregations of TVef- " Uyan Meth'odiJ1s> in this country, there is no fuch •• cuftom amongft them. But jumping during reli- «« gious worfhip is no new thing amongft the other « c party, having (by what I can learn) been practifed «< by them for many years paft. I have feen fome of U their pamphlets, in the Welch language, in which •* this cuftom is juftified by the example of David, '< who danced before the ark; and of the lame man, " reftored by our blefled Saviour, at the gate of the « Temple, who leaped for joy." How far this gentle- man's account may be accurate, I leave for others to decide ; it is certainly to be lamented, in a country where the Chriftian Religion is preached in a fiile of the greateft purity and fimplicity, that thofe poor igno- rant deluded wretches fhould be led to a form of wor- fhip fo diflbnant to the Eftablifhed Church of England, and, indeed, by a poor ignorant fellow> devoid of edu- cation, and devoid of common fenfe. The fame road we had fo much admired the pre- ceding Saturday, foon brought us to BANGOR, the fuppofed fcite of the Bovium, or Bonium, a Roman flation* DIRECTORY. 12$ flation, and celebrated for the moft ancient Britifh monaftery, which contained two thoufand four hundred Monks : it has long retained its Britifh name, Bangor ', or Banchor, fignifying " a beautiful quire ;" an appel- lation it juftly merits,. The fituation is deeply fe- cluded, " far from the buftle of a jarring world," and muft have accorded well with monaftic melancholy; for the Monks, emerging from their retired cells, might here indulge in that luxurious melancholy, which the profpecl: infpires, and which would footh the afperities which the fevere discipline of fuperftition inflicted on them. The fituation of Banchor appears more like a fcene of airy enchantment, than reality, and the refidences of the canons are endeared to the votaries of landfcape by the profpecl they command, On the oppofite more, the town of Beaumaris is feen ftraggling up the fteep declivity, with its quay crowded with veflels, and all appeared buftle and confufion; the contraft which the nearer profpecl: infpired, was too evident to efcape our notice, where the *< Oak, whofe boughs were mofs'd with age, " And high top bald with dry antiquity,* ■ afforded a feat for the contemplation of the wide ex- panfe of the ocean, which is feen beyond the little ifland of Puffin, or Prieftholm; fo called, from the quantity 120 THE CAMBRIAN quantity of birds of that fpecies, which refort here in the fummer months. The cathedral has been built at different times, but no part very ancient ; it was made an epifcopal fee, about the time of the conqueft : the church was burnt down by Owen Glendwr, in the reign of Henry IV.; the choir was afterwards built by Bifhop Henry Dene,* between 1496 arid 1500; the tower and nave by Bifhop Skevington, 1532. The whole is Gothic architecture, with no other particular ornament to dif- tinguifh it from a common Englifh parifh church. There are, however, feveral bifhopsf buried in the choir. I could dwell with pleafure on the picturefque beauties of this little epifcopal fee; but a repetition of the fame epithets grand, beautiful, fublime, fine, with a long catalogue, which muft neceflarily occur, would appear tautologous on paper, though their archetypes * Or Deane. •j- As from negle£t We did not tranfcribe the names of the bimops, it may not be deemed improper to infert the following paflage from a well* known Author: '« Here are monuments for Bifhops Glynn, 1550 j " Robinfon, 1584; Vaughan, 1597 J Rowlands, 1616: Morgan, 1673 j " and one with a crofs .fleuri in the fouth tranfept, afcribed to Owen ** Glendwr j but as he was buried at Monington, in Herefordshire, where " he died, I mould rather afcribe it to fome of the earlier biihopsj Mr. ** Pennant gives it to Owen Gwynned," m DIRECTORY. I27 in nature would aflume new colours at every change of pofition of the beholder. From this retirement, a ferry-boat foon conveyed us to BEAUMARIS, the largeft and beft built town in Anglefey, where the fame bufy fcene occurred. Having taken a fhort furvey of Baron Hill, the feat of Lord Bulkley, com- manding a fine profpecl of the ocean, with the huge promontory of Pen-mawn-maur, we were foon con- vinced, that there was nothing to require a longer flay 5 and returning to Bangor, we purfued the road to Con- way. About two miles on our left, we parTed the park and caftle of Penrhyn, the feat of Lord Penrhyn : this has lately been confiderably enlarged and repaired, un- der the judicious direction of Mr. Wyat. The en- trance is remarkably elegant, refembling a triumphal arch. This manfion enjoys a boundlefs profpect of the ocean on one fide, appearing but feebly reftrained by a long tract of fcarcely vifible coaft on the other ; in front, the flat ifland of Anglefey, the lofty Pen- mawn-mawr, and the prominent point of Caernarvon- fhire : whilft the neat church of Landegai forms a nearer object of admiration. We foon reached the dark lowering promontory of Pen-mawn-mawr, about eight 128 THE CAMBRIAN eight miles from Bangor, rifing perpendicularly, in a mafly wall, to the height of one thoufand four hundred feet : huge fragments of mattered rock are fcattered by the fide of the road, and a wall, fcarcely five feet high, alone protects a carriage from the fteep precipice; which, from the flightnefs of the foundation, has even, fallen down" in many parts. In this awfully fublime lituation we remained for fome time, aftonimed at the Dold protuberance of the rocks, which feemed to project their dark fides, to augment the idle roar of the waves. Purfuing a good turnpike-road, we foon came in fight of the hoary towers of CONWAY CASTLE. An air of proud fublimity, united with lingular wild- nefs, characterizes the place. The evening was far ad- vanced j and part of its ruins were mining with the purple glow of the fetting fun, whofe remaining fea- tures ftood in darkened majefty, when we entered this monument of defolation. Palling over a flank, origi- nally the fcite of the draw-bridge, we came into the outward court, ftrongly defended with battlements ; from thence we examined the grand entrance of the caftle, with feveral abutments projecting forward, fimi- lar DIRECTORY. 129 jar in ftile to Caernarvon. On the fouth fide of the court is the grand hall* meafuring an hundred and Ihirty feet by thirty-two, with eight light Gothic arches, five of which are ftill in good condition. On pne end is the chapel with a large window, a beautiful Specimen of Gothic architecture. It is founded on the iolid rock, by Edward I. in the year 1284: the walls are from eleyen to fifteen feet thick : all the towers are lefended by fmaller round ones, projecting two or three feet over, with a regular communication round Ihe whole caftle by galleries, on the fame plan as at Caernarvon. The fteps are decayed and broken, and the loofenefs of the ftones rendered a footing very in- lecure; but, impelled by an irrefiftible curiofity, we afcended the moft perfect tower, and an extenfive prof- pect prefented itfelf to our view. The foundation of tone of the principal towers, looking towards a fmali fiver, which here joins the Conway, has lately given way, and torn down with it part of the building ; the remainder now hangs in an extraordinary manner. Fne whole town is inclofed within ftrong walls, and Defended by a number of towers, which communicate with the caftle by a gallery; there are likewife feveral gate-ways, at certain diftances. ! The ancient church next attracted our attentions but did not detain us long, as the monuments for K the *3<5 THE CAMBRIAN the Wynnes are the only things worthy of infpe&ion. From thence we furveyed the remains of the college, which in the reign of Edward I. was intended for the inftru&ion of youth : it is now in complete ruins : the workmanfhip curious, with feveral fculptured arms. In this town is an ancient houfe, built in the form of a quadrangle, by the Wynnes, in the time of Elizabeth, now inhabited by poor families. This houfe is adorned, after the fantaftical faftiion of the times, in which it was erected ; the roof is Angularly carved, and the front decorated with the arms of England, with feveral curious crefts, birds, and beafts ; it bears the date of 1585. The arms of Elizabeth are carved over the door, fronting the ftreet. The trade of Conway confifts in the exportation of (late, and copper from the Llandidno mines, from whence the fined fpecimens of Malachite copper is brought. The town and caflle of Conway are feen to great advantage in crofting the river, which is here nearly a mile over, and at high water wafhes the walls of that marly ruin : in the middle of the channel is a fmall rocky ifland. We obferved, from this fituation^. the two caftles, called Bodfcallan and Dyganwy ; tV$ fmall remains of the latter ftand on a high rock abov 1 the river j the former is a beautiful feat of the Moi- tyns. v W DIRECTORY. lgl We were foon tranfported into Denbighshire; an extenfive profpecl: of the ocean prefented itfelf before us, and we difcovered the mountains of the Ifle of Man, which could fcarcely be diftinguifhed from the clouds of Heaven, and the waves of the fea. In defcending a hill, about two miles from the neat bathing-town of ABERGELE, we obferved, on our right, two immenfe caverns, about half way up the mountain ; they are called Cavern-ar- ogo, and run four or five hundred yards into the ground; but their real extent has never yet been afcertained with accuracy. From thefe mountains, vaft quantities of lime are fhipped for Liverpool, and many parts of England ; they are faid to be inexhauftible. Abergele, fituated on the edge of Rhuddlan Marfh, is a fmall neat town, of one ftreet, reforted to in the fummer-feafon for bathing. The fands afford ex- cellent walking; in the evening we lingered on the beach for a confiderable time, enjoying the calm, but cheerful beauty of Nature, and inhaling the pure fea- breeze — for K2 « The 132 THE CAMBRIAN 1 " The wind was hufh'd, " And to the beach each flowly-lifted wave, " Creeping with filver curl, jaft kill the fhore, « c And flept in filence." ■ ■ ■ MaforCs Garden, With pleafure, mixed with reverential awe, we trod Rhuddlan Marfh, fo celebrated in the annals of hiftory. Here the ill-fated Richard the Second was betrayed into the hands of Bolinbroke, and taken prifoner to Flint : here the famous King* of Mercia met his un- timely death : here the Welfh, under the command of Caradoc, in the year 795, were defeated in a conflict with the Saxons, and their leader flain in the action. This memorable and tragical event is handed down to pofterity, by an ancient celebrated Ballad, cailed Morva Rhuddlan, or the Marfli of Rhuddlan, compofed by the bards on the death of Prince Caradoc. The ground we trod, connected with fo many events, revived in our minds, the memory of paft ages, a feries of hiftorical events came to our recollection $ events, that are now fo diftant, as almoft to be obliterated from the page of hiftory. Pafling over a bridge of two arches, thrown over the river Clwyd, we entered * Offt. RHUD- DIRECTORY. 133 RHUDDLAN, once the largeft and moft refpeclable town in North* Wales. Walking over the ruins of the caftle, I recurred, by a natural aflbciation of ideas, to the times, when the parliament-houfe, the halls, and courts echoed with the voices of thofe, who have long fince been fwept from the earth, by the unerring hand of death. One folitary Gothic window is now only re- maining, to diftinguifh the old parliament-houfe, where Edward the Firft inftituted that famous code of laws, under the title of the Statute of 'Rkuddlan, from a neigh- bouring barn : and, what once contained the parlia- ment of England, now contains nothing but bark for the fupply of a tan-yard. The old caftle is built of red ftone $ it confifts of a fquare area, ftrongly fortified with a wall : this court we entered through the grand gate-way, between two round towers : the oppofite fide correfponds, The whole is encircled by a deep entrenchment, faced with ftone on the river fide, with two fquare towers, one of which ftill remains, The road from hence to & 3 ST, 134 THE CAMBRIAN ST. ASAPH, affords a moft rich and beautiful walk, extending along the celebrated vale of Clwyd. This rich trad* of land, called, The Eden of North Wales, extends in length about twenty-five miles, and in breadth about eight. The neighbourhood of Ruthin affords the beft view of this vale: though it is by no means fo interefting and romantic, as the vale of Glamorganshire, yet its high cultivation, and the picturefque, but moderate height of the hills, rifing on each fide of the river Clwyd, renders the fcenery pleaftng : its chief produce is corn. Both thefe vales claim the attention of the traveller ; and both have to boaft of particular beauties. One mile from St. Afaph, we paiTed, on our right, the elegant feat of Sir Edward Lloyd. We ftill followed the banks of the Clwyd, and at the fartheft extremity a light elegant bridge, of feven arches, with the dark tower of St. Afaph's Cathedral rifing on an eminence juft over it, gave a picturefque effect to the whole fcenery. The town itfelf is built on a hill, in one (trait line, with a few neat houfes. The cathedral naturally de- mands attention: the infide is remarkably neat and elegant, entirely Gothic, with the ceiling of chefnut, and open ribs, like the fkeleton of a fliip : it has lately been DIRECTORS. 13§ been repaired by Mr. Turner, architect of Whit- church, at the great expence of two thoufand four hun- dred pounds. The monument of David ap Owen, bifhop of this diocefe, was particularly pointed out to us. The bifhop's palace has been entirely rebuilt by the prefent diocefan. The choir confifts of a bifhop, dean, fix canqns, feven prebends, and four vicars. There are no monuments in the church-yard, and few of any importance within its venerable walls. St. Afaph receives its derivation from its patron, who eflablifhed a bifhop's fee here, in the year 590 : but in Britifh it is named Llan-Elwy^ on account of the con- flux of the Elwy with the Clywd. It is fingular, that the bifhop's jurifdi&ion extends over no entire county, but part of Flintfhire, Denbighfhire, Montgomeryfhire, Merionethfhire, and Shropfhire. The tra£t of land extending from hence to DENBIGH, is extremely rich in wood, pafture, and corn, but very deficient in water j dire&ly contrary to the rugged fcenes of Caernarvonfhire - 3 the fummits of whofe moun- tains appeared ftill vifible in the diftant retrofpedt, K4 * mingling t%6 THE CAMBRIAN mingling with the clouds. About a mile from St. Afaph, we were particularly pleafed with an old oak, whofe arms extending entirely acrofs the road, formed a moft elegantly fhaped arch. Denbigh, fituated nearly in the centre of the vale of Clwyd, is a well-built town, ftanding on the declivity of a hill. A large manufactory of {hoes and gloves is here carried on, and annually fupplies London with a vaft quantity. The ruins of the caftle, ftill remaining on a rock, commanding the town, are too celebrated in hiftory, and too cruelly mattered by the ravages of war, to be paffed unnoticed. The principal entrance forms a fine Gothic arch, with the ftatue of King Edward the Firft, its founder, above it, in an elegant nich, curioufly carved, encircled with a fquare ftone frame. No part of this caftle is perfect; but the huge thick fragments, which are fcattered in the moft ex- traordinary and fantaftical manner, feem to tell its former magnificence -, and a prefent view of things, fuch as they are, with a retrofpec~t of what they origi- nally were, fpreads a gloom over the mind, and inter- rupts the pleafure of contemplation $ yet ftill, the fin-., gular character of this ruin is particularly interefting. MafTes of wall ftill remain, the proud effigies of finking greatnefs -, and the mattered tower feems to nod at every murmur of the blaft, and menace theobferver with im- mediate DIRECTORY. N 137 mediate annihilation. Amongft thefe ruins we lingered till the whole was filvered by the pale rays of the moon. To form a conjecture, on the extent of its apartments, is now impoffibles but it is thus defcribed by Leland, in his Itinerary; <« The caftelle is a very large thinge, and hath many " toures yn it; but the body of the worke was never " finifchid. " The gate-houfe is a mervelus ftrong and great " peace of worke, but the faftigia of it were never " finifchid. If they had beene, it might have beene < c countid among the moft memorable peaces of workys •• in England. It hath diverfe wardes and dyverfe port- «< colicis. On the front of the gate is fet the image of " Henry Lacy, Erie of Lincoln, in his ftately long M robes* H There is a nother very high towre, and larg, in the M caftelle, caullid the Redde Towre. " Sum fay, that the Erie of Lincoln*s funne felle '« into the caftelle welle, and ther dyed -, wherapon he •* never paffid to finifch the caftelle. ** King Edward the Fourth was befiegid in Den- « bigh 13$ THE. CAMBRIAN « c bigh caftelle, and ther it was pa&id bytwene King « c Henry's men and hym that he mould with life de- « c parte the reaulme, never to returne. If they had " taken King Edwarde there debellatum fuiflet." The parifh church {lands within the walls of the original town. Below the caftle are the fragments of an old church, which for particular reafons, that can- not now be ascertained, was never finifhed : it contains nine windows on two fides, with a large and handfome one on the eaft. The vale of Clwyd ftill retains the character of luxuriant fertility : about two miles from hence, in our way to RUTHIN, « Denbigh, fair emprefs of the vale," with its tottering towers, formed a moft beautiful landfcape; whilft the neat little hamlet of Whitchurch peeked from among the pomp of groves. At the fmall village of St. Fyn- non St. Dyfnog, this curious infcription over a door, " Near this place, within a vault, *« There is fuch liquor fix'd, « c You'll fay that water, hops, and malt, «« Were never better mix'd ;" invited DIRECTORY. I39 — — * invited the «< weary-way wanderer," to partake of the good things within : this inclined us to be better ac- quainted with the author of this extraordinary ftanza; and we intreated the landlord to be our director to the much-efteerned well of St. Dyfnog. Palling through the church-yard, and from thence through the paflage of an alms'-houfe, we reached a plantation of trees, with a broad gravel-walk, almoft concealed from day's garifh light, by the thick foliage : this brought us to the fountain, enclofed in an angular wall, which forms a bath of confiderable frze j and fo « far retir'd " Among the windings of a woody vale, " By folitude and deep furrounding lhades, «« But more by bafhful modefty, conceal'd;" that the " lovely young Lavinia" might here plunge into the flood, fecure from the intrufion of Palemon. Many wonderful qualities are attributed to this foun« tain ; but it is more particularly celebrated for the cure of the rheumatifm : the water has no peculiar tafte. We returned by a fubterraneous path under the road, which led to the pleafure grounds, adjoining the feat of major Wylyn. Several feats were beautifully difperfed on each fide •f the vale* among which, Lord Bagot's and Lord Kirk- 140 THE CAMBRIAN Kirkwall's formed the moft prominent features in the landfcape. Ruthin is a large neat town, only divided from the parifh of Llanruth, by a ftrong ftone bridge : the church, which is beautifully fituated, is a handfome modern edifice : here is a monument to Dr. Gabriel Goodman, dean of Weftminfter, in the time of Eliza- beth, and likewife a native of this place. A new gaol has lately been built here by Mr. Turner. The re- mains of the caftle, at the fouthern extremity of the town, are fcarcely worthy a moment's obfervation ; and the fcite of the old chapel is now converted into a bowling-green. Owen Glendwr demolifhed this town by fire, September 20, 1400. In the laft century, the loyalifts fortified the caftle, and fuftained a long fiege in 1646. We ftill continued fkirting the rich vale of Clwyd ; but winding up a fteep hill, overlooking the whole of it, from one extremity to the other, we were reluctantly compelled to bid a final adieu to all its villas, hamlets, fteeples ; the whole profpecl:, glowing with luxuriance, feemed to aflume frem beauties, at this our farewell view : the cattle, which were grazing in the fhorn meadows, and beautifully contrafted with the ripening corn, appeared more animated j and we difcovered, or though* DIRECTORY. 141 thought we difcovered, an additional number of vil- lages, peeping from the woody fkirts of the floping hills. From this point the vale is certainly feen to great advantage. To give a ftill greater effect, a thun- der-ftorm came rolling on ; and the clouds were " Silent borne along, heavy and flow, " With the big ftores of (teaming oceans charg'd." This florin compelled us to feek for a fhelter in a mi- ferable pot-houfej but the civility of the landlady fully compenfated for its want of accommodations. The effects of the ftorm rendered the remainder of our jour- ney much more agreeable, and the heat lefs oppreffive : a dull, uninterefting road continued, till we arrived within four or five miles of WREXHAM. The contraft was too ftriking to efcape our notice; but having climbed a fteep eminence, the eye com- manded an almoft boundlefs range of land ; and the faint colour of the hills, retiring in the diftance, was beautifully combined with the mellow green of nearer woods. The counties of Chefhire, Shropftiire, and a, confiderable part of Wales, were extended, like a map, for our infpeclion 3 the town of Wrexham, riiing in the 14» THE CAMBRIAN the bottom, animated the fcene, with its noble tower, overtopping the numberlefs little fteeples near it. Clofe to the road, we obferved feveral coal and lead mines, and a melting-houfe for forming lead into pigs j thefe works belong to Mr. Wilkinfon. The dirty out-fkirts of Wrexham, by no means prepoflefled us in favour of the town, but viewing it more leifurely, we can fafely affirm, that it is not only the largeft, but the beft built town in Wales. To the kind attentions of a clergyman in the neigh- bourhood of Wrexham, we are much indebted, and under his directions, we furveyed the lions with great advantage. Our friendly Ciceroni firft conducted us to the church, an elegant building of the reign of Henry VII. The tower is an hundred and forty feet high, and efteemed " a beautiful fpecimen of the « florid, or reformed Gothic, which prevailed about « that time 5" all the figures and ornaments are well defigned, and ftill in high prefervation. The infide is not lefs elegant; it has lately been neatly repaired, with a good gallery and organ : the painted altar-piece is well executed. On the left, facing the altar, is a very handfome monument by Roubilliac, to the me- mory of Mrs. Mary Middleton ; both the defign, and execution, reflect the bigheft credit on the fculptor; the DIRECTORY. *4g the fubjeft is the Laft Day; at the found of the trum- pet, a tomb of black marble burfts open, and a beautiful female figure, clothed in white, appears rifing from it, juft awoke from the fleep of death ; her form dignified ; candour, innocence, and celeftial joy fhine in her countenance, and give it the moft feel- ing and animated expreffion : in the back ground, an obelifk, fuppofed to be erected to her memory, is rent afunder; above, an angel, enveloped in a cloud, is pointing to brighter fcenes. In this church are two other monuments, executed by the fame ce- lebrated mafter, in memory of fome of the Middle- tons ; their defigns, though ftriking, cannot be com- pared to his Laft Day. Our worthy Conductor, per- ceiving we were great amateurs of paintings, and care- ful that nothing of confequence fhould be pafled un- noticed by us, particularly wifhed us to examine the performance of a young artift, then at Wrexham : a copy amongft others; of a painting of Rembrant's, taken by Mr. Allen, from a celebrated picture, in the pofTeffion of Lord Craven, was moft ingenioufly exe- cuted 5 the fubjecl is an Old Man, inftrucling a Young Boy ; the attention of the latter, moft admirably pre- ferved ; the head of the former, and the hand particu- larly, moft highly finifhed. Without any exaggeration, this painting would do credit to the moft fcientific painter, and be efteemed invaluable ; it is therefore to be 144 THE CAMBRIAN be hoped, from the hands of fo young an artift as Mr. Allen, that this performance will be difpofed of, where judges of painting may view it with a critic's eye, and recommend its merits to thofe who can afford to en* courage induftry and ingenuity. Our friend's invitation to his hofpitable parfonage, and agreeable family, was too kindly urged, poflibly to be refufed, and in our way to MARCH WIEL, we vifited the feat of P. York, Efq. The grounds and plantations, are very extenfive ; and the bowery walks, while they afford refrefhing fhelter from a fum- mer's fun, allow partial views of the counties of Chefhire and Shropfhire ; with the Wrekin and Bryd- york Hills : in fliort, through thefe groves *■ How long fo e'er the wanderer roves, each ftep '« Shall wake frefh beauties, each fhort point prefents f{ A different picture ; new, and yet the fame. The tower of Wrexham, and the town itfelf, as oc- cafion offers, is a nearer, and an additional charming object. In an alteration of the walks a few years fince, were difcovered below the furface of the ground, the DIRECTORY. I45 the fhattered walls of an ancient cattle j thefe frag- ments Mr. Yorke has left unimpaired, and they re- main a memento of the viciflitudes of fortune. The entrenchments round the caftle, and likewife the ori- ginal fcite of the keep, are ftill very apparent. The houfe itfelf is very indifferent : Watt's Dyke runs through part of the grounds. In a parlour op- pofite the garden, we obferved fome fine paintings of the Hardwicke family. Mr. Yorke has dedicated ano- ther room to the Royal Tribes of Wales,* where the arms and lines of the defcent, as far as they can be traced, are emblazoned and hung up. In the coolnefs of the evening, Our hofpitable hoft conducted us to the neat and elegant little country church of March Wiel, lately cafed with ftone; and in the year 1788, ornamented with a new painted window by Mr. Eginton, of Birmingham ; the twenty-one compartments contain the arms and crefts of the Mid- dletons and Yorkes, with rich tranfparent borders. This window is undoubtedly very elegant, but the fubjecT: in my own opinion, more adapted to a hall, than an ornament to a church window. The high * Since our vifit to this fpot, Mr. Yorke has publifhed a moft excel- lent and valuable book, entitled, An Hj/iory of the Royal "Tribes ofWaksi L tower , 14^ THE CAMBRIAN tower appears not in proportion with the body of the church. Deeply imprefTed with fentiments of gratitude to- wards our reverend friend, and fenfible of his hofpita- lity and kind intentions, we took leave of him early the next morning, and purfued our route to RUABON, purpofing to vifit Wynnftay Park, the much admired feat of Sir Watkin Williams Wynne. On leaving March Wiel, a moft delightful profpecl fpread before us 5 in the retrofpecl, the tower of Wrexham Church brought to our recollection the views of Magdalen College Tower, in the vicinity of Oxford. The park of Wynnftay is well flocked with red deer; excellent plantations ; and the houfe is an elegant modern ftru&ure, but nothing in the infide particularly deferving the attention of the traveller. In the grounds, the chief object, worthy of infpection, is a very elegant obelifk, now erecting to the memory of the prefent Sir Watkin's father. The height is an hundred and one feet -, the bafe of it fixteen, and the top nine, built with free-ftone, and fluted : round the top is formed a gal- lery, DIRECTORY, XJ^J lery, with a handfome urn in bronze, after an elegant defign, caft in London ; round the bafe of the column are wreaths of oak leaves, in the beaks of four eagles, caft in the fame metal. On the fouth-weft fide is a door, with a flair-cafe within the obelifk leading to the top : we regretted that the key could not be procured, as the profpecl: from that elevation muft be extremely fine. On the other three fides, an appropriate infcrip- tion, in Englifh, Welch, and Latin, is to be carved. Through this park runs Offa's Dyke, thrown up by the great King of Mercia, from whence it derives its name, to check the irruptions of the Welch, mark the confines of each country, and give greater fecurity to his own. It begins at Bafingwerk, in Flintfliire, and ends at Chepftow, in Monmouthfhire; extending a line of not lefs than one hundred and fifty miles, over rocks and mountains. This great undertaking ftill retains the ancient name of Clawdh Offa^ or OfiVs Dyke. Paffing through the little village of Ruabon, fituated at the extremity of Sir Watkin's Park, a very inte- reiting and pidurefque country, compofed of rich va!» lies, and gently doping hills, prefented itfelf to our view -, and, at fome diftance, we foon caught a glimpfe of Chirk Caftle, a noble feat of the family of the L % Myddk- I48 THE CAMBRIAN Myddletons, ftanding on an eminence. Four miles from Llangollen, we enquired for the wonderful PONTCYSYLLTY,* (pronounced Pont y Cafulte) or famous aqueduct, now erecting over the river Dee, and found ourfelves within half a mile of this great and aftonifhing undertaking. It is not yet finifhed; eleven pillars are already com- pleted, built of fandy ftone, which is dug on the fpot; they are fifteen yards afunder, and their height, from the bed of the river, one hundred and twenty feet: over the whole is to run an iron trough, fufficiently deep for barges of confiderable burthen. On the middle column is the following infcription : " The nobility and gentry of The adjacent counties, Having united their efforts with The great commercial interefl of this country, In creating an intercourfe and union between England and Wales, By a navigable communication of the three rivers, Severn, Dee, and Merfey ; ;• Enquire the way to this aqueduft at the turnpike, about four miles from Llangollen. For DIRECTORY. 149 For the mutual benefit of agriculture and trade, Caufed the firft flone of this aqueduct of PONTCYSYLLTY, To be laid on the 25th 'day of July, m.dcc.xcv. When Richard Myddleton, of Chirk, Efq. M. P ? One of the original patrons of the Ellefmere canal, Was lord of this manor. And in the reign of our Sovereign George the Third ; When the equity of the laws, and The fecurity of property, Promoted the general welfare of the nation j While the arts and fciences flourifhed By his patronage, and The conduct of civil life was improved By his example." This wonderful aqueduct reflects great honour to the undertakers of fo admirable, as well as valuable an enterprife ; and fhould their hazardous fcheme fuc- ceed, the whole nation muff, indubitably reap great advantages : feveral columns mult flill be erected, be- fore the level can be accomplifhed. It is forming over the moft beautiful and romantic part of the river Dee $ a bridge likewife, not far from this fpot, adds confi- derably to the beauty of the fcene. Wood, water, and floping hills ? all combine to render this vale interesting 5 L 3 feveral I5O THE CAMBRIAN feveral detached cottages, are fprinkled through its wooded declivities, and here and there a gentleman's feat, " embofomed high in tufted trees," makes a plea- fing feature in the fafcinating landfcape. Returning to the turnpike-road, a fhort faunter foon brought us to the romantically-fituated town of LLANGOLLEN, (pronounced Llangothlen) completely environed with mountains, with a high hill to our right, bearing on its narrow peak the fmall remains of Caftle Dinas Bran. The bridge, adjacent to the town, thrown over the rapid Dee, confifting of fix arches, and formerly efteemed one of the principal wonders of Wales ; by no means anfwered our expectations. Some difficulty, no doubt, attended its firft erection, as the foundation is built on the folid rock : it is now repairing. The elegant defcription of the valley in the kingdom of Amhara, by Dr. Johnfon, is very applicable to Llan- gollen ; for " all the bleflings of nature feemed here to « be collected, and its evils extracted and excluded." Without a figh of regret, not like the difcontented Raflelas, I could here pafs the remainder of my days, " in full conviction, that this vale contains within its «' reach DIRECTORY. 1QI « reach all that art or nature can beftow ; / could pity " thofe, whom fate had excluded from this feat of « tranquillity, as the fport of chance, and the flaves of " mifery." Such is the enviable fituation of Lady Eleanor Butler and Mifs Ponfonby, who thus veiled in obfcurity have fitted up, in a true characleriftic flile, an elegant little cottage at the weft extremity of the town, fituated on a knoll : the two rooms, which are allotted for the inflection of ftrangers, are very hand- fomely furnifhed ; the dining-room is ornamented with drawings, the moft favourite fpots in the vicinity being felecled as the fubjects. The window commands a profpecr. of the mountains, which awfully rife in front. The ftudy, looking on the well-arranged plan- tations of the garden, was appropriately furnifhed with a choice collection of books : we regretted, in the ab- fence of the gardener, that we could not gain admittance to the grounds. The vale of Llangollen, and this enviable retreat, have been the fubjecl: of much admira- tion both in verfe and profe; and highly deferve the praifes which have been lavifhed upon it : " Say, ivy'd Valle Crucis ; time delay'd " Dim on the brink of Deva's wand'ring floods, " Your iv'd arch glitt'ring thro* the tangled fhade, " Your grey hills towYing o'er your night of woods ; " Deep in the vale recefTes as you ftand, u And, defolately great, the rifing figh command ; L 4 " Say a *5 2 THE CAMBRIAN f< Say, lovely ruin'd pile, when former years t( Saw your pale train at midnight altars bow ; u Saw fuperftition frown upon the tears " That mourn'd the rafh, irrevocable vow ; u Wore one young lip gay Eleanora's* fmile ? * f Did Zara'sf look ferene one tedious hour beguile f The bridge of Llangollen is thus defcribed by the elegant pen of Mr. Pennant : " The bridge, which was founded by the firft John t* Trevor, Biftiop of St. Afaph,% who died in 1357, is c< one of the Tri Thlws Cymru, or three beauties of « Wales : but more remarkable for its fituation than «« ftructure. It confifts of five arches ; whofe wideft «' does not exceed twenty-eight feet in diameter. The * c river ufually runs under only one ; where it has * c formed a black chafm of vaft depth, into which the cc water pours with great fury, from a high broken " ledge, formed in the fmooth, and folid rock, which cc compofes the whole bed of the river. The view " through the arches, either upwards or downwards, is of- fible, the courfe of the Wye. The orchards were overcharged with " bending fruit," and feemed to prog- nofticate a more favourable cider feafon, than has of late been experienced. The retrofpect of the city, with its ancient cathedral, formed a moft attracting view j and about three miles, a moft lovely vale, bounded by the hills of South Wales, arretted our at- tention. A continuation of the fame fcenery of or- chards, in which Herefordfhire fo peculiarly abounds, with the road continually dipping into (hallow vallies, attended us within five miles of Rofs, when, afcending a fteep hill, a view of that town, or, rather, of its far confpicuous fpire, broke in upon the repofing charac- ter of the fcene. This prefently conducted us to Wil- ton Bridge, thrown over the Wye, about half a mile from the town; and, leaving the caftle of Wilton to the left, we afcended the town of ROSS, DIRECTORY. I77 ROSS, to the inn, fo celebrated as the original habitation of Mr. Kyrle; more generally known by the name of " The Man of Rofs." The landlord feems rather to depend upon the cuftom of ftrangers, from this cir- cumftance, than the accommodations the inn offers. On the bridge we paufed a fhort time, to take a view of the meandering Vaga, which here confiderably widens; feveral pleafure-boats, of various conftruc- tion, were riding at anchor, and united to enliven the watry fcene, whilft its fmooth tranquil furface, reflected and reverted every object fituated on the banks. The life and character of Mr. Kyrle has too often been infilled on, and too frequently celebrated in verfe, to be again repeated, unlefs to " point its moral to the " heart;" teaching us, that felf-approbation can con- fer an inward happinefs, fuperior to all wordly ap- plaufe; for, " What nothing earthly gives, or can deftroy ; " The foul's calm funfliine, and the heart- felt joy, *• Is virtue's prize.'* Such a buftle pervaded the whole town, of parties anembling here for an equatic expedition to Mon- N mouth, I78 THE CAMBRIAN mouth, the following day, that with difficulty we ob- tained a fmall room. From this circumftance, it would be advifable for parties to fecure themfelves accommo- dations daring the fummer months, a confiderable time before hand; fuch is the continued aflemblage of parties forming for the Wye ; a boat likewife mould be hired, and by mentioning the number of your party, the land- lord will be a proper judge, refpecting the fize. Stran- gers may pafs, with pleafure, the greateft part of a day, in furveying the views in the vicinity of Rofs ; views, which mufl gratify the moft fuperficial obferver; but more particularly from the church-yard. A walk may be preferred through the latter place to « The « c Profpect," fo called from the profufe variety of ob- jects, in the beautiful, and the fublime, which are pre- fented from this fpot. The fudden burft of fuch a collection of beauties, the eye, indeed, cannot contain without gratification. The river below bends itfelf in the whimfical and fantaftical fhape of a horfe-fhoe : this fingular wind of the river— the ruins of Wilton Cattle—- the luxuriant counties of Hereford and Mon- mouth, and the beautiful Chafe Woods, all combine to promote one peculiarly grand and beautiful effect. To enter into a minute description of objects, fo va- rious and extenfive, is impoffible : in fine, to delineate the beauties of the Vaga, with all its accompaniments, would be enumerating every objecl that is interefting in DIRECTORY. ljg in Nature. Having fuificiently contemplated the view from the Profpec~t, a ramble through the meadows will next prove highly pleafing. The fituation of Rofs, though exceedingly beauti- ful, has nothing in itfelf to detain attention : the ftreets are narrow, dirty, and inconvenient. The caftle of Wilton, fituated on the banks of the Wye, was founded in the reign of King Henry I. ; it was for- merly a nunnery, from whence the Greys de Wilton derive their title. Early in the morning, we congratulated each other on the favourablenefs of the weather, and with good fpirits provided all the necefTaries requifite for our water expedition ; the enjoyment of which depends much on the feafon. The hire of the boat to Mon- mouth, by water, is one pound eleven (hillings and fixpence, not including ten {hillings for provifions for the men, who likewife expect an additional fmall fum, after the fatigues of the day. The boat, navigated by three men, will contain ten or twelve people, without any inconvenience, and is properly protected by an awning, from the heat of the fun. The diftance from Rofs to Chepftow, by water, is more than forty miles, which ftrangers occafionally accomplifh in one dayj but this hurrying method will not allow them an op- N 2 portunity l8o THE CAMBRIAN portunity of infpecling, with proper attention, the va- rious obje&s which deferve to be noticed; and they cannot poflibly find time to leave their boat, and climb the rugged fteep banks of the Wye, in fearch of views, which, though vifited by the difcerning few, yet merit the regard of every amateur of Nature's landfcapes : and here it may not be improper to mention, that the boat-men too frequently fuffer thefe moft interefting fpots to be parted unnoticed by ftrangers, merely from lazinefs, or to avoid the delay of a few minutes. Gilpin, in his excellent treatife, Obfervations on the River IVye, thus analyzes, in the fecond fec"tion, the beauties of the " echoing Vaga," and divides its con- ftituent parts into — the Jleepnefs of its banks — its mazy courfe — the ground, woods, and rocks, which are its native ornaments — and, laftly, the buildings. To this he might with propriety have added, its echoes — the variety of views from its banks — the fifhing coracles, which are continually on the river; for all thefe con- tribute to form one pleafing and interefting effect. We embarked on board our boat, a little below the town ; and the firft object which drew our attention, was the ivy-mantled walls of Wilt-: n Caftle: the annual growth of the few trees which encircle it, will, in time, render it a more picturefque objeel ; it is at prefent fo fufficiently feen from the water, as not to require the ftranger DIRECTORY. l8l granger to difembark for farther infpe&ion. A few yards below, we pafled under Wilton Bridge ; an elegant flructure, of feveral arches. From hence, for four or five miles, the banks are tame and unintereft- ing, and fo high above the river, as to prevent a prof- pedt- of the adjacent country ; but a gioupe of cattle, fome ruminating on the brink, fbme browzing on the afhlings, which overhung the ftream, and others ■*.' from their fides, " The troublous infects laming with their tails, " Returning ftill,". 9 v. formed a " rural confufion." The velocity of the ftream fhortly brought us to that noble fcenery, about four miles from Rofs, which fo eminently diftinguifhes and conftitutes the beauty of the Wye ; before us, the noble remains of Goodrich Caftle, crefling a fteep emi- nence, enveloped with trees, prefented themfelves ; be- hind, the thick foliage of Chafe Woods clofed the pic- ture. The happieft gradation of tints, and the livelieft blending of colours, were here confpicuous* On the right hand we landed on the fhore, in order to make a minute inveftigation of the caftle : it is certainly a grand ruin, and ftands on an eminence, naturally fo fteep, as to render it, in former times, capable of fome reftftance againft a formidable enemy. On our firft en- N 3 trance j82 THE CAMBRIAN trance into the ruin, we naturally indulged reflections on paft fcenes, contemplated the traces of ancient fplendor; and, connecting what remains, with what is deftroyed ; we pondered on the vanity of human art, and the ravages of time, which exhibit, in this ruin, their completer!: triumph. The warrior, who ftrove to preferve its original grandeur againft the attacks of Cromwell, is buried in Walford Church, fituated on the oppofite fide of the river, and feen from the caftle. The different parts of the building bear evident marks of its having been erected at various times; from a feat in the caftle-yard is the moft advantageous fpot for furveying, in one view, the whole of this ruin : an octagon pilbr, of light and elegant workmanfhip, is {qqii to great advantage through the gate-way, and adds confiderably to the magnificence of this ancient pile : it now belongs to Dr. Griffin, of Hadnock, the lord of the manor. To return to our boat : we took a dif- ferent and more circuitous route, for the purpofe of infpecting the remains of Goodrich Piiory, now con- verted into a farm. The chapel has experienced the fame viciffitude ; and thofe walls, which formerly re- echoed with the chaunting of voices, and the folemn peal, now repeat the continued ftrokes of the flail j in many parts of the walls, the initials of names of per- fons, who have long fince paid the debt of nature, and left behind no other memorial, are carved with charac- terise DIRECTORY. 183 terifh'c rudenefs, fhewing, to every palling ftranger, the prevalency of that univerfal paffion — the love of fame. The Gothic windows, and the crofs, erecled on each end of the building, (hew evident marks of its former purpofe. The boat ufually meets the pafiengers at another reach of the river ; but it is a plan by no means to be recommended ; fince, by miffing a circuit round the caftle, its different tints, and variety of attitudes, occafioned by one of the boldeft fweeps of the Wye, are entirely loft. A fhort time after we had taken our laft retrofpect of Goodrich Caftle, the fpire of Rure- dean Church appeared in front, juft peeping from among the woody fkirts of the Foreft of Dean : a little below, Courtfield Houfe, belonging to Mr. Vaughan, was feen, in a very picjurefque point of view, with the ruins of the chapel, forming the back ground. In Courtfield Houfe, tradition reports, the warlike Henry V. was nurfed ; and in the church of Welch Bicknor, fituated to the right, in a noble am~ phitheatre, enclofed with rocks, firft embraced the Chriftian religion. A bufy fcene of craft loading and unloading, and coals {hipping for various parts from the quay at Lidbrook, prefents a picture of cheerful activity, and forms a pleafing contraft to the quiet, rich, and retired fpots, we had left behind us ; fuch fpots, as were well adapted to form the mind of Bri- tain's glory — the virtuous Henry, The banks now N 4 became 184 THE CAMBRIAN became richly clothed with wood, from the fummits of the higheft rocks to the water's edge ; and a hill in front, called Rofemary Topping, from the mellow luxuriance of its fides, clofed the profpecl:. Almoft every fweep prefents a new object to ftrike the admira- tion of the Spectator : the tranfitions are fudden, but never fo harih as to difguft ; even the contraft between the embelliihments of art we had juft left, and the wild rocks, which here exhibit Nature in her moft ftriking attitudes, give an additional imprefiion to each other. We now reached the fine mafs of rocks, called Coldwell, one of which, Symond's Yatch, to the left, it is cuftomary for company to afcend, in order to view the mazy and circuitous courfe of the river, and the extenfive profpect around. The Foreft of Dean, the cou ies or Monmouth, Hereford, and GJoucefter, were extended before us, ftudded with villages, diver- sified with clufters of half-vifible farm houfesj with many a grey fteeple, " embofomed high in tufted " trees." In painting the feveral views from this fummit, the happieft description would fail j the im- preilion can only be conveyed by the eye. The river here makes a molt extraordina;, winding round the promontory, and having completed a circuit of more than five miles, flows a fecond.time immediately under Symond's Yatch. The whole of this mazy courfe may be DIRECTORY. 1 85 be traced from this eminence. From hence we difco- vered a very remarkable polyfyllabical articulate echo, and we reckoned twelve diftincl: reverberations from the explofion of a gun, fired on this fpot. It is here again cuftomary for the boatmen to impofe on ft rangers, and if they can prevail on them, during their walk to Symond's Yatch, will take the boat round the circuit of five miles, and meet them at New Wier, in order that no time fhould be loft; but this lazinefs we by no means encouraged, and the whole courfe of this ex- traordinary and romantic fweep proved highly grati- fying. Goodrich Spire, which we again wound round, prefented itklf: huge fragments of mafly rocks which have rolled down from the precipices, oppofite Manuck Farm, here almoft choaked up the courfe of the ftream. The changing attitudes and various hues of Symond's Yatch, lifting its almoft fpiral head high above the other rocks, as we receded and drew near it, fupplied a com- bination of tints furprifingly gay and beautiful ; and having accomplished a fweep of five miles, we reached, within a quarter of a mile, the fpot where we began our afcerit to this fteep eminence. The view of New Weir, next unfolded itfelf ; but a difagreeable fcene here generally occurs, and inter- rupts the pleafure of contemplation : a large afiem- t>lage of beggars, men, women, and children, on the banks, l86 THE CAMBRIAN ■■ ' " , ■ I , ■■■; banks, bare- footed, and Scarcely a rag to cover them, followed our boat, imploring charity; and feveral almoft throwing themfelves into the water, to catch your money," which, every now and then, the big- ger feize from the lefs, This idle crew fubfift on the trifles they obtain from ftrangers; and as beggary is their profefled trade, if their wants are not fatisfied, they generally add infolence, with an oath, to their demands. But I have omitted to mention, that before we reached the New Weir, the fpire of Haunton on Wye, crefting a hill at the extremity of a long reach, and a fantaftic barren rock, jutting out from the green foli- age which encircles it, prefenting itfelf bold and con- spicuous, formed prominent and interefting features in the landfcape : this is called " Bearcroft," receiving its appellation from the very refpeclable and learned coun- sellor of that name. Several rocks indeed, particu- larly in this part of the river, are named by the Council, who have long made it a practice of exploring the rich and bold fcenery of the Wye, on their aflize circuit. Gilpin, confidering New Weir as the fecond grand fcene on the Wye, thus defcribes it : " The *« river is wider than ufual in this part, and takes a " fweep round a towering promontory of rock, which " forms the fide Screen on the left, and is the grand " feature DIRECTORY. 187 «* feature of the view. On the right fide of the " river, the bank forms a woody amphitheatre, follow- " ing the courfe of the flream round the promontory: