PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE
Arthog.—Waterfalls.
Llwyngwril.—A village; remains of Castell-y-Gaer.
Llanegryn.—Church with magnificent rood-loft; Bird Rock in distance.
Tal-y-llyn.—A lake near Cader Idris.
Corris.—Toy railway; slate district.
Machynlleth.—Market town; remains of old Senate-house.
Loop 3. DOLGELLEY TO CEMMAES VIA TAL-Y-LLYN.
The road from Dolgelley passes, with many windings, from the town to the estuary at Penmaenpool, to which place excursion steamers run during the summer from Barmouth. Although the scenery upon the south bank of the Mawddach is not so fine as that upon the north, yet the mountains of Ardudwy, as the hinterland of Barmouth was anciently called, present an imposing aspect, and sometimes compose a pretty picture when seen through the umbrageous foliage which lines the road on both sides. If the tide be high, the view is accentuated by the reflections in the broad expanse of water, and singularly beautiful glimpses are at times displayed. The undulating road, flanked at times by the universal whitewashed cottages, reaches Arthog, a small village situated at the base of a finely wooded, diversified ground, about a mile from which are the Arthog Lakes, and at a short distance from the hotel a waterfall, of considerable beauty after a heavy fall of rain, but much attenuated in dry weather. At Friog the slate quarries are apparent on the left of the road, and a steady rise begins, leading to an excellent retrospective view of Barmouth, Harlech Castle, and the Lleyn Peninsula to Bardsey.
SNOWDON FROM TRAETH MAWR.
LLWYNGWRIL
is a small village, with the Dyffryn River passing through it under a bridge. Castell-y-Gaer lies upon its banks at a short distance up the stream, consisting of small masses of broken ivy-clad masonry, of an unknown fortress so far as history is concerned. Upon the bridge before mentioned on Sunday evenings after church or chapel the youths and maidens of the village congregate to sing the sweet Welsh refrains handed down through long generations, and harmonized with a beauty of feeling which only a music-loving nation can express. Among the men singularly rich basses prevail; north of Barmouth, strange to say, tenors predominate. The route turns abruptly inland beyond Llangelynin, and the village of
LLANEGRYN,
lying off the main road, but approached by a lane, appears on the left. It contains a church well worth visiting, inasmuch as the superb rood-screen is among the finest in the British Isles. It is of early Perpendicular work, and the loft above is quite perfect except for the actual rood and the figures of saints. A good roof and an interesting Norman font should also be noticed.
THE BIRD ROCK
may be seen from this point, an isolated crag of peculiar shape standing up black and dour against the mountains beyond. The weird beauty of the landscape can hardly be overpraised. The road leading straight onwards passes almost underneath the rock, but the main route to the right descends to the bridge over the river, draining the Dysynni Valley, and Tal-y-llyn. Here are some sharp turns, but presently the very narrow road is reached, leading directly to the lake. Passing another vehicle is not an easy matter. The scenery increases in beauty as one progresses, the little railway to the right having scarcely the smallest deteriorating effect upon the valley. The ruins of Castell-y-Bere, formerly one of the largest in Wales, and once visited by Edward I., lie in the adjacent valley to the left, to which the narrow road leads, coming into Abergynolwyn on the left.
TAL-Y-LLYN
Tal-y-llyn is a quarter of a mile in width, and a little over a mile in length. It lies under Cader Idris, although the summit is not visible from it; two great craters, however, carved in its rocky flanks, form a fitting background on the left. In front lies a valley, by ascending which the Cross Foxes Inn is reached, and subsequently Dolgelley. Extravagant praise has been lavished upon the lake by many travellers, but one misses some essentials to claims of exceptional beauty. No quality of mystery appeals to the imagination; the lake does not lie in an appalling neighbourhood of black riven rocks or in a glen of surpassing beauty. All is open, and the whole is seen at one vision. Anglers, however, find Tal-y-llyn an ideal spot. At the farther end of the lake the road, after a branch track to the right by a cottage has been passed, turns to the right up a steep ascent, from whose summit a retrospective view of the lake is perhaps the best obtainable. The road to Corris through Nant Gwgan is pretty, with occasional waterfalls and stone slides from the shoulders of mountains towering hundreds of feet above the pass. The rich browns and greens and subtler shades of grey form charming contrasts of colour. Unfortunately, the lower end of the pass is disfigured by many slate quarries. Upper Corris is strongly reminiscent of Bethesda. A monument is erected here on the left side of the road to Alfred W. Hughes, F.R.C.S., who died in 1900 of fever during the war in South Africa. A quarry railway, with a miniature station and a gauge of 2 feet 3 inches, runs by the side of the road. At Corris, which is a slate-mining town pure and simple, the road trends to the right, and the view becomes less circumscribed as the vale of Afon Dulas widens out. When the Dovey Valley is reached a wide expanse of alluvial land comes into view, through which the river meanders westwards towards its estuary.
MACHYNLLETH
Machynlleth is a spacious and well-built market town and borough with two main streets, wide and pleasant, with well-kept shops, thus forming a marked contrast in that respect to the majority of Welsh towns. It forms one of the centres of the woollen industry of the county, and indulges somewhat in the tanning business as well. The clock-tower is a prominent object; the church has no features of interest worth recording; the Market-house dates only from 1783, and of antiquarian curiosities there are but few. An old black-and-white cottage at the end of Maengwyn Street, which branches off to the left at the chief main street, has 'OWEN PUGH O VXOR 1628' for 'Owen Pugh and wife.' The 'O,' however, is baffling as a conjunction. Opposite are portions of the old Senate-house, the reputed building in which Owen Glendower succeeded in persuading the nobles and commons to acknowledge him Prince of Wales in 1402. Upon the hills surrounding Machynlleth remains occur which appear to indicate that the town was a Roman station, and coins have occasionally been found to confirm this. A good road up the Valley of the Dovey leads to Cemmaes, where the trunk route is again reached.
(For a description of the road from Cemmaes to Dolgelley, see [Section VII].)