PENMAEN-MAWR.
This mountain is the terminating point of the long Carnarvonshire chain. It is 1550 feet high, from the level of the sea. As late as the year 1772 there was only a narrow and dangerous path along the shelf upon its side; but since that period, a grant was made by Parliament, and a voluntary subscription entered into for the formation of the present useful and safe road, “the most sublime terrace in the British Isles.” It is guarded on the sea-side by a wall of about five feet high, add supported in many parts by deep walls below.—See pages [5] and [15].
PUFFIN ISLAND, OR PRIESTHOLME.
This uninhabited island is of an oval shape, about a mile in length, and half a mile in breadth. Near the centre is an old square tower, supposed to be the fragment of a religious house. During the summer the island swarms with various birds of passage, particularly the alca artica, or puffin. The firing of a gun will frequently cause clouds of these birds to rise, uttering loud and dissonant sounds.
PENRHYN CASTLE.
This edifice is supposed to stand upon the site of a palace, which, in the eighth century, belonged to Roderic Mwynog, grandson to Cadwalader, the last king of the Ancient Britons. It appears to have been rebuilt in the reign of Henry VI.; and although it has been greatly altered of late, the original design has been preserved. It is fronted with yellow brick, which gives it the appearance of stone. The gateway into the park resembles a Roman triumphal arch.
BEAUMARIS.
This pleasant little town is the capital of the island of Anglesea. Its name is formed from the French words beau, fair, and marais, marsh. The Castle was built by Edward I. towards the close of the thirteenth century, and its ruins are now included in the domains of Lady Bulkeley. On the accession of Charles II. Lord Bulkeley was Constable of the Castle. The lowness of its site, and the great diameter of its circular towers and bastions, together with the dilapidated state of its walls, deprive this structure, though exceedingly ponderous, of that prominent character and imposing effect so strikingly apparent in the prouder piles of Carnarvon and Conway. The town sends one member to Parliament.
BANGOR.
This is a Bishop’s see, in the county of Carnarvon, and is said to derive its name from bon, good, and chœur, choir; but this seems a strained etymology. It is supposed to have been formerly a more considerable place than it is at present. The views from the elevated environs are extremely fine. The Cathedral was founded in the sixth century, by St. Deiniol (Daniel) who was elected the first Bishop of Bangor. It was destroyed by the Saxons in 1071, and rebuilt by King John in 1212. In 1402 it was burnt down, in the rebellion of Owen Glyndwr, and remained in ruins upwards of ninety years. It was rebuilt early in the sixteenth century, chiefly by Bishop Sheffington. On a rocky eminence, about half a mile east from Bangor, formerly stood a castle, built by Hugh, Earl of Chester, in the reign of William II. Its site is still visible. The situation of the Bishop’s residence is much admired.