CARNARVON,
which is one of the best towns in North Wales, the transit is performed in less than half an hour, and he will reap unqualified pleasure by examining the numerous interesting objects which render that celebrated place so remarkable.
The present town of Carnarvon is sprung from the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Segontium, which name the Welsh had changed into the apt one of Caer yn Arvon, or the Fortress in Arvon, the district bordering on Môn, the Welsh name for Anglesey. The site, which for the natural strength of its position, was admirably chosen by our first Edward, is bounded on the one side by the Menai, and by the estuary of the Seiont on the other, and on the third and part of the fourth by the creek of the Menai.
The castle is the chief object of attraction, and excites the admiration of all who gaze upon its time-worn but majestic walls. The entrance to it is beneath a huge tower, upon the front of which is carved the statue of Edward, the founder, who grasps his dagger as if menacing his newly acquired and most unwilling subjects. Unlike the towers of Conwy Castle, which are round, those of Carnavon are polygonal, hexagonal, and octagonal, and the tourist should notice especially the Eagle Tower, which is the loftiest of them all, and which at one time possessed a double interest, created by the popular belief that Edward the Second was born within its walls; unfortunately, however, there are records in the national archives which prove that the Eagle Tower was not finished until that unhappy monarch was thirty years of age.
The castle covers about two and a half acres of ground, and forms an oblong irregular square. The walls, which are at present exactly in the same state as they were in the time of Edward, are defended by thirteen great towers, the masonry of which is about seven feet nine inches in thickness, and have within them a series of galleries with narrow œillets or slips for the discharge of arrows. The walls of the Eagle Tower are about nine feet six inches in thickness, and the view from its summit, of the Menai and Anglesey on the one side, and Snowdonia on the other, is extremely fine. The mutilated eagle upon the tower is supposed to be Roman, and that Edward found it at Old Segontium.
Near the steep bank of the Seiont, at a short distance from the castle are rather extensive remains of an ancient Roman fort, which, it would seem, was intended to secure a landing place in the event of an attack. A little above this, and about a quarter of a mile from the Menai, is the site of the ancient Roman station Segontium, of which some fragments of a wall are the only visible remains, but underground the relics are more numerous; at the depth of a few feet occur foundations of buildings, broken pottery, ashes, and so forth—while numerous coins (some of them gold) and other Roman remains have, at various times, been exhumed. According to Mathew of Westminster, Constantius, the father of Constantine the Great, was interred here, and the same historian further asserts that Edward found the body and caused it to be honourably buried in the Church (it is supposed) of St. Publicius, or Llanbeblig.
Having gratified his curiosity, the traveller may once more take the rails for Bangor, and, accompanied by pleasing visions of past greatness, return to his inn well satisfied with his day’s excursion.
After remaining three days in this interesting neighbourhood, I took my departure from Bangor towards Chester. The tourist who may be inclined to follow my track, and has sufficient time to spare, should leave the train at
RHYL,
A pretty watering place at the termination of the beautiful Vale of Clwyd, and near the mouth of the river from which it derives its name. The town is neat, and is yearly increasing in importance. From hence the visitor will obtain a view of the Great Orme’s Head, the Puffin Island, and the wide expanse of the Irish Sea. The sands are extensive, and admirably adapted for sea bathing; the hotels are both commodious and excellent.