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CHESTER TO MOLD AND RHYL.
Loop 1 (Second Portion).
Note.—Denbigh is omitted on the way from Mold to Rhyl.

On leaving Chester the Grosvenor Bridge is crossed, and as far as Saltney the road is occupied by tram-lines, while on looking backwards a fine view of the city walls is obtained. After Saltney an excellent road through the marshes enables one to see the wide estuary of the river; but at Broughton, where the left-hand road should be taken, a stiff rise of two miles leads to a plateau with an average elevation of nearly 500 feet above sea-level, upon which the road remains for the next twelve miles. The country here is well wooded, and Halkin Mountain presents a fine appearance in front. The outskirts of a small colliery district, with its centre at Buckley, are passed near Padeswood, and presently Mold, the county town of Flint, is reached.

MOLD

The town, which is rather sleepy and depressing, contains a church at the summit of a steep hill to the right, thoroughly rebuilt in the florid Tudor period early in the sixteenth century. The nave has some ornate four-centred arches, and in the chancel some reputed eighth-century work has been incorporated.

Behind the church is the commencement of the ascent to Bailey Hill, an eminence partly natural and partly artificial. It was once a British fortress, and was subsequently occupied by a medieval castle, now entirely vanished, and pleasure-grounds occupy the site. In the immediate neighbourhood of Mold there are many objects of considerable interest to the antiquary and geologist, such as the site of the 'Alleluia Victory,' won by an army of Christian converts under Germanus, and who, by shouting 'Alleluia!' struck the Picts and Scots, to whom they were opposed, with panic. In 1833 a gold breastplate of Celtic workmanship was unearthed near the town, and is now a treasured object in the British Museum. The ascent of Moel Fammau, 1,823 feet, the highest peak in the Clwydian range, from which a magnificent panorama is obtained, is easily accomplished from this town.

Mold was once a flourishing place, with mines and smelting-works in its vicinity, but they have now become unprofitable, with the inevitable result of lowering the vitality of the town. The road leading to St. Asaph passes a few coalpits near Mold, but presently winds about in a valley between the Clwydian Range and the Halkin Mountain. The village of Cilcain lies to the left of the route, at a distance of two miles, on the lower slopes of Moel Fammau, and is noted for the magnificent carved oak roof of its church, brought from Basingwerke Abbey, near Holywell. Nature is now in her pleasantest mood, and as the road winds with many a sharp turn down the long slope towards Caerwys, the mountains on both sides become softened and rounded, and clothed in many parts with trees to their summits. Upon the hills to the left lie a succession of interesting British camps, the strongest and most extensive being Moel Arthur, 1,494 feet, reached just before Nannerch appears by a road which branches off close to a stone circle. Caerwys is believed to have been a Roman station. It was at one time celebrated for its meetings of the bards, or Eisteddfodau, and also as being the residence of the last native Welsh Prince, Llewelyn ap Gruffydd. The whole of this district is rich in memories of the past, and abounds in interest. After passing Bodfari, where the railway crosses the road, a bridge over the River Clwyd is reached, and directly afterwards the turn to the right should be taken. (That to the left leads to Denbigh.)

At this point one says good-bye to the track of the Roman legions, Bodfari (Vara) being the last of the stations to be passed. The Roman road went straight ahead towards the west, and finished at Segontium, which will be seen when passing through Carnarvon. Thus, nearly all the way, from St. Albans through Shrewsbury to Chester, the Watling Street has been followed.