ST. ASAPH
This small village-city of 2,000 inhabitants is of consequence only on account of its cathedral, conspicuously placed upon high ground, and a prominent feature for many miles. To reach the time when this ancient see did not exist, one must travel back before the sixth century. The first building, of wood, was destroyed by fire in 1282, and the edifice which succeeded it was nearly razed to the ground during the wars under Owen Glendower. The present church practically dates from 1482; the choir, however, was not completed until 1770. It was restored by Sir Gilbert Scott. St. Asaph is the smallest British cathedral, being 182 feet long and 68 feet across the nave. The interior presents the aspect of a spacious parish church, and possesses only a few objects of interest. The east window is Decorated, and the tracery of the side-windows based upon traces of Early English work. The effigy of an Abbot in Episcopal robes, and probably dating from the fifteenth century, lies in the south transept. The road out of St. Asaph descends a steep hill, requiring caution, and a run of about three miles along a level road, with a sharp turning to the right over a bridge, leads to
RHUDDLAN CASTLE
The entrance to the Vale of Clwyd is one of the chief strategic points in Wales, and the elevated knob upon which the castle stands has, from the most remote antiquity, been a place of strength. The early Welsh fortress had additions early in the tenth century; it was taken by the nephew of the Earl of Chester in 1098, and enlarged about sixty years afterwards. The Welsh, however, captured it from the English in 1167, and Llewelyn subsequently held it; but Edward I. gained possession, and built the whole castle anew in 1277 upon an adjacent site. The enormous walls, impressively grand in their massive proportions, are his work. The castle appears to have remained in an efficient condition to the time of the Civil War, when it was held by the Royalists; but General Mytton captured it in 1646, and not long afterwards it was dismantled. As one stands on the site, one endeavours to visualize some of the many scenes of desperate warfare which have happened upon and around this bold sandstone bluff, and the cattle standing knee-deep in the translucent waters of the Clwyd, and lazily brushing aside the clouds of flies, seem strangely out of harmony with the memory of the wild hordes that have dashed against these frowning walls. Within its easily traced fosse, and enclosing a large area, there was formerly a priory of Dominicans, which has now disappeared, but relics of it are preserved in Rhuddlan Church. From the grassy strath within the walls the level plain reaching to Rhyl is spread out very distinctly, and if the eye is allowed to wander to Morfa Rhuddlan, which lies like a great alluvial marsh within the triangle of Rhyl, Abergele, and Rhuddlan, the most desolate stretch in Cambria, the site of that great battle in 795 is seen, when Offa, the great king of Mercia, defeated the hordes of Caradoc, the king of North Wales, with terrific slaughter. There probably exists no more pathetic wail—the death-sob of a great nation—than that of 'Morfa Rhuddlan,' which, next to the 'Men of Harlech,' is the most sung of Welsh airs.
The road to Rhyl is gained by passing through the village and taking the first road to the left. This takes one directly to the esplanade opposite the pier, where the Belvoir, a comfortable hotel, stands in a convenient position.
RHYL
Rhyl is essentially a watering-place, a watering-place pure and simple, and it does not pretend to be anything else. Its bathing facilities are magnificent, its sands are excellent for a gallop, and the beau idéal of parents with families, who fear that their offspring may meet disaster unless a smooth sweep of sand is available. It is healthy, bracing, peaceful, an excellent 'brain-emptier'—and that means much to the jaded man. He may be exasperated by the pier entrance, which can only be termed doubly debased Scottish architecture, but architecture by the sea is seldom free from glaring faults. As a jumping-off ground for the Vale of the Clwyd, and for the sea-gate of Wales at Abergele, it is convenient both by road and rail.
LOOP No. 1—THIRD PORTION
RHYL TO CORWEN, LLANGOLLEN, WREXHAM, AND SHREWSBURY, 86½ MILES
DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE
| Miles. | ||
| Rhyl to Denbigh | 15 | |
| Denbigh to Ruthin | 7 | ¾ |
| Ruthin to Corwen | 12 | ½ |
| Corwen to Llangollen | 10 | |
| Llangollen to Wrexham | 12 | ¼ |
| Wrexham to Ellesmere | 16 | ½ |
| Ellesmere to Shrewsbury | 12 | ½ |