BARRIER OF NORTH AND SOUTH WALES--THE DEVIL'S BRIDGE--GRAND CATARACT OF
THE MYNACH--CWM YSTWITH HILLS--HAFOD--ANCIENT ENCAMPMENTS--STARFLOWER
ABBEY--TREGARRON--ROMAN ANTIQUITIES AT LLANDEWI
BREVI--LAMPETER--LLANSAWEL EDWIN'S FORD--LLANDILO.
We were detained at Aberistwyth by the continuance of a violent rain
which had deluged the neighbourhood for several days. At length a
cessation of the storm allowed us to resume our journey, though not to
perform a projected excursion to the summit of Plinlimmon, which is only
free from clouds in very fair weather. Returning up the hilly confines
of the valley, we again admired the meandering Rhydol, and its gentle
accompanyment; but following its course, as we advanced through a wild
romantic district, the character of the valley soon changed; dark wooded
hills, aspiring to the dignity of mountains, advanced their shagged sides
toward the stream, and, gradually closing to an impervious glen, shut up
the river in their recess. Beyond these hills rose the broken line of
mountains forming the termination of South Wales, where mighty
Plinlimmon, lord of the boundary, raised his stupendous head in majestic
desolation, though half concealed by eddying clouds: the whole scene
exhibited unfettered nature in her wildest mood. A pouring rain that now
fell over us circumscribed our desert prospects, while we proceeded over
uncultivated hills, with scarcely a token of society, to the DEVIL'S
BRIDGE.
[Picture: The Devil's Bridge]
The cataract that is here formed by the falls of the Mynach saluted us
with its thundering roar, long ere we approached it; but, as we drew
near, the strong verberation, rebellowed by surrounding cavernous rocks,
seemed to convulse the atmosphere! We hastily put up our horses at the
Hafod arms, a solitary inn; and in a few paces found ourselves on the
bridge, suspended over a gulph at which even recollection shudders. This
bridge bestrides a lane of almost perpendicular rocks, patched with wood,
whose summits are here scarcely five yards asunder. At a terrific depth
in the glen rages unseen the impetuous Mynach, engulphed beneath
protruding craigs and pendant foliage: but on looking over the parapet,
the half-recoiling sight discovers the phrenzied torrent, in one volume
of foam, bursting into light, add threatening, as it breaks against the
opposing rocks, to tear the mountains from their strong foundations;
then, instantly darting into the black abyss beneath, it leaves the
imagination free to all the terrors of concealed danger. With emotions
of awe, nor without those of fear, we climbed down the side of the rock
assisted by steps that were cut in it, and with some peril reached the
level of the darkened torrent; where, standing on a projecting craig
against which the river bounded, immersed in its spray and deafened by
its roar, we involuntarily clung to the rock. The impression of terror
subsiding, left us at liberty to examine the features of the scene.
Nearly over our heads appeared the bridge attributed to the handy-works
of the Devil; but a less cunning workman might have thrown an arch across
a fissure of a few feet span; and indeed the native mason who, about 50
years since, built the bridge now used, standing perpendicularly over the
old one, has constructed the best arch of the two. The original bridge
was built by the Monks of Starflower Abbey near 700 years since. Nor is
the singular appearance of these arches devoid of picturesque effect;
being tastefully besprinkled with verdure, and relieved by the
intervention of numerous branchy trees: while the naked black opposing
cliffs, worn out into curious hollows by the torrents, exhibit as bold a
rocky chasm as ever was traced by the pencil of Salvator.
On climbing from this hollow, we proceeded two or three hundred yards to
the left of the bridge, and again descended a fearful track, to witness
the grand FALLS OF THE MYNACH. Under the direction of a guide, we
reached the ordinary station with little difficulty, where the view of
the cataract disclosed itself with considerable effect, in four separate
cascades; though, from the great fall's being divided by the intervention
of a projecting rock, they appeared too much alike: the eye, accustomed
to picturesque disposition, in vain sought to fix itself on a pre-eminent
feature. I wished to get lower, but it seemed impracticable: emboldened,
however, by the example of our guide, I clambered upon the edge of an
immense perpendicular strata of rock, to nearly the lower channel of the
torrent; when the cataract appeared in the most perfect disposition
imaginable: the great fall displayed itself in uninterrupted superiority,
and the lesser ones retired as subordinate parts. The perpendicular
descent of this cataract is not less than two hundred and ten feet; the
first fall is not more than twenty feet; the next increases to sixty; the
third diminishes to about twenty; then, after a momentary pause, the
torrent bounds over a shelving rook in one tremendous fall of one hundred
and ten feet, and soon unites with the Rhydol, here a similar mountain
torrent.
[Picture: Falls of the Mynach]
This grand cataract receives no inconsiderable augmentation of terrific
appearance from the black stratified rocks forming the glen down which it
thunders; nor can the beholder, however firm his mind, divest himself of
terror, while, near the bottom of an abyss for ever denied a ray of sun,
he views the menacing torrent bursting before him; or contemplates its
foaming course tearing at his feet among craigs that its fury has
disjoined. If he ventures to look up the acclivitous rock, more real
danger threatens his return, when a devious balance or false step would
ensure his certain destruction. Yet from the horrors of this gloomy
chasm some favoured projections relieve the imagination, ornamented by
the light and tasteful penciling of the mountain ash, intermixed with
vigorous sapling oaks; while here and there a tree of riper years, unable
to derive support from the scanty soil, falls in premature decay a
prostrate ruin.--I have seen water-falls more picturesquely grand than
the cataract of the Mynach, but none more awfully so, not even excepting
the celebrated fells of Lowdore and Scaleforce in Cumberland.
Climbing from this scene of terrors, I rejoined my companion, and at the
Haford Arms obtained a change of clothes; a comfort which, although wet
to the skin for several hours, I should still longer have denied myself,
had not the approach of night forced me from the Mynach's interesting
scenery. Our active hostess quickly provided a tolerable dinner of
mutton chops; and, cheered by a good peat-fire and a bottle of wine, we
listened to the torrent's roar without dismay. On the following morning
we did not neglect to revisit the romantic glen. The weather was fine;
and, the effect of the late rains having subsided, the bulk of the
torrent had much diminished; yet did the scene gain in beauty what it
lost in terrific grandeur; for the intermingling foliage, darting from
opposite sides of the glen, and reflecting various tints and degrees of
light, softened the asperitous black rocks, and spread a lively net-work
over the gloom.
Upon our preparing for the renewal of our journey, a material difficulty
occurred; my poney was so completely knocked up, that he had not, as the
jockeys phrase it, "a leg to stand on." The alternative in this case was
to buy another; and upon enquiry I found that my landlord had one to
dispose of, which was forthwith produced. This was a good-sized poney,
with plenty of bone, but ill-made; he had, however, an excellent
character: his knees too were sadly broken; but a circumstantial tale
shewed that to be the effect of accident, and not habitual awkwardness:
upon the whole, he did not seem dear at the price demanded, which was
only five guineas: a bargain was therefore struck, the saddle transferred
from the invalid to the back of my new purchase; and after given
directions for the return of the former, which by the way incurred an
expence more than his value, we set forward for the celebrated grounds of
Hafod, about two miles distant.
Our road lay on the steep bank of the Mynach, commanding a full view of
the glen, and its romantic bridge. Then ascending the Cwm Ystwith hill,
through a current of clouds, we gained from its summit an uninterrupted
view of the whole range of North Walean mountains, stretching from the
English counties to the great bay of Cardigan: the intervening hollows
were concealed by fields of mist; so that the uncultivated heights
exhibited a scene as rugged as when
"--Nature first made man,
Ere the base laws of servitude began,
And wild in woods the noble savage ran."
We now took a farewel view of the Mynach's glen, and quitted its
interesting scenery, with such sensations as one feels in losing a friend
whose intercourse has afforded both pleasure and improvement. We then
descended to the vale of Ystwith, but unenlivened by its scenery, for a
morning mist floated through the valley and spread a veil over its
charms. A handsome park gate announced the entrance of HAFOD, and the
thundering of an unseen waterfall formed a grand symphony to the
spectacle that we were soon to witness.--Almost immediately the cloud of
mist disappeared, rising like a huge curtain before us, and discovered
such an assemblage of beauties, of cheerful walks and silent glens, of
woody precipices, shadowy glades, garden thickets and waterfalls, that,
considered with the barren wilds of the surrounding country, it secured a
second Paradise rising from a newly-subsided chaos. This charming place,
occupying a deep narrow valley, watered by the Ystwith, is the creation
of Col. Johnes, whose persevering genius has forced a mantle of wood upon
rocky precipices where nature seemed to deny the access of verdure, and
who in his elegant and useful projects of farther improvement gives
employment to the country around. Upon a spot judiciously chosen, where
the banks of the valley gently incline, and the coverture of lofty woods
afford a shelter from the north-eastern winds, stands the mansion, with a
sloping lawn in front, commanding a comprehensive view of the enchanting
valley; which if Dryden could but see, he would wish to recall the line,
"God never made his works for man to mend."
On putting ourselves under the direction of the gardener, we were first
led to the kitchen-garden, furnished with extensive forcing-houses, and
replete with every necessary appendage. The flower-garden also displayed
its appropriate charms; but from these atchievements of art we turned,
without regret, to where the bold hand of nature reared the scene in
stupendous majesty;
"There along the dale,
With woods o'erhung, and shagg'd with mossy rocks,
Where on each hand the gushing waters play,
And down the rough cascade white dashing fall,"
we passed, enamoured with the incessant though congenial variety of our
subject. After visiting the cold bath, a small sequestered building, a
mazy walk romantically traced by the side of a brawling torrent, and
amidst tangled shrubberies, led to a small cascade; and soon after a
superior waterfall engaged our attention, where the whole volume of the
Ystwith burst over a ledge of rocks in a composition truly grand and
picturesque. But a scene of awful sublimity disclosed itself on
exploring a dark cavernous passage in a rock and reaching its extremity,
where a lofty cascade of transcendent beauty, throwing itself over a
strata of black rocks, bounded close to the opening of the cave, and
shrouded the aperture with its spray, as it became engulphed in a dark
chasm beneath.
The towering mountains clothed with myriads of oaks, which environ this
remarkable valley, afford a diversity of walks and combinations of view,
to describe which words would be inadequate, and prove at best but
tedious. A walk of twelve miles scarcely comprises a complete survey of
the grounds, as we are told; but, being pressed for time, our
perambulation was confined to a much smaller space; yet enough was seen
to convince us that this is one of the most delightful rural retreats in
the kingdom.
The mansion is a handsome modern edifice; in the Gothic style of
architecture; which idea is perfectly consonant with the romantic cast of
the scenery; and the general outline of the building is certainly
pleasing: but we were sorry that Col. Johnes had not been better advised
in the execution of this design, which though we had read of, in one
place, as built "in the _most correct taste_," and in another as "a
mansion in the _Italian_ style," we found to be a heterogeneous jumble;
wherein a bastard sort of Greek and Saxon architecture was blended with
the prevailing Gothic. The house internally we understood to be richly
fitted up, and furnished with an excellent library, but did not visit it;
for, though the _demand_ of five shillings for the gardener's attendance
was willingly paid, yet the same sum, which we found would be required by
the housekeeper, appeared to us more than the show of any _Welch house_
was worth.
There always appears to me something very unworthy in great men allowing
their servants to exact the sums that they do from the spectators of
their grandeur; but, such emoluments are taken into the account of a
servant's hire, and in some measure contribute to the support of the
great man's establishment: as far as they do this, they indirectly form
part of his revenue; and in that view I consider the _Grandee_ as
somewhat of a mercenary showman, however _magnifique_.
A ride of nearly a mile extent, among delightful plantations, led us out
of Hafod; when, crossing the Ystwith over a good stone bridge, we soon
passed through a little romantic village on the road to Tregarron, from
whence the country continued wild, without grandeur or interest, a
succession of
"Barren heaths, and rushy meers,"
until the approach to Llandilo. In this mid-land route the hills were
much less continuous than round the coast, and the valleys frequently
extensive; but, overrun with peat-bogs, they neither displayed fertility
nor beauty. About half way to Tregarron, a few hundred yards to the
right of the road, were two considerable hills, each crowned with a large
ancient encampment: we did not stop to examine them, but quickly turned
off the road, over moorlands on our left, in search of the remains of
STARFLOWER or STRATA FLORIDA ABBEY. We had no track to direct us; nor
did a human creature appear for many miles: after a fruitless wandering,
therefore, we gave up the object, with this consolation, that almost the
only relic remaining is an ornamented circularly-arched gateway. Yet was
this place, now lost in a trackless desert, once of high importance.
Strata Florida Abbey (in British, Munachlog Ystrad flur) was founded anno
1164 for Cistertian Monks {123} by Rhesus Prince of South-Wales. In it
many of the Welch Princes were buried, and their acts kept and recorded:
it suffered considerably when Edward the First overran Wales, but was
soon after repaired.
A sloppy ride brought us to TREGARRON: a poor straggling ill-built town,
situated in an abrupt hollow watered by an arm of the Tivy; yet,
plentifully interspersed with trees, it forms a pleasing relief to the
surrounding dreariness. Its church is a respectable old building, and it
boasts the dignity of a mayor. Our inn here afforded us a capacious dish
of eggs and bacon for dinner; but, though it was not more than ordinarily
strong and greasy for the wilds of Wales, we grew delicate, and, leaving
our meal almost untasted, pursued our journey on the turnpike road to
Lampeter. About three miles from Tregarron, immediately on the left of
the road, we observed a large mound encircled by a moat; but could not
determine whether it was the site of an antient citadel, or monumental of
a deceased chieftain. In the same neighbourhood is the church of
Landewi-Brevi, where in 522, at a Holy Synod, St. David opposed the
opinions of the Pelagians. A prodigious petrified horn which is shewn at
the church is said to have remained there from that time; and in the year
1187 Bishop Beck founded a college on the spot. Several Roman inscribed
stones appear in and about the church; but at a place some distance
southward of it, called Kaer Kestilh (the field of the castles), a great
number have at various times been discovered, as also coins and Roman
bricks. Dr. Gibson considers this to be the Lovantinum of Ptolemy, in
which opinion he is followed by Mr. Horsley: Yet is this spot, the site
of a Roman town, and once occupied by its legions, now with difficulty
traced among barren fields remote from habitation:
"No busy steps the grass-grown foot-way tread,
But all the bloomy flush of life is fled."
From a fatiguing day's journey we gladly reposed at a better inn than
might be expected in so poor a town as LAMPETER; and the following
morning sallied forth to visit a large old seat of Sir Robert Lloyd's;
which, we learned, "exhibited a striking appearance with its four great
towers crowned with domes in the midst of well-planted inclosures, but
now scarcely inhabited." A thick mist denied us this view; so, crossing
the long old bridge of Lampeter, we entered Carmarthenshire on our way to
Llandilo. Nothing can be imagined more dreary than the first half of
this ride; lying over an extensive range of lumpy hills, as remote from
any thing picturesque as profitable. No tree, not a bush could be seen;
and as we mournfully looked round, where, except the miserable road on
which we travelled, no trace of society appeared, our disgusted sight
would have even rested with pleasure on a furze bush. From such a region
of sterility we gladly caught a gleam of cultivation, in some distant
hills bordering on Brecknockshire; but more gladly still, on a sudden
turn, we looked down on the pleasing little valley LLANSAWEL, watered by
a crystaline branch of the Cothy. The sun had now dispersed the mists
through which we set out, and shone direct on the vale: from its verdant
level high hills, enjoying different degrees of cultivation, rose on
every side; and under one of them, at the further end of the valley, the
well-whitened village sparkled through the intervening foliage.
This valley was immediately succeeded another called EDWIN'S-FORD, a
delightful spot, whose high encircling hills are clothed with extensive
plantations to their very summits. In the bottom, is a large old manor
house belonging to Colonel Williams, beautified "above, below, around,"
with leaded mercuries, shepherdesses, and sportsmen. Yet is this place,
remaining in the genuine style of King William's reign, with all its
absurdities, more interesting; as shewing us a specimen of that time,
than if it were patched up with modern improvements; or a new villa, of
the packing-case mode of building that now prevails. We rode through the
long avenues of trees that extend from the house; and, quitting the
valley, descended to another, pleasingly decorated with wood, and the
ruin of Talley church. A cheerful road, lined with
"Hedge-row elms and coppice green,"
now led us through a succession of swells and hollows, adorned with
numerous plantations, particularly those of Lord Robert Seymour Conway's,
to LLANDILO, a pretty market town, seated on a descent to the justly
famed vale of Towey.