95 



Giraldus Caiubrenais and Leland both describe the Beacons, and notice 

 their height, King Arthur's chair, the spring at the top, and the great extent 

 of prospect afforded from the summit. 



"We must travel quickly now, and have scarce time to notice the Slwch 



and Crug hills, with their plainly-marked British camps, the wooded brow 



of Dinas, and Brecon itself, the pretty little county town, nestling in the valley 



beneath. That town, which Churchyard describes : — 



" built as in a pit it were, 



By water side, all lapt about with hill, 

 You may behold a ninous castle there, 

 Somewhat defaced — the walls yet standeth still. 

 The river Usk and Houddu runs thereby." 



Looking west ward, the summit of the Cantref Bychan, or Carmarthenshire 

 Beacon is seen. Here the Usk rises, and close to its source and beneath a 

 precipice of magnificent Old Bed Sandstone rock is embosomed the prettiest of 

 lakes. Gentlemen of the Woolhope Club, I must call yonr attention to this 

 interesting spot, and trust that the day may not be far distant when we may 

 wander thither together. 



To the north are the Epynt range of mountains, and in the distance that 

 of Drygarn and the Ellenith mountains, extending to Plinlimmon. A little to 

 the right, and looking across the fertile vale of Talgarth, the wooded slopes of 

 Pontywal and Trephilip, and over the gorge of the Wye at Llangoed we sec the 

 Begwms of Badnorshire, and in the far distance Badnor Forest. 



It remains now for me to ask you to contract your gaze, and look down on 

 the lake beneath, and its immediately adjacent district. 



The lake before us bears the various names of Breceinaumere, Llyn- 

 Safaddan, Llangcrse Lake, and Talyllyn pool, the two latter of which are derived 

 from the parishes on its banks. The lake is the largest in South Wales, being 

 five to six miles in circumference, 2A miles long, and three-quarters of a mile 

 wide. Though a beauti r ul and extensive piece of water, its beauty is somewhat 

 marred by low and flat banks, and the fringe of rushes and tall sedges which 

 extend to a considei-able distance from the shore. It is fed by the Llyfni brook, 

 which" enters it at the eastern end, and by a bro -k of equal size, th^t flows 

 through the village of Llangorse. The outl t is at the northern corner, and 

 not far from the small island on the northern shore. The height of the lake 

 has been much reduced by the straightening of the outlet within the last few 

 years, and judging from marks on the meadows near the church at Talyllyn and 

 Tymawr, I believe the height of the water, and therefore the size of the lake, to 

 have been once greater than the present or past generation remember. The 

 gorge of the Llyfni, near Trewalter, and Llandevaibg-Tregraig, was doubtless 

 deepened by the natural action of water, but the straight cut from the lake to 

 Llyfni bridge, recently cleaned out by the order of the Commissioners of Sewers, 

 was evidently artificially formed. That cut, by whom and when made in the 

 first instance I have not yet been able to ascertain, materially improved the 

 outfall of the lake, and lessened its normal height. 



