EXCURSIONS AND EXAMINATIONS 237 



miles, forming altogether one of the wildest mountain walks 

 I have ever taken in our own country. 



The waterfall we thus accidentally came upon is called 

 Pistill Rhaiadwr, and is little known to tourists, as it is a long 

 way from any beaten track, but it is undoubtedly the finest 

 in Wales, and has a peculiar feature which is, I think, unique 

 in the British Isles. Between the upper and the lower part 

 of the fall the water passes under a natural arch of rock, 

 along which it is possible to crawl, though when there is much 

 water the arch is drenched with spray. The photograph here 

 copied shows this remarkable feature, as well as the double 

 fall, the upper one being about 150 feet high, the total height 

 being 240 feet. George Borrow, in his " Wild Wales," con- 

 siders this curious bridge to be a blemish, and remarks, " This 

 unsightly object has stood where it now stands since the day 

 of creation, and will probably remain there to the day of 

 judgment. It would be a desecration of nature to remove it 

 by art, but no one could regret if Nature herself, in one of 

 her floods, were to sweep it away." The ancient geology and 

 theology of this passage are very characteristic. 



Two years later we had another excursion together, ac- 

 companied by my friend Geach, going first to Beddgelert, and 

 then on to Pen-y-gwryd, where we found the little inn crowded, 

 and had difficulty in finding the roughest accommodation. Next 

 morning we started at five and had a most delightful walk up 

 Snowdon by this very picturesque route. Reaching the sum- 

 mit with excellent appetites, we enjoyed our breakfast of coffee 

 and bacon in the little hut on the top, and then, as it was a 

 glorious day with floating clouds whose shadows below us 

 were a delight, we spent an hour or more in the enjoyment of 

 the splendid views, with the numerous lakes in almost all the 

 surrounding cwms and valleys which render this mountain 

 especially interesting to the glacial geologist. Numbers of 

 swifts were flying about over and around the peak, and when 

 Mr. Mitten climbed out on some crags in search of rare 

 mosses, they dashed about so close to his head as to cause 

 him to retreat. After returning to Beddgelert we went up a 

 small valley to find a very rare water-moss, which Mr. Wil- 



