ALONG THE COAST AND ELSEWHERE 175 



railway bridge over the straits at Menai, are noted as remark- 

 able feats of engineering, and across the water, on Anglesey, 

 saw, perched on a hillside, the monument erected by the owner of 

 the island. Anglesey is a very pleasant place, and some day I 

 look forward to spending a holiday there. In the meantime, I 

 have had just a peep, sufficient enough to whet my appetite. 



As we got nearer to Llanberis, with the Elidir mountains on 

 our left, and the Snowdon range immediately ahead of us, a 

 delightful prospect opened out to view. On the opposite side 

 of the lake, a splendid sheet of water two miles long and a quarter 

 of a mile broad, fine craggy scenery was presented to view such 

 as I had not seen anywhere in Scotland, though, true enough, 

 the American visitor to Scotia is reputed to have said that he 

 could not see the scenery because of the mountains ! The vari- 

 coloured wooded slopes of the former are, as" the guide-book will 

 tell you, " reflected in the lake which washes their feet." On the 

 opposite shore we noticed the mineral railway, and then, frown- 

 ing down upon us, the great slate quarries on the precipitous 

 side of the mighty rock came into view. 



Llanberis is situated, as it were, in a huge basin, and it is 

 partly sheltered by trees. Just beyond the station, right at the 

 point, and clustered among the trees, is Dolbardan Castle. Just 

 a solitary tower is all that remains of the noble edifice, guarding, 

 sentinel -like, the entrance to the famous Pass of Llanberis and 

 the Upper Valley, overlooking Llyn Peris. 



Dolbardan Castle must, of necessity, be of great antiquity, 

 and some, who ought to know, tell us that it is of pre -Norman 

 origin ! It is probable that this rugged district was much fre- 

 quented during the contentious times of Vortigern, while some 

 assert that this castle formed a retreat, or meeting place, for 

 Llewelyn's lieutenants, and it is reputed to have been the prison 

 wherein Owen, Llewelyn's traitor brother, was confined. 



The monarch of Welsh mountains Snowdon may be 

 approached from various points. Unlike Ben Nevis, far away 

 in Inverness-shire, ponies are not available, at least so far as I 

 was able to ascertain, but this still leaves two ways of ascending 

 to the summit of Snowdon. The reader may remember that, 

 when writing up my journey to Fort William, I mentioned, as 

 an item of interest, that it was now proposed to construct a 

 railway up Ben Nevis, and that already a start had been made 

 by the conversion of the old observatory on the summit into a 

 hotel. 



