Barmouth and Cymmer Abbey 59 



tion at which no one would be inclined to cavil who has 

 climbed the hill which here abruptly deprives the valley of 

 about one half its former breadth, and marks the westmost 

 limit to which Llyn Tegid may once have reached. The 

 Little Dee, or Dwfrdu, so named from its source on the 

 Ddwallt mountain, here tumbles into the valley in a series 

 of bright cascades and dark pools, forming the Pistyll Dee, 

 and our path up to this point has coincided with its present 

 eastward course to Bala Lake ; but with the many clearly 

 defined terraces along its banks it is not difficult to carry the 

 imagination back to a period, not very remote, geologically 

 speaking, when the lake covered all the flat country now 

 occupied by Llanuwchllyn, and the surrounding farms, and 

 probably found a natural outlet to the sea down the deeply 

 carved channel through which the Eiddon now trickles 

 past Drws-y-nant ("The door of the brook") to join the 

 Mawddach near Dolgelly. The greatly augmented volume 

 of water thus derived would account for the disproportionate 

 extent of the Eiddon valley to the stream it now contains, 

 and would doubtless also play no inconsiderable part in the 

 excavation of the wide estuary, or arm of the sea, which 

 runs almost from Dolgelly to Barmouth, where the railway 

 is carried over its narrow neck on a bridge nearly a mile 

 long. The etymology of Barmouth is interesting : the 

 ancient town was called Abermaw ; then, by the dropping 

 of the initial vowel, it became Bermaw, from which, of 

 course, the transition is easy enough. The Port is Ynys 

 Brawd (Anglice " Friars' Isle ") and the district is rich in 

 matters of interest to the antiquarian. 



Near Dolgelly are the ruins of Cymmer Abbey, 1 which 

 was all but demolished by Henry III. in revenge for one of 

 its monks having led him into a bog when marching to 

 attack Montgomery Castle. The monks held the rights of 

 digging for all metals ; and as gold, as well as lead, is found 

 in many places in the adjacent mountains, we can imagine 

 the pious beadsmen turning their hands to mining when 

 weary of their orisons. Within comparatively recent times 

 very rich veins of gold have been struck in more than one 

 1 See note on page i& 



