148 PLANTS OF SNOWDON. \July, 



Desgil. Three-quarters of an hour's scramble brought us to the 

 summit. On the way up I was fortunate enough to fall in with 

 several very fine specimens of Aspidium Lonchitis growing with 

 a south-east aspect, quite an unusual thing for the more alpine 

 Ferns, which seem generally to shrink from the sun as much as 

 possible. 



I would strongly recommend every one who has the opportu- 

 nity to make a detour to this ridge, which could be effected 

 without much difficulty from the ordinary route to Llanberis. 

 The view was grander by far than anything I have yet seen in 

 Wales, and quite unique of its kind. Let the reader imagine 

 himself standing upon a narrow ridge scarcely twenty yards in 

 width, with two yawning abysses on either hand, — the one some 

 1200 feet in perpendicular depth, the other perhaps about 700 

 feet ; in the first, two little tarns, glistening in the morning sun, 

 and of the most vivid green, from the quantity of copper at the 

 bottom, lie embosomed in the vast abyss, the rocky precipices rising 

 immediately above them on the other side of the Cwm; while 

 looking above and beyond this ridge a thin streak of silver wind- 

 ing along a steep wooded valley marks the Aberglaslyn river as 

 it hastens to discharge its waters into the estuary of Traeth-bach. 

 But turn the other way, so as to face the north ; the view on this 

 side is in no way less striking. The white road winding in and 

 out at the foot of the precipices forming the Pass of Llanberis is 

 seen from its first commencement at the little inn of Gorphwysfa 

 till it melts into the upper Llanberis Lake, — which, with its larger 

 sister, lay sparkling joyously in the sunlight, — gradually dwindling 

 away at length into the little river by which both empty them- 

 selves into the Menai Straits at Carnarvon. And there stood the 

 fine old castle, as though it were the guardian of the valley, with 

 the blue waters of the Menai behind it, and the now hazy ex- 

 panse of sea beyond the distant Holyhead mountain. 



It was indeed an exquisite view to gaze upon ; but oui* time 

 was short, and we soon began to descend the rocky heights above 

 Cwm Glas, the highest and steepest of the many recesses on 

 the Llanberis side of Snowdon. Our old friend, the honey- 

 combed sandstone, began to appear again in a succession of ter- 

 races, one above another, like the seats of an amphitheatre; and 

 a rare harvest we could have had there, had there been time for 

 us to explore it thoroughly. As it was, we found Saussurea 



