THE YOUNG 



NATURALIST. 



209 



A DAY IN NORTH WALES. 



By Dr. J. W. Ellis. 



There having been of late a lack of notes 

 ot natural history excursions in the pages of 

 the Yowng NatiLralist, I have thought that 

 probably a brief account of a pleasant day 

 spent in North Wales might prove interest- 

 ing, not so much on account of the entomo- 

 logical work done — that being very little 

 indeed — but as a slight guide to any brother 

 (or sister) naturalist who may be induced 

 by my recommendation to pay a visit to 

 this beautiful district. Professional matters 

 prevent me from spending any lengthened 

 time away from home, and I have to be 

 satisfied with a day now and again, and it 

 is one of these day excursions that I intend 

 to describe. Accompanied by my wife and 

 sister, I started by the 7.30 train from 

 Liverpool on Monday last, July i6th, for 

 the little village of Bettws-y-Coed, situate 

 in the heart of North Wales, in the valley 

 of the Conway, where we arrived at 11.20, 

 after having to change trains at Chester 

 and Llandudno Junction, and after enjoying 

 the beautiful scenery of the lower portions 

 of the vale of Clwyd, Colwyn Bay, and the 

 valley of the Conway river. The usual 

 custom of visitors to Bettws would seem to 

 be to take a conveyance and so see the 

 " lions" of the district in as short a time as 

 possible ; but the plan we followed, which I 

 think far preferable for any party, and quite 

 indispensable for an entomological one, was 

 to take "Shank's horse" along the high 

 road to Holyhead in the direction of Capel 

 Curig and Snowdon. Although when leaving 

 Llandudno Junction the mists upon the 

 summits of Penmoenmawr and Carnedd 

 Llewellyn hung black and heavy, threaten- 

 ing wet, nevertheless the rain held off 

 until about the time of our return home ; 

 and although the sky was clouded for a 

 considerable portion of the, this only served 

 to keep down the heat, which otherwise 



would have been excessive. My first capture 

 was a specimen of Cyohrus rostratus found 

 beneath a stone by the roadside, which, of 

 course, when handled, commenced creaking 

 at a tremendous rate. After about twenty 

 minutes easy walking we passed through a 

 wicket gate on the right, and a short path 

 conducted us to a fine view of the river 

 Llugwy at that part of its course where it 

 boils through a deep but narrow channel in 

 the rocks, crossed by the " miners' bridge," 

 a rustic and unsafe-looking structure thrown 

 over the impetuous torrent at a considerable 

 inclination, perhaps an angle of thirty de- 

 grees from the horizontal. We were fortu- 

 nate in our visit in that the rains of the 

 previous few days had swollen the stream 

 so that it appeared to great advantage, and 

 the rushing of the water over the lichen- 

 covered boulders in the bed of the river 

 formed a pretty view and a very musical 

 contrast to the noise and bustle of town life 

 so recently left behind. On the banks of 

 the river about here I met with only com- 

 mon beetles, such as Lorioera pilicornis 

 (certainly the commonest beetle of day), 

 PterosticMs madidus, Agabus guttatus^ &c. 

 I searched the few likely places that were 

 at all accessible for such species as Stenus 

 Guynemeri and Bianotis coerulescens, which 

 I had taken before in Wales, but without 

 avail, indeed, the only "bembid" was the 

 common j& littorale. Repassing the wicket 

 gate we continued our walk on the high 

 road in the same direction for about another 

 mile through the most delightful mountain 

 scenery and arrived at the " Swallow Falls 

 Inn," opposite to which a path leads to the 

 famous " Rhaidr-y-Wennoll " or " fall of the 

 swallow," the most magnificent cataract in 

 Wales, where, according to tradition, " the 

 soul of Sir John Wynne of Gwydir is laid, 

 and is to sink one barley-grain's length every 

 hundred years until it comes to the bottom. 

 Here the Llugwy throws itself down three 

 distinct precipices, forming a scene beautiful 



