A Tour throughout South Wales and Monmouthshire Part 4

[Picture: Falls of the Mynach]

This grand cataract receives no inconsiderable augmentation of terrific appearance from the black stratified rocks forming the glen down which it thunders; nor can the beholder, however firm his mind, divest himself of terror, while, near the bottom of an abyss for ever denied a ray of sun, he views the menacing torrent bursting before him; or contemplates its foaming course tearing at his feet among craigs that its fury has disjoined. If he ventures to look up the acclivitous rock, more real danger threatens his return, when a devious balance or false step would ensure his certain destruction. Yet from the horrors of this gloomy chasm some favoured projections relieve the imagination, ornamented by the light and tasteful penciling of the mountain ash, intermixed with vigorous sapling oaks; while here and there a tree of riper years, unable to derive support from the scanty soil, falls in premature decay a prostrate ruin.-I have seen water-falls more picturesquely grand than the cataract of the Mynach, but none more awfully so, not even excepting the celebrated fells of Lowdore and Scaleforce in c.u.mberland.

Climbing from this scene of terrors, I rejoined my companion, and at the Haford Arms obtained a change of clothes; a comfort which, although wet to the skin for several hours, I should still longer have denied myself, had not the approach of night forced me from the Mynach's interesting scenery. Our active hostess quickly provided a tolerable dinner of mutton chops; and, cheered by a good peat-fire and a bottle of wine, we listened to the torrent's roar without dismay. On the following morning we did not neglect to revisit the romantic glen. The weather was fine; and, the effect of the late rains having subsided, the bulk of the torrent had much diminished; yet did the scene gain in beauty what it lost in terrific grandeur; for the intermingling foliage, darting from opposite sides of the glen, and reflecting various tints and degrees of light, softened the asperitous black rocks, and spread a lively net-work over the gloom.

Upon our preparing for the renewal of our journey, a material difficulty occurred; my poney was so completely knocked up, that he had not, as the jockeys phrase it, "a leg to stand on." The alternative in this case was to buy another; and upon enquiry I found that my landlord had one to dispose of, which was forthwith produced. This was a good-sized poney, with plenty of bone, but ill-made; he had, however, an excellent character: his knees too were sadly broken; but a circ.u.mstantial tale shewed that to be the effect of accident, and not habitual awkwardness: upon the whole, he did not seem dear at the price demanded, which was only five guineas: a bargain was therefore struck, the saddle transferred from the invalid to the back of my new purchase; and after given directions for the return of the former, which by the way incurred an expence more than his value, we set forward for the celebrated grounds of Hafod, about two miles distant.

Our road lay on the steep bank of the Mynach, commanding a full view of the glen, and its romantic bridge. Then ascending the Cwm Ystwith hill, through a current of clouds, we gained from its summit an uninterrupted view of the whole range of North Walean mountains, stretching from the English counties to the great bay of Cardigan: the intervening hollows were concealed by fields of mist; so that the uncultivated heights exhibited a scene as rugged as when

"-Nature first made man, Ere the base laws of servitude began, And wild in woods the n.o.ble savage ran."

We now took a farewel view of the Mynach's glen, and quitted its interesting scenery, with such sensations as one feels in losing a friend whose intercourse has afforded both pleasure and improvement. We then descended to the vale of Ystwith, but unenlivened by its scenery, for a morning mist floated through the valley and spread a veil over its charms. A handsome park gate announced the entrance of HAFOD, and the thundering of an unseen waterfall formed a grand symphony to the spectacle that we were soon to witness.-Almost immediately the cloud of mist disappeared, rising like a huge curtain before us, and discovered such an a.s.semblage of beauties, of cheerful walks and silent glens, of woody precipices, shadowy glades, garden thickets and waterfalls, that, considered with the barren wilds of the surrounding country, it secured a second Paradise rising from a newly-subsided chaos. This charming place, occupying a deep narrow valley, watered by the Ystwith, is the creation of Col. Johnes, whose persevering genius has forced a mantle of wood upon rocky precipices where nature seemed to deny the access of verdure, and who in his elegant and useful projects of farther improvement gives employment to the country around. Upon a spot judiciously chosen, where the banks of the valley gently incline, and the coverture of lofty woods afford a shelter from the north-eastern winds, stands the mansion, with a sloping lawn in front, commanding a comprehensive view of the enchanting valley; which if Dryden could but see, he would wish to recall the line,

"G.o.d never made his works for man to mend."

On putting ourselves under the direction of the gardener, we were first led to the kitchen-garden, furnished with extensive forcing-houses, and replete with every necessary appendage. The flower-garden also displayed its appropriate charms; but from these atchievements of art we turned, without regret, to where the bold hand of nature reared the scene in stupendous majesty;

"There along the dale, With woods o'erhung, and s.h.a.gg'd with mossy rocks, Where on each hand the gushing waters play, And down the rough cascade white dashing fall,"

we pa.s.sed, enamoured with the incessant though congenial variety of our subject. After visiting the cold bath, a small sequestered building, a mazy walk romantically traced by the side of a brawling torrent, and amidst tangled shrubberies, led to a small cascade; and soon after a superior waterfall engaged our attention, where the whole volume of the Ystwith burst over a ledge of rocks in a composition truly grand and picturesque. But a scene of awful sublimity disclosed itself on exploring a dark cavernous pa.s.sage in a rock and reaching its extremity, where a lofty cascade of transcendent beauty, throwing itself over a strata of black rocks, bounded close to the opening of the cave, and shrouded the aperture with its spray, as it became engulphed in a dark chasm beneath.

The towering mountains clothed with myriads of oaks, which environ this remarkable valley, afford a diversity of walks and combinations of view, to describe which words would be inadequate, and prove at best but tedious. A walk of twelve miles scarcely comprises a complete survey of the grounds, as we are told; but, being pressed for time, our perambulation was confined to a much smaller s.p.a.ce; yet enough was seen to convince us that this is one of the most delightful rural retreats in the kingdom.

The mansion is a handsome modern edifice; in the Gothic style of architecture; which idea is perfectly consonant with the romantic cast of the scenery; and the general outline of the building is certainly pleasing: but we were sorry that Col. Johnes had not been better advised in the execution of this design, which though we had read of, in one place, as built "in the _most correct taste_," and in another as "a mansion in the _Italian_ style," we found to be a heterogeneous jumble; wherein a b.a.s.t.a.r.d sort of Greek and Saxon architecture was blended with the prevailing Gothic. The house internally we understood to be richly fitted up, and furnished with an excellent library, but did not visit it; for, though the _demand_ of five shillings for the gardener's attendance was willingly paid, yet the same sum, which we found would be required by the housekeeper, appeared to us more than the show of any _Welch house_ was worth.

There always appears to me something very unworthy in great men allowing their servants to exact the sums that they do from the spectators of their grandeur; but, such emoluments are taken into the account of a servant's hire, and in some measure contribute to the support of the great man's establishment: as far as they do this, they indirectly form part of his revenue; and in that view I consider the _Grandee_ as somewhat of a mercenary showman, however _magnifique_.

A ride of nearly a mile extent, among delightful plantations, led us out of Hafod; when, crossing the Ystwith over a good stone bridge, we soon pa.s.sed through a little romantic village on the road to Tregarron, from whence the country continued wild, without grandeur or interest, a succession of

"Barren heaths, and rushy meers,"

until the approach to Llandilo. In this mid-land route the hills were much less continuous than round the coast, and the valleys frequently extensive; but, overrun with peat-bogs, they neither displayed fertility nor beauty. About half way to Tregarron, a few hundred yards to the right of the road, were two considerable hills, each crowned with a large ancient encampment: we did not stop to examine them, but quickly turned off the road, over moorlands on our left, in search of the remains of STARFLOWER or STRATA FLORIDA ABBEY. We had no track to direct us; nor did a human creature appear for many miles: after a fruitless wandering, therefore, we gave up the object, with this consolation, that almost the only relic remaining is an ornamented circularly-arched gateway. Yet was this place, now lost in a trackless desert, once of high importance.

Strata Florida Abbey (in British, Munachlog Ystrad flur) was founded anno 1164 for Cistertian Monks {123} by Rhesus Prince of South-Wales. In it many of the Welch Princes were buried, and their acts kept and recorded: it suffered considerably when Edward the First overran Wales, but was soon after repaired.

A sloppy ride brought us to TREGARRON: a poor straggling ill-built town, situated in an abrupt hollow watered by an arm of the Tivy; yet, plentifully interspersed with trees, it forms a pleasing relief to the surrounding dreariness. Its church is a respectable old building, and it boasts the dignity of a mayor. Our inn here afforded us a capacious dish of eggs and bacon for dinner; but, though it was not more than ordinarily strong and greasy for the wilds of Wales, we grew delicate, and, leaving our meal almost untasted, pursued our journey on the turnpike road to Lampeter. About three miles from Tregarron, immediately on the left of the road, we observed a large mound encircled by a moat; but could not determine whether it was the site of an antient citadel, or monumental of a deceased chieftain. In the same neighbourhood is the church of Landewi-Brevi, where in 522, at a Holy Synod, St. David opposed the opinions of the Pelagians. A prodigious petrified horn which is shewn at the church is said to have remained there from that time; and in the year 1187 Bishop Beck founded a college on the spot. Several Roman inscribed stones appear in and about the church; but at a place some distance southward of it, called Kaer Kestilh (the field of the castles), a great number have at various times been discovered, as also coins and Roman bricks. Dr. Gibson considers this to be the Lovantinum of Ptolemy, in which opinion he is followed by Mr. Horsley: Yet is this spot, the site of a Roman town, and once occupied by its legions, now with difficulty traced among barren fields remote from habitation:

"No busy steps the gra.s.s-grown foot-way tread, But all the bloomy flush of life is fled."

From a fatiguing day's journey we gladly reposed at a better inn than might be expected in so poor a town as LAMPETER; and the following morning sallied forth to visit a large old seat of Sir Robert Lloyd's; which, we learned, "exhibited a striking appearance with its four great towers crowned with domes in the midst of well-planted inclosures, but now scarcely inhabited." A thick mist denied us this view; so, crossing the long old bridge of Lampeter, we entered Carmarthenshire on our way to Llandilo. Nothing can be imagined more dreary than the first half of this ride; lying over an extensive range of lumpy hills, as remote from any thing picturesque as profitable. No tree, not a bush could be seen; and as we mournfully looked round, where, except the miserable road on which we travelled, no trace of society appeared, our disgusted sight would have even rested with pleasure on a furze bush. From such a region of sterility we gladly caught a gleam of cultivation, in some distant hills bordering on Brecknockshire; but more gladly still, on a sudden turn, we looked down on the pleasing little valley LLANSAWEL, watered by a crystaline branch of the Cothy. The sun had now dispersed the mists through which we set out, and shone direct on the vale: from its verdant level high hills, enjoying different degrees of cultivation, rose on every side; and under one of them, at the further end of the valley, the well-whitened village sparkled through the intervening foliage.

This valley was immediately succeeded another called EDWIN'S-FORD, a delightful spot, whose high encircling hills are clothed with extensive plantations to their very summits. In the bottom, is a large old manor house belonging to Colonel Williams, beautified "above, below, around,"

with leaded mercuries, shepherdesses, and sportsmen. Yet is this place, remaining in the genuine style of King William's reign, with all its absurdities, more interesting; as shewing us a specimen of that time, than if it were patched up with modern improvements; or a new villa, of the packing-case mode of building that now prevails. We rode through the long avenues of trees that extend from the house; and, quitting the valley, descended to another, pleasingly decorated with wood, and the ruin of Talley church. A cheerful road, lined with

"Hedge-row elms and coppice green,"

now led us through a succession of swells and hollows, adorned with numerous plantations, particularly those of Lord Robert Seymour Conway's, to LLANDILO, a pretty market town, seated on a descent to the justly famed vale of Towey.

CHAP. IX.

CHARMING VALE OF TOWEY-DINEVAWR CASTLE-GOLDEN GROVE-GRONGAR HILL-MIDDLETON HALL-CAREG-CANNON CASTLE-REFLECTIONS AT A FORD-GLENHEIR WATERFALL-AN ACCIDENT-PONT AR DULAS-RETURN TO SWANSEA.

[Picture: Dinevawr Castle]

At Landilo we hastily put up our horses, anxious to feast on the beauties that disclosed themselves as we approached the spot; and, learning that NEWTON PARK, the delightful seat of Lord Dinevawr, afforded the most extensive and picturesque views of the vale, we engaged the keeper's attendance, and proceeded among waving lawns and woody gnolls to a bold hill, where,

"Bosom'd high in tufted trees,"

appeared the picturesque remains of DINEVAWR CASTLE. A winding path, cut through the leafy honours of this hill, conveyed us beneath their dark umbrage to the top. We here climbed a ma.s.sy fragment of the ruin, and entered a falling apartment, which, according to our guide's information, was once the lady's dressing-room; where, reaching a Gothic window overhung with ivy, a prospect burst upon us, teeming with the most fascinating circ.u.mstances of verdant nature; a galaxy of picturesque beauty, at which remembrance becomes entranced, and description faulters!

Immediately beneath, the expansive vale of TOWEY appears in the fullest display of its charms; a hue of the richest green marks the luxuriance of the soil through the course of the valley, which, continually intersected with dusky hedge-rows, boasts all the elegance of garden parterres. The translucid Towey here wantons in perpetual variety among gay meadows and embowering plantations, where the eye with pleasure traces its fantastic meanders until they disappear behind projecting groves. The rich wood that surrounds the castellated hill clothes a precipitous descent to the water's edge, and, with other sylvan decorations of Newton park, forms the nearmost boundary of the vale. On the opposite side, a huge wild mountain rears its head in desolation to the clouds; and beneath it Golden Grove, {130} despoiled of its leafy grandeur, now appears in diminished beauty. Several smaller seats and whitened hamlets start up in the valley, and, glistening through their appendant groves, give life to the scene. A little westward, GRONGAR HILL, immortalized by the muse of Dyer, and now the property of one of his descendants, advances on the vale and partly turns its course; but at some distance further, a rugged hill, bearing the mouldering fragments of Gruslwyn castle, proudly bestrides the plain and terminates the picture. Our view of this scene was favoured by the departing sun, which, just setting behind Gruslwyn ruin, threw a glowing tint over the landscape; its golden effulgence shone strongly on the varied hills, and gleamed on the lofty groves that adorned the vale; though the greater part of it was obscured in grandly-projected shadows. {131}

After a week's journey through an extensive tract of country, with few exceptions as devoid of picturesque interest as of productiveness, to come at once upon a scene so pregnant with the bounty and beauty of nature, was a feast for the feelings of philanthropy and picturesque enthusiasm that I shall never forget; nor do I imagine that the coldest mortal could fail of feeling a lively interest in so delightful a change-We

"-cast a longing ling'ring look behind"

on leaving this scene to examine the ruined castle. The extent of the apparent remains would lead one to consider it as a place of small importance; but we traced the vestiges of a wall and ditch at some distance from the conspicuous ruin, which indicate it to have been of considerable dimensions. The most noticeable parts are, the apartment already mentioned; a ma.s.sive round tower, the ancient keep; and a subterraneous pa.s.sage. Giraldus saw a castle here; but that was destroyed in the year 1194, about six years after his Itinerary; it was, however, soon rebuilt, and became the royal seat of the Princes of South Wales; but frequently changed its masters, until it fell to the crown of England. Henry the VIIth made a grant of it to Sir Rice ap Thomas, Knight of the Garter, a lineal descendant of the Welch Princes, and ancestor of the present proprietor. It was inhabited until within these 50 years, when the combustible part of it was destroyed by fire.

The mansion, built on a level about half a mile from the castle, is a large quadrangular structure, with turrets at each corner crowned with domes: it has lately been modernized; but appears to have been founded about two centuries back.-An avenue of trees extended from hence to the castle, which has lately been broken into clumps, in harmony with the general laying-out of the park. The hills of its strongly undulating surface are profusely covered with wood, and the hollows enjoy a luxuriance of pasturage that can scarcely be equalled. On looking down some of these knolls, there appears no poetical licence in Dyer's description:

"Below me trees unnumber'd rise, Beautiful in various dyes: The gloomy pines, the poplar blue, The yellow beech, the sable yew, The slender fir that taper grows, The st.u.r.dy oak with broad-spread boughs; And beyond the purple grove, Haunt of Phyllis, Queen of Love!"

We often regretted that the picturesque ruin of the castle was excluded from our view by the lofty trees that surround it: the laudable jealousy with which Lord Dinevawr preserves the woody embellishments of his park appeared to us as extending too far in this instance; for were a few openings introduced, so as to exhibit from various points the grand dimensions of some ivied towers, a fine effect might be produced, and a picturesque contrast obtained to the numerous woody swells that abound in this beautiful domain.

The morning that we left Llandilo brought with it a scene of affliction to the surrounding country: one of those deluging rains which often do so much mischief in mountainous countries fell with unparalleled violence during the night; when the vast accession of water, unable to discharge itself by the ordinary channels, swept away trees, fences, small buildings, cattle, and poultry in its devious course. Several mills were destroyed; and many an industrious cottager, awakened by the flood eddying round his bed, saw himself at once dispossessed of the fruits of many years hard savings:

"Fled to some eminence, the husbandman Helpless beheld the miserable wreck Driving along; his drowning ox at once Descending, with his labours scatter'd round, He saw; and instant o'er his shivering thought Came winter unprovided, and a train Of clamant children dear."

On the storm's abating, we renewed our journey, and, over a handsome stone bridge crossing the swollen Towey, which had acquired a frightful hue from the red marle of the neighbouring land, followed its course upon the road to Llangadock. At the first turnpike we deviated to the right, up a steep track rendered almost impracticable by loose craigs, by the side of a romantic dingle, down whose dark hollow a small cascade trickled with very good effect. In our ascent, delightful views were obtained of the upper vale of Towey, stretching from Llandilo bridge to the vicinage of Llandovery. The distant groves of Taliaris and Abermarle parks adorned this view, which was only inferior to that from Dinevawr-castle. As we advanced further, the rich prospect withdrew, and we found ourselves entering upon the dreary wilds of the Black Mountains; our track then became indistinct, wandering among rocks, floods, and up-rooted trees, unenlivened by a single habitation or human face. At length a cottage appeared, and we enquired our way to Careg-cannon castle; but "Dim Sarsnic" {135} was all we could gather from the inhabitants. Thus constrained to proceed at random, we mounted a precipitous hill over a track that formed the bed of a torrent, and discovered the object of our search upon a bold rock, a considerable distance on our right: a little Welch farmer was also comprized in this view, working hard to repair the damages of the storm. We again enquired the best road to pursue, and again were answered with "Dim Sarsnic;" he however, signified to us that he would fetch some one, and accordingly ran over two or three fields, and returned with his daughter, a fine buxom girl who had picked up a little English at Llandilo market.

Without intreaty she offered to be our guide; and, fixing in the ground a spade with which she had been clearing a water-course, blythely led us, through mountainous wilds, within a short distance of the object of our search.

As we ascended the rock, crowned with the frowning ruin of Careg-cannon castle, a tempestuous cloud that broke against it drenched us with a plentiful shower: we sought the shelter of the building, but the wind raged with such violence, that we shrunk from the mouldering battlements lest they should overwhelm us. On crossing the ruin through its "stormy halls," we again recoiled on finding ourselves upon the brink of a tremendous precipice, which, except on the side by which we ascended, encompa.s.ses the castle in a perpendicular rocky cliff upwards of four hundred feet in height. Then climbing among the mossy fragments of the castle, we discovered an aperture in the ground connected with a long subterraneous gallery dug through the solid rock, and lighted by windows cut in the cliff, though not visible from any situation without. In exploring this strange recess, rendered more fearful by the loud shrieks of the wind, we advanced, not without sensations of awe: it terminated in a large gloomy cavern, fit scene for

"Murders, rapes, and ma.s.sacres, Acts of black night, abominable deeds, Complots of mischiefs, treason, villanies Ruthful to hear."

In this place we waited the pa.s.sing of the storm, conjecturing it to have continued formerly to some adjacent spot, so as to form a sally-port or secret communication from the castle. On our return we felt more at liberty to examine the features of the ruin, which proved of the simplest construction, totally without ornament or a single Gothic form, and consisting of one irregular court with towers at each angle. If the Britons had any castles of stone before the arrival of the Normans (a fact doubted by some antiquaries), I should imagine this to be one; although a late tourist, I know not on what authority, ascribes its erection to the time of Henry the First. The position must have been formerly impregnable, and its rough aspect marks it to have been constructed for the mere business of war. By

-a lonely tower, -whose mournful chambers hold, To night-struck Fancy dreams, the yelling Ghost,

we pa.s.sed from this wild abode, and floundered among ditch-like tracks to recover the high road from Llandilo to Swansea. In a romantic hollow we were stopped by a branch of the Towey; which, though in ordinary times an inconsiderable rivulet, was now swelled to a deep and menacing torrent.

Here we found a party of men and women peasants on the opposite side, in doubt whether it might be safely crossed; but at length one of the men stripped and waded over, thus satisfying us that the ford was practicable. The rest followed; the men first getting rid of the lower part of their dress;-a trouble avoided by the females, who, unused to the enc.u.mbrance of shoes and stockings, had only to hold up their clothes to the highest extent; and, thus prepared, the whole party moved toward us.

Viewing this remnant of barbarity with disgust, we at the same time felt uneasy for the situation of the girls: but we might have spared ourselves that pain; their countenances proved them to be unembarra.s.sed by the consciousness of shame; nor did their eyes wander from the precise line in which they were going. The transaction was to them a matter of perfect indifference.

[Picture: Careg-cannon Castle]

It may reasonably be supposed, that the indecent customs of the Welch operate against the observance of chast.i.ty: yet seeing that the Welch are by no means deficient in that excellence, it may be supposed that were such scenes less frequent they would be so; but, as they are continually recurring, the imagination has no time to effervesce; it is at once saturated with naked facts, and on that principle the ebullitions of pa.s.sion are kept under. On the one hand, those strong bulwarks decency and delicacy are done away; but on the other, the mind, fully informed, is not irritated by the conjurations of fancy; which may be a pretty fair set-off. Yet, without doubt, their strongest safeguard exists in the considerative defence; for the moral turpitude and political infamy of unchast.i.ty is recognized in Wales to an extent that can hardly be conceived in circles of modern refinement: even at this day, in districts not yet drawn within the imposing vortex of trade, {140} a golden age of innocence may be discovered, where b.a.s.t.a.r.dy is unknown, or known but in recorded instances, in which the man is properly consigned to equal disgrace with the female offender.