The Ports, Harbours, Watering-places and Picturesque Scenery of Great Britain Volume II Part 4

BARMOUTH:

OR, ABERMAW.

"Here, beneath the mountain's brow, Hygeia hears the pilgrim's vow; Here the breath of summer seas, The balm of morn, the evening breeze, The charms of a romantic land, Refresh and gem the Cambrian strand,-- Where still the muse of Cymry lingers, And strikes the harp with raptured fingers."

Barmouth, the only port in Merionethshire, occupies a romantic situation at the mouth of the river Mawddach, where the tide at high-water forms a bay of about a mile across, but rather hazardous, owing to the shifting sandbanks by which the channel is interrupted. Overhung by lofty mountains, which leave no adequate s.p.a.ce for the horizontal expansion of the village, the houses appear to hang almost perpendicularly from the steep side of the cliffs, so that the chimneys of the one appear to be the foundation of the other. They form eight successive tiers or terraces, to which there is no better approach than by steps hewn in the rock.

This romantic village, which consists of only one irregular street, is much frequented as sea-bathing quarters, for which it has every accommodation, and, in respect to bold and picturesque scenery, has few rivals in the whole Princ.i.p.ality. The sea-beach affords every facility for pedestrian exercise; the walks along the banks of the river are numerous, and command the most striking points of view; while regular a.s.semblies, and some of the best Cambrian harps, promote social intercourse and hilarity among the visitors, and give a stir and animation to the whole neighbourhood.

Barmouth, says Mr. Roscoe, is considered to the north-west part of the kingdom, much like Weymouth and other fashionable watering-places to the south, and is resorted to during the summer months, not only by numbers of families in the Princ.i.p.ality, but by many others residing in the surrounding counties. The sands are very fine and hard, extending along the beach for several miles, and the bathing is at all times as excellent as can be desired. The restless tides of the Channel dashing against the surrounding coast produce that constant and salubrious motion, which is extended to the waters of the bay. There are two convenient inns, the "Commercial," and the "Cors y Gedol Arms," besides a number of respectable lodging-houses.

The town has the benefit of weekly markets, with an excellent supply of fish and poultry, at a cheap rate, and is further enlivened by two annual fairs, in October and November. The native manufactures consist chiefly of flannel and hosiery, a great quant.i.ty of which is exported.

The other _exports_ consist of corn, b.u.t.ter, cheese, oak-bark, timber, &c.; the _imports_, of coal, culm, and other articles for the use of the interior.

The number of small coasting-vessels, and others belonging to this haven that trade with Ireland, is stated at a hundred or upwards; and commercial business, upon the whole, is considered to be in a flourishing state.

The distance of Barmouth from London is two hundred and twenty-two miles, and it communicates with Caernarvon by a cross-mail. The resident population is considerably under two thousand, but is greatly augmented during the bathing season. The shipping at the pier communicates to the place a particular air of prosperity and cheerfulness, and gives employment to a very considerable portion of the inhabitants.

"The beauties of the road from Llanilltyd to Barmouth," says Mr. Pratt, "are so manifold and extraordinary that they literally beggar description. New pastures of the most exuberant fertility, new woods rising in all the majesty of foliage, the road itself curving in numberless unexpected directions,--at one moment shut into a verdant recess, so contracted that there seems neither carriage nor bridle-way out of it, and at another the azure expanse of the main ocean filling the eye. On one side, rocks glittering in all the colours of that beauty which const.i.tutes the sublime, and of a height which diminishes the wild herds that browse, or look down upon you from the summit, where the largest animal appears insignificantly minute. On the other hand, plains, villas, cottages, or copses, with whatever belongs to that milder grace which appertains to the beautiful."

[Ill.u.s.tration: SWANSEA BAY.]

SWANSEA BAY.

GLAMORGANSHIRE.

"In front, the Bay its crystal wave expands, Whose rippling waters kiss the glittering sands Far o'er its bosom, ships with spreading sails Export the _ores_ from Cambria's sunny vales.

Above--yon feudal bulwarks crown the steep, Whose rocky base repels the stormy deep; Here health is found,--there Industry resides,-- And Freedom on her native sh.o.r.e abides."

The reputation which Swansea has long enjoyed as a delightful watering-place has suffered no diminution in consequence of the numerous rivals with which this coast is so agreeably diversified. As bathing quarters, it enjoys peculiar advantages in its sh.o.r.e, which is admirably adapted for that purpose; while the adjacent scenery, and the various objects of interest or curiosity with which it abounds, serve as pleasing incentives to exercise and recreation,--the happy effects of which are soon observable in the health and appearance of invalids who make choice of Swansea as their summer residence. Every resource which visitors can desire, for promoting either health of body or agreeable occupation for the mind, is here amply provided. Warm, sea-water, and vapour, baths,--public rooms, billiard-tables, reading-rooms, circulating libraries,--with comfortable private lodgings and excellent hotels, are among the list of daily luxuries at their command.

The Harbour of Swansea is capacious,--well constructed, defended by two strong stone piers, about eighteen hundred feet in length,--and affords accommodation to a great many trading-vessels. On the west pier, a light-house and watch-tower offer additional security to the shipping; and every facility is provided for lading and unlading. The tide flows a considerable way up the river, which is navigable to the extent of two miles for vessels of burden. The ca.n.a.l, running parallel with the river, extends to Brecknockshire, a distance of sixteen miles; and in its course pa.s.ses through thirty-six locks, and over several aqueducts. Its head is nearly four hundred feet higher than its mouth, which readily accounts for the great number of locks. There is also a ca.n.a.l from the Swansea to the Neath ca.n.a.l, on which a packet-boat is established, and a _tram_-road from the former to Oystermouth. With Bristol and Ilfracombe there is a regular communication kept up by means of steam-vessels, which leave and arrive according to the state of the tide.

The public buildings of Swansea--ancient and modern--are numerous in proportion to the population. The Town-hall, erected in 1829, is an elegant structure, approached by two flights of steps, and adorned with columns of the Doric order. The castle, situated nearly in the centre of the town, was originally a building of great extent, and of a strength well suited to the purposes of its erection. A ma.s.sive tower, surmounted by a range of light arches which support a parapet, is the princ.i.p.al part now remaining of this once redoubtable fortress. It appears to have been founded at the remote epoch of 1113, by Henry Beaumont, Earl of Warwick,--a Norman leader who conquered Gowerland; but being soon after laid siege to by a Welsh chief,--Griffith ap Rhys ap Theodore,--a considerable portion of the outworks was destroyed. It is now in the possession of the Duke of Beaufort, "Earl" of Glamorgan, who is hereditarily ent.i.tled to the "prisage and butlerage" of all wines brought into the harbours of Swansea and Chepstow.

The public rooms of Swansea stand on the north side of the promenade, called the Burrows, which consist of several acres tastefully laid out in parterres. Here also are an excellent House of Industry and an Infirmary, established in 1817 and situated on the beach. Besides the free Grammar-school, founded in the seventeenth century, by Hugh, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, there are the Lancasterian and National-schools, which are incalculable blessings to the increasing population of Swansea.

[Ill.u.s.tration: OYSTERMOUTH,

(Swansea Bay.)]

OYSTERMOUTH CASTLE.

"Here--the 'grim-visor'd knight,' at the head of his band, Has cased him in armour, and girt on his brand; While Beauty looked down from her lattice on high, With the 'smile on her lip and the tear in her eye.'

But victor nor va.s.sal shall hither return:-- The castle is roofless,--the chief's in his urn; And those ramparts, that frown o'er the surf-beaten rocks, Are the haunt of the sea-fowl,--the lair of the fox."

This stately relic of the feudal ages overlooks the picturesque Bay of Swansea, and attracts many strangers to its gate,--not only for its venerable antiquity, but for its bold position on the verge of lofty and abrupt limestone cliffs, which command a magnificent view of the subjacent scenery. It is supposed by some to have been erected by the Earl of Warwick, in the reign of Henry the First; by others, to have been the family fortress of the Lords of Gower, in the reign of King John. But to which of the two the credit of founder belongs is matter of conjecture. Like the Castle of Swansea, already mentioned, it is now the property of the Beaufort family, whose mineral possessions in this district are said to be of incalculable value.

The princ.i.p.al walls of this domestic fortress have suffered comparatively little from the lapse of time, or the hand of violence.

Most of the original apartments may be easily traced out, so as to give a tolerably correct idea of their shape and dimensions, and the internal economy with which they were arranged. The general figure of the main body is polygonal; the ramparts are lofty and ma.s.sive, but not flanked with towers, except at the entrance, which appears to have been strongly secured by double gates and a portcullis.

In many parts along this picturesque coast, the limestone rocks swell over a fine sandy beach into perpendicular cliffs of great boldness, exhibiting vast quant.i.ties of organic remains, and worn in many places into deep and lofty caverns. Built on a cliff of this description, and with all the necessary accessories of vigilance and security, it could have been hardly possible to have selected anything more eligible for a feudal keep, whose chiefs generally chose their fortalices as the eagle chooses his eyry,--to secure a wide field for himself, and exclude lesser birds of prey.

The village of Oystermouth--about half a mile to the south of the castle--occupies a beautiful position on the verge of the Bay. A lofty rock throws its shadow over it; the headland of which, called the Mumble Point, stretches far into the sea, and affords a safe anchorage for shipping. The village is chiefly inhabited by fishermen, who, as the name implies, are mostly employed in dredging for oysters, which are found of superior quality in the adjoining bay. During summer, it is much resorted to by strangers, for the benefit of sea-bathing,--a source of annual revenue to the inhabitants, who, by letting their apartments, secure very good returns.

This is understood to be the natal soil of Gower,--the father of English poetry,--and therefore cla.s.sic ground:--

"Here, in the olden time the 'moral' GOWER Attuned his harp upon that rocky strand; Gather'd the sh.e.l.l, and pluck'd the vernal flower, And struck the wild chord with a master's hand.

To him the summer sea, the stormy wave, Were heaven-born music in their various keys; As, thundering through yon subterranean cave, The billows sang in chorus with the breeze."

The railway from Oystermouth to Swansea is a source of great convenience to the inhabitants, as a means of ready intercourse between the most frequented points of the coast adjacent. Newton, proverbially known as a healthy station for invalids and sea-bathers, and Caswell Bay, within half-an-hour's walk of Oystermouth, are well deserving of a stranger's attention. The latter is remarkable for the number and extent of the marine caverns already alluded to, as well as for the beauty and variety of the sea-sh.e.l.ls with which the sands at low water are profusely enamelled.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE MUMBLES ROCKS AND LIGHTHOUSE.

(Swansea Bay.)]

THE MUMBLES' LIGHTHOUSE.

"Amidst the storms,--when winds and waves are high, Unmoved I stand,--undimm'd I shed my light; And through the blackness of December's sky I pour effulgence on the seaman's sight."

INSCRIPTION FOR A LIGHTHOUSE.

The Mumbles' Lighthouse is much frequented by visitors from Swansea during the season. Few jaunts of this character can be productive of more enjoyment than a trip from Swansea to Oystermouth Castle and the Mumbles' rocks. The road, issuing from the western extremity of Swansea, follows the sh.o.r.e of the bay, with the open sea on the left, and on the right a range of wooded hills; of which advantage has been taken for the site of numerous pretty villas. Some gentlemen's seats occupy the intervening level, and their plantations skirt the high-road. Of these Singleton Abbey and Woodlands are the princ.i.p.al. As we near the extremity of the bay the scene is indeed beautiful. Oystermouth Castle, and the pretty village of the same name, lead the visitor onwards till he reaches a broken, breezy headland, the only ascent to which is by a kind of sheep-path, which zig-zags its way to the summit of a narrow promontory terminating in two islands, and on the farther of which is situated the Mumbles' Lighthouse. It is a structure admirably adapted for the purpose to which it is devoted. To every building of this description, devoted to the preservation of human life, a profound interest is attached; and we cannot but observe at a single glance how invaluable these Lights have been, and ever must be, where the danger of shipwreck is so greatly increased by the rugged nature of a coast--here walled in by precipitous cliffs, and there scattered with rocks that appear and disappear according to the tide. The means thus happily adopted along the Welsh coast have been crowned with success; and how comfortable is it to reflect, when calmly seated at our winter hearths, that--while the "winds howl round our steady battlements," and "ships break from their moorings,"--there are friendly lights sparkling around our coasts, to cheer and direct the bewildered mariner in his course, to show him his danger, and to point out "a way to escape."