What to See in England Part 36

On the southern side of Tor Bay is Brixham, the fis.h.i.+ng village selected by William of Orange as a landing-place when in 1688, at the request of the English Parliament, he brought over an army raised in Holland. It was from here, too, that he commenced his victorious march to London with thirteen thousand men--Exeter, Bristol, and other towns throwing open their gates to welcome the Prince of Orange. The French, on the momentous occasion of the visit of Admiral Tourville to the English coast during the reign of James II., found Tor Bay a safe place for their fleet to anchor, and William of Orange, probably having heard of this, chose the same portion of the Devons.h.i.+re seaboard. The exact spot on which the Dutch prince first placed his foot on sh.o.r.e is marked by a bra.s.s footprint, and close by stands the statue of England's third William, overlooking the quaint quay, the brown-sailed fis.h.i.+ng-boats, and the old-world village.

Brixham is just such another town as Newlyn or Port Isaac, for its streets are narrow and winding, and there are flights of stone steps here and there which add considerably to the picturesqueness of the place.

Brixham can easily be visited at the same time as Dartmouth, which is dealt with on another page. Totnes can also be reached by taking the train to Paignton, whence run two omnibuses at various intervals throughout the day. It is a delightful drive, occupying less than an hour. Totnes has a very quaint little main street which rises steeply from the bridge over the Dart. Near the highest portion the roadway is crossed by one of the old gateways of the town. This feature and the many quaint gabled houses give a charm to the place, making it attractive to all who love old architecture. Fragments of the old walls, a second gateway, and the sh.e.l.l of the castle, which is possibly pre-Norman, are also in existence.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._

BRIXHAM HARBOUR.

Showing the statue of William of Orange on the spot where he landed in 1688.]

CONWAY CASTLE

=How to get there.=--From Euston Station. L. and N.W. Railway.

=Nearest Station.=--Conway.

=Distance from London.=--225 miles.

=Average Time.=--6-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 35s. 9d. 20s. 7d. 18s. 8d.

Return 65s. 0d. 36s. 6d. 33s. 0d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Castle Hotel," "Erskine Arms,"

"Bridge Hotel," "Harp Hotel," "Aberconway Temperance Hotel" (old house containing coffee-room dated 1400), and others.

=Alternative Route.=--Train from Paddington, _via_ Chester. Great Western Railway.

The castle at Conway is one of the n.o.blest fortresses in the kingdom, the only one to approach it in size being the famous building at Carnarvon. The present town of Conway has gradually sprung up round the castle, built by Edward I. in 1284 to intimidate the Welsh. It was unsuccessfully besieged by them in 1290. At the commencement of the Parliamentarian War, the castle was garrisoned for the King by Williams, Archbishop of York, but was taken by Mytton in 1646. The building was comparatively unhurt during the war, but the lead and timber were removed at the Restoration by Lord Conway, who dismantled the beautiful fortress in a most barbarous manner, and the edifice was allowed to fall more or less into decay.

The castle stands on the verge of a precipitous rock on the south-east of the town, one side bounded by the river, a second by a tidal creek; the other frontages overlook the town. It const.i.tutes part of the walls of Conway, which, with the castle, form the finest examples extant of thirteenth-century military fortification. The castle itself was a perfect specimen of a fortress, with walls of enormous thickness, flanked by eight huge embattled towers. There are some traces still remaining of the royal features of "Queen Eleanor's Oratory."

Near the Castle Hotel, in a side street, stands _Plas Mawe_, the "Great House," a rich example of domestic Elizabethan architecture, built in 1585 by Robert Wynn of Gwydir. The rooms contain much oak panelling and carving. A charge of 6d. is made for admission to the house.

Conway has a station of its own within the walls of the town, but the visitor will do well to get out at Llandudno Junction, where a walk of a few hundred yards leads to the famous Suspension Bridge, designed by Telford in 1826.

The charge for admission to the castle is 3d.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._

CONWAY CASTLE.

It is one of the finest of the ruined castles England possesses. The suspension bridge was designed by Telford in 1826.]

THE DOONE VALLEY, EXMOOR

a.s.sOCIATED WITH "LORNA DOONE"

=How to get there.=--Train from Waterloo _via_ Barnstaple. L. and S.W. Railway.

=Nearest Station.=--Lynton (about 6 miles distant).

=Distance from London.=--225 miles.

=Average Time.=--7 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 37s. 10d. 24s. 0d. 18s. 10-1/2d.

Return 65s. 6d. 42s. 0d. 37s. 9d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--Lynton--"The Tors Hotel," "Valley of Rocks," "Royal Castle," "Kensington," "Crown," "Globe,"

etc. Minehead--"Metropole," "Beach," "Plume of Feathers,"

etc. Porlock--"The s.h.i.+p," "The Castle," etc.

=Alternative Route.=--Train from Paddington to Minehead, Great Western Rly. By coach from Minehead _via_ Porlock, 12 miles.

Every one who has read the late Mr. R.D. Blackmore's _Lorna Doone_ has a keen interest in what is frequently called the Doone Country. This comprises the north-west corner of Exmoor, bordering on the boundaries of Devons.h.i.+re. But those who visit the little village of Oare and Badgworthy Water must not expect to see all that the novelist's imagination conjured up. Nevertheless, though some have been disappointed, there is much to be seen which is of interest. The church at Oare, for instance, is closely a.s.sociated with John Ridd and Lorna, and the Snowe family, mentioned by the novelist, are commemorated in the church. Then, too, the feats of a "Great John Ridd" are obscurely traditional in the district.

The Doone valley, with Badgworthy (p.r.o.nounced _Badgery_) Water running through it, is about half-an-hour's walk from Malmsmead Bridge, which is close to the village of Oare. Keeping up the course of the stream one reaches a wood of oaks, and near it one finds a tributary of the brook falling down a series of miniature cascades. This is the "water slide"

up which Blackmore took his hero on the occasion of his first meeting with Lorna Doone. If one crosses a bridge near this the path will be found to continue for about a mile. At this distance one turns to the right by another stream, and enters a combe containing the ruins of the Doone Houses as they are called. A lonely cottage looks down upon all that is to be seen of the famous stronghold of the Doones. The narrow approach to the place never existed outside the pages of the romance.

The scenery of this portion of Exmoor is exceedingly wild.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._

THE DOONE VALLEY, EXMOOR.

a.s.sociated with Blackmore's _Lorna Doone_.]

LLANDOVERY, SOUTH WALES

A CENTRE FOR THE FINE SCENERY OF THE DISTRICT

=How to get there.=--Train from Euston. L. and N.W. Railway.

=Nearest Station.=--Llandovery.

=Distance from London.=--228 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 6-3/4 to 8-1/2 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 33s. 11d. 21s. 1d. 16s. 10d.

Return 58s. 9d. 37s. 0d. 33s. 8d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Castle Hotel," etc.

=Alternative Route.=--Train from Paddington. Great Western Rly.

The town of Llandovery, chiefly interesting by reason of the interesting and picturesque excursions in its vicinity, is situate in the county of Carmarthens.h.i.+re, 24 miles north-east of Carmarthen. The town stands on the river Bran, near its junction with the Towy, in a beautiful valley, surrounded by wooded hills. Besides these two rivers, some smaller streams join in the neighbourhood, and from this fact comes the name of the place, a corruption of the Welsh _Llan ym Ddy fri_, or Church among the Waters.

There are two churches of some interest, the more important being the one in the main street, where the famous Rhys Pritchard was vicar in 1602. The other church stands on higher ground to the north of the town, on the site of the old Roman station.