About a mile further on, Bodryddan, the ancient seat of the Conwys, and formerly the residence of Dr. Shipley, Dean of St. Asaph, but now occupied by William Shipley Conwy, Esq.

RHYL

Is situated at the extremity of the Vale of Clwyd. It commands a fine view of the Irish Channel. The seats near include Pengwern (Lord Mostyn), Bodelwyddan (Sir John Hay Williams, Bart.), Kimmel Park (Lord Dinorben), and Gwrych Castle (L. B. Hesketh, Esq.) Three miles on the left of the station are the ancient borough town of Rhuddlan and the ruins of the renowned fortress of that name.

ABERGELE

Is the name of the station next approached, and is within a mile and a half of the town. Further on is the village of Llandûlas, where the cuttings begin to be very heavy, and continue till they terminate in Penmaen Rhos Tunnel, which is 1629 feet long, cut through hard limestone rock. Penmaen Rhos is the promontory jutting out into the sea, and is celebrated as the spot where Richard II. was treacherously inveigled by the duplicity of the Earl of Northumberland, who went to Conway to meet Richard, under the pretence of arranging matters between him and his rival to the throne, the Duke of Lancaster. The king was made prisoner in Flint Castle. The village of Colwyn, on the left after leaving the tunnel, and further up the valley, on the same side, the village of Llanelian. On reaching the station at Conway a prospect of surpassing interest and beauty stretches before the eye. The riches of nature are distributed in every direction with a prodigal hand, and there are in addition innumerable objects of interest which have been added to the scene by man. Amongst these are the Castle, Telford's Suspension Bridge, the Tubular Bridge, the remains of the ancient wall, &c., which are all described under their proper heads. An ancient abbey formerly stood here, but of this there is now no trace. On the Denbighshire side of the river Conway may be seen the small remains of Diganwy, or Gannock Castle.

From Conway the railway again skirts the sea shore, until it re-enters the bowels of the earth at Penmaen Bach Tunnel, which is

630 yards long. Shortly after emerging from this another tunnel is passed through, called Penmaen Mawr, which is only, however, 220 yards in length. The parish of Llanfair Vechan, where corn ripens three weeks earlier than in any other part of Wales, and the pretty village of Aber being passed, Penrhyn Castle soon appears in sight. It is a princely mansion, and is the residence of the Hon. Colonel Douglas Pennant. It was the residence of Roderic Molwynog in 720, and of several succeeding princes of Wales, from whom the Pennant family claim their descent.

The line is carried over the Ogwen river and valley by two extensive viaducts, consisting of twenty-four arches of masonry and centre arches. They are 35 feet in height, and the foundations of the buttresses of the arches are laid 35 feet in depth. Immediately after occurs the tunnel cut through the Llandegai hills. It is 440 yards long, and is arched over with brick. The viaduct over the valley and river Cegid, 200 yards long, and supported by nine arches, 62 feet above the level of the stream, brings the traveller near to

BANGOR.

THE tunnel to be passed before the city and station are reached is cut through the Bangor mountains, at a depth of from 160 to 200

yards, and is nearly 1000 yards in length. The work was one of immense difficulty, this range of mountains consisting, to the summit, of solid rock of the hardest description. Bangor is the largest and most

important station on the Chester and Holyhead line.

The length of the structure is 137 feet, and of the platform 260 feet. It stands on an eminence, and commands a fine view of the town, the Menai Suspension Bridge, the Irish Channel, Priestholme, or Puffin's Island. The entrances to the tunnel here are worthy of notice. They are in the massive Egyptian style. Immediately on leaving the station the train enters the Belmont tunnel (through the Caernarvon mountains, 726 feet long), which brings it in sight of the great Britannia Tubular Bridge, over the Straits of Menai. We have so fully described the history and the details of this wonderful work of art in the body of the work, that it is unnecessary to enlarge on the subject here.

Is the first station reached in the island of Anglesey. The Marquis of Anglesey's Column, erected in 1816, to commemorate his military services, may be seen from here. Near

GAERWEN,

On the left, is Tre'r Dryw, the ancient habitation of the Archdruid, and the pious seat of his domestics. Mr. Pennant found here some of the mutilated remains. This, and the adjacent parishes, abound with the relics of the consecrated groves, and the whole may be regarded

as classic ground. Passing through deep cuttings, and over the Malltraeth Viaduct, of nineteen arches (which crosses the tidal river Cefni), the line enters the Trefdraeth Tunnel, which is 550 yards long, and a few miles further we arrive at the station of

BODORGAN,

The nearest station for visitors to Llangefni, Llanerchymedd, Amlwch, and the Parys mountain. The rest of the line lies through ordinary embankments and tunnels; passing, however, many objects of interest on either side. One is the ancient, but neglected, town of Aberffraw, formerly a royal rendezvous of the Princes of Wales, where Llywelyn once held his councils. The Stanley embankment may be seen parallel with the line for some distance. It crosses the sea, and shortens the distance between Bangor and Holyhead two miles. It cost the Government £60,000.

TY CROES

Station, the last on the line, being passed, the traveller arrives at length at the termination of his railway trip in the ancient town and port of

HOLYHEAD,

Copious details of which place, with the harbour, packet-station, &c., will be found in subsequent pages.

THE SHREWSBURY AND CHESTER LINE.

THE tourist, starting from Chester for a trip by this line of railway, passes first by the Brewer's Hall Hill, from an elevated position on which the cannon of Oliver Cromwell bombarded the ancient City of Chester, and at a distance of about two miles arrives at

SALTNEY,

The first station at which the train stops. The extensive establishments seen on the right, immediately on passing the Saltney station,

are where the railway carriages are manufactured and repaired by the Company.

PULFORD

Is a small village, three miles and a half distant from Saltney, and a mile from Eaton Hall, the seat of the Marquis of Westminster. Another mile and a half brings the traveller to

ROSSETT,

In the immediate neighbourhood of which some objects of interest may be seen. Trevallyn Hall, built by Sir John Trevor, is a fine Elizabethan structure on the left; and on Mount Alyn, on the right, is the house of the late Colonel Maxwell Goodwin. The site takes its name from the river Alyn, on the banks of which Germanus and Lupus, the great opponents of the Arian heresy, obtained their miraculous Hallelujah Victory, in the fifth century. A British encampment may be perceived on the Rofts, a high hill near. The height of the cutting through which the railway here passes is 150 feet.

GRESFORD

Is a village pleasantly situated on an eminence in the picturesque vale to which it gives its name. The Church, which is conspicuous, is a very handsome structure, its fine Gothic Tower and bells being reckoned one of the seven wonders of Wales. The Lodge, a stone mansion opposite the station, is the residence of Sir Henry Johnson, Bart.

WREXHAM

Is the next station, and is twelve miles from Chester. It is a large and important town, and the residences of the numerous gentry who have settled here may be seen studding the beautiful country around. The town has been more fully described elsewhere. Proceeding onward towards Rhuabon, the bridge and embankment of Velin Bilston, the Bersham iron works, once in the occupation of the well-known John Wilkinson; and Erddig, the mansion and grounds of the late P. Yorke, Esq., the ingenious author of the "Royal Tribes of Wales," are successively passed.