en by brilliantly coloured creepers; bold crags, high above the
valley, give place to bright green sheep pastures, they in turn changing
to thick woods of oak and ash.

Llangollen Bridge, across which runs the chief thoroughfare, is one of
the so-called "wonders of Wales." It was built in 1346 by John Trevor,
afterwards Bishop of St. Asaph, and was the first stone bridge in Wales.
It is borne by five stone arches, and beneath them rushes the fine river
Dee. The church is dedicated to St. Collen, but is of no particular
interest. In the churchyard is a monument to the two fashionable ladies
who at an early age tired of the vanities of this world, and lived in
complete seclusion at Plas Newydd, a house just beyond the village,
famed for its old oak.

Valle Crucis Abbey, which can be reached either by walking along the
canal from Llangollen, or by train to Berwyn, lies in a beautiful wooded
valley surrounded by some of the best scenery in the neighbourhood of
Llangollen. A little to the east, a very picturesque view of the ruins,
which are the finest of their kind in Wales, may be obtained over a
quiet pool of water. The abbey was founded in the thirteenth century by
Madoc-ap-Gryffydd Moelor, who was a supporter of Llewelyn in the cause
of Welsh independence. The buildings are in Early English style, and
some of the finest remains are a circular gable window and three
decorated Gothic ones, also part of the west end with dog-tooth
moulding, and a piscina and canopy in the south transept. Stretching at
right angles from the south side of the church are the old monastic
buildings.

[Illustration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._

VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY.

The ruins of the Church. The monastic buildings are on the south side.]

KNARESBOROUGH, DRIPPING WELL

=How to get there.=--Train from King's Cross. Great Northern Rly.
=Nearest Station.=--Knaresborough.
=Distance from London.=--204 miles.
=Average Time.=--Varies between 5 to 7 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 28s. 5d. ... 17s. 0-1/2d.
Return 56s. 10d. ... 34s. 1d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Commercial Hotel," "Crown Hotel,"
etc.

Knaresborough, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, is a town of great
interest and antiquity, and occupies part of the site of an ancient
forest which was 20 miles in length. It was a crown manor before the
Conquest, and was given by William the Conqueror to Serlo de Burgh, a
Norman