astle, a village in the valley of the Usk; Ystradffyn, near which a
splendid panorama of the valley of the Towy is obtained; and Pumpsaint,
a romantic village with a gold-mine near at hand.

[Illustration: _H.F. Dann._

LLANDOVERY CASTLE.

It was built in the twelfth century, and dismantled by Cromwell's
orders.]

DARTMOUTH, DEVON

=How to get there.=--From Paddington. Great Western Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Dartmouth (by steam ferry from Kingswear).
=Distance from London.=--229 miles.
=Average Time.=--Varies between 5-1/2 to 7 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 34s. 6d. 21s. 6d. 17d. 3d.
Return 60s. 3d. 37s. 10d. ...

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Royal Castle Hotel," "Raleigh
Hotel," etc.
=Alternative Route.=--None.

There is scarcely a more romantic spot in the whole of England than
Dartmouth. Spread out on one of the steep slopes of the Dart, it
overlooks the deep-set river towards the sea and inland towards Totnes.
Steep wooded banks rising out of the water's edge give the windings of
the estuary the feeling of solemn mystery which is not obtainable from
meadows or ploughlands. In the midst of scenery of this character--and
it must have been richer still a few centuries back--the inhabitants of
Dartmouth made history.

Perhaps the earliest mention of Dartmouth is by Chaucer. Among his
Canterbury Pilgrims he says:--

A schipman was ther, wonyng fer by weste;
For ought I wost, he was of Dertemouthe.

Whether this particular "schipman" was given over to piracy it is not
possible to say, but the nature of their splendid harbour, which they
protected with a great chain drawn across the narrow outlet to the sea,
led the Dartmouth men into a trade which to-day goes by that name. Thus
in the days of Queen Elizabeth, and even in more recent times, these
lusty sailors gained a livelihood by periodical harryings of the
opposite coast of Brittany, suffering in the chances of such warfare the
disadvantages of sudden incursions of the Bretons, which, despite the
chain and the two little castles at the mouth of the inlet, were
sometimes so successful that when the Frenchmen retired there were a
good many heaps of smoking ashes where comfortable homes had stood.
Despite the varied turns of fortune's wheel, there are still many fine
old gabled houses in Dartmouth, with overhanging upper stories rich in
carved oak.

The church of St. Saviour co