Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-28
Pleasant Journey Along Coast
Westward From Chester.
ATLANTIC CITY OF WALES
All Glasses Go There in Summer for
Recreation. !
BICYCLE RIDING IS POPULAR
Welshmen Are Thrifty and Prolific.
Have Fine Railway Stations.
Their Hero Llewellyn.
BY WILLIAM F.. CURTIS.

By WILLIAM F. CURTIS.
special Correspondence Of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald.
CONWAY. Wales. October 81, 1908
There is a series of summer resorts
ana sea-bathing places along the north
coast OF Wales as near together as those
on the coast of New Jersey. They are al
| most in sight of one another, but there
is decided difference in the housing
or summer resorters in the two countries
AS everybody knows. We in the United
states favor light. airy frame houses
with wide piazzas, surrounded by az much
lawn and shade as possible, and standing
oack as far as may be from the road.
over here, at all the seaside resorts and
springs, in England. Scotland, Ireland and
wales, 1t Is customary to build the hotels
ana houses snugly together, as If land
were scarce and 1t were necessary to
crowd as many people as possible upon
every square foot. There is no shade,
tnere are no lawns, no wayside hedges,
until you get out of sight of town and
the houses are built in blocks without
dooryards either in front or in the rear.
Ihey are exactly like sections cut out of
the city blocks of Manchester, London or
Liverpool Nothing but bricks and as
phaltum pavements can be seen in any d.
rction within the limit of the place One
would think. with all the land there Is
to spare. that the people would spread
out little and have handsome grounds.
But there is no disposition to do any
such thing =.
Westward From Chester. -
The railway line westward from Chester
hugs the coast. 1t clings to the edge of
the water as long as it can. and makes
one of the pleasantest railway Journeys
IN the kingdom The ocean lies on one
side and mountain range, which fur
nlshes series of landscapes that have
made Wales famous rises on the other. |
occasionally this time of year after
rainstorm you can get glimpse of snow
upon the peaks, which makes the country
look like Switzerland
The hrst part of the Journey however,
gives the passenger more smoke than
scenery, for the railway is lined with iron
mills and chemical works which dis
charge much SCOT and bad smells Sew
eral OF the older resorts have been prac-
tically- ruined by such causes But II Is |
like the evolution Of the residence section
IN city, the boarding housekeepers fol- |
low closely on the heels of the retiring
mlll1onaires, and after a time they, too,
re, from the tenement house class.
The old resorts which were fashionable
many years ago are now patronzed very
largely by questionable people, "trip
pers. who come down on Ugh old days
anu oIudyS ana nave just as good a time
as IL there were no SCOT or scents in the
air.
Melancholy Castles Along the Line.
There Is melancholy line of castles
along the coast which were once the
stfongholds of the earls that ruled these
lands. Flint Castle twelve miles from
Chester. stands up on a rock between the
railway and the sea. defying the tooth of
time a bare, square ruin with four tow
ers that were built about 1875 by King
Edward l. 1t is the scene of one of
Shakespeare's plays as well as many STIR
ring events and adventures in the ca
reers of three Edwards, three Richards
and the Percy family.
Just little farther on is Basingwerke
Abbey, one Of the ugliest but most inter-
esting ruins in Wales. which was built in
the twelfth century for the Cistercian
monks in order that they might be near
st. Winifreds Well. pool of water with
miraculous powers which burst from the
ground i'm order that st. Winifred, who
lived here In the seventh century. might
slake her thirst. The abbey was built
here by Queen Margaret. mother Of Henry
VII, who was a very piOus woman. and
the springs have been visited by hundreds
OF thousands of deaf and dumb. blind, |
halt and paralyzed. many of whom have
left votive offerings to testify to the heal
ing OF the waters. Miraculous cures have
occurred as late as 1894 and 1898, and
although the we'll Ia practically deserted
and the buildings around 1t are crumbling
with age and neglect the faith OF the
Roman Catholic population has never
been shaken and they still come with de-
formed and sickly children and leading
people with rheumatism and sore eyes.
am told that many cures occur.
Queen Of Welsh Watering Places.
Liandudno is called the queen of
Welsh watering Places" and for the last
ten or twelve years has been more popu-
lar than any other. 1t Is the Atlantic City
of the north. and In several respects has
greater attractions than any other place
along the coast. 1t is situated In a semi |
circle around the shore Of bay with q
frowning promontory about 700 feet high
at either end of the crescent. These bold
headlands are called Great Orme's Head
and Little Orme's Head, and the sheet Of
water between them Is Ormes bay. |
There Is no beach. however; only a mar
row strip of sand and gravel running for
five miles along the shore. with an es-
planade-a concrete walk eighty feet
wide-following the shore the entire dis
lance. Along the edge of the water are
rows of benches, free to the public. an ex-
ample that might be initiated at Atlantic
CITY SO that those who tramp the board
walk might have a chance to sit down and
rest and watch the bathers II they desire
to do 40.