a quagmire, and the occupants, having extricated themselves from
their perilous situation, performed the rest of their journey on

foot.
The first step taken was to improve the landing-places on both the

Irish and Welsh sides of St. George's Channel, and for this purpose
Mr. Rennie was employed in 1801. The result was, that Howth on the

one coast, and Holyhead on the other, were fixed upon as the most
eligible sites for packet stations. Improvements, however,

proceeded slowly, and it was not until 1810 that a sum of 10,000L.
was granted by Parliament to enable the necessary works to be

begun. Attention was then turned to the state of the roads,
and here Mr. Telford's services were called into requisition.

As early as 1808 it had been determined by the Post-Office authorities
to put on a mail-coach between Shrewsbury and Holyhead; but it was

pointed out that the roads in North Wales were so rough and
dangerous that it was doubtful whether the service could be

conducted with safety. Attempts were made to enforce the law with
reference to their repair, and no less than twenty-one townships

were indicted by the Postmaster-General. The route was found too
perilous even for a riding post, the legs of three horses having

been broken in one week.*[4] The road across Anglesea was quite as
bad. Sir Henry Parnell mentioned, in 1819, that the coach had been

overturned beyond Gwynder, going down one of the hills, when a
friend of his was thrown a considerable distance from the roof into

a pool of water. Near the post-office of Gwynder, the coachman had
been thrown from his seat by a violent jolt, and broken his leg.

The post-coach, and also the mail, had been overturned at the
bottom of Penmyndd Hill; and the route was so dangerous that the

London coachmen, who had been brought down to "work" the country,
refused to continue the duty because of its excessive dangers.

Of course, anything like a regular mail-service through such a
district was altogether impracticable.

The indictments of the townships proved of no use; the localities
were too poor to provide the means required to construct a line of

road sufficient for the conveyance of mails and passengers between
England and Ireland. The work was really a national one, to be

carried out at the national cost. How was this best to be done?
Telford recommended that the old road between Shrewsbury and

Holyhead (109 miles long) should be shortened by about four miles,
and made as nearly as possible on a level; the new line proceeding

from Shrewsbury by Llangollen, Corwen, Bettws-y-Coed, Capel-Curig,
and Bangor, to Holyhead. Mr. Telford also proposed to cross the

Menai Strait by means of a cast iron bridge, hereafter to be
described.

Although a complete survey was made in 1811, nothing was done for
several years. The mail-coaches continued to be overturned, and

stage-coaches, in the tourist season, to break down as before.*[5]
The Irish mail-coach took forty one hours to reach Holyhead from

the time of its setting out from St. Martin's-le-Grand; the journey
was performed at the rate of only 6 3/4 miles an hour, the mail

arriving in Dublin on the third day. The Irish members made many
complaints of the delay and dangers to which they were exposed in

travelling up to town. But, although there was much discussion, no
money was voted until the year 1815, when Sir Henry Parnell

vigorously took the question in hand and successfully carried it
through. A Board of Parliamentary Commissioners was appointed, of

which he was chairman, and, under their direction, the new
Shrewsbury and Holyhead road was at length commenced and carried to

completion, the works extending over a period of about fifteen years.
The same Commissioners excrcised an authority over the roads

between London and Shrewsbury; and numerous improvements were also
made in the main line at various points, with the object of

facilitating communication between London and Liverpool as well as
between London and Dublin.

The rugged nature of the country through which the new road passed,
along the slopes of rocky precipices and across inlets of the sea,

rendered it necessary to build many bridges, to form many
embankments, and cut away long stretches of rock, in order to

secure an easy and commodious route. The line of the valley of the
Dee, to the west of Llangollen, was selected, the road proceeding

along the scarped sides of the mountains, crossing from point to
point by lofty embankments where necessary; and, taking into

account the character of the country, it must be acknowledged that
a wonderfully level road was secured. While the gradients on the

old road had in some cases been as steep as 1 in 6 1/2, passing
along the edge of unprotected precipices, the new one was so laid

out as to be no more than 1 in 20 at any part, while it was wide
and well protected along its whole extent. Mr. Telford pursued the

same system that he had adopted in the formation of the Carlisle
and Glasgow road, as regards metalling, cross-draining, and

fence-walling; for the latter purpose using schistus, or slate
rubble-work, instead of sandstone. The largest bridges were of

iron; that at Bettws-y-Coed, over the Conway--called the Waterloo
Bridge, constructed in 1815--being a very fine specimen of

Telford's iron bridge-work.
Those parts of the road which had been the most dangerous were

taken in hand first, and, by the year 1819, the route had been
rendered comparatively commodious and safe. Angles were cut off,

the sides of hills were blasted away, and several heavy embankments
run out across formidable arms of the sea. Thus, at Stanley Sands,

near Holyhead, an embankment was formed 1300 yards long and 16 feet
high, with a width of 34 feet at the top, along which the road was

laid. Its breadth at the base was 114 feet, and both sides were
coated with rubble stones, as a protection against storms. By the

adoption of this expedient, a mile and a half was saved in a
distance of six miles. Heavy embankments were also run out, where

bridges were thrown across chasms and ravines, to maintain the
general level. From Ty-Gwynn to Lake Ogwen, the road along the face

of the rugged hill and across the river Ogwen was entirely new
made, of a uniform width of 28 feet between the parapets, with an

inclination of only 1 in 22 in the steepest place. A bridge was
thrown over the deep chasm forming the channel of the Ogwen, the

embankment being carried forward from the rook cutting, protected
by high breastworks. From Capel-Curig to near the great waterfall

over the river Lugwy, about a mile of new road was cut; and a still
greater length from Bettws across the river Conway and along the

face of Dinas Hill to Rhyddlanfair, a distance of 3 miles; its
steepest descent being 1 in 22, diminishing to 1 in 45. By this

improvement, the most difficult and dangerous pass along the route
through North Wales was rendered safe and commodious.

[Image] Road Descent near Betws-y-Coed.
Another point of almost equal difficulty occurred near Ty-Nant,

through the rocky pass of Glynn Duffrws, where the road was
confined between steep rocks and rugged precipices: there the way

was widened and flattened by blasting, and thus reduced to the
general level; and so on eastward to Llangollen and Chirk, where

the main Shrewsbury road to London was joined.*[6]
[Image] Road above Nant Frrancon, North Wales.

By means of these admirable roads the traffic of North Wales
continues to be mainly carried on to this day. Although railways

have superseded coach-roads in the more level districts, the hilly
nature of Wales precludes their formation in that quarter to any

considerableextent; and even in the event of railways being
constructed, a large part of the traffic of every country must

necessarily continue to pass over the old high roads. Without them
even railways would be of comparatively little value; for a railway

station is of use chiefly because of its easy accessibility, and
thus, both for passengers and merchandise, the common roads of the

country are as useful as ever they were, though the main post-roads