Welsh Walks and Legends

by Showell Styles

FROM THE MIRACULOUS COW OF LLYNBARFOG TO THE WHITE HART OF LLANGAR...

This is the perfect book for the visitor to Wales who wants to see the best of its varied scenery and at the same time learn something of the country's rich heritage. Showell Styles has selected the most fascinating legends of both North and South Wales, and in each case gives full details of how to explore the area on foot. Most of the walks are short and easy, suitable for taking children along - a few are longer to suit the more energetic.

Clear sketch maps show the precise whereabouts of each walk, and Ordnance Survey grid references are provided. So leave the car behind and take a walk into the past.

Genres: History, Travel, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Aka Glyn Carr

Frank Showell Styles was a Welsh writer and mountaineer.

Showell Styles was born in Four Oaks, Birmingham and was educated at Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, Sutton Coldfield. Known to his friends as 'Pip', Showell Styles' childhood was spent in the hills of North Wales where he became an avid mountaineer and explorer. During the Second World War, Styles joined the Royal Navy and was posted in the Mediterranean, but even there he walked and climbed as much as he could.

An aspiring writer, Styles already had articles published in Punch, before setting out to make his living as an author. His first novel, Traitor’s Mountain, was a murder mystery set on and around Tryfan in Wales. He became a prolific writer with over 160 books published for children as well as adults. In addition to historic naval adventure fiction such as the Midshipman Quinn and Lieutenant Michael Fitton series set during the Napoleonic Wars, and non-fiction works on mountains and such as The Mountaineer’s Weekend Book, he wrote detective fiction under the pseudonym of Glyn Carr, and humorous pieces as C.L. Inker.

For walkers visiting Snowdonia for the first time, Styles' The Mountains of North Wales is monumentally inspirational, written by a sure hand and with a firm conviction and love of these mountains.

Reviews

[Ziggy Mancini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this has given me a couple places throughout the Kingdom of Cymru that I’d like to explore, but the stories and legends themselves were definitely lacking. I guess, in hindsight it is an alright introduction to some Welsh folklore.

I’d find it hard to recommend a full read; a flick through would definitely suffice if you want to discover some nice spots.

[Chris Otto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welsh Walks and Legends is a quick read at less than 100 pages. Showell Styles' approach is to present a short piece of Welsh history or folklore and then follow it up with instructions on how to hike to and from a real-life ruin or location mentioned in the tale. As a folk-tale writer, he has a nice touch. And his hiking descriptions show an eye for detail and a love of the outdoors and Welsh history. (I suspect, however, that some of the hikes he describes aren't feasible in quite the same way, more than four decades later. Book was written in 1972. So it's more of a history book than a modern hiking guide, for sure.)

It was from this book that I discovered the story of Madoc, a Welshman who, perhaps, sailed to North America in the 12th century and had himself and his crew assimilated into Native American civilization, leading to later legends of "Welsh Indians." I also liked the tales of the church at Llangar; Afanc the relocated lake monster; the farmer who caught a fairy; the cursed village of Nant Gwrtheyrn; and the brave dog Gelert's unfortunate end.