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- Pleasure and Peril in Snowdonia - Barmouth and the 1894 Boating Tragedy
- ISBN: 9781845243081
- Paula Burnett
- Publication: June 2021
- Format: Paperback, 150x155 mm, 110 pages
A record of the perils of adventures in Snowdonia, as portrayed in the story of a rowing tragedy on the Mawddach estuary in 1894.
Further Information:
When a group of idealistic and hopeful young people on a reading holiday in Barmouth set out on a boating excursion upriver in the early evening of 1 August 1894 they can have had no idea of the tragedy that would unfold, nor did the experienced boatmen in charge of two of the three boats anticipate the risks that lay ahead, though they might have done. Worsening wind and gathering darkness combined to produce a dire outcome, as ten of those who set out did not return.
Now a century and a quarter later, what happened and why, who those people were and where they came from, is examined in poignant detail for the first time, in an illustrated account drawing on new research, witness accounts and inquest evidence. An intensely human story emerges.
For more than two hundred years the waters and mountains of north Wales have drawn visitors not just to their beauties but to outdoor activities. From the beginning, boating up the estuary from Barmouth was a 'must' particularly as the evening light caught the surrounding mountains dominated by Cadair Idris. Snowdonia now offers new thrills such as zip wires and surfing alongside more traditional pursuits, but the 1894 story from Barmouth, here set against the resort's image the 'brand' as it developed for tourist s over the preceding century, and against the present challenge of keeping people safe without spoiling their fun, gives us food for thought today.