living person that crossed it. Robin Ddu or Black Robin the Magician, or more correctly Robin Ddu ap Siencyn Bledrydd of Anglesey, lived circa 1450. He was a poet and sometimes known as a prophetic poet, and about ninety of his pieces are still preserved on manuscripts. It would appear that Robin also pretended to be a sorcerer or wizard and he appears in many Welsh tales. Railway tunnel In the later 19th century, with the coming of the Cambrian Railways, numerous schemes were proposed for the construction of a railway to Beddgelert. Some were started and there are several examples of abandoned railway works in the past. One scheme eventually succeeded and the Welsh Highland Railway was opened in 1922 from Dinas near Caernarfon to Porthmadog. The railway was closed in 1937 and the rails requisitioned and removed for War Department use in 1941. The trackbed remained in the ownership of the receiver of the company, and an iron girder bridge was left. Since then, the railway trackbed and its three tunnels had become a very popular path for walking and hiking. The longest tunnel was first built in 1906 but was not used by rail until 1922. Before the Cob was built, the Glaslyn estuary was tidal as far as Pont Aberglaslyn and the fisherman's path through the pass was used as a route to the coast. It gradually fell out of use and through erosion by the river, became impassable. In 1995 and 1996, controversy ensued, as the Ffestiniog Railway was seeking to take ownership of the trackbed to rebuild the Welsh Highland Railway. Walkers and environmentalists claimed that an important footpath would be lost. However, having no real argument (given that the fisherman's path was still alongside the railway owned trackbed), they claimed that owing to danger from falling rocks the pass would be unsafe for trains. In order to meet these objections and fears, civil engineering consultants produced plans for remedial works to overhanging rock, retaining walls and paths and this work was done by local expert contractors. In the Autumn of 2000, the Welsh Highland Railway closed the trackbed to walkers in order to prepare for the rebuilding of the railway. The railway company, along with the National Trust, which owns the surrounding land, worked to rebuild the fisherman's path for use again. In 2003, after some delay, a new footbridge was built across