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Llangollen

This stone-built town fringed by mountains and with the River Dee at its heart, has become one of the foremost centres of culture in Wales: And not just Welsh culture. Visitors from all over the world pour into this small town of just 3000 permanent residents for the annual International Musical Eisteddfod, which has been held here since 1947. For six days every July, musicians, choirs, folk singers and dancers from all over the world, many performing in their national costumes, converge on the town. The festivities are centred around the Royal Pavilion with between 2000 and 5000 competitors taking part. Total audiences of around 120,000 people are not unknown. Dylan Thomas visited and wrote about the Eisteddfod, and Luciano Pavarotti, Tiri Te Kanawa and Placido Domingo have all taken part. This event should not be confused with the National Eisteddfod, the annual Welsh language cultural festival whose venue alternates between the north and south of the country.

The first recorded eisteddfod was held at Cardigan Castle in 1176, and the modern eisteddfod began as a competition between bards at the Owain Glyndwr hotel in Corwen in 1789; it became a truly national event at Llangollen in 1858, when thousands of people came to the town from all over the country. Music, prose, drama and art are included in the festival, which culminates in the chairing and investiture of the winning poet.

Throughout the rest of the year there are many other attractions in Llangollen to keep visitors entertained. The International Model Railway World is the planet’s largest permanent exhibition of model railways. The Llangollen Motor Museum (see panel below) features more than 60 cars, motor bikes and even pedal cars from the earliest days of motoring to the present day. Visitors young and old will find the Dapol Toy Factory, (where many of the models for the other two exhibitions are made), a fascinating place to wander around. And the Royal Pavilion also hosts a Gardening Show, a Motorcycle Show, a Food Festival and a monthly antiques and collectables fair.

Also worth a visit is the Parish Church of St Collen, most of which is built in the Perpendicular style, though there is an Early English doorway. It is, like many churches in this part of Wales, double-naved, and its chief glories are the two late-medieval roofs.

Back in the town centre and spanning the River Dee is the eye-catching Llangollen Bridge dating from 1347 and originally constructed by John Trevor, who went on to become the Bishop of St Asaph. One of the Seven Wonders of Wales, this four-arched bridge has been rebuilt and widened in places over the years and is still used by today’s traffic. The Canoe Centre and International Canoe Course is on the banks of the Dee, to the west of the bridge. The river is used for slalom competitions, which are held in the winter months. Visitors can also take part in canoeing. On the north side of the river is Llangollen Station, home of the Llangollen Railway Society. Since taking over the disused line in 1975, the Society has restored 7½ miles of the railway track and journeys along the banks of the River Dee can be taken on this delightful steam railway. The station houses a museum with a collection of engines, coaches and rail memorabilia.

From Llangollen Wharf pleasure cruises along the Llangollen Canal have taken place since 1884. Some trips are horse-drawn, while others cross the astonishing Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in the narrow boat Thomas Telford whose name pays homage to the architect of this soaring structure. Nineteen massive pillars, 116 feet high, support the large cast iron trough, which is 11ft 10in wide and 1007 feet long. Those with a good head for heights can walk along the towpath where a lip only a few inches high stands between the walker and the river. Opened in 1805, the viaduct is now designated as a World Heritage Site. Although the remains of the Iron Age hill fort, Castell Dinas Bran, are not extensive, the climb is well worth the effort as the view over the town and the Vale of Llangollen is quite breathtaking. World’s End, on the north side of the town, has been known by that name for centuries and offers woodland walks plus a link with the past, as it is supposed to have associations with King Arthur. One of its peaks is called Craig Arthur, and Guinevere was supposed to have been held captive here when she was kidnapped.

In the early 19th century, Llangollen became famous as the home for 50 years of the Ladies of Llangollen, Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby. These two eccentric Irish women ran away from their families in Ireland and set up home together in 1780 in a cottage above the town. As well as devoting their lives to “friendship, celibacy and the knitting of blue stockings”, the ladies also undertook a great deal of improvements and alterations that turned a small, unpretentious cottage into the splendid house – Plas Newydd – seen today. The marvellous ‘gothicisation’ of the house was completed in 1814 and some of the elaborate oak panels and the glorious stained glass windows were donated to the couple by their famous visitors who included Sir Walter Scott, William Wordsworth, the Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Wellington. The ladies were both buried in the churchyard of St Collen, sharing a grave with their friend and housekeeper Mary Caryll. Inside the church is a monument put up in 1937 at the expense of the ladies’ biographer, the feminist Mary Gordon. The models for the two relief portraits were Mary Gordon and the sculptor Violet Labouchere.

Although, after their deaths, some of the ladies’ displays were dispersed, the work on the house was continued by another owner, General Yorke, and Plas Newydd is well worth visiting. A small museum contains relics of the Battle of Waterloo. The gardens are attractive and, while the formal layout to the front of the house was created after the ladies had died and the terraces have been altered since they lived here, they still reflect the peace and quiet the couple were seeking, as well as containing more interesting curios from those early Regency days.

The main route north out of Llangollen passes the impressive ruins of Valle Crucis Abbey. Situated in green fields and overshadowed by the surrounding steep-sided mountains, this was an ideal place for a remote ecclesiastical house, the perfect spot for Cistercians, medieval monks who always sought out lonely, secluded places. This abbey was founded in 1201 by Madog ap Gruffyd, the Prince of Powys, and was a very suitable location for the monks of this austere order. Despite a fire, the tower collapsing and the Dissolution in 1535, the ruins are in good condition and visitors can gain a real feel for how the monks lived and worked here. Notable surviving original features include the west front with its richly carved doorway and rose window, the east end of the abbey and the chapter house with its superb fan-vaulted roof. Also to be seen are some mutilated tombs, which are thought to include that of Iolo Goch (lolo the Red), who between 1320-1398 was a bard of Owain Glyndwr. Valle Crucis means Valley of the Cross and refers to Eliseg’s Pillar, which stands about half a mile from the abbey and was erected in the early 9th century. The inscription on this Christian memorial cross is now badly weather-beaten, but fortunately a record was made in 1696 of the words. It was erected in memory of Eliseg, who annexed Powys from the Saxons, by his great-grandson Concenn. The pillar was broken by Cromwell’s men and not re-erected until the 18th century.

A little further northward along this road stretches the spectacular Horseshoe Pass, which affords some remarkable views. From the top of the pass can be seen the Vale of Clwyd and the ridge of Eglwyseg Rocks where Offa’s Dyke path runs.