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Published: June 19th 2017
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There is nothing worse than being woken with a trunk in the eye, quickly followed by a paw! Woolly says – I slipped, what can I say! It did however do the trick and meant that we could set of for the days adventures. A few miles and a tight squeeze into a parking space and I left the women faffing round with money for a ticket and trotted though the bunting hung high street of Llangollen. A small town of some 3000 people it is best known for hosting the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod every July, I knew that Jo wouldn’t being able to resist mentioning the Bairds in the family again and hoped to keep that conversation for while I was napping. The town takes its name from its founding Saint, Collen, a seventh century saint, and was established in the 7th Century when St Collen was instructed to find a valley by riding a horse for one day and then stop and mark out a "parish" a place to build his hermitage or cell in the custom of the times, and from this humble beginnings Llangollen grew. The town became important because of its prominent position on the main London to Holyhead coaching road which was improved by Thomas Telford from 1815 for around 15 years. The Canal was also constructed around this and combined to bring considerable immigration into Llangollen during the early part of the 19th century. Just as I reached the bridge the slow coaches finally caught up with me.
The Dee Bridge was built by Bishop Trevor of Trevor Hall in I345 and was widened in the 1960’s to accommodate modern traffic. With its international flags flying above it and the almost castle look that it has, the river flowing below made for some beautiful pictures. Woolly says – Having carried out my super star posing role I could feel my tummy gurgle and suggested that some food might be in order. No argument seemed to arise and the convenient Dee Side Café was happy to seat us and present us with gigantic plates of piping hot food, which might take even me a while to consume. We did our best but the mammoth couldn’t manage everything on his plate and having attempted to remove the debris from his fur we headed towards the railway station.
Woolly says – The world of steam awaited me and I knew that Jo was equally excited although Zoe professed to be less than bothered she still managed an enthusiastic woo woo. With our tickets purchased for the next trip we had a couple of hours to kill, I looked at Jo for inspiration and for once she didn’t let me down. A fifteen minute walk from the centre of town led us uphill and into the grounds of the very splendid Plas Newydd. Stunning, seemed to be the right word to describe the black and white gothic house that was home to the Ladies of Llangollen, Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby, from 1780 to 1829. The story goes that they ran away together and set up home in Llangollen where they became famous throughout the country and entertained many from Regency Society. They initially devoted themselves to restoring Plas Newydd and installing gothic wood panels in every room. After a couple of years, their life attracted the interest of the outside world. Their house became a haven for visitors, mostly writers such as Anne Lister, Robert Southey, William Wordsworth, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott, but also the military leader the Duke of Wellington and the industrialist Josiah Wedgwood were frequent callers.
Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take photo’s inside the house itself which was such a shame as it was truly something to share. Woolly says – Entering the hallway I was surrounded by black wood which had been beautifully carved into animals, faces and flowers. The stairs leading upwards gave more and more intricate details in the panelling. The first bedroom and that of the Ladies contained a lovely four poster which looked snug and just the right size for me, like many beds of the time it shows very simply how much shorter people were then, nearly as short as Jo! The library displayed acres of books in leather covers and crockery which they had used to provide tea for their visitors. A small but still incredible staircase led up to what had once been the servant’s quarters with its sloping ceilings and stained glass windows. The ground floor proved to be equally grandiose with the lovely kitchen and dining room with the carved fireplaces and wall panels. It was certainly a house to be proud of.
The gardens were wonderful as well, we admired the small stream and wild flowers as the small furry one debated if a topiary hedge in his likeness would have finished the splendour off completely. Woolly says – It’s certainly something for the trustee’s to consider for the future! Having checked the time, I set a fast pace as I trotted back into the town and onto the most exciting part of the day for me. Opened in 1862 it was possible to catch the train at Llangollen Station and travel to London without a single change! The railway closed to passenger traffic in 1965, and to goods in 1968 and over the next seven years nature took over and closed in on the buildings and track bed . A group was formed to renovate and reopen part of the line in September 1975, with just 60 feet of track which has now grown some 7½ miles. We arrived just as the tender was chugging into place and as I secured my seat in the window I could barely stop the engine noises coming out of me, Jo seemed to have thought of that and promptly handed me a lollipop which make woo wooing rather difficult.
Our moment of peace was shattered as the ticket collector arrived and fell into conversation with our small companion, Zoe and I looked at each other as they both started making train sounds! Woolly says – As the engine tooted we pulled away from the station and the delights of the River Dee started to pass by, the scenery was lovely and my new friend kept popping back to tell me about the different stops we were making and giving me new train noises to try out, what a bloke. The outward journey passed so quickly and before I knew it I had consumed a rather sparkly angel cake and we were heading back to Llangollen once more. I waved to the cows, sheep and people across the river and tooted happily…days just don’t get better than this!
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Looks lovely
Nice