llanblogger celebrates 10th anniversary ... and millions of hits

Today llanblogger is celebrating its 10^th birthday.

And as founder and editor I would like to say thanks a million to all our readers for their support – or, to be more accurate, over 2.7 million because that’s the total number of hits which Llangollen’s own news blog has attracted since it was first published – free of charge - on July 9, 2012.

Our opening story was about the canal being blocked by a fallen tree and since that humble beginning, which was seen by just a few score of people, readership has grown to an army of regulars who make around 30,000 visits to the site every month.

Over the past decade llanblogger, with a total of over 7,000 stories, has covered everything from tragedies such as fatal fires and road accidents to key developments like the opening of our local superstores and the re-shaping of the town centre.

Another regular on the blog has been our local heritage railway, particularly its recent and incredible fightback from the double-blow of receivership and the pandemic.  

The blog has also been delighted to publish news from the Eisteddfod and regular reviews of local stage shows.

More seriously, llanblogger prided itself on the way it gave daily in-depth coverage to the pandemic, publishing an average of half a dozen stories on the topic every day for weeks on end.

There have also been political stories from how the workings of the town and county councils and of our MPs and Senedd Members affect local people to coverage of a couple of General Elections.

All these stories attract large numbers of hits on the blog but what attract the largest readership are stories about ordinary local people often doing extraordinary things.

Along the way, the blog has won its fair share of praise and its high-point came in 2019 when we were delighted to be presented with a Mayor’s Civic Award for our efforts on behalf of the community.  

After passing the 10-year milestone we intend to keep on bringing you the news of views of Llangollen and its people.

So llanblogger would be delighted if you’d keep on reading as we enter our second decade.        

Thanks again,

Phil Robinson