Plas Newydd gearing up for April 1 opening

* Plas Newydd opens for the new season on April 1.

Three of Denbighshire’s popular heritage attractions are gearing up to open their doors for the 2017 season.

Plas Newydd in Llangollen, Ruthin Gaol and Nantclwyd  y Dre in Ruthin will open to the public from April 1 and have a number of exciting family-friendly events lined up over the coming months.

Ruthin Gaol and Nantclwyd y Dre have retained the Visit Wales Hidden Gem Award  for the second year running and Ruthin Gaol and Plas Newydd also got the thumbs up from TripAdvisor users, having achieved a  Certificate of Excellence following a host of positive reviews from visitors in 2016.

Final preparations are now underway to ensure the venues are looking their best for the season opening.

Denbighshire’s Heritage Service says it would like to thank all the volunteers, including pupils from Ysgol Tir Morfa in Rhyl, who have helped tend the gardens at Nantclwyd y Dre and Plas Newydd throughout the winter months.

First event of the year will take place at Plas Newydd this Saturday March 18.

The pre-season Primrose walk around the grounds with the gardener costs £3 and includes a primrose to take home.

Nantclwyd y Dre will host its first event a Beastly Bug Hunt for all the family on Monday May 8.

Ruthin Gaol hosts Captured on Camera on Thursday June 1 where visitors will have the opportunity to create their own ‘WANTED’ poster. 

In the run-up to the opening in April and to celebrate Year of Legends in Wales, the gaol is sharing stories of some of its most colourful characters via an online blog at www.ruthingaolblog.wordpress.com.

* More information about the venues and forthcoming events can be found at:

www.plasnewyddllangollen.co.uk

www.nantclwydydre.co.uk

www.ruthingaol.co.uk

Cigarette blamed for hillside blaze near Llan

A discarded cigarette has been blamed for the huge fire which ripped through a hillside near Llangollen earlier this week, reports the Leader today (Friday).

* For the full story, see: http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/173826/cigarette-to-blame-for-huge-gorse-blaze-near-llangollen.aspx

Fringe returns for 20th edition this July

Llangollen Fringe Festival will return for its 20th edition this July.

From its small beginnings back in 1998 the festival will see over 5,000 people visit the town for 11 days of music, theatre, dance, literature and more.

Starting out in a tent on a farmer’s field Llan Fringe, as it is affectionately known, has grown to encompass the entire town and over the years has gained a reputation for attracting famous and sometimes controversial names to its picturesque corner of North East Wales. 

Tracy Emin and Damien Hirst were both early guests at the Fringe, with the latter giving a workshop in ‘spin painting’ – some of the works produced have since gone on to sell for thousands at auction.

As well as numerous performances from famous bands and musicians from around the world, including Gruff Rhys, The Buzzcocks, Wilko Johnson, Cerys Matthews, Charlotte church, Yat Kha and Lee ‘Scratch' Perry (pictured), the Fringe was also one of the first events to host a performance by notorious international drug smuggler Howard Marks, as well as a photographic exhibition by the German terrorist gang member, Astrid Prohl, both creating considerable controversy at the time.

The festival has evolved quite considerably in the past 20 years.

Whilst still boasting a prestigious line up of acts and celebrity names, its events take place in many locations in and around the town centre – this year for example, you can catch a play at Plas Newydd stately home, a jazz quartet on the Canal Boat, a Soul Band on the Steam Train or a magical concert at Llangollen Town Hall or Valle Crucis Abbey.

The first acts will be revealed on Friday April 7, with a limited amount of early bird festival tickets going on sale the same day.

Head to http://www.llangollenfringe.co.uk and sign up for the mailing list to receive an exclusive chance to buy early bird tickets before the 7^th!

Llangollen Fringe 20^th Anniversary Festival takes place from Thursday 13^th to Sunday 23^rd July.

Llan photo club helps enhance Wrexham's image

* An image on Wrexham captured during Positography.

* One of the pictures taken during the event of Wrexham town centre.

More than 50 photographers both professional and budding amateurs spent  last Sunday morning taking positive photographs of Wrexham.

Organisers from Llangollen Friendly Photography Club  set up the event to counter what they describe as the recent national negative media coverage of the town.

Their aim was to promote Wrexham's positive side and they called the event “Positography”.

The club's Andy Humphriss said: “Photographers came from far and wide to attend the event, with a wide range of ages from eight to 80, different  skills, different interests and a wide spectrum of cameras, phones and  tablets. Everyone was so positive and focused on achieving fantastic
images of the town.

“We hope to have a pop-up gallery of images in the not too distant future.

"We must thank King Street Coffee Company for opening up their shop especially for our event and Wayne Price at Calon FM for the fantastic publicity.

"I’ve made so many new friends all with the same ambition - to add a little light to Wrexham.”

When asked if this will become a regular event, the club's Paul McNulty said: “I certainly hope so. We we had some very enthusiastic interest from one of the local tour guides on the day.

"He saw the opportunity to promote the tourist side of Wrexham’s economy and has invited us to a walking tour of the local area.

"Everyone from Sunday’s event really enjoyed themselves and are all wishing for another day out in Wrexham, camera in hand.”

* For more information on joining the next “Positography” event or to view their work, contact the organisers on Facebook via their “Llangollen Friendly Photography” group or the “Wrexham Matters” Facebook group.

Outstanding viewing figures for chamber website

Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism's new website has achieved some impressive figures.

At their recent annual meeting chamber members were told that the site attracted over 200,000 unique visitors during 2016 and notched up over five million hits, which they described as "outstanding".

The website features Llangollen’s wide range of businesses together with a popular diary which is used by local organisations to publicise their events.

Chamber chair David Davies said: “We are delighted at the attention our website attracted in 2016 and this shows a great investment on behalf of our members.

"The annual subscription is £52 so for just £1 a week members are featured on a top-ranking, international website. The address Llangollen.org.uk is also displayed on our street banners along the A5 and Castle Street, which has helped generate further interest.

"Members are being reminded they must renew their subscription by the end of the month to ensure they still feature on the site and, of course, new members are always welcome.

"We are currently establishing both Facebook and Twitter accounts and members are being offered courses in social media to fully exploit their potential.”

* The website can be viewed at www.llangollen.org.uk and membership details can be obtained from Rodger Honey, membership secretary, contact@cambrianhouse.plus.com

Firefighters tackle hillside fire

The BBC is reporting today (Thursday) that firefighters have been tackling a large blaze on a hillside above Llangollen.

For full details see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-39287355

More information is now available at: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/firefighters-battling-huge-llangollen-heather-12748691

Warning over bogus council tax phone calls

Residents  in Denbighshire are being urged to be on their guard against bogus telephone calls claiming to be phoning regarding council tax.

A resident received a call advising her that her council tax band had been reduced for 13 years and there was a credit due on their account.

The caller then requested bank details, to arrange for the refund to be credited to the account.  

The resident rightly refused to give her details and ended the call before contacting Denbighshire’s Council Tax team to inform them of the call.

The call came from the Dundee area of Scotland.

Denbighshire County Council says it would like to emphasise that it would never instruct an external company to contact residents directly and people should never give out personal details in response to unexpected calls of this nature.