Llan appears in list of top places to visit for Christmas

Llangollen has appeared in a list of 15 picturesque UK towns to visit in the run-up to Christmas listed in Saturday's Guardian newspaper.

Llan is there in the hallowed company of such tourist hotspots as Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, Bamburgh in Northumberland and Corfe in Dorset.

It also has the distinction of being one of only two Welsh towns to make the Winter Weekenders list along with Abergaveny in Monmouthshire.

The listing for Llangollen, which appears under a stunning picture of Castell Dinas Bran, says: "On the banks of the River Dee, wreathed in pretty woodland and with a definite creative bent, Llangollen is a perky little Welsh gem. 

"Transport fans, prepared to be thrilled: not only is the town home to the impressive Pontcysyllte aqueduct, the UK’s largest stone and cast iron aqueduct no less, with festive canal boat rides at weekends through December (£14/£12 with mulled wine), but there’s also the Llangollen steam railway, dolled up with Chrimbo razzle-dazzle. 

"Rides upriver to the village of Carrog are themed as Santa’s Christmas Specials (£20), with gifts for kids and a tipple for grownups, daily until Christmas Eve; then, when Santa’s resting, “mince pie specials” (£18/£10) run from 26 Dec until 1 Jan. Those who prefer the brooding aspect of winter can climb up to the crumbling walls of Castell Dinas Brân (Crow Castle), on a hill above the town, for spectacular views.

"Next weekend, an International Christmas event at Llangollen Pavilion (15 Dec, llangollen.net, £13/£5) includes a “reverse grotto”, where guests can donate to the local food bank, plus world music, carols and mince pies.

"The town’s shopping options include trendy outlets (Ty Nook for cactus pots, plant books, statement earrings and bags made from Welsh blankets; Gwalia Ceramics for funky vases and milk jugs; teddies and bunting from Lily Rose Interiors) among the more traditional (see the Welsh Love Spoon store for sentimental stocking-fillers). In the Memorial Hall, Llangollen Country Market sells foodie gifts, plants and crafts on Friday mornings.

"For face-stuffing, try smart new bakery and cafe M’eating Point, and just outside town, cosy coaching inn the West Arms (doubles from £135 B&B) for a mean afternoon tea, dinner (goat’s cheese tart with micro herbs or organic Berwyn mountain lamb) and somewhere to sleep it off."

Commenting on the article on Facebook, the town's deputy mayor, Cllr Issy Richards, says simply: "Isn't it wonderful!"

* To see the article go to:  https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2019/dec/07/christmas-break-winter-weekend-15-pretty-uk-towns

Vote for your favourite Christmas tree

The Methodist Church has just launched its annual Christmas Tree Festival.

Colourful and creative trees from 11 local organisations have been entered and are on view at the church over this and next weekend.

That's today (Sunday) 12.30pm-4pm, then next Saturday December 14 from 10am-4pm and Sunday December 15 from 12.30pm-4pm. Voting forms are available at the back of the church.

Judging and the announcement of the winners will take place before Christmas.

Below are the trees which have been entered ...

* Tree 1: Gwlangollen.

* Tree 2: Ysgol Bryn Collen.

* Tree 3: Llangollen Tidy Town Team.

* Tree 4: Holy Cross RC Church.

* Tree 5: Llangollen Museum

* Tree 6: After School Drop-In.

* Tree 7: Llangollen Gardening Club.

* Tree 8: Dee Boys Men's Shed.

* Tree 9: Ysgol y Gwernant.

* Tree 10: Cefn Mawr Library.

* Tree 11: The Old Vicarage.

St Collen's stages successful Christmas fair

* Charlie Jones, left, checks out the hand-made knitted goods being sold by Myra Stoddart.

Bargain hunters and those just after some Christmas spirit came flocking to the St Collen's Church annual Christmas Fair at the Town Hall this morning.

llanblogger was on hand to capture some of the action ...

* Llangollen Silver Band plays some well-known Christmas sounds.

* Some tasty treats on the refreshment stall.

* Scouting for a bargain around the various stalls.

* The fair gets busy around lunchtime.

Plan to reduce plastic use takes step forward

Plans for Denbighshire County Council to significantly reduce its use of single-use plastics have taken a step forward.

Members of the council’s Performance Scrutiny Committee have agreed proposals drawn up by a cross-party group of councillors to reduce the use of plastics within council offices, following a Notice of Motion approved by the Full Council. 

These proposals will now be put to Full Council in January 2020.

Proposals include the following within the council’s office buildings; no longer providing plastic water cups and single use paper/plastic cups for hot drinks and the removal of water coolers, automated hot drink machines and vending machines.

A campaign will also be launched to encourage everyone who comes to the three main Council offices to `bring their own cup’.

Graham Boase, the council’s Corporate Director, said: “Protecting the environment is a priority for the Council under its Corporate Plan and this project focuses on reducing the amount of single-use plastic within Council offices as well as showing leadership within the wider community.

“These actions will benefit the environment by reducing and avoiding the use of plastics in Council offices, as an example by just ending the provision of plastic cups at water coolers will see 140,000 fewer cups being used over the next ten years.”

Santa rewards Christmas window winners

* Santa and Christmas Festival Committee member Ian Parry, right, hand the winner's certificate to Sharon Jones on behalf of Lily Rose Interiors.

Santa himself handed over certificates to the winners of this year's competition to find Llangollen's most attractive Christmas window display.

On Monday the town's mayor, Cllr Jon Haddy, and deputy mayor, Cllr Issy Richards, toured shops and businesses picking out the most impressive seasonal creations as part of the Llangollen Christmas Festival staged last Saturday.

And after choosing the winners they called on Santa - aka Austin "Chem" Cheminais who chairs the festival committee - to make presentations to the lucky entrants.

Overall winner was Lily Rose Interiors in Castle Street, while the three highly commended windows were those at Jade's Hair & Beauty in Oak Street, Holben Hairdressing in Bridge Street and  Riverbanc cafe also in Bridge Street.

Chem said: "The appearance of our shops and businesses is all part of the process of Llangollen looking its best in the run-up to Christmas and our four winners have done us proud with their eye-catching presentations.

"I'd like to thank them and everyone who entered into the seasonal spirit by decorating their windows for all the fantastic effort they put into it."

* With the highly commended certificate for Jade's Hair & Beauty is Susan Davies.  

* Hannah Ford with the highly commended certificate for Riverbanc.

* Holben Hairdressing was also highly commended for its display. The certificate 
is accepted by owner Georgina Holben.

Empty homes problem should be tackled, says AM

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood (pictured) has called on the Welsh Government to help bring the around 27,000 private sector homes in Wales that have been empty for more than six months back into use.

Speaking in a debate on the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee Report: ‘Empty Properties’, Mr Isherwood, who is a member of the Committee, said that many owners do not wish to see their properties lying idle and should be supported to bring them back into use.

He stressed that when attempts to tackle the problem informally fail, local authorities have powers to deal with empty properties, but said “this isn’t straightforward”.

He said: “Having a national action plan in place, adopting genuinely community based approaches, accountability measures and establishing a source of legal expertise for empty property teams to access will be critical.

“As we stated, this should include work to understand the impact that having a specific officer with responsibility for empty properties can make – and training for Local Authority Officers and Members on the enforcement options available will be essential, as will the provision of flexible funding solutions that are sensitive to local needs and assist property owners.

“As a former Housing Association voluntary Board Member, I welcome the Welsh Government’s recognition that Housing Associations play a key part in bringing empty properties into use, but will need to see evidence that they have been genuinely involved by both Welsh Government and Local Authorities.

“Although the Welsh Government rejects ring-fencing for housing purposes of revenue collected by Local Authorities through the Council Tax premium on empty homes, we must see evidence that Local Authorities have been encouraged to use this funding to address local housing supply needs.

“It is deeply regrettable that the Welsh Government have only agreed in principal to our recommendation that they undertake a review with the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) of the current statutory enforcement powers available to Local Authorities to tackle empty properties in order to simplify them and make them more effective.

“It is also concerning that they have only agreed in principle to our recommendation that they and the WLGA undertake an exercise to assess whether second-home owners are avoiding payment of the Council Tax premium by falsely registering their property as a self-catering business or claiming that a family member has moved in. Serious allegations about this were made to us and we need the facts – especially where this could involve fraudulent activity.

“However, as I stated when we were debating Stage 3 of the Housing (Wales) Act “there is the danger that second-home owners who have put their life-savings into realising their dreams will be hit hardest” by the Council Tax premium – and therefore rent out their second homes rather than lose them – when “the people that can afford it will shrug this off”.

“Speaking here in 2011, I noted that Denbighshire’s Empty Homes Officer at that time, funded by Housing Associations, had told me that “every empty home has a different story.  The key is to understand why it is empty and to work closely with the owner to bring it back into use”.

Beautiful birch at Plas Newydd ready for next season

Work has been progressing at Plas Newydd (pictured), now that the main visitor season is over, to recreate a birch avenue in the historic garden.

When the Ladies of Llangollen lived in Plas Newydd they had an avenue of birch trees which has long since gone. 

As part of the National Lottery Heritage Funded Our Picturesque Landscape project, a previously heavily shadowed entranceway into the Dell has been opened up and planted with 24 birch trees comprising of six different birch varieties including the beautiful Betula Jacquemontii and Betula Albosinensis.

Volunteers and staff from the wider Denbighshire Countryside Service and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty team helped to plant the trees. 

Thousands of native wildflower bulbs such as English bluebells and snowdrops are being planted this autumn under the birch trees ready to put on a spectacular display in the spring.

The Our Picturesque Landscape project is leading on a five-year restoration of the Dell which has started with repairing many of the crumbling stone walls and will be replacing the existing handrail with something more in keeping with the garden as it would have been two hundred years ago.

* If you would like to get involved by volunteering with the restoration projects please get in touch with the team on 01824 706163 or contact: our.picturesque.landscape@denbighshire.gov.uk

Mike Fawcett a regular dog walker at Plas Newydd said: “It seems a small thing now as we head into winter but it will grow and establish and look wonderful when the trees are in leaf next spring with all the bulbs in flower too, I look forward to seeing it then and seeing the project progress.”