Easter services on Llangollen Railway

* Corwen station taken last Saturday showing the canopy complete with classic dagger board, facia panels and valance. Photo by Richard Walliker.

* The railway's Class 08 shunter.

Llangollen Railway is running a daily Easter service from April 6-16, with a two-train service between Good Friday and Easter Monday April 7-10 and a steam loco at work on April 7, 8, 9 and 10 alongside diesel and railcar trains. 

Steam trains will also be running on April 15 and 16 and diesel and railcar the other April weekends. More information and a full timetable is on the railway’s website. 

The railway has also announced the return of its Driver for a Fiver, in which budding loco drivers can take the controls of an engine, and Berwyn Shuttle service, offering those with less time a shorter run up to the line’s first station. 

The railway’s Class 08 shunter will offer Driver for a Fiver sessions over the Easter weekend on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, April 7, 8, 9 and 10.   

The shunter will also be hauling Berwyn Shuttles on Saturday and Sunday April 15 and 16, alongside the scheduled Timetable A operation to Carrog. 

Work continues apace at the new Corwen station, with volunteers fitting out the station building, finishing the emergency exit and a contractor removing the impressive scaffolding used to erect the canopy, which is now complete.

Temporary closure of Sun Bank next month

Denbighshire County Council has notified of a road closure on a section of Sun Bank, Llangollen from April 17 to 28.

The closure is required to facilitate retaining wall works by the council and a diversion will be in place. 

Just over a week left to comment on Four Great Highways scheme

* A draft design showing the view from inside Lower Dee Mill.

Local people now have just over a week to study and comment on Llangollen's Four Great Highways project.

A statement from the team in charge of the scheme says: "Further to our e-mail last week, we are writing to let you know that the feedback form has now been added to Denbighshire's County Conversations Engagement Portal 

"We have arranged for the designs to be on display at Llangollen Library until Monday April 3 2023 to make sure everyone gets a chance to see them if they weren’t able to come along to our recent session at the Town Hall.  

"The designs are also available on the engagement portal at the above link and have been added to the Four Great Highways webpage.

"We’ve also extended the feedback deadline date to Sunday 2 April 2023 to make sure everyone has enough time to share their views with us and paper copies of the feedback form have been left at Llangollen Library for collection. Completed forms can also be handed in to the library and they will collect them on our behalf.

"We would be grateful if you could share this e-mail with your networks to make sure as many people as possible have the opportunity to provide feedback."

 

Gary plans 500-mile walk to help specialist children's unit

* From left: Sarah Bee, Lynne Ford, Curtis Langley and Ann Norwood, who all work at the Movement Centre, gather around Gary Fletcher.

A Llangollen man is planning to do a solo 500-mile charity walk to raise at least £10,000 for a local hospital’s specialist children’s unit.

Gary Fletcher, 44, aims to trek through France and Spain along the famous Camino De Santiago Pilgrim Trail.

He reckons it will take him between six and eight weeks, dependent on the weather or any injuries he might sustain along the way.

Gary, who recently sold his development site next to White Waters Hotel and is looking for another property in or around the town, says he is now busy training for his foot-slogging marathon by climbing local hills and mountains and sweating it out in daily gym sessions.

He has also mounted an intensive publicity and social media campaign to gain the sponsorship from local businesses that he needs before he can set off on the challenge in aid of the pioneering Movement Centre at the Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Gobowen.

He said: “I really need to get this out there as much as possible to raise as much as I can for the centre and the children it treats.

“I have wanted to do something to help children in our country for some time. With the centre I have found the perfect charity to support as it relies solely on donations and private fundraising to continue its work supporting children of all ages with mobility issues.

“The work it does includes physiotherapy and other treatments to help young patients some of whom are taught how to communicate through movement with their parents and family.

“Others may have prosthetic limbs or debilitating illnesses which require constant ongoing treatment from the centre.

“The centre is one of very few in the UK that provides this kind of support and treatment and is life-changing in so many ways for children and their families.”

Gary added: “I am in constant contact with the centre, and I am due to meet with more children there to learn about their disabilities and the treatments.

“I have set up fundraising through a GO-Fund-Me account. All proceeds are paid directly from Go Fund Me to the Movement Centre. My account for fundraising is here https://www.gofundme.com/f/500-mile-walk-along-the-camino-santiago-trail

“So far I have raised £315 both online and cash donations. I have set the target to £10,000, but I ambitiously aim to raise £100,000 over the course of the next three months.

“I anticipate donations to really take off once I am on the trail and will post daily photos and videos showing my progress to various media channels. This will include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.”

* Gary’s dedicated Facebook page fpr his challenge is at: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091220251610

Roadworks planned for Barbers Hill

Latest roadworks alert from one.network is:

Barbers Hill, Llangollen, Denbighshire 27 March - 07 April   Delays likely - Diversion route   Name: Diversion   Location: Barbers Hill   Description: Streetworks / License - Streetworks   Responsibility for event: Denbighshire County Council   Current status: Planned

Latest roadworks alerts from county council

Latest local roadworks bulletin from Denbighshire County Council is:

A542 Wrth / Nr Haulwen Abbey Road ABBEY ROAD 31/03/2023 31/03/2023 Gwaith Carthffosiaeth/ Sewer Works ALUN GRIFFITHS CONTRACTOR

JUNCTION OF QUEEN STREET FRONT SIDE BIRCH HILL 31/03/2023 31/03/2023 Adferiad/ Reinstatement FOREST TRAFFIC SERVICES LLANGOLLEN Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

Wrth/ Nr GLASFRYN ABBEY ROAD 27/03/2023 29/03/2023 Gwaith Dwr / Water Works HAFREN DYFRDWY LLANGOLLEN

O/S GARDD GERRIG TO THE TOWER TOWER ROAD 24/04/2023 19/05/2023 Gwaith Nwy / Gas Works WALES & WEST (DCC) LLANGOLLEN Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

BRYN MELYN RTW SUN BANK 17/04/2023 28/04/2023 Gwaith Ar Wal Gynnal/ Retaining Wall Works DCC BRIDGES AND STRUCTURE LLANGOLLEN Ffordd ar Gau/Road Closure

Free school meal information for parents and guardians

Denbighshire County Council has welcomed news that the Welsh Government are continuing to make funding available to make free school meal payments for eligible pupils for the Easter and Whitsun school holidays, in response to the cost of living crisis.

This will enable the council to make arrangements for these payments to be made for the forthcoming Easter holidays (3rd April to 14th April), Whitsun week (29th May to 2nd June) together with the May Bank Holiday and the Coronation Bank Holiday.

Parents / guardians are being informed that the payments will be made based on eligibility for Free School Meals. The payment for the Easter holidays will be made on the 3rd April.

This is completely separate to the roll out of Universal Primary Free School Meals which has seen Reception age children and Year 1 pupils being able to access free meals this school term.

Councillor Gill German, Cabinet Lead Member for Education, Children and Families, said: “We welcome this announcement of the extension of this funding as it will provide further reassurance to some families, given the cost-of-living crisis. We want to make sure all children receive a proper meal and this payment, made directly into bank accounts of eligible parents automatically, will help with this cost.”

* For more information go to: https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/education-and-schools/grants-and-funding/free-school-meals.aspx