Natural Resources Wales issues weekend flood alert

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is urging people to be alert for flooding this weekend as Storm Bert is expected to bring heavy, persistent rain and strong winds across Wales on Saturday (23 Nov) and into Sunday (24 Nov).  

Large swathes of Wales are expected to experience heavy rain, which could lead to surface water issues and cause rivers to rise rapidly – particularly as recent snowfall melts quickly. 

A yellow Met Office warning for rain is in place for most of Wales from 6am on Saturday until 6am on Sunday. A yellow wind warning is also in place spanning the North West and West Wales coastlines between 5am and 7pm on Saturday.  

NRW’s incident response teams are working with other emergency responders and local authorities, checking flood defences are in good working order and making preparations to help keep people and property safe.  

People are being urged to consider any steps they may need to take now to be prepared, and to take extra care if you need to travel this weekend: 

• Register for NRW’s free flood warning service at naturalresources.wales/flooding or by calling Floodline on0345 988 1188. 

• Check the flood warning pages on NRW’s website for local Flood Alerts and Flood Warnings. These pages are updated every 15mins. 

• Think about how you can prepare your home and business now. Move valuables and vehicles to a higher location and think about packing a flood kit. NRW’s website has a range of information on how people can prepare for flooding. 

NRW will issue Flood Alerts and Warnings if rivers reach trigger levels with our teams monitoring levels 24 hours a day.   

Flood alerts mean that flooding is possible, flood warnings mean that flooding is expected, and severe flood warnings mean that there is a threat to life and significant disruption is expected. 

Katie Davies, NRW’s Duty Tactical Manager, said: 

“The predicted heavy rain and strong winds from Storm Bert, coupled with snowmelt is likely to cause disruption across Wales this weekend. – We’re advising people to keep up to date with flood alerts and warnings issued in their areas. 

“Making sure you know what the situation is like where you live is really important. You can check your flood risk and the latest flood alerts and warnings on our website which is refreshed every 15 minutes. Keep an eye on @NatResWales on X (formerly Twitter) for the latest information, and listen to weather reports and local news for details of any disruption in your area. 

“Our teams will be doing all they can to reduce the risk for communities, but if there is flooding we want to make sure people are doing all they can to keep themselves safe too. We urge people to keep away from swollen rivers, and not to drive or to walk through flood water – it is often deeper than it looks and contain hidden hazards.” 

Flood alerts and flood warnings are updated on the Natural Resources Wales website every 15 minutes. 

Information and updates are also available by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188. 

As well as checking flood risk and signing up for warnings, people can also check our 5-day flood forecast for the local authority areas across Wales, and find practical advice on how to prepare for flooding, such as moving treasured possessions upstairs and having key items like important documents and medication easily to hand in a flood kit. 

'Hairy' adventure firm scoops up honours in top tourism awards

* Hugh Owen of Bearded Men Adventures with the Go Rising Star in Tourism & Hospitality Award and award sponsor sponsor Sam McIlvogue of Coleg Llandrillo Menai.

* Jason Rickwood and Hugh Luckock of Bearded Men Adventures with award sponsor Glen Evans, centre, of Snowdonia Hospitality & Leisure Ltd.

A “hairy” adventure company was hailed as a star of the tourism industry in North Wales.

Bearded Men Adventures in Llangollen was among the big winners at the Go North Wales Tourism Awards.

The glittering annual event organised by North Wales Tourism celebrates the dedication, skill and achievements of the region’s tourism and hospitality industry.

This year the ceremony at Venue Cymru in Llandudno was hosted by former BBC journalist Sian Lloyd, who hails from Wrexham, and the headline sponsor once again was Harlech Foodservice which supplies many of the region’s hotels, guest houses and restaurants.

Most of the winners will go forward to the National Tourism Awards for Wales next March, hosted by Visit Wales.

Bearded Men Adventures,  whose adrenaline-fuelled activities include white water rafting, canoeing across the world famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and axe throwing, picked up two gongs.

The outfit, which describes itself as the Hairiest Adventure Company in North Wales, won the Go Activity or Experience award while 18-year-old team member Hugh Owen was named as the Rising Star in the Tourism and Hospitality Category.

Hugh said winning the Rising Star awards was an unbelievable start to his dream job.

From the age of 16 he set his sights on a career which would allow him to share his love for nature and adventure with others.

He said landing his traineeship with Bearded Men Adventures was a golden opportunity in itself but to also win the Rising Star accolade was more than he would have thought possible.

Hugh, who comes from Wrexham, said: “It’s too crazy for words really. I’ve known for a while that outdoor pursuits and tourism were the fields I’d love to work in and now that pathway is evolving in front of me.

“It’s also such a great time to be involved in the tourism sector in North Wales. There’s so much happening in Wrexham and the surrounding area these days, all the publicity which has come from the success of Wrexham FC since it was taken over by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

“It’s created such potential for the region, it’s too exciting for words really. There’s such a buzz around the whole region and it’s great to be with a such a dynamic company which is right at the heart of things and brimming over with energy.”

Hugh said he also wanted to thank his parents Anna Mottershead and Aled Owen for supporting his dream to work in the world of outdoor pusuits.

Bearded Men Adventures trailblazers Hugh Luckock and Jason Rickwood said they were overjoyed to scoop the award for being for best company in the business of providing high octane fun for thrill seekers.

Jason said: “It’s fantastic to be rewarded for doing what we love and offering our customers a safe way to take part in adventures that they also love, it doesn’t get better than that.”

He said the award would be a positive boost as they promote new offerings in the Bearded Men catalogue including stays at the newly named Without a Paddle hotel they have just opened in the heart of Llangollen.

According to head judge, Jim Jones, the chief executive of North Wales Tourism, Adam Williams was an “irrepressible force of nature”.

He said: “Adam is a real-life hero of the tourism and hospitality industry in North Wales whose drive and ingenuity are helping to turbo charge the visitor economy as well as preserving a precious part of our tourism heritage.

“I would like to congratulate Adam and every single one of the winners but I would also like to stress that all the nominees have played an absolutely vital role in rebuilding tourism sector in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic.

“This event really showcases the very best of North Wales and we have seen so many amazing entries, all of which underlines why this is a truly world class destination for visitors.”

It was a sentiment echoed by David Cattrall, the Managing Director of headline sponsors Harlech Foodservice.

He said: “We are delighted to once again be the headline sponsor of this wonderful awards ceremony and it’s very much a vote of confidence in the tourism and hospitality sector which has endured such a difficult time in recent years."

* Bearded Men was also a finalist in the Marketing and Media Recognition Award.

Llangollen International Eisteddfod was a finalist in the Event of the Year category and another Llangollen-based organisation, Drosi Bikes, reached the final of the Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award. 

Major wild water racing event comes to Dee this weekend

* Photo: Pete Atkinson

According to an article by Nicky Cresser in the online magazine Paddle UK, this coming weekend sees the final National races of the 2024 British ranking series on the River Dee in Wales.

Nicky writes: "Saturday's Sprint race in Llangollen, Wales on the Serpent's tail is also doubling up as the European Canoe Association (ECA) Sprint Cup Final.

This is the second ECA cup event to the hosted by GBR in 2024 with more international wild water racing coming to the UK.

The racing is set to be tight in both series' and as we reach the culmination of British WWR's most successful season ever, we have the chance of further success in many categories.

In men's K1, the British ranking series has been hotly contested with four different winners to date.

Nicky Cresser, Nick Boreham and Leon Tomlinson are in the running for the championship having taken a win each with two races to go.

Alex Sheppy is the firm favourite in this category having won three races already and a strong position to win on the Dee Sprint.

The ECA cup standings are also pretty tight with British Athletes Alex Sheppy and Freddie Brown still in the running for the overall series win and will be joined on the start line by some big international names.

Ivo Lamers (NED) is currently ranked third, just five points behind Alex, Jan Sindelar (CZE) has medalled at Worlds and Europeans multiple times in the last couple of years and Etienne Wich is racing straight off the back of a bronze medal at senior French championships.

The women's K1 has been dominated this season by Kerry Christie who has won all but one of the National races that was snatched by former world champion, Hannah Brown.

Off the back of the success of coaching her athletes at the Paralympic Games, Hannah will be looking to push Kerry to the line and two wins will see her taking the series.

Again, the ECA cup ranking will have British interest too, with Kerry Christie and Molly Sandercock currently in top positions, and being joined on the start line by Dutch, Czech and German athletes, it's likely to go down to the wire.

The canoe categories have seen significant growth in the UK, both in participation and international success.

The Christie sisters have the Women's C2 sewn up having been undefeated this year, but juniors Elsie Landsborough and Ciara Maloney will be keen to get their first win.

The women's C1 is lead by Molly Sandercock, but Emily Mclean and Chloe Bracewell are leading the chase and are still capable of taking the win.

Andrew Crowhurst is pushing C1 and C2 (alongside his partner Phil Dean) forward, currently sitting on maximum points in both categories with only Nicky Cresser in C1 and Robert Jefferies and Jacob Holmes in C2 able to challenge for the top spot.

In the ECA Cup standings Molly, Chloe and Kerry are all in the battle for the win in women's C1, but this will be close with Czech and Slovak team members Alexandra Plachtova and Viktoria Scholzova putting their names in the mix on the Dee.

Kerry and Emma will be hoping to hold onto the top spot in the Women's C2 with Ciara and Elsie looking to move up the table. In the Men's categories, the British contingent will be looking to put in good performances to boost their rankings."

* For more information: www.wildwater.org.uk

Photographer speaks to Berwyn & District u3a

The fact that members of Berwyn and District u3a (University of Third Age) kept photographer Tony Mallon talking well after his allotted time was proof of how engaging he was. 

Tony spoke about his two-year project, headed by Historic England, to engage the people of Prescot, Merseyside, with the history of the town, and to record modern day history in the making through photography. 

He told members meeting at Canolfan Ni, Corwen, he is a socially engaged photographer, and in this case, success was measured by the number of people who joined in the memory fairs, and later, the excellent photographs taken by local people under Tony’s guidance. 

Berwyn and District u3a meets on the third Monday of the month at Canolfan NI. See website for further details: https://u3asites.org.uk/berwyn/home

Met Office issues further weather warning

The Met Office has issued a Yellow Weather Warning for snow and ice. Details are:

Between 12:00 (UTC) on Thu 21 Nov 2024 and 10:00 (UTC) on Fri 22 Nov 2024 Headline Wintry showers and icy patches are expected this evening and overnight, perhaps leading to some travel disruption

What to expect

• Some roads and railways likely to be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services
• Probably some icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths
• Some injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces

Further Details

Wintry showers are expected to gradually move south this afternoon, then feeding inland from Irish Sea and North Sea coasts at times this evening and overnight, especially through the Cheshire Gap to affect parts of the Midlands and north Wales. Where these occur 2-5cm of fresh snow is possible, with this most likely on ground above 100m.

Icy stretches are expected to form on untreated surfaces during Thursday evening and overnight into Friday morning as temperatures drop below freezing, especially following any showers.

 

What should I do

Snowy, wintry weather can cause delays and make driving conditions dangerous. Keep yourself and others safe by planning your route, giving yourself extra time for your journey. Check for road closures or delays to public transport and amend plans if necessary.

Keep yourself and your family safe when it is icy. Plan to leave the house at least five minutes earlier than normal. Not needing to rush, reduces your risk of accidents, slips, and falls.

If driving, make sure you have some essentials in your car in the event of any delays (e.g., warm clothing, food, water, a blanket, a torch, ice scraper/de-icer, a warning triangle, high visibility vest and an in-car phone charger).

If you need to make a journey on foot, try to use pavements along main roads which are likely to be less slippery. Similarly, if cycling, try and stick to main roads which are more likely to have been treated.

Be prepared for weather warnings to change quickly: when a weather warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the weather forecast in your area.

UK weather warnings - Met Office

Denbighshire County Council says it has resources on standby throughout the warning period to respond to any weather-related incidents should they arise. 

It adds that further updates will be provided if deemed necessary.

Please report any issues to the council's Customer Service Team between 8:30am – 5pm Monday to Friday, by:

1) email to customerservice@denbighshire.gov.uk

2) telephone 01824 706000

3) visit in person a One Stop Shop.

4) use an online web form, available on Denbighshire’s website:

www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/online-forms/online-forms.aspx

In the event of any emergency situation requiring an immediate response, contact should be made directly via the out of hours contact centre between 5pm – 8:30am including weekends on 0300 123 3068.

 

Annual Christmas quiz papers available soon

For the 18th year Llangollen will be staging a Christmas Quiz on behalf of Cancer Research UK. 

Organiser Judy Smith said: "After all this time it's still only £1 - although you might consider a donation - and it will be the quiz paper will be obtainable from the Tourist Information Centre in Castle Street from November 30."

Judy, who also organises the Llangollen Round Challenge also in aid of Cancer Research UK, said entries were still flooding in for the next event, which is scheduled for the weekend of May 31/June 1 2025.

She added: "We have almost three times the number we had on the same date last time round.  

"Be forewarned - there will be a limit! But we thank you all for your support in both our ventures."

County council gives fresh Adverse Weather Update

Denbighshire County Council has given a new Adverse Weather Update on its social media this morning, which says:

Further snow showers have been experienced during the early hours of this morning.

Our gritting teams have worked hard throughout the night to keep the road network clear. All main routes across the County are currently open and passable with care.

The yellow weather alert for snow and ice is still in place.

Our Highways crews will be deployed throughout the day today.

For more information on our gritting routes visit:

https://bit.ly/3AZXmpr