Wales Online has a story which says the Brittannia Inn on the Horseshoe Pass is up for sale for £595,000.
* For the full story, go to: Roadside Welsh pub built by monks in 14th century up for sale for first time in over 20 years - Wales Online
This year marks a distinguished milestone in the history of the Llangollen Railway - the 50th anniversary of the moment it all began, when the first tentative steps were taken to revive a vanished line from the shadows of dereliction.
And at talk at Llangollen Museum tomorrow (Wednesday) will reflect on this historic achievement.
In September 1975, a small group of volunteers from the Flint and Deeside Railway Preservation Society arrived at what was then little more than a quiet car park on the site of the old Llangollen station.
There was no fanfare, no certainty, and certainly no working railway. Just a vision. A belief that something precious could yet be recovered from the embers of closure. That belief, tempered by grit, goodwill, and no small quantity of grease, would become one of the great heritage restoration stories of our time.
In his illustrated talk entitled Steam in North Wales and the Border Counties, Peter Dickinson will tell the story of the trials, tribulations and ultimate success of the revival of the line between Llangollen and Berwyn in 1986, Deeside Halt in 1990, Glyndyfrdwy in 1993, Carrog in 1996, and finally Corwen East in 2014, with the crowning glory coming in June 2023, with the opening of Corwen Central.
He will then look at other standard gauge railways that operate in the area and take the audience on a nostalgic journey back to the 1950s and 1960s.
The talk is part of a series of events, and complements the exhibition about the Llangollen Heritage Railway that is currently on display in the Museum gallery.
The talk will be at Llangollen Museum on Wednesday September 24 at 7:00pm. Tickets will be £3 on the door, to include refreshments.
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A welcome visit by friends and family from home, more bike trouble, a return to heatwave conditions and an triumphal entry into Serbia all marked the seventh week of their epic road trip to Thailand for three lads from the Llangollen area.
Known collectively as The Westheads, Dyfan Hughes, 17, James Thomas, 18, and Louis Dennis, 18, had never ridden a bike further than the shop near their homes when they set out on their 18-month quest to reach Asia.
Once there they aim to meet up with their friend Harrison who moved to Thailand six months ago after his dad died from a heart attack and to raise money for heart research.
Day 43 from their daily video diary saw the trio reaching the Hungarian capital of Budapest where there was a meet up with familiar faces from back home who stayed with them briefly in the city.
A couple of days later they were back in the saddle to ride on through the vast plains of Hungary towards the Danube river.
There was a bit more bike trouble - gears and innertubes etc - which was cured for them at a local cycle shop.
It was then a battle with 33 degree heat as they crossed over into Serbia after initially trying the wrong border control.
* To follow the journey on their social media and make a donation if you wish go to: https://linktr.ee/westheads
Ysgol Dinas Brân has won a prestigious national accolade for its sustained commitment to improving the environment for its students, not just in school but also in the wider community.
The school recently received an assessment visit from Catrin Hughes, the awarding officer from Keep Wales tidy, the organisation which runs the Eco-Schools environment education programme in Wales.
And due to the combined team efforts of its governor Howard Sutcliffe, the students involved in the Eco-Council, the support and hard work of a large number of staff from a wide range of departments, the school has been awarded Platinum Eco-schools Status for another two years.
Police are seeking information after a sheep was killed by a dog near Llangollen.
* For the full story see Leaderlive at: https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/25483377.sheep-killed-vicious-livestock-attack-near-llangollen/
St Collen's this afternoon (Sunday) revived an ancient and sacred practice of the Christian church when one of its new members was baptized in the swollen and rapidly-flowing waters of the River Dee.
After the morning service the congregation walked across town to the riverbank where Father Lee Taylor, the priest in charge, performed the full-immersion of Dylan Houchin in a ceremony rich with symbolic actions that would have been familiar to Christians in Jerusalem, Milan, Antioch, and other centres of early Christianity.
Father Lee explained: "The ceremony draws deeply from both Eastern and Western baptismal traditions, incorporating gestures such as turning to face east and west, a generous outpouring of holy oil on the crown of the head, and tasting milk and honey — a sign of entering the Promised Land and of the sweetness of new life in Christ. These practices harken back to the first centuries of Christian life, when baptism was a vivid, full-bodied celebration attended not only by family and friends, but, according to early texts, by the angels themselves.
"In most churches today, some of these actions survive only in simplified form — a drop of water, a touch of oil, or a small taste of sweetness. While these remain beautiful signs, they are only faint echoes of the richness of early Christian celebrations. In this service, we aim to recover something of that depth, drawing on historical sources and giving them new life here and now."
The baptism included the blessing of the waters, and the presentation of a white garment to symbolise purity and new creation.
After emerging from the river Dylan was given a taste of milk and honey, reviving a practice that stretches back to at least the 2nd century, symbolising entrance into the Promised Land and the sweetness of new life, according to Father Lee.
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A Wrexham councillor says the area around the world-famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct doesn't need any more tourists and is at "saturation point" after attracting over half a million a year at the last count.
And Rondo Roberts, the independent member for the Llangollen Rural ward which covers the World Heritage Site, describes some of the problems being caused by visitors to the iconic River in the Sky as "just not unacceptable", including swearing or threatening with violence residents who point out they are parking in the wrong places.
He also fears things could get even worse if the proposed new National Park gets the go-ahead.
Cllr Roberts, who was born and brought up close to the aqueduct, hinted at the problems being caused by the large influx of tourists in a comment he made on a Facebook post highlighting a llanblogger story last week in which North Wales Senedd Member Sam Rowlands said Welsh Government policies were hitting tourist numbers in his constituency.
But Cllr Roberts commented on Facebook: "... Don't need any more tourists in Llangollen Rural (Aqueduct) we're at saturation point with the 500K and rising."
When llanblogger asked him to explain further he said the figure he quoted came from Wrexham Council's economic development department.
"The annual figures are based on counters and clickers placed at two points close to the aqueduct. In 2019, before the pandemic, these recorded that the area had been visited by 394,000 people. By the time of the latest count this summer this had risen to over 500,000.
"We've had enough and we can't handle any more. The infrastructure and roads around Fron and Trevor just can't cope.
"People just park anywhere. They leave their litter and rubbish behind them and walk off. They are parking on grassed areas which just get churned up when it rains.
"Some are very rude to local residents who say anything to them about this. They have been sworn at or even threatened with violence. This is just not acceptable."
Cllr Roberts added: "I do what I can and I must say I have had plenty of support from the leader of the council, Mark Pritchard.
"I recently had a meeting with senior council officers about the delay in opening up a large, new car park for the area on the old Monsanto chemical site. I have also had temporary signs put up helping people coming in off the A5 to locate the existing car parks. I'm now pushing for permanent signs.
"The aqueduct is the jewel in the Wrexham crown and right up there with the football ground when it comes to attracting visitors. But even if this wasn't a World Heritage Site the genie is now out of the bottle and they would still come here in droves.
"If the new National Park is approved there would be even more people coming to the area and we are not coping with the numbers we already have.
"We have got to bite the bullet with the finances and find a different way of managing our World Heritage Site."
