Tickets go on sale for railway’s popular Branch Line Gala

* The railway’s popular Branch Line Gala takes place in April. 

* Iain Ross, Event Organiser for the Branch Line Gala.

Tickets are now on sale for Llangollen and Corwen Railway’s popular Branch Line Gala, taking place from Friday 10 to Sunday 12 April 2026, with three days of intensive services, visiting locomotives and activities designed to appeal to both enthusiasts and families alike. 

The event will recreate the atmosphere of a classic branch line, with frequent services operating throughout the three days.

 

The 2026 gala will feature a strong and varied line up of steam and diesel power, including an exciting visiting locomotive in the form of 1924-built Great Western Railway Small Prairie No 4555. 

This will be joined by the railway’s home fleet of GWR Pannier Tank No 7754, 2-8-0 “Heavy Freight” locomotive No 3802, and the final running days of visiting Swindon-built diesel-hydraulic Class 14 D9525. A second guest locomotive is also due to be announced next week.

 

The appearance of Great Western Railway Small Prairie No 4555 will be particularly significant, marking the locomotive’s return to the Dee Valley for the first time since 26 September 1964, when it worked a Talyllyn Railway AGM special rail tour. During its working life, 4555 spent several years allocated to both Machynlleth and Pwllheli sheds, operating services along the Cambrian Coast and giving this 2-6-2T Small Prairie locomotive a strong historic connection to Mid and North Wales.

 

One of her sister locomotives, Small Prairie No 5532, is currently under restoration at Llangollen, having never steamed in preservation. Owned by the Llangollen Railway Great Western Locomotive Group, the part-complete locomotive will be on display at Llangollen Motive Power Depot, where gala visitors will be able to see it during guided shed tours.

 

Visitors will also be able to enjoy unlimited train travel with their gala tickets, allowing them to travel as many times as they like and hop on and off at all stations along the line. In addition to an intensive passenger service timetable, the gala will also feature Brake Van Rides, offering visitors the chance to travel in freight train brake vans and experience the railway from a very different perspective.

 

A wide range of catering and refreshment options will be available across the railway, including bars at Llangollen in the Henry Robertson Suite, Glyndyfrdwy and Corwen, tea rooms at Berwyn and Glyndyfrdwy, refreshments in Corwen, and hot food available at Llangollen.

 

Additional attractions across the weekend will include:

 

• Shed tours at Llangollen, available Friday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm (Priced separately at £5)
• Free Heritage bus service shuttles operating between Wrexham, Ruabon and Llangollen.
• Station stalls on Llangollen Station ramp and at Corwen

 

A bar with live music will also feature, with folk and Americana singer Chris Greve performing on Saturday 11 April in the Llangollen marquee on the station ramp from 7pm to 11pm. Entry will be free for wristband holders, with tickets available on the door.

 

Ticket Prices: 

Adults:

1 Day: £36
2 Days: £65
3 Days: £86 

Children:

1 Day: £6
2 Days: £10
3 Days: £15 

Dogs: £3

 

* Tickets are on sale now, with full details and advance booking available at www.llangollen-railway.co.uk

 

Iain Ross, Event Organiser for the Branch Line Gala, said: “Branch line galas are all about atmosphere, variety and running trains the way they were meant to be run, and that is exactly what we are planning for April 2026. With an outstanding mix of Great Western steam, visiting diesel power and intensive services along the full length of the line, this gala will showcase the Llangollen and Corwen Railway at its very best. I have been involved with our railway from a very early age, and I am delighted to be so heavily involved in this amazing showcase for our railway.

 

“The final running days of Class 14 D9525 make this event particularly special, and we are delighted to be welcoming the 1924-built Small Prairie No 4555 back to the Dee Valley for the first time in more than sixty years. With its strong links to Machynlleth and Pwllheli on the Cambrian Coast, it feels entirely at home in North Wales.

 

“Importantly, we want this to be an event that families can enjoy together, with children’s tickets available from just £6 and unlimited train travel included, making it great value for a full day out. Add in brake van rides, live music, heritage buses, shed tours and great food and drink across the railway, and there will be something for everyone, whether you are a dedicated enthusiast or visiting for the first time.”

Councillor deals with traffic problems caused by new Active Travel scheme

* A heavy build-up of traffic at the temporary lights controlling the A5/Brook Street junction this morning (Tuesday).

Llangollen county councillor Karen Edwards has been dealing with traffic problems caused by the early stages of work on walking routes in the town.

Denbighshire County Council has secured grant funding from the Welsh Government’s Active Travel fund to improve some of the routes in the Brook Street and Pengwern areas.

The work by contractors Pronin Ltd, which began yesterday (Monday) is due to continue until Marchand, includes localised footway widening, improved pedestrian crossings and work to enhance junctions. 

Cllr Edwards says that after it began yesterday at the Brook Street/A5 junction she  received numerous complaints about traffic management, including the temporary lights on the A5 which have been causing traffic congestion and inadequate information being given to the public beforehand.

She says she has now been told by the senior officer in charge of the scheme that an engineer has been on site yesterday and today monitoring traffic flow and that numerous meetings with the council's Streetworks team had taken place over the past few weeks to discuss traffic management.

Cllr Edwards said: "I have been told the A5/Brook Street was difficult to plan as it required three-way temporary traffic signals for the first phase, which includes the re-alignment of the junction.  

"I understand that the engineer has been on site this morning (Tuesday) to ensure the best locations have been chosen for the traffic lights and they are looking into the possibility of the signals being manually operated at peak times to avoid disruption.

"I have received an apology for the press release for the scheme not being sent out earlier and been told that communications will now improve."

She added: "There have obviously been problems with the scheme but I very much appreciate the officer answering my concerns about the traffic management aspects and I intend to keep a close eye on it as it proceeds over the next couple of months."

Cancer Research's Llangollen quiz raises £778 for the charity

The recent Llangollen annual quiz in aid of Cancer Research UK - the 19th in the series - raised £778.67 for the charity.  

Organisers Judy Smith and the team said: "Thank you, all of you, for your support of this quiz.

"It was without doubt a difficult quiz this time, but we had more sheets than ever returned, and once again some very high scores, with one question discounted because I had erroneously called a fluke an insect (!), the totals given here are out of 49, not 50. 

"So, first with 47 points was the Diprose family of Dawlish, Devon, then Geoff and Roz Crook of Muir of Ord, Rosshire and Chris Chantler of Bath. As you can see, our quiz gets around the country.

"Having said that, flying the flag high for Llangollen were Jane Hurle with 46½ points, Bill Large with 46, and Adrian Farrel with 45½. 

"Very well done to you, and to others with similar top scores from Newport, Cardiff, Towcester, Kempston, Wrexham and elsewhere. In fact, well done to anyone scoring more than half points on this particular quiz!

"If you are still pondering over those tricky sheets, answers can be obtained from smithdinbren@gmail.com. And we look forward to another quiz at the end of the year…perhaps easier? All the very best for 2026."

Grants up to £5,000 available for community projects

Applications are being accepted for a fresh round of Perthyn Grants to support the early stages of developing social enterprises, co-operatives, community-led housing or community land trusts through the medium of Welsh.

Up to £5,000 of revenue funding available per group and applications close at 10pm on Saturday January 31 with outcomes announced two weeks after receiving an application.

Applications are invited from unregistered or newly registered community groups, registered within the last 12 months since January 2025.

Groups previously funded through Perthyn are not eligible to re-apply and revenue funding is to be spent and work to be completed by March 31 this year.

Perthyn says the main focus of this grant is the Welsh language, adding: "You will need to demonstrate the Welsh language is central to your initiative and future delivery." 

 

* For any further information or enquiries, contact: 

perthyn@cwmpas.coop

Chloe Howell – chloe.howell@cwmpas.coop

Samantha Edwards – samantha.edwards@cwmpas.coop

Paul Roberts – paul.roberts@cwmpas.coop

Cris Tomos – cris.tomos@planed.org.uk

 

Application documentation can be found on the Perthyn webpage.

https://cwmpas.coop/what-we-do/services/perthyn/

Work starts to improve walking routes in Llangollen

* A queue of traffic waiting at the lights on the A5.

Works have begun to improve the walking routes in and around Llangollen.

Denbighshire County Council successfully secured grant funding from the Welsh Government’s Active Travel fund to improve some of the walking routes in the Brook Street and Pengwern areas of Llangollen.

The Welsh Government’s funding is in place to reduce the number of short everyday journeys that are undertaken in motor vehicles and to increase levels of active travel.

These works will aim to increase the levels of active travel in Llangollen, through creating safer walking routes to key local amenities such as schools and the town centre.

The improvements, which will take place between January and March, will include localised footway widening, improved pedestrian crossings and works to enhance junctions and will be undertaken by Pronin Ltd.

Councillor Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport said: “The introduction of a series of new active travel enhancement is a welcome addition to Llangollen. Not only is active travel creating safer walking routes for our most vulnerable road users such as the elderly and children, but it will also encourage residents to lower their carbon footprint by choosing to walk over driving short distances.”

If you have any queries regarding the scheme, please contact Denbighshire County Council via walkingandcycling@denbighshire.gov.uk or 01824 706000.

The work is already causing some traffic congestion.

Queues of vehicles have been building at the lights on the A5, either side of Brook Street, throughout the day.

* Work started at the junction of the A5 and Brook Street today (Monday).

New Audi Q3 raises the bar even higher

Audi Q3 drive by Steve Rogers

Gone are the days when SUVs were snapped up as soon as they arrived in the showroom.

The boxy high riding sports utility is still dominant but the world is changing and what was flavour of the month last year can quickly become an also ran swamped by sleek new offerings from our buddies in China.

Audi is a case in point. It has a big Q range of high quality SUVs but against new rivals like BYD, Omoda and X-Peng the German company’s styling is conservative to say the least, leaving its Spanish partner Cupra to carry the flag on ground breaking styling as we saw with the Tavascan reviewed last November.

At least Audi took the hint first turning the ordinary looking A5 into arguably the most desirable executive saloon on the market and it has done the same with Q3, its top selling compact SUV.

It needed a big facelift and boy did it get one with the main focus at the front. The bold grille, and beefed up headlight signature shouts ‘look at me’, and the emphasis on lighting carries over to the tail, particularly the red outline on the four rings. Clever touch.

And it has not stopped there, inside has been given a complete makeover with a raft of new tech. Out go the traditional dials to be replaced by a letter box style digital driver’s display alongside an impressive curved 12.8 inch touchscreen. Impressive not just because it looks good but the commands get a lightening response. Would we expect anything less from an Audi?

Then there is the steering column. Busy place, lots of buttons on the wheel but no stalks, instead a 40cm wide bar with the gear shift at one end and lights and windscreen switches on the other, I say switches but the wipers are controlled by a rotating disc no bigger than a supermarket trolley token. A bit fiddly but all right when you get used to it.

So a completely new set up, yet the cruise control unit is still badly positioned below the steering wheel (as it has been for decades) and is not even backlit so is even harder to operate at night.

As is the Audi way, the materials and finish are top notch and cabin lighting plays a big part with a pencil lead thin neon strip across the dashboard and either side of the centre console. They change colour depending on the drive mode, red for dynamic, blue for comfort and green for efficiency, or just stick with white.

Space, front and back is on par without being exceptional, while the boot is a good size and can be turned into a substantial hold all with the rear seats folded.

Q3 has always been my ‘go to’ for a premium compact SUV and the new model has raised the bar even higher. The suspension experts have taken on the challenge of perfecting superb balance and handling with exceptional ride comfort and won hands down.

Audi is still offering diesel power but the focus is on petrol hybrid and my choice is this 1.5 litre mild hybrid. You can go bigger but this unit offers the right mix of performance, economy, and value for the money. I averaged 40mpg over nearly 400 miles, and on a couple of longer trips knocked on the door of 50mpg, helped by hybrid technology that shuts down two cylinders at lower speeds to save fuel.

A more expensive but interesting option is the petrol plug-in hybrid with a potential 74 miles electric driving. That sort of range covers everyday journeys for most households and takes away the range anxiety syndrome of an all electric car.

This third generation has put Q3 back in the limelight and not a moment too soon as opposition like BMW X1, Volvo XC40, Lexus UX as well as would be rivals from Kia, Nissan and Mazda are like baying wolves waiting for the kill.

What the wife says: Q3 is comfortable and great to drive and my only complaint is the reflection at night in the passenger window of the decorative light strips which is distracting.

My favourite feature: Any number but the accolade goes to the rear camera screen wash. Simple but effective.

Fast facts

Q3 S Line 7-speed S tronic

£41,100 (starts £38,300)

1.5 litre; 148bhp

0-62mph 9.1secs; 130mph

44.8mpg combined

143g/km. 1st road tax £540

Insurance group 22

Boot: 488-1386 litres

Towing capacity: 2100kg

Cash available to improve open spaces and play areas in Llangollen

* Over £3,000 is available to improve open spaces and play areas in the Llangollen Town Council area. 

Applications are now open for funding to help improve open spaces and play areas across Denbighshire.

And £3,603.18 is available in the Llangollen Town Council area. 

Funding totalling £101,064.42 is earmarked to support local projects across the county.

 

The funding comes from Commuted Sums, which are payments made by developers when it is not possible to provide outdoor open space as part of a new development. 

These funds are set aside to enhance parks, play areas and other open spaces, usually within the same town or community where the development took place. In some cases, the money can also be used to benefit nearby communities within Denbighshire.

 

A range of organisations can apply for funding, including:

• City, town and community councils
• Community and voluntary groups
• Charities
• Public sector organisations
• Amateur sports clubs
• Denbighshire County Council

 

The funding will close for applications on April 20. 

* Further information and application forms is available online here: www.denbighshire.gov.uk/commutedsums.