Remembrance service marks Armistice Day in the square

* Legion branch chair Mike Adams, left, with the Mayor, Cllr Damon Richards-Gwilliam, in front of the two war memorials.

The Royal British Legion's Llangollen branch organised a short Service of Remembrance to mark Armistice Day, when the guns of the First World War fell silent on November 11, 1918, in Centenary Square this morning.

Taking its cue from the tolling of the eleventh hour on the Town Hall clock, the traditional two minutes' silence was observed, the RBL standard was lowered by its bearer and extracts from the poem For the Fallen and the Kohima Epitaph were read by branch chairman Mike Adams.

The Town Mayor and Deputy Mayor, Councillor Damon Richards-Gwilliam and Cllr Charlie Jones, were both present and a small gathered around the square to watch the moving ceremony take place.   

* The Legion branch standard is ceremonially lowered during the service as those on parade stand to attention.

Have your say on reviewing county's Active Travel map

Denbighshire County Council are reviewing its Active Travel Network Map as residents and invited to have their say.

Under the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013, all local authorities in Wales must regularly review and improve their walking, wheeling and cycling routes. 

Denbighshire’s current maps were approved by the Welsh Government in August 2022 and are due to be updated to reflect the changes and improvements that have been made over the past three years.

Active Travel is the name given for every day, short distance journeys that people make on foot or by cycle such as to work, school, college or to reach the shops and other facilities.

Denbighshire County Council have reviewed the Active Travel Network Map to include existing routes that meet Welsh Government standards as well as future routes that may need improvements to meet the required standards.

The maps have been prepared for consultation and residents are invited to have their say before the deadline on Friday November 27. The revised maps will then be sent to Welsh Government in December. 

Engagement events have also been organised for residents to view the Active Travel Network Maps, with sessions organised across the county, including one at Llangollen Library this Friday, November 13, from 10am to 12pm.

Councillor James Elson, Lead Member for the Environment and Transport, said: “When the Welsh Government originally introduced the Active Travel (Wales) Act in 2013, this legislation made it a legal requirement for councils in Wales to promote and develop a network of Active Travel routes within their area. Since then, the council has built new infrastructure, improved existing Active Travel routes and provided new facilities to benefit pedestrians, wheelers and cyclists.

 “We want to provide Denbighshire with a network that allows for walking, wheeling and cycling to become the most natural and normal way of getting about for local journeys. And, by doing so, promote the health and well-being of everyone and to make our towns and villages more livable places”.

* To have your say on Denbighshire’s Active Travel Network Map update click here.

Special date for Llangollen Parkrun

                       

Llangollen Parkrun is one of seven in Wales hosting Diabetes UK at its event on Saturday November 14.

The aim is to encourage diabetics and people with pre-diabetes to discover the benefits of exercise on managing their health.

Information about diabetes diagnosis and management will be on hand and there will also be the opportunity to talk to a Diabetes UK spokesperson.

You can get a Parkrun barcode by visiting https://www.parkrun.org.uk but you can still attend without registering.

For the local parkrun meet at the staff carpark of Llangollen Health Centre by 8.45am latest to benefit from the first-timers briefing. You can park in town or at Mill Street car park and walk the short distance to the start.

Railway launches £50,000 campaign to help it stay on track

Just weeks after bringing its 50th anniversary celebrations to a close, Llangollen and Corwen Railway has launched an ambitious new fundraising campaign to help protect itself for the next half-century.

The Rescue the Rails campaign has an initial target of £50,000 to help recover and transport miles of railway track, sleepers, buffer stops and other valuable infrastructure generously donated by Tata Chemicals from its former industrial railway site at Winnington, near Northwich.

Although the materials are being donated completely free of charge, the railway must fund the specialist contractors, lifting equipment and transport required to bring them to North Wales. 

The materials will provide a valuable resource for future track maintenance and renewals, potentially saving the railway substantial sums over the coming decades.

Trust Manager David Hennigan said: "At the end of October, we brought our 50th anniversary year to a close, celebrating five decades of incredible achievements by our volunteers.

"Now it's time to look ahead. Rescue the Rails is quite literally about investing in the next 50 years of our heritage railway.

"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Every pound donated could bring many pounds more in value back to our Railway. Our volunteers rebuilt this wonderful railway, and now we have the chance to protect it for future generations.

"Please help us reach our £50,000 target and secure our Railway's future."

The first sections of donated railway track have already arrived at Llangollen, with further recovery operations now being planned.

* The railway's Tim Pulford and Pete Evans witness the track being lifted in Northwich with Peter Simpson and Pauline Yould from Tata Chemicals, Europe

Heritage Engineering Manager Tim Pulford said: "From an engineering perspective, this is an extraordinary opportunity. Maintaining ten miles of heritage railway is expensive, and these materials could save us a significant amount of money on future track repairs and renewals.

"The infrastructure is being donated free of charge, but we need funds to recover and transport it. Every recovery trip could bring back materials worth many times what it costs to collect them.

"This is about giving our engineering teams the resources they need to maintain the Railway for decades to come."

The railway hopes the campaign will attract support from railway enthusiasts, local businesses, community organisations and everyone who values the preservation of Britain's railway heritage.

David added: "Our first 50 years were about rebuilding our Railway. This campaign is about protecting it for the next 50.

"We are enormously grateful to Tata Chemicals for their generosity. Now we need the public's help to bring this incredible gift home."

Three Ways to Donate

Supporters can contribute towards the initial £50,000 fundraising target in three ways:

1. Donate Online

Donations can be made securely through the Railway's dedicated fundraising page:

https://llangollenrailway.enthuse.com/cf/rescue-the-rails

2. Donate by Telephone

Call 01978 860979 to make a donation. For further payment options or more information, please contact Paul Bailey on 07745 223 946.

3. Donate by Cheque

Please make cheques payable to Llangollen and Corwen Railway and send them to:

Rescue the Rails
5 Abbey Road
Llangollen
LL20 8SN

For More Information:

For further details about the Rescue the Rails campaign, the extraordinary donation from Tata Chemicals and how you can help secure the next 50 years of Llangollen and Corwen Railway, please visit:

https://llangollen-railway.co.uk/news/rescue-the-rails-help-secure-our-railways-future/ or call Paul Bailey on 07745 223 946.

Llangollen's Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever is back!

* The red-clad throng in action at last summer's Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever. 

Llangollen's Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever will be back at Plas Newydd next summer.

And the woman heading the team which organised this year's big Kate Bush bash, raising £2,600 for charity into the bargain, promises it's going to be even bigger and better second time around.

Despite being told by doctors that she is terminally ill, Moira Gleed still took on the massive challenge of putting together the hugely successful dance fest last June.

On the day 230 red-clad Cathy Earnshaws from all parts of Britain - including the area's MP Becky Gittins - went through their stylish paces in Llangollen's first ever mass recreation of the famous Kate Bush 1978 dance sequence inspired by the 1939 classic film Wuthering Heights.

Moira had begun planning the colourful spectacle the previous October when her imagination was fired by a WhatsApp film she saw of a Wuthering day elsewhere in the country and she decided that Llangollen really ought to host its own version.

* Organiser Moira Gleed, right, enjoying the day 

with Llangollen's deputy mayor, Cllr Charlie Jones.

She gathered around her a hard-working bunch of volunteers who helped her make it a memorable success, with all money raised going to Welsh Women's Aid.

Advertising of the event began on social media early in the year and within just 11 days the entire stock of tickets was sold out.

Now, in a post on the Llangollen Wuthering Facebook page, Moira joyfully announces that she and the team are going to repeat the experience in 2027. 

Moira says: "It's been some time since we've been in touch but we wanted you to be the first to know we're going to do it again. So, have you got next year's diary handy and your red frocks?

"If so, mark down Saturday 19th June 2027 with Plas Newydd, Llangollen as the place to be.

"We're going to do it again but this time it'll be even bigger and better! Just wanted you all to know that the committee will start planning in the New Year. Tickets will be available in the spring."

Before joining the dancers herself last June Becky Gittins MP announced that Moira and her daughter Rowena, who helped her with the event organisation, had been jointly awarded her Community Champion of the Month award for that month.

And in her new post Moira adds: "Rowena and I've been invited to the Houses of Parliament by our local MP Becky Gittins on the 7th December to celebrate the work and events done in our neighbourhoods by Community Champions. We're delighted to accept on everyone's behalf because we couldn't have done it without everyone's help."

* Local MP Becky Gittins joins the dancers.

Really good Geely could be next big Chinese EV hit

Geely EX2 launch by Steve Rogers

Chinese cars are steamrollering Britain faster than we can tarmac our roads.

Brands you would never have heard of a couple of years ago have become household names. Who hasn’t seen the big Jaecoo badge on a front grille, in fact the Jaecoo 7 was the top selling car in October just pipping the mighty Ford Puma. What a feat.

It is almost the case that whichever Chinese car company launches in Britain is guaranteed a shedload of sales and here is another company hoping to keep the kettle boiling .

Geely (not Jeely) is our newest visitor, a sister brand to the group behind Volvo and Polestar, and has tested the water with the electric EX5 and Starray plug-in hybrid reviewed here, very favourably, in April. Now it is giving a debut to its superstar electric supermini, the Geely EX2, and superstar is no exaggeration.

This is the best selling car in China notching up 460,000 sales, almost the same number of electric cars sold here in 2025. Okay there are a lot more people in China, but all the same…

Is it any good? The car came in for a bit of stick for its software gremlins when it was shown to the motoring press, but the problems were fixed in a few weeks ready for its launch in the UK. Is that an eagerness to please or what.

What we have is a kind-to-the-wallet entry into the world of electric motoring. A budget starting price of £20,990 albeit with a limited 156-mile range from a 35kWh battery. But if you are not fazed by that there is a lot for your money. 

This is an incredibly roomy, proper five-seater with a boot bigger than a VW Polo and a shade less than the market leading Skoda Fabia, and they are not electric! Under the bonnet is a 70 litre bin, ideal for storing the bulky charging cables which sort of makes it top dog on storage space.

I put a six-footer in the front seat leaving bags of legroom for me in the back, and with a flat backrest there is no penalty for taking the middle seat. The flat floor helps and there is a heap of space under the seat. We might see a pull-out drawer added in the not too distant. There is already one under the front passenger seat.

I drove the top level Ultra, a jump of nearly five grand over the entry Pro, but you get a bigger 47kWh battery and an extra 56 miles of range plus the sort of spec you expect in a premium car. Leather seats, which are the most comfortable of any small car I have driven, powered, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, wireless mobile charging, 360 degree camera and powered tailgate.

The cabin is standard Chinese fare with a large 14.6in touchscreen dominating the dashboard. It needs to be that big because just about every function goes through the screen barring a few switches for the heating. I was not in the car long enough to get comfortable with it and from what I saw would take a while. Anyone familiar with a snazzy smartphone will have it sussed in a flash.

Ultra has the larger battery and more horsepower than the Pro but don’t expect the usual electric car lightning acceleration. A sprint to 62mph takes a leisurely 11.5 seconds, 14 seconds for the Pro, but it buzzes along quite happily at motorway speeds. It favours a soft, supple ride and keeps you comfortable over speed humps. Rear-wheel drive is interesting in as much as I expected sharper handling. It is not unruly through bends but still a little too lively. A BYD Dolphin and MG4 are more composed.

I can fairly confidently predict EX2 is going to sell well, Geely is predicting 10,000 sales next year. It sits well in the small electric city car bracket for two key reasons: space and price along with a good spec, extensive safety package, refined cabin and eight-year warranty.

If you don’t want to go Ultra, the middle ground is Max with the larger battery but £2,000 kinder on the pocket.

This is only the first chapter of the Geely story. There is an ambitious 45,000 sales target by 2027 with new models in the pipeline starting with Monjaro, a plug-in hybrid SUV and Project KO11, an 1100bhp monster.

Fast facts

EX2 Ultra

£25,490

Range: 214 miles

Battery: 47kWh

Power: 114bhp

0-62mph 11.5secs; 81mph

Zero emissions. 1st VED £10

Insurance group 18

Boot: 375-1320 litres

Railway's special ways of marking Remembrance Sunday

* Garry Smith starts the Poppy Drop along with members of the Llangollen Station team.

Volunteers from Llangollen and Corwen Railway joined the hundreds of people who gathered at the town's two war memorials in Centenary Square on Remembrance Sunday yesterday.

Royal Navy veteran Garry Smith MBE and his wife Ruth Smith, a former member of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), laid a wreath on behalf of the heritage railway.

They were joined by numerous of its volunteers who attended the ceremony after the railway cancelled its usual 10am departure as a mark of respect, allowing them and staff to participate in Remembrance services in their own communities.

At the other end of the line, Wayne and Sue Ronneback laid a wreath on behalf of the railway at Corwen's Remembrance Sunday service, ensuring that both towns were represented in the day's commemorations.

Following the morning's services, Garry and Ruth continued their tribute with a special Poppy Drop through the Dee Valley.

Garry travelled on the footplate of the Railway's 12.20pm steam train from Llangollen to Corwen, releasing poppies on the approaches to the platforms at Berwyn, Glyndyfrdwy, Carrog and Corwen.

Ruth then took over the tribute on the 1.45pm return journey from Corwen to Llangollen, continuing the symbolic Poppy Drop at stations along the route.

The journeys took place aboard the Railway's historic Great Western Railway steam locomotive No. 3802, which carried the special name 'The Remembrance' for the day.

The railway also observed the national Two-Minute Silence at 11am, while flags, poppies and special displays created by volunteers helped mark the occasion at stations throughout the Dee Valley.

Garry Smith said: "Remembrance Sunday is one of the most important days of the year for those of us who have served in the Armed Forces.

"Standing alongside hundreds of people at Llangollen's Cenotaph this morning, and laying a wreath with Ruth on behalf of the Railway, was an incredibly moving experience.

"Travelling on the footplate of our steam locomotive and releasing poppies along the Dee Valley was a real privilege. Each poppy was a reminder of those who served, those who sacrificed so much and those who never came home.

"It was particularly special to see so many of our Railway volunteers attending the service. Cancelling the first train allowed everyone the opportunity to pay their respects, and that was absolutely the right decision."

Ruth Smith said: "It was an honour to represent the Llangollen and Corwen Railway alongside Garry at today's Remembrance Sunday service. We'd like to thank Llangollen Town Council and Llangollen's British Legion for organising such a memorable service.

"Seeing so many people gathered together, young and old, was a powerful reminder that remembrance continues to mean so much to our communities.

"Taking over the Poppy Drop at Corwen and bringing the tribute back to Llangollen was particularly poignant. It was our way of remembering those who gave their lives and ensuring their sacrifices are never forgotten.

"We were also delighted that Wayne and Sue Ronneback represented the Railway at Corwen, bringing both ends of our beautiful line together in remembrance.

"Today has shown that our railway is about much more than steam trains. It is about people, communities and remembering the generations who made the freedoms we enjoy today possible."

The railway also offered free travel to serving Armed Forces personnel, veterans and members of recognised cadet organisations on its afternoon services, as a gesture of thanks for their service.