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Holiday in Llangollen
I HAVE a confession to make. Being a native of mid Wales, with its miles upon miles of unbroken wilderness, I always thought of the north east of the country as an industrial heartland, full of coalmines, quarries and suburban sprawl.
There couldn't be anywhere up there worth seeing, let alone finding a top quality hotel in the midst of all this industrialisation - could there?
I don't usually like admitting I'm wrong, but in this instance the evidence is overwhelming - although in my defence I will say the industrial heritage in and around Llangollen more than played its part in making this trip so enjoyable.
The Bryn Howel Hotel is a perfect case in point. With spectacular views over the Vale of Llangollen, it is also situated right next to the Llangollen Canal, which acted as the main route for limestone and slate extracted from the surrounding hills.
Today the tow path makes for a very pleasant walk to either the town itself in one direction, or the Pontcysllte Aqueduct in the other, with the marina at Trevor below.
Telford's masterpiece is of course the subject of World Heritage Site bid, with the assessors from Sweden recently staying at the Bryn Howel on the all-important visit. I'm sure they were impressed.
The building itself dates back to the mid 19th century as the new home of industrialist James Coster Edwards, who owned a number of brick and tile works throughout the region.
The now famous Ruabon Red brick was one of his and the original frontage of the hotel, complete with beautifully moulded brickwork, can be enjoyed while dining in the excellent Cedar Tree Restaurant.
I'm not sure whether Mr Coster Edwards would have enjoyed the levels of cuisine on offer to us but if he could match the light smoked trout mousse wrapped in oak smoked salmon, followed by tender braised shoulder of Welsh lamb with buttered ponch maip, rounded off with pear and white chocolate torte, he was a very lucky man indeed.
We stayed in the Maestro Suite, duly named after the visit of Luciano Pavarotti to the International Musical Eisteddfod in 1995. Renowned for demanding the best, there obviously wasn't much to his dislike at the Bryn Howel, as he stayed there again on his return to the festival in 2004.
But Pavarotti isn't the only ‘name' to have graced the corridors of this excellent hotel. Harrison Ford and his partner Calista Flockhart popped in to stay four years ago, funnily enough while on a canal cruising break... as did Timothy West while filming a TV show on narrow boats.
Being in an out of town location, the Bryn Howel is also ideally located to access the many other aspects of the area, on foot or by car.
One place I had to explore was Eglwyseg Rocks. This limestone escarpment is absolutely breath- taking when you approach Llangollen from either Wrexham or along Telford's A5, and towers above the Dee Valley like its very own White Cliffs of Dover!
The rock face extends for some four miles and includes many interesting local names such as World's End or even Craig Arthur (Arthur's Seat). Whether this refers to ‘the' Arthur is open to debate but it would fit in well with the sheer number of myths and legends linked to escarpment.
Its limestone rocks contain a real treasure trove for fossil collectors but again the evidence of man's industrial past is there. Limestone was quarried in the 19th century, helping create the landscape you see today. There's even the remains of an old incline used to deliver the quarried rock to the canal side.
Not unsurprisingly the area is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Landscape of Historic Interest.
I like Llangollen. This small market town is one of the jewels in the crown of Denbighshire and certainly punches a lot higher than its weight as far as tourism is concerned.
A walk over the ancient bridge into the town itself brings a mixture of the late medieval old town and the Victorian new town together quite starkly.
On the left, the original main street of the town, Bridge Street, winds its way along past St Collen's church and many old shop fronts, now private dwellings.
Straight on is the now main Castle Street with its collection of independent shops that make a visit here unique.
Castle Street was built in 1859 to join the town bridge with Telford's A5, thus opening up another opportunity for exporting the towns industrial resources, such as those from the mills that lined the banks of the River Dee.
One of these has been converted into the excellent Corn Mill restaurant, where we enjoyed a very pleasant lunch. It was good to see the huge iron water wheel restored and in working order.
We are extremely grateful for Castle Street today but the entrepreneurs who developed it couldn't have known the railway would arrive some five years later!
Ah yes, the Llangollen Railway, one of the best preserved steam railways in the UK, which probably had the biggest effect on the industrial and social development of either A5 or canal.
We travelled the full seven miles up to Carrog, and of course back again, and I'm sure the planned extension to Corwen will simply add further to what is a wonderful experience.
Daily Post readers can book B&B at Bryn Howel for just £10pppn - just quote DPW01 when booking. Offer valid until March.
For further information visit www.llangollenhotels.co.uk
