Llangollen and North East Wales

Llangollen straddles the tumbling River Dee and is surrounded by lush green countryside and rolling hills. The town is a hub of history and culture set in stunning scenery that manages to make you feel like you’ve discovered a hidden treasure that no one else knows about. Its nickname – the town ‘Where Wales Welcomes the World’ comes from its International festival of music, dance and culture that was started just after the second world war to bring the countries of the world together in peace and friendship.

There is enough to fill a brochure in Llangollen with a myriad of colourful shops and a strong café and foodie culture. Plas Newydd is a stone house converted into a gothic fantasy by its famous inhabitants the ‘’Ladies of Llangollen’. At Valle Crucis Abbey, founded by Cistercian monks in 1201, you would expect to find a life of religious austerity – but, it was better known for its lavish hospitality of silver service and ale ‘flowing like a river’. The ancient hill fort of Castell Dinas Bran, with its links to the legends of King Arthur, is perched atop a steep hill overlooking the town. Travel by steam up the Dee valley on the Llangollen Heritage Steam railway or take life at a slower pace aboard a horse-drawn barge along the Llangollen Canal. Thrill-seekers can take a white-water rafting trip down the tumbling waters of the River Dee, go rock climbing on the local limestone escarpments or mountain biking at the 2 local purpose-built centres.

The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Llangollen Canal were granted UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2010. Completed in 1805, canal was built to take slate, limestone and other natural resources across the steep Dee valley and onwards to the industrial heartlands of England. The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct carries the canal 126 feet over the Dee valley and is a pioneering masterpiece of engineering and monumental metal architecture. Now a major tourism destination, a museum charts the life of the canal and aqueduct through the ages. A stroll to the centre of the aqueduct is a must and you can cross on a canal boat or even canoe over if you are feeling brave.

A 20-minute drive from Llangollen, Erddig Hall is a unique property that captures the way of life of the servants and owners of a bustling stately home during the early years of the last century. Its walled garden is one of the biggest and most important surviving examples of an 18th century garden in Britain.