As the receptionists say when one rings an office or workplace--thank you for bearing with me! I'm absolutely delighted with myself to have actually got this webpage up and running. Why? Because I've changed computers and am now using a PC instead of an Apple and it's taken me months to get this far! I've had help along the way, from Geoff in Ellesmere, and Ian on the boat next to us who, I've just discovered, is a computer man! So thank you to both of you. I've even got the pictures to load, thanks to Ian. So I hope to do a few more webpages whilst we're here in Llangollen. It's been a little dispiriting for me for the last few months, as I couldn't make anything work, but now, at last, I think I have it sorted out. I told Trev that Ian had sorted me out, and he said he'd been trying to do that for years!
You might also notice that at last I've found out how to make the pictures appear in different places on the page. Up to now I've only been able to show them on the left, but I borrowed an excellent book from the library and now it's all crystal clear..............Well, have a look at the next page:
Click here to see more pictures of the area
and I think you will agree that I'm getting better all the time!
Another new thing I've learnt is how to make the subject of a photo appear by passing the cursor over the picture. Try it and see! This will only apply to this and subsequent pages, not previous pages.
This page has been compiled over the time we've spent at Llangollen, so there are additions as time passes. I hope it doesn't appear too disjointed.
We're really enjoying the change of lifestyle. Trev has joined a local walking group and has done a lot of walking, both with the group and on his own. 
Through the group, he met Judy and Eric, and they invited us for a meal a few weeks ago. We spent a lovely evening with them, and only wished it had been light when we were there, as the views from their house are wonderful.
However, I walked with Beryl from another boat moored along here, and I took a photo of Eric and Judy's house from the other side of the valley. Although you can't really see their house--it's right in the middle--you can get an idea of its situation.
They have walked the Pilgrim's way from Le Puy in France to Santiago de Compestella in N. Spain, a distance of about 2,000 kilometres.
The picture on the left is Dinas Bran Castle, in ruins, close to Llangollen--hope you can see it!
Trev's been to the top several times, and is threatening to take me.
On the right is Horseshoe Falls at the end of the Llangollen Canal, where we've often walked.
This is where Thomas Telford constructed a waterfall to draw water off the River Dee to feed the Llangollen Canal. The first two miles are too shallow to navigate, the only boat which uses it is a horse drawn trip boat.
Where the water for the canal leaves the Dee, there is a meter house, and Dave the BW man is in charge of the flow. He took us in to see how it all works. Eight million gallons a day flow through here, along the Llangollen Canal and into Hurleston Reservoir, at the Junction of the Llangollen Canal and the Shropshire Union Canal.
We've also walked past the house of 'The Ladies of Llangollen'. It is called 'Plas Newydd'and belonged to a couple of women who arrived from Ireland in the last decade of the eighteenth century. They moved in to the house in 1791 and eventually bought it in 1825.
The two women had been at school together, though one was the senior by sixteen years and had taught the younger. They lived together for the rest of their lives, with a servant who had come with them from Ireland. They seemed to make quite an impact on Llangollen and were visited by a variety of 'important' people. The house is still there. From the outside, I find it rather forboding. I haven't had the opportunity to go inside as it's closed for the winter.
The weather, in the main, has been atrocious since we arrived. The wind has been terrifyingly strong, and the rain has lashed down, some days without stopping. There have, of course, been some nice days too. On one walk which Trev did, he was really high up and could see Liverpool, The Wirral and Beeston Castle in the distance. The River Dee has been very high, locals say it has rarely been higher.
The public transport system here is excellent. Although there isn't a railway in Llangollen--except the delightful private steam railway--there are buses which connect to the station at Wrexham, and which also cover a host of routes in N. Wales. If one has an address in Wales, one can have a bus pass which gives free bus travel anywhere in Wales. What a bonus! We spent a day in Wrexham, which isn't exactly a tourist beauty spot but does have good shopping. I get quite excited when I see more than three shops together--it's quite rare lately that we get to a shopping centre!
We also went to Barmouth on the 'bus, but it was shut! Well, almost. It was a lovely trip, through such pretty countryside, past Lake Bala, through Corwen and Dolgellau, but when we got to Barmouth there was a wind blowing so hard, the sand was blowing up off the beach. As we rounded one particularly windy corner, a man said to me: "Are you on a boat?" I thought he'd taken leave of his senses. It's bad enough on the canal when the wind blows us about without arriving on Barmouth by boat! But no, what he meant was that he'd seen us in Llangollen, he lives in a house right by the canal and had walked past our boat whilst out with his dog. You can't go anywhere.............! We spent most of the time in Barmouth trying to keep warm. We had a coffee in a tea shop and made that last as long as possible. We braved the elements and went for a walk along the front--past the Good Luck Chinese Restaurant, and the Carribean Amusement Hall--and found the place where I had stayed about fifty years ago! We spent about twenty minutes in a DIY store because it was so nice and warm, and then we went in a pub and had a drink until it was time to catch the bus back to Golly. And we nearly missed the bus. After kicking our heels trying to pass the time, we got so comfy in the pub we lost track of time and had to make a dash for the bus, just getting on as it left.
Friends Sheridan and Ron came to stay for three nights and one day we all went to Chester for the day. We shopped, but didn't sightsee. Then friends Ronnie and Pete came for four nights, and Trev took them walking each day, which was very nice as I got days to myself, and is how I found time to write this webpage!
True to form we've eaten out fairly often! There are three good places to eat in Llangollen. The Corn Mill, which was what its name suggests and is very attractive, right on the river, Gales, a wine bar with a great atmosphere, and an Italian restaurant, whose name escapes me, but it's the only one in town. At all three we've had good food and good service. A little further afield, there is the Chainbrdge Hotel, right on the river bank close to the Horseshoe Falls, and also the Bryn Howel Hotel, two miles along the canal in the opposite direction. So we haven't been deprived of one of our favourite activities!
I'm disappointed not to have found a quilting/patchwork class/group to join, but there is a Quiltfest here in Llangollen for the month of February, where lots of quilt will be hung, both as competition entries and as exhibits. No doubt that will get me going again, and I shall start sewing once more!
We also have things to look forward to. We're going to hear the Fron Male Voice Choir. They have been in the limelight recently with a new CD which reached No. 1 in the classic hit parade.
Click here to read about the Fron Male Voice Choir
And we're going to London to see Cirque du Soleil, which is supposed to be a wonderful performance of circus acts--no animals!
Click here to see more about the Cirque de Soleil
A Walk Along the Canal
The Horseshoe Falls in Flood--with a fallen tree caught up in the foreground.
Friends Jane & Pete came for a weekend in February,and it was the weekend when we had snow, so they really enjoyed the snowy scenery. On the Sunday we went for a ride on the private Llangollen Railway, up to Carrog, where we had lunch and then came back. It was a grand trip and you can see photos of it here:
Click here to see pictures of the rail trip
There is a group of us moored along here for the winter, and we've enjoyed each other's company. Today (Feb. 1st) Alan left on his boat Florence E. We were sorry to see him go, and now there is a sad little space where his boat was moored. Some of the boats are here until the end of March, that is the final date on which the winter moorers have to leave.
Catharine, Mamdooh and Catharine's sister janet came to stay for the weekend of Feb. 17th & 18th. As there was three of them, we couldn't put them up so they stayed at "The Squirrels" Guest House--which we would highly recommend:
Click here to see the Squirrels'website
And this was the time when I finally assaulted Dinas Bran! It was pretty steep, The other three went up quite quickly, but Mamdooh and I took our time, pausing to 'enjoy' the views on quite a few occasions. It was a steep climb but we felt very pleased with ourselves, particularly Mamdooh who had an operation only a month ago. Here are the pictures to prove it, though they are rather misty............
The Walk up to Dinas Bran
We shall leave on March 2nd and set off for Willeymoor Lock, which is the only part of the Llangollen Canal which is closed. It opens on March 9th. We shall go down to Hurleston Junction where the canal joins the Shropshire Union. We hope to be able to go down the Shroppie. There is work going on which we hope will be finished by the time we arrive. We have an appointment with the bottom blacker at Welford on the Grand Union (Leicester Branch) in April. On the way we shall have our boat checked for its certificate of compliance, rather like a car MOT. This will be the first time we've been checked, it happens every four years. The fire extinguishers will also need their annual check, a firm from Coventry does that for us.
Click here to see more pictures of the area
Summer Plans 2007
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