Llangollen Town Trail / Llwybr y dref Llangollen

Hello again people and pooches. Joe the Cocker here after following the Llangollen Town Trail leaflet. 

https://www.northeastwales.wales/booklets/llangollen-town-trail/

It can be found online by following the link above, or you can pick up a printed version at various locations in the town, such as the Information Centre. Llangollen is around five miles from home. Sometimes we walk there and jump a bus home or vice versa. We have walked there and back a few times when the mood took us. On this occasion, we drove there with the intention to do this particular walk.

We parked on the edge of town, close to the Llangollen Pavilion, famed for being the venue of the International Music Eisteddfod. It was being prepared to host a series of summer concerts with this year presenting, amongst others, Paloma Faith, Simple Minds, Katherine Jenkins, and Kaiser Chiefs.

The venue was built in 1992 and is used for conferences, comedy shows, and food festivals as well as music events.

We headed towards the heart of the town along the towpath of the Llangollen Canal. The first 11 miles of the canal has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It is also a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The site includes the embankments, tunnels, viaducts, and aqueducts along the route.

Our earlier blog about our walk from Pontcysyllte to Llangollen along the towpath can be seen by clicking on the link below.

https://joethecockershikes.com/2020/09/29/pontcysyllte-to-llangollen/

The walk along the towpath is a peaceful and picturesque short hop to the town. Watch out for cyclists. Most are polite and thoughtful and give plenty of warning that they are behind you. The odd bad apple spoils it, giving no notice and zooming past. This is what one inconsiderate dope did and almost fell into the canal. My human is an ex cyclist, so he has a lot of time for them. You never find an inconsiderate pooch riding a bike!

The narrowboat marina is a particularly pretty spot that we passed.

The towns bowling green looked like a good place for me to play on and chase those big heavy balls. My human said that if I did, they would have my guts for garters! Whatever that means, it doesn’t sound good!

As we were nearing the wharf, we met a huge dog pulling a narrowboat. My dad said that the bread of the dog was called horse! Whatever it was, it was huge!

The wharf is an area where people gather to go on rides on the sightseeing boats. There is a lovely cafe there too where my human has taken me to watch him drink coffee.

The Wharf Tea Room is dog friendly inside and out, so I would give it a thumbs up if I had a thumb that is! The horse-drawn boats are dog friendly, too, but not the motorised ones that go over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

A fantastic detour can be taken to Castell Dinas Bran by turning left and uphill at this point. It is a quite strenuous 45-minute hike to the ruined castle that overlooks the town. We have done this on previous walks and have blogged about it.

After we passed through The Wharf, we dropped down Wharf Hill to pass the Taxidermist shop on the right. We crossed the road to Llangollen Bridge. The bridge is one of the Seven Wonders of Wales and was constructed in 1345. It has been altered on many occasions since that date to accommodate motor vehicles and to enable trains to pass underneath.

The iconic view from the bridge takes in the railway station and the roaring rapids of Afon Dyfrdwy beneath. The river is popular with kayakers and rafters as they battle the fast-moving water and between the rocks and boulders.

My human usually stops at a cafe around this area, so I dragged him towards his favourite cafe. But, no, not this time! I was shocked. He can’t resist a caffeine fix usually. Instead, we turned right into Dee Lane.

Ahead of us was The Corn Mill, which is currently a pub serving lovely food. The mill was originally built by monks from the nearby Valle Crucis Abbey in the 13th century. It was rebuilt in 1786. It was used as a mill until 1974 and left derelict until 1990 when it was converted into a pub.

The pub has a large boarded area overlooking the river. My human still didn’t stop for a coffee! The Town Trail guide takes you into a sharp left turn after the Corn Mill or, alternatively, to head straight on along the promenade.

The short detour is well worth it. When the water level is low in the river, a large area of rocks is uncovered. The views looking back towards the bridge and upwards to the castle shouldn’t be missed.

I love walking on the rocks and taking a dip in the pools that form in between them.

There is a small park, playground, and bandstand towards the end of the promenade. My human took this photo on the day of the Llangollen Food Festival.

After our stroll along the promenade, we turned back until we headed right up a short slope along Parade Street. On the left is Llangollen Museum in the building that formerly housed the library. The mid-20th century structure is circular or polygonal, two story building that reminds you of a castle tower. Well-behaved pooches are allowed inside. I hear it houses some fascinating stuff. I know that you humans are fond of stuff!

We walked along Parade Street, passing the old police station, until we took a right turn into the very popular Castle Street. On the right is the Town Hall, which was built in 1867 and was formerly the Assembly Hall and Market Hall. Y Capel stands next door, originally a Baptist Chapel, but now houses the library and Tourist Information Centre.

Castle Street is lined by shops and eateries, many of which are dog friendly. We popped into Proadventure, my humans favourite outdoor shop. Surprisingly, he didn’t buy anything!

We crossed the A5 at the head of Castle Street and paused to look at The Armoury. It was built in 1835 as a jail and courthouse. Later, it became the town hall and drill hall. It has also housed the armoury for the Yeomanry Militia.

We decided to take the optional detour up Hill Street to visit Plas Newydd. The walk is only about ten minutes of a steady uphill climb, and well worth the effort.

The left turn into Plas Newydd takes you through the formal gardens until you are presented with a magnificent view of the house with Castell Dinas Bran in the distance. The gardens are open all year and are free to visit. The house has limited opening hours, and an entry fee is payable. Dogs are welcome in the gardens but not indoors.

The house was built by the Ladies of Llangollen, two runaway Irish aristocrats, Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby. Originally, when they moved in in 1780, it was a modest cottage until they lavishly converted it into a stately home.

A walk around the entire exterior of the house and gardens is a peaceful and tranquil experience. I had to be on a short lead, but I didn’t mind.

As usual, I had to pose in front of and next to stuff! On this occasion, it was a sheep and a lamb dressed in woolly jumpers.

On this occasion, it was a lion. It wasn’t even real!

I was beginning to wonder when the big feller was going to stop for a coffee. He found the tea garden, and we sat outside in a nice little courtyard. The man who served my dad made a real fuss of me. He brought water and treats for me and talked to me. I think that my human was jealous! So, he treated himself to an Americano and a big chunk of Coffee and Walnut cake.

After our refreshments, we headed down Butchers Hill, a narrow lane leading towards the river. On our way, we passed three bears in a garden. Honestly!

The lane provided us with lovely views of Castell Dinas Bran standing sentinel above the town.

The quiet lane took us back to the busy A5, which we crossed and entered into Church Street.

Number 18 Church Street, built in the early 17th century, is the last sub-medieval, externally timber framed building left standing in Llangollen.

As we came to the end of Church Street, we found St. Collen’s Church. We entered the church grounds through a metal gate next to The Hand Hotel. The 13th century church stands on the site of a 6th century building founded by St. Collen, a Christian warrior who went on to live a hermits life on Glastonbury Tor.

In the grounds is a three sided monument dedicated to the Ladies of Llangollen.

We spent a few minutes walking around the exterior of the church before we continued along Church Street and back to Llangollen Bridge.

From the bridge, there are good views over to Llangollen Railway Station. Built in 1865, the station nowadays serves the Llangollen to Corwen Heritage Line. It is the only standard gauge heritage railway in operation in North Wales with regular steam trains departing to Corwen some 10 miles away.

The station is adorned in the colours of the 1950’s Great Western livery. The station is laid out in a typical Victorian fashion.

We left the station to return to our car by walking along Abbey Road. We passed a guest house that appeared to cater for squirrels! My nemesis. I would have loved to go in there. I would have had a ball chasing those sneaky critters!

There was one last thing that grabbed our attention as we approached the car. A huge 14 feet tall stainless steel harp stands in the grounds of the Pavilion. Doves of peace circle the top of the harp. It looks stunning in the sunshine.

We were back at the car where I could have a short nap while my chauffeur took me home. Till next time!