Llangollen, Wales

 Wednesday, July 9, 2025

 

Well, it was another full day. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast this morning (this hotel certainly knows how to make guests feel welcome and satisfied). Then Jim went off to get tickets for a concert tonight and I spent some time working on our photo book.

 

After Jim returned, we headed off to the International Eisteddfod hosted in Llangollen (there is an ‘h’ sound at the beginning of the word as well as an ‘h’ sound in the middle of the word). Welsh is a very complex language but proudly spoken by people who live in Wales. Signs are all bilingual, Welsh on top and English below. Most Welsh people speak the language fluently. The host at the Eisteddfod today conducted the entire program in both languages.

 

The program today focussed on children’s choirs (senior – ages 12-18), (junior – ages 11 and under) and traditional folk dance groups (under the age of 16). Many participants came from afar – India, Korea, Canada, Jersey, England, China, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, and, of course, Wales. The performances were outstanding. Clearly these groups have worked hard on their music and dance. All presentations were adjudicated and there were some substantial monetary prizes for the top placed groups.

 

It was surprisingly warm today, 23C and clear blue sky. A beautiful day to say the least. We were feeling a bit fatigued from all the walking we had done and sitting inside a large tent with hundreds of other people. A beverage at our hotel helped us recuperate.

 

We were planning to go to a concert tonight but due to a medical emergency of some sort, the concert was cancelled. Disappointing … but sitting at an outdoor table as the heat diminished was very pleasant and a Welsh couple joined us. We had a great conversation and exchanged contact information.

 

A Facebook Messenger conversation with Karen, David and the kids completed our evening. Tomorrow is a new day and we have chosen the performances we would like to see. We have also made a reservation at another pub for a riverside meal. We are looking forward to another great day.

 

Thursday, July 10, 2025

 

We planned to have a quiet day but it certainly did not turn out that way. Why are we surprised? There is always something new to discover and why would we consider not pursuing the illusive? So, off we go.

 

I want to start by describing the breakfasts provided at our current hotel in Llangollen. We are staying in a very old building, recently refurbished. We have a lovely room overlooking the main crossroads in the city with a beautiful view of the River Dee that rumbles across the rapids on its way to the sea. Only one problem ... there is no 'lift'. That means each time we go to our room we have to climb two sets of about 20 stairs with no handrail on the first set. It is a daunting trip to our room but the view from the window makes it worthwhile. 

 

However, back to the breakfasts .... they make up for whatever inconvenience we may face. Starting with hot, strong coffee in a pot that is never empty. What a great way to face a new day. A very friendly server (the same one each morning) approaches our table to take our order. The menu has several very British options on it but she is willing to modify our order even when it is not on the menu. While we wait for the hot meal, we are invited (no ... encouraged) to take advantage of the buffet that has been set out - fresh fruit, a variety of cereals, several flavours of yogurt, fresh baked options, orange juice and toast. Cereal with yogurt suits both of our palates so we start from there. An apple or orange is quietly slipped into my purse. Yesterday, Jim ordered a light hot breakfast - 2 fried eggs, several slices of bacon, a large sausage, beans, a fried half tomato and a healthy portion of lightly fried mushrooms. Oh ... and I forgot about the large hashbrown slab that was also on the plate. It looked very inviting and was delicious. Jim ate it all. I ordered something not on the menu - one slice of bacon and scrambled eggs. Happily, my plate came out just as ordered and the scrambled eggs were among the best I have ever eaten. Our day was off to a great start.

 

Our first outing this morning was to take an antique tourist train along a track that paralleled the River Dee.

Under gorgeous sunlight, the fields on both sides of the track gleamed. As the day went on, the heat increased and by the time the train came back and the sheep and cattle were huddled in the shade a tress or hedges, trying to stay cool. The train ride was uneventful but quiet and peaceful. Wales and other parts of the UK are 'dog-friendly' and it is not unusual to see dogs in many places, including on this train.

 

We had met a couple last night, Ann and Ian, while sitting at a table outside our hotel. They live in Wrexham (about 30 minutes away) and had come into Llangollen for the day. Llangollen is a wonderful town, filled with small shops, gorgeous landscape, courteous residents and, because of the Eistedfodd festival, people from all over the world. It is a very busy, yet somehow, tranquil place to be, even at the main intersection of the town.

 

Anyway, Ann and Ian made several suggestions for us to pursue. So, after the train ride, we set off in our car to explore the backroads around Llangollen. We found the Horseshoe Falls (much smaller than Niagara but beautiful, nonetheless)

and the chain bridge which is literally that, a pedestrian bridge that crosses the river, suspended by chains at each end.

We travelled through agricultural land, small fields with cattle or sheep grazing peacefully. The roads were narrow and winding roads, sometimes the speed limit was 20 MPH and on the same road, equally circuitous, the speed limit could be 60 MPH. If nothing else, it makes driving interesting. When we came back into town, we headed for the marina to make arrangements for a long boat ride across a canal. And, we got lost!! We finally stopped a group of dog-walkers who gave us directions and the information that it was not really a marina but simply a few long boats under a bridge. We laughed when we found it. We have a very different vision of what a marina might look.

 

Ann and Ian also told us about an abbey that is nearby but, alas, we could not find it. We later learned that the abbey is right in town so we will go looking again today.

 

After an afternoon rest (rare, indeed), we went out to explore the community further, into the main business area, bustling with people and shops, especially souvenir shops. So far we have resisted. We enjoyed the lively atmosphere and the colourful storefronts. One, in particular, stood out because of its name. We recall it from our visit here about ten years ago.

 

Welsh is a complex language.

 

There is a bridge across the River Dee between our hotel and the main street. It is a common diving spot from the top of the bridge to the water below. It looks dangerous to us but not so to young men. Bare-chested, they climb up onto the stone fence and launch themselves into the air and dive straight down into the water. I guess it is deep enough to be safe as they all seem to surface and climb the steep hill to do it again.

 

For dinner tonight, we ate at a lovely restaurant called the Corn Mill.

Of course, in its earlier life it had been a corn mill. Now it is a gracious old building that has been transformed into a handsome restaurant along the river's edge. The service was great, the food was delicious and the ambience was amazing. More friendly people gathered together. All overlooking the burbling, fast flowing river.

 

A wonderful way to finish the day.

 

 

Friday, July 11, 2025

 

Our last full day in Wales. We got up early to make the most of it. We once again enjoyed our breakfasts and then headed out the door to the pavilion at Eistedfodd. We arrived early enough to make parking easy. It was a short walk to the enormous tent where all of the competitive performances are on stage.

 

This morning, there were two groups of performers. The first included ten choirs from all over the world – Wales, of course, as well as England, India, Portugal, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Phillipines and Canada … yes there was a choir named Toronto Northern Lights Chorus. We both enjoyed the quality of music that these choirs presented in the 10 minutes allotted to each one. A couple of the choirs stood out as almost professional but when the adjudicators described the performances and the marks, Toronto came fourth in the competition. Not bad for being a fledgling competitive group. They will be performing again tomorrow in another category and we will be sure to be in the audience.

 

Next came dance solos and groups, again featuring dancers from around the world – Wales, Ukraine and Northern Ireland. The dancers were in top form and performed beautifully, Sadly, we had to leave before the results were announced.

 

We drove back to the hotel and made our way to a nearby bus stop where a big white bus was going to pick us up to go on a longboat ride in the Llangollen canal. When we were here several years ago, we chartered a boat and tried to navigate it in the canal by ourselves. To say it was a disaster is an understatement but we finally got the boat back to the dock. This time we decided to buy tickets and ride in relative comfort across the world reknowned aqueduct, the longest and highest in Wales, 38 meters above the river and 307 metres long. This aqueduct was hand-dug in 1805 and was never intended to be navigable. It was a source of water from the Dee River to several nearby communities. Over time, sources of water were further developed and now the aqueduct is maintained as a navigable channel, enabling small boats and much larger long boats to travel along this piece of history. Some of the long boats are actual homes and some are more like summer cottages. And the one we were on is a tourist opportunity. We enjoyed our two hours on board and were able to see the river far below the aquaduct as well as swimming areas, grazing sheep and cattle and thousands of raspberry bushes along the sides, just beginning to ripen. We even passed by a small herd of cattle standing in a small cove alongside the canal. I guess they were hot too.

White and yellow wild flowers decorated the route as well.

 

We were very happy, though, when we finally arrived at our destination, a docking area high above our hotel. Today was the hottest day of the year so far and there is no air conditioning anywhere, including on the boat or at our hotel. We walked down the steep stairs and immediately headed for the bar. Cold water and a tasty drink certainly helped the situation. We were happy to relax for a while before dinner.

 

We ate dinner at our own hotel tonight. We must like the food as we have eaten three dinners there in the four days we stayed. Right after dinner we headed back to the Pavilion at the Eistedfadd site for an evening concert featuring a group called El Divo. Although we had never heard of them before, we felt quite sure we would enjoy their music as we have like other groups of male singers. We were not mistaken. They put on a great show. Generally, they sang songs that other musicians had written and performed but it was great to listen to these four tenors harmonize in many different ways. They have apparently been working together for over 20 years. Simon Cowell (Britain’s Got Talent) put the group together in the beginning and they have been successful ever since.

 

We were later than usual returning to our hotel and we still needed to pack out bags again as we are heading to Liverpool tomorrow afternoon. One more morning with an outstanding breakfast and another visit to Eistedfodd which we have thoroughly enjoyed. The Toronto Choir is singing again tomorrow as well as several events we would like to see.

And then … farewell, Wales.

 

Saturday, July 12, 2025

 

It was a bright and sunny morning and we were eager to finish breakfast and explore more of Llangollen. It is such a cute town in a beautiful setting. But first, we had to pack. Once we are finished in Llangollen, we are heading to Liverpool. Our days in the UK are certainly numbered - Saturday in Llangollen, Wales; Sunday in Liverpool, England; Monday, we fly to Norway from Manchester. We really have run out of time.

 

We had breakfast, packed the car and said farewell to Denise who has served us breakfast each day. Our first priority today was to spend more time at the Eisteddfod. Events included Community Band competition (3 bands); 

Mixed Choirs competition (men and women over 18); Female Choirs (women over 18); and a Dance Off (dance troupes of 4 - 30 participants over 18). Choirs, Bands and Dancers

came from all over the world - Denmark, USA, Costa Rica, Portugal, New Zealand, France, Congo, Bulgaria, Zimbabwe, India, Kurdistan, Canada, England and, of course, Wales. This really is an international event. 

One of the pieces that choir competitors had to sing was a story song that was written in their home country. The Canadian Choir, Toronto Northern Lights Chorus, sang the opening song from the play, Come from Away. They sang and spoke so well that I had actual tears on my cheeks. I was so proud of them.

The Canadian choir placed first in its category which meant that it would be competing for the Pavarotti Award as Champion Choir of the World. This award was named for him because he performed at the Eisteddfod many years ago and won his competition which was the catalyst for his very successful career.

Midday, we took a break and went for a countryside drive. This time we were looking for the Valle Crucis Abbey, perched high on a hilltop a few kilometres outside of town. It was, of course, a ruin but on a bright sunny day under clear blue skies it looked very attractive and worthy of a few photos.

We also drove over Horseshoe Pass, a very high point in the landscape. We actually missed the pass twice and consequently took no photos of the high hills and deep valley that were part of the landscape. 

Once back in town, we meandered the main shopping streets of Llangollen. The streets are very narrow and the shops, generally are very small. Most of them seem to be sources of Welsh souvenirs, not something we need or want to take home. We did come upon a deli that had take out food. Jim went in and got us each a sandwich accompanied by chips (always) and a salad. We took them to a lovely and peaceful park along the River Dee. A real diversion from the madding crowd in the town.

We headed back to the Eisteddfod for more music, this time to final competitions of international dances. It was very colourful, skillful and entertaining. An Indian troupe won the prize for their exciting performance.

A female performer, Lucie Jones, took the stage. She is Welsh and has appeared on stage in London and has sung for the royal family and appeared in a significant role in the X Factor. She certainly entertained this audience and even had us singing familiar songs along with her.

But the highlights of the evening were the final competitions of choirs and dance troupes. We enjoyed watching both of those competitions and successfully guessed the winner of the choral group. A large, New Zealand Youth Choir 'wowed' the crowd and the judges. 

They were name Choir of the World and received the Pavarotti trophy. A dance troupe from India took first prize for their performance. What fun it was to see the finals and feel the anticipation of the naming of the winner. The adjudicators certainly had their hands full.

The concert ended about 8:30 pm and we still had to drive to Liverpool where we are spending the night. It was still daylight for a while but as dark fell, I felt somewhat less confident on narrow, winding dark roads. But, we made it and are now settled into our room for the night.

Tomorrow is a new day and we will fill it without a doubt. More about that in the morning.