The Chain Bridge and Valle Crucis Abbey

A round trip was on the agenda for today, encompassing several sites we had `bookmarked` in our minds before we set out. Our starting point was the town of Llangollen which was about 7 miles away. Llangollen is a very `pretty` town, for want of another word! Also famous for the International Musical Eisteddfod which is a music festival taking place every year during the second week of July. It is one of several large annual Eisteddfodau in Wales. Singers and dancers from around the world are invited to take part in over 20 competitions followed each evening by concerts on the main stage. Over five thousand singers, dancers and instrumentalists from around 50 countries perform to audiences of more than 50,000 over the 6 days of the event.

Llangollen takes its name from the Welsh llan meaning "a religious settlement" and Saint Collen, a 6th-century monk who founded a church beside the river. St Collen is said to have arrived in Llangollen by coracle. There are no other churches in Wales dedicated to St Collen, and he may have had connections with Colan in Cornwall and with Langolen in Brittany.

Leaving the car park, we headed along the river side toward the town.

Llangollen Bridge is known as one of the ‘Seven Wonders of Wales’ and was built by Bishop John Trevor c. 1345. Widened in the 16th and 20th centuries, it allowed the town to develop on both sides of the river Dee, which rises in Snowdonia and flows through Bala Lake to Chester.

Another `must see` - The Chain bridge in Berwyn. 

The first chain bridge here was built by Exuperius Pickering in order to transport coal, lime, stone, etc from the Shropshire Union Canal, (Llangollen Canal) across the Dee to Telford's recently completed London to Holyhead road. The bridge allowed Pickering to bypass the Llangollen toll bridge further downstream, and transport coal from his mines near Acrefair up the canal and onward to Corwen. Permission to build it was granted in 1814 and it was completed by 1818, making it one of the first chain bridges in the world. 

The second bridge was built by railway engineer and industrialist Henry Robertson in 1876 using the existing chains of the first bridge. 

The chain bridge was rebuilt as a suspension footbridge reusing some of the existing chains. In 2015 its complete restoration (£465,000) after years of neglect was completed and it is now a major tourist attraction. So, having walked across it, here are my images! 

The Chain bridge and Chainbridge Hotel. 

The picturesque Berwyn railway station is a railway station on the former cross-country line between Ruabon and Barmouth. The station, which opened in May 1865, was a stop on the Great Western Railway(GWR) line between Llangollen and Corwen. It was closed by British Rail in January 1965. 

In 1986 the station was reopened as part of the heritage Llangollen Railway. It is now reportedly among one of the best 10 stations to visit in Britain. 

And just as we were taking our picture, we witnessed the arrival of this locomotive - unfortunately not steam! 

And so onto Horseshoe falls. Here Telford tapped the River Dee for the water supply for the Llangollen and Shropshire Union Canal. 

The picturesque church dates from the 7th Century. Additions have been made over the centuries, some taken from Valle Crucis Abbey which is not very far away, and was next on our list today.. Robert Browning worshiped here and there is a commemorative plaque in the church. The present building was erected around 1180 CE. 

A general view of the interior 

A closeup of the 14 C Eagle Lectern. 

And then onto the Valle Crucis Abbey ruins. It never ceases to amaze me at the craftsmanship that many of these old ruins hold testament too. People don`t change: as then, so now, the bigger and grander, the better to impress (awe?) the local serfs, the better.

Showing the amazing amount of work that this building must have taken. 

The Chapter House

Valle Crucis Abbey was founded in 1201 by Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor, on the site of a temporary wooden church and was the last Cistercian monastery to be built in Wales. Founded in the principality of Powys Fadog, Valle Crucis was the spiritual centre of the region, while Dinas Bran was the political stronghold. The abbey took its name from the nearby Pillar of Eliseg, which was erected four centuries earlier by Cyngen ap Cadell, King of Powysin memory of his great-grandfather, Elisedd ap Gwylog. (See below) 

Madog was buried in the then-completed abbey upon his death in 1236. Not long after Madog's death, it is believed that a serious fire badly damaged the abbey, with archaeological evidence that the church and south range were affected. 

The location on which Valle Crucis was raised was originally established as a colony of twelve monks from Strata Marcella, an earlier abbey located on the western bank of the River Severn near Welshpool. The original wooden structure was replaced with stone structures of roughly faced rubble. The completed abbey is believed to have housed up to about sixty brethren, 20 choir monks and 40 lay-members who would have carried out the day-to-day duties including agricultural work. The numbers within the church fluctuated throughout its history and the monks and the abbey itself came under threat from various political and religious events. The abbey is believed to have been involved in the Welsh Warsof Edward I of England during the 13th century, and was supposedly damaged in the uprising led by Owain Glyndŵr. Numbers also fell after the Black Death ravaged Britain. 

In 1537, Valle Crucis was dissolved, as it was deemed not prosperous compared to the more wealthy English abbeys. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the site fell into disrepair, and the building was given to Sir William Puckering on a 21-year lease by Henry VIII. By the late 16th century the eastern range was converted into a manor house. Valle Crucis remained with the Wotton family, and was inherited by the 2nd Baron Wotton, but upon his death it was passed to Hestor Wotton, his third daughter. Hestor married Baptist Noel, 3rd Viscount Campden and the abbey entered the family's ownership, before being sold shortly afterwards when the estate was sequestered by Parliament in 1651. By the late 18th century the building that remained were re-roofed and the site was used as a farm, before excavations were undertaken in the later half of the 19th century. 

Eliseg's Pillar is the remaining portion of a tall round-shafted cross of Mercian type, which gave its name to the valley and the neighboring abbey. All that survives today is part of the rounded lower shaft, on one side of which it is just possible to see weathered traces of early lettering. The roll mouldings at the top of the surviving section mark the point at which the squared and tapering upper portion of the cross would have originated; this may have continued to a height similar to that of the rounded shaft before being surmounted by a cross-head. 

The cross was pulled down in the 17th century during the Civil War, and the rest had been removed before this column was re-erected by T. Lloyd of Trevor Hall, and event commemorated in the late inscription on the rear. The mound was excavated at this time, and a skeleton found in a long cist, but it is not clear from the description whether this burial was prehistoric or early medieval. 

Fortunately, a detailed record of the original inscription was made in 1696 by the antiquarian Edward Lhuyd, before the lettering deteriorated to its present extent. Where his reading can still be checked, it appears to be reliable. Much of the wording was illegible, even in Lhuyd's time, but sufficient survived to allow an interpretation of the purpose and date of the monument. 

The monument was probably erected in the early 9th century, celebrating the exploits of a king up to a century earlier. Eliseg's campaigns may have provoked the construction of Offa's Dyke by the English, as a defence against the Welsh, in the mid 8th century. 

Our last point of interest for the day was to travel through Horseshoe Pass. This was the photo I took on a very misty day. The Horseshoe Pass (Welsh: Bwlch yr Oernant, "Pass of the Cold Stream") is a mountain pass in Denbighshire, north-east Wales. It separates Llantysilio Mountain to the west from the 565 metre (1,854 feet) mountain and Marilyn Cyrn-y-Brain to the east. The A542 road from Llandegla to Llangollen runs through the pass, reaching a maximum height of 417 metres (1,368 ft). The road travels in a horseshoe shape around the sides of a valley, giving the pass its English name. 

This route dates from 1811, when a turnpike road was constructed across the area. As with the rest of the roads in the Clwydian Range, it is not uncommon for sheep to gather in the road, sometimes causing problems for drivers. The road is also frequently closed in winter due to snowfall or landslides - I can well imagine! 

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Chirk Castle and a walk by the Canal

This was just a short break in the Llangollen area (we actually stayed in Glyndyfrdwy), having easily planned to fill our 4 days including a family visit. As always in Wales, you hope for rain free days. We had no rain, but at times it was very misty - we can`t have it all can we! 

The village is historically renowned for its association with Owain Glyndwr. It was here at his Manor of Glyndyfrdwy that Owain (Baron of Glyndyfrdwy) proclaimed himself “Prince of Wales” on 16th September 1400 so beginning his 14-year rebellion against English Rule.

This was our holiday let in the village of Glyndyfrdwy overlooking the river Dee and the village.

Quite a view from our bedroom window.

Angler fishing on the Dee just below our holiday cottage.

Sunday morning, and a short drive past Llangollen to this magnificent castle of Chirk, now owned by the National Trust. 

Chirk castle now stands proud amongst the chain of defence castles built in North Wales under the reign of Edward l, including castles such as Beaumaris, as not only a defence fortress but a family home too. Built in 1295 and completed in 1310 by Roger Mortimer, Chirk castle still boasts original features such as the 700 year old medieval dungeon and tower, laundry and servants’ hall. 

Sir Thomas Myddelton I was born in 1550, son of the governor of Denbigh Castle. With little hope of inheriting his father's position he left to make his fortune in London, which he did with remarkable success. He invested in the East India Company and the Virginia Company, was knighted, built a mansion in Essex, and in 1613 became Lord Mayor of London. 

In 1595 Sir Thomas I had bought Chirk Castle for £5,000 with the intention of turning it into his family seat. In actual fact he spent more time at his home in Essex, but he spent vast sums of money on the castle including building the north range and its State Rooms. 

Sir Thomas Myddelton II was a Civil War general, first on the side of Parliament, and then later, disillusioned by Cromwell's military dictatorship, as a Royalist in support of Charles II. 

Over the next 400 years the Myddelton family ruled a vast estate from Chirk Castle, subsequent generations were ambitious industrialists, entrepreneurs, and politicians. 

The award-winning gardens cover 5.5 acres of manicured lawns, herbaceous borders, beautiful rose, shrub and rock gardens, and the wooded pleasure ground – perfect for a stroll. A feature of these formal garden includes the vast and dominating clipped yew trees and topiary of different shapes and sizes, one being a squirrel. I didn`t find that one!.

On 23rd March 2013, the family favorite Cedar of Lebanon, planted over 200 years ago, fell during a period of heavy snow. To retain it`s memory, it was carved into this magnificent bench.

Plenty of naked people viewing the beautiful landscaped gardens.

The gatehouse entrance to the castle

Down in the magnificent dungeons, this was the state of the art loo! There was a lot more to this castle than we explored and to get a sense of the whole site, go to the National Trust site here.

After some lunch in a local pub, we took a walk along the side of the Llangollen Canal, and very peaceful too. This was one of the barges we saw on our ramble.

Then we made our way back to our village, stopping to photograph the station and signal box

Glyndyfrdwy railway station is a former station on the Ruabon to Barmouth line. It is now a preserved railway station on the Llangollen Railway, and was reopened by the heritage railway in 1993.

I was lucky to catch this steam locomotive coming into the station, albeit backwards! It was a `1940s` weekend and it was fascinating to see people getting off and on all dressed in their 1940`s gear!

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Birds at Lynford Arboretum

Lynford Arboretum is on the north side of Thetford forest and is well worth a visit as a beautiful walking area - if nothing else. However, it has made its name for the numbers of species of birds that it attracts, and this was the main reason why we made this visit.

The whole area, complete with Lynford Hall has an interesting history. The Hall is now an hotel, and we stayed there for one night to enable us to be on site reasonable early. 

But, before the history - to the birds we photographed. The main bird that was on the agenda was a Crossbill, neither of us having seen one before.

We joined the `throng` in one particular area by the river bridge where they had been seen before. We waited, then went for a walk and then returned to wait some more! Finally success - although none too close. However, here is the image.

Although not uncommon, they are not the easiest birds to see. It is a chunky finch with a large head and bill which is crossed over at the tips. This crossed bill is used to extract seeds from conifer cones. They are most often encountered in noisy family groups or larger flocks, usually flying close to treetop height. It feeds acrobatically, fluttering from cone to cone.

While waiting and wandering, we also manage to photograph some other birds The area is beautiful and well away from the hustle of modern life. So suits our feathered friends.

Female Chaffinch on sentry duty!

Marsh Tit - is, as indicated by the name, a member of the tit family. (clever me)

Brambling, a plump-looking migratory bird, which is medium-sized (similar to the chaffinch) belongs to the Finches family. Its distinctive white rump and attractive orange breast makes it easy to spot

Nuthatches can be seen all year round in the UK. The majority of Nuthatches like to live in mature woodlands or parkland in central and southern England and Wales where food is plentiful. So not surprised to see them here.

The Dunnock is a small brown and grey bird. Quiet and unobtrusive, it is often seen on its own, creeping along the edge of a flower bed or near to a bush, moving with a rather nervous, shuffling gait, often flicking its wings as it goes. When two rival males come together they become animated with lots of wing-flicking and loud calling.

Song Thrush - high in a tree and singing.

Lynford Hall Hotel, from the `bottom of the garden`

Once one of the greatest estates in England, Lynford Hall was a serious contender for royal ownership. Its location in some of the best shooting country in East Anglia attracted the attention of Queen Victoria’s advisers, who in 1861 had been instructed to acquire a suitable property for her son, Edward Prince of Wales, although eventually they settled on Sandringham.

A few miles outside Thetford, the Lynford estate covered 8,000 acres and came complete with a brand new country house. Designed by the fashionable architect William Burn and partly modelled on the Elizabethan architecture of Hatfield House, Lynford Hall was very grand indeed. It had a lavish entrance and several reception suites, plus a total of 50 bedrooms and dressing rooms, with state-of the art fittings such as plumbed water supplies and gas-lighting piped from a private gasworks.

The hall had been commissioned by millionaire banker Stephens Lyne-Stephens, reputedly “the richest commoner in England”, who had inherited a family fortune based on glass manufacture in Portugal. He had paid £133,000 for the estate but deemed the existing mansion too small and suitable only as temporary accommodation.

Stephens had intended to settle at Lynford with his French wife Yolande Duvernay, an ex-dancer famed for her beauty. But fate intervened and while building work on the new house started in 1857, Stephens fell ill. His love of wine, tobacco and fine food eventually took its toll and he died in February 1860 at the age of 58. His widow faced a turbulent future. Not only was the house not finished – the couple had been waiting to move in – but Stephens’s death prompted a rash of claimants to his riches.

Finally, when all the mess was sorted, his widow moved into the recently completed hall. Memories of her husband were everywhere, not least in the stone lettering of his initials that adorned the parapets. After she died in 1894, Lynford Hall then passed through a series of owners until 1924, when the majority of the estate was sold to the Forestry Commission. As many acres as possible were planted with fast-growing conifers to help replace the country’s depleted timber stocks in the wake of the First World War.

A major fire gutted parts of the hall in 1928 and total demolition loomed but the main parts of the building were restored by a new leaseholder, Sir James Calder. A wealthy entrepreneur, Calder was very well-connected and during the Thirties Lynford was buzzing with the rich and famous. Visitors included Ernest Hemingway, who was said to have regularly propped up the hall’s bar.

Other guests included Joe Kennedy, American ambassador to Britain, who was accompanied on several occasions by his sons Jack and Bobby. Their time at Lynford marked the close of a golden autumn in the estate’s fortunes.

Someone has been busy with this carved tree in the Arboretum area.

Scarlet Elfcup (Sarcoscypha austriaca)

Canada Geese making their usual noisy presence heard and seen by the river.

A really beautiful area in and around the Arboretum which is well worth at least one visit. There are many walks, including toward Lynford Waters. 

Lynford Water (opposite the Arboretum) is an area of flooded gravel pits in the Wissey valley now managed for recreation by the Forestry Commission, including an area of sandy beach. It is the closest the Brecks comes to having a seaside. 60,000 years ago it was a very different place, a chilly, open ‘mammoth steppe’ landscape with a very different wildlife and a population of Neanderthal humans. The evidence was found in an excavation here in 2002, at the eastern end of the site (see map on this site).

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Thorpeness & Peter Pan

In the late 19th century, the Thorpeness we know today was a tiny fishing hamlet on the East Coast, buffeted by the merciless North Sea and home to only a few houses that had not been taken into the waves by erosion.Just a couple of decades later, it would be transformed into a fantastical holiday village, with a beautiful boating lake, complete with Peter Pan islands, a 70ft fairy tale cottage on stilts, mock-Tudor homes and a luxury country club.

In 1859, Alexander Ogilvie, a civil engineer from Scotland, bought Sizewell House as a holiday home in Suffolk. Having made a fortune from his work around the world as a railway engineer, within 40 years he had expanded his estate to over 6000 acres, stretching from Dunwich to the north, down the coast to Thorpe, and inland to Leiston and Aldringham. In 1908, the estate passed into the hands of Alexander’s son, Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie, born in 1858. Ogilvie was an Edwardian architect, barrister and playwright.

After severe flooding in November 1910 reduced Thorpe to a mere puddly field, Ogilvie purportedly looked out to the land at the southernmost point of his estate and declared, “Let’s keep it, and build a holiday village around it.”

So Thorpe was renamed Thorpeness to distinguish it from the many ‘Thorpes’ in the country and Ogilvie’s plan, to create a fantasy, holiday haven for the upper middle classes, was put into action. Work began promptly and the new country club, known as The Kursaal, with an 18 hole golf course and tennis courts, opened in May 1912, the same year that the first properties were leased in the village. Development was interrupted by the First World War, but the construction of more accommodation and other planned facilities continued in the years afterwards.

A concrete-brick-making machine was imported from Australia and used to make blocks out of shingle from the beach, making Thorpeness one of the first enterprises in Britain to utilise the potential of concrete.

The waters of the Meare, bordered to the south and west by the Hundred River, were originally part of an Elizabethan safe shipping haven that had silted up over the centuries. Following the November floods of 1910, Ogilvie was inspired to block the river permanently and create the piece that is central to the village. 64 acres of safe and shallow water, and ornamental gardens, were hand dug in the winter of 1912 to 1913. With a maximum depth of two feet, six inches, it was billed as “The Children’s Paradise”.

Thorpeness was promoted as “The Home of Peter Pan”. JM Barrie, author of The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up (Peter Pan), was a friend of the Ogilvies and regularly visited the village. His characters inspired the magical little islands in the center of the famous Meare. The landings are still marked with names from the storybook, and you can find locations such as the pirates lair and Wendy’s home, to play on. 

Looking across the Meare toward the windmill and famous "House in the Clouds", now a holiday let!

The picturesque Boathouse with a clock tower was built, rowing boats made available for hire, and teas served by the landing stage, all part of the fantasy

A water tower and flats of 1929 by William Gilmour Wilson as part of Thorpeness village development for Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie. Called The Sanctuary, I believe and is in Westgate.

This shows the less photographed east elevation of the tower. 

Ogilvie needed a water supply for the village, so he built “The Gazebo”, a tower with a water tank on top, the tank cunningly disguised as a house. Then he bought the Aldringham windmill and set it up in rather curious juxtaposition to pump water to the tank. The Gazebo, however, was not just a tower with a water tank at the top. Beneath the water tank lay a seven bedroom house designed for holiday makers. Its first occupant was a lady of creative inclination who wrote stories and poems for children. She re-christened the Gazebo “The House In The Clouds”, and so it remains today, a famous landmark, though the water tank has long since been removed. 

The windmill, which was moved from nearby Aldringham in 1923 

When Stuart Ogilvie’s son died in the early 1970s, the family state began to break up. The family was left with punitive death duties, which were met by the gradual selling off of the village’s buildings and businesses. Houses were sold to those intending to be long-term residents, or frequent visitors to the village. By 2000, the only sector still owned and run by Stuart Ogilvie’s grandson, Glen, was the Meare. 

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