HERITAGE RAILWAY BEGINS NEW SEASON OF TRAIN SERVICES TO CORWEN

The Llangollen Railway resumes services through the Dee Valley from Saturday 14th February, when trains begin operating between Llangollen and the new terminus at Corwen.

This follows a mid winter shut down whilst essential maintenance work on the railway has been undertaken and facilities at the new station have been completed.

The 2015 timetable for the heritage railway provides for all public service trains to operate through to the temporary station at Dwyrain Corwen East as the new line extension is brought into regular use. The exceptions are trains during the popular Days Out With Thomas events, which will terminate at Carrog where activities are arranged for visitors.

Three steam trains a day will operate on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th February, arriving at Corwen at 11.20, 13.37 and 15.47. There is, however, only a short stop over period here as the mode of operation for the return journey requires for the train to be propelled back to Carrog under the control of a driver in the specially modified rear coach. The steam engine will then ‘run round’ at Carrog, where a longer stop over takes place, allowing passengers to use the facilities there. This changes the arrangements, which have become familiar to regular visitors.

During half term week, 16th to 20th February, an off-peak diesel railcar service will be running, arriving at Corwen 11.35, 13.35 and 1535, departing five minutes later. The diesel railcars with their exciting view of the line ahead, as seen from behind the driver, provide an excellent way for passengers to appreciate all the work that went into rebuilding the line from Carrog through to Corwen over the past three years.

Kevin Gooding, General Manger of Llangollen Railway said, “The commencement of train services over the extended railway provides for a scenic journey through part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The trains offer easy access to our three wayside stations at Carrog, Glyndyfrwy and Berwyn, which allow for the Welsh countryside to be enjoyed by walkers and others seeking a day out in the Dee Valley.
The two-hourly weekday train service operates from 23rd March and allows for visitors to spend time in Corwen or to join the train at Corwen to travel to Llangollen. We trust that the extended line will attract more visitors who will contribute to the regeneration of the area and improve the viability of the heritage train services.”

2015 is an important year for the Llangollen Railway which celebrates the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Llangollen Station in 1865.  It is also the 40th anniversary of the start of the challenge to rebuild the railway after the derelict station at Llangollen was taken over by volunteers in 1975.

The 2015 season has a full range of special events planned, starting with a Day Out With Thomas weekend on 21st & 22nd February.

Kevin Gooding added, “Thereafter we will celebrate the official opening to Corwen with a special train for VIPs on St David’s Day, 1st March, when the completion of phase 1 of the extension will be suitably commemorated at Dwyrain Corwen East. This is immediately followed by two three-day events on 6th to 8th and 13th to 15th March, when the Betton Grange Society’s ‘Steel, Steam & Stars IV’ mega-gala will bring a number of exciting steam locomotives to Llangollen to provide a steam extravaganza.”

Full details are available on the railway’s website site at: www.llangollen-railway.co.uk

Beware the Tides of March!

According to this article in the Daily Telegraph, the 21st of March will apparently be the date of a "Super Tide". There will be an unusually strong spring tide caused by the sun and moon aligning while the latter is at its closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit.

The high tides produced could potentially raise risks of flooding if they occur during a storm surge. However, the enhanced tidal forces will also result in very low tides. This can grant opportunities to see many ship wrecks and other interesting features off the coast of Llyn that are normally hidden by the waves. One such wreck is the Stewart off Porth Ty Mawr near Llangwnnadl. Better known locally as "the Whiskey Ship", the Stewart ran aground on Easter Sunday 1901. The cargo of whiskey bound for Australia was rapidly rescued from the sea by some of the local residents, who then proceeded to move it for "safe keeping" in farm buildings, haystacks and down rabbit holes, much to the chagrin of H.M. Customs and Excise. The remaining timbers are only 6 - 10 feet below the water and are sometimes exposed at extreme low tide.

"Aber-Daron" ? You must be Jo-King!

An article in today's Daily Telegraph reports on a bid to add hyphens to many Welsh place names in order to aid pronunciation by those unfamiliar with the language.

"Villagers dash hopes of a helpful hyphen to tackle Welsh tongue-twisters"

"The proposals involved adding hyphens to 11 villages in Ceredigion, Mid Wales: Abermad (Aber-mad); Brynteg (Bryn-teg); Cnwch Coch (Cnwch-Coch); Drefach (Dre-fach); Felinfach (Felin-fach); Felinwynt (Felin-wynt); Ffynnon Oer (Ffynnon-Oer); Gorsgoch (Gors-goch); Penparc (Pen-parc); Tremain (Tre-main) and Tyngrug-Isaf (Tyn-Grug-Isaf)."

The proposals have not met with widespread approval, as people are understandably attached to the current village place names which have been used for years.

To suggest that place names that have evolved through time should be stripped back down to their original language components is to misunderstand how those components were themselves formed by evolution. We could, however, have a lot of fun with English Placenames. Man-Chester? Birm-ing-ham? Needless to say, you can be confident that you will not need to visit us in "Aber-daron" by way of "Caer-nar-Fon" and "Llan-ael-Hearn"!

New Year Greetings from Aberdaron

Dear All,

New Year’s Greetings from Aberdaron. Our best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year. What a brilliant year 2014 has been for Aberdaron and Manaros! Not everyone was lucky but for much of the summer the sun shone for week after week, and we've yet to see a frost this winter at this end of the Llŷn.

Manaros was let for an extended season which meant that we could afford to make some upgrades and hold the prices steady over the last three years into 2015. We have also invested in an electric rise and recline chair and an adjustable bed which is available on request.

The village car park is now owned by the National Trust, is open in the evening and is free to members. The new National Trust Interpretation Centre Porth y Swnt is now open and has a number of intriguing, puzzling  and unusual exhibits. It is well worth a visit.

The new fish and chip shop is doing a busy trade and the menu now includes lobster tails and crab cakes, and more is promised for 2015.

The new 3 storey thatched bakery has been built, to some controversy, and dwarfs the old mill. The bread, savouries, cakes and biscuits are better than ever though.

Further improvements have been made to the Wales Coast Path and this section from Rhiw to Aberdaron along the south coast is due to open mid 2015.

The winter storms of early 2014 caused some damage and brought a lot of sand into the village, but the beach has now returned to normal. However, we are promised 70 mph winds this week and some high tides...

We were fortunate to have bookings at Christmas and at New Year, and Manaros proved to be a comfortable place to stay in the winter, see this review on Trip Advisor, and this photograph of the Boxing Day charity swim. Though we must confess that neither Simon nor I made an appearance!

There are new attractions in the area, such as the restored Nefyn Maritime Museum, which shows the development of shipping on the Llŷn Peninsula.



The Felin Uchaf eco centre at Rhoshirwaun continues to develop and the new visitor centre will be open this year.

To encourage off-season visits we are offering free transport to the Coast Path between Porth Oer and Mynydd Rhiw, which means that you can pick challenging walks back to Aberdaron along the coast. We are getting good bookings for 2015, so if you do want to visit us this year, please have a look at the availability calendar and, as they say, book now to avoid disappointment!

We hope to see you soon. Before we go, the video below was published on YouTube last year and well worth a watch in case you need one last bit of inspiration to come to the Llŷn. Mwnhewch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G0DFBVpOn0

Volunteers needed: Snowdonia Marathon 25th October

Can you help out at the Snowdonia Marathon on the 25th of October? The Snowdonia Society is asking for volunteers to help operate the Beddgelert feed station. Packed lunch, T shirt, slate coaster and fun guaranteed.

The Snowdonia Marathon supports the local community and last year donated £14,000 into local good causes including a generous £1,000 for Cymdeithas Eryri the Snowdonia Society.  They will be running the food station at Beddgelert and are looking for volunteers from about 11:00 until 14:00. The race starts in Llanberis at 10:30 and the front runners should reach the station by 11:30. Apart from handing out drinks, gels and other high energy foods volunteers will be cheering on the runners and making sure the area is kept tidy.
If you would like to help out please contact info@snowdonia-society.org.uk quoting 'Snowdonia Marathon 25th October'
More information about the marathon can be found here.

Snowdonia Walking Festival 25th & 26th October

With so many of North Wales' walking festivals concentrated in the spring and summer, it's good to see one based in the autumn for a change. The Snowdonia Walking Festival is based in Betws y Coed on the 25th and 26th of October. Snowdonia is beautiful at all times of the year, but the autumn colours should make it well worth a visit. According to the website:

"Each level of fitness will be catered for - from three mile strolls for beginners through to all day treks for the more experienced mountain walker."

 For more information phone the organisers on 01690 720331, or fill in the enquiry form.

Abersoch Half Marathon - 4th October 2014

There are still places available on the Abersoch Half Marathon, taking place on Sunday the 4th of October. The race is in aid of the Wales Air Ambulance and entry cost £29 per person, or £27 if you are a member of a UK Athletics running club. You can enter online until 2pm on Friday the 3rd.