Places to Visit
About Llanfyllin
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Llanfyllin is a small attractive town in the beautiful Cain Valley. Its town charter dates from 1293, and the town includes buildings from many periods. The former workhouse, Y Dolydd, featured on the BBC Television series Restoration, is being converted into a historical centre, workshops and housing. The classical Music Festival held each June/July includes internationally known musicians. There are pubs and restaurants for evening meals, and you can buy food and drink for picnics at the grocery stores and the specialist bakery.
Llanfyllin is an ideal centre for exploring Mid-Wales, Snowdonia and the Welsh Coast, as well as the Wales-Shropshire border.
Exploring the area
The diagram below shows places of interest that can be reached by car from Pendalog. However, it is not not an accurate map and is not to scale.
Most of the towns featured on the map have their own websites, and an internet search will find lots of information about places of interest and activities in the area. The following sites give an overall picture of what is available:
Visit Wales; Mid-Wales Tourism; Wales Tourist Board; North Wales Tourism; Snowdonia; Shropshire Tourism; CADW (Welsh Heritage); National Trust Local to You (click on Wales and West Midlands areas of map)
You can also find help and pick up leaflets at the many Tourist Information Centres. Britain Express has a list of TICs as well as guides to Mid-Wales and North Wales.
Some suggestions:
Outdoor activities such as golf, fishing, cycling and horse-riding are available throughout the area.
Walkers can enjoy the rolling hills and wooded valleys, or the heather clad Berwyn Mountains. Explore Offa’s Dyke Path, The Long Mynd from Church Stretton or the Horseshoe Pass above Llangollen.
Canoeing and sailing at Bala and Vyrnwy; wind-surfing at Vyrnwy and adventure watersports at Llangollen.
Birds: RSPB centre, bird hide and guided walks at Lake Vyrnwy. Red kites at Gigrin Farm near Rhayader. Herons, swans and other waterfowl at Ellesmere.
Canals: boat trips at Llangollen and Trefor. Walk across Telford’s Pontcysyllte aqueduct at Trefor.
Steam railways: Welshpool-Llanfair Caereinion, Bala, Llangollen, Bridgenorth, Blaenau Ffestiniog. Cliff railways at Bridgenorth and Aberystwyth. Railway museum at Oswestry,
Waterfalls: Pistyll Rhaeadr near Llanrhaeadr is the highest waterfall in Wales and one of the Seven Wonders of Wales. Swallow Falls at Betwys-y-Coed.
Roman city at Wroxeter; Roman fort and amphitheatre at Chester.
Agricultural shows each year at many towns including Llanfyllin, Welshpool and Oswestry.
Shopping: large shopping centres at Chester and Shrewsbury. Market towns: Welshpool, Oswestry, Machynlleth, Llangollen.
Castles at Chirk, Welshpool (Powys Castle – the Red Castle), Conwy, Craven Arms (Stokesay), Ludlow, Montgomery, Harlech, Denbigh. Medieval Valle Crucis abbey at Llangollen.
Leisure Centres at Llanfyllin, Oswestry, Bala, Welshpool, Machynlleth.
Arts Festivals: Llangollen International Eisteddfod, Llanfyllin Music Festival, Ludlow Festival (music, theatre); Dolgellau folk and rock festival.
Gardens: Welshpool (Powys Castle, Glansevern Hall Gardens).
Sea-side towns and villages: Aberdovey, Aberystwyth, Conwy, the Wirral.
Heritage and history centres: Machynlleth (Celtica, the Owen Glyndwr Centre), Blaenau Ffestiniog Slate Caverns, the Ironbridge Gorge Museum, Ruthin Gaol. Motor museums at Llangollen and Betws-y-Coed. Erddig House, Wrexham: life “upstairs” and “downstairs” in a large country estate in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Science and environment: The Alternative Technology Centre, Machynlleth; Techniquest Science Discovery Centre, Wrexham. The Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre, Craven Arms. Enginuity at Coalbrookdale.
Living and working in the countryside: Park Hall Countryside Experience, Oswestry. Acton Scott Working Farm Museum, Church Stretton. Sheepdog demonstrations and sheep shearing at Ewe-Phoria, Llangwm (between Corwen and Betws-y-Coed).