People and the Picturesque

Reconnecting visitors and residents to the people who shaped the landscape of the World Heritage Site, and helped to make it the special place you see today is another aspect of the Our Picturesque Landscape Project.

Volunteering

There are so many opportunities for people to volunteer in the Dee Valley, with weekly gardening sessions at Plas Newydd Historic House in Llangollen and conservation and countryside management activities with the AONB Ranger team in the wider Dee Valley. There are various opportunities with our project partners at the Canal and Rivers Trust at Pontcysyllte, Trevor Basin and greeting visitors and sharing the historical stories at the Lengthsman’s hut at Horseshoe Falls which has recently been restored and opened up by Our Picturesque Landscape Project.

Please get in touch at our.picturesque.landscape@denbighshire.gov.uk to find out more.

Go Wild with Heritage Heroes

Our free monthly family after school and holiday activities are held at Plas Newydd in Llangollen from February half term to October half term. Parents stay and play to enjoy activities with their children with themes including wildlife, art, history and getting active outdoors.

Check out the Events Page for more details!

The Cefn Creative

Each month we host a free adult art and craft group in Cefn Mawr and everyone is welcome. Each session we invite an artist to lead activities such as, wool felting, paper collage, sketching, painting, weaving and printing to name a few. Please get in touch if you are interested in joining in the fun.

Outreach

The Picturesque Landscape Project team also facilitate outreach sessions such as art, walks, gardening and wildlife and nature activities for specialist groups such as the Vale of Clwyd Mind, Dynamic Wrexham – A centre for children and young people with disabilities and Co-options – “Connecting people with Learning Disabilities to opportunities”. We are excited to work with these groups to connect them with their local landscape and we welcome new groups and new people to take part in our outreach sessions.

Engaging Communities and Young People

In 2019 the Our Picturesque Landscape Project worked with Ysgol Caer Drewyn, members of the local community at Canolfan Ni, local artists and Corwen Museum to commemorate the Centenary of the 1919 Corwen Peace Eisteddfod. The Gorsedd stones from this Eisteddfod are located in the picturesque woodland of Coed Pen y Pigyn, a site managed by the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB Team in partnership with the landowners, Natural Resources Wales. A film was made to mark the occasion.

Art Inspired by the Landscape

The picturesque beauty of the Dee Valley has been a source of inspiration to artists, poets and writers for centuries. To continue with this tradition, the Our Picturesque Landscape project has worked with a variety of painters and literary themed artists throughout the project, to bring new artwork inspired by the Dee Valley as well as community workshops and QR trails.

Head to our Artist in Residence page for more information.

Discovering the World Heritage Site

The 10-year anniversary of the inscription of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site was celebrated in 2019. The Our Picturesque Landscape team worked closely with local artists to encourage local communities and schools to rediscover and celebrate the World Heritage Site on their doorstep. Children from local schools were able to meet the “real” Thomas Telford when he came to visit the aqueduct. A free family fun day for local people and visitors was funded in partnership with Canal and River Trust, Denbighshire County Council and Wrexham County Borough Council. The team also worked with NEW Dance to create a contemporary dance piece with young people to perform at the family fun day. Schools, youth groups and community groups participated in art activities inspired by the landscape of the World Heritage Site and this culminated in an exhibition at Tŷ Pawb in Wrexham

Education Pack

The team are developing some new educational resources for schools to use to discover more about Our Picturesque Landscape through themed learning bundles including; Art Inspired by the Landscape of the Dee Valley; Dee Valley People, Past and Present; and Exploring the Dee Valley. There will be a range of creative and interactive resources within the learning bundles which will be a welcome addition to those already produced by the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site.

Restoring the Dell

The restoration of the Dell at Plas Newydd has been an ongoing project with the aim of taking the landscape back to the place of tranquillity, designed by the famous Ladies of Llangollen.

Elements of the historic grounds, including the restoration of the Ram Pump building, planting of the birch avenue and bog garden, reconstruction of the dry stone walls and brand new summerhouse railings are among many of the projects that have been able to take place with the help of our funding and volunteers.

The wood from a 200-year-old felled Elm tree in the grounds, has made its way back into the Dell through a collection of new carved benches for visitors to sit and enjoy the sights and sounds of the landscape.