Eisteddfod Day 2

On Friday, June 8, we woke up to another sunny and relatively warm day.  After breakfast, Peter and I went off separately from Andrew and Paula to enjoy the Eisteddfod and Llangollen.  First, we went to the Town Hall, one of the venues for the competition.  Performing were young musicians on solo instruments (although sometimes with piano accompaniment), including violins, clarinets, flutes, piano, and one tuba.  The youngest contestant was probably about seven years old; she played the violin with technical precision, but, compared to the older instrumentalists, lacked emotion.  Like her, all the others played (to our ears) flawlessly but with more confidence and personality.  One of the flute players produced tones I had never heard before from that instrument, and she seemed to play without effort.  The young man playing the tuba was excellent, although Peter commented that it must be hard to compete against other more elegant instruments.  His second piece was haunting.  The winner of the competition that morning was a young woman who played the marimba.  She moved back and forth along the instrument with fluidity, handling two sticks in each hand.  We made a small donation to the event, but it was essentially free to listen to these accomplished instrumentalists.

At noon, we walked through town to Riverside Park, where we watched Irish dancing and English country dancing before walking back a few blocks to the center of town, where we purchased lunch from the same deli as the day before and took it to a bench by the river to enjoy.  We then went to St. Collen’s Parish Church to listen to another choral group.  This group was larger than the Sunday Night Singers we had seen the previous day, and they were also excellent but lacked the vivacity of the young people from Palmdale.

Irish dancer

After that performance, we decided to visit the home of the Ladies of Llangollen, Plas Newydd.  The ladies were two Irish aristocrats, Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby, who ran away from their constricting lifestyles, planning on settling in England.  However, they stopped en route in Llangollen in 1780 and decided to stay.  With the small allowances they were granted by their disapproving families, they purchased a cottage on a hillside and turned it into an elegant home of fine wooden interiors and stained glass, with a large formal garden.  The property is not just a small cottage, however.  It includes stables and outbuildings, a small dairy mainly for fresh churning butter each morning, Lady Eleanor’s bower overlooking the creek below, a bowling green and walking paths.  From their home, they had wonderful views of the valley and the high hill topped with castle ruins.  In Regency society, the reputation of these ladies grew, and they were known for hosting writers and royalty, including William Wordsworth, Sir Walter Scott and the Duke of Wellington. 

Plas Newydd

Back down the winding streets we strolled to reach the River Dee, where an excursion train was boarding passengers.  We walked up the tracks and watched and listened as the steam engine chugged out of the station, spewing smoke and steam high into the air. 

Steam engine leaving the station in Llangollen

Then we waited for the Parade of Nations.  It was still over an hour before the parade would start from the Eistoddfod field, but I wanted to get a place in front on the sidewalk because I just can’t see past tall people.  Peter, shaking his head at me, walked around town a bit as I firmly held my ground.  I chose just to the left of the TV camera on a boom, figuring that the groups would be showing off the most in front of it.  Luckily, the parade started on time.  It included bands, choirs and dancing groups from around the world, including Canada, the Philippines, the Czech Republic, Zimbabwe, India, Estonia, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago, Albania, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, New Zealand, Lithuania, France, Indonesia and the United States.  Loud and lively, the performers were smiling, dancing and singing in the warm afternoon sunshine.  The crowd had started to follow the parade, and we jumped behind a New Orleans style jazz band from France when we spotted Andrew and Paula. 

Performers from Zimbabwe

Performers from Kyrgyzstan

Performers from India

Performers from Indonesia

As the crowd dissipated, we arranged to meet Paula and Andrew at 7:30 for dinner along the river at the Old Corn Mill, which still has a turning wheel despite the fact that it no longer grinds grain.  Then Peter and I stopped by the boat to change into warm weather clothes(!) and hiking boots and set off across the canal and up the footpath to the Castell Dinas Bran.  It was a steady, uphill, one-mile walk.  We were passed by a group of young performers from the Czech Republic still in costume, brandishing a large red, blue and white national flag.  The surrounding patchwork fields, valleys and mountains enchanted us as we climbed, and the panoramic views from the top were fantastic.  In the distance, we could see the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct we had crossed a couple days before as well as the slate roofs and mostly red brick buildings of Llangollen along both sides of the River Dee.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in the distance from Castell Dinas Bran

Even more spectacular were the ruins of Castell Dinas Bran, a medieval castle built on the site of an Iron Age hill fort built in 600 B.C.  The ruins visible now are the remains of a large fortification constructed in the 1260’s by Welsh lords as a defense against the English.  Warfare broke out in 1276, and King Edward I’s forces were stronger than the Welsh.  History is not clear, but it is believed that the lords controlling the castle burned the timber structures inside the fortification and then abandoned it so that it would not fall intact into English hands.  By the end of the 13^th century, the Earl of Surrey had been granted title to the ruined castle. 

ruins of an archway

What is left are the romantic ruins standing on the slightly rounded top of a green hill dotted with small wildflowers.  The remains of the southern and eastern walls have a twenty-foot ditch below them, which may have been excavated with the dual purpose of providing stone for the castle walls and creating a dry moat for defense. 

Castle walls about the ditch

We are used to such historic structures being protected, yet even though it is by law a scheduled (designated) ancient monument, people are free to roam freely around and over the structures that remain.  The vivacious Czechs climbed to the top of the remains of wall, archways and towers, posing for photos and making themselves and their flag part of the scenery, which was a bit annoying as I was interested in appreciating the ruins without distractions.  Luckily, they started down the hill before us so I had time to take (probably too many) pictures of the picturesque ruins.

The walk down was easy and we made it to the restaurant on time.  Peter detoured slightly to the boat to pick up Andrew’s jacket.  Andrew had arrived at the restaurant early and snagged the best table on the deck over the River Dee.  We were soon joined by Paula, who had been stopping in small stores in town.  We ordered drinks and meals at the bar and celebrated the last day of our canal boating together.  The food was really good, the weather was fantastic and the view was spectacular.  What a great way to end this part of our vacation in the UK!

View across the River Dee from the Corn Mill

Peter, Paula, Andrew and Sherri at the Corn Mill