Llangollen's Plas Newydd gets Wales in Bloom honour

Aug 4 2008 By David Simister

A LLANGOLLEN landmark won a top prize after impressing judges with its flora and fauna in a national competition last weekend.

Plas Newydd, a historic house near the town centre, scooped first prize in one of the contests held as part of this year’s Wales in Bloom competition, which celebrates meticulous maintenance of homes and gardens across the country.

"They’ve done really well to get this award because they’ve been up against sites from across the whole of Wales. It’s been an incredibly close contest this year" said Julie Lewis, event coordinator.

The tourist favourite scooped top honours in Category 12b of the competition, which rewards sites for the

Credit for the award has gone to Gary Lovelock, who has been employed as the first gardener for the home in over a decade, made possible thanks to a £900k Heritage Lottery Fund Grant.

"It’s great for us, great for Llangollen and great news all round. It’s the first time we’ve entered - I didn’t think we’d win because we’ve got a lot of ongoing work but we’re very pleased with the result" he said.

Judges gave the Llangollen site 86 points out of a possible 100 for the high standards of its surroundings, just two more than runners up Greater Gwent Crematorium, who were last year’s winners.

The house, run by Denbighshire County Council, is well-known for its association with Llangollen ladies Sarah Ponsonby and Eleanor Butler, who emigrated to the area from Ireland in the 1780s and lived at the home for over 30 years.

For more information about Plas Newydd and to visit the site, call 01978 861314.