News from our partners: Beautiful birch at Plas Newydd

News from our partners Denbighshire County Council

Work has been progressing at Plas Newydd in Llangollen, now that the main visitor season is over, to recreate a birch avenue in the historic garden.

When the Ladies of Llangollen lived in Plas Newydd they had an avenue of birch trees which has long since gone. As part of the National Lottery Heritage Funded Our Picturesque Landscape project, a previously heavily shadowed entranceway into the Dell has been opened up and planted with 24 birch trees comprising of 6 different birch varieties including the beautiful Betula Jacquemontii and Betula Albosinensis.

Volunteers and staff from the wider Denbighshire Countryside Service and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty team helped to plant the trees. Thousands of native wildflower bulbs such as English bluebells and snowdrops are being planted this autumn under the birch trees ready to put on a spectacular display in the spring!

The Our Picturesque Landscape project is leading on a 5-year restoration of the Dell which has started with repairing many of the crumbling stone walls and will be replacing the existing handrail with something more in keeping with the garden as it would have been two hundred years ago.  If you would like to get involved by volunteering with the restoration projects please get in touch with the team on 01824 706163 or email our.picturesque.landscape@denbighshire.gov.uk

Mike Fawcett, a regular dog walker at Plas Newydd, said:-

“It seems a small thing now as we head into winter but it will grow and establish and look wonderful when the trees are in leaf next spring with all the bulbs in flower too, I look forward to seeing it then and seeing the project progress.”

Further information

About the project

Our Picturesque Landscape Project centres on the landscape of the Dee Valley and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site. It takes the theme of inspirational journeys that have been, and continue to be, a feature of the area which is cut by the canal, Telford’s A5 and the River Dee. Visitors have drawn inspiration from this beautiful valley in art and poetry since the 18th century and it continues to draw tourists in search of the sublime.

This landscape is under growing pressure with high numbers of visitors drawn to what are often our most fragile sites. The communities on its doorstep, born from the industrial endeavours that shaped it, are now less connected to the benefits the landscape offers. The five year project will invest in the resilience of key visitor sites and engage communities in its appreciation and management while reinterpreting this rich landscape for a new generation.

Projects have been developed under 3 themes -Conserving the Picturesque Landscape, Accessing the Picturesque Landscape and People and the Picturesque.

Our Picturesque Landscape Project is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. It is a partnership project developed by the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site, Denbighshire County Council, Wrexham County Borough Council, Shropshire Council, The Canal & River Trust, Natural Resources Wales, Cadw, Cadwyn Clwyd and the Friends of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley.

http://www.clwydianrangeanddeevalleyaonb.org.uk/our-picturesque-landscape-project/

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About the National Lottery Heritage Fund

Using money raised by the National Lottery, we inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.HeritageFund.org.uk.

Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund