Monday 26 June 2017


Monday 26th June 2017.

During a recent foray into Wales (on one of the hottest days this year, so far!), one of our group members was lucky enough to be able to visit the stunning ruins of Valle Crucis Abbey, on the outskirts of Llangollen!

For the member in question, this was something of a dream come true.... as he had never seen the site, 'in the flesh', before, but had been aware of the location for over 2 decades, having once 'made a model' of the ruins for a table-top game!!  (Geek!!)

Sad, sheltered lives aside..... the site itself has a rather intriguing story associated with it, from only a few years ago....

a Wrexham woman was passing the ruins with her aunt one night, on foot, when the front of the buildings suddenly 'lit up' with a circle of what she describes as the most dazzling light.  In the middle of the circle she could see some form of golden object, several feet high, and, walking about it, quite a number of human figures, seemingly dressed in golden costumes, with golden helmets on their heads.....

The woman couldn't help commenting to her aunt on the spectacle and said: "Isn't it wonderful - everything in that shining, golden light! It must be some kind of pageant they are putting on...."

She reports that she couldn't believe what she was hearing when her aunt, sounding totally puzzled, replied: "What pageant!? What light!? It's all dark......!!"

For some seconds later, she said that the wonderful scene continued..... but her relative could still see nothing!? Then, all of a sudden, the magnificent scene vanished, as quickly as it had appeared.....

It has been suggested that the other-worldly scenario could well have been the re-enactment of some ancient Pagan or Christian rite that was once carried out here..... but the image also sounds rather 'fairy-like' to me, in a way, so who knows!?

A more ancient 'ghost story' involving the spot says that one of the former Abbots was out for a walk one evening, when a man dressed in 'warrior garb' approached him and they struck up a conversation.... The tale says that the Abbot instantly knew that his companion was the spirit of none other than Owain Glyndwr, legendary hero of the Welsh people. The spook supposedly told the Abbot that, one day, the English people would be ruled by people of Welsh descent.... The abbot is said to have spread this prophesy and, of course, the prediction later became true when the Tudors took the throne.......  

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