Author: Rhys Gregory

Three new luxury lodges are now available to book at The Crown at Pantygelli, Abergavenny following a £90,000 growth capital loan by the Development Bank of Wales. Located in the heart of Monmouthshire and open all day every day, The Crown is owned by Amy Norvill and Nicholas Clayton-Ford who acquired the thriving pub and restaurant that is popular with tourists and the local community in June 2022. The couple previously worked in hospitality on the tourist resort of Hamilton Island in Queensland, Australia. The loan from the Development Bank has been used to part-fund the installation of three high-specification…

A POPULAR college sports initiative is inspiring the next generation of athletes in North Wales. The Junior Athletics Programme at Coleg Cambria Deeside has been supporting and coaching youngsters for more than 13 years. Donna Welsh, coordinator of Active Cambria, says the scheme has gone from strength to strength and 2025 could be their busiest year yet. The programme has been a “cornerstone” for children aged five to 10 years old during that period, providing fun, engaging sessions focused on running, jumping, and throwing. “These activities not only promote physical fitness but also nurture social and emotional development, laying strong…

A teenage singer-songwriter who has one of the rarest conditions in the world has joined forces with the police to launch an access card for disabled people. Inspirational Gracie Mellalieu, 18, is championing the innovative scheme that’s being unveiled in North Wales at the end of the month by social enterprise PIWS (Welsh for purple) that was set up to campaign to improve access for children and young people with disabilities at different venues. North Wales Police is the first force in the UK to adopt the card, although others in England and Wales are now also interested in signing…

Rescue donkeys grazing at a sanctuary near Bangor are providing an ideal habitat for one of Wales’s rarest mushrooms, the Crimson Waxcap. Snowdonia Donkeys was set up in 2013 by retired teacher Ruth Stronge and her husband, Chris, and their growing herd of donkeys now roam a 13-acre Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near the village of Tregarth. They are getting a helping hand from Wales’s biggest self-storage company, Lock Stock, who have three sites in nearby Bangor and are donating and delivering a 40-foot storage unit to the site later this month to act as a store and…

Mum of two Victoria Thomas was strangled to death by her partner Alcwyn Thomas after he spent the day drinking heavily and taking cocaine. Victoria, 45, was found in a top-floor spare bedroom of a house they shared on Caerphilly Road in Birchgrove in Cardiff. Thomas, 44, admitted manslaughter but maintained that Victoria’s death was a ‘sex act gone wrong’ and that it was during ‘erotic asphyxiation’ that she died. He denied murder but was today (Wednesday, March 26) found guilty of the charge following a trial at Cardiff Crown Court. CCTV from the afternoon of Monday, August 19, 2024,…

Transport for Wales (TfW) has collaborated with renowned Michelin-starred chef James Sommerin to bring a new level of luxury to its First Class service. Launching on 7 April, an exclusive, limited-edition menu will be available for eight weeks on selected First Class services between Cardiff & Holyhead and Cardiff & Manchester. Designed by James Sommerin and expertly delivered onboard by TfW chefs, the new menu showcases Transport for Wales and James’ passion for locally sourced, high-quality ingredients and his innovative approach to modern Welsh cuisine. James Sommerin, one of Wales’ most celebrated chefs, first gained a Michelin star at The…

A spring-cleaning litter pick was recently held along parts of the Rhyl Cut. Denbighshire Countryside Services organised the event with support from Keep Wales Tidy as part of their Spring Clean Cymru campaign. Countryside rangers and Keep Wales Cymru representatives were joined by Rhyl’s Brighter Futures group, the Phoenix centre, and the Willow collective to carry out the litter pick along the stretch running from Coleg Rhyl to the Rhyl Cut Coarse Fishing Lake. Managed by Denbighshire Countryside Services, the stretch saw 85 bags of litter removed by the rangers and volunteers. The rangers also took a small boat down…

Hundreds of school children in Swansea are taking part in a UK-wide cycling and walking event. More than 20 primary schools in the city have signed up to Sustrans ‘Big Walk and Wheel’ event which will take place between March 24 and April 4. It aims to encourage schoolchildren to walk, cycle or scoot to and from school, building pupils’ confidence, resilience and life-long healthy habits. Among the schools taking part is Penyrheol Primary where active travel is part of everyday school life. By the time children leave nursery, they can confidently ride a balance bike, mastering essential skills like…

A new service is to be established to tackle problems across Neath Port Talbot caused by non-residential or commercial properties which are either empty or derelict. Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet agreed to fund two new Environmental Health Team posts to operate the service at their meeting on Wednesday, March 19th, 2025. The two new officers, when recruited, will be incorporated into the Housing and Community arm of the General Environmental Health Service, with the focus of the posts being to specifically deal with empty non-residential / commercial properties – both proactive and reactive enforcement work. The Cabinet heard the…

The Newport Ship visitor centre will be opening for its 2025 season on Friday 28 March. During the visitor season, which runs until Saturday 1 November, the visitor centre will be open on Fridays and Saturdays from 10.30am-4pm. Visitors will be able to learn about the history of the fifteenth-century ship, its purpose, why it sank, and the project to reassemble it, which has been described as one of the world’s largest 3D puzzles. Visitors on Saturday 29 March will be able to take part in family craft sessions with local artist Nathan Sheen, as well as be among the…