Llysfaen

Read and share memories of Llysfaen and Clwyd inspired by Frith photos

Buses

At the age of fourteen I moved from Rhuthin to live with my gran, Ketura Roberts, who lived in one of the houses opposite the Castle Pub. The bus route was up Llysfaen Hill and past the Semaphore pub, this at the time had a butchers shop integrated with the pub, and was also the first pub in the area to serve Wrexham lager. On one of the visits to get meat for gran, that may I add was very occasional,  I was invited being the only person in the pub to taste this new lager and me at the age of fourteen being a connoisseur of such intoxicating liquers, did not like it and never touched the stuff again. Before ...read more here
Contributed by Anthony Roberts

Buses

At the age of fourteen I moved from Rhuthin to live with my gran, Ketura Roberts, who lived in one of the houses opposite the Castle Pub. The bus route was up Llysfaen Hill and past the Semaphore pub, this at the time had a butchers shop integrated with the pub, and was also the first pub in the area to serve Wrexham lager. On one of the visits to get meat for gran, that may I add was very occasional,  I was invited being the only person in the pub to taste this new lager and me at the age of fourteen being a connoisseur of such intoxicating liquers, did not like it and never touched the stuff again. Before ...read more here
A memory of Llysfaen contributed by Anthony Roberts

Aunt Jane's house

The date is approximate. I was very young, about 6 at the time. I lived with my family in a village called Sandycroft, about 7 miles from Chester. We visited my great Aunt Jane who lived in one of the middle cottages in this picture. I remember a very small kitchen and her buttering an uncut loaf of bread liberally, then slicing it very finely for our tea. Afterwards we walked up the steep hill next to the row of cottages. I remember looking down on the cottages from the top of the hill. It seemed a mammoth walk for small legs. This is a very strong memory. My grandfather's family came from Llandulas nearby. These are my Welsh roots. I ...read more here
A memory of Rhyd-Y-Foel contributed by Carol Posnett

Whose Bus Is This ???

This early motor wagonette was probably operated by J. Fred Francis from Colwyn Bay to Old Colwyn for a three-penny fare until the coming of the Trams in March 1915. It succeeded a two horse omnibus which ran between the two locations eight times daily until about 1907. The horse bus was painted green and is likely to have been purchased and constructed in the Manchester area circa 1895-8

Francis was one of the road transport pioneers of motor driven vehicles in the North Wales area. Within ten years of this date he was operating silver painted 'torpedo' charabancs to locations throughout the area, to Bettws y coed and Caernarfon etc. His early bus services were [almost literally !] overtaken ...read more here
A memory of Old Colwyn contributed by John Owen