Welsh lighthouse plans statue for local ghost

by Sean McLachlan on

Caretakers of an historic 17th century lighthouse in northern Wales are planning to erect a statue to a famous resident–the ghost of a former lighthouse keeper.

Locals and holidaymakers have had numerous sightings of the man standing atop the old lighthouse, pictured here. He is described as wearing old-fashioned clothing and is sometimes seen quite clearly during broad daylight. The building has been locked and unused for a century.

Now Talacre Beach Leisure Group who own the building and the beachfront property around it, want to erect a stainless steel statue to the ghostly figure. Because the lighthouse is a listed historic building, they have to make an application to the local county council, who appear to be enthusiastic about the idea.

Hey, in these hard economic times, anything that helps bring in tourists can’t be all bad.

Going to the UK? Check your change

by Sean McLachlan on

If you’re planning a holiday in the United Kingdom this year, check your coins. The Royal Mint at Llantrisant in Wales churned out tens of thousands of 20 pence coins with no date on them, the BBC reported. The mix up happened because on the new design for the 20p coin the date was switched from the tails to the heads, but when the coins were made, the mint used the new tails die and the old heads one.

So what? Well, here’s the kicker–coin collectors say they could be worth £50 ($83) each. This is because such slips are rare and no British coin has been issued without a date for more than three hundred years.

The mint estimates that between 50,000 and 200,000 coins were put into circulation, which means that not only are they lousy at quality control, but they don’t keep track of distribution either.

Create your own Hollywood tour of the movies – in Wales

by Scott Carmichael on

Wales has long been an overlooked part of the UK, and not many foreign tourists take the time to explore what it has to offer. I’ve spent a summer touring around the area, and found it to be quite stunning.

Of course, if friendly people and an impressive environment are not enough to draw you to Wales, then check out their movie location map.

The map brings you to the exact filming locations of flicks shot in Wales, as well as other movie landmarks.

Head into Snowdonia national park, and witness where James Bond saved the world’s oil supply in “The world is not enough” or the forest where Robin Hood and his merry Men lived in their 1991 movie.

Spend a night in Seiont Manor, and you might end up in the same bed where Angelina Jolie slept when she was filming the second Tomb Raider movie. Slightly older readers may remember Ingrid Bergman in “Inn of the sixth happiness” where the area around the village of Beddgelert was transformed into a mock Chinese town.

Sean Connery (and Richard Gere) fans can head into the town of Trawsfynydd with its spectacular lake to see the filming location of “First Knight“. Many of the locals were actually cast for this movie as extras, so be sure to ask around for local stars.

Each location description describes several other things you can do in the area, as well as where you can find a film plaque commemorating the movie.

Photo of the Day (11.29.08)

by Anna Brones on


After a few hectic days of family, traveling and lots of eating, I thought many of us would enjoy a calming photo such as this one. Taken in Brecon Beacons, Wales by Theodore Scott this photo captures the peacefulness of the rolling hills and clouds, giving us a very relaxing image. I also like the rock wall that draws our eye in and pulls it back into the distance, far down the fields; great perspective!

Do you have an excellent travel shot? Submit it to our Gadling Flickr pool to be considered for Photo of the Day.

Extreme kayakers tackle 300ft reservoir in Wales

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Do you remember when you were a kid and your parents would warn you not to go down to the reservoir? It’s not that the reservoir wasn’t fun – it was just, you know, a little dangerous for kids. It was really steep, there was unsupervised water where you could drown and there were always those unruly punks who would vandalize the walls with graffiti and other nonsense.

I don’t think the kids in Wales, site of the Llyn Brianne dam, learned their lesson about reservoirs. As the BBC points out, it seems that the dam makes for a mighty tempting joyride during rainy season, when the spillway turns into a rushing torrent of water that drops hundreds of feet to a river below. As you can see in the video, several professional kayakers have recently attempted it, shooting down the 300 foot concrete flume at speeds of up to 45 miles per hour.

In case you are missing the gene for common sense, this is highly dangerous. In fact Welsh Water, who owns the dam, has condemned the practice as highly illegal. But still, you’ve got to admit, it looks like quite a thrill. Just don’t come running to me when you crack your head open kayaking the reservoir…