Seven Wonders of Wales

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06 September 2013

Pistyll Rhaeadr and Wrexham steeple,
Snowdon's mountain without its people,
Overton yew trees, St Winefride's well,
Llangollen bridge and Gresford bells.

Traditionally, the Seven Wonders of Wales are those listed in the above rhyme, written by an anonymous poet. These notable landmarks were memorialised in rhyme at some point in the late 18th Century, by an English visitor to Wales.

If you know the area, you will know this already, but what's surprising to many is just how many of them fall within the area of the North Wales Borderlands. All seven are in North Wales, and only two of them (Mount Snowdon in Gwynedd and Pistyll Rhaeadr in Powys) fall outside of the Borderlands.

Let's take a look at them.

Pistyll Rhaeadr

One of the two outside the Borderlands, Pistyll Rhaeadr ("spring of the waterfall") is a 240 foot waterfall. Attracting roughly 200,000 visitors each year, it is a beautiful sight. It falls in three stages, and the author George Borrow said of it: "I never saw water falling so gracefully, so much like thin, beautiful threads as here."

St Giles' Church

This church in Wrexham measures 135 feet tall, and the tower (not actually a steeple as the poem states!) can be seen from miles away. Built back in the 1500s, the church is very extravagantly decorated, so we would recommend booking a tower tour.

Snowdon

The other non-Borderlands wonder, Snowdon is famous for being the highest mountain in all of Wales, measuring an impressive 3560 feet above sea level. Outside of Scotland, it's the highest point in the British Isles, and you'll find it nestled in the gorgeous Snowdonia National Park. With beaches, mountains and forests, not to mention rare plants and animals, it's a fantastic place to visit.

St Winefride's Well

Back to the Borderlands, we have this fantastic well, a Grade I listed building dating way back to the 16th Century. The site in Holywell is the oldest continually-visited pilgrimage site in Britain, and was mentioned in the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Its healing waters are said to have miracle powers!

Overton Yew Trees

There are 21 yew trees in the church yard of St Mary the Virgin. The most recent was planted in 1992 by the Queen, but the rest of them are ancient, the oldest of which dates back some 2000 years!

Llangollen Bridge

Built under the guidance of the Bishop of St Asaph, Llangollen Bridge was built around 1345, and was the first stone bridge to cross the River Dee. It is its historical value that put it on the list, but it does look rather impressive when the river's running high.

Gresford Bells

These are the bells of the All Saints church in Gresford. There are 6 in total, dating back to at least 1714. Listed for the remarkable purity of the bells' peal, the beautiful church itself is well worth a visit, having been originally built in the 13th Century.