Llanynys is a small hamlet in the centre of the Vale of Clwyd in Denbighshire, North Wales. The community has grown up around the ancient church of St. Saeran, which was originally built in the 13th Century on the site of a 6th Century monastery. I am sure this area was a focal point well before that as it is on a small rise in the middle of a large, flat area of low lying land through which flow the winding Clywd and Clywedog rivers. You can easily picture groups of ancient people gathering here when the rivers flooded the area, and so I am sure this has been a community focal point for as long as humans have habited the area.

The area is known for it's natural beauty and gentle local climate. The surrounding hills hold back the worst of the winds with only a direct Northerly having access from the sea some 15 miles away. Walkers frequent the area, with many walking past my house and curiously peeping through my windows. There are individual properties and small groups of houses dotted across mainly farmland. The population of Llanynys is over 600, but perhaps only one-tenth of these live in the hamlet itself, and it is this small number who consider themselves true 'Llanynysians'.

Up until a few years ago there was a fantastic pub here called the Cerrigllwydion Arms, which attracted locals and regulars from far and wide. It was a welcoming, old inn serving great real ales and hearty food with a cheery welcome. A couple bought it who did not appear to have a clue how to run such a business and trade fell off dramatically. It seemed that they intended to run the business down to prove that there was no future in it so they could close it and sell it as a house - a frighteningly common strategy employed by many 'landlords' along the North Wales corridor at the time.

They put it up for sale, and a 'businessman' from Ruthin bought it, immediately closed it and applied for planning permission to build houses on the pub car park. This was refused a number of times by the local council, but eventually he obtained permission to turn the property itself into two tiny houses. Despite the Planning Department recommending refusal, as he had not proved it could not be run as a viable pub business, the Planning Committee, in their wisdom, approved it. Bizarrely, they cited his efforts to try to run it as a business as a reason for approval, despite the report from their own planning people stating he had provided no such evidence. Hey ho - local governance at its best. Well done people.

The place is now pretty much derelict as nothing seems to be happening at all. This is now not only an eyesore (at the centre of our previously beautiful hamlet) but the closure has created much local heartache and disintegration of this ancient community.

Anyway, now to the positive, which is the point of this website. The people who live here are mostly generous, warm folk. Some people keep themselves to themselves and some have a full, local social life. What unites us all is the sense of place - an ancient place with memories you can almost touch. There is a growing gang of lovely children, all of whom have the sense of mischievous adventure and attachment to the land that only a place like Llanynys can build. They are all polite, happy, balanced and playful - something the local school in Gellifor has had a big hand in. Although I am a Father to only two of them, we are very proud of them all and it is their future that we are trying to build. I know that this is a simple story that has been played out for countless generations across all parts of our wonderful and puzzling planet, but this is our story. We'd love to hear yours.