The fourth wonder of Wales is not far from the famous Wrexham steeple. You might expect it to be an infrastructure or maybe a church. Actually, it’s neither. The poem says, Overton yew trees, which actually refers to the ancient yew trees that surround the Virgin Church of St. Mary in Overton-on-dee. The trees are aged around 1,500 to 2,000 years and are even older than the church itself!
One of the oldest pilgrimage sites that continues to operate in Britain is the St. Winefride Well. This fifth wonder is regarded as a holy well located in Holywell, in Flintshire in North Wales. Its waters are said to have miraculous healing powers. The story goes that St. Winefride had her severed head rejoin her body at the well’s location in 660. Some believe that a spring rose where her head fell before she was resurrected by her uncle, St. Beuno. This well is also known as the Lourdes Well.
The Llangollen Bridge derives its name from St. Collen, a 7th century monk who founded a church beside the river there. The bridge was built in about 1345 by John Trevor who later became Bishop of St Asaph. This same bridge is world famous for white water Slalom canoeing and kayaking and playing host to International and UK events. The International Canoe Federation (ICF), The European Canoe Union (ECU) and the British Canoe Union (BCU) all hold events in Llangollen. The image below shows the view of the river from the bridge.
The Gresford Bells can be found in a church also near the Wrexham Steeple, in a church called the All Saints’ Church. The earliest record of the peal of Gresford bells dates back only to 1714. In 1877, a device was installed in the belfry so that all eight bells could be chimed by one person. While the bells are certainly magnificent, the church itself doesn’t stand idly by. For centuries, the church has served as the hiding place for the Gresford Stone, a Roman altar that “has four carved sides and a decorative depression at the top, used for the placement of offerings to the goddess Nemesis depicted on one side. ”
