Looking down on Llangollen

History
Llangollen takes its name from Saint Collen (from the Welsh llan meaning 'church' and gollen meaning Collen), a 6th century monk who founded a church beside the river there.[2] St Collen is said to have arrived in Llangollen by coracle. As there are no other churches in Wales dedicated to St. Collen, it is possible that this St. Collen may also have connections in both Colan, Cornwall and Langolen, Brittany.

Standing high above the town to the north is Castell Dinas Bran, the former stronghold of the Princes of Powys. Beyond the castle is the limestone escarpment known as the Eglwyseg Rocks. The outcrop continues north to the area known as World's End. The area nearest to the castle is the Panorama Walk, and a monument to local poet I.D. Hooson (from the nearby village of Rhosllanerchrugog) can be found there.

Valle Crucis Abbey was established in nearby Llangwestl in about 1201, under the patronage of Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor of Castell Dinas Brân.

The bridge at Llangollen was built in about 1345 by John Trevor, of nearby Trevor Hall, who later became Bishop of St Asaph. It was extended to cross the railway when this was built in the 1860s and was widened in the early 1960s. The upstream side has new masonry which blends in with the older structure.

On the outskirts of the town is Plas Newydd ("New Place" or "New Hall"), where The Honourable Sarah Ponsonby and Lady Eleanor Butler (the Ladies of Llangollen) lived.

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