Why should YOU love Llandrindod Wells?

NEW TOWN BRANDING

Llandrindod Wells has recently been re-branded as Llandrindod Wellness as part of the Welsh Governments support for the Powys Local Growth Zones initiative with the appointment of Llandrindod Wells' Town Champion, Jude Boutle. 

"Our place brand is Llandrindod Wellness or Llawen-drindod.

Our brand is grounded in our spa town heritage and recognises that natural health and wellness are increasingly important in today's world. After all, our traditional town emblem features Hygieia the Goddess of Health."

TOWN WIFI

 

One of the things that has arisen from the Llandrindod Wellness town branding is the launch of the town's WiFI system, installed at different sites around the town including the train station, Middleton Street, Temple Gardens, Rock Park and the Lake. 

"The system will benefit local people, residents and visitors. Not only will Llandrindod Wells be able to use the system to showcase what the town has to offer, but it could become a great tool for the town's businesses to inform the way they market their business in the future" ~ Avril York, Powys council's cabinet member for regeneration 

LOCALLY OWNED INDEPENDENT SHOPS & BUSINESSES  

Llandrindod Wells is so lucky to have locally owned friendly shops and businesses such as Happy Home Gift Company and Junk n Disorderly amongst many more. Shops and local businesses such as these make Llandrindod such a welcoming town with so many things to look at and buy, proving that the Victorian Spa town is flourishing in the 21st Century. Llandrindod is blessed with a diverse range of shops and businesses selling an assorted and wide range of gifts and items.

Here are just a few of the shops, businesses and services available to the Llandrindod Wells community. 

SHOPS:

gift shops, charity shops, book shop, supermarket, electrical shops, furniture shops, newsagents, butchers, bike shop, pubs and many more...

SERVICES:

doctors, hairdressers, travel agents, hospital, dance centre, leisure centre, railway, bus routes, taxi, gym, opticians, pharmacy and many more...

FIRST MICRO-PUB IN POWYS

 

Llandrindod plays host to Arvon Ales the first Micro-Pub in Powys. This Micro-Pub does not only sell a wide range of locally sourced delicious ales, but also has Folk Sessions every 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month. Their first Blues and Acoustic Jam Session is due to start May 15th at 4pm. People travel from far and wide to Llandrindod Wells just to visit this friendly, unique Micro-Pub so this is definitely one of the factors that help to enhance life in Llandrindod Wells.

OUTDOOR SPACE

 

It is easy to see why Llandrindod is such a great place to live even when you just take a walk around the town. There is so much green space available to the community. This ranges from Temple Gardens, The Rock Park, The Lake, and lots of footpaths around the town and through the fields in the local area. This green space provides a place for the community and visitors to relax, have family days out, walk the dog, play sport and take in the views......

STUNNING SCENERY

 

If you have never walked, ran, cycled or taken the car up to the top of  Little Hill above Llandrindod Wells Golf Course, you are missing out and I strongly advise you to. On a clear day, you can see for miles, and even when the weather isn't as nice, the view is still breathtaking. 

HISTORY

 

I think it is important to know and recognise the history of where you live. Llandrindod Wells is a Victorian town with many stories to tell of days gone by. We should embrace this. There is no escaping the history as if you walk anywhere in the town you are surrounded by tall grand Victorian buildings which help to convey Llandrindod's grand history. Without this history, Llandrindod would not be the town and place it is today and this makes the town very special.

NATIONAL CYCLE MUSEUM

 

Llandrindod Wells also plays host to the National Cycle Museum located at the Automobile Palace on Temple Street. This museum is stooped in history and personally, I think it's possible to spend hours in the museum pouring over the history and when you leave you will feel as if you know all about the history of cycling and probably want to get out on your bike right that minute. The collection also draws people into Llandrindod Wells from afar and is a popular tourist attraction to visitors. 

 

COMMUNITY

 

Llandrindod is a special place, not least because of the community feeling within the town. Everyone has a kind word for everyone and people look out for each other.

Community links are an important part of Llandrindod life and without this thriving community, Llandrindod would not be such a fabulous place to live. The community can pull together during times of hardship and the community can act as a powerful and strong voice to stand together as one and fight for all the extraordinary factors that encompass all of life in Llandrindod.

LLANDRINDOD WELLS IS WELL AND TRULY BACK ON THE UP

 

The reopening of the Grand Pavilion, the development of Riversimple's hydrogen cell powered green car, the all new Rasa in Llandrindod Wells, Play Radnor's £250,000 lottery grant, the funding for the successful Town Champion for another year, the new birthing centre being developed at the hospital, the launch of Llandrindance aiming to get the whole town dancing, nine new businesses have opened or are opening in recent months...these are just some of the reasons why Llandrindod is continuing to flourish and why I am happy to say I am proud to live in this special town and be part of life in Llandrindod Wells. 

I hope I have shown you why YOU should love YOUR town and YOUR community. I am committed to helping people realise this town is a special place and fully enhance #llandrindodlife

Junk n Disorderly

Set just off the main road that runs through the Victorian Spa town of Llandrindod Wells is one of the top ten voted vintage shops in Wales; Junk n Disorderly.

Junk n Disorderly

As the name suggests, Junk n Disorderly, located in Unit 1 of the Old Town Hall Workshops, is a shop with a vintage and retro vibe achieved by the many quirky, unique items up for sale. It is just one of a number of small independent shops that are available to the community of the central town of Powys. The shop is run by local man Patrick Sheehy and he will be celebrating its third birthday this month. The shop was recently voted one of the best in Wales by Wales Online which described the classic shop as "cute".

"Junk n Disorderly has up-cycled vintage furniture and simple retro pieces, you can kit your whole house out here."~Wales Online 

Junk n Disorderly evolves every week with different quirky, one off items up for sale each time you visit.

“Whether you are looking for that finishing touch to enhance a room or to completely furnish your home, you will find it all at Junk n Disorderly.”

Here is just a flavour of some of the really cool, retro items that have been sold in Junk n Disorderly recently.

A cool clock

The meaning behind palm lines

 

A clock made from a bike chain

LED lights

One of the items Patrick was keen to highlight when I met with him was Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™which he stocks and sells in his shop. It does not require any sanding prior to use and despite this, your painting will always be free from grease and dirt. Two coats should be sufficient to fully cover the item you are painting. A single colour creates a beautiful simple look but by adding a second colour and sanding it back, you can create a naturally unique distressed look. By mixing two colours of the Chalk Paint™ together, you can create your own custom colour. The Annie Sloan Clear Soft Wax also available in Junk n Disorderly will help to protect and give a rich velvety finish to your work, whilst the Dark Soft Wax helps to bring out the texture and detail of the item you have painted.

 

Junk n Disorderly is a Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™stockist

You can also use the Chalk Paint™to add a splash of colour to any walls or floors within the home. By using one of the stronger colours in the range such as Aubusson, Greek Blue, or Graphite you can paint blackboards. This will require three coats and you have to allow it to dry thoroughly. Afterwards you can write on the surface with a stick of chalk.

Patrick believes he is helping to put Llandrindod back on the map by selling this product as it has become a world wide phenomenon, recognised by lots of people due to its ease of use. Patrick is particularly happy to sell this brilliant paint as it is only supplied to a few outlets throughout the country and people from all over Powys visit Llandrindod just to buy it from Junk n Disorderly.
  

You can buy the famous Chalk paint™at Junk n Disorderly

Chalk paint™colour chart

Patrick uses the famous Chalk Paint™to hand-paint and "upcycle" furniture to then sell in the shop. No two pieces of furniture will be the same and this just adds to the magic. When you buy some furniture you can request a colour that you want it to be painted to make the piece of furniture unique to your needs.

A chest of drawers Patrick painted using the Chalk paint™: 
florence with gold highlights and a waxed top

Did you also know, Patrick runs Chalk Paint™workshop classes in order to help the community to get creative and understand how to upcycle using the Chalk Paint™? If you would like further information about this, get in contact with Patrick.

The upstairs of Junk n Disorderly has a large collection of vintage clothing for women and men. Here's a sneak peak at some of the clothes that have been for sale recently.

A vintage blue dress

Some lovely patterned material

Another vintage dress

 

Patrick used to work with and show horses but always enjoyed getting creative and buying lots of cool items at Hay on Wye Vintage Fayre; Hay Does Vintage.  When his job with horses came to an end, Patrick decided to make a go of opening up a vintage shop and selling and getting creative with admirable pieces of furniture and small retro items. This has obviously proved highly successful as the business is still going strong in this old spa town of Llandrindod Wells three years after opening.

Patrick demonstrated even more of his creativeness recently with his shop window display at Christmas which was voted the best in Llandrindod by the town council.

Christmas window display

 

Patrick enjoys living and working in Llandrindod and recognises there are a large range of diverse independent shops available to the community. He also appreciates the history of these businesses and he highlights the fact Llandrindod plays host to the first whole food independent shop along Middleton Street; Vans Good Food.  The community of Llandrindod Wells is very friendly so Patrick finds it quite funny when people from cities visit his shop and seem surprised when he talks to them as they're not used to shop owners passing the time of day with any of their costumers.

“Good things are happening here in Llandrindod Wells now. Just look at the Pavilion which has recently come back into the hands of the community and will reopen in March. Llandrindod needs those sorts of places to help bring the strong community together.”

Here is what some of the community of Llandrindod Wells have had to say about Junk n Disorderly on their Facebook page.

"Wow!!! Fantastic shop, a 'Real Hidden Gem'..
The owner Patrick is just amazing.. Full of great advice and so friendly.."~Sarah Duggan

"Fab shop!! Well worth a visit for retro and vintage treasure. Love it."~Jo Hodges

"A big thank you to Patrick for supplying Christmas garlands to a The Llanerch Inn, at a fantastic price."~Terri Jones

There are lots of quirky items for sale in Junk n Disorderly

You can follow Junk n Disorderly on Facebook, Instagram, on their website and now on Twitter. Patrick shares some really cool pictures on all of these outlets, helping people understand how the shop is evolving on a day to day basis. 

Junk:

1. Discarded material, such as glass, rags, paper, or metal, some of which may be reused in some form.

Disorderly:

1. Lacking regular or logical order or arrangement.

That's just an attempt at describing the vintage shop, Junk n Disorderly. If you want to discover for yourself what the shop is all about, go and check it out. I can assure you; you won't be disappointed!