Local Attractions
Some of the things you can see when you visit Llandrindod Wells.
The Signal Box Museum
The Signal Box was originally located at the level crossing, Llandrindod Wells, and known as No 2 box. It was dismantled and relocated to its present position on the station platform, formerly the site of the No 1 box. British Rail handed it over to the Town Council at a ceremony during the Victorian Week in 1990. Since then the Council has opened it for limited periods during the Summer months. It is more than a hundred years old and contains, in exceptionally good condition, many of the original furnishings and machinery. It is very popular with visitors, particularly during Victorian Week, and the many railway buffs arriving on the special steam trains.
The National Cycle Museum
The National Cycle Collection is well sign posted on all routes into Llandrindod Wells, motorists should follow the brown 'Penny Farthing' signs to the car park at the rear of the Collection.
The Collection houses hundreds of cycles in period settings, including examples from 1819 through to the present day. It also displays rare components and accessories from this period.
The National Cycle Collection welcomes visits from schools in the locality, items are also available for film & TV productions.
The Radnorshire Museum
The Radnorshire Museum, part of Powys County Council Museum Service, can be found in the centre of Llandrindod Wells, holds artefacts relating to the former county of Radnorshire and is housed in the old Carnegie Library.
Llandrindod Wells, one of the prettiest Spa towns in Wales, has been visited by people wishing to take the waters for medical problems since Dr Linden's famous treatise in 1756, and the Radnorshire Museum tells the history of this development which peaked in late Victorian times. (Visit Useful Links for website link)
The Powys County Archive Office
Opened as recently as 1991, Powys County Archives Office is located in Llandrindod Wells, and serves as the official repository for the records of the modern county of Powys (first established in 1974) and the three former counties of Breconshire, Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire. Powys Archives forms part of Powys Library, Archives and Information Service. (Visit Useful Links for website link)
The Rock Park & Heritage Centre
The Rock Park is a prominent park and woodland community space in Llandrindod Wells which was established in the Spa town’s Victorian heyday. Originally designed as a ‘natural’ open space to compliment the provision of the naturally occurring spring waters, the park was popular and well used for many years. However, the park fell into gradual decline during the twentieth century following the two world wars and a decline in the popularity of ‘taking the waters’.
Powys County Council, the Friends of Rock Park and volunteers have worked hard over the last few years to give the park a new lease of life. One of the tasks carried out has been to restore some of the footpaths. This included one potentially dangerous footpath that has been completely upgraded to make it suitable for all users, including those with mobility problems.
Volunteers have also removed overgrown areas of rhododenron and laurel with the aim of allowing in more light and space to encourage establishment of a more diverse understorey.
Bird and bat boxes have been erected to encourage nesting by woodland birds. The wooded nature of the park, coupled with it's proximity to the river and adjacent fields and hedgerows, means that the park may also be a good habitat for bats and erection of bat boxes should provide additional summer roosting sites.
In spring 2007 a 'sunny glade' was created in an open, boggy area near the main entrance. A meadow area has been created using seeds sourced from the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust's Ty Brith Nature Reserve. Enhancement of a naturally waterlogged area at the bottom of the meadow has resulted in a more permanent pond surrounded by native shrubs and flowers. A new footpath allows visitors to walk through the centre of the site.
A wander through the area in summer 2008 showed the new meadow was already providing a valuable habitat for hundreds of froglets emerging from the new pond.
http://www.rockparkheritagecentre.co.uk/
The Lake
In the late 19th Century Llandrindod Wells was a prime Victorian tourist destination with thousands of visitors arriving each year to take advantage of the famous spa waters. Following the First World War the tourist boom began to decline although many tourists still flock to Llandrindod Wells today. The Llandrindod Wells Lake Park Project targets an area that is a legacy of the town's Victorian heyday and is still a prime tourist attraction today. The project aims to highlight the history and features of the town, improve footpath access and enhance biodiversity to benefit both local residents and visitors alike.
http://www.powys.gov.uk/index.php?id=3355&L=0#
Llandrindod Wells Heritage Trail
As part of the THI a town heritage trail was established across the town centre to highlight the achievements of the THI, identify key architectural styles and features so common to the town. Information boards are dotted across the town and a leaflet has been produced for visitors. Copies of this brochure are available from the Tourist Information Centre.
http://www.powys.gov.uk/index.php?id=5361&L=0
The Radnor Indoor Bowls Centre
Radnorshire Indoor Bowling Centre has everything a bowler could need for a good day's play. The large indoor green is a modern, purpose-built facility. Superb 6 rink indoor bowling green to International standard.
Shoes and bowls available free of charge. Club tours: Rinks available for Winter and Summer tours. Coaching available on request.Excellent facilities for disabled bowlers. Specialist bowls shop stocking a complete range of bowls, equipment and clothing. Excellent bar and catering facilities.
http://www.radnorbowls.co.uk/
The Albert Hall Theatre
Built as a multi-purpose hall in 1896, it is in late Victorian classical manner, red brick with a slated, hipped roof, two storeys, the front in three bays of 1+3+1 arched windows, the centre bay framed by pilasters, slightly advanced and pedimented. The Art Nouveau entrance doors have a lively, curving glazing bar pattern. The slate roofed canopy is a 1980 replacement. Surprisingly for a hall of this type, it has a raked floor; single balcony on iron columns and a pair of boxes (non-functional) flanking the rectangular proscenium. An apron extension 1.9m (6ft) was added to the stage some years ago and beneath it is a small orchestra pit. There is no grid and space in the wings is severely limited by the presence of stairs and other changes of level.
However the Llandrindod Wells Theatre Company (the principal users of the building) continue to make full use of the theatre, and in recent years have worked hard to refurbish the whole of the exterior (including re-roofing), and update and improve the facilities inside.
Golf Course & Club
In 1905 a group of local businessmen had the foresight to establish an 18-hole golf course on land overlooking the spa town of Llandrindod Wells to service the needs of the thousands of visitors that flocked to the town to "take the waters". The course was designed by six times open champion Harry Vardon, and altered some years later by James Braid, to produce, essentially, the superb course of 18 holes, almost 5800 yards in length (par 69), that you see today. From the greens and clubhouse you can see a most spectacular view of Llandrindod Wells.
http://www.lwgc.co.uk/index.php