Castell Dinas Bran and Cefn Coed museum awarded grants

The ruins of a Denbighshire landmark and a coal mining museum in Neath Port Talbot have been given £125,000 to pay for restoration and repairs.

Castell Dinas Bran in Llangollen has been awarded £50,000 from restoration group WREN while the Cefn Coed Colliery Museum has been given £75,000.

Work on the castle will focus on masonry containing original plaster.

The museum will pay for essential repairs to a building next to the main engine house at the former deep mine.

The castle ruins are a scheduled ancient monument which have towered over the Denbighshire tourist town since the mid 1200s. The grant will also go towards pinning an arched overhang.

Fiona Gale, archaeologist at Denbighshire council, said: "Castell Dinas Bran occupies one of Britain's most spectacular sites.

"The arch is one of the most easily understood elements of the site for the casual visitor. We are delighted that we will be able to preserve it for the future."

Work at Cefn Coed is vital to improving the stuctural safety of the museum.

Neath Port Talbot heritage officer Delyth Lewis said: ""Without the WREN fund, the project would not be undertaken.

"The existing safety precautions that are in place are inadequate and if the site remains in its current condition there is a genuine possibility the building will collapse."