A slice of Narnia in the heart of North Wales

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Sometimes what you really need is to be miles away from anywhere, a roaring fire inside, a blanket of snow and the occasional bleat of a sheep outside.

The Hand at Llanarmon, tucked away in the hills outside Llangollen, certainly fits that bill. On the November night when we drive to this little gem, the Horseshoe Pass, one of the most spectacular roads in Wales, is closed due to heavy snowfall.

We go the long way round, before driving through a blizzard up pitch black, twisting lanes, on through scattered villages to eventually find the warm glow of this country inn.

It is only in the morning, against crisp, sunny winter skies, that we realise just how picturesque the Hand really is, nestled in the snow-covered Berwyn range.