Man in his 20s dies after 'medical incident' at UK festival
His death is not believed to be suspicious. A Dreamland spokesperson said: "We are co-operating with the emergency services' inquiries.
"Our thoughts are with the man's friends and family at this difficult, sad time." Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
The over-18s festival was due to be headlined by Andy C, with Wilkinson, K Motionz, Mozey, Basslayerz, Harriet Jaxxon and Promo Zo also on the bill.
Organisers took the decision to close the event at around 5.30pm on Saturday due to the heat.
It is understood that the decision was unrelated to the man's death.
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North Wales Live
24-07-2025
- North Wales Live
Gut-lurching moment huge rockface collapses near walkers at popular North Wales slate quarry
A student artist has described the gut-wrenching moment a huge quarry wall collapsed, sending tonnes of rock and slate thundering towards him. By chance Aran Jones, 21, caught the dramatic incident on camera at Dinorwig slate quarry, Gwynedd. He kept filming while others bolted from the area, belatedly joining them as a giant dust cloud billowed into the sky, clearly visible from the village of Llanberis below. 'If there hadn't been a large pit beneath the rockface, we could have been in trouble,' he said. Rockfalls are periodically reported at the quarry, once the world's second largest slate mine. But local people said the noise made by yesterday's incident (Wednesday, July 23) was the largest they'd heard in more than three decades. The collapse was a sobering reminder of the dangers of a site that's seen surging number of visitors in recent years. For some people, it also showed the bravery of quarry workers who reshaped a mountain above Llyn Peris often with the most rudimentary of tools. Aran, from Mynydd Llandegai near Bangor, visited the quarry during a trip back home from Cardiff, where he studies art while working as a pieman at Donald's Coffee and Pies. Having risen at 3am, he'd already climbed Crib Coch and Yr Wyddfa by the time he arrived at the quarry. 'I was by walking myself when when I heard what sounded like slates cracking and splitting,' he said. 'I'd been at the quarry a few days before and I'd heard the same sound then. 'I thought it might be the quarry's goats, standing on a ledge and dislodging slate. So I began filming, hoping to spot them." Join the North Wales Live Aran continued: 'All of sudden the rockface gave way. I thought I was far enough away, so I kept filming. But had it not been for the massive pit beneath, all that rubble and debris would have come rushing towards me. 'A couple were on the path behind me. When the rockface collapsed, they came running past me, trying to get to safety. That woke me up a bit to the danger, so I began running with them.' Mountain rescue teams have repeatedly warned of the risks of visiting Gwynedd's old slate quarries. Interest in them has risen following their designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site but often they remain just as hazardous as when they were being worked. In April, staff at the Dinorwig power station reported hearing spontaneous rockfalls in a part of the quarry that climbers call the Quarry Peppermint Tower Area. Thuds of rock landing, including a 'big boom', were also heard by climbers. Around the same time, a climber was seriously injured by falling rock dislodged by a colleague above him. He was rushed to Royal Stoke Hospital's major trauma centre after being recovered by Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) and an air ambulance. Llanberis MRT had previously warned visitors to exercise extreme caution at old slate quarries. It came amid rising concerns over the number of people straying from paths and taking risks in 'dangerous places'. At the time, the MRT said: 'No Instagram story is worth the level of risk that some people are unwittingly taking.' No one was hurt by yesterday's rockfall but photos and videos appear to show smaller rocks littering a nearby public path. To guard against such incidents, site owner First Hydro Company restricts public access to some quarry areas and closes off others completely. Urging everyone to stay safe, station manager John Armstrong said the large rockfalls 'demonstrates why we don't allow unauthorised access or exploration of the quarry'. Aran suggested anyone using the quarry keeps their wits about them. 'If you hear any creaking or cracking in the rocks, get away from the area as quickly as possible,' he said. 'The old quarrymen used to listen out for these warning sounds. 'If you sense something is about to happen, at places like Dinorwig there's a good chance it might.'
North Wales Live
20-07-2025
- North Wales Live
North Wales landmark is one of the main 'characters' in dark, psychological thriller
A Welsh author has revealed how he has woven the plot of his debut novel around one of North Wales' most iconic landmarks. Llandudno's Great Orme is the setting for a dark, psychological thriller by Paul D. Coombs. The novel - called The Great Orme - was described as "Agatha Christie meets Stephen King" by one reviewer. The story revolves around one man's desire - Zacharay Llewellyn - to finally confess for the murders he and his friends committed as teenagers. Then years later, as their grizzly brand of retribution followed them into their new lives away from the Great Orme, Zac summons them all to return home under the gaze of The Great Orme headland and join his confession. Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now But not everyone wants to lose everything they have built and someone is still out there killing. Paul says it's a "taut psychological thriller laced with moral ambiguity". Paul, who is originally from Cardiff, told North Wales Live: 'Being Welsh, I have a natural affinity for Wales, and particularly North Wales which is a relatively short drive from my home in Cheshire. I couldn't help but be inspired by the place. "The landscape, at the same time both beautiful and treacherous, seems to keep its own time, its own truths. I was thinking about the kind of people who do something terrible, carry it with them, and try to live like it never happened. "But what if one of them can't? What if one of them starts to unravel-because the truth won't stay quiet? "The landscape becomes part of the psyche, part of the punishment. Because in the end, I think it's less about the crime itself… and more about what it does to the soul of the person who can't let go of it.' He has long harboured an ambition to write a thriller. 'I had always wanted to write an Agatha Christie-style murder-mystery, with secrets and consequences... but darker," said Paul. "I love the Great Orme and it was crucial that the power of the setting is as much a principal character as any of the other characters.' Since its release, The Great Orme has had an amazing reception both home and abroad, but none more-so than in North Wales, said the author. He added: "The people here have a natural affinity with the ancient rhythm of the land, the Great Orme itself a place where the earth meets sky and sea, a place where you can feel like you are standing at the edge of the world. I have always been fascinated with landscape and its power to haunt." Paul added: "The name 'Great Orme' itself is thought to have Norse origins, meaning "sea serpent", and anyone who sees it or climbs its windswept crown, will sense it, wild, alive and unknowingly deep." * The Great Orme published by Northodox Press, out now, is available in bookshops including from the Great Orme Summit Complex shop, and the North Wales Wildlife Trust gift shop). Waterstones in Liverpool has made it a 'favourite read'. "The Great Orme" is currently in consideration for the Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award. Paul has had numerous short stories published in anthologies, magazines, and on podcasts. His collection of dark and speculative short stories, For Strangers Only, is available to purchase on Amazon. Paul's second novel, The Deadly Lives of Windsor, is slated for release in 2026 and is now available to pre-order from Northodox Press. It is described as "a futuristic Orwellian Animal Farm for our times".
Wales Online
11-07-2025
- Wales Online
Tiny 'Lonely Tree' vies with UK giants to be crowned Britain's best
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A small, slightly bedraggled tree next to a Gwynedd lake is in the running to be crowned the UK's most iconic. The Lonely Tree of Llanberis is easily the smallest and youngest in this year's Tree of the Year competition but it has quickly become one of the most photographed in Britain. Perched over pebbles in Llyn Padarn, and framed by Eryri's mountains, the young birch has survived against the odds to become a cherished local landmark. Ten rare, ancient or at-risk trees across the UK have been shortlisted in the Woodland Trust's 2025 competition. They include a cedar tree climbed by The Beatles, an oak that may have inspired Virginia Woolf, and a lime representing peace in Northern Ireland. Another entry is the Borrowdale Yews at Seathwaite, Cumbria, which were immortalised by Wordsworth over 200 years ago. Like the King of Limbs, in Savernake Forest, Wiltshire, which inspired the name of Radiohead's album, these trees dwarf the diminuative Llanberis entry. Yet the Woodland Trust said that, despite lacking in stature, it is a 'a photographer's dream'. The charity added: 'Its bent, stretching shape has contorted in response to harsh weather conditions, making it a symbol of resilience and a fascinating focus for the lens through all seasons. 'The scene is everchanging as the lake levels rise and recede, with the tree alternately exposing its tenacious roots at the water's edge or clinging to its own tiny island as the surroundings are submerged. In the right light, the reflections mirrored on the lake's surface are picture-perfect – so much so that the tree appeared in a 2021 Chromebook advert.' Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now (Image: Douglas Crawford Tree Wise Urban Forestry/Woodland Trust/PA Wire) In September 2024 , the Lonely Tree was temporarily off-limits when Netflix closed the Y Glyn lakeside area, also known as the "lagoons". The streaming giant was there to film major battle scenes for season four of The Witcher, starring Liam Hemsworth. 'Set for release later in 2025, we don't know yet if the Lonely Tree will make the cut,' said the Woodland Trust. 'But directors surely would have taken advantage of such a beautiful vista!' It's thought the Lonely Tree of Llanberis is a mere 15-years-old – some two millennia younger than the Borrowdale Yews. Neither is it expected to survive much longer – there's more on this here. Voting opened today (Friday, July 11) runs until 11.59pm on September 19. You can vote here. This year's winner will be announced on September 26, and will go on to represent the UK in the European Tree of the Year finals. The 2015 theme is 'Rooted in Culture', which seeks to highlight how trees inspire creative minds and become ingrained in our cultural landscape. Dame Judi Dench, patron of the Woodland Trust, said: 'Our oldest trees hold more stories than Shakespeare; some were putting down roots long before he began writing, more than 400 years ago. They are as much part of our heritage as any literature.' The Beatles' cedar tree in Chiswick, which is around 300 years old, was nominated given that the band perched on one of its low-swooping boughs in a video for their song Rain in 1966. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox Meanwhile the Lollipop Tree on Salisbury Plain played a starring role in the final scenes of Sam Mendes's First World War film 1917. Knole Park Oak in Kent, thought to be Britain's tallest at 135ft, made the list as the tree believed to have inspired an epic poem in Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando. A panel of experts selected nine trees for the shortlist, while the public chose a 10th as a wildcard entry. This year, David Treanor, from Glasgow, put forward the 'Argyle Street Ash', pointing to its reference in James Cowan's 1935 book, From Glasgow's Treasure Chest, as 'quite the most graceful ash I have seen'. Laura Chow, head of charities at People's Postcode Lottery, which is supporting the competition, said: 'These trees have witnessed key moments in history, provided solace to war poets, been a supporting artist in a blockbuster film, and inspire reflection and creative photography as the seasons change.' Find out what's happening near you
