LIFE in one of the UK’s loneliest villages may seem to be dull but residents say there is an upside.
Llansannan, in Conway, North Wales, appears to be very isolated with an ONS report saying it was on average a three hour return journey to the nearest secondary school.
Anyone in the village also faced a 140 minute return journey if they wanted to go to the nearest GP.
The village is nestled in a small valley surrounded by farming fields and often the only noise that can be heard is the sound of birds singing.
On Thursday afternoons, most of the village’s community focal points, such as the post office and pub are shut, except the nearby convenience store.
There’s no supermarket and no bank.
The Red Lion is something of the focal point for the locals with the pub having reopened in the summer of 2021 and offering some tasty meals.
Jennifer Owen, who has been a shop assistant at Siop y Llan for 38 years, and lives just outside the village, says it doesn’t feel isolated and it has a real community feel to the place.
She told North Wales Live: “It certainly doesn’t feel that way.
“The Bron y Ffynnon surgery is open every Thursday, we have a local community paper called Gadlas shared amongst all the communities within this area, and everybody knows and helps each other.”
Grandmother Haf Roberts also agrees about the village’s sense of community and that it was like any other area in the countryside.
Einir Jones, the headteacher at the village’s primary school Ysgol Bro Aled which has just 72 pupils, said the sense of community was flourishing even when goods were inaccessible for some.
She said: “If there is a need for something, people will go out and get it – it’s just a natural part of living in a place like this.
“We have a strong sense of community here. It may seem isolated in numbers, but as a community, it doesn’t feel isolated at all.”
Every Wednesday the kids take lunches to the elderly residents in the village that are unable to leave their homes.
Einir added that there was something different going on almost every night – including bowling, choir practices or the young farmers’ club.
She said the community might be small but it was close-knit, “colourful” and diverse, with some parents at the school coming from Denmark, Japan and Mexico.
Eifion Jones was born and bred in Llansannan and is now the school warden.
He said the village had all the facilities that were needed and there was nothing that was lacking.
He added if there was, the villagers would come together and get it sorted.
It comes after a property described as Britain’s “loneliest house” went on the market for £250,000.
Number 3 Blea Moor Cottages is so isolated anyone wanting to view the property must walk for 20 minutes to get there as it is in one of the most remote parts of the Yorkshire Dales.
