JOOLS Holland immersed himself in history during a visit to Abergele's Gwrych Castle.

The night before, the musician and presenter had given an energetic performance at Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod's opening concert.

Jools, a returning favourite and vice president of the Eisteddfod, spent about an hour at Gwrych Castle on the Tuesday, July 2.

Lorraine Lister, administration officer for Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust, caught up with the Former Squeeze musician and popular pianist, and described him as a "lovely man".

She said: "It was a pleasure to welcome Jools Holland. He called to the site with friends.

"I was delighted to show him the restoration work being done at Gwrych. We spent some time discussing how this beautiful site had come to be in a state of disrepair.

"Jools and his friends were extremely supportive of the aims of the trust and were particularly interested in the plans to restore the marble staircase."

Lorraine also discussed architecture of the Castle and of course - music.

"I have been a fan of Jools Holland since his days in Squeeze," Lorraine said.

"One of the first records I purchased was their Cool for Cats album, which I still have. He was probably relieved that I didn’t burst into song.

"We discussed the architecture of the castle, and the history of not just the site, but it’s previous residents. We talked about Countess Dundonald, her support for her staff and her influence in the community."

The group had purchased a copy of Gwrych Castle: An Official Guide by Mark Baker, chair of the trust.

"We referred to that as I explained where the various rooms onsite were located, and how they used to look," Lorraine said.

"To have such a high profile visitor as Jools Holland visit is a great compliment to the dedication and hard work of the staff and volunteers.

"We would love to welcome Jools back at anytime. Maybe next time he could play us a tune."