A TEAM of volunteers are using traditional skills to restore a 200-year-old wall near Llangollen.

The Dell, in the grounds of the Plas Newydd country home is home to naturalistic garden and centuries-old revetment walls that are falling into disrepair.

It is now a museum dedicated to 19th century owners Lady Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, the aristocratic socialites who scandalised Victorian society due to their unconventional relationship.

The Our Picturesque Landscapes, the National Lottery Heritage Funded environmental scheme has launched a five-year restoration of the Dell in a bid to repair the crumbling stone walls holding up its green banks. It is led by experienced Richard Jones, owner of RJ Countryside Skills, who has taught volunteers the time-old skills of how to remove a crumbling wall and rebuild it to last another two more centuries.

As part of the work a time capsule has also been buried in the wall for someone to find long into the future, detailing who repaired the wall and why.

The project received a grant from the Welsh Government's Rural Communities and Development Programme 2014-2020, which is joint-funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

Other projects within the restoration include stepping stones across Afon Cyflymen, which flows through the Dell, repairing the steps leading up to the summer house, creating a bog garden, extra seating and the replacement of handrails.

Volunteer Paula Wilding said: “This has provided an interesting feature leading visitors down from the historic formal heritage garden into the ladies naturalistic planting within the Dell.”

To get involved by volunteering with the restoration, contact the team by calling 01824 706163 or email our.picturesque.landscape@denbighshire.gov.uk