A weekend celebration will take place in Dinas Mawddwy to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the filming of an iconic TV series, as Julie McNicholls Vale found out.

On 19 and 20 October, the people of the area will be invited to take part in a number of events to celebrate five decades since Alan Garner’s The Owl Service was made there.

This is a free weekend and each day people will gather from 10am at The Crafty Café in Yr Hen Siop (the former village shop and Post Office), which was an important location in The Owl Service.

Talks and guided walks will take place from 10am to 5pm on both days and the event is open to anyone with an interest in The Owl Service, or who remembers filming taking place in the spring of 1969.

Organiser Stephen McKay explained more about the weekend.

“We have Alan Garner’s daughter Katharine Darby coming along who was present during the writing of The Owl Service novel in Llanymawddwy and the filming of the series in Dinas,” he said.

“On Saturday, Owl Service enthusiast and Welsh Learner of the Year Fiona Collins will be talking about the links between The Owl Service and Welsh legends in The Mabinogion.

“On Sunday, local Storyteller and Harpist Mair Tomos Ifans will tell the story of Blodeuwedd and play traditional tunes used in the series.

“There will be guided walks around the villages of Dinas Mawddwy and Llanymawddwy, to places associated with the ‘Owl Service’ and other sites of local interest.

“We will have paper owls to make and decorate and plenty of cakes and drinks available from The Crafty Café.”

For more information about the weekend, or to get involved, you can contact Stephen Mckay on 07845 924252 or email [email protected]

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