An appeal has been launched to find an extra £2,000 to finish a community garden in Llangrannog.  

Llangrannog Welfare Committee members and local volunteers have almost finished the renovation of the beloved Gardd y Pentref - or village garden - located between Banc-y-Felin chapel and Y Gerwn waterfall on the road down to the beach.  

An initial JustGiving page raised over £4,000, and the team designing the garden won a grant from Ceredigion County Council to support the work.  

But ahead of the public unveiling of the new statue of local heroine and poet Sarah Jane Rees – know by her bardic name as Cranogwen - on 10 June, the team need to construct a new, safer entrance by removing old concrete and making an accessible slope into the garden.  

There is also some planting and trimming left to do.  

People sitting in the new community garden
People sitting in the new community garden (Kat Dawes)

Dr Kathryn Dawes said: “We also hope to have enough money to provide information boards to illustrate Cranogwen’s life and importance, as well as celebrate the hard work of many villagers in the garden over the years.  

“This and money for the entrance and the renovation of the old steps down to the lower garden mean that we must raise at least another £2,000. We also need to cover some costs due to rising prices of building materials. If there is enough money, we will also purchase new seating for the garden.  

“Built in the early 1900s, the garden has been further developed and maintained by successive local gardeners and builders. The new design preserves aspects of the garden such as the original slate walls and builds on it to provide a perfect site for Cranogwen to gaze towards her beloved beach. 

“We have worked in partnership with the Cranogwen Community Monument team and Monumental Welsh Women to bring this idea to life, and hope that the generosity we have seen so far will continue to enable us to make this special space last at least another century.” 

Cranogwen's verse will be written in the stone
Cranogwen's verse will be written in the stone (Kat Dawes)

The new garden was created by a local garden designer Gail Robinson following consultation with the wider community.  

Stonework has been done by Teifi Landscaping. The design incorporates some of Cranogwen’s poetry, which has been set into the new stone floor.  

Etched into the stone will be the following Cranogwen quotation: “One could not wish for a better place to live than the small Cranog valley; Here I can live my life in peace, And here somewhere eventually I will be laid to rest.”