The Stag International Living Postcards--your daily escape Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Llangernyw, Wales Dear International Living Reader, A visit to The Stag begins with a picturesque drive through the Welsh hills and finishes with a delicious meal and a cold pint (and, on a rainy evening, a seat by the enormous stone fireplace, where a fire can be found crackling merrily). Antique skis, a stuffed stag, ancient swords, teacups, vintage leather skates, an old iron plough, assorted chamber pots… These are a few of the items that hang from the beamed walls and low ceilings of The Stag, a small pub in the hills of Denbighshire in northern Wales. Locals gather here for an evening drink, and families drive the winding rural roads on Sunday afternoons to enjoy a relaxing pub lunch. For a few pounds, you'll get a generous serving of good old-fashioned pub fare, made with organic vegetables and local beef and lamb. Enjoy your chips and pint in the front room, in one of big chairs gathered around the fireplace, or a sunny seat near the window. Quiet conversations can be had in one of the two adjoining dining areas stocked with solid old wooden tables and chairs. Next door is St. Digain's (pronounced dee-gine's) church. Through the heavy black iron gate, a paved path runs through a maze of weathered headstones--some are from the 1600s; pillar stones in the churchyard date back to the 7th century. Across from the white chapel is a massive yew tree, reputedly 4,000 years old. It's rumored that an English king camped under the tree with his army in the 1300s while on a campaign against the Welsh. Beyond the churchyard, the view is spectacular. The ground drops away into a valley, and rises up again a mile away, dotted in yellow gorse and brown and purple heather. Halfway between Llanrwst (pronounced thlan-rust) and Abergele, The Stag, a fixture in the Welsh-speaking village of Llangernyw (pronounced thlan-ger-new) since the 1600s, is off the A548, the main road through the village. Open Monday to Saturday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.; tel. + 44 (0)1745-860-213. Kelsey Strachan
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