The entrance to a museum with a sign reading 'Llangollen Museum'

Introducing our newest YAC: Clwyd and Dee Valley YAC

We’re delighted to introduce another new branch to the YAC network: Clwyd and Dee Valley YAC, based at Llangollen Museum! Branch leaders Lisa and Gill tell us more about this exciting new club in North Wales…

Clwyd and Dee Valley YAC is hosted by Llangollen Museum and will be opening in January 2026. Based in Llangollen, the gateway to North Wales, it is surrounded by a landscape rich in history and archaeology.

The club will be doing all sorts of activities exploring how archaeology can help us learn about heritage both locally and further afield within the UK with planned sessions including crafts, visiting local historic sites, and learning about the fascinating science used by archaeologists to help them piece together clues from the past.  

An archaeologist digging in a long narrow trench in a beautiful Welsh landscape of hills and fields.

Meet the Clwyd and Dee Valley YAC team:

Branch leader, Lisa Smith, is a Curator at Llangollen Museum. She has a keen interest in the early medieval period, particularly the Anglo-Saxons, and a deep passion for heritage and archaeology in the local area. 

Gill Smith, Manager of Llangollen Museum, is an archaeologist with over fifty years of experience. A prehistorian at heart, she enjoys “stone bothering” — visiting ancient sites throughout Britain — and is passionate about teaching young people about the rich prehistory of North Wales.

Our resident Romanist, Sam Thomson, works as Outreach Curator at Llangollen Museum. He loves nothing more than getting hands-on in the field, having recently excavated Castell Dinas Brân (2025) and the Bryneglwys Bronze Age Ritual Site (2023). Sam is enthusiastic about bringing history to life for young people, especially when it comes to the Roman period.

The youngest member of the team, Alexis McCallen, is eager to share her love of history and archaeology with other young people and is especially interested in the history of medicine.

Lisa says: “We are very fortunate to be surrounded by some key archaeological and historic sites and are really excited to be able to engage young people in discovering more about their local area. We are incredibly grateful to Llangollen Museum for the support they have shown us – as well as being our hosting venue, we have their archives at hand, alongside materials donated to the YAC by others in the local community which will help our members get hands-on with archaeology from the outset. 

“We’ll be hosting our sessions once a month on Thursday evenings, with members having the opportunity to get involved in a variety of activities they may not ordinarily get a chance to via typical educational settings. We can’t wait to get digging with you!”

YAC-HQ are really pleased to add Clwyd and Dee Valley YAC to its network of branches and encourage anyone in the local area, who wishes to participate, to contact the club: Clwyd and Dee Valley YAC.