Texas sculptor calls to save Lake Vyrnwy, Powys giant benches

Andy Hancock is the creative force behind a number of familiar sculptures in the area in the area, and examples of his work can be found around the world.

Mr Hancock is originally from Melbourne but lived in Wales for 35 years, and worked closely with Andy Hall of the Forestry Commission in the 1990s to create a number of spectacular works around the lake including sculptures of the dolphins and a 14ft dragonfly.

He is also known for his famous green man statue outside Sweeney Hall near Oswestry.

OTHER NEWS:

• Powys man given discharge by court after 'losing his head'
• Montgomery Battle site claims are 'non-sensical'
• Lights to mark beginning of Powys town's festive countdown

He was then, in 2000, asked to create a new seating area. The area that was chosen was, Mr Hancock says, criss-crossed with a “thicket of wood” that were 8 to 12 inches thick, and became the site of the much-loved giant benches that are now a well-loved picnic area on the lake's west side.

Andy Hancock while he was creating the Llechwedd-du area

Now, however, Hafren Dyfrdwy is to replace the benches, saying they are unsafe.

But Mr Hancock, who moved to Texas in 2002, has said that he would be willing to fly from his current home to restore them and even give a class on how to do it.

“If they’re iconic you don’t throw them away," he said.

"If you are saving one because it is iconic why not save them all?

“I would like to see them restored. It would be a lot easier to restore them than replace them with pre-packed furniture. That would turn the area from iconic to sanitised – I want to be able to see my grandson at that table.

“Lake Vyrnwy is very close to my heart. I loved it, it’s a beautiful place. It’s a gem, one of the gems of Wales.”

Mr Hancock was given just six weeks to transform the area to host a multi-agency meeting, and decided to use the wood that was there and received help from a local farmer who helped post the tables into the earth.

Andy's dolphin sculptures

The giant benches were created in the shape of the leaf of the wood that made them and the site was created to be accessible to all and encourage people to talk to each other whilst making the idyllic view available.

The work pushed Mr Hancock to the limit and he said he "was in the rain on my back for two days with a generator getting them finished”.

The art became the Llechwedd-du car park and picnic area. This and the artwork he helped create around the lake proved very popular – raising the number of visitors to the lake from 60,000 per year to over 150,000 people per year.

One of Andy's earlier works.

A spokesman for the Hafren Dyfrdwy said: "As part of the Brilliant Basics grant that we received from the Welsh Government, we will be upgrading the picnic area at Lake Vyrnwy. Sadly, the unsafe condition of the giant benches mean that they need to be replaced.

"The new benches will be fully DDA-compliant to ensure that all of our visitors can enjoy the beautiful surroundings of Lake Vyrnwy.

"These benches are an iconic feature at Llechwedd-Du and we are currently exploring how we can reinstate at least one of the leaf benches in the future."