Gallops' guide to the joys of Wrexham

It might not have a castle like Cardiff, or a mile of pubs like Mumbles, but Wrexham is currently enjoying an ascent as one of Wales’ most talked about destinations. In part thanks to Hollywood superstar Ryan Reynolds who recently bought the city’s football club alongside fellow actor Rob McElhenney, new investment and the international reputation of Focus Wales have brought new eyes and ears to North Wales.

Now in its thirteenth year and with over 20,000 attendees and around 250 artists expected across its three days, Focus Wales has become a staple in the festival-meets-conference calendar.

Born and bred in Wrexham, Mark Huckridge is one of the founding members of Gallops, a local band who’ve achieved international success across their career. Founded in 2007 with a scintillating live show of electronic and experimental math-rock, they’ve toured extensively, supporting the likes of Deerhunter, Battles and 65daysofstatic.

The band are currently finishing off a new EP which will be released later this year on their new Memory Palace imprint. They play Focus Wales on the Friday night as main support to Squid.

Having lived in Wrexham for all his life, Huckridge has seen how not only the city, but the wider industry in Wales, has changed. “There’s a lot of opportunities for young Welsh bands. Perhaps more than ever,” he smiles. “Focus Wales puts the place on the map and makes it visible. Over the last ten years lots of things have happened and it feels like this is the culmination of that. Loads of bands come in from over the world and it’s really exciting. It’s grown into a bigger festival. There’s a big top tent in the middle of town now where the headline acts play, so it feels real.”

Huckridge has talked Best Fit though his favourite places in Wrexham. So if you’re heading over to Focus Wales this May, be sure to check them out.

Tŷ Pawb opened a couple of years back. The old market in Wrexham was transformed into a creative space with a food market and a gallery and independent traders. It’s the hub of Focus Wales - that’s the place you’ll go to get your wristband. It’s really cool, a lovely space. It’s got some good exhibitions there and lots of world food, cool record shops, people selling retro games - there’s all sorts going on. It’s quite cool as well because it’s the old mixed with the new. A lot of the original market traders have stayed so they’re still selling wool and candles and random stuff, but they’re part of this new, thriving, creative space. I think that’s transformed Wrexham for the better, for sure.

Ty Cornel is a community-run art gallery. It’s run by the people who used to run Undegun, which was a JJB Sports shop that they changed into a crazy art space, venue thing. It was quite ramshackle, but in the best way. A lot of these chain stores have relocated to retail parks on the edge of town, so it killed off a lot of that in the middle of town. The council allowed for some buildings to be used for something creative and something good to keep that nightlife economy going. We were really lucky to have that for many years, but some developer bought it and is now turning it into flats. The people who ran it have moved down the street to what used to be a Bathstore, so that’s changed into a small gallery now. Some artists have got their studios there, so that’s keeping art alive in Wrexham.

Magic Dragon is like a taphouse for Magic Dragon Brewing, but it’s also a very small music venue, but a music venue all the same and I’ve seen all sorts of really cool stuff. They sell local ales, cask ales. I put on a DJ night there called Missing Persons Bureau which is always fun. It’s just a really small space, we’ve got a good sound system in there, it’s a good vibe. There was a venue many years ago called The Old Swan and that was the venue that kicked off a lot of bands’ careers in Wrexham. It was the venue that all the weirdo bands played in, run by really cool people, and those people are now running this place. We get some really cool things happening there, a really welcoming place as well.

Vasco Da Gama is a Portuguese cafe/restaurant. Wrexham’s got a significant Portuguese community that’s settled here over the years so there’s a few cafes, but this is the one I go to the most. Great people, super friendly atmosphere, really cheap, amazing home-cooked Portuguese food. I’d imagine it’s the sort of food that if you were Portuguese, your gran would make, and I love that. It’s this family-run thing that looks after itself and is just really relaxed. A great place to visit and great food at awesome prices.

I’m a Wrexham FC fan but my dad’s a super Wrexham fan. The rumours started spreading about who was buying it and I think Russell Crowe was mentioned as one person because he’s got links to Wrexham. Then I remember my dad saying, “I’ve heard it might be Ryan Reynolds,” and we both burst out laughing. Like, as if that’s going to be true.

He and Rob McElhenney have pulled us out of pretty dire times. They’re battling it out at the top of the table and I don’t want to tempt fate but it looks as though we’re gonna hopefully, maybe, be going up this time. It’s just the excitement about it around the town. I think it’s made people, outside of football, believe in Wrexham as a place again. Now we’re headline news.

If you’re not a season ticket holder at the moment, it’s pretty impossible to get tickets. They sell it out every week now. There’s a lot of money coming into the town in general. Pretty much every weekend now you’ll bump into a couple who’ve come over from Portland, Oregon, or a couple who’ve come over from Vancouver, Chicago, Brazil. It’s really surreal and it makes you proud of the town.

Drunk Monk is a micropub, again selling weird and wonderful craft ales from all over the world. But that’s a really cool place to go because it’s situated in a picturesque Victorian shopping arcade. They’ve just expanded it actually, so it’s not a micropub anymore. But that’s a really sweet place and again, they have some live music there, more open mic kind of stuff. That’s a really unique place to visit. It feels like its own little world.