This family run traditional inn can be found at the top of Prestatyn Mountain in the tranquil conservation village of Gwaenysgor located in the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Its location is ideal for walkers and sightseers alike, or just for relaxing and enjoying the views.

The inn was originally a stone farm croft and was converted to an inn more than 100 years ago. The building has seen various modifications over the years, and the present owners, Sue and Clint, undertook major renovation work in 2007.

The Eagle can now boast a large comfortable climate-controlled dining room which looks out over the gardens, full facilities for the disabled and easy access. It has retained the quaint atmosphere and the beautiful gardens for which the Eagle is renowned.

The inn can accommodate groups of 2 to 100 people, so whether you want a secluded meal for two, a party for family and friends or a work gathering, give the Eagle a ring.

The refurbishment included a new patio, hard & soft landscaping, external smoking area, two new dining areas, new cellar, new toilets including a disabled toilet facility, bar and kitchen improvements. To keep the environmental impact of the new extension to a minimum we employed local specialist, Concept Engineering, to reduce our carbon footprint. This was achieved by installing a state of the art heat recovery system that not only provides a climate controlled environment for our customers, it also re uses up to 80% of the heat that would normally be extracted (ie cooking, refrigeration plant, etc) and uses it to control the filtered air temperature to provide a comfortable, fresh environment no matter how busy we are.

The Inn now boasts gardens that can seat 160, Lower dining area that seats 60/70, Upper dining area that seats 36, the original snug seats 14 with the original dining area seating 26 and also providing an informal comfortable retreat on the sofas. The two main bar areas are also retained.

Many legends exist about the origin of the Eagle and Child crest of the Stanley’s which was probably taken from the crest of the Lathoms.

One account tells of a Sir Thomas Lathom who greatly desired a male heir, but his wife was advanced in years and their only child was a daughter. One day, he and his wife were walking in Tarlescough Woods, a wild section of his estate when they heard an infant crying. Servants were sent to investigate and they returned with a young male child which they had found lying in the grass below an eagle’s eyre. In another version, it was discovered in an eagle’s nest. The child was well dressed, and Sir Thomas and his wife decided to bring it up as their own son, naming him ‘Oskatel’.

The tradition of a child being found unharmed in an eagle’s nest is very old and exists in folklore in many parts of Europe, notably in Norway and France. King Pepin was said to have discovered a child in similar circumstances, and another tale exists that King Alfred the Great found a child after hearing it crying while he was out hunting. When his servants investigated, they discovered a male child in an eagle’s eyre, dressed in purple with gold bracelets on its arms (the mark of Saxon nobility).

The King named it ‘Nestingium’ and had it baptized and educated. It has been suggested that these old tales gave Sir Thomas Lathom the idea in the first place, when despairing of a son by his wife, he is said to have had an intrigue with a young gentlewoman whom he kept in a house nearby. She gave him a son, and his problem was to get it recognized and accepted by his wife in such a way that her mind would be free of jealousy.

He thereupon arranged the whole thing, and the child was brought up as her adopted son and made heir to part of his estate. However, on his deathbed, Sir Thomas confessed that Oskatel was his bastard, and his daughter, being his only heir, inherited the whole estate. However, he made provision for his natural son by settling upon him and his heirs, the Manors of Islem and Urmston near Manchester, and Oskatel is said to have been the founder of the Lathoms of Earlham. There is a stained glass window in St Wilfred’s Church at Northenden bearing the name of Oskatel de Lathom and his crest.

Continuing on the Eagle & Child was adopted by the Earls of derby during the fourteen century and bore the family motto “Sans Changer”. (Without Change).