magazine autumn 2011 magazine autumn 2011 Wales 04/08/2011 15:28 05 Tal y Fan, 06 Clwydian Hills, Denbighshire l Distance 10km/6¼ miles l time 4hrs l type Mountain and moor l Distance 11km/7 miles l time 4hrs l type Hill

NavigatioN FitNess NavigatioN FitNess 3 level 3 3 level 3 1 level 1 2 level 2

plan your walk plan your walk l Liverpool l Llandudno

CLWyDiaN Conwy HiLLs l

taL y FaN l Chester Llandyrnog ES ES

CoNWy

Where: Circular walk in Where: Circular walk in the eastern , the Clwydian Hills above . Llandyrnog. hy: NEIL Coat PhotograPhy: Start/end: Bwlch y oat NEIL C PhotograPhy: Start/end: Moel arthur Ddeufaen (sH720715). The deep Conwy valley bisects gate along the moorland track, car park (sJ146658). This shapely range of hills is often rising steadily through rafts of terrain: Rough paths and North Wales, separating the passing by two monoliths that terrain: Moderate seen but infrequently visited. bilberry and heather to reach a tracks, unpaved moor mountains of Snowdonia in the long pre-date this Roman road walking on generally All most people know of these slate marker beside a wall. turn L and hills. awkward west from the more rounded, and a host of pylons. Climb the good paths, with upwellings at the edge of North to gain the summit of Moel underfoot in places, with gentler moorlands and secluded gate-side stile and turn R beside plenty of modest climbs Wales is their shadowy horizon arthur. the top is ringed by one marshy sections. Don’t vales of Denbighshire to the east. the wall. a steady, rock-strewn and descents. along the busy A55 expressway, of a string of hillforts capping the attempt in poor visibility. The mountains quickly step up to climb beside a wall soon ensues, MapS: explorer 265; which funnels ramblers to the summits in the Clwydian Range. MapS: explorer oL17; the bulbous tops and sheer edges with false summits taunting you Landranger 116. familiar stomping grounds of their purpose is enigmatic; home Landranger 115. of the Carneddau, amongst the before reaching the trig pillar on GettinG there: the Snowdonia. Spare a little time to to the Celtic Deceangli people, GettinG there: arriva bus lesser-known peaks of the tal y Fan (sH729726). then all Clwydian Ranger explore these rounded summits, they were secure bases where the 19a to Rowen runs close to National Park. One such is Tal y exertions are forgotten; such recreational bus network however, and you’ll soon discover tribes-people could live and corral Maen-y-Bardd Cromlech Fan, claiming mountain status at modest effort for so-spectacular a offers summertime links why they were granted AONB their livestock against marauding from Llandudno, Conwy 610m/2001ft. It ripples as a craggy reward. Clear days see the isle of to the fringes of the hills status in 1985. It’s the Bronze Age wolves and even bears. Bronze and (✆ 0871 200 ridge through a timeless Man shimmering way out in the (✆ 0871 200 2233, heritage, stunning views, age axe heads more than 3,500 2233, www.arrivabus.co.uk). landscape, richly endowed with irish sea; closer to hand the coastal www.traveline.org.uk). comforting landscapes and almost years old have been found here. there is parking at a Neolithic monuments amidst a strip and much of anglesey stand eatinG & drinkinG: guaranteed tranquility that make Head north, to the L of the remote car park three tracery of old fields, summer proud, with Puffin island the near the White Horse inn, instant fans of those lucky transmitter mast, which takes you miles west of Rowen. pastures and wind-riffled wastes, feature off Penmon. to the south Llandyrnog enough to venture off the beaten through the hillfort ditches and eatinG & drinkinG: with fabulous coastal and and west rise some of snowdonia’s (✆ 01824 790582). track here. Offa’s Dyke Path rejoins the oDP at a stile. trace it ty gwyn Hotel, Rowen mountain views. This energetic giants, with the ridge of Drum SleepinG: valeside B&B, strings along the crest, linking downhill to a lane and turn R up (✆ 01492 650232). ramble makes the most of this, taking the eye to the highest Bodfari (✆ 01745 710495, Iron Age hillforts dating back into to another remote car park. SleepinG: Winifred’s Rest and visits one of the marvellous, Carneddau and, farther south, www.valeside.co.uk); the the mists of time, and this walk B&B, Conwy Road, unspoiled little churches that siabod and the arans amongst golden Lion, Llangynhafal explores such timeless countryside 2. Use the higher, R-hand gate at (✆ 01492 640919, www. remain hidden in the hills, aeons countless peaks. (✆ 01824 790451, www. at the heart of the range. the back of the car park here at winifredsrest.co.uk). away from the modern world. thegoldenlioninn.com). Coed Llangwyfan. in a few paces,

ViSitor inforMation: 2. stay L of the wall for a further ViSitor inforMation: 1. START Join the waymarked fork R on to the lesser, rising path ▲

Conwy tiC, Conwy Castle ▲ 1. START From Bwlch y Ddeufaen half-mile to reach a sub-summit, Llangollen tiC, Castle street offa’s Dyke Path (oDP) from the (oDP), which skims the inside edge (sH720715), continue through the where the wall turns distinctly rear of the car park (sJ146658), of firwoods before emerging as a ▼ ▼ 53-54 WALK32 ROUTEMASTER_WALES.indd 1 53-54 WALK32ROUTEMASTER_WALES_rev1.indd 2 Ordnance Surveymapping©Crowncopyright.AM34/08 Ordnance Surveymapping©Crowncopyright.AM34/08 continued... 3 (✆ 01978 860828, www. visitclwydianrange.co.uk). For a downloadable audio 3 guide to the hillforts, visit 4 www.heatherandhillforts. co.uk. Guidebooks: The Clwydian Way by David Hollett (£7.99, North Wales Ramblers, ISBN 9781901184365); Walking in The Clwydian Range by Carl Rogers (£6.99, Northern Eye 2 Books, ISBN 9781902512143). LocaL RambLeRs aRea/ GRoup: Clwydian Ramblers (✆ 01352 740372, www. clwydianramblers.org.uk).

START gorsey, heathery hillside path. A 2 FINISH glance to your L is rewarded by a most magnificent panorama of 1 the distant giants of Snowdonia. 4 A final handgate leads into a wide, grassy highway on to Map not to scale. the rounded summit ahead. Representation of OS Landranger MAP Penycloddiau is over a mile in 115 1:50,000 circumference – one of the largest www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk hillforts in Britain. Recent work has revealed the bases of many 1 roundhouses, where possibly workings below and aim to pass 4. Return to the sheep pens, use as many as 400 people lived START continued... immediately L of these. Join the the gate and then drift L on the and traded. The bounding FINISH old access track to reach a grassy gradually rising grassy field track embankments were topped by a (✆ 01492 592248, www. T-junction and turn R, heading for around the hillside. Keep R at a wooden palisade. The views are visitwales.co.uk). the huge, old, standing stone, fork, soon putting an old wall on astonishing, sweeping across Guidebooks: Walking in Maen Penddu (SH738736). your L past enclosures and the site Snowdonia from the knurled face the Conwy Valley by Carl of Caer Bach hillfort – the rimmed of Tryfan south to the Arans and Map not to scale. Rogers (£4.99, Mara 3. Leave the track, heading hill on your R. Continue over large Cader Idris. In the south rise the Representation of Publications, ISBN slightly R towards a gate in a wall. stone steps beside a sheep fold, OS Landranger MAP 116 9780952240976). Before reaching this, bend L on a heading directly for the distant secluded Berwyns; to the east 1:50,000 the West Pennines, fronted by www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk LocaL RambLeRs GRoup: streamside path between walls. sharp peak of . Liverpool’s waterfront and fringed Conwy Valley Ramblers Stay beside the L wall; as this Before the next cross-wall, head L by the windfarms in Liverpool (✆ 01492 584738, www. opens into a rough pasture, look to use a handgate (SH740723) Bay. Simply follow the well- as the marvellous vista across the a further 100m to another conwyvalleyra.org.uk). ahead to see a distinctly pointy above ruins and a lone tree. Drop waymarked ODP north along the Vale of Clwyd is detaining. Keep bridleway on the R. Use the gate low summit and head for this. The half-L to a marked stone-step gradually declining and shapely ahead-L as the track turns R down and head half-L up to the huge way becomes a rough field track. stile, then stay in-line down ridge of the Clwydian Hills, to a cottage, remaining on this field-side boulder. Just above this, downwards to the R (SH736729). Drift R to a gap at a junction of the rough fields to a track by dropping to a stand of pines well gated way for another 2km to use the gate into a grassy area and From this lofty point, take a visual walls and a shallow ford. Continue the spectacular cromlech of above a hill farm. reach a distinct parting of ways at walk L of the barn past two pines. bearing on the massive headland down towards the pointed Maen-y-Bardd. Turn R and keep a woodland edge. Head R down Join the field track opposite, with of the , towering summit, reaching a gate beside ahead to return to the start. 3. Just beyond these, turn back-L through a gate and walk onwards a wall on your R. Beyond a gate, above Llandudno, and head ancient stone sheep pens. Walk Route devised by Neil Coates (don’t use the gate) along the to a tarred lane. drift L on the gorse-lined path to towards it on thin sheep paths the enclosed track and keep R at waymarked byway, commencing join a wider way. Keep ahead on down across the grass, bilberry the gate to old St Celynin’s Church a pleasing contour walk along the 4. Walk uphill and round the this to reach a tarred lane and and heather. A level, grassy (SH751737), an extraordinary time 12/08/2011 18:05 western flank of the hills. The way bends. Ignore the first bridleway R walk uphill to the car park. platform is soon reached, from capsule untroubled by electricity drops imperceptibly, as unnoticed along a track and continue uphill Route devised by Neil Coates here look for the derelict quarry and reeking of the Middle Ages.