Top 14 Natural Monuments around Corwen

Riding from New Brighton side the ascent is a fairly steady incline but is a sustained effort from the start. At the top it flattens out and the surface isn't great, there are plently of pot holes and loose gravely surface.. but after that the descent starts properly and its fantastic, a great road surface, winding and steep but you can let it go and build up some real speed, an absolutely fantastic ride down. I didn't notice the ford being slippy but others have warned so be aware.

The Llantysilio Green weir, more commonly known as the Horseshoe Falls, is a 140-meter-long, horseshoe-shaped weir designed by Thomas Telford in 1808 to divert water from the River Dee into the Llangollen Canal. This prominent structure is a significant piece of engineering and a feature of the World Heritage Site, providing water for the canal and attracting tourists with its unique design and surrounding landscape. The Llantysilio Green Car Park is a designated access point for visiting the falls. In the late 19th century a long piece of wood, about 30cm wide, floated on the water here to deflect floating debris away from the canal intake. It was fixed at one end. It’s visible in the photo, taken c.1890. Some trippers couldn’t resist the temptation to walk along it, ignoring a warning sign nearby, if they weren’t spotted by the “waterman” in charge of the sluice. Local residents took a dim view of such “unheeding folly”. 😂😂

The loop from Llandrillo going anticlockwise is very steady and pleasant. But be prepared for substantial bog trotting in the central part of the valley passing the area marked as Gwern Wynodl. Even with newish goretex boots, we came away with wet feet. Good boots and gaiters, or wellies for that section highly recommended. Return section (first section if doing it clockwise) is also pretty boggy in parts. It also seemed like a bit more of a slog doing it clockwise.

Located on the River Dee, near to Llantysilio, this masterpiece of Thomas Telford Engineering is where the Pontcysllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage site begins. He designed this weir to draw water from the River Dee in to the canal, and it became a stunning addition to the landscape. At 460ft (140M) long, it’s a sight to behold.

The area is popular with walkers, cyclists and tourists. The Offa's Dyke Path passes through World's End. World's End lies on a single track road from the small village of Minera near Wrexham, which crosses Esclusham Mountain and the Ruabon Moors to a public car park at the top of the Eglwyseg valley. The road crosses the Eglwyseg River by a ford, then goes on towards Pentre Dŵr, under the Horseshoe Pass, leading eventually to Llangollen or onto the Panorama in Trevor. Near World’s End is the manor house Plas Ucha yn Eglwyseg, built in 1563. It was for a time the home of John Jones Maesygarnedd, one of the signatories of the death warrant for Charles I of England. The building is said to stand on the site of a hunting lodge of Owain ap Cadwgan, prince of Powys, where Owain carried Nest (daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr) when he stole her away from her husband Gerald de Windsor in 1109.

I really cant stress how slippy the ford is and wet and painful

The distinctively shaped weir, which is 460 feet (140 m) long, helps create a pool of water that can enter the Llangollen Canal (via an adjacent valve house and flow meter). The canal west of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the construction of the weir were authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained in 1804 by the Ellesmere Canal Company. The canal was a navigable feeder, which supplied water to the Ellesmere Canal beyond Pontcysyllte, and to the Chester Canal, to which it connected near Nantwich. Thomas Telford was the civil engineer responsible for the design, and the canal and feeder were completed in 1808.

At 2,070 feet (630 m), Moel Fferna is the highest point in the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. However, it belongs to the wider Berwyn Range, which reaches its apex on Cadair Berwyn to the southwest. It's possible to link both on a long walk, along with other summits in the range. The Dee Valley is a good base for hikes to Moel Fferna, with plenty of accommodation options and places to eat and drink.