Strenuous Leader : Malcolm Distance : 10 miles
We head east from the car park along a narrow road (no footpath , so single file please) before picking up the footpath through fields and woodland towards Moel Famau. The ascent to the top of Moel Famau is long and steep, so please bring plenty of water. If we get clear weather, from the summit we should be able to see Snowdon and across the Dee and Mersey estuaries, so bring your binoculars. We then head to the picturesque village of Cilcain and pick up the path through the valley towards Pont-newydd. From here we follow the leete path through the wooded valley back to Loggerheads .
Moderate Leader: Pamela Distance : 8½ miles
We leave the car park and along a somewhat busy ‘B’ road to pick up the trail for one of the Moel Famau loop pathways. We will climb Ffrith Mountain which should give us some good views if the day is clear. We will break for lunch after the climb and rehydrate if the day is as warm as that on the reccee. We will then make our way on stony and muddy bridleways to Pentre and then a slight incline into the village of Cilcain. There is an opportunity for a rest stop here before we pick up the path which will take us to Pont-newyyd and then the leete path for a few miles back to the country park hopefully in time before the ice cream shop closes at 4.30-5.00pm. These calories may not count as we will have climbed 1200+ ft today.
Easy Leader: Sue Distance: 5 miles
We start our walk at Loggerheads Country Park and enjoy a pleasant walk through the woods following a recreational route. Over a few footbridges past Devil’s Gorge and follow paths and minor roads heading towards Pentre and Bryn Alyn. Over the River Alyn and walk through the woods back to Loggerheads.
Well defined paths, minor roads, a few gates and footbridges
NOTES ON THE AREA
Loggerheads Country Park is a long established beauty spot, popular with those seeking rural peace and those whose interest is industrial archaeology. Loggerheads was a pioneer of the concept of a country park. Industry had virtually ceased here by the turn of the century, and in 1926 the Crosville Motor Bus Company bought the land to develop as a tourist venue for their bus trips. A tea house, bandstand, boating lakes and kiosks were installed and gardens were laid out in the style of an urban park. It was extremely popular in the 1930’s when the hourly bus service brought the crowds from nearby towns. The land was bought by Clwyd in 1974 and turned into a country park proper, with a fine nature trail and an industrial trail. The area got its name from an acrimonious dispute over mining rights in the 18th century between the Lords of Mold and Llanferres. The block-headed behaviour of the parties involved was satirized in the sign of the inn across the road from the park entrance. It depicts two figures back to back, clearly not on speaking terms.
This is limestone country, covered with woodland. Ash, alder, hazel and sycamore favour the riverside area, with ferns, lichens and woodland flowers growing beneath the tree canopy. Treecreepers, jays and nuthatches live in the woods, while grey wagtails, dippers and grey herons haunt the river. On the steep slopes of the valley sides oak, beech and silver birch mingle with conifers, while shrubs and undergrowth provide a healthy environment for a wide variety of wildlife.
The River Alun runs a glaciated valley through the heart of the country park, and at one place the water disappears into swallow holes, natural fissures in the limestone that have been enlarged by erosion, and runs underground through caves, Along the section known as the Leete Walk, you can see great caves and fissures in the rock. Some of these features, which may have been natural originally, have been exploited by man, because the area was a centre for lead mining up to the 1870’s. Mining in this type of rock presented some problems, as water seeped down through the cracks to flood the deeper levels. One answer was to use pumps powered by water-wheels. However, the wheels themselves needed a constant supply which the disappearing river could not provide. The answer was to build the leat (spelled Leete locally). This artificial channel took its supply from the river above the swallow holes and carried it downstream to the wheelpits working the pumps.
Moel Famau, which rises to 1817 ft, is the highest peak of the Clwydian Hills and is easily recognisable by the ruined Jubilee column on the summit, which commemorates the 50th year of George III’s reign. There are extensive views over the estuaries of the Dee and Mersey, the Cheshire Plain, the Cumberland Hills, the Vale of Clwyd, Snowdonia and Anglesey.