Discover DenbighshireDarganfod Sir Ddinbych

Published by Denbighshire Destination Marketing and Communications.

Text researched and written by Dr Charles Kightly. Designed and produced by white fox01352 840898. Photography by Kevin Osborne, Gareth Parry, Visit Wales (© Crown

Copyright), CADW, Mike Hammet/English Nature, Darin Smith, Kate Burgess.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, the publisherscan accept no liability whatsoever for any errors, inaccuracies or omissions, or any

matter in any way connected with or arising from this publication.

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C Y M R UW A L E S

L L O E G RE N G L A N D

A55A55

A5

A487

A55

A5

A470

A494

A494

A5

A55

A483

A41

M6

M5

M53

M56

M54

Aberystwyth

Pwllheli

Blaenau Ffestiniog

Caernarfon

CaergybiHolyhead

Bangor

Llandudno

CroesoswalltOswestry

ShrewsburyTelford

Wolverhampton

Stafford

WrecsamWrexham

Northwich

Warrington

Whitchurch

Stoke on Trent

Birmingham

LerpwlLiverpool Manchester

RhuthunRuthin

DinbychDenbigh

Yr WyddgrugMold

Y RhylRhyl

Prestatyn

Conwy

CaerChester

LlanelwySt. Asaph

Rhuddlan

CorwenLlangollen

SIR DDINBYCHDENBIGHSHIRE

Welcome to Denbighshire

Partneriaeth Cynllun Datblygiad Gwledig Sir Ddinbych Denbighshire Rural Development Plan Partnership

Cov

er s

hot:

Sta

tue

of O

wai

n G

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Cyhoeddwyd gan Uned Cyrchfan, Marchnata a Chyfathrebu Sir Ddinbych.

Gwaith ymchwil ac ysgrifennuʼr testun wediʼi gyflawni gan Dr Charles Kightly. Dyluniwyd achynhyrchwydgan white fox 01352 840898. Ffotograffau gan Kevin Osborne, Gareth

Parry, Croeso Cymru (© Hawlfraint y Goron), CADW, Mike Hammet/English Nature, Darin Smith, Kate Burgess.

Gwnaed pob ymdrech i sicrhau cywirdeb y cyhoeddiad hwn, ond ni all y cyhoeddwyr dderbyn unrhyw gyfrifoldeb o gwbl am unrhyw wallau, camgymeriadau neu hepgoriadau,nac unrhyw fater yn gysylltiedig ag neuʼn deillio mewn unrhyw fodd oʼr cyhoeddiad hwn.

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CYMRUWALES

LLOEGRENGLAND

A55A55

A5

A487

A55

A5

A470

A494

A494

A5

A55

A483

A41

M6

M5

M53

M56

M54

Aberystwyth

Pwllheli

Blaenau Ffestiniog

Caernarfon

CaergybiHolyhead

Bangor

Llandudno

CroesoswalltOswestry

ShrewsburyTelford

Wolverhampton

Stafford

WrecsamWrexham

Northwich

Warrington

Whitchurch

Stoke on Trent

Birmingham

LerpwlLiverpoolManchester

RhuthunRuthin

DinbychDenbigh

Yr WyddgrugMold

Y RhylRhyl

Prestatyn

Conwy

CaerChester

LlanelwySt. Asaph

Rhuddlan

CorwenLlangollen

SIR DDINBYCHDENBIGHSHIRE

Croeso i Sir Ddinbych

Partneriaeth Cynllun Datblygiad Gwledig Sir Ddinbych Denbighshire Rural Development Plan Partnership

Llun ar y Claw

r:C

erflun o Ow

ain Glyndw

r, Corw

en

Denbighshire in North

East Wales delivers an amazing

number of experiences for such

a compact and easily accessible

area. Stunning countryside,

bustling market towns, two

of Britain’s best-known seaside

resorts and many centuries

of rich heritage combine

to make Denbighshire

a destination with

a difference.

3

www.northeastwales.co.uk

medieval-wales.com

www.clwydianrangeanddeevalleyaonb.org.uk

Discover Denbighshire

Denbighshire at your fingertips

This booklet should tell you most of what you

need to know about Denbighshire. For the latest

information, or something a little more specific,

look out for the following free publications. And

remember – there’s always a digital adventure

right at your fingertips.

Enjoy Medieval Denbighshire

Denbighshire People & Placesc.230,000 BC - AD 1700

Town Trails Stroll the bustlingstreets and explorethe hidden delights of Denbighshire’s seaside resorts andmarket towns.

What’s On From Nordic walking to real ale trains oropen-air Shakespeare.Everything our diverseand vibrant countyhas to offer.

Enjoy Medieval DenbighshireDiscover the churches,castles and holy wellsof Denbighshire – the undisputed“Powerhouse ofRenaissance Wales”.

Denbighshire Peopleand Places Norman adventurers,turbulent princes andperhaps the greatesthero in Welsh history:how Denbighshire’smen and women havehelped to shape thenation.4

Rhuth

un

Ruthin

North East Wales Altogether brilliant.Denbighshire,Flintshire andWrexham combine tomake North EastWales an outstandingall-year-round holidaydestination.

Out and About Things to see and do for all the family in the Clwydian Rangeand Dee Valley Area of OutstandingNatural Beauty andDenbighshire’scountryside.

Exploring ClwydianRange and Dee ValleyA free detailed mapshowcasing the heritage, culture and wildlife of one of Britain’s loveliest protected landscapes.

DenbighshireDigital Adventures Use your phone toexplore this beautifuland inspiring county,trying out differentactivities and skillsas you go.

Visit www.digitaldenbighshire.co.uk

What else do you want to know?Our Tourist Information Centres have all the inside information. They’ll also help you book accommodation, sell you tickets to localevents and provide maps, guides and souvenirs.

Llangollen: 01978 860828 llangollen@nwtic.com

Rhyl: 01745 355068/344515 rhyl.tic@denbighshire.gov.uk

out & about 2014in the Clwydian Range & Dee Valley AONB and

Denbighshire’s Countryside

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5

6

Distinctive Denbighshire 8

The coast 10

The uplands 12

The valleys 14

Prehistoric Denbighshire 16

Holy wells 17

Denbighshireʼs towns:

Corwen 18

Denbigh 19

Llangollen 20

Prestatyn 21

Rhuddlan 22

Rhyl 23

Ruthin 24

St. Asaph 25

Castles 26

Power-house of Renaissance Wales 30

Churches of Denbighshire 31

Denbighshire villages 32

Historic sites 38

Legends and ghosts 39

Denbighshire curiosities 40

Denbighshire people 41

The great outdoors 42

Landscapes and wildlife 44

Country parks, industrial heritage 46

Historic houses 48

Flavours and festivals 50

Fascinating facts 52

Map of Denbighshire 54

Contents

7

Top: Prestatyn,Denbigh Castle

Middle: ‘Seven Eyes of Ruthin’, LlangollenInternational MusicalEisteddfod, RugChapel

Bottom: Plas Newydd –Llangollen, St AsaphCathedral

Distinctive Denbighshire

Nature, history and people have

made Denbighshire distinctive.

Three characteristic landscapes

created by nature - the Coast [p10],

the Uplands [p12], and the contrasting

river valleys [p14] - await exploration

here, along with the changes made

to them by countless generations

of inhabitants and invaders. Here,

nearly 250,000 years ago, l ived

the first known people of Wales.

The later hillforts and mysterious

sacred landscapes of Prehistoric

Denbighshire [p16] are still spectacularly

visible.

People as well as nature, indeed,

created the distinctiveness of

Denbighshire, and maintain it still.

Romans and Britons, Welsh and

English and Normans, Cavaliers and

Roundheads all in turn disputed

what became known as the

‘Perfeddwlad’ - ‘the Middle Country’

or ‘Lands Between’ - the borderlands

between the Welsh principalities of

Gwynedd and Powys, and more

crucially between England and the

Snowdonian heartlands of North

Wales. A wealth of castles [p26] -

English and Welsh, famous and lesser-

known - chart the ebb and flow of8

Rhuddlan Cas tle

these long wars. The story of historic

Denbighshire is likewise chronicled

in its heritage of legend-haunted

holy wells [p17] and characteristic

churches [p31], many of them rebuilt

in the Tudor period, when

Denbighshire became the prosperous

and cultured Power-house of

Renaissance Wales [p30].

Historic towns [p18], picturesque

villages [p32] and varied historic

houses [p48] all help to tell

Denbighshire’s story: and though

the Industrial Revolution sits lightly

on the modern county, its industrial

heritage can still be traced, often

amid the now peaceful setting of its

country parks [p46] and outstanding

landscapes. Legends, curiosities, and

links with famous people [pp39-41]

all add to Denbighshire’s character.

So too does the fact that visitors will

hear both Welsh and English spoken

in its towns and villages, for both

nature and history have ensured that

Denbighshire remains the most

distinctively Welsh of the eastern

‘border’ counties.

Words in italics refer to more detailed

features in this guide. 9

Moel Famau Country Park

Ruthin

The coast

Miles of clean sandy beaches, long

hours of sunshine and easy access

from many major towns make the

Denbighshire Coast one of Wales’s

holiday playgrounds. The exciting

modern attractions of bubbling Rhyl -

‘the children’s paradise’ - and the

quieter delights of neighbouring

Prestatyn make them firm favourites

for traditional seaside holidays.

But there is also a lot more to see

and do on the holiday coast.

Unspoilt Gronant Dunes are a local

Nature Reserve and a Site of Special

Scientific Interest, exceptionally rich

in wildlife: the Clwyd estuary west of

Rhyl is a haven for birds.

The beautiful Clwydian Range of hills

rise just inland of Prestatyn, making it

10

Rhyl beach

the perfect base for walkers and

cyclists: Offa’s Dyke National Trail

(177 miles to Chepstow) begins

here, and there is also a huge choice

of well-signposted shorter rambles

to suit most tastes and abilities.

Alternatively, a short drive into the

hill-country leads to the attractive

towns and villages of the inland area.

North Denbighshire is also an area

rich in history. The A55 Expressway,

which today provides such easy and

rapid access for visitors, follows in

part the ancient invasion route into

Wales, traversed and disputed over

the centuries by Romans, Saxons, and

Normans and their Welsh opponents.

Thus only a few short miles from

the beaches stands historic Rhuddlan

on its river crossing, flashpoint of

border warfare, with its Norman

castle mound and famous mediaeval

stone fortress. And a mile or two

further on are Bodelwyddan with its

Victorian castle and astounding

‘Marble church’: and St.Asaph with

its ancient cathedral, long a centre of

Welsh culture and now renowned for

its music festival.

The Coast is only one of

Denbighshire’s three dist inctive

landscapes: easily reached from

here too are the wide open spaces of

the uplands and the pretty villages and

historic towns of the river valleys. 11

Pavillion Theatre, Rhyl Kitesurfing

The uplands

There is no shortage of wide open

spaces to enjoy in Denbighshire.

Hills encircle the county on every

landward side, and some two thirds

of its area is ‘hill country’, ranging

from gently rolling sheep-grazed

foothills, through heather moorland

and craggy cliffs, to high uplands

where you may walk all day without

meeting another soul. Nowhere in

the county, indeed, will visitors be

out of sight of the hills.

Denb ighsh i re ’s up l ands va r y

considerably in character and

appeal. To the east runs the

Clwydian Range, a designated Area

of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Historically a barrier against invaders

and influences from the English-

dominated lowlands, it is thus crucial

to the county’s distinctiveness.

Traversed from end to end by Offa’s

Dyke National Trail, many of their bare

rounded summits - ‘moelydd’ in Welsh -

are crowned by great prehistoric

hillforts. The famous ‘Clwydian chain’ of

forts stretches from Moel Fenlli in the

south, via Moel-y-Gaer, Moel Arthur,

Moel-y-Gaer Bodfari and Penycloddiau

to Moel Hiraddug near Dyserth in the

north. Much of the finest countryside

in the Clwydians - and their highest

point, Moel Famau, 1818 feet (554

metres) above sea level - is within

Moel Famau Country Park.

12

Clwydian Range

Boncyn Arian at Llyn Brenig

Towards their southern end, the

Clwydian Range merges with the

heather moorlands of Ial or Yale - ‘the

hill-country’ which gave its name to

the American university. Then, after

dipping sharply into the Morwynion

valley, the uplands rise again as

Llantysilio Mountain, cut through by

the precipitous Horseshoe Pass:

beyond to the south-east are the

picturesque hills around Llangollen,

including the spectacular limestone

cliffs of Eglwyseg Rocks.

South of the Dee rise the loneliest

and wildest of Denbighshire’s

uplands, reaching 2712 feet (827

metres) in height. These are the

remote Berwyns with their wildlife-

rich blanket bogs, a National Nature

Reserve and Special Area of

Conservation for rare birds. Serious

walking country, not to be trifled

with in uncertain weather, the

Berwyns can be traversed via the

ancient ‘Ffordd Saeson’ (‘Saxons’

Road’) trackway linking the Upper

Dee and Ceiriog valleys. The way-

marked Berwyn Way links to the Dee

Valley Way for long distance and,

alternatively, short circular walks.

Along the western fr inge of the

county, across the Vale of Clwyd

from the Clwydian Range, rise the

hills of Mynydd Hiraethog. Apart from

small villages set in its intricately

fo lded va l leys , th is is l i kewise

sparsely populated country, part now

covered by the trees of Clocaenog

Forest. Here too are high Llyn Brenig

and Llyn Alwen, reservoirs filling a

drowned valley. On Llyn Brenig’s

banks, accessible via a marked

archaeological trail, is a Bronze Age

sacred l andscape , one o f the

loneliest and most atmospheric

places in this county of memorable

uplands. 13

Near Penycloddiau hill fort

The valleys

Until the Victorian growth of the

coastal resorts, the majority of

Denbighshire’s population lived in its

many river valleys. These remain the

historic heartland of the county, and

the sites of many attractive villages

and market towns. The rivers Elwy

and Chwiler, Alun and Morwynion,

Ystrad and Alwen, Ceirw and

Ceidiog and many more, cut their

own dist inct ive paths through

meadows or hills.

Very different, too, are the valleys of

Denbighshire’s two greatest rivers,

the Clwyd and the Dee. The Clwyd

and its tributaries flow northwards to

the sea through almost the whole

length of the county, through Ruthin

and past Denbigh and St. Asaph and

Rhuddlan to Rhyl. Here is the wide,

lush and prosperous Vale of Clwyd,

focus of Denbighshire’s fame as the

Power-house of Renaissance Wales:

a country of farmland, mansions, and

well-established villages, often with

f ine mediaeval churches in the

14

Dee Valley

The little-explored upper Dee Valley

characteristic ‘double-naved’ Vale of

Clwyd style, found almost nowhere

else in Britain. To the east and west of

the Vale, attractive villages like

Tremeirchion and scattered settlements

like Llangynhafal climb the flanking

hills, or sit like Llanrhaeadr near the

river banks. Then the River Clwyd

cuts into the hills south of Ruthin,

overlooked by Derwen and other hilltop

villages as it nears its source in

Clocaenog Forest.

The Dee Valley has a quite different

and much more dramatic appeal.

Entering Denbighshire at its south-

western corner, on its way from Llyn

Tegid (Lake Bala) just outside the

county boundary, the river flows

beneath the flanks of the high and

lonely Berwyns and past Llangar

church. Comparatively little explored,

this uppermost Dee Valley gives

access - for the intrepid - to challenging

walking country. At Corwen the Dee

turns east, making great sweeping

bends as it continues past

Glyndyfwrdwy, the ancestral estate

which gave the hero Owain Glyndwr

his name. Then the valley narrows,

and the river tumbles and rushes

through ravines between steep-sided

hills, or past small riverside meadows.

Flowing round the crag of Dinas Brân

Castle and under Llangollen’s

ancient bridge, the Dee has created

here some of the most spectacularly

picturesque landscapes in all Britain,

a magnet for visitors for centuries. 15

Prehistoric Denbighshire

The first human inhabitants of Waleslived in Denbighshire: remains of IceAge Neanderthal hunters, datingfrom nearly 250,000 years ago, werediscovered in a cave near Henllan.Later preh istor ic peoples leftmore visible (and visitable) markson the landscape - like theremote, spectacularly-sited stonecircle of Moel Ty Uchaf in the Berwyns,accessible by the adventurous via astiff climb. Dating from around 2,200BC, it is said to be aligned on theMidsummer rising of the star Deneb.The Llyn Brenig Archaeological Trail,easily accessible by car, traces amysterious Bronze Age ‘sacredlandscape’ of burial mounds and

vividly recreated ritual sites, amid thewild romantic moorland above thelake.

But perhaps most impressive of allare the famous Iron Age (c.2,500years ago) earthwork hillforts crowningthe Clwydian Range, and dominatingthe landscape for miles around. Nofewer than six forts - from MoelHiraddug near Dyserth to Moel Fenllinear Ruthin - occur within 15 miles,mostly accessible via Offa’s DykePath or other marked footpaths.Another easily reachable hill fort is Caer Drewyn above Corwen,believed to date from the lastmillennium BC.

16

Caer Drewyn

Moel Ty Uchaf

Denbighshire is particularly rich inholy wells - natural springs creditedwith miraculous healing powers.Probably first venerated in prehistorictimes, but rededicated to localChristian saints, they long continuedthe only available source of ‘medicine’for poorer people: even today, someare still visited for cures.

Many have atmospheric settings. StDyfnog’s Well gushes from a woodeddingle a few hundred yards fromLlanrhaeadr church: once throngedwith mediaeval pilgrims, it was still

popular in Georgian times, when thesurviving ‘bathing tank’ was added.

More remote Ffynnon Sarah, by anold pilgrim route near Derwen, alsohas a bathing tank, used by cancerand rheumatism sufferers who left‘offerings’ of pins and coins there.Epilepsy victims favoured St. Tegla’sWell (accessible by footpath on privateland at Llandegla) - walking round itnine times carrying a chicken, andthen sleeping under the church altarwith the Bible as a pillow.

Such quasi-magical practicesemphasise that holy wells can becapricious, and need to be treatedwith respect. Ffynnon Beuno, whichflows from the mouth of a crudelycarved stone head at Tremeirchion,can dry up without apparent reason:while Ffynnon Trillo at Llandrillo sulkilymigrated after an insult.

Holy wells

17

St Dyfnog’s Well

Ffynnon Beuno, Tremeirchion (foreground)

Many British towns are becoming

chronically alike: carbon-copy high

streets lined with cloned chain

stores. Not so in Denbighshire,

whose varied towns remain not

only distinctive in themselves, but

also very unlike each other

Corwen

The little market town of Corwen is

set between a wide sweep of the

River Dee and the foot of the

Berwyns, with the steep wooded

slope of Pen-y-Pigyn as a backdrop.

The focus of ancient routes from

London to Holyhead and Chester to

Bala, this ‘Crossroads of North

Wales’ was a centre for cattle-drovers

and a favourite with Victorian travellers,

as several notable town-centre

buildings still testify. But Corwen’s

Denbighshire’s towns

18

Poster for Llangollen Heritage Railway

origins are far older. Its name means

‘the White Choir’ or the ‘White

Church’, referring to the church

founded here by the 6th century

saints Mael and Sulien, perhaps on a

prehistoric pagan site: the Iron Age

hillfort of Caer Drewyn crowns the hill

across the river.

The present mediaeval and later

church has many fascinating features,

including a lintel stone marked with a

‘dagger cross’ - traditionally cut by

the thrown knife of Corwen’s most

renowned son, the great mediaeval

Welsh hero Owain Glyndwr. Glyndwr’s

Mount, where he proclaimed himself

Prince of Wales in 1400, stands

three miles east beside the A5 road.

Rug Chapel and Llangar Church are

also nearby, and Corwen is an ideal

base for exploring the Upper Dee

Valley and the Berwyns.

Corwen has been a “Walkers Are

Welcome” town since 2012, which

means there are great walking

routes all around the area. The

Berwyn Mountains are just on the

doorstep if you’re feeling energetic.

Otherwise a two-and-a-half mile

extension to the Llangollen Heritage

Railway means that from the end of

2014 you’ll be able to hop on at

Corwen and travel in style down the

scenic Dee Valley.

DenbighThe historic town of Denbigh beganas ‘Din bych’ or ‘little fortress’ of theWelsh princes but after the EnglishConquest of 1282 it was transformedby the building of mighty DenbighCastle, still dominating the town on itsrocky crag and now with an impressiveeco-friendly visitor centre run by Cadw. To support and service thisstronghold, the English commandersimultaneously founded a walled town.Parts of the impressive mediaevaltown walls, with their twin-toweredBurgess Gate, can still be explored.Within them stand the tower ofSt.Hilary’s Chapel and ‘Leicester’sChurch’ (built by Queen Elizabeth’sfavourite Robert Dudley).

Frequent attacks on the castle, however, made the cramped hilltop

wal led town dangerous for i ts inhabitants. So by Tudor times theyhad moved downhill to establish thepresent larger settlement, a markettown whose historic focus is thecolonnaded Elizabethan andGeorgian county hall, now theLibrary. The remains of mediaevalDenbigh Friary survive on the north-eastern side of the town, while a milefrom the centre, east of the A525main road, is the magnificent parishchurch of St. Marcella’s, Whitchurch,the ‘Westminster Abbey’ o fDenbighshire. 19

Denbigh Castle

Brookhouse Pottery

focus of the annual InternationalMusical Eisteddfod in July, whereWales welcomes the world in acolourful festival of song and dance,with competitors and participantsfrom all corners of the globe.

Four great highways meet atLlangollen: Telford’s stagecoachroad from London to Holyhead enroute to Dublin, the River Dee, the(preserved) steam railway and thecanal. It’s all part of a 13-mile longcorridor that comprises thePontcysyllte Aqueduct and CanalWorld Heritage Site. Llangollen alsoboasts a year-round programme ofevents including concerts, sportingfixtures and large-scale exhibitions,as well as choir rehearsals in localpubs. The Horseshoe Pass, ValleCrucis Abbey and King El iseg’s Pillar are all nearby and linked by waymarked walking routes.

Llangollen

Llangollen’s outstandingly picturesquesetting by the rushing River Dee,encircled by hills and watched overby the crag of Castell Dinas Bran,has made it one of Wales’s mostpopular inland holiday resorts sincelate Georgian times. Its name andorigins go back to the 6th century,when the Welsh-Irish Saint Collen,hero of many myths and legends,founded his church (‘Llan Collen’)here. Today the church is chieflyrenowned for its fabulously carvedearly Tudor ‘angel roofs’, and itsmonument to the ‘Ladies of Llangollen’.

The romantic lifestyle of this aristocraticGeorgian pair, whose house ‘PlasNewydd’ is now a visitor attraction,helped to found Llangollen’s prosperityas a magnet for travellers. NowLlangollen is also famous as the20

Riverside pub, Llangollen

River Dee

PrestatynSet between miles of clean sandybeaches and the spectacular woodedslopes of the Clwydian Range,Prestatyn was welcoming visitors aslong ago as AD 120-160, whenRomans and Britons used the littlebath-house discovered here in 1934.Its career as one of the earliestcoastal resorts in North Wales beganwith the coming of the railway in1848, continued with its selection forone of the first British purpose-builtholiday camps in the 1930s, andcontinues today as a base for holidayactivities of all kinds.

For traditional seaside holidays,Prestatyn’s three beautiful sandybeaches and four mile long promenadeare great fun: while nature-lovers canexplore Gronant Local Nature Reserve,

with the region’s last surviving naturalsand-dune system and a populationof rare plants and birds.

For walkers, the town is the start orfinish of 177-mile-long Offa’s DykePath National Trail, as well as shortertrails including the Prestatyn-DyserthWay and signposted walks onPrestatyn Hillside. No wonder it’sbeen designated a “Walkers AreWelcome” town. National Cycle Route5 also passes through. If you prefer togive your credit card a gentle workoutinstead, Prestatyn Shopping Park hasall the big brands and is just round thecorner from the quirky independentstores on the High Street.

There are golf courses within reach,and family entertainment facilties. Thevillages of Meliden and Dyserth - oncea centre for lead mining - are nearby,with walks and a waterfall. 21

Central Beach

Prestatyn Shopping Park

RhuddlanRhuddlan - meaning ‘the red bank’ -

owes its great historical importance

to its position on a crucial crossing

of the river Clwyd, astride the invasion

route to the heartlands of North

Wales. Here King Offa of Mercia

defeated a Welsh army in c.AD 795,

and here stood in turn an Anglo-

Saxon fortified ‘borough’ and a

Welsh princely palace, succeeded

by the still-impressive Norman

‘Twthill’ castle mound. But the present

town owes its origin - and the enduring

grid-pattern of streets at its heart - to

Edward I, who founded it in 1278 to

support Rhuddlan Castle.

The castle remains Rhuddlan’s

focus, but another prominent survivor

of Rhuddlan’s mediaeval heyday is

the fine parish church of St. Mary,

also founded by Edward I. Much

enlarged into a typical Denbighshire

‘double-naved’ church, it displays

wall-paintings of Welsh texts and

some intriguing monuments, including

one to the titular Archbishop of

Edessa in Turkey.

Other old buildings include the so-called ‘Parliament House’, the‘Banquet House’, and the remains of a Friary. Later renowned for itsagricultural ‘harvest hirings’ and raffishSunday fairs - eventually suppressedafter a single hell-fire sermon -Rhuddlan is now a quiet small townoverlooking the lush Clwyd-sidemeadows.22

Bodrhyddan Hall

Rhuddlan Church

RhylAlready famed in 1848 as ‘the best

bathing place in the Principality’,

Rhyl’s healthy air, above-average

hours of sunshine and safe, clean

beaches have made it a favourite

with holidaymakers ever since.

Once the preserve of the fashionable,

by the early 20th century it was ‘the

children’s paradise’, beloved by

families who came here generation

after generation. Today it combines

the facilities for a traditional beach

holiday with lively and exciting modern

seaside attractions.

The iconic new pedestrian and cycle

bridge, Pont y Ddraig, links to a new

harbourside hub with a café and

bike hire facilities. You can stroll

through the award-winning Drift Park

just along the prom or hire a 23

Pont y Ddraig

The Drift Park at Rhyl

deckchair and take it easy on the

beach.

Come face to face with sharks in the

first walk-through underwater tunnel

in Wales at Seaquarium. Ride

Britain’s oldest miniature railway all

the way around the Marine Lake or

tackle the road cycling track, national

standard BMX course or mountain

bike trail at nearby Marsh Tracks.

You’ll find all the ingredients of a large

resort here, including leisure and fitness

facilities, amusement arcades, sea

fishing, gardens and play areas,

along with good town centre shopping,

theatre events and cinema. Rhyl is

an excellent base to explore the

rest of Denbighshire, including

Prestatyn, Rhuddlan, Bodelwyddan

and St Asaph. For more information:

www.loverhyl.co.uk

Ruthin is ‘the most picturesque historictown in North Wales’ (Walter SavageLandor, 1832). Set on a hilltop, itsfocus is St. Peter’s Square, lined withimpressive buildings including the OldCourthouse, the gable-windowed‘Seven Eyes of Ruthin’ and St.Peter’s Church. Probably the earliestof the dist inct ive Vale of Clwyd ‘double-naved’ churches, this hasmagnificent carved timber roofs andsplendid monuments to Ruthinworthies - including Queen ElizabethI’s chaplain Gabriel Goodman, whofounded the adjacent almshouses inthe charming ‘church close’.

The town’s main streets are lined withattractive old houses and inns, manytimber-framed and some featuringthe trademark Ruthin ‘porches on

stilts’. They drop away steeply fromthe square, revealing suddenpanoramas of the surrounding hills.Castle Street - leading to RuthinCastle, now an hotel - is perhaps thegrandest of all these thoroughfares:here stands beautifully restoredNantclwyd y Dre, the earliest timber-framed town house in Wales.

Clwyd Street meanwhile leads downto the imposing Ruthin Gaol, now afascinating visitor attraction andRecord Office: in Well Street theWelsh National Anthem was firstprinted in 1860. On the outskirts ofthe town is the outstanding RuthinCraft Centre, recognised as Wales’premier centre for the applied arts.It’s also the starting point for RuthinArt Trail with its sculpted figures andmysterious spy hole boxes scatteredthrough the streets. Just outside thetown are the villages of Llanfwrogand Llanrhydd, both with notablechurches.

Ruthin

24

St Peter’s Square

Ruthin Gaol

St. Asaph

This ancient ‘cathedral city’ grew up

round the monastery founded here

on the River Elwy - ‘Llanelwy’

remains its Welsh name - by the 6th

century St. Kentigern (also patron

saint of Glasgow), and entrusted to

his favourite pupil St. Asaph. Still the

mother church of North-East Wales,

St. Asaph is the smallest ancient

cathedral in Britain. Yet the present

largely 14th century and Victorian

bui lding is both impressive and

distinctive, with a sturdy central

tower and a spacious interior notable

for its unusual pillars and arches,

attributed to masons from Caernarfon

Castle. It also houses the only

mediaeval canopied choir stalls in North

Wales, and many intriguing monuments.

St. Asaph Cathedral is likewise

renowned as the power-house of the

Elizabethan translation of the Bible

into Welsh, an enterprise crucial to

the survival of the Welsh language.

Bishop William Morgan and the other

translators are commemorated by an

imposing memorial in the cathedral

grounds.

The cathedral welcomes visitors all year

round and also hosts the famous North

Wales International Music Festival and

other musical events. Inside you’ll find a

digital hub with all sorts of information

about the cathedral and things to

see and do in the “Inspirational

Landscapes” surrounding the town,

including walking the North Wales

Pilgrim’s Way between Holywell and

Bardsey Island. From the cathedral St

Asaph’s busy main street leads down to

the mediaeval parish church of St

Kentigern and on to the more tranquil

woodland walks beside the river Elwy.

25Cathedral interior

St Asaph Cathedral

Reflecting its history as a landfought over for many centuries,Denbighshire possesses a fineheritage of mediaeval castles,inc lud ing some of Wa les ’ s most famous and spectacularfortresses.

Castell Dinas BrânCrowning a craggy hilltop highabove Llangollen, Dinas Brân - ‘theCrow’s Fortress’ - is one of the mostdramatically-sited and legend-haunted strongholds in all Britain.Set within the corner of an Iron agehillfort, it is one of the few survivingWelsh-built stone castles, constructedin the thirteenth century by Gruffuddap Madoc ruler of northern Powys.

The castle’s air of mystery isenhanced by the fact that it can only be reached on foot, after a comparatively stiff climb. Therewards are not only fabulouspanoramic views over the Dee

Valley, the Berwyns, and Eglwysegrocks, but also the chance toexplore the castle ruins. Surroundedby a rock-cut d i tch and steep drops, these include remains of agatehouse, keep, and characteristicD-shaped ‘Welsh tower’. A closerlook reveals traces of features likewall-plaster, fireplaces and even ‘en-suite’ toilets, demonstrating that thiswas once a splendid and well-appointed as well as an immenselywell-defended fortress.

Dinas Brân’s active life, however,lasted scarcely twenty years. Begunin the 1260s and abandoned andburnt by its Welsh defenders in 1277,it was then only briefly garrisoned bythe English - whose commanderremarked ‘there is no stronger castlein all Wales, nor has England agreater’. But its inaccessibilityensured that it was soon abandonedagain to the crows which gave it itsname, and the legends which havesurrounded it ever since.

Castles

26

Castell Dinas Brân

Rhuddlan CastleImpressive Rhuddlan Castle is the lastand strongest of many successivefortresses guarding the strategiccrossing of the river Clwyd. Justup-river indeed stood the very firstcastle in Denbighshire, the stil l-massive earthwork ‘Twthill’ moundraised in 1073 by the NormanRobert of Rhuddlan.

The great stone castle, however,was begun by King Edward I ofEngland in 1277, near the beginningof his long campaigns to subjugateWales. Along with Flint, Conwy,Caernarfon and others, it wouldform a link in the ‘chain of castles’surrounding the Welsh heartlands. Itwas here, too, that King Edwardpresented his baby son - ‘born inWales, and speaking not a word ofEnglish’ - to the Welsh nobility as thefirst English ‘Prince of Wales’.

Built to a revolutionary new designby Edward’s architect James of St.George, the castle’s well-preservedcore is a perfect ly symmetr ical diamond of three metre (nine foot),thick walls, with single round towersat two corners and double-toweredgatehouses at the others. Outsidethis core is a lower multi-turretedwall, and outside this again - makingthree complete ‘concentric’ rings ofdefences - a wide moat.

Another remarkable feature ofRhuddlan Castle is now less obvious.The small square tower by the riveronce guarded a dock for ships,which could supply the castle via athree mile long deep-water channelleading from the sea near Rhyl.Cana l ised f rom the prev ious ly meandering river using only hand-tools,this mighty engineering work tookover seventy labourers three years toaccomplish.

27Rhuddlan Castle

Denbigh CastleMuch the strongest and most imposingof Denbighshire’s fortresses, Denbighis among the pre-eminent castles ofWales, a rival for better-knownCaernarfon or Conwy. Like Rhuddlan,it belongs to the period of Edward I’sconquest of Wales, being founded in1282 by the king’s commander Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, possiblyon the site of a Welsh princelyfortress. Welsh insurgents capturedthe unfinished works in 1294, only tohave them retaken and completed instrengthened form.

The castle’s high walls and seventowers encircle the summit of dominantCaledfryn Hill. Strongest of all is the

great triple-towered ‘keep-gate-

house’ - the most elaborate in

Wales, defended by a drawbridge,

‘murder holes’, three successive

portcullises and two gates.

Fascinating to explore, the castle is

however only the core of a still larger

fortress: beyond it, acting as an

outer defence, is the fortified town,

with (still largely surviving) walls over

a kilometre long.

The stronghold had an eventful

career, being attacked by Owain

Glyndwr and several times during the

Wars of the Roses (1455-85). Its last

and most famous siege occurred

during the Civil War (1642-46), when28

Reconstruction of 14th century Denbigh St Hilary’s Tower, Denbigh Castle

Ruthin CastlePerhaps Wales’s least-known mediaeval

fortress is Ruthin Castle. Begun in

1282 by Edward I’s commander

Reginald de Grey, it was finally taken

by Parliament in 1646. The ‘castle-style’

buildings which dominate its site

today belong to a vast 19th century

mansion, now a hotel and restaurant:

yet almost half the original mediaeval

defences survive romantically

overgrown in the grounds, including

four big round towers and two

gatehouses.

Note: Ruthin Castle can be visited by pr ior arrangement wi th thehote l management. Contact mainreception on 01824 702664 or emailreception@ruthincastle.co.uk

a Royalist garrison (‘with hearts ashard as the very foundation of thecastle, being an unpierceable rock’)held i t against Par l iamentar ian cannon-bombardments, assaultsand stratagems for six months. Onlyafter a direct royal command didColonel William Salesbury - ‘OldBlue Stockings’ - finally lead hisdefenders from one of the very lastfortresses in Britain to hold out forthe king.

The timber-clad visitor centre run by custodians Cadw contains aninterpretation space, refreshmentsand souvenirs and is open from Aprilto October. Ask inside, or at thelibrary in Hall Square, for the loan ofa key if you’d like to explore the townwalls in splendid isolation.

29Ruthin Castle

Power-house of Renaissance Wales

The long period of Tudor and Early

Stuart peace and prosperity was a

golden age for Denbighshire. Instead of

warlike castles, fine churches were

rebuilt or handsomely embellished

between 1485 and 1540. The Tudor

Acts of Union (1536/43) - which created

the county of Denbighshire - also gave

new opportunities for local gentry,

merchants, clergy and poets. Growing

rich at court, in London, or even further

afield, they returned to proclaim their

success with fine houses and splendid

monuments at home. Thus the county

became the prosperous and cultured

‘Power-house of Renaissance Wales’,

producing more outstanding personalities

than any other part of the nation.

Among these were Richard Clough,

the humble Denbigh glover’s son

who became as proverbially ‘rich as

a Clough’ in Antwerp and returned

to bu i ld the ‘wonder-mans ion’

of Bach y Graig, Tremeirchion. The

entrepreneur Sir Hugh Myddelton,

also of Denbigh, channelled the first

fresh drinking water to London.

Humphrey Llwyd, ‘Father of Modern

Geography’, produced the f irst

published map of Wales. He also

helped promote Renaissance

Denbighshire’s most enduring legacy

to the Welsh nation and language, the

translation of the Bible into Welsh,

largely the work of William Salesbury of

Llansannan and Bishop William

Morgan of St. Asaph. ‘That which was

dark to us’, declared the bard Owain

Gwynedd on its publication in 1588

‘you have filled with light’.

30 The Welsh Bible

Denbighshire’s fine historic parish

churches are among its greatest glories:

all have something interesting to

display, and many are outstandingly

distinctive.

In the county’s more remote upland

regions, some churches are small and

simple buildings, like Llangar, lovingly

restored by Cadw and brightly lime-

washed outside, as most local churches

were until Victorian times. Around the

richer river valleys, however, stand

much larger churches, of a type

distinctive to the Denbighshire region

but almost unknown elsewhere in

Britain. These are the famous

‘doub le-naved’ churches - like

Llangynhafal, Llanrhaeadr, Whitchurch,

and many more - spacious buildings

which are effectively two churches side

Churches of Denbighshire

by side, under a pair of roofs. These

were created by adding a second

parallel nave beside an earlier building,

mainly during the prosperous period

c.1485-1540. There are many imaginative

‘explanations’ for this unusual design -

for example that one nave was intended

to house pilgrims or cattle-drovers. But

the real reason seems to have been

that this ‘sideways enlargement’ was

the local method of extending churches

at minimum expense, while also

providing extra space for elaborate

timber roofs - like Llangollen’s - and

richly carved woodwork, another

speciality of Denbighshire’s fascinating

churches.

The Open Church Network, launched

in 2014, has made a cluster of churches

in Llandegla, Corwen, Llanelidan and

Llandrillo more accessible to visitors.

These buildings with their wonderful

architecture, arts and craftsmanship

are also tangible expressions of how

Welsh history and culture have evolved

across generations.

31

Llangar Church

Llanrhaeadr Church

AONB, with access nearby to Offa’sDyke National Trail and the ClwydianRange.

BryneglwysA small village at the foot of LlantysilioMountain. Its pretty church has anElizabethan chapel added by ThomasYale, whose relative endowed thefamous American Yale University.

CarrogThe old township of Carrog has givenits name to the picturesque communitywhich has grown up round the centreof Owain Glyndwr’s manor: down bythe River Dee is the possible site of hisprison house - Carchardy. The prettychurch of the old LlansantffraidGlyndyfrdwy parish and the notablestone bridge of 1661 make the villagea haven for tourists, walkers, paintersand fishermen. The restored Victoriantrain station was, until 2014, the terminusof the Llangollen Heritage Railway thatnow runs all the way to Corwen.

Denbighshire villages

Still a predominantly rural area,Denbighshire has over sixty villages and many more smallersettlements. Each has its own stories to tell and things to see,often in the community’schurch. Only a few of these canbe mentioned in the followingpages - there is much more forvisitors to discover for themselves.

Betws Gwerfil GochA remote upland community in asteep-sided valley, clustered round the ‘prayer house of Gwerfil theRed-haired’ - the 12th centuryprincess who founded its littlechurch. It houses unique 15th centurycarved panels of the Crucifixion andother fine woodwork but is closed atthe moment due to bats.

BodelwyddanEasily accessible from the A55expressway, Bodelwyddan boaststwo great attractions: BodelwyddanCastle and the amazing ‘MarbleChurch’. Among the most strikingand extravagantly furnishedVictorian Gothic Revival churches inBritain, this much-visited showpiecewas built regardless of expense byLady Willoughby de Broke ofBodelwyddan Castle.

BodfariOnce renowned for its holy well,Bodfari winds up the hill from the valleyof the River Chwiler. In the heart of the 32

‘Marble Church’, Bodelwyddan

GwyddelwernGwyddelwern (‘the Irishman’s marsh’)is a wayside village with a spiredVictorian church and timber-framed inn.

HenllanA pleasant village, distinctive for thedetached, fortress-like tower of itschurch, on a rocky outcrop above thechurchyard. Here too is the thatched

Llindir Inn, allegedly haunted by theghost of a murdered landlady.

Llanarmon-yn-IâlThe ‘capital’ of the district of Iâl or Yale(‘the hill country’) Llanarmon takes itsname from St. Garmon or Germanus, a5th century warrior-bishop once activehereabouts. Its big ‘double-naved’church is among Denbighshire’s most 33

ClocaenogOn the fringe of the tree-covered hills ofClocaenog Forest, the church here displays fine wood-carving, stainedglass, and other treasures.

CyffylliogA remote and attractive community in a‘hidden’ beauty spot in the woodedClywedog valley.

DerwenA hillside village high above the Vale of Clwyd, whose church has two outstanding features. Its interior is

dominated by the intricately carved latemediaeval rood screen and loft, oneof only a few complete Welsh survivors.Outside is the finely sculpted 15th centurystone preaching cross (Cadw), likewiseamong the best-preserved in Wales.

DyserthChiefly renowned for its scenic waterfall,Dyserth also boasts a church with an

ancient ‘Celtic’ cross, and a big andspectacular mediaeval stained glasswindow. A series of walks links the village to the Clwydian Range.

Dyserth waterfall Llanarmon-yn-Iâl

intriguing, displaying many treasures

including the fine Stuart monument of

Captain Efan Llwyd. Nearby (but on

private land), is the mediaeval castle

mound of Tomen-y-Faerdre.

Llanbedr Climbing a steep rise up to the

Clwydian Range, Llanbedr has a

charming Victorian church with a

striped roof, walls and spirelet.

LlandeglaOn Offa’s Dyke National Trail and

offering mountain biking opportunities,

Llandegla was long renowned for its

holy well of St. Tegla, believed to cure

epilepsy if users performed elaborate

rituals involving chickens. By the road

nearby is the fine Welsh earthwork

castle, Tomen-y-Rhodwydd.34

LlandrilloThe principal village of the Upper Dee

Valley, at the foot of the wild Berwyn

hills, with holy wells and prehistoric sites

nearby. Intrepid ramblers can ascend

from here to Moel Ty Uchaf stone circle.

LlandyrnogSited near the hillforts of Moel Arthur

and Penycloddiau, with plenty of walks

in nearby Llangwyfan forest. In the

village the ‘double-naved’ church

displays the only surviving mediaeval

‘Seven Sacraments’ window in Wales,

also thronged with figures of local

Welsh saints. Distinctively restored by

the quirky Victorian architect Nesfield,

the church is bedecked with his

trademark f lowered roundels or

‘sunflower pies’.

Leyland Arms, Llanelidan

LlanelidanA pretty hamlet in the lush valley of theAfon y Maes, centred on its pub anddouble-naved, yew-encircled church.This displays exceptionally fine carvedwoodwork and barrel roofs, with monuments to the squires of nearbyNantclwyd Hall [private].

Llanfair Dyffryn ClwydThis wayside village has a fine big double-naved church, with interestingmonuments and a ‘mosaic’ mediaevalglass window, allegedly saved fromCivil War destruction by burial in thegreat chest now below i t . The churchyard gate bears the motto ‘HebDduw, Heb Ddim’ - ‘without God, without anything’.

LlanferresA smal l community by the road across the Clwydian Range, clustered around the pub and the church withits charming ‘lantern’ bellcote and

35

wrought-iron gates, made by the

Davies Brothers (master craftsmen of

Bersham) in the early eighteenth

century. There are lovely walks in

nearby Big Covert and Bryn Alyn.

Cynwyd (Llangar)Standing alone above the Dee in a

steeply sloping churchyard, the

picturesque little whitewashed ‘church

of the white deer’ has been restored by

Cadw. Within are delightful Georgian

pews and layers of wall-paintings,

including a grim 18th century figure of

Death with his grave-digger’s tools.

LlangwyfanA tiny, box-pewed Georgian church by

a lane climbing the Clwydian Range.

Outside are the village stocks, and the

tombstone of a parishioner whose life

spanned three centuries. There are

walks in nearby Llangwyfan Forest,

linking to Offa’s Dyke National Trail.

Llanferres Church

LlangynhafalA scattered hi l ls ide community memorably set against the backdropof Moel Famau. St. Cynhafal’s isamong Denbighshire’s mostatmospheric churches, ‘double-naved’with a pair of fine ‘angel roofs’. Itabounds in curious and delightful furnishings, including a carved andgilded 17th century pelican. The parishalso contains newly restored timber-framedTy Coch barn, and St. Cynhafal’s holywell (on private land).

Llanrhaeadr (yng Nghinmeirch)An example of one of Denbighshire’sattractive small villages, just off theDenbigh-Ruthin road. There is a pottery,some fine almshouses, and theoutstanding ‘church of the waterfall’,

from which a streamside path leads toSt. Dyfnog’s holy well. Particularly welcoming visitors, the double-navedchurch displays elaborately carvedroofs, the monument of bewiggedMaurice Jones, a gilded pelican, andabove all the huge, glowing stainedglass ‘Jesse window’ of 1533. Hailedas the finest in Wales, according to tradition it was financed by pilgrims tothe holy well.

LlantysilioPicnic and parking spaces make it easyto enjoy the setting of this little church,just above the Horseshoe Falls nearLlangollen – the western end of thePontcysyllte Aqueduct and CanalWorld Heritage Site. Delightful walkslead up Velvet Hill or along the canalfrom the car park.

36

Anvil Pottery, Llanrhaeadr

‘Jesse window’, Llanrhaeadr

LlanynysIn a quiet hamlet amid river meadows,St. Saeran’s at Llanynys was once the ‘mother church’ of the whole surrounding region. The big double-naved church contains numeroustreasures including an ancient sculptedcross-head; Elizabethan panelscharmingly carved with fantastic beasts;and especially a huge mediaevalwall-painting of St. Christopher.

TremeirchionAn attractive hillside village, whosechurch displays 17th century paintedglass portraits, the imposing monumentof the 14th century priest-bard DafyddDdu, and a renowned wonder-workingcross head. Ffynnon Beuno holy wellflows at the southern edge of the village,near limestone cliff-caves which oncesheltered prehistoric people. Theparish also boasts several f ine mansions, including Brynbella (private)built for Dr. ‘Dictionary’ Johnson’s friend

Mrs. Thrale, and across the fields theremains of Bach y Graig. Reputedlythe first brick building in Wales, this‘wonder-house’ was raised by theElizabethan plutocrat Richard Clough:only the imposing gatehouse-cum-warehouse and farm buildings nowsurvive.

Whitchurch, St. Marcella’sTrue to its name - ‘the white church’ -this grandest of all Denbighshirechurches is now brightly limewashedoutside as well as within. Though in arural setting over a mile from the oldtown, St. Marcella’s is the parish churchof Denbigh. Its imposing double-navedinterior, with paired angel roofs andhuge windows, houses many fine monuments from Denbighshire’sElizabethan golden age, includingknightly Salesburies and Myddeltonsand the pioneer geographer HumphreyLlwyd, while in the churchyard lies Twmo’r Nant, ‘the Cambrian Shakespeare’. 37

Wall-painting, Llanynys Church Portrait of Charles I, Tremeirchion Church

Grave of Twm o’r Nant

Welsh prince, i ts monks werewhite-robed Cistercians. Amongmany memorable features are the still-towering west front of the church, withits ‘rose window’ above triple pointedlancets, and the beautifully vaulted‘chapter house’. Also well worth viewingare the monks’ dormitory, and thepicturesque monast ic f ishpond beyond the extensive ruins.

Rug ChapelOne of Denbighshire’s lesser-knownhistoric treasures, little Rug Chapel displays amazing riches within. Almostevery available timber surface - angel-decked roof, screen, gallery andpews - is exuberantly carved or painted, and frequently both. All thiswas commissioned in 1637 by theequally colourful Colonel WilliamSalesbury, later renowned as the CivilWar defender of Denbigh Castle.

All these sites are in the care of Cadw.www.cadw.wales.gov.uk

The Pillar of ElisegSet in a field by the scenic ‘HorseshoePass’ road is a rare link with a shadowyperiod of Welsh history. Erected inmemory of the 8th century warrior-kingEliseg, and originally surmounted by across, it gave its name - ‘Valle Crucis’,‘the vale of the cross’ - to this beautifulvalley and the great abbey nearby.

Valle Crucis AbbeyHill-encircled Valle Crucis Abbey isamong Denbighshire’s loveliest historicplaces, and is much the bestpreserved mediaeval monastery inNorth Wales. Founded ‘far from thehaunts of men’ in 1201 by a local

Historic sites

38

Pillar of Eliseg

Valle Crucis Abbey

Rug Chapel

In c.795, King Offa of Mercia bloodily

defeated a Welsh army on Morfa

Rhuddlan, ʻthe sea-marsh of

Rhuddlanʼ. The carnage is still

remembered in the lament

ʻMorfa Rhuddlanʼ - also one of

the oldest surviving Welsh tunes -

and it is said that the spectral

g roans o f the dy ing a re s t i l l

sometimes heard there.

According to legend, King Arthur

beheaded his love-rival Huail on the

ancient stone called Maen Huail, which

now stands in St. Peter’s Square,

Ruthin. The dark stains on it are said to

have been made by Huail’s trickling

blood. But whether Huail was a giant,

a bandit, the brother of the chronicler

Gildas, or all three, nobody knows.

Many legends surround dramatically

sited Dinas Brân Castle. Some say it

was the abode of giant demons,

whose treasure of golden idols still lies

concealed somewhere beneath it.

Others firmly believe it was the

miraculous castle where King Arthurʼs

knights found the Holy Grail.

Legends and ghosts

39

Morfa Rhuddlan Maen Huail

Castell Dinas Brân

Denbighshire curiosities

The church at Efenechtyd houses astone called ʻY Maen Campʼ - ʻTheFeat Stoneʼ. At village sports,youths competed to lift this 100pound [45 kilogram] stone abovetheir heads and cast it backwardsover their shoulders, the furthestthrower being the winner. Pleasedo not try this...

The churchyard of Nantglyn, Nr

Denbigh contains an open-air pulpit

built into a yew tree.

A document recording a pilgrimageto Rome in 1475 by John andGwerful Holland of NantclwydHouse, Ruthin, was discoveredconcealed in the house during the

1940s, and is now in theDenbighshire Record Office.

Denbighshire farmers often broughttheir dogs to church, sometimesresulting in dog-fights in the aisles.Offenders would be removed with‘dog tongs’, like those still inLlanynys church.

The first-ever game of ʻlawn tennisʼwas played in 1873 during a gardenparty at Nantclwyd Hall, Llanelidan.Invented by a house-guest, MajorWalter Wingfield, it was at firstcalled ʻSphairistikeʼ - Greek for ʻballplayingʼ - a name which nevercaught on.

The fast paddle-steamer ‘Denbigh’,Birkenhead-built in 1860 to carryholiday passengers from Liverpool toRhyl, became the most successfulConfederate blockade-runner of theAmerican Civil War. Skilfully evading Unionwarships, she ran many ‘contraband’cargoes to Havana, Cuba from Southernports, until finally run aground and burntoff Galveston, Texas, in May 1865.Located in 1997, her wreck is now thesubject of a major archaeological project. 40

Dog tongs, Llanynys Church

Pulpit, Nantglyn

The most renowned of allDenbighshire people is OwainGlyndwr (c.1359-c.1416), who tookhis name from his ancestral homenear Corwen, Glyndyfrdwy. There,on ‘Owain Glyndwr’s Mount’, hedeclared himself Prince of Wales in 1400,and for the next dozen years battledto maintain Welsh independencefrom England. After his mysteriousdisappearance in 1415, ‘many saythat he died; but seers maintain thathe lives on’.

Many tales surround ElizabethanKatherine (Catrin) of Berain, nearHenllan (1535-91) Marrying threesuccessive wealthy husbands -including Richard Clough of Bach-y-Graig, Tremeirchion - she had somany descendants that she becameknown as ‘Mam Cymru’, ‘the Motherof Wales’.

Nicknamed ‘Old Blue Stockings’ for

his plain countrified clothes, Colonel

Denbighshire people

William Salesbury (1580-1660) served

aboard a West Indies privateer in his

youth, and later built Rug Chapel.

But he became most famous during

the Civil War, when in his sixties he

steadfastly defended Denbigh Castle

for King Charles I.

Thomas Edwards (1739-1810),

known as Twm oʼr Nant and ‘the

Cambrian Shakespeare’, was a

self-taught poet and bankrupt haulier

who became famous for his ‘interludes’

satirising greedy landowners, parsons

and lawyers. His grave is in St

Marcella’s churchyard.

The famous though controversial

African explorer and tracker-down of

Dr. Livingstone, Sir Henry Morton

Stanley (real name John Rowlands,

1841-1904), was born at Denbigh

and brought up in St. Asaph work-

house, later living at Tremeirchion.

During what is regarded as the

golden age of Welsh publishing,

Thomas Gee (1815-98) developed

his father’s printing works, Gwasg

Gee in Denbigh, into an institution of

national importance. As a staunchly

Noncomformist and radical Liberal

publisher and newspaper editor, his

influence could be felt in every

sphere of Welsh public life in the 19th

century. 41

Colonel William Salesbury H M Stanley

The great outdoors

Denbighshire’s wide open spacesare best experienced up closeand personal - on foot, or from abike or a horse. Abseiling, flyingand climbing are also offered.Grass-roots exploration, ‘green’in both senses, will not only helpyou see more scenery, and withluck more wildlife, but also tofeel better (at least afterwards).So get out there!

Walking

Denbighshire’s immensely varied

countryside makes it literally a

‘Walker’s Paradise’. Denbighshire

hosts many established ‘Trails’,

including Offa’s Dyke National Trail.

Over 40 miles of this scenic path

traverse the county, following a

spectacular route along the summits

of the Clwydian Range before

dropping down to its finish - or start -

on the coast at Prestatyn. Other

waymarked trails and circular walks

explore the Dee Valley, or guide an

hour or two’s gentle stroll through

woodlands and country paths.

To really get away from it all – including

other walkers – the venturesome can

explore vast tracts of lonely hill country,

for instance via the waymarked

Berwyn Way and Mynydd Hiraethog

walks. If you want to plan your own

itineraries or one-way walks, our

local bus services can get you back

to car or base. Call 0871 200 22 33

or visit www.traveline.cymru.info for

the latest timetables.

On your bike

For those who prefer two wheels to

two feet, National Cycle Route 5

extends the whole length of the

coast. There are also plenty of

opportunities for off-road mountain

biking around the Dee Valley,

Llandegla and in the Clwydian Range

and Hiraethog Moors. ‘Bus bikes’ -

regular services fitted with cycle42

Llangollen Clwydian Range

racks - are already in operation in

some areas. ‘Fly throughs’ and

route guides to off-road cycling in

Denbighshire can be explored at:

www.ridenorthwales.co.uk

Horse riding

Denbighshire has many facilities for

riders, from ‘have-a-go’ rides for

absolute beginners, via trail and

group rides, to long-distance bridle

paths for the experienced.

FishingAnglers will scarcely need reminding

of the famous fishing on the Dee: but

there is also fine game fishing on the

Clwyd, Elwy and Aled. There are

scores of well-stocked lakes and 43

Mountain biking

Whitewater canoeing

Golf lessons are a speciality

pools across the county, including

one o f t he p rem ie r f l y - f i sh ing

stillwaters in Wales at Llyn Brenig,

and sea fishing trips from the coast.

Watery adventuresThose who like their sport wet and

exciting can find whitewater canoeing

and rafting on the Dee near Llangollen,

windsurfing and sailing on Llyn Brenig

or kitesurfing in Rhyl. There are other

opportunities for watersports: for

up to date information enquire at a

Tourist Information Centre.

Golf

Denbighshire boasts five golf-courses

and driving ranges, and is particularly

suitable for those wanting to learn or

improve their golf.

Landscapes and wildlife

Denbighshire is proud to share one

of only eight off icial ly protected

landscapes in Wales - the Clwydian

Range Area of Outstanding Natural

Beauty (AONB). Covering 62 square

miles of heather moorland ridge,

limestone crags, woodland and

farmland, 60% of it is in Denbighshire,

with the remainder in Flintshire:

some 2,300 acres are included in

Moel Famau and Loggerheads

Country Parks.

This is only one of Denbighshire’s

varied landscape types. There are

also coastal habitats - including

Gronant Dunes, home of Wales’s

only breeding colony of Little Terns,

the reintroduced Natterjack Toad

and the Sand Lizard. Then there are

upland and lowland heaths; limestone

crags and grasslands; woodlands,

wetlands, and the remote blanket

bogs of the high Berwyns.

Each has its own distinctive plants

and wildlife - though whether visitors

will encounter them depends of

course on patience, the season,

good information, and above all a

good deal of luck! Most distinctive of

all is Limestone Woundwort, the

rarest member of a nettle-like plant

family once used for staunching cuts

and wounds. Found only on one

other site outside our region, this has

been voted Denbighshire’s hallmark

‘county flower’. The attractive but

now scarce wild Juniper - among the

first plants to colonise Britain after

the Ice Age, whose berries were

used to flavour gin - still grows on44

Brown HareWild juniper

Prestatyn Hillside and elsewhere: while

the peaty uplands host uncommon

Cloudberry and ‘insect-eating’

Butterworts and Sundews.

Upland birds like Buzzards, Ravens,

Wheatears and the bobbing Dippers

of fast-f lowing streams are seen

relatively often. Very lucky visitors

may also encounter Ring Ouzels - the

rare upland blackbird; the elusive

Grey Plovers and Hen Harriers of the

Berwyns; the spectacular Peregrine

Falcons of Eglwyseg; or the endangered

Black Grouse of the heather moors,

sometimes seen ‘lekking’ to attract a

mate on early Spring mornings.

Deer, Badgers and the delightful,

magical Brown Hare are still common;

while Otters - though rarely seen - are

making a comeback. The nationally

rare Lesser Horseshoe Bat still

haunts old mine shafts and even

town houses; while the beleaguered

Red Squirrel and Dormouse still hold

out in a handful of western woodland

sites. The Bison sometimes startlingly

seen in a field near the A5 at Rhug,

however, are not ‘natives’: they

provide meat for a nearby organic

farm shop!

If you want to learn more about

wildlife or events, or even give

nature a helping hand, visit

the Countryside Centre at

Loggerheads Country Park ,

Tel 01352 810614/810586.

Denbighshire’s Countryside Service

organises activities ranging from

guided walks to moth trapping;

have-a-go drystone walling,

hedging or charcoal making; and

practical tasks like clearing ponds

or sites for nesting nightjars.

45

Otter

Black Grouse

Country parks, industrial heritage

Moel Famau Country Park contains

some 2,200 acres of the most

spectacular landscape in the Clwydian

Range, taking in four summits and

three impressive prehistoric hillforts.

Easily accessible by car, bus, or

footpath, it includes waymarked

walks ranging from the short and

easy to the challenging ‘did we really

do that?’. All provide superb views,

especially the ascent to the Jubilee

Tower on Moel Famau, 554m (1817

feet) above sea level, erected in

1810 to commemorate the Golden

Jubilee of George III. A circular walk

also connects the tower with nearby

Loggerheads Country Park, via the

‘Leete Path’. Once enjoyed by

Charles Kingsley - author of ‘The

Water Babies’ - and the composer

Mendelssohn, this path follows the

three mile long ‘Leete’ or artificial

watercourse which provided water

power to the lead mines of the

Alyn valley.

Loggerheads Country Park, though

now an attractive wooded gorge,

displays striking evidence of the once

important lead mining industry. Disputes

over valuable mineral rights here long

smouldered between rival Denbighshire

and Flintshire claimants - who were

frequently (hence the name) ‘at

loggerheads’. A mile-long Industrial

Trail, winding along the river bank,

takes in the monument marking the

ownership boundary finally agreed in46

Loggerheads Country Park

Moel Famau Country Park

1763. It stands above Carreg Carn

March Arthur, an ancient stone said to

bear the hoof print of King Arthur’s

horse, which leapt here from Moel

Famau!

Beginning and ending at the car park

with its welcoming café, the trails also

pass restored Pentre Mill, and the

remains of the ‘wheel pit’ which

pumped out the deep Glan Alyn Mine.

Along the way you may also

encounter some of Loggerheads’

distinctive wildlife, even perhaps

the rare Herb Paris which is this

park’s logo.

Quarrying was also an important

element of Denbighshire’s industrial

heritage, and continues still.

Mediaeval quarriers cut stone for

Valle Crucis Abbey and Dinas Brân

Castle from the hi l ls north of

Llangollen, later a source of flagstones,

tombstones and billiard tables. The

scenic Horseshoe Pass road nearby

was originally built to serve quarries,

whose spoil heaps can still be seen

beside it.

In the early 19th century, the famous

engineer Thomas Telford greatly

improved communications through the

county with his roads and canals.

Some of his distinctive milestones still

survive beside the A5 Holyhead-London

road around Corwen. After crossing

his spectacular Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

just outside the county boundary,

Telford’s Llangollen Canal links to the

Dee at Horseshoe Falls. 47

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct - a World Heritage SiteValle Crucis Abbey

Bodrhyddan Hall near RhuddlanThis dignified mansion, remodelled in

‘Queen Anne’ style during the 1870s,

is the home of Lord Langford, whose

family have owned it for over five

centuries. Its fine and annually

replanted ‘parterred’ gardens include

St. Mary’s holy well with its charming

well-house, traditionally a favourite site

for clandestine weddings.

Nantclwyd y Dre Ruthin

Nantclwyd y Dre is the oldest timber-

framed town house in Wales.

Extended many t imes at many

periods, it assumed its present

appearance in the late 17th century. It

has been beautifully restored to

demonstrate changing fashions and

the lives of its residents. Visitors can

also observe a colony of lesser

horseshoe bats in the attic via the

Historic houses

Like so much else in Denbighshire,

the county’s historic buildings are

distinctive and diverse.

Bodelwyddan Castle near St. AsaphAn early Victorian ‘castle-style’

Gothic mansion, designed for the

wealthy Sir John Hay Williams by

Joseph Hansom - who also invented

the ‘Hansom cab’. Its beautifully

restored and furnished interiors now

display splendid Victorian paintings

from the National Portrait Gallery’s

collection. Surrounded by large

grounds with formal gardens, maze,

adventure p layground, natura l

woodlands - and World War I practice

trenches. Nearby is the Marble

Church, built at extravagant cost by

Sir John Williams’ widow, Margaret.48

Bodelwyddan Castle

Nantclwyd y Dre

‘bat cam’ and enjoy the beautiful 13th

century garden.

Ruthin Gaol In use until 1916, Ruthin’s vast and

imposing old gaol is one of the most

fascinating and unusual historic buildings

in Wales: it includes the only Victorian

‘Pentonville’ cell block open to the

public in Britain. Visitors can explore

the cells, while imaginative hands-on

displays show how the unfortunate

inmates lived, worked, ate and were

punished, and tell the stories of ‘the

Welsh Houdini’ and the gaol’s last

execution. The gaol building also

houses Denbighshire’s fascinating

archives, and is thus an ideal place to

research family history.

Plas Newydd Llangollen

The home of the renowned ‘Ladies of

Llangollen’, where the runaway Irish

aristocrats Lady Eleanor Butler and

Miss Sarah Ponsonby lived together

in well-publicised ‘romantic retirement’

for 50 years. Beginning in 1780 as a

modest cottage, it was expanded by

the Ladies and their successors into

an elaborately Gothic mansion, with

‘timber-framed’ frontage, stained

glass windows and inter iors

bedecked with imported curios. The

ladies captured the imagination of

Regency society and their story is

brought vividly to life by an audio tour

and exhibition of their possession.

You can stroll through the gardens

and along their riverside walk – and

take tea, as Wordsworth, Sir Walter

Scott and the Duke of Wellington

have all done before you.

49

Ruthin Gaol

Plas Newydd

Flavours and festivals

Shops and marketsDenbighshire has plenty of supermarkets

and chain stores, and large out-of-town

retail outlets off the main A55. But

visitors may well be more interested

in the small, independent shops

which thankfully still abound in

Denbighshire towns. There are

tempting antique shops; well-stocked

‘outdoor shops’; individual fashion

boutiques and traditional menswear

shops; a varied array of really good

independent butchers and bakers;

and outstanding delicatessens selling

local products.

Local and often organic foods are

v e r y m u c h t h e f l a v o u r i n

Denbighshire: several large farming

estates have courageously gone ‘fully

certified organic’, with more likely to

follow. Local produce can also be

sampled in many Denbighshire

restaurants and eating places, and of

course in the increasingly popular

Farmers’ and Women’s Institute

markets, and the regular indoor and

outdoor markets held in many

Denbighshire towns.

Follow the Clwydian Range Food Trail

to discover the gastronomic delights

of an Area of Outstanding Natural

Beauty. The trail takes you through

spectacular views to meet a range of

award-winning food producers. Find

out more at www.foodtrail.co.uk

Arts and craftsDenbighshire’s many artists and craft

studios offer uniquely ‘local flavours’.

The big, brightly coloured butterflies

which enliven the exteriors of many

loca l houses, for instance, are

produced locally. There are several

traditional and contemporary potteries

clustered in the Vale of Clwyd. Some

produce not only their individual50

Delicatessen, Ruthin

styles, but also the characteristic

brown, cream or yellow ‘Buckley

Ware ’ pot te ry favoured in

Denbighshire for centuries. But the

widest range of contemporary arts

and crafts can be seen at Ruthin

Craft Centre, housing a complex of

workshops, individual studios and

display spaces with regularly changing

exhibitions. Local artists also regularly

display at Rhyl Arts Centre, Denbigh

Gallery, Y Capel in Llangollen and in

many town libraries.

FestivalsDenbighshire has a well established

mix of town and village festivals as

well as international events: it would

be impossible to list them all. From

sheep shearing to classic cars, choir

practices and poets in the pub to

international music festivals and barrel

rolling, all corners of the county have

their special events.

Perhaps the most colourful, and

certainly unique in the world, is the

Llangollen International Musical

Eisteddfod. For one week in July each

year, the small town of Llangollen

welcomes the world. During the day,

international musicians and dancers

compete in over 20 competitions.

Each evening the best and most

colourful competitors share the stage

with professional artists, many of

whom started their careers in

Llangollen. The festival was founded

in 1947 and today it is still going

strong, attracting thousand of people

in celebration and friendship. People

to watch include more than the

performers. Paul McCartney came

here as a child visitor, as did writer

Phillip Pullman - so you never know

who you may be rubbing shoulders

with at this magical event.

For all the latest information about

what’s on, all year round, visit

www.denbighshire.gov.uk/events 51

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod

F ascinating facts

Beatrix Potter stayed at

Gwaenynog near Denbigh, her

uncleʼs house. Her sketches of the

kitchen garden there were the basis

for ʻThe Tale of Flopsy Bunniesʼ.

David Samwell (Dafydd Ddu Feddyg)

of Nantglyn, physician and bard, was

the surgeon of Captain Cook’s

‘Discovery’. His journal, recording

the murder of Cook in Hawaii in

1779, also contains the first written

record of the Maori language.

Did Jack the Ripper once stay at

the Hand Hotel, Llangollen? James

Maybrick, one of many Ripper

suspects, certainly signed the

visitors ʼ book there. But the

ʻMaybrick Diaryʼ, which emerged in

the 1990s and supposedly proves

his guilt, may well be a forgery.

David Edward Hughes, born in

Corwen, was the first person in the

world to send and receive electro-

magnetic radio waves - 16 years

before Marconi!

The world ʼs f i rst commercial

hovercraft flight was made from

Rhyl to Wallasey in 1962.

The innovative but tortured Victorian

poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins,

composed many of his most famous

poems (including ‘the Windhover’

and ‘The Wreck of the Deutschland’)

while studying theology at St.

Beuno’s College, near Tremeirchion.

Moel Famau and Loggerheads

featured in early episodes of the

1960s cult TV series, Z Cars.

After being repaired at Rhyl, the

world’s oldest powered submarine,

‘Resurgam’, sank five miles off the

coast on 24th February 1880, while

being towed unmanned. Rediscovered

when she snagged a trawler’s nets in

1995, she remains a designated

Historic Wreck on the seabed.52

The world’s first commercial hovercraft flight

Felicia Dorothea Hemans, most

famous for her poem ʻthe Boy Stood

on the Burning Deckʼ, lived at St.

Asaph and is commemorated in its

cathedral.

Richard Llewellyn wrote most of ‘How

Green Was My Valley’ at Plas

Newydd, Llangollen: the location for

the Hollywood film version much more

closely resembled Llangollen than the

book’s fictional ‘Nant-y-Glo’ in South

Wales.

The founders of the largest retail

business in the 19th century Middle

East came from Llanarmon-yn-Ial.

In about 1805 the Ordnance Survey

measured with great accuracy a line

several miles long on Rhuddlan

Marsh. This formed the basis of the

‘triangulation’ of the later published

Ordnance Survey maps.

The Elizabethan bard, pirate and

soldier Captain Thomas Prys, Rhys

Fawr’s great-grandson, was allegedly

the first man to smoke ‘the new

tobacco weed’ in the streets of

London.

Vivien Hewitt, born in Bodfari, was in

1912 the first person to fly across the

Irish Sea. He set off from Rhyl and

flew to Holyhead before re-fuelling

and flying to Dublin.

The heart and right hand of Richard

Clough, the Elizabethan Denbighshire

entrepreneur who built Bach y Graig,

Tremeirchion, were brought home

from his death-place at Hamburg and

buried in a silver casket in St.

Marcella’s church near Denbigh. 53

Plas Newydd, Llangollen

Mrs Hemans memorial window

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