I’m about to share with you my favourite walk in Llangollen. When I visit places I look for local knowledge on the internet and this gave me the inspiration to write and share this little hike with you, it is simply stunning.
A walk to Castell Dinas Bran, Llangollen from the touring site LLandyn
- Distance: 5.7km
- Ascent: 263m
- Time – Depends – Half a day? Are you stopping for cake, maybe longer?
- Difficulty – Medium to easy.
I wrote this on the day we come out of lockdown with the anticipation of you coming to stay and asking me what walks can be done here. My favorite of all time has to be the walk to the castle, (it’s also the inspiration for our logo).
When in Llangollen I always say it is a must to venture up to the most spectacular hilltop in the area and visit the medieval castle ruin which sits above Llangollen. (Also to visit the Horseshoes falls but that’s a different walk all together, click the link for more info about that).
I love that we can see the castle from the campsite, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t look up and wonder at what happened up there and who once upon a time, looked down on our fields and at the River Dee snaking around the campsite.
So, what you do need to know about walking up to the castle is that it is a steep climb to the top, but so worth the effort. It offers superb panoramic views of Llangollen and the Dee Valley. I’ll pop in a few photos here people have taken. This one is by @Cerios
A little bit of history I’ve learnt over the years about the castle, this is my take on things by the way. It is said that 1260 the Welsh Prince, Gruffydd ap Madoc built the castle, it is connected to a few others castles in the area and stood proud for only 17 years. It was then abandoned and burned to prevent its use by Edward I’s invading English army (hiss) and a English garrison was placed there, despite its subsequent return to Welsh ownership, the castle was never rebuilt.
The walk Up – I walked the route in lockdown and took down these instructions in the anticipation that you might want to follow them one day.
The route is a circular route and it is a dog friendly walk and begins with us at Llandyn touring site in Llangollen.
Starting from Llandyn camp site head towards the entrance/access to the main road and cross the A539, head straight across, up the unnamed road opposite the camp site entrance towards the canal. There may be Welsh ponies in the fields too. Cross the canal bridge and continue up the unnamed road towards Llandyn Hall.
When you get to Llandyn Hall farm yard, LLandyn Hall will be directly in front of you (side note have a look at the large barn nearby it dates from the late 17thC)…. Continue and walk up the hill towards the wicket gate. Take the style on your left and entre the field. The waymarked path rises with the fence, at its corner bending left up to a small footpath, go through a wicket gate which leads you into another field. Turn immediately right and climb over a style. Cross the middle of the field towards an opening in the fence. Walk pass a green gate and head for the style in the corner of the filed which leads to the another unnamed road. Once you have reached the road, head right up the hill to a kissing gate on your left. Do stop and kiss, its good luck.
Follow the waymarked path up the hillside to a small gate and up the castle ruins. Go across its top, then follow a zig-zag path down its western slope. Continue up and across a wide grassy area, then down a short stony path to a kissing gate. Descend the nearby house’s narrow stony access track to a junction of stony tracks and a lane.
At the junction you can either go straight on to Llangollen and refuel at the many cafes and restaurants before taking the canal back to the campsite or you can take a left down the track with a grass center and a few houses on the left. The track eventually narrows and becomes more enclosed as it passes the back of Geufron Hall. Continue along the path which leads to a green track along the edge of two fields until it leads to a pair of green gates. The gates lead back onto the unnamed road which you should recognize from the beginning of the walk.
Take the style straight ahead and walk past Wern Uchaf and follow the waymarked path back to Llandyn Hall farm yard. Once back at the farm yard continue down the unnamed road towards the canal bridge and the camp site.
Or click the link here to follow.
https://www.strava.com/activities/5136186469
Have fun, Cathryn x
