The best walks and hikes around Llangollen

Head for the hills

Many of the best hiking routes around Llangollen head into the hills to the north of the town. The most obvious objective is Castell Dinas Brân, an evocative medieval castle ruin that dates from the 1260s. The fortress was built on top of an Iron Age hillfort from around 600 BC and has many associations with myth and legend. The hill on which the ruin stands reaches an elevation of 1,054 feet (321 m) and rewards with excellent views down to Llangollen and over the surrounding hills.

Towering behind Castell Dinas Brân to the north are the impressive Eglwyseg Rocks, a limestone escarpment that runs north–south for over 4 miles (7 km). The Offa’s Dyke footpath runs below the escarpment, while an adventure across its top leads on to the heathery Ruabon Moors and the 1,493-foot (455 m) summit of Creigiau Eglwyseg.

Wonder along Llangollen’s watercourses

For less strenuous walks around Llangollen, the River Dee and the Llangollen Canal offer flatter walks. With steam trains chuntering along the Llangollen Heritage Railway and birds singing in the trees, the valley really is an idyllic place to explore.

The canal was opened in 1805 to carry local slate into England and still hosts boat trips today. A long walk along the towpath brings you to Thomas Telford’s spectacular Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. This 18-arched stone and cast-iron marvel of engineering is Britain’s longest aqueduct at 1,007 feet (307 m) and the highest canal aqueduct in the world, with a height of 126 feet (38 m).

Following the Dee to the west brings you Horseshoe Falls, a pretty, semi-circular weir that was also designed by the great engineer Thomas Telford. Nearby is a charming chain bridge crossing, which can easily be linked with a visit to the splendid Cistercian ruin of Valle Crucis Abbey, once the second wealthiest abbey in Wales, behind Tintern.

Into the Berwyn Range

Longer hikes around Llangollen include the North Berwyn Way, which journeys from Llangollen to the town of Corwen to the west, traversing the wild moorland summits of Vivod Mountain and Moel Fferna. These are the two principal high points in the north of the Berwyn Range, a glorious group of hills that contain Cadair Berwyn, Wales’ highest summit outside its national parks at 2,730 feet (832 m), as well as Pistyll Rhaeadr, one of the UK’s most dramatic waterfalls.