Overton walk through wood and meadows (via Plas-Yn-Coed and Cloy): This walk is the first of three around Overton that we will feature in the coming months. Most visitors to Overton confine their walks to the area near the river. This pleasant ramble follows some less well-known paths across undulating countryside, over meadowland and through woods.
Distance: 5 miles (8km)
This route is not suitable for wheelchairs, buggies and small children.
There is a good bus service to Overton from Wrexham and Whitchurch, including one on Sundays. Call Travel Line on 0800 464 0000 or visit their website for more details.
Start at Overton Church
From the car park adjacent to Overton church, turn right (onto Church Road) and then left at the crossroads onto the main road (A539 Wrexham-Whitchurch). Immediately cross this road and go along the signposted gravel drive. Walk through the garden of Electricity House, keeping the house to your right and enter the field over a low stile. Walk straight ahead across the next five fields.
Go ahead to climb the next stile where the waymarked path divides. Go straight on across the field and over the stile and small bridge. Keep straight on until you reach a stile adjacent to the large ash tree. Keep to the right of the field to the main road.
Plas-yn-Coed
Turn left and walk for 50 metres and then turn first right along Plas-yn-Coed driveway. At the top of the driveway, but before the black and white posts, turn right through a white gate. Turn left and skirt the fence. Go through the second gate on your left and go through the pedestrian gate straight ahead.
Walk down the field to pass through a pedestrian gate, cross the footbridge ahead and climb up the wooded slope. Walk through the next field, through a kissing gate and continue to the lane. Turn left and immediately right over the short ditch crossing. Cae Drinions Wood and Crossmill and Blackwood Farms
Walk along the hedge on your left and cross the first stile. Turn right and keep to the same hedge. Continue through two gates and into Cae Drinions Wood. Walk down, cross the footbridge and up through the gate. Walk alongside the woodland to your right and cross the stile. Turn right along the lane.
Ignore the driveways on your left for Crossmill and Blackwood farms, but cross the stile on your right beyond them (adjacent to a telegraph pole). Continue down the slope and cross the stream. Keep the hedge on your left. The next stile is adjacent to the second pond on your left (note that the ponds may dry out in summer).
Now keep to the right of the field. At the corner of the field cross the stile and turn half-left to walk diagonally across the field towards a small shed to go over the next stile.
Cloy Lane and The Maelor Way
Continue to the opposite corner of the field (keep the farm to your left) and over the footbridge. Continue up the slope to the next stile. Turn left along the lane (Cloy Lane) and right onto the main road. Continue over the old railway bridge, pass a fencing company on your left. Go over the stile that is just past the driveway on your right.”
Cross the next stile and continue along an enclosed path. After the stile, walk across the field moving steadily away from the hedge on your left. Go over the bridge. Continue up the slope then cross the stile towards the white house (Plas-yn-coed once more) to reach and cross the driveway. You are now back on the Maelor Way.
Walk ahead across the field, moving away from the fence on your right, and descend into the valley through a gateway at the stream. Head up the field to cross the next gate adjacent to an old ash tree. Turn left and keep the hedge on your left. Beyond the dip, walk up the slope and across the field to the next kissing gate and turn slightly right to cross the field towards a post and wire fence.
Go through the kissing gate and turn left. The next kissing gate is 40 metres to the right of the next field corner. Turn half-right across the field to the opposite corner. Go through the kissing gate. Turn left along the hedge until reaching the kissing gate leading onto an enclosed path around Overton School. Walk around the school fence until you reach the driveway. Turn right, then left on to School Lane to return to the car park.
Thanks and Recognition
This walk was originally produced by Groundwork Wrexham and Flintshire with help from Ken Farrell and Gordon Emery and grant aid from Countryside Council for Wales. It was updated with further help from Ken and prepared for the Internet by Wrexham County Borough Council in 2006.
Please report any problems to rightsofway@wrexham.gov.uk
Telephone: 01978 292 057
FOLLOW THE COUNTRYSIDE CODE: RESPECT – PROTECT – ENJOY
- Be safe – plan ahead and follow any signs
- Leave gates and property as you find them
- Protect plants and animals and take your litter home
- Keep dogs under close control
- Consider other people
Route taken from the council website. There is also a map available at that address.
Many thanks to Wrexham County Borough Council for supplying us with this walk. Please visit wrexham.gov.uk and look for ‘self-guided walks’. The stunning cover image is courtesy of Ashley Pickering (@atalentphotography on Instagram). Please note that the image was taken at Plas Power Woods near Nant Mill and is therefore not from a location featured in this walk.
We hope you enjoyed our article about ‘Overton Walk via Plas-yn-coed and Cloy’. For more of our features on local walks, please click here.
