This month’s December walk is full of variety and takes you along the usual Wrexham (and Flintshire) mixture of quiet woodland, open fields, hills with amazing views, and rolling country lanes.
Overview
You’ll pass close to Offa’s Dyke, Hope Mountain and the remains of Caergwrle Castle. There are lots of stiles and you walk through fields containing horses and sheep, so be cautious about taking a dog.
Don’t forget to read our disclaimer before starting your walk: lovewrexham.com/walk-disclaimer
Ffrwd Road
Start the loop in Cefn-y-Bedd near the railway station on Wrexham Road (the A541). If you stand on the main road with your back to the station, go left and then right onto Ffrwd Road (the B5102). Walk along the righthand pavement and right onto the track after a few yards (1).
Walk along the vehicle track with the grass strip in the middle between the houses and the Hafren Dyfrdwy distribution booster station on your right. Go through the old walker’s metal gate after a minute or so. Continue straight on along the path. After a few minutes, you’ll come to a fork. Follow the yellow arrow and take the way on the left, walking over the wooden decking with the metal netting over it.
Step down onto the path and carry on. A barbed wire fence runs along to your left with Ffrwd Road beyond it. Walk over a wooden pallet covering a stream with a corrugated plastic pipe. Step up onto the raised section of wooden platforms, fencing and a stile. Take the path to the right of the short section of fence inclined towards you and follow it up the hill (2). Head towards the waymarker further up the slope and follow two more before turning diagonally left and exiting the field by crossing the stile.
Take care climbing over the stile because there are brambles, it’s at an awkward angle, the steps can get very slippery and there’s a rock on the ground just as you’re stepping off it. Turn right once on the lane. Turn left at the footpath sign after a minute or so. Take the stile on your left as you turn up the drive of Plas Maen Cottage.
Pant Hyfyrd
Head towards the telegraph pole in the middle of the field and then head towards the one after that. Take the stile more or less in front of you. Turn right onto the gravelled vehicle track with the grass strip – Pant Hyfyrd. Walk past the cluster of cottages (Bryn Celyn, Bryn Dedwydd and Glasfryn). Carry on until you reach the main road that runs through the village of Cymau.
Go straight over the crossroads and walk up the narrow Fford Las. Pass Hope Mountain Bed and Breakfast on your right (3) and then turn right shortly afterwards at the footpath sign. Offa’s Dyke is over to your left and runs parallel to the lane you’ve just turned off. Walk along the vehicle track and through the gateway. Take the grassy path between the two metal gates after a couple of minutes. Go through the metal walker’s gate to the left of the main metal one. You’ll see the roof and chimney pots of a farm in the distance. Walk past the abandoned caravan on your left and look right to the top of the hill to see a short stone column.
Cross the metal stile, turn left and hop over another one. Follow the path as it bends to the right and pass the apiary with the green plastic netting. Look left for a fantastic view just before you walk to the right of a pond. Walk to the left of Rhiwrob Farm (home of the “Jacob”) buildings and turn right after going through the metal walker’s gate.
Hope Mountain
Head along the track with a grassy middle strip until you reach the stile. Turn left and walk along the lane: Hope Mountain is to your left and there is a truly magnificent view of the Cheshire plain on your right – you can see the Dee estuary with its wind turbines, the petrochemical works near Ellesmere Port, Frodsham, and more.
After about 15 minutes, just after the dry stone wall, gorse and driveway to Haforgethin Farm, turn right following the footpath sign and go over the metal stile. Walk along the left of the fence and hedge lines, over three stiles and four fields. In the fourth field, follow the right-hand fence line as it turns right and reveals a wooden stile. Climb over and walk along the path between two fences with a plantation of young conifers on your left. Use the stile to exit the track onto the lane. Turn right. Ignore the turning on your left after a few minutes. Presently, you’ll see a building with a mural of a British soldier with a horse from World War One and the words “Lest We Forget” (4). Turn left and hop over the stile just before this building.
Follow the right-hand fence-line downhill. It can get quite boggy here so take care with your footing. Take the stile, hidden in the corner around the righthand fence line. Turn left once in the following field. Walk downhill through the longer grass and towards the telegraph pole. There is a stile in the left-hand fence line just before the pole. Exit the field over the stile, go down the wooden steps and turn right once on the lane.
Celyn Cottage
Walk past Rock Cottage and Glenavon. A few minutes after passing Glenavon, the road bends to the left; you’ll see a footpath sign directing you up the drive of Celyn Cottage on the right. Immediately after leaving the road, take the concrete steps cut into the wall on your right. Walk up the path, following the dry stone wall on your left; first straight on and then 90 degrees to the left.You are now walking along a woodland path. Continue along the trail for about eight minutes until you reach a fallen tree. Turn right at the end of it and take the path upwards into the woods (5).
The hill to your right is called Bryn Yorkin. Turn left at the barbed wire fence and follow it so it is on your left. Duck under the fallen tree by the old stone building. Negotiate some more fallen trees. Take a left when you reach another barbed wire fence and follow it so it is on your right. It has fallen over in places but you can still see the wire netting on the ground. Ignore the stile on your right as you walk along a narrow path with fences on both sides.
Carry straight on along the path with the houses on the left, ignoring the stile and the way down to the street. Walk past the signs telling you you are in the Fairy Hotel and Village (6) until you reach a passage between the houses.
Turn right onto Plas-y-Bwl. You’ll notice the street is a dead end, but there are two footpath signs towards the end. Follow the right-hand direction and walk up the grass path between the detached house on the right and the two terraced houses on the left (7).
The Strange Green Pole
Walk past the strange green metal pole (8) with a revolving aluminium vent at the top. Climb the stone step and walk past the rusty spiked iron railings on your right. Walk through the metal kissing gate that leads into a field full of bracken. Carry straight on through the gap in the bracken. The path may be hard to see at times but keep in a straight line and you’ll be OK. Walk past a large oak tree on your right and then take a slight diagonal right, following the arrow on the waymarker post.
You’ll see the stump and the fallen trunk of a large tree, which you walk to the left of (9). When you see the yellow arrow waymarker, take the old stone stile in the dry stone wall in front of you. Turn left and continue downhill through the narrow field, keeping to the right-hand fence and hedge line. Turn right just after the metal gate and white plastic container. Exit the field through the gap in the fence.
Head straight on towards the solitary holly tree to the left of the old wooden gate posts. Walk to the left of it and follow the fence line on your right. Walk over the flattened fence to the right of the stile and turn left. Follow the path; you’ll see a children’s playground to your left. Step over the fallen tree and pass the line of back garden fences on your left. Exit the field by crossing the stile.
Turn left once on the housing estate road and then almost immediately right, following the footpath sign along the passage between the houses. Turn left when you reach the next road, again turning right almost immediately just before the lamppost. Walk along the passageway with another playground on your right. Go straight over the next street onto Petit Close. Take a left at the footpath sign and go through a green metal kissing gate and the doggie waste bin. Walk along the path between the houses, down the wooden steps, through another green metal kissing gate and down some stone steps to return to where you started the walk!
Finally, if you’d like to see some more of our walks, click here.
