Mynydd y Cwm
Mynydd y Cwm is a hill in the Clwydian Range in North Wales. It reaches a height of 304.8 metres. It has been promoted to Marilyn status having a prominence of 150 metres. There is a memorial on the summit and a large woodland
Abergele
Abergele is a small market town and community, situated on the north coast of Wales between the holiday resorts of Colwyn Bay and Rhyl, in Conwy County Borough. Its northern suburb of Pensarn lies on the Irish Sea coast and is known for its beach, where it is claimed by some that a ghost ship has been sighted. Abergele and Pensarn railway station serves both resorts. Abergele is overlooked due to the popularity of towns in nearby Rhyl, Colwyn Bay and Conwy; the meaning of the name Abergele can be deduced by aber being the Welsh word for estuary, river mouth or confluence and'Gele' the name of the river which flows through the town. Gele is a dialectal form of gelau, which means spear, describing the action of the river cutting through the land, it has been suggested this river is named because its waters flash brightly. The town itself is known for Gwrych Castle; the town is surrounded by woodland covered hillsides, which contain caves with rare lesser horseshoe bat. The highest hill is Moelfre Isaf to the south of the town.
There are outstanding views from Cefn-yr-Ogof, Tower Hill and Castell Cawr, 189 metres. Castell Cawr is one of several in the area. Dinorben hillfort to the east of town was destroyed in the 1980s. Abergele has a population of around 10,000 and is part of the Abergele/Rhyl/Prestatyn urban area with a population of 64,000. 29% of Abergele has a significant knowledge of Welsh. The town has satellite villages such as Saint George, Betws yn Rhos, Rhyd-y-foel, Belgrano and Llanfair Talhaearn. Pensarn and Belgrano are less Welsh than the rest of town, with 69.3% of people having no Welsh identity in the 2011 census. Abergele remained settled into the 13th century. A "Prince Jonathan of Abergeleu" is listed by the B text of the Annals of Wales as dying during the 9th century reign of Rhodri the Great, although Charles-Edwards has supposed him to have been the monastery's abbot. Edward I is known to have stayed there in December 1294 during his invasion of Wales to suppress the revolt of Madog ap Llywelyn.
Sites of historical interest include two Iron Age hillforts. On Gallt y Felin Wynt, a hill above the town popularly known as Tower Hill or Bryn Tŵr, is a 17th-century watchtower restored in 1930. There is another Iron Age fort at Pen y Corddyn Mawr hill above Rhyd y Foel. There is another watchtower, Lady Emily's Tower, located near Cefn yr Ogof. Gwrych Castle was built between 1819-25 at the behest of Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh. From 1894 until 1946 it was the residence of the Dundonald family. Gwrych Castle's present owner, Californian businessman Nick Tavaglione, who bought the landmark in December 1989 put Gwrych up for auction on 2 June 2006, but it failed to sell; the condition of the property is being monitored by the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust. It is undergoing renovation; the boxers Bruce Woodcock and Randolph Turpin trained at Gwrych Castle and the film Prince Valiant, was filmed there in 1996. A curious undated inscription can be found on a tombstone in St Michael's parish church.
It states "Here lieth in St Michael's churchyard a man who had his dwelling three miles to the north." As the sea is little more than half a mile away at this point, this suggests that the sea has made some considerable advance over the centuries. Outside the church is a penitential stone where sinners had to do penance by standing, dressed in white, by the stone and beseech the congregation for mercy as they entered and left the church; the 1868 Abergele rail disaster was, at that time, the worst railway disaster in Britain. The 33 people who died are buried in a mass grave in the local churchyard. Abergele Sanitorium was built just outside Abergele in 1910. On 30 June 1969, the evening before the investiture of Prince Charles in Caernarfon, two members of Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru, Alwyn Jones and George Taylor, were killed when the bomb they were planting outside government offices exploded prematurely. Recent genetic studies as part of the Genetic history of Europe on the y-chromosomes of men in Abergele have revealed that there is a significant percentage of E1b1b1a2 haplogroup in Abergele.
Membership in Y chromosome haplogroup E1b1b1a2 was found to average at 38.97% in a small sample of 18 male y-chromosomes in Abergele. This genetic marker is found at its highest concentrations in the Balkans at over 40% in areas, but at much lower percentages in Northern Europe at less than 5%; the reason for drastically higher levels of E1b1b in Abergele is most due to the heavy Roman Army presence in Abergele as most of the Roman Soldiers that came to Britain did not come from Italy, but from other parts of the Roman Empire. Other notable levels of genetic marker E-V13 have been found in a few other towns in Britain that were known to have had a heavy Roman presence nearly 2000 years ago. David Vaughan, footballer for Nottingham Forest and Wales Lisa Scott-Lee, musician who attended Ysgol Emrys ap Iwan Justin Broadrick, musician Aylward M. Blackman, Egyptologist A Vision of Britain Through Time Abergele Post Abergele Town Council British Listed Buildings Castles of Wales Clwyd Churches: Abergele Clwyd Churches: St George Eastern Conwy Churches Survey: Abergele Eastern Conwy Churches Survey: St George Abergele: historical and genealogical information at
Offa's Dyke Path
Offa's Dyke Path is a long-distance footpath following the Wales–England border. Opened in 1971, it draws walkers from throughout the world; some of the 177-mile route either follows, or keeps close company with, the remnants of Offa's Dyke, an earthwork, most of, constructed in the late 8th century on the orders of Offa of Mercia. Traveling south to north, starting by the Severn Estuary at Sedbury, near Chepstow and finishing at Prestatyn on the north coast, the walk will take an average walker 12 days to complete. Following a man-made border and ancient monument, rather than natural features, the dyke path crosses a variety of landscapes; the route crosses the Black Mountains, the Shropshire Hills, including the many ups and downs of the'Switchback', the Eglwyseg moors north of Llangollen and the Clwydian Range. It passes through, or close to, the towns of Chepstow, Abergavenny, Hay-on-Wye, Knighton, Montgomery and in and around the North Wales towns and villages of Llangollen, Clwyd Gate and Dyserth.
The half-way point of the path is marked by the Offa's Dyke Centre in Knighton. There used to be around 600 stiles along the route, but many of these have now been replaced by kissing gates. Various bodies on either side of the border are collaborating on a sustainable tourism partnership, a principal focus of, Walking with Offa, both on the trail but in what has been dubbed Offa's Country i.e. in a corridor along the border. The path was the focus of an episode of the Channel 4 program Britain's Ancient Tracks with Tony Robinson. Offa's Dyke Path on the National Trail website The Offa's Dyke Association Rambers' Association: Offa's Dyke Path National Trail Map of the Offa's Dyke Path in 2 mile sections
Snowdonia
Snowdonia is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of 823 square miles in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951, it contains the highest peaks in the United Kingdom outside of Scotland. The English name for the area derives from Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales at 3560 ft. In Welsh, the area is named Eryri. A held belief is that the name is derived from eryr, thus means'the abode/land of eagles', but recent evidence is that it means Highlands, is related to the Latin oriri as leading Welsh scholar Sir Ifor Williams proved; the term Eryri first appeared in a manuscript in the 9th-century Historia Brittonum, in an account of the downfall of the semi-legendary 5th-century king Gwrtheyrn. In the Middle Ages the title Prince of Wales and Lord of Snowdonia was used by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. Before the boundaries of the national park were designated, "Snowdonia" was used to refer to a smaller area, namely the upland area of northern Gwynedd centred on the Snowdon massif, whereas the national park covers an area more than twice that size extending far to the south into Meirionnydd.
This is apparent in books published prior to 1951, such as the classic travelogue Wild Wales by George Borrow and The Mountains of Snowdonia by H. Carr & G. Lister. F. J. North, as editor of the book Snowdonia, states "When the Committee delineated provisional boundaries, they included areas some distance beyond Snowdonia proper." The traditional Snowdonia thus includes the ranges of Snowdon and its satellites, the Glyderau, the Carneddau and the Moel Siabod group. It does not include the hills to the south of Maentwrog; as Eryri, this area has a unique place in Welsh history and culture. Snowdonia National Park was established in 1951 as the third national park in Britain, following the Peak District and the Lake District, it covers 827 square miles, has 37 miles of coastline. The Snowdonia National Park covers parts of the counties of Conwy; the park is governed by the Snowdonia National Park Authority, made up of local government and Welsh representatives, its main offices are at Penrhyndeudraeth.
Unlike national parks in other countries, Snowdonia are made up of both public and private lands under central planning authority. The makeup of land ownership at Snowdonia is as follows: More than 26,000 people live within the park. 58.6% of the population could speak Welsh in 2011. While most of the land is either open or mountainous land, there is a significant amount of agricultural activity within the park. Since the local government re-organisation of 1998, the park lies in the county of Gwynedd, in the county borough of Conwy, it is governed by the 18-member Snowdonia National Park Authority. Unusually, Snowdonia National Park has a hole in the middle, around the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, a slate quarrying centre; this was deliberately excluded from the park when it was set up to allow the development of new light industry to replace the reduced slate industry. The Snowdonia Society is a registered charity formed in 1967, it is a voluntary group of people with an interest in its protection.
Amory Lovins led the successful 1970s opposition to stop Rio Tinto digging up the area for a massive mine. Research indicates that there were 3.67 million visitors to Snowdonia National Park in 2013, with 9.74 million tourist days spent in the park during that year. Total tourist expenditure was £433.6 million in 2013. Snowdonia may be divided into four areas: The northernmost area is the most popular with tourists, includes Moel Hebog, Mynydd Mawr and the Nantlle Ridge; these last three groups are the highest mountains in Wales, include all Wales' mountains higher than 3000 feet. The second area includes peaks such as Moel Siabod, the Moelwynion, the mountains around Blaenau Ffestiniog; the third area includes the Rhinogydd in the west as well as the Arenig and the Migneint, Rhobell Fawr. This area is not as popular with tourists as the other areas, due to its remoteness; the southernmost area includes Cadair Idris, the Tarren range, the Dyfi hills, the Aran group, including Aran Fawddwy, the highest mountain in the United Kingdom south of Snowdon.
The Berwyn range to the south east, has the western part of it in the park, but the highest summits to the east have been omitted. Many of the hikers in the area concentrate on Snowdon itself, it is regarded as a fine mountain, but at times gets crowded. The other high mountains with their boulder-strewn summits—as well as Tryfan, one of the few mountains in the UK south of Scotland whose ascent needs hands as well as feet—are very popular. However, there are some spectacular walks in Snowdonia on the lower mountains, they tend to be unfrequented. Among hikers' favourites are Y Garn along the ridge to Elidir Fawr.
Long-distance trail
A long-distance trail is a longer recreational trail through rural areas used for hiking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents except Antartica. Many trails are marked on maps. A long-distance route will be at least 50 km long, but many run for several hundred miles, or longer. Many routes follow existing rights of way; the surface is not specially prepared, there are rough ground and uneven areas, except in places such as converted rail tracks or popular walking routes where stone-pitching and slabs have been laid to prevent erosion. In some places, official trails will have the surface specially prepared to make the going easier. GR footpaths are long-distance footpaths in France, the Netherlands and Portugal. National Trails are a network of sanctioned footpaths in the United Kingdom which are well maintained and well waymarked across England and Wales. Examples are the South West Coast Path; the equivalent routes in Scotland are styled as Scotland's Great Trails.
The Kerry Way in south-west Ireland circumnavigates the highest mountain range in Ireland. Along with the adjoining Dingle Way it is noted for its scenic views of the Atlantic and mountains. MacLehose Trail Hong Kong; these follow coastlines. The England Coast Path, in development by Natural England, will be around 2,700 miles long in 2020 making it the longest coastal walking route in the world and Britain's longest National Trail; these may be cross-country paths, or may follow roads or other ways, intersect with many other trails. Example are Wainwright's Coast-to-Coast path in northern England, the GR 10 in France; the English Coast to Coast route, despite being amongst the best-known long-distance walking routes in England, is not an official National Trail but a series of connected pre-existing rights of way and open country with some informal links between them. There is a coast-to-coast mountain-bike route in northern England that has the same trailheads as the walkers' path. GR 10 is a French GR footpath that runs the length of the Pyrenees Mountains paralleling the French–Spanish border on the French side.
It runs west to east, from Hendaye on the Bay of Biscay to Banyuls-sur-Mer on the Mediterranean Sea. The American Discovery Trail is a hiking and biking trail that crosses the continental United States from east to west. Across the mid-tier of the United States. Horses can be ridden on most of this trail, it starts on the Delmarva Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and ends on the northern California coast on the Pacific Ocean. The Iditarod Trail connects the coastal cities of Seward and Nome, Alaska: a distance of around 1,000 miles; the European long-distance paths traverse Europe. Among the longest are European walking route E8 and the Iron Curtain Trail; the latter is a complete long-distance cycling route which will run along the entire length of the former Iron Curtain. During the period of the Cold War, the Iron Curtain delineated the border between the Communist East and the capitalist West. E8 runs 4,700 km across Europe, from Cork in Ireland to Istanbul in Turkey; some of the longest walking routes worldwide: 17,000 kilometres Trans-Canada Trail – Canada 6,800 miles American Discovery Trail – United States 3,100 miles Continental Divide Trail – United States 3,000 kilometres Te Araroa Trail – New Zealand 1,128 kilometres Countrywide Blue Tour in Hungary – Hungary 1,100 kilometres TransPanama Trail – Panama 1,000 kilometres Shvil Yisrael – Israel Proposed trail: The Great Himalaya Trail – Nepal Section Proposed trail: Chilean path – Chile.
Long-distance mountain trails are of two broad kinds: loop trails. In Europe the Via Alpina consists of five connected hiking trails across the alpine regions of Slovenia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Monaco, it is 5,000 km long, with 342 day stages. Circular routes include the Tour du Mont Blanc, which passes through the Alps of France and Italy. In the Balkans region the Peaks of the Balkans Trail and High Scardus Trail connect Albania and Montenegro or North Macedonia through a network of combined 700 kilometres. In the United States notable linear trails include the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail; the first long-distance hiking trail in the US was named The Long Trail. Notable circular trails include the Wonderland Trail; the Australian Alps Walking Track traverses the alpine areas of Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It is 655 km long, starting at Walhalla and running through to Tharwa, Australian Capital Territory near Canberra.
The Himalayan routes are famous for attracting a large number of trekkers. Typical trekking regions in Nepal are Annapurna, Langtang
Moel Hiraddug
Moel Hiraddug known as Y Foel is a hill fort and hill in the Clwydian Range of north-east Wales. The northern part of the hill has been eaten away by limestone quarrying. An Iron age hillfort crowns the hill, called Moel Hiraddug, its ridge runs North-South and it lies above the village of Dyserth. The views from the top include Snowdonia, it is 265 metres above sea level
