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Capturing the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley One of Britain’s most beautiful landscapes Special issue We celebrate as AONB gets bigger Fancy a pint? Something’s brewing on Moel Famau Scorched earth Why our moorland is going up in smoke 10 of the best Days out that don’t cost a penny Plus: follow our food trail, push our buttons and join our day of the triffids

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Page 1: Capturing the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley · 2012-07-20 · Capturing the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley One of Britain’s most beautiful landscapes Special issue We celebrate as

Capturing the Clwydian Range andDee ValleyOne of Britain’s most beautiful landscapes

Special issueWe celebrate as

AONB gets bigger

Fancy a pint?Something’s brewing on Moel Famau

Scorched earthWhy our moorland is going up in smoke

10 of the bestDays out that don’t cost a penny

Plus: follow our food trail, push our buttons and join our day of the triffids

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Room with a viewpage 4

A taste of heatherpage 6

Burning ambitionpage 8

10 free days outpage 10

The missing linkpage 12

Revenge on the triffidspage 14

Stroll your way to fitnesspage 16

Welcome

02www.clwydianrangeanddeevalleyaonb.org.uk

Our Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty hasjust got a lot bigger. In November 2011, the protected landscape of the Clwydian RangeAONB was extended to include much of theDee Valley.

This includes the towns of Corwen and Llangollen, major historical landmarks such as Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Chirk Castle and Valle Crucis Abbey and stunning natural

features including the Eglwyseg Escarpment, Horseshoe Pass and EsclushamMountain.

It adds a further 230 square kilometres to the 160 square kilometres of heather,hillforts and limestone cliffs that make up the Clwydian Range. It’s the first newarea of land in Wales to be awarded AONB status for 26 years.

This means that it’s officially recognised as one of the nation’s most importantlandscapes. But this isn’t just about walls, hedges and heather moorland. It’sabout all the people who live and work here – the farmers, tourism operatorsand small businesses that help their communities to thrive.

We don’t want to make it more difficult for these people. We want to help. Andbeing in the newly titled Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB means accessto funding and support that can make a real difference.

In this special issue of our magazine, we want to welcome new partners suchas Wrexham County Borough Council into the AONB. And we want to showcase some of the work we’re already doing in the north to give people inthe south ideas of how we may be able to help.

Working with graziers on heather management, for instance. Helping food producers to develop a food trail that’s bringing them new customers. Supporting local projects through the Sustainable Development Fund.

Over the next few months we’ll be talking to people in the Dee Valley, findingout what their priorities are and asking them to get involved in running theAONB. We hope to see you at one of our consultation events. Or you couldjust call in at our office in Y Capel, Llangollen for a chat.

Carolyn ThomasChair of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB

Cover shot Castell Dinas Brân, Llangollen © Orange Imaging

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Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB

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Room with a viewState-of-the-art technology is bringing the history of the Clwydian Range to life at the touch of a button.

04www.clwydianrangeanddeevalleyaonb.org.uk

Inside the newaudio-visual roomat LoggerheadsCountry Park © Eye Imagery

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Talking to farmers at home and in locallivestock markets, author Lorna Jenner collected many wonderful old photographsand stories from the times when milking,shearing, haymaking and harvesting wereall done by hand.

Vincent Vaughn of Cilcain recalls tyingstring round the bottom of his trousers tostop rats running up his legs during threshing. And he tells the tale of RobinHood VII, a stallion from the White Horsepub, who once served 390 mares in a season – and was given a bottle of Guinness after each one.

“I’ve tried to catch the essence of farmingin the Clwydian Range and to documentsome of the changes that have takenplace over the past century,” says Lorna.

“I have been overwhelmed by the warm reception from the farming community. Myonly regret is that I had to be so selectiveand so much good material has beenmissed out.”

Fortunately, that’s not the end of the story.There are plans for a major oral historyproject to build up a digital archive of farming in the area within living memory.

Schools and colleges will get involved inmemory gathering and a “museum in abox” will tour venues showing photos andplaying sound recordings. The AONB hasalready backed the project and hopes arehigh that the Heritage Lottery Fund will approve the bid.

“100 Years of Farming

in and around the

Clwydian Range” is

available from the

Clwydian Range Centre

at Loggerheads,

all local bookshops and

by mail order from

www.moldbookshop.co.uk

05

Some people call it a self-guided interactivetable with a dual projection system. Butstaff at Loggerheads Country Park refer toit simply as “the room with a view”.

Housed in a little stone building next to therestored water mill is an audio-visual experience that brings together everythingfrom the evocative cine films shot by WHCrawford in the 1940s and 1950s to the latest flyover footage from the Heather andHillforts project.

Just wander in, seven days a week, usethe huge touch screen to navigate the filmarchive, hit the play button and watch yourclip materialise on the wall in front of you.

It’s so simple a child could do it. Eventechnophobic adults will find it hard to gowrong. And when you’re outside againyou’ll see the world around you with freshunderstanding.

“This is a small room that packs a bigpunch,” says Carolyn Thomas, Chair of theClwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB. “Itprovides a window on the landscape andcommunities that make this area so special.

“Visitors to Loggerheads will be able to get a real flavour of its biodiversity, its history and its culture. We’re getting peoplereconnected with the landscape and withtheir own heritage.”

The project has been funded by the Heatherand Hillforts Landscape PartnershipScheme and the Countryside Council forWales’ Communities and Nature Project.

It draws on just a small part of the AONB’srich archive – much of which underlinesthe importance of farming in conservingthe special landscape of the ClwydianRange and Dee Valley.

And while touch screens can be very exciting,sometimes there’s no substitute for curlingup with a good book. “100 Years of Farming in and around the ClwydianRange”, for example, published with helpfrom the AONB’s Sustainable DevelopmentFund.

From top Shire stallion in1920s Denbigh (courtesyDilys Jones) / threshing inthe 1950s (courtesy KenLewis) / demonstration of a Ferguson Tractor (courtesyBryn Jones). All from “100years of Farming in andaround the Clwydian Range”.

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A taste of heather

Phill Blanchard is a resourceful man. And he likesa challenge. Not many people considering a career change would have decided to starttheir own brewery – and then built all theequipment themselves from scratch.

So problem-solving Phill was the perfectman for the job when Heather and Hillfortsproject officer Erin Robinson was lookingfor someone to brew a beer with a difference.

A beer that captured all the appeal of theClwydian Range Area of Outstanding

In the world of food and drink, provenance is everything. Nowonder the Clwydian Range is becoming a trusted brand.

Natural Beauty in a glass. A beer, in short,that tasted of heather.

Phill was given a few armfuls of it from theslopes of Moel Famau and asked to workhis magic. So he retreated to his newHafod Brewery, just a stone’s throw fromLoggerheads Country Park, and began toexperiment.

He thought about an infusion in the oldScottish ale style but decided that wouldhave to wait for the three-week windowwhen the heather was in flower. Then hehad a brainwave. He set fire to the heather.

The idea was to produce a smoked beer –a Welsh version of a German rauchbier. “Isoon discovered,” says Phill ruefully, “howflammable heather is. It’s packed with oils.I nearly lost my beard.”

He rigged up a combustion chamberwhich allowed him to smoke both themalted barley and the hops. He tried different parts of the heather and found

06

www.clwydianrangeanddeevalleyaonb.org.uk

Phill Blanchard atHafod Brewery

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that young leaves imparted a fresh, piney,fragrant quality to the beer.

“I didn’t want it to be like drinking a pint of

bonfire,” says Phill. “I wanted to produce a

beer that would sell, a very subtle smoked

beer that would appeal to a lot of people.”

The result is Moel Famau Ale. A dark beer

that conjures up the purple-clad hills of

the Clwydian Range and even, with its

smoky tang, the regular burning that’s

needed to keep the heather moorland in

tip-top shape.

You might have thought it was a niche

taste. Not a bit of it. Moel Famau Ale has

become Hafod Brewery’s bestseller.

Now Phill’s considering what other

components of the local landscape he can

employ. Gorse, for instance, which tastes

of coconut. Or maybe Clwydian Range

honey, produced by 30 hives under the

care of bee keeper Richard Jones.

In the spring and early summer his bees

feed on the mixed flowers of the Vale of

Clwyd. Then at the end of July he moves

them to the foothills of Moel Famau, within

reach of the abundant flowering heather.

And once they start producing sumptuous

heather honey, not even Phill would think of

making beer from it.

Because this honey is for connoisseurs.

Most of it will be sold as cut comb, the

most highly-prized of all honey. From

October onwards, look out for it in local

farm shops and in Caffi Florence and the

Clwydian Range Centre at Loggerheads

Country Park.

Hafod Brewing Company07901 386638www.welshbeer.com

Food milesA quality landscape produces quality food. That’s the logic behindthe launch of the Clwydian Range Food Trail.

It takes you through some of the most spectacular views in theRange, from Loggerheads through to Ruthin, Denbigh and beyond.Along the way you’ll meet producers of delicious foods, all usinglocal ingredients wherever possible.

People like master chef Andreas Brunzel of Leonardo’s Delicatessen,whose chicken, leek and laverbread pie came out on top at theBritish Pie Awards.

The aim, according to Chair of the Food Trail Group David Jones,is not just to encourage visitors to explore this beautiful and productivelandscape. It’s to let residents know what’s on their doorstep.And to get local businesses trading with each other.

So when you spend the night in a hotel or B&B, you might findsausages from Rhesgoed Farm Shop on the breakfast menu. Orsmoked fish from Old Forge Trout Farm in your packed lunch.And if you’re not driving, you could wash it down with a bottle ofRosies Triple D Cider, pressed, fermented and matured on a farm1,000 feet above sea level.

The Food Trail is raising awareness of the importance of farmers and producers in shaping one of the finest landscapes in Wales. That’s why it’s backed by the AONB through the Welsh Government’sSustainable Development Fund.

Clwydian Range Food Trail01824 705802www.foodtrail.co.uk

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Burning ambitionGraziers and countryside officers are working together to renew our heather moorland. Which means more black grouse and fatter sheep.

08

www.clwydianrangeanddeevalleyaonb.org.uk

Heather managementthrough controlledburning

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Moel y Parc near Bodfari is perhaps bestknown as the home of the tallest structure in North Wales: a 235 metre-high TV transmitting station.

But it’s also part of 1,800 acres of heathermoorland that carpet the Clwydian Rangeand Llantysilio Mountains, much of it designated common land and farmed bygenerations of graziers.

Three-quarters of the world’s remainingheather is here in the UK. But this internationally important habitat for speciessuch as black and red grouse, merlin andhen harriers, skylarks, meadow pipits andbilberry bumblebees hasn’t happened byaccident.

It’s the result of thousands of years of humanactivity. And right now it’s down to peoplelike Gwyn Rowlands.

Left to itself, the heather would grow leggy,collapse and die. It would be ousted by invasive species such as rowan, brackenand European gorse. And slowly the landscape would revert to woodland.

No use for conservationists. And no use forgraziers like Gwyn. Because his stock wouldget lost in the tick-ridden bracken and therewould be no young heather shoots to fattenup the sheep.

So for the last few years Gwyn and his fellowgraziers have been heather burning to encourage vigorous new growth. They’vebeen cutting down gorse and sprayingbracken. And they’ve been doing it with thehelp of Nick Critchley, Moorland Field Officer for the Heather and Hillforts Project,and a team of volunteers.

“They helped us with manpower and expertise to begin with and after the firstcouple of years we had the confidence andexperience to do it for ourselves, althoughwe still borrow equipment such as fire beaters,” says Gwyn.

“The knowledge of previous generations ofgraziers was in danger of being lost. It’sbeen a very valuable exercise that hasopened up big tracts of land, so it’s mucheasier to manage the sheep and they’recoming off the hills in better condition.”

Right across the Clwydian Range and Llantysilio Mountains, Nick Critchley andcountryside officers such as Llangollen-based Rhun Jones are working with farmersto manage up to 120 acres of heather andbilberry every year by cutting or burning.

They’re also working hard to repair the damage caused by drivers of motorbikesand 4x4s who think an Area of OutstandingNatural Beauty is a suitable place for an illegal racetrack.

“We are down to the bedrock in places,”says Nick. “It’s devastating for the habitatand for grazing – sheep don’t eat mud. Sofar we have repaired about seven acres ofdamage and helped to remove another oneof the barriers that are preventing peopleputting stock on the mountains.”

Nick CritchleyMoorland Field Officer – Heather and Hillforts Project01352 [email protected]

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Above from top Up to 120acres of heather are cut orburned every year / blackgrouse habital doesn’t happen by accident / theAONB contains 1,800 acresof heather moorland.

Below The sheep come offthe hills in better condition

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10 free days outIn these days of austerity, you may be relieved to discover so many activities in the Clwydian Range andDee Valley that won’t cost you a penny.

Far too many to tell you about here – you’ll have to visitour website for the latest list. But in the meantime hereare 10 things you could try without putting your hand inyour pocket.

All of them should keep you busy for a few hours atleast. And if you sample several together, you could beup with the lark and back home after sunset.

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get the grin factor

Our mountain biking is some of thebest in Wales with challengingclimbs, technical singletrack andswooping descents. It’s all part of a new Cycling Centre of Excellence designed to deliver what aficionados call the grin factor. See www.ridenorthwales.co.uk

go bilberrying

They’re fat, purple and delicious.And they tell you that the moorland is in good condition.Join a Bilberry Hunt at MoelFamau – and whatever you do,don’t forget a container for your berries.

visit a country park

Loggerheads, with its steep limestonecliffs and riverside walks, is the gateway to the Clwydian Range.Moel Famau attracts 200,000 visitorsa year to its dramatic heather-cladslopes. And Ty Mawr has donkeys,pigs, sheep, rabbits, chicken, ducks – and llamas. With dramaticviews of Cefn viaduct thrown in.

www.clwydianrangeanddeevalleyaonb.org.uk

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watch a meteoriteTake a two-mile guided walk to Caer Drewyn hillfort to see (weatherpermitting) the annual Perseidsmeteor shower. We’ll even providesoup and a roll in case it’s chilly.

go orienteering

Not sure what the Ladies of Llangollen would have made of itbut there’s a new orienteeringcourse in the garden of their famous home at Plas Newydd. Sir Walter Scott and Wordsworthhave wandered the grounds andnow it’s your turn.

walk across an aqueduct

Not just any aqueduct, mind. ThomasTelford’s Pontcysyllte Aqueduct atTrefor is the crowing glory of aWorld Heritage Site that comprises11 miles of the Llangollen Canal.Just make sure you have a head forheights – it’s 126 feet tall. You canrecover yourself in the revamped visitor centre.

view the rangefrom a beach

And while you’re at it, you couldsearch for mermaid’s purses (theegg cases of sharks and rays) atGronant Dunes or help us improvethe habitat for sand lizards or littleterns. You could even take Offa’sDyke Path National Trail backalong the Clwydian Range.

see a hillfort

It will be a bit of climb but it’s worthit. There’s a spectacular chain ofsix Iron Age hillforts stretching fromMoel Hiraddug in the north to CaerDrewyn in the south. The Heatherand Hillforts project has broughtone of Wales’s mo st important historic landscapes to life.

hunt some bugs

They probably won’t mind. Learn

how to find creepy crawlies at

Loggerheads Country Park, go

river dipping at Plas Newydd

or make a home for the little

creatures in your own garden.

For more ideas and events, pick up a copy of Denbighshire Countryside Service’s “Out and About” booklet or visit www.clwydianrangeanddeevalleyaonb.org.uk/news-and-events

detect a bat

Explore Coed Nercwys or Loggerheads Country Park atnight. With luck you’ll encounternightjars, bats, owls and moths.Bring a torch and some insect repellent. We’ll provide the bat detectors.

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The missing linkSold for just £1, this survivor of the IndustrialRevolution is in a sorry state. But its finest hourcould still be to come if an ambitious restorationgets the green light.

12www.clwydianrangeanddeevalleyaonb.org.uk

Main picture The 1876Chain BridgeBelow left to right Theoriginal 1817 structure /the 1930 suspensionbridge / the bridgetoday, sold for £1.Courtesy LlangollenMuseum and Llangollen TownCouncil.

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The Chain Bridge at Berwyn near Llangollenmust surely be one of the most remarkablelocations in Britain.

The River Dee rushing below is just one offour great arteries that virtually touch here.On the opposite bank is Berwyn Halt railwaystation, stopping point on the famous LlangollenSteam Railway. Just beyond that is the A5,Thomas Telford’s monumental London-Holyhead road.

And behind you is Llangollen Canal, hand-cutthrough solid rock, with the Horseshoe Fallsjust a little way along the towpath.

You’re standing at the gateway of a WorldHeritage Site that stretches all the way tomighty Pontcysyllte Aqueduct at Trefor andbeyond. It’s the Spaghetti Junction of the Industrial Revolution.

But this part of the Dee Valley is also astonishingly beautiful. So beautiful, in fact,that it’s within the newly designated Area ofOutstanding Natural Beauty.

The Chain Bridge itself, however, has seenbetter days. It’s so dilapidated and unsafethat it’s been closed since the 1980s. And itwas recently sold by the owner of the adjacent Chainbridge Hotel for £1.

The buyers were Llangollen Town Council,whose patch includes the south bank of theriver, and Llantysilio Community Council,who look after the north side. They paid 50peach.

Small change, perhaps, but they have bigplans. With the help of the Heritage LotteryFund, they want to restore the bridge, reopen it to the public and improve the pathup to Berwyn Halt railway station to make itwheelchair-friendly.

This means that people could travel fromLlangollen by horse-drawn boat, cross theChain Bridge and return on the steam railway – or vice-versa.

The reopened bridge would not only createa major tourist attraction. It would also restorea vital local landmark and, through a livelyprogramme of education and interpretation,allow the community to reconnect with itsown history.

“It’s such a missing link that needs to be replaced,” says David Walton, Chair of

Llantysilio Community Council. “I have livedhere most of my life and, like many otherpeople, I remember using the bridge. It wasa big part of local life.”

The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded adevelopment grant so the councils can submita detailed bid. If approved the £325,000project could be finished by the end of 2013.

No one is counting their chickens but Jennifer Stewart, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Wales, can see the potential:“We were impressed with the proposals torestore this significant landmark, which is of historical engineering importance,” she said.

“The project will provide great opportunitiesfor local people to get involved and playtheir part in saving a piece of their local heritage for future generations.”

The Chain Bridge has had three lives already.Entrepreneur Exuperius Pickering built theoriginal structure in 1817 – linking the canaland the A5, bypassing the tolls at Llangollenand enabling him to corner the local coalmarket.

His bridge always looks a little flimsy in old photographs but the strength of itswrought-iron chains enabled it to hang onuntil it was replaced in 1876 by Sir HenryRobertson using iron from the Brymboworks.

This second bridge succumbed to the worstfloods in living memory in 1928 and wascompletely swept away. Some of the piecesended up as far downstream as Chester.

It was rebuilt in 1930 by Robertson’s sonalong the lines of the Menai SuspensionBridge with six chains supporting the bridgedeck and two chains below. Almost certainlythe latter were Pickering’s original chains,reused more than 100 years later.

That could make them the oldest workingpart of any bridge in the UK. Not to mentionthe oldest suspension bridge chains still inplace anywhere in the world.

Llangollen Town Council01978 861345www.llangollentowncouncil.co.uk

Llantysilio Community Council01978 861451

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From top Llangollen SteamRailway / Horseshoe Falls /Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

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Revenge on the triffids

It doesn’t look much like a triffid. In fact Himalayan balsam with its sweet-smellingpink flowers looks rather attractive swayinggently on a riverbank.

The Victorians certainly thought so. Theybrought it back from trips to the east andplanted it in their gardens. But they shouldhave left it in the Himalayas where it belonged.

Because this ornamental plant, otherwiseknown as policeman’s helmet, is an invasivespecies that’s doing untold damage alongour watercourses.

It forms dense stands up to three metreshigh that choke native vegetation, provide little or no food for our wildlife and stop frustrated anglers getting to the water. Thenit dies back, leaving great bare patches ofriverbank that are prone to erosion.

Himalayan balsam is an invasive plant species from a faraway land that’s taking over our waterways. But an army of volunteers is fighting back.

It even has exploding pods that can shoot

out seeds to a distance of seven metres.

Seeds that can begin to germinate

underwater. So once established it spreads

downstream like wildfire.

Unless you do something about it, that is.

Which is where the Alyn Valley Himalayan

Balsam Project comes in.

Since 2008 this project has mobilised local

councils, statutory agencies, conservation

bodies, community groups and an army of

volunteers to eradicate the invading plants

all the way along the River Alyn from

Llandegla to Mold.

And what’s the best way to kill a triffid? Well,

you can do it with a strimmer. You can try a

flail. Or you can use chemical control.

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www.clwydianrangeanddeevalleyaonb.org.uk

Main picture Himalayan balsamRight Volunteering inthe Clwydian Rangeand Dee Valley

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But if you’ve got the people power at your

disposal, the best way is to pull up the

shallow-rooted plant by hand, break the

stem and leave it well back from the river

to compost.

It’s vital to do this when the Himalayan

balsam is in flower but before it goes to

seed – otherwise you’re likely to do more

harm than good. June is the best time.

That’s when you’ll see volunteers in wellies

and gloves yanking up armfuls of balsam all

along the Alyn Valley. Some will be in ones

and twos, doing their own thing, while others

will be part of big organised groups.

“The volunteers have been really committed

and their work is already starting to pay

dividends,” said Denbighshire’s biodiversity

officer, Lizzie Webster. “In some places that

We need your helpIt’s not just balsam bashing. Each year countryside volunteers inDenbighshire alone put in about 5,000 hours of work.

They get to do everything from drystone walling, hedge laying andheather burning to counting natterjack toads or listening for blackgrouse.

Volunteering is good fun, gets you out in the fresh air and teachesyou new skills that look good on your CV. And it means you’re putting something back into the landscape.

Because an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty doesn’t just happen.It needs constant work.

Denbighshire Countryside Service01352 810614www.clwydianrangeaonb.org.uk/volunteering

Flintshire Countryside Service01244 814931

Wrexham Countryside Service01978 763140

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used to be a sea of pink there are only a few

plants left.

“The seeds are only viable for two or three

years so, once we have eradicated all the

plants and eliminated the source, the

riverbank should stay clear.”

Graham Harvey was one of the first

volunteers to get active. He and his friends

have been tugging out Himalayan balsam

clogging a tributary of the river Alyn near

his house.

His motivation is simple: “It’s on my doorstep

and it shouldn’t be there,” he says. “This is a

lovely area and I’d like to pass on as much

as possible to the next generation in the

state we found it. I suppose it’s a question

of being public-spirited.”

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“We want to get more people out in the countryside by improving existing rights of way,”explains Denbighshire Countryside Service’sAccess Officer, Hannah Salisbury-Arndt. “TheCommunity Miles routes only take an hour orso but they are still very rewarding with wonderful views.”

Community Miles is part of the Rights of WayImprovement Plan funded by the Welsh Government and the European AgriculturalFund for Rural Development, and administeredby the Countryside Council for Wales.

Look out for the leaflets – and for new CommunityMiles routes in Llandrillo and Graigfechan thatshould be ready by the end of 2012.

Events 2012

There’s always plenty happening aroundthe Clwydian Range and Dee Valley.Here are just a few of the highlights for2012.

Wed 1-Sun 12 August, Ranger Wooley’s Mission countryside theatre tourwww.denbighshirecountryside.org.uk

Thurs 16 August, Denbigh and Flint County Show www.denbighandflintshow.com

Fri 24-Mon 27 August, Gwyl Gobaith Music Festival, Northopwww.gwylgobaith.org

Mon 27 August, Cilcain Showwww.cilcainshow.org.uk

Sat 1-Sun 2 September, Corwen Walking Festivalwww.corwenwalkingfestival.co.uk

Sat 22-Sun 23 September, Mold Food and Drink Festivalwww.moldfoodfestival.co.uk

September, Open Doors Denbighshirewww.opendoorsdenbighshire.org.uk

Sat 20-Sun 21 October, Llangollen Food Festivalwww.llangollenfoodfestival.com

Mon 17 December-Wed 2 January, Christmas atLoggerheadswww.caffiflorence.co.uk

Written and designed by whitefox-design.co.uk

Published by Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB in July 2012. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, the publishers can accept no liability for any errors, inaccuracies or omissions or for any matter in any way connected with or arising out of the publication of the information.

Printed on uncoated paper sourced from well managed and sustainable forests and certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council.

Partneriaeth Cynllun Datblygiad Gwledig Sir Ddinbych Denbighshire Rural Development Plan Partnership

www.clwydianrangeanddeevalleyaonb.org.uk

Stroll your way to fitness

Funded through the Rural Development Plan (financed through the European Union and the Welsh Government) and the SustainableDevelopment Fund.

Walking doesn’t have to mean sloggingthrough the countryside for hour after hour. Sometimes all you want is a quiet stroll and a nice view.

Two new Community Miles routes around Llangollen and Tremeirchion could fit the bill. Like the existing walks in Llandyrnog, Denbigh and Clywedog,

they take routes that people are alreadyusing, improve them with new stiles, gates and bridges – and waymark them so you don’t get lost.

The result is a series of short walks designed to get people fitter (there’s a caloriecounter for every walk), boost local businessesand promote public transport.