The historic market town of Holywell takes its name from the famous St Winefride’s Holy Well, whose reputed healing powers have attracted pilgrims here for centuries, earning it a reputation as the Lourdes of Wales. The town lies among undulating countryside overlooking the Dee Estuary, and at the top of the wooded Greenfield Valley, now a Heritage Park. The valley contains various ancient monuments, including the 8thC Wat’s Dyke and 12thC Basingwerk Abbey, as well as the remains of mills and factories that made the valley a major industrial centre in the 18thC. Near Holywell are attractive villages, including Whitford, the home of Thomas Pennnant, the renowned 18thC naturalist, traveller and writer. South of Holywell is Halkyn Mountain, part of Halkyn Common, an ancient urban common, covering nearly 2000 acres of mainly grassland grazed by sheep. Mostly owned by the Grosvenor Estate, it is a narrow upland plateau of carboniferous limestone, with its highest point being Moel y Gaer Iron-Age hillfort. Scattered settlements lie within a landscape of capped shafts and old workings – a legacy of its intensive exploitation for lead and quarrying for limestone, chert, clay, sand and gravel. Lead-mining began with the Romans and ceased in the 1980s. During the 18th and 19th centuries Halkyn Mountain became a major lead producer, with large scale deep mines replacing shallow workings. Its designation as an Open Access area and its network of paths used by miners and commoners provide a great opportunity to explore this wonderful open upland landscape – but take care near old workings. The 20 circular walks in this book explore the area’s delightful contrasting countryside, providing a great insight into its social and industrial history. They link villages with traditional country inns and visit many places of interest.
