Llangollen, an historic border town, lies in the stunningly beautiful wooded Dee Valley surrounded by hills and mountains – now part of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It developed around a crossing point of the river and became an important staging post on the London-Holyhead coach route. The area, which contains one of the finest limestone escarpments in Britain, has attracted tourists and eminent travellers since the late 18thC. Nowadays Llangollen is also equally well known for its annual International Eisteddfod. In 2009 the delightful Llangollen Canal was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site from Horseshoe Falls at Llantysilio to near Chirk. Its undoubted highlight is Thomas Telford’s famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (1805), recognised internationally as a masterpiece of engineering. The 25 circular walks in this book explore the diverse landscape of the AONB from Llangollen and the Dee Valley to the Horseshoe Pass and Llantisilio Mountain, providing an insight into the area’s medieval and industrial heritage. There are walks in wooded side valleys, by the river, along the canal, over hills, by impressive limestone escarpments, past old slate quarries, on the Offa’s Dyke Path and Dee Valley Way. They visit Iron Age hill forts, the medieval sites of Valle Crucis Abbey and Castell Dinas Bran, ancient churches and a country park. They offer superb views, including those of steam trains travelling along the valley on the Llangollen Railway.
