Llangollen

First stop was the photo stop for the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct; designed and built by Thomas Telford and William Jessop, Pontcysyllte means “ the bridge that connects” and is part of a World Heritage Site.

The walk starts properly by crossing one of the traditional 'Seven Wonders of Wales'. Built sometime in the 12^th Century and improved some 200 years later by John Trevor, Bishops of St. Asaph, Llangollen Bridge over the River Dee has been rebuilt and altered several times.

We followed the signposted path to Castell Dinas Bran, through a snicket and up Sunbank Walk to “The Pancake”. From there is a 20m zigzag climb to the summit. On the summit are the ruins of a medieval castle built in the 1260's by Prince Gruffudd ap Madoc but abandoned in 1282.

A much larger prehistoric settlement covered the top of the hill long before the castle in about 600BC. The Hillfort would have been naturally protected by a steep slope to the north; the rest was surrounded by ditches and an eastern embankment.

Dinas Bran is sometimes referred to as “Crow Castle”. Bran is Welsh for crow; crows and other corvids an often be seen flying around the castle. The views from the top are the dramatic limestone escarpment called “Eglwyseg Rocks” leading to “World's End” in the north; the east is the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and canal World Heritage site; the south is dominated by the Berwyn's and in the east is another hill fort, Moel y Gaer, in the Llantysilio Mountains.

The walk proceeded down the other side of the hill. Before meeting the Offa's Dyke path, it kicked back following the bottom of the hill and joining the history trail. The path skirted along the hillside of Fron Fawr with views across the Eglwyseg River valley and Coed Hyrddyn.

We came out near the Pillar of Eliseg whose origins date to the 9^th Century. An inscription recounted the family tree of Cyngen ap Cadell to his great-grandfather Elisedd ap Gwylog (Eliseg). The origins of the mound on which it stands dates to at least 4000 years ago to the early Bronze Age and was probably topped by a cross.

Further on is the Valle Crucis Abbey, the ruins of a medieval Cistercian abbey built in 1201 by Madog Ap Gruffydd Maelor, Prince of Powys. It's Latin name (Valley of the Cross) refers to the nearby Eliseg's Pillar.

Skirting round Coed Hyrddyn, we joined the canal for the last mile of so of the walk, Llangollen Canal. This is a navigable canal crossing the border between England and Wales on the Wrexham-Denbighshire border.