Top 11 Natural Monuments around Llantysilio

The Llantysilio Green weir, more commonly known as the Horseshoe Falls, is a 140-meter-long, horseshoe-shaped weir designed by Thomas Telford in 1808 to divert water from the River Dee into the Llangollen Canal. This prominent structure is a significant piece of engineering and a feature of the World Heritage Site, providing water for the canal and attracting tourists with its unique design and surrounding landscape. The Llantysilio Green Car Park is a designated access point for visiting the falls. In the late 19th century a long piece of wood, about 30cm wide, floated on the water here to deflect floating debris away from the canal intake. It was fixed at one end. It’s visible in the photo, taken c.1890. Some trippers couldn’t resist the temptation to walk along it, ignoring a warning sign nearby, if they weren’t spotted by the “waterman” in charge of the sluice. Local residents took a dim view of such “unheeding folly”. 😂😂

Located on the River Dee, near to Llantysilio, this masterpiece of Thomas Telford Engineering is where the Pontcysllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage site begins. He designed this weir to draw water from the River Dee in to the canal, and it became a stunning addition to the landscape. At 460ft (140M) long, it’s a sight to behold.

The area is popular with walkers, cyclists and tourists. The Offa's Dyke Path passes through World's End. World's End lies on a single track road from the small village of Minera near Wrexham, which crosses Esclusham Mountain and the Ruabon Moors to a public car park at the top of the Eglwyseg valley. The road crosses the Eglwyseg River by a ford, then goes on towards Pentre Dŵr, under the Horseshoe Pass, leading eventually to Llangollen or onto the Panorama in Trevor. Near World’s End is the manor house Plas Ucha yn Eglwyseg, built in 1563. It was for a time the home of John Jones Maesygarnedd, one of the signatories of the death warrant for Charles I of England. The building is said to stand on the site of a hunting lodge of Owain ap Cadwgan, prince of Powys, where Owain carried Nest (daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr) when he stole her away from her husband Gerald de Windsor in 1109.

I really cant stress how slippy the ford is and wet and painful

The distinctively shaped weir, which is 460 feet (140 m) long, helps create a pool of water that can enter the Llangollen Canal (via an adjacent valve house and flow meter). The canal west of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the construction of the weir were authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained in 1804 by the Ellesmere Canal Company. The canal was a navigable feeder, which supplied water to the Ellesmere Canal beyond Pontcysyllte, and to the Chester Canal, to which it connected near Nantwich. Thomas Telford was the civil engineer responsible for the design, and the canal and feeder were completed in 1808.

Cup and Saucer waterfall Emes created gravelled walks throughout the large pleasure grounds, planted many trees which are still thriving today, and manipulated the flow of water across the park through a series of cascades and weirs. His most unique alteration to the Erddig landscape was the Cup and Saucer waterfall. This feature, which you can still see today, works by gathering water in a shallow circular stone basin with a cylindrical waterfall at its centre. The water falls through this cascade and then emerges from a tunnel several yards downstream.

With a diverse parkland, Erddig is brimming with grassland, lakes, ponds, rivers, veteran trees and woodland. Discover scenery that ranges from the Clywedog river and peaceful woodland landscape of Big Wood, to famous architectural features like the ‘cup and saucer’ and the dramatic escarpment that leads to Wat’s Dyke. Explore the remains of a Norman motte and bailey castle.

At 2,070 feet (630 m), Moel Fferna is the highest point in the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. However, it belongs to the wider Berwyn Range, which reaches its apex on Cadair Berwyn to the southwest. It's possible to link both on a long walk, along with other summits in the range. The Dee Valley is a good base for hikes to Moel Fferna, with plenty of accommodation options and places to eat and drink.