The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley () is a designated National Landscape (formally an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, AONB) located in north-east Wales, covering the Clwydian Range (), and the valley of the River Dee ().
Designated in 1985 as the Clwydian Range AONB, and expanded to its current extent in 2011, the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty includes: medieval field systems, open heather moorland, prehistoric hillforts, limestone crags, broad leaved woodland, wooded valleys, and farmland.
The AONB falls within the jurisdiction of the local authorities of Denbighshire, Flintshire, and Wrexham County Borough, with the majority, 80% of the AONB in Denbighshire, and the remaining 20% split evenly between the other two authorities. The AONB is the largest of only five AONBs in Wales, and one of the 46 in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of only 8 protected areas of Wales. Long-distance footpaths; Offa's Dyke Path, and the Clwydian Way pass through the AONB. The area of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB is , and has been proposed by the Welsh Government to be replaced by a Glyndŵr National Park, which would be Wales' fourth national park.
The AONB is underlain by sedimentary rocks dating from the Ordovician, Silurian, and early Carboniferous periods with Triassic age rocks on lower slopes. The highest peak in the AONB is at Moel Fferna, reaching . The mainly Silurian Clwydian Range supports rounded, heather-clad hilltops which provide habitats for scarce flora and fauna and are home to Iron Age hillforts. Several areas have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Special Areas of Conservation, with the AONB also home to multiple listed buildings, scheduled monuments, and part of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2018, an estimated 1.1 million people visited six key sites across the AONB, generating approximately £24.1 million for the Welsh economy, according to Natural Resources Wales.
The earliest evidence of human occupation in the AONB is from stone tools dated between 30 and 40,000 years ago in caves near Tremeirchion, with the oldest human-made feature in the AONB being the mound, Gop Cairn. The area is now used for a range of recreational, tourism, and agricultural purposes.
Geography
The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB is commonly regarded as split into two parts referenced within its name, the Clwydian Range, the original section of the AONB as first designated in 1985, and the later designated Dee Valley, across which the AONB status was extended in 2011. The River Dee flows west to east in the southern end of the AONB, rising in Snowdonia to the west, and emptying into the Dee Estuary between the Wirral Peninsula (England), and Flintshire (Wales) outside the AONB. The entire AONB contains various uplands, hillslopes, valleys, lowlands, quarries, and some man-made structures. Using Natural Resources Wales' LMP09 designations the AONB is largely characterised by; uplands (), then lowlands (), and small amounts of other uses (developed land, inland water features, and amenity land; ). Upland moors are concentrated near the peaks of the summits of the ranges, such as Moel Famau, Ruabon Mountain and Moel Fferna, with open uplands often surrounding these upland moors, and in particular around Bryn Alyn and Graig Fawr. Wooded uplands are centred in areas such as north of Bodfari up to the A55 road cutting at Rhuallt Hill, Llandegla Forest, from the Horseshoe Pass south to Llangollen, and the Chirk estate surrounding Chirk Castle. Wooded lowlands are present, near the village of Cwm in the north, along the Dee Valley (excluding developed land in the towns of Llangollen and Corwen), and most of the Alyn Valley north of Llandegla. Open lowlands are mainly concentrated in the valleys surrounding the River Alyn south of Llandegla, River Wheeler, and River Morwynion. Developed land is concentrated in quarry sites, the towns of Llangollen and Corwen, and other settlements along the AONB's peripheries. Sections of the range can be seen from as far as Liverpool and Shropshire, whereas from parts of the range, the mountains of Snowdonia, the Irish Sea and the skyline of Liverpool can be seen.
The AONB is additionally known for its lack of light pollution and home to "cherished" dark skies for dark-sky gazing for astronomers, enthusiasts and casual observers. In addition, 60% of the flora and fauna in the AONB are nocturnally active; with light pollution having a negative impact on local wildlife and their behaviour. There are local initiatives in place to protect the AONB's skies and potentially gain "Dark Sky" status to become Wales' third dark sky reserve by the International Dark Sky Association. In May 2022, the AONB started operating a van to act as a "mobile observatory" to promote the Dark Skies initiative.
Clwydian Range section
The Clwydian Range forms the northern and oldest designated part of the AONB, designated in 1985. The broad upland range of rounded, heather-clad open hills runs from Nant y Garth in its south (bordering the Dee Valley section), and up to the carboniferous limestone hillside on outskirts of Prestatyn to the north. The range forms a ridge separating the foothills of the Dee Estuary and the Cheshire Plain from the east, with the Vale of Clwyd to the west. The range is covered in moorland, limestone outcrops, and hillforts. Distinctive landmarks of the range include; the Jubilee Tower on the summit of Moel Famau, Penycloddiau hillfort, and the Moel y Parc radio transmission mast. Sections of the range are cut into by valleys of the range's two main rivers; the River Alyn, which flows north through the range, and the Wheeler. Limestone outcrops are present in the Prestatyn Hillside, Llanferres, and Loggerheads Country Park. The widest definition of the Clwydian Range was not included in the original designation, with some ranges of the Clwydian Range later included in the Dee Valley extension. The range is situated between the mainly Permo-Triassic Vale of Clwyd and the Vale of Clwyd fault line to the west, and the Lower Carboniferous rock of the Alyn Valley and Cheshire Plain, and the Alyn Valley fault line to the east.
Dee Valley section The Dee Valley () follows the River Dee in the south of the AONB and is home to the oldest rocks in north-east Wales, dating to the Ordovician era. Regarded to be part of the AONB since 2011, it comprises the areas south of the then Clwydian Range AONB including various hilly ranges sometimes regarded to be the southernmost hills of the Clwydian Range. The valley contains various natural and human features and the Nant y Garth pass forms a border between it and the Clwydian Range AONB section. Distinct limestone formations such as hills, walls, and buildings are present at Graianrhyd and Llandegla to the north of the valley, with its Neolithic limestone cave sites protected as the Graig Site of Special Scientific Interest. The valley of Afon Morwynion marks the westernmost edge of the area, the river begins north of Llandegla Forest and flows south-west to meet the River Dee at Carrog. The Morwynion Valley is characterised by its long, wide formation, with gentle slopes of rich valley pasture bounded with hedgerows and man-made stonewalls, and contains Caer Drewyn, a prehistoric fort.
The easternmost parts of the Dee Valley are characterised by its pastoral and farming landscape, where the Carboniferous age millstone grits and the rolling hills of the late Carboniferous coal measures of Ruabon Mountain starts sloping downwards to give way to the Cheshire Plain, and the plains around the city of Wrexham with settlements such as Pen-y-cae and Garth.
The southern part of this area is the Vale of Llangollen, characterised by steep valley sides, meanders of the Dee, and fossil terraces. Near Pentrefelin, the River Eglwyseg flows into the Dee. Upstream from the confluence, the Eglwyseg Valley is home to the Eglwyseg Rocks, a Carboniferous Limestone crag overhanging at a height of , described as one of the most impressive scree slopes in Britain, and the head of the valley is known as World's End. Offa's Dyke Path, and the Panorama Drive pass along the bottom of these rocks. The River Dee has been designated as a Special Area of Conservation due to its role as a habitat for Atlantic salmon and floating water plantain, and the area of the river in Wales, including the sections within the AONB, form the Afon Dyfrdwy (River Dee) Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The south-eastern section of the AONB extends to Chirk, covering the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal (designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009), and Chirk Castle. Sections of the Berwyn Range are within the AONB, namely the northern edges which slope down to the River Dee. The AONB boundary stops at the Dee Valley skyline on the range, to avoid the designation from continuing south on the range and into Powys. The Berwyn Mountains SSSI, SAC and European Special Protection Area is located to the south of the AONB.
The River Dee enters the AONB slightly west of the town of Corwen in Edeirnion. It then passes Caer Drewyn, Carrog, Glyndyfrdwy, and Llantysilio, with the Llangollen Railway following the river on its route between Llangollen and Corwen. At Berwyn the river passes over the manmade Horseshoe Falls, before flowing down a slight slope next to the Chain Bridge Hotel and flowing under its historic pedestrian bridge, first built in 1814, and rebuilt in its current form following flooding in 1929. The Dee then flows through the town of Llangollen and under the 16th-century Llangollen Bridge. The bridge is a Grade I listed bridge, a Scheduled Ancient Monument and considered one of the Seven Wonders of Wales. Further east, the Dee passes karstic limestone exposures of the Eglwyseg Rocks (Welsh: Creigiau Eglwyseg). With Castell Dinas Brân (meaning: Castle of Dinas Brân) overlooking the Dee at a nearby hilltop. The river then enters the County Borough of Wrexham, passing south of Trevor, under the Llangollen Canal at Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, then under the Cefn Mawr Viaduct, carrying the Shrewsbury to Chester railway line across the Dee and the A483 Dee Viaduct.
Llantysilio and Maesyrchen Mountains