Corwen Town Trail / Llwybr y Dref + Coed Pen y Pigyn

Hello again people and pooches. Joe the Cocker here after following the Corwen Town Trail leaflet.

https://www.northeastwales.wales/booklets/corwen-town-trail/

It can be found online by following the link above, or you can pick up a printed version at various locations in the town, such as the town library.

Corwen is a small market town in the River Dee valley at the foot of the Berwyn Mountain range in North East Wales. We visited the town on a grey overcast afternoon. On arrival, my human parked the car in the Railway Station car park. It was only a short easy walk except for the moderate ascent to the viewpoint in Coed Pen y Pigyn.

The railway is part of the Llangollen to Corwen Heritage line. The original line and station were closed in 1965 and not reopened until almost 50 years later by the Heritage Railway. Pooches are allowed to ride the steam train that runs along the Dee Valley but must be accompanied by a well-behaved human!

At the eastern edge of the car park, there is an entrance to a small plot of parkland called Dol Corwenna. It is an ecological site full of wildflowers and insects. I had a good sniff around and almost inhaled a bumble bee! There is a community orchard where local residents can harvest apples, pears, cherries, and plums.

As we left the car park area, we passed Corwen Museum. The small museum has only existed for nine years and contains displays on themes, including Owain Glyndwr, the First World War, local arts and crafts, and industries. We didn’t enter the museum as it was closed at the time of our visit. I’m not sure whether pooches are welcome as we couldn’t find the information on their website.

The museum is housed in a renovated chapel, Capel Coch, with the main entrance on the A5.

We crossed the busy A5, which was constructed by Thomas Telford in the 19th century. It formed a route from London to Holyhead to the ferry to Ireland. Corwen Manor, formerly known as The Old Union Workhouse, was built in 1840. The two wings of the building housed single genders, totalling 150 paupers in total. Nowadays, it is a craft centre and cafe.

We headed towards the centre of the town along London Road as we passed some interesting old buildings, including the Weslyan Chapel that was built in 1879.

The Old Police Station, which is currently used as self-catering accommodation, is on the right as we walked along London Road.

We took the left turn into Nant y Pigyn, passing the early 20th century Church House.

At this point, the climb out of the town started. I was allowed to run around off lead and to investigate the undergrowth.

My human made every excuse to stop to take photographs. He said that I had to wait with him. I think that was what he was saying as he appeared to be out of breath. I didn’t think that it was that steep, so I carried on running around spaniel style!

The footpath zig-zagged up the hillside through the oak woodland.

We came across the Gorsedd Stone Circle that was erected in 1919 for the National Eisteddfod.

I managed to grab a quick slurp of lovely cool mountain stream water.

There was even a flight of stairs built into the hillside to help my unfit human to scale the slopes.

We passed a huge spoon on our way along the trail. It is part of the Giants Trail. Apparently, the giant Drewyn walked into Corwen in 2019 and left a trail of huge footprints. He walked around the hills and dropped several objects as he travelled. These objects can be found in the woods by following The Giants Trail.

Every so ofen on our trail, my human found gaps in the trees providing views over the Dee Valley. He thought that we had reached the viewpoint at each gap but, sadly there was more height to gain.

After a lot of huffing and puffing from my human, we finally reached the viewpoint on Pen y Pigyn. The monument was erected in 1863 to commemorate the marriage of the Prince of Wales.

We spent a while admiring the views over Corwen and the Dee Valley while the unfit one attempted to suck some O’s into his lungs. Ok, he was at the onset of a chest infection, and he was suffering from asthma, but he can be such a drama queen at times.

The viewpoint is alleged to be the spot from which Owain Glyndwr threw his dagger in a fit of rage so hard that it embedded into a rock in the church yard below. Apparently, it can still be seen above the church door.

We could just see where our car was parked by the railway station. The river was visible in the valley as it meandered along the valley floor.

Across the valley, we could see the Berwyn mountain range against the moody sky.

After one last photo, I managed to drag my human away from the viewpoint. We retraced our steps sown the hillside path towards the town.

‘In memory of Corwens Chronicles???’ Please correct my ignorant human.

We followed a different path down to the town when we reached the stone circle.

This path took us past more of the giant’s  misplaced possessions.

As we re-entered the town, the first building we came across was St. Mael and St. Sulien’s Church. The churchyard is particularly beautiful with its manicured gardens. The stone that I referred to earlier that Owain Glyndwr embedded his dagger in can be found at the rear above the priests entrance. The original church was built in the 6th century with the current structure constructed in the 12th century.

We passed a converted chapel as we descended Mill Street.

As we turned right onto London Road, the A5, we came to the Owain Glyndwr Hotel. Originally, the building was a monastery but has been converted to a hotel during the 19th century to cater to the increase in travel from London to Holyhead. The first Eisteddfod was held here in 1789.

My human took me past the short row of shops, cafes, and the bank towards The Square.

We crossed into The Square when there was a rare gap in the traffic.

The Square is dominated by the bronze statue of Owain Glyndwr, the favourite son of Corwen. It depicts the moment in 1400 that he declared himself the Prince of Wales.

From this point, it was a few yards back to the car park. It had been an enjoyable couple of hours spent immersed in the history and beauty of the area. My human did say that the walk up the hillside was a bit of a pull, but I enjoyed the freedom to mooch! Till next time!