Ruabon Moors

Last updated

The Ruabon Moors are an area of upland moorland in Wales to the west of Ruabon and Wrexham. They lie partly within Wrexham County Borough and partly within Denbighshire.

Road across Esclusham Mountain Esclusham Mountain Road - geograph.org.uk - 166135.jpg
Road across Esclusham Mountain

In the northern part of the moors are the areas known as Minera Mountain and Esclusham Mountain. Further south are Ruabon Mountain and Eglwyseg Mountain. In the west the moors reach their greatest height at Cyrn-y-Brain, 565 metres (1,854 ft) above sea level. [1]

To the north and north-east, the moors are bounded by Minera Limeworks and the Clywedog valley. In the east they slope down to the villages of Rhosllannerchrugog and Ruabon. There are several small reservoirs in this area. At the southern edge of the moors the cliffs of Eglwyseg Rocks overlook the River Dee and the Vale of Llangollen. On the western side there are more cliffs at World's End while the Horseshoe Pass separates the moors from Llantysilio Mountain. Llandegla Forest, a large conifer plantation, covers the north-western side.

Ruabon Moors are part of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Site of Special Scientific Interest, hosting a wide variety of plant and animal life. Large parts of the moors are covered with heather. Where there are outcrops of limestone on the surface a number of scarce plants can be found such as prickly sedge, dark red helleborine and rigid buckler-fern.

The moors are managed for red grouse shooting. Huge numbers were shot in the past (an average of 4658 per year from 1900 to 1913) but numbers have now decreased dramatically. The area is also home to black grouse and a major conservation programme has caused their population to increase in recent years. Other birds which can be seen include peregrine falcon, merlin, hen harrier, short-eared owl and ring ouzel.

The area has been modified by human activity since prehistoric times when people built cairns and cleared the original forest. Mining has taken place in the area since Roman times and there are still many shafts of disused lead, zinc, silver and coal mines dotting the area. During the Second World War bombs were dropped on the moors by German planes heading to and from Liverpool and a number of bomb craters can still be seen today.

The area is popular with walkers and rock-climbers and the Offa's Dyke Path crosses the region.

It is rife with controversy after two satellite tagged hen harriers mysteriously disappeared here in 2018 and a raven was found poisoned in 2019.

Related Research Articles

Red grouse Subspecies of bird

The red grouse is a medium-sized bird of the grouse family which is found in heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It is usually classified as a subspecies of the willow ptarmigan but is sometimes considered to be a separate species, Lagopus scotica. It is also known as the moorcock, moorfowl or moorbird. Lagopus is derived from Ancient Greek lagos (λαγος), meaning "hare", + pous (πους), "foot", in reference to the feathered feet and toes typical of this cold-adapted genus, and scoticus is "of Scotland".

Forest of Bowland

The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire. It is a western outlier of the Pennines.

Clwyd Preserved county of Wales

Clwyd is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire to the east and Shropshire to the south-east. Powys and Gwynedd lie to the south and west respectively. Clwyd also shares a maritime boundary with Merseyside along the River Dee. Between 1974 and 1996, a slightly different area had a county council, with local government functions shared with six district councils. In 1996, Clwyd was abolished, and the new principal areas of Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham County Borough were created; under this reorganisation, "Clwyd" became a preserved county, with the name being retained for certain ceremonial functions.

Wrexham County Borough County borough in Wales

Wrexham County Borough is a county borough in the north-east of Wales. It borders England to the east and south-east, Powys to the south-west, Denbighshire to the west and Flintshire to the north-west. The county borough has a population of over 135,000 inhabitants, with around 65,000 residing in either the town of Wrexham, the surrounding conurbation of urban villages around Wrexham, or the two other towns in the county borough, Chirk and Holt. The remainder lives to the south and east of Wrexham in more rural areas, including the county borough's large salient into the Ceiriog Valley, and the English Maelor.

Shrewsbury–Chester line Railway line in England and Wales

The Shrewsbury–Chester line is a railway line between Chester and Shrewsbury in England, with the line passing through Wrexham County Borough in Wales. Passenger train services are operated by Transport for Wales Rail between the northern terminal of Chester and Shrewsbury in the south as part of the Wales & Borders franchise. Some additional services, starting part way along the line to London Euston via Chester are operated by Avanti West Coast. The line was built in 1846 by the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway, with the engineer for the line being Henry Robertson, a partner in locomotive builders Beyer Peacock, while the contractor was Thomas Brassey in partnership with William Mackenzie and Robert Stephenson. The line is part of Transport for Wales' North Wales Metro improvement programme.

Burton Mere Wetlands

Burton Mere Wetlands is a nature reserve on the Dee Estuary straddling the border between Cheshire, England and Flintshire, Wales. It is run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and incorporates the older Inner Marsh Farm reserve. It lies near the village of Burton, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Neston. It has all been developed by the RSPB and includes a large area of mixed wetland habitats, bluebell woodlands, and arable fields all managed to attract wildlife.

Clwyd South (Senedd constituency) Constituency of the Senedd

Clwyd South is a constituency of the Senedd. It elects one Member of the Senedd by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of nine constituencies in the North Wales electoral region, which elects four additional members, in addition to nine constituency members, to produce a degree of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Eglwyseg Valley in Wales

The Eglwyseg valley is an area to the north east of Llangollen in Denbighshire, Wales; it is within the boundaries of Llantysilio Community. The name also refers to a widely scattered hamlet in the valley.

Llandegla Forest is a forest of planted conifers covering 2.5 sq miles (6.5 km2) in Denbighshire, north-east Wales. It is situated to the south-east of the village of Llandegla at the north-western edge of Ruabon Moors. Only 20 miles from the city of Chester and 7 miles west of Wrexham, easily accessed via the A525 towards Ruthin.

Worlds End, Denbighshire Narrow vale in Denbighshire, Wales, United Kingdom

World's End is a narrow vale located between Wrexham and Llangollen in Denbighshire, Wales. It lies at the head of the Eglwyseg Valley, enclosed by the cliffs of Craig y Forwyn, Craig y Cythraul, and Craig yr Adar.

Hafod Elwy Moor National Nature Reserve

Hafod Elwy Moor National Nature Reserve, located in the moorland above the town of Denbigh in Denbighshire, North Wales, is part of the Mynydd Hiraethog Site of Special Scientific Interest, formerly managed by the Countryside Council for Wales and now under the jurisdiction of Natural Resources Wales. Established in 1999, it comprises an 82-hectare (200-acre) patch of upland moor lying between the lakes of Llyn Brenig and Llyn Alwen. A conifer forest planted by the Forestry Commission borders the moor to the south and east.

Craig y Forwyn (Denbighshire) Cliff near Llangollen, Denbighshire, Wales

Craig y Forwyn is a crag that encloses the northern side of World's End, near the town of Llangollen in Denbighshire, Wales. It is part of the limestone escarpment that separates the Eglwyseg Valley from the higher Ruabon Moors and, along with nearby Craig Arthur, is a popular site for rock climbing. Evidence of lead and silver mining is found just to the west. The Offa's Dyke Path runs along its foot.

Driven grouse shooting Hunting of the red grouse

Driven grouse shooting is the hunting of the red grouse, a field sport of the United Kingdom. The grouse-shooting season extends from 12 August, often called the "Glorious Twelfth", to 10 December each year. Large numbers of grouse are driven to fly over people with shotguns. Driven grouse shooting first appeared around 1850 and became popular in the later Victorian era as a fashionable sport for the wealthy. The expanding rail network allowed relatively easy access into the remote upland areas of Britain for the first time and driven grouse shooting developed in tandem with this by providing shooting in a convenient and reliable form. Large numbers of birds are driven over a fixed position providing a regular supply of fast moving targets without the need to seek out the birds. The development of the breech-loading shotgun was also an essential ingredient in the development of the practice as it allowed more rapid reloading in the field matching the availability of target birds.

Shrewsbury and Chester Railway

The North Wales Mineral Railway was formed to carry coal and ironstone from the mineral-bearing area around Wrexham to the River Dee wharves. It was extended to run from Shrewsbury and formed part of a main line trunk route, under the title The Shrewsbury and Chester Railway. It opened in 1846 from Chester to Ruabon, and in 1848 from Ruabon to Shrewsbury. It later merged with the Great Western Railway.

Esclusham is a community and electoral ward in Wrexham County Borough, Wales.

Esclusham Mountain is an area in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, United Kingdom, and is part of the Ruabon Moors. It rises to a height of 460 m, with the nearby spur of Cyrn-y-Brain, to the west, reaching 473 m. It lies mostly within the community of Esclusham. A smaller spur to the north, known as Minera Mountain, is within the neighbouring community of Minera.

River Eitha

The River Eitha is a small river in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is part of the River Dee catchment. Its name was probably derived from the Welsh word eithaf - "extremity", "farthest".

Cefn (community) Community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales

Cefn is a community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales.

Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Wales

The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and proposed national park, 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 form 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. In 2018, an estimated 1.1 million people visited six key sites across the AONB, generating approximately £24.1 million to the Welsh economy, according to Natural Resources Wales. 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 390 km2 (150 sq mi), and has been proposed by the Welsh Government to become Wales' fourth national park.

References

  1. "Cyrn-y-Brain". hill-bagging.co.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2019.

Coordinates: 53°01′59″N3°08′13″W / 53.033°N 3.137°W / 53.033; -3.137