Running the Clwydian Range and Moel Famau
Known in Welsh as Bryniau Clwyd, also searched as the Clwydians, Moel Famau, Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB.
A tidy north–south chain of heather-topped hills with Iron Age forts on them, Offa's Dyke Path along the spine, and far fewer people than the mountains an hour west.
The Clwydian Range is the hill ground people drive past on the way to Eryri, which is precisely why it is worth stopping for. It is a compact chain running roughly north to south above the Vale of Clwyd, topped by Moel Famau (554m) and its Jubilee Tower.
Offa's Dyke Path along the spine
Offa's Dyke Path - 177 miles from Sedbury Cliffs to Prestatyn - takes in the whole range, which means the connecting route is already made, waymarked and largely runnable. String together the tops from Moel Arthur through Moel Famau and southwards and you have a ridge day with real climbing and almost no navigation.
The hillforts
Six Iron Age hillforts sit along the range. They are worth knowing about for a practical reason as well as a historical one: their ramparts are the steepest ground on many of these hills, and they make excellent, brutally short hill reps.
Why runners should care
The climbs here are steep enough to build strength and short enough to repeat. If you live in the north-east of Wales or across the border, this is the training ground that means you do not have to drive to Ogwen to get vertical.
Bases nearby: Ruthin · Mold · Llangollen · Denbigh
Nothing written up here yet. Browse the other regions in the meantime.