Penycloddiau

Penycloddiau

Penycloddiau is a 439.5 m Marilyn in the Clwydian Range, north-east Wales. Its long, heather-covered ridge contains one of Wales’s largest prehistoric hillforts. The high point at SJ127678 is marked by a cairn on a walled mound, within the much larger enclosure.

Walking from Coed Llangwyfan

The Penycloddiau Circular starts and finishes at Coed Llangwyfan car park (SJ138668). Follow Offa’s Dyke Path through the woodland and onto the open hill, cross the hillfort to the summit, then use the lower-rampart return path to the car park. Natural Resources Wales publishes this complete circuit as 4 km, about 2 hours, with 155 m of ascent and a moderate grade. Take a map: the full circuit is not guaranteed to be waymarked throughout.

Access and facilities

Coed Llangwyfan is reached by minor roads near Llangwyfan and Nannerch, east of Denbigh. Parking is free, with an information panel at the start; overnight parking is not permitted. Bring food and water. Check the NRW visitor information before travelling and follow road and forest diversions on site.

Bodfari provides a longer approach using Offa’s Dyke Path. For a bus-based visit, check current services and return times with Traveline Cymru and plan the whole walk back to your stop.

Terrain, views and safety

Woodland paths give way to open grass and heather, with stone-pitched sections and muddy ground. Some slopes are steep, and the exposed summit needs suitable clothing and navigation equipment in wind or low cloud. Keep dogs under control around livestock and leave gates as you find them.

Clear-weather views extend across the Vale of Clwyd towards Eryri and along the Clwydian Range. Nearby hills include Moel Arthur (455.8 m), Moel Famau (554.9 m) and Foel Fenlli (510.9 m).

Geology and archaeology

The hill’s sedimentary rocks are Silurian. The regional geodiversity study describes deep-water mudstones and sandstones, including preserved seabed ripple and scour marks at Penycloddiau.

Banks, ditches and roundhouse platforms survive across the hillfort. University of Liverpool excavations identified Late Bronze Age timber enclosures followed by several Iron Age rebuilding phases. The National Landscape describes the enclosure as about 21 hectares; this refers to the whole hillfort, rather than the summit mound.

The summit mound has been reconstructed to protect the remains of a probable Bronze Age barrow after erosion and earlier disturbance. Keep to established paths, avoid cutting across earthworks, and leave stones where they lie. The Welsh name combines pen (top or end) with cloddiau (earthworks or dykes).