The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape Countryside Rangers are leading a series of guided walks in the Dee Valley.

Crossing parts of south Denbighshire, the Dee Valley is an iconic area of truly outstanding scenic and visual quality, featuring a diverse landscape of heather moorland, limestone crags, ancient woodlands and windswept hilltops, all cut by the sweeping River Dee.

The scenic landscapes, dramatic summits and historic towns and villages have inspired folklore, literature, painting and music over many centuries.

National Landscape rangers with support from Nature for Health and also Denbighshire Housing put on regular Dee Valley guided walks, showing the work they are doing to protect and conserve the area, and guiding people to embrace the landscape and heritage which makes it so special, all while enjoying the added benefits of being outdoors.

The next guided walk be discovering the snowdrops at St Tysilio’s Church on Thursday, 6 February from 1pm until 3pm. The meeting point will be at Llantysilio Green. Overlooking the Horseshoe Falls, St Tysilio’s is famed for its carpet of Snowdrops, thought to date from the thirteen century.

On Tuesday, 11 March, from 1pm until 3pm, rangers will lead a guided walk around Wenffrd Nature Reserve and Llangollen Canal. The reserve winds through a variety of habitats and offers beautiful views across the River Dee. The meeting place is Wenffrwd Nature Reserve.

Councillor Alan James, Denbighshire Cabinet Lead Member for Local Development and Planning, said: “Getting outdoors is so beneficial for boosting physical and mental health and I would encourage anyone to join these fantastic, guided walks by the rangers to learn about the management and history of the Dee Valley area. “

For further details and to book on to the walks please email chloe.webster@denbighshire.gov.uk.

An historic Corwen monument is supporting work to help future generations of local nature and communities.

The Council’s Climate Change and Clwydian Range & Dee Valley National Landscape teams are working to provide a new area of support for nature and visitors to enjoy underneath the watchful eye of the Caer Drewyn Iron Age Hillfort monument.

Over 1,500 trees have been planted on the lower slopes below the hillfort to help create new diverse species-rich habitats to support local nature.

A 190-metre hedgerow has been created with the help of Ysgol Caer Drewyn pupils, containing over 1,000 whip trees including Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Hazel, Holly, Dog Rose, Guilder Rose, Wild Pear and Crab Apple.

The hedgerow also includes 19 standard size trees including Sessile Oak, Pedunculate Oak, Silver Birch, Downy Birch and Rowan.

Next to the hedgerow 2.4 hectares of land has been planted with 389 trees. This new site will include Rowan, Silver Birch, Downy Birch, Hawthorn, Dog Rose, Hazel, Blackthorn, Holly, Crab Apple, Sessile Oak, Elder, Aspen and Alder Buckthorn.

The trees were planted at six to seven metre intervals to create a woodland habitat area more favourable to local nature.

This development is part of the Council’s work to tackle the Climate Change and Ecological Emergency declared in 2019 and its drive to become a Net Carbon Zero and more Ecologically Positive local authority by 2030.

Habitat loss and fragmentation are major threats to biodiversity, and climate change exacerbates this by limiting species’ ability to access more favourable habitats.

For Caer Drewyn, woodland and hedgerow creation has been designed to improve connectivity between existing surrounding habitat as wildlife corridors.

Other development on the site includes the improvement of moorland areas and the development of a wetland habitat area. Footpaths at the site are being improved, alongside new fencing and access gates.

The woodland creation project has received funding from an £800,000 grant awarded to Denbighshire County Council from the UK Government and is being undertaken alongside other projects at Caer Drewyn, including a landscape enhancement initiative, funded by National Grid, and measures in the wider area to conserve curlews.

The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape ranger team will continue to manage the site in the long term as part of its role to ensure that the environment of the area of outstanding natural beauty is improved and protected and that the land is made more accessible.

Councillor Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport and Biodiversity Champion, said: “Thanks to the assistance of Ysgol Caer Drewyn pupils this work will help our county build stronger resilience against the impact of climate change and better help our nature as we move into the future. We need to continue to make the most of what we have to try to reverse the loss of natural habitats over the years to give local nature a vital chance to survive and thrive moving forward.”

Councillor Alan James, Lead Member for Local Development and Planning said: “This is a fantastic area overlooking Corwen, steeped in so much history that will provide such an improved supportive home for nature that is found on the hills.

“The rangers with the support of everyone who has dug deep on this land are doing a great job in also making this site accessible for walkers visiting the local area to help them enjoy the benefits of the land and I look forward to seeing the finished result.”

Sheep are shepherding support to boost wildflowers and wildlife on a Denbighshire hillside.

The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape has introduced a flock of sheep to Prestatyn Hillside to help maintain the variety of wildflowers and wildlife that gives the site its special character.

The hillside is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its nationally important limestone grasslands.

Using grazing animals reduces the need to mechanically manage sites using heavy plant and machinery and brings the land into a more sustainable management regime.

Fencing and water were installed in January 2022 with all material carried on site by hand due to the limited vehicle access. Kissing gates were also put in to ensure walker access was not limited along Offa’s Dyke Path.

The sheep are on site to support the high number of wildflowers and wildlife on the site. They achieve this by removing the dense rank vegetation and opening up the sward in the autumn/winter which will allow smaller flowering plants to flourish come the summer, providing a haven for butterflies and other wildlife.

The animals ae put out for short periods of time between October and March and members of the public are asked to keep their dogs on leads when walking through the areas that the sheep are grazing.

During February, sheep will be grazing an area on the Hillside that has not been fenced so a shepherd will be utilised to keep the area in favourable condition.

Councillor Alan James, Lead Member for Local Development and Planning said: “This another great example of ‘nature recovery’ that both the The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape and Denbighshire County Council’s Countryside Service as a whole, are involved in.”

Works to improve the flood defences in Loggerheads Country Park has recently finished.

The project, delivered by local contractors MWT and Waterco, is part of a larger set of building improvements and upgrades that are scheduled to begin at the country park later this year. The much-needed flood mitigation works were funded by the UK Government.

Denbighshire County Council secured £10.95m from UK Government for the former Clwyd West constituency to support the development of 10 projects aimed at protecting Ruthin’s unique heritage, wellbeing and rural communities.

The works consisted of reconstructing an existing stone river wall which had subsided, causing the country park to flood over recent years, as well as refurbishing the A494 wooden footbridge, which had been in place for over twenty years. A new community orchard and seating area was also introduced for future visitors to enjoy.

Further improvements including upgrades to the main visitor and café buildings, creation of an external canopy with additional seating and enhanced visitor access to Loggerheads Country Park are set to begin in 2025.

Councillor Jason McLellan, Council Leader and Lead member for Economic Growth and Tackling Deprivation, said:

“I would like to thank the Project Team for their hard work so far in finishing the much-needed flood mitigation work. These sites are much loved National Landscape areas, and it is important that we continue to maintain and develop sites such as these as their popularity grows to ensure that they can continue to be enjoyed by all who visit.

“We have seen an increase in visitor numbers at Loggerheads Country Park in recent years and projects such as these, once completed, will help future proof the park and meet the ever-increasing expectations of visitors.”

Plans for the Loggerheads improvement can be accessed on the Council's website.

A vital piece of life-saving kit has been reinstalled at a countryside car park after the original was stolen in 2023.

Run by the Clwydian Range Runners, a successful fundraiser has seen a replacement defibrillator installed at Coed Moel Famau toilet block after the original was believed to have been taken by thieves.

The Clwydian Runners funded the original equipment in 2018 and presented to countryside rangers looking after the location.

Following the alleged theft group member Gareth Jaggard started a GoFund Me fundraiser which raised £420 towards a new defibrillator. The Friends of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape donated £300, and the local council ward member also contributed to the fundraising.

The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape donated the rest of the costs, with advice and support from the Welsh Ambulance service.

Installation of the defibrillator has now taken place, and the equipment is ready to provide life-saving support if needed.

Councillor Alan James, Cabinet Lead Member for Local Development and Planning, said: “We are really grateful to the Clwydian Runners for spearheading this drive to get this vital replacement lifesaving equipment at Coed Moel Famau toilet block and would like to thank everyone else who contributed to making sure a defibrillator was back at this location.”

A new wetland area is taking shape on heights of the Clwydian Range to help support local nature

An additional wetland creation is now under way at the Moel y Plas nature reserve site, near Llanarmon yn Iâl.

The Clwydian Range & Dee Valley National Landscape team, in conjunction with the Council, are developing an area at the hillside for both the benefit of local nature and communities.

Nearly 18,000 native broadleaved trees have been planted on the site to create diverse species rich habitats, hedgerows have been planted to improve connectivity across the site and also working with farming projects have allowed the beginning of restoration of the upland habitats such as Moorland and Friddoedd with the reintroduction of grazing animals .

Accessibility for visitors coming through the area has also been improved with new fencing, way markers and kissing gates added to make paths accessible and easy to follow.

The newly developed wetland area at Moel y Plas will help provide shelter and food for a number of animals and encourage a wide variety of plants to take root. This type of area will also store carbon which helps alleviate the impact of Climate Change and can act as a natural flood barrier absorbing water during heavy downpours.

A wide range of wildlife may use this type of habitat that is underway at Moel y Plas including Water Voles, Water Shrews, Common Frogs, Mallards, Herons, Egrets and even Kingfishers.

Insects including Pond Skaters and Water Beetles can also be found in this habitat alongside Damselflies. Wetlands can also encourage wildflowers to flourish, such as the Pyramidal Orchid.

Councillor Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport and Biodiversity Champion, said: “The loss of our land habitats are a huge threat to our local biodiversity and it’s important we do all we can to reverse this sad trend. This developed wetland area at Moel y Plas which is a fantastic site for nature and for visitors to enjoy, will really help encourage lots of species to once again thrive amongst the Clwydian hills.”

For the Moel y Plas development , woodland and hedgerow creation has been designed to improve connectivity between existing surrounding habitat as wildlife corridors.

The woodland creation project has received funding out of an £800,000 grant awarded to Denbighshire County Council from the UK Government.

The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape ranger team will continue to manage the site in the long term as part of its role to make sure the environment of the area of outstanding natural beauty is improved and protected and that the land is made more accessible.