Category Archives: Scenery

The lovely Harp Inn and the chunky remains of Ness Colliery’s Denhall Quay, south Wirral

The Harp Inn, Little Neston

One of the most mellow, blue-skied and sunny afternoons that I have enjoyed in a long time was a sublimely relaxed and chatty visit to The Harp Inn on the Dee estuary, just outside Little Neston. It is a super little pub dating to the 1700s with lovely views over the marshes towards the impressively long line of the Welsh foothills. The pub’s official opening time is 12 noon, but we arrived to find it open at 1145 because due to queues outside their doors at 12 they are currently opening at 11. Very gratifying! The beers and ciders change from time to time (just check their website), there are plenty of soft drinks on offer and the lunches that were being paraded past us as the afternoon advanced looked gorgeous. The staff are lovely, and the atmosphere is great. There are lots of tables perched on the grassland at the edge of the lush green estuary, and on a stiflingly hot day, a wonderfully warm but cooling breeze came off the Dee to make the peaceful, endless vistas a delectable place to linger, interrupted only by birdsong. The breeze was so perfect. I do love the heat, but it is lovely to be able to sit in the sunshine without dripping like a tap.

Most of the photos taken on my aged iPhone. Enlarge at your own risk!

View from The Harp

Denhall Quay

According to the pub’s website, the building has stood there since the 1750s, when it was originally built as three coal-miners’ cottages, before being converted to an inn in 1780 to serve the expanding coal-mining community at Ness. This segues nicely into the second major benefit of the pub, which is its location a stone’s throw from Denhall Quay, an intriguing and picturesque line of wall, made of massive red sandstone blocks, that stretches out into the marshland, and is clearly the remaining echo of a substantial structure. In fact, the wall is what remains of a long pier that served the Ness Colliery, built in 1839 to replace an earlier quay in the same location. The wall was much deeper than it is now, its lower tiers lying beneath 200 years of silt accumulation, but it it sufficient to give an idea of how impressive the structure originally was.

This was not the most obvious location for a quay because the river did not run past the colliery, veering towards Wales just before Little Neston, meaning that a channel had to be created to link the quay to the main river, which became known as the Colliery Gutter. It was not ideal, as vessels often had to wait for two tides to turn before being able to navigate all the way to the quay, forcing colliers to beach on the muds in the interval between tides.

Denhall Quay c.1839 showing the quay, with its distinctive shape, surrounded by subterranean tunnels. Source: Annakin-Smith “The Neston Collieries, 1759-1855” 2019, p.170, fig.10.6

There were two collieries at Ness: Ness Colliery, which opened in 1759, and Little Neston Colliery immediately to the north, which opened in 1820. Most people, myself included, would not automatically associate coal mining with the Wirral, although it is a very familiar industry from North Wales. Fortunately, Anthony Annakin-Smith wrote an excellent book on the subject in 2019, which I read shortly after its publication, and he gave a really enjoyable lecture about the collieries at the Festival of Ideas this year (July 2026). The Wirral coal seams are an extension of the Welsh ones, but although a slither of the seams can be found on the Wirral landmass itself, most of them lie under the estuary, and it was here that most of the mining took place. A whole network of tunnels was built below the estuary, and subterranean canals were added to help remove the coal in long narrow vessels called “starvationers.” Both the tunnels and the canals lead back to shafts where the coal was hoisted to the surface. It was a dangerous and sometimes tragic business. Once extracted and processed the coal was transported to ports in Britain, Ireland, France, Spain and as far away as America and even Barbados.

A “starvationer” of the sort used in the canals beneath the Dee estuary, now in the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port (my photo)

The two collieries were located either side of a border dividing land between two different family interests. The original colliery, Ness, owned by the Stanley family, handled the arrival of the new colliery very badly, and its owner, Sir Thomas Stanley, who sounds like an absolute monster of a man, pursued a course of aggression that eventually, on several occasions, erupted into blatant sabotage, including destruction of machinery, flooding of their rival’s tunnels and, on one particularly violent occasion, an attempt to use explosives to completely obliterate the opposition. The collieries were both closed between 1845 and 1855 due to silting of the estuary, but they were revived in 1875, and the last coal was worked in 1927.

It is difficult to assess just how the collieries initially impacted local people, because most of the coal miners were brought in from North Wales and Lancashire, with Wirral residents only working in minor and administrative roles. But both the collieries and the miners became part of the community, and Denhall Quay is an important reminder of the unexpected industrial and social heritage of this small corner of the Wirral.

The Harp Inn, on Quayside in Little Neston, is at the end of a residential lane, Marshlands Road, turning left along the Quayside, before it eventually becomes a track and then a footpath. There are three main parking areas, first just as you round the bend to turn left from Marshlands Road onto Quayside (What3Words ///regarding.solving.mirroring, about a two minute walk, heading in the same direction), then at the pub itself where there is parking for about 10 cars (What3Words ///when.grumbling.kicks), and finally at Denhall Quay (///bike.outcasts.tarred, about a two minute walk back to the pub).

If you are interested in finding out more about the Wirral collieries I sincerely recommend Anthony Annakin-Smith’s The Neston Collieries, 1759–1855: An Industrial Revolution in Rural Cheshire published by the University of Chester Press (a second edition was released in 2023), and also check out his website at https://www.nestoncollieries.org.

At the entrance to Denhall Quay there are two helpful information boards that are faded but still just about legible, covering the earlier and later colliery phases, and you can walk out into the marshland along well-worn paths (dry in a hot summer, but probably not as foot-friendly in the autumn and winter).

Both the pub and the quay are on the King Charles III England Coast Path, and would make a great destination if you are visiting either Ness Botanic Gardens or the RSPB reserve at Burton Mere.

Other posts on this blog re the southwest Wirral area:

Late June at Ness Botanic Garden on the Wirral

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On one of those days last week when I had a list of a hundred other things I ought to have been doing, and when the sun was blasting down from the heavens like an impending judgement, I jumped in the car and went to Ness Botanic Gardens on the Wirral. Even on a seriously hot day, there was a breeze coming up off the Dee estuary, there were plenty of shaded and wooded areas to enjoy, and Ness is notable for the sheer quantity of seating and benches available throughout. I was there for three hours, so taking water was essential, but if you forget to bring any with you, the shop is well stocked with bottled water.

My previous visit, during rhododendron and azalea season, was only six weeks ago, but the change was absolute. The brightly coloured floral effusions of shrubberies, woodland edges and wending pathways had gone over for the season, but in their place both sun- and shade-loving extravaganzas had emerged and were doing a fabulous job of ornamenting large areas of the gardens. Water features are a significant aspect of Ness, and even though drought conditions were in play, the ponds and wending channels were looking good, supporting numerous water-adapted plant species, some of them with leaves as large as parasols, as well as dragonflies and damson flies. The herbaceous borders in the big open expanse below the main building are being re-done and were not the extravaganza of colour I had been expecting, and the rose border had gone over, but what I learned on this visit is how much there is to see beyond the core areas. The gardens extend into shaded wooded areas with winding trails and great views over the Dee and the north Wales coast, and there are extensive wildflower meadows.

There is plenty of parking. Visitors are provided with a map of the site with the entrance ticket. Ness has a nice, well attended café which does excellent coffee and a good range of sandwiches, hot food and cold drinks, with both indoors and outside tables available. There is a small plant sales centre outside the shop, with excellent quality plants that are kept well-watered (mine are doing well in their new homes), and a shop indoors selling gifts. The Ness Botanic Gardens website with full visitor details is here.

Available to download from the Ness Gardens website at https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/nessbotanicgardens/Ness;,Map,3_2_26.pdf, but I have not found a way of rendering it easy to print. You are given a copy, however, with your ticket

For a very enjoyable day out, this could be combined very easily with the RSPB Burton Mere nature reserve, which is just 10 minutes away.

The small and rather puzzling Burton Point Iron Age promontory fort on the Wirral

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Burton Point from below

The earthworks at Burton Point have been consistently dated to the Iron Age, and the site has usually been described as a promontory hillfort. This post is about the prehistoric, medieval and post-medieval history of the site, with a particular focus on the Iron Age.

The footpath over the railway leading to the viewing platform in the wooded area within the RSPB wildlife reserve, and the earthworks below. Source: Google Maps

The site is located on a former promontory at the end of a headland at the western edge of the RSPB Burton Wetlands nature reserve. You may see older websites saying that Burton Point is on private land, but this has now changed and entry to the viewing point over the defences now simply requires a ticket via the RSPB reception area. The site is served by good footpaths and signposting and includes basic interpretation signage to give visitors some idea of what might have been there during the Iron Age. As the RSPB reserve is really excellent (I have written about it here) it makes for a great day out even for people who are not particular bird aficionados.

Burton Point fortifications as seen from the footpath in the above imgae

Burton Point fortifications as seen from the approach along the footpath from the RSPB reserve, highlighted in red

Do note that on the whole, there is not a lot to actually see. The Iron Age defences are on the other side of a fence, with notices not to cross the fence, so exploring the bank and ditch would be trespass. Even though you are overlooking the defences, it is not at all easy to make out what is going on. The other approach is to take the cycle track that runs near the base of Burton Point to try and get a look at it from below, but here again it is difficult to make out where the defences are located and how they would have been deployed to protect an Iron Age settlement. The best way to get a good look of the site is from above, and you can do this by viewing the Mister Drone UK video of the site, which is by far the most effective way of understanding the relationship between the different parts of the site and the modern landscape and former riverscape.

Archaeological phases

Between 2005 and 2006 the University of Chester undertook three field surveys: contour, topographical and geophysical, as well as a documentary review to track down any historical reference to the site in contemporary records. These were reported by Gary Crawford-Coupe in the Journal of Chester Archaeological Society in 2006.

As you can see in the 1689 map above, it was a very noticeable promontory, with the river channel running along its base, offering clear views upriver towards Chester, and downriver towards Hilbre Island, which we could see on the day. The visibility of Hilbre will depend to a great degree on the weather, but this was the hottest day of the year to date, and there was not a cloud in the sky. Opposite, on the Welsh side, is Flint Castle which, like Burton Point, is now set back from the river by a long margin of accumulated silt, but was right on the water’s edge when it was built in 1277.

The four main periods of archaeological evidence proposed for the site are Neolithic, Iron Age, Medieval and 17th century. The site was quarried extensively for red sandstone, which has caused changes to its appearance. These are discussed by Gary Crawford-Coupe’s 2006 paper, based on the University of Chester’s field surveys, which is the best source of collated information, and can be downloaded free of charge from the Archaeological Data Service (see Sources at the end).

Neolithic

View along the Dee Estuary to the northwest towards the coast from the former riverbed under Burton Point

Although there are scatters of Mesolithic lithic finds on the Wirral dating to the earlier and later Mesolithic, examples of which were found in the nearby village of Burton, there is nothing dating to this period at Burton Point. Three interesting finds dating to the Neolithic were, however, found, discussed in Crawford-Coupe’s paper. There were two arrowheads, one tanged and one transverse, and a polished axe head from Graig Lwyd in Penmaenmawr. Graig Lwyd axes were found over a wide area and represent a successful trading network.

Iron Age

The site

Fortification at Burton Point, consisting of a bank and ditch

The site has not been excavated so recognition of a site and its interpretation as an Iron Age promontory fort has mainly been a matter of the presence of a bank and ditch. The bank and ditch arrangement is referred to as a glacis type (in which the bank runs directly on a diagonal slope into the ditch). The site has produced no further late prehistoric information, and no diagnostic artefacts have been recovered although it should be noted that the lack of finds from the Iron Age in the Cheshire area is entirely typical. The main object type discovered from Iron Age sites is VCP (Very Coarse Pottery), a distinctive coarse pottery used for transporting salt, but none of this has been found at Burton Point to date. In spite of this lack of corroborating evidence, most of those who have inspected and commented on the site have been confident that this is indeed a small Iron Age promontory hillfort that could have supported a small population, perhaps little larger than an extended family. It was first registered as a Scheduled Monument in 1913 and in 1979 the schedule was modified to include a larger area.

Artist’s impression of Maiden Castle on Bickerton Hill, overlooking the Cheshire Plain to the west, which in an interesting experiment had a clear line of sight to Burton Point. Produced by the Habitats and Hillforts Project 2008-2012. Source: Sandstone Ridge Trust

There is good circumstantial evidence to suggest an Iron Age date for the Burton area. Burton Point was also well positioned for visual communication with contemporary sites, as discussed by David Matthews in 2006 and Erin Lloyd Jones in 2019. A 2011 experiment, the Hilltop Glow event, organized by the former Heather and Hillforts project, demonstrated that Burton Point and reported on the BBC (BBC News March 2011) was one of ten Iron Age hillfort sites (on the Clwydian Range, Halkyn Mountain, the mid-Cheshire Sandstone Ridge, and at Burton Point) that determined which sites could be seen from one another when torches were lit. The BBC report of the experiment quoted Heather and Hilltops representative Erin Robinson, stating that Burton Point was visible as far away as Maiden Castle at Bickerton Hill, 25km /15.5 miles (shown above), as well as nearer sites on the Clwydian Range. Burton Point would also have been in the proximity of Iron Age sites 129 and 154 at Puddington Lane in nearby Burton Village, which confirm that a later Bronze Age and Iron Age presence were in this area. By boat, Iron Age settlements in both Chester and Meols would have been within easy reach: Iron Age settlement features were found during the excavations of the Roman amphitheatre in Chester; and at Meols a number of Iron Age finds, including coins, have lead to suggestions that Meols may have been a trading port with connections to both north and south along the coast at that time.

Burton Point LiDAR image from the Atlas of Iron Age of Britain and Ireland (EN3190). The line leading diagonally from northeast to southwest is the footpath leading to the viewing area.

There are however some features that remain puzzling. If this is supposed to be a settlement on a promontory, separated from the rest of the headland by a bank and ditch, it is remarkably difficult to understand its form from what remains, whether you are overlooking the site, looking up at it from below, or examining maps, LiDAR imaging or aerial photographs. This is partly due to quarrying and erosion, but also because it is impossible to walk over what remains of the site, which is fenced off. However, what may have been the Iron Age defences appear to be set below what remains of the headland. This means that the settlement on the promontory would have been lower than the headland behind it, a strategic disadvantage if the bank and ditch were defensive rather than merely statements of territory or prestige. On my first visit it seemed counter-intuitive that this was a promontory hillfort because the defences were only around 20ft above the river bed. Once the term “fort” is removed from the equation, it is still puzzling, and although a short stretch of bank and ditch were visible, they were below the level at which we were standing on the headland behind the defences, a few feet higher than the defences. Faint heart never won fair hillfort, so a few days later I parked up near the cycle track that runs around the base of Burton Point and had another look from what would have been the Dee riverbed, from where the headland clearly rises above the level of the defences. The Mister Drone footage and the above LiDAR image, which I found only later also indicate that the defences were below the headland behind it.

Even so, the bank and ditch may have been more symbolic than actually defensive. Speculating wildly, if the promontory was occupied for its views or as a trading point, the defences could have been built to control access to and exit from a specialized site. In this case, or any other function for the site (including domestic settlement) the bank and ditch could have had more to do with a statement of territoriality and prestige than any actual threat.

The surveys undertaken by the University of Chester (Crawford-Coupe 2005) were unable to provide definitive data to substantiate the proposed dating. The tangle of tree roots prevented any detection of sub-surface structures.

There are alternative suggestions. After his visit to inspect the site in November 1950, Professor A.W. Lawrence, thought that the earthworks represented quarry upcast prior to starting a new quarry (Historic England Research Records Monument No.67150). The same source puts forward the possibility that even if it is accepted that the bank and ditch are defensive, they could represent “a Dark Age Celtic Fort,” partly based on the possibility that the parish name Burton may be derived from Burh-tun, meaning “farm/dwelling by the fort.” The CHER record (9/1) mentions, without a reference, that “[i]t has been suggested that it maybe the military base of the Dane, Hingamund.”

The site continues to interest those researching the Iron Age and has been mentioned in subsequent reports on other sites, placing it in a wider regional context. As Crawford-Coupe points out, matters are unlikely to be clarified until an excavation takes place.

Composite map showing the distribution of Iron Age sites in northwest England and north Wales. Sources: I combined the two maps from Ritchie 2018 and Nevell 2025

Roman

For those wondering whether there may have been a Roman trading post or watchpost here, perhaps part of a network with Meols, both reasonable thoughts given the notable lines of sight on a clear day, a single Roman brooch was found (SMR-no.59). A single object cannot be extrapolated into a whole site or a particular set of activities but the discovery is still interesting, particularly as there was a find of another Roman brooch (SMR no.56), a fibula-type, in a field opposite Ness Gardens only 1.5 miles / 2.4 km away from Burton Point. I have not yet found a detailed account or image of either brooch.

Medieval use and quarrying

Flint Castle on the Dee Estuary, opposite Burton Point

After the site was abandoned in the Roman period, it is thought that it was used for stone quarrying by Edward I for Flint Castle, together with stone from Ness where Edward kept a small garrison. Most of the stone used for Flint Castle was yellow sandstone, that tends to look rather grey today, but red sandstone that could have been quarried from Burton Point and its vicinity was also used as infill and for some inner stonework.

Richard II’s Cheshire archers are thought to have embarked from Burton Point on the expedition to Ireland in 1399.

Post-medieval land use, quarrying and burials

As has already been mentioned, in the Middle Ages the channel of the Dee is thought to have run up to the base of Burton Point, and there are various records of requests for access to the small headland for mooring, unloading and storage. The University of Chester survey published in 2006 noted a section of wall and some pavings, which may have had something to do with these requests, but it is all fairly ambiguous.

1732 map of the river Dee and estuary showing Burton Point. Source: sustainablebeach.co.uk

In 1889 it was reported that 29 burials were found, all interred orientated east to west, with no grave goods. An east-west burial is consistent with a Christian burial, but that does not narrow it down much. When the skeletal remains were examined, there were no marks to indicate how they died, which seems to rule out a Civil War explanation, but leaves the possibility of plague or shipwreck. A shipwreck was recorded for 1637. Shipwreck victims may or may not have incurred injuries during the wrecking of the ship, but plague would have left no signs at all and would be consistent with such a remote burial, unconnected with a church and consecrated land.

Final Comments

Imaginative reconstruction of how an Iron Age site may have looked

Given that no roundhouses or any indications of palisades have been found at the site, this information sign represents a profound act of imagination based loosely on structures found on other Iron Age sites in the general area.

Partly due to erosion and quarrying that have obliterated most of the site, and partly due to the position of the defences at a level lower than the main headland, the site is not particularly easy to understand as an Iron Age defended promontory settlement. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted as such, demonstrated by the University of Chester report published in 2006, and its inclusion in discussions of the Iron Age in the area, its presence on distribution maps of Iron Age sites and its inclusion on online Atlas of Iron Age Hillforts in Britain and Ireland. There do remain questions about the overall plan of the proposed late prehistoric settlement.

Sources

Books and papers

Britnell, W.J. and Silvester, R.J. 2018. 1. Introduction. In (eds.) Britnell, W.J. and Silvester, R.J. 2018. Hillforts and Defended Enclosures of the Welsh Borderland. Internet Archaeology 48
https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue48/7/1.html

Crawford-Coupe, Gary 2006. II. The Archaeology of Burton Point. Journal of Chester Archaeological Society, new series 89, p.71-90
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-2910-1/dissemination/pdf/JCAS_ns_080/JCAS_ns_080_071-090.pdf

Gregory, Richard A. and Mark Adams with contributions by Denise Druce, Laura Griffin, Chris Howard-Davis, Gwladys Monteil, Elaine L. Morris, Rob Philpott, Ian Smith and Adam Tinsley 2019. Excavation at Two Cropmark Enclosures at Puddington Lane, Burton, Wirral, 2010–2015.
Journal of Chester Archaeological Society, new series 89, 2019, p.1–69
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-2910-1/dissemination/pdf/JCAS_ns_089/JCAS_ns_089_001-070.pdf

Griffiths, David., Robert A. Philpott, Geoff Egan and contributors 2007. Meols, the Archaeology of the North Wirral Coast. Oxford University School of Archaeology: Monograph 68: Institute of Archaeology, University of Oxford.
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/meols_sal_2007/downloads.cfm

Lloyd Jones, Erin 2019. Connections between the hillforts of the Clwydian Range and the wider landscape. Unpublished PhD, Bangor University
https://pure.bangor.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/22607372/2017_Jones_EL_PhD.pdf

Matthews, David J. 2006. Mapping hillfort intervisibility and its potential to define Iron Age tribal areas in the northern and mid Marches. Unpublished MA Thesis

Matthews, Keith J. 2001. The Iron Age of Northwest England: A socio-economic model. Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society 76, p.1-51
https://www.academia.edu/900876/The_Iron_Age_of_North_West_England_A_Socio_Economic_Model

Morgan, Victorian and Paul Morgan 2004. Prehistoric Cheshire. Landmark Publishing

Nevell, Mike 2025. Northwest Regional Research Framework: Later Prehistory
https://researchframeworks.org/nwrf/resource-assessments/later-prehistory/

Philpott, Robert A. and Mark H. Adams and contributors 2010. Irby, Wirral. Excavations on a Late Prehistoric Romano-British and Medieval site 1987-96. National Museums Liverpool

Ritchie, Matt 2018. A Brief Introduction to Iron Age Settlement in Wales. Internet Archaeology 48. https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue48/2/1.html

Silvester R.J. 2018. 4. North-east Wales and the Cheshire borderlands. In (eds.) Britnell, W.J. and Silvester, R.J. 2018. Hillforts and Defended Enclosures of the Welsh Borderland. Internet Archaeology 48
https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue48/7/toc.html

Wilmott, Tony and Dan Garner 2018. The Roman Amphitheatre of Chester, Volume 1: The Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology. Oxbow Books

Websites

ARCHAEOdeath
The Archaeology of Burton Point: The Heritage Open Day at Burton Mere RSPB
https://howardwilliamsblog.wordpress.com/2022/09/16/the-archaeology-of-burton-point-the-heritage-open-day-at-burton-mere-rspb/

Atlas of Hillforts in Britain and Ireland
EN3190 – Burton Point. Gary Lock and Ian Ralston 2012-2016
https://tinyurl.com/mrxeu34s

Based In Churton
Exploring Maiden Castle Iron Age Hillfort, Bickerton Hill (mid-Cheshire Sandstone Ridge)
https://wp.me/pcZwQK-8Az
Sunshine, archaeology and great views at Caer Drewyn Iron Age hillfort at Corwen
https://wp.me/pcZwQK-4ft
Hillforts and amazing views – and why is there an Egyptian temple on the top of Moel Famau?
https://wp.me/pcZwQK-9dE
The fabulous nature reserve at the RSPB’s Burton Mere Wetlands
https://wp.me/pcZwQK-7QS

BBC News
North Wales Hillfort Test of Iron Age Communication
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-11832323

Heritage Gateway
Historic England Research Records Monument Number 67150.
https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=67150&resourceID=19191

Historic England
Promontory fort on Burton Point 550m south west of Burton Point Farm
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1013298?section=official-list-entry

Mister Drone UK
Burton Point, Iron Age Fort Remains search by drone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9izFQLB148

Northwest Regional Resource
Introduction: The Later Prehistoric Resource. 1200BC-43AD. Compiled by Michael Nevell, with contributions.
https://researchframeworks.org/nwrf/resource-assessments/later-prehistory/

A Sustainable Vision for Hoylake Beach
The Curious Case of the Cheesemongers (for the very useful 1732 map of the Wirral)
https://sustainablebeach.org.uk/index.php/evidence-and-data/library/the-curious-case-of-the-cheesemongers/

The view across to Wales from the foot of Burton Point

Hillforts and amazing views – and why is there an Egyptian temple on the top of Moel Famau?

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The Jubilee Tower

It was something of a surprise when I walked up to the top of Moel Famau during the week and found myself face to face with a building that was clearly based on an ancient Egyptian temple, the Grade II listed Jubilee Tower. People talk about the views, the hillforts, the heather, the bilberries and the bird life, but no-one had mentioned that there was a rather unexpected slice of Egyptomania on the peak. One would certainly, thankfully, not be permitted to build on a national beauty spot these days, but I suppose that it could be a lot worse, like the hideous, overpriced café on Snowdon. The Jubilee Tower is not elegant, it is not authentic, and it is anything but pretty, but it did make me smile, and other walkers were clearly enjoying it too. Heritage comes in various forms, some of them most unexpected. The Egyptian Revival produced some splendid buildings and monuments, and although this one is not amongst the most accomplished, its location singles it out as a fairly remarkable example, a genuine curiosity.

Map of Moel Famau footpaths, as well as the locations of Moel y Gaer and Foel Fenlli hillforts. Source: Nearly Uphill

Moel Famau, on the Clwydian Range, is lovely. It is the highest peak on the Clwydians and a very popular destination for hikers and dog walkers alike. I don’t really remember my first visit, so it was very much like visiting for the first time. There are a number of different approaches to the peak. I went along the Bwlch Pen Barras road, a pass through the Clwydian Range where there are two official starting points with car parks. one of which takes you through the coed (wood), but it was far too gloriously sunny to be under cover, which means that that the best starting point was the large amount of lay-by parking (which I believe is free) or the Bwlch Pen Barras car park (payment required) . The What3Words address for the Bwlch Pen Barras car park is ///hobble.passwords.device. You are already very high up at this point, with terrific views over the Vale of Clwyd before you even start, and the footpath that I took (the purple track at far left of the above map) provides superb views over the Vale of Clwyd.

The walk, along a wide, well maintained path, starts very gently and for the first 20 minutes or so is very easy. It becomes much steeper for a fairly short section leading up to the peak, but people of all levels of fitness seemed to be tackling it, some stopping frequently for a breather. It’s worth that last push because the 360º views are breathtaking.

If you climb up the steps to the top of the Egyptian Revival “temple” there are metal plaques explaining the building. It turns out that what we see today is just the stump of a much more ambitious project, the Jubilee Tower, which included an obelisk. It was designed by architect Thomas Harrison, and was built to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of George III in 1810, paid for by public subscription, with Flintshire magistrate Lord Kenyon laying the foundation stone in October of that year. Harrison’s buildings in Chester are far less frivolous, with most of his work in the Neoclassical style, including the Grosvenor Bridge and the Propylaeum (monumental gateway) into Chester Castle and the Neoclassical building that is now owned by the university but was previously occupied by the council as its Shire Hall. The building materials were taken up by horse and cart. The design of the obelisk was modified during construction, with a shorter and stumpier version being completed in about 1817 after a break in work due to financial difficulties and a dispute between Harrison and the builder. Unfortunately the obelisk soon started to deteriorate, and eventually collapsed in a storm in 1862. The rest of the structure continued to decay until 1970 when it underwent restoration, and in 2013 it again required significant restoration work. Here’s the Coflein description of the Jubilee Tower:

The Jubilee Tower in the Edwardian period. Source: BBC News

The monument now survives as a battered plinth, 12-15m diameter, of roughly coursed rubble stone. Located on a mound which may be artificial. Each face has a central blind doorway of dressed stone, in simple Egyptian style, under a roll-moulded lintel; roughly hewn cornice or hoodmould. Above these blind openings are broad rectangular panels of dressed freestone with roll-moulded surrounds. The corners of the monument have stone and concrete steps, starting from low square projections, which lead to the centre of the monument. Inside are the circular rubble stone footings of a former higher section of tower, 6m in diameter. Around the outside of the monument is a renewed retaining wall 0.5-1m high, open at the corners. A plaque reads ‘Cefn Gwlad award 1970’, with Prince of Wales emblems.

The Egyptian Revival followed Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798. He took with him over 100 specialists, the “savants,” amongst whom were artists and draughtsmen who recorded the ancient Egyptian temples.

One of the first and very popular books to publish these images was Dominique Vivant-Denon’s “Journeys in Upper and Lower Egypt” published in 1802. Even before Jean-François Champollion’s translation of hieroglyphs in 1822, and over a century before Howard Carter’s discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922, Egypt had wriggled its way firmly into the British imagination. Even so, I would love to have been at the meeting where plonking a pseudo-Egyptian monument on the top of a remote beauty spot in honour of the king’s jubilee was presented as a such a good idea that people invested in it.

Moel y Gaer hillfort is the green beret on top of the pinkish-brown supr

Also on the top of the temple are plaques showing the names of the hills all around, with Cadair Idris and Snowdonia visible as silvery silhouettes through the slight haze, and the Moel Arthur hillfort next along on the Clwydian Range.

Looking northeast towards Prestatyn across Moel Arthur and Penycloddiau hillforts from the top of Jubilee Tower

View from the main path to Moel y Gaer hillfort

If you are a fan of the Iron Age this is a terrific walk. The path passes Moel y Gaer, which sits on a spur of the hillside, and is a piece of absolute perfection. It is not on a public footpath, but it is clearly visible from the main route up Moel Famau. Its banks and ditches form an elegant tiara, and its position overlooking the Vale of Clwyd is superb. Once you have reached the peak of Moel Famau, the hill housing the Moel Arthur hillfort is clearly visible, with Penycloddiau beyond. Foel Fenlli is a walk in its own right, but it is an important part of the walk back down from Moel Famau, because its vast banks and ditches are clearly outlined against a bright sky, yelling its late prehistoric credentials, a far more aggressive and prominent statement than Moel y Gaer.

The impressive fortifications of Foel Fenlli, as seen from the Moel y Gaer path

Apart from the acres of dark brown heather and the bright spring green of the valley below, there is not a lot of plant life to see at this time of year, although it is very striking without a floral contribution. The heather, dark chestnut brown and lifeless at this time of year, has been cut into a peculiar pattern of rectangles to encourage new growth, apparently for the benefit of wildlife. There is not much in the way of shrubs and the trees in the wood are conifer plantations. There are plenty of birds of prey if you have equipped yourself with binoculars. I look forward to visiting again when the heather is in flower in late summer, which should be stunning.

It is about a 40 minute walk up, although I forgot to take a note of the times in either direction and have the impression that it took me only about half an hour back down, with extra time added for pausing to enjoy the views and for lazy mellowing and exploring the monument at the top. I am something of a route-marcher, so that needs to be taken into account. You can walk on beyond Moel Famau in various directions on public footpaths. Most obviously the path continues, in a much narrower form, across the Clwydian Range, which looks like an absolutely splendid option. If you have the energy, you can walk to the village of Bodfari, in another pass through the Clwydian Range, whilst the Offa’s Dyke Trail goes all the way to Prestatyn. In the opposite direction, you can follow the route over Foel Fenlli all the way to Chirk, skirting the dramatic Eglyseg Mountain and passing Castell Dinas Bran and the Pontcysyllte aqueduct.

It was one of those spring days when everyone looked as though they had been released from a cage, shedding winter like a bad memory. Super. To read more about the environment and archaeology of the Clwydian Range and Llantysilio Mountains see the PDF produced by the Heather and Hillforts project.

Aerial view of the Clwydian Range. Coflein image 662395. Source: Coflein

A sunny spring canal walk south from Waverton to Golden Nook Bridge

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Waverton to Golden Nook Bridge

In late October last year I took advantage of a beautiful sunny day to walk the towpath along the Shropshire Union canal from Waverton towards Chester, which I posted about here. A couple of days ago the sky was clear and the sun was out, so I grabbed my rucksack and some damp-proof footwear (needed, as it was distinctly soggy underfoot) and headed out to do the section of the canal between Waverton and the wonderfully named Golden Nook Bridge, near the village of Hargrave, to its south. It took about an hour and a quarter each way at a brisk pace, stopping to take photos and chat to other walkers. It was a rewarding walk, even at this time of year when there were only a few signs of spring beginning to make its mark. Because of the season, the light meant that the walk provided two different experiences, there and back, with a silvery, ethereal light on the way out and a much more colourful walk on the return leg. The birdsong was particularly lovely, and I have added a 36-second video at the end that was done purely to catch something of that sound. I was lucky enough to see a kingfisher, a flash of bright orange as it settled on a branch followed by a flash of bright, electric blue as it took off. It was too fast for me to photograph, but an absolute treat to see.

Waverton is just off the A41, so very easy to reach.The car park is quite small, with a capacity for about 20 cars, but at 11am there were only a few other cars parked up. The What3Words address for the car park is ///fingertip.snored.deals.

To start the walk walk from the car park to the canal, just a few steps away, and turn right, heading south. During the first couple of minutes the canal passes homes on the other side of the canal. There is a section where it passes a golf course on the opposite side, but it is soon a very rural route with open fields flanking the canal. Long Lane suddenly appears to the right as you walk south, the quiet stretch of road running parallel to the canal. Shortly after this, official moorings begin on the other side of the canal, with a line of narrow boats and small cruising boats as far as the eye could see. I stopped at Golden Nook Bridge and turned back, but the moorings presumably continue all the way to Tattenhall Marina.

St Peter’s Church, Waverton

In total, there and back, the walk took about 2 1/2 – 3 hours, all on the flat. Unlike the section towards Chester this part of the towpath is not metalled, and can be very uneven underfoot with tree roots and stones poking through. It was also quite muddy after several weeks of rainfall.

View from Golden Nook Bridge and beyond to the sandstone ridge

Golden Nook Bridge, looking from the south and returning towards Waverton

36 seconds of birdsong from one of the canal bridges, taken on my smartphone. There is a little interference from the breeze, but you can hear the birds giving forth wonderfully.

Snowy fields, copses and lanes between Churton and Aldford

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This is a pretty-pics post. It was a beautiful sunny January day today, after quite a lot of snowfall overnight. My garden was smothered in snow, and the car was fully shrouded. Even so, the sunshine was very warm and it was beginning to melt when I left the house at something past 11am, heading for Aldford and returning via the Roman Road (marked on the map at the end as Churton by Aldford FP9), making a good circuit. The views across the snow-covered fields to the hills to the east and west were lovely, but as always on these snowy walks, sometimes it is the close-up detail that is most lovely.

There is a map showing the route at the end. The whole walk, there and back, takes about an hour and a half, perhaps two hours if you are strolling rather than keeping up a brisk pace. To see what much of the same walk looked like in April 2021, here’s the earlier post. For those who like to include a destination on their walks, Churton has the attractive White Horse public house, and Aldford has the larger and venerable Grosvenor Arms. Both do good food and are warm and comfortable.

If you are interested in the Roman road, it is marked as Churton By Aldford FP9 on the map at the end, along the blue arrow return section of the walk, and I have posted about the road and the walk along the road, in two parts, starting here.

View over the fields to Beeston Crag and the medieval castle

The Welsh foothills

The Grosvenor Arms, Aldford

The first section of Roman road

A much clearer section of the Roman road, well used by farm traffic

The route taken from Churton to Aldford (red arrows) and back (blue arrows). The red dot marks the Grosvenor Public House, and the blue dot marks the White Horse. Source of map: Cheshire West and Chester Public Map Viewer.

A stunning late autumn sun-filled walk at Bickerton Hill, with lovely views

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On Tuesday I took advantage of the beautiful sunshine, wrapped myself up like the Michelin Man, and went on an Iron Age hillfort hunt – Maiden Castle on the National Trust’s Bickerton Hill, to be precise. The hillfort is, as they often are, rather easier to get to grips with from the air and in plans and illustrations, but it was still really good to see it on the ground. I have written up Maiden Castle on a separate post here. The real joy of the day were the deep blue skies and the slanting late autumn sunshine as it cut through the spectrum of reds, copper-oranges and yellows, and put a great golden spotlight on the bright, emerald green of the Cheshire plain below. Utterly stunning.

The walk leads from the car park up to the ridge that overlooks most dramatically across the west Cheshire plain towards the Clwydian Range, with views too across east Cheshire. I walked up from the Goldford Lane car park, a gentle slope across red sandy soil and sandstone slabs to the ridge, and then walked first in one direction towards and beyond the hillfort, and then retraced my steps to go along the ridge in the other direction, before returning to the car. An alternative is to do one of a number of circular walks, one of which is shown below. Whichever route you take, it is really spectacular on a sunny autumnal day. Visiting details at the end.

Click to enlarge

Google Map of Bickerton Hill and Maiden Castle

The hill was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1979. Interestingly (and unfortunately) the former heathland environment underwent ecological change when cattle and sheep ceased to be grazed on the hill during the 1950s, allowing birch, oak and endless swathes of bracken to gain a foothold, killing off the natural bilberries and heather. Although very beautifully copper-coloured in the autumn sun, the bracken, Pteridium aquilinum, has a number of worrying ecological downsides to it, described here on the “Moorland Association” website. Most of the silver birches and oaks are still very young, but in places the silver birch in particular forms dense clumps. The National Trust has now initiated a project of long-term work to re-establish large areas of heathland on the hill.

Bickerton Hill nature conservation

Visiting is easy. The hill is just south of the main Wrexham-Broxton-Nantwich road (the A534). There are two car parks, one on either side of the hill. I used the one off Goldford Lane, which is a large free parking area, with a shallow slope uphill towards the ridge. The What3Words location is ///device.emulating.upwardly. The National Trust page for the site can be found at: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cheshire-greater-manchester/alderley-edge-and-cheshire-countryside/things-to-do-at-bickerton-hill#rt-visit-maiden-castle.

You can download a leaflet about the hill and the hillfort here, including what looks like an excellent walk taking in Brown Knowl, on the Cheshire Sandstone Ridge website: https://www.sandstoneridge.org.uk/lib/file-323329.pdf

The geology of the sandstone trail can also be investigated on the Cheshire Sandstone Ridge website at: https://www.sandstoneridge.org.uk/geology.html

My video from the top of the ridge:

A very beautiful autumnal sunshine walk along the Wirral estuary from Burton to Parkgate

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Beautiful feathers on a bird of prey, possibly a kestrel, at Burton, Wirral

Yesterday seemed, at first, to have been doomed from the off, but after an unpromising start, instead of the planned expedition I found myself grabbing the camera and car keys before heading up the Wirral to Burton to park up along the estuary and go for a very fine walk along part of the Wirral section of the King Charles III England Coast Path. I hadn’t even parked when I saw the above bird of prey, possibly a kestrel, which politely held position whilst I scrambled out of the car. A perfect way to turn around a failed start to the day.

I had previously made a short visit to the estuary cycle track and walk in the past, simply to get a good look at the purported Iron Age promontory fort on Burton Point, but although it was enjoyable, it was a short stroll because the skies opened and I got drenched. Today, with no risk of rain, I decided to walk from Burton towards Parkgate, which I guessed to be about an hour’s walk each way. When I reached the “You are Here” board (with which the walk is dotted at key points) at Moorside, alongside Parkgate Spring and on the very edge of Parkgate, this was a full hour.

Parking is easy along the section of Station Road that lies along the estuary for the Burton to Moorside (near Parkgate) section of the “King Charles III England Coast Path” (What3Words: ///glows.lung.headsets). Source: Google Maps

Parking for this particular walk is along the section of Station Road that runs along the side of the estuary, indicated by the red circle on the map.

The walk itself begins along the section of Denhall Lane that turns along the side of the estuary and passes a café, as indicated by the black arrow on the map. Although vehicles are permitted as far as the café (just beyond the left edge of the map), they are banned beyond this point.

This first stretch of metalled lane is dominated by dog walkers and cyclists. Do keep an ear open for the cyclists as they can pick up a lot of speed along the lane and don’t always give a lot of notice of their impending arrival. The path goes through various changes. After some time it parts from the lane and becomes much more of a footpath with rough stone underfoot, which probably accounts for why the cyclists vanish from the scene at this point. At one stage it becomes a track across a field, although there is a route around this in wet weather that diverts inland for a while. The entire walk is well maintained with pedestrian gates and bridges where needed. One field had horses in it, so do take care if you are walking dogs.

Scenically, the walk is always split between two different experiences to left and right. The views across both wetlands and former wetlands to the Welsh foothills to the southwest are lovely on a sunny day, and you can keep an eye open for bird life. On the other side of the path, immediately hugging its edges, there is an almost uninterrupted run of very fine hedgerows and trees. At this time of year there is not a great deal to see on the estuary, although I was delighted to see lovely white egrets in a distant blue pool, as well as a couple of birds of prey hovering splendidly overhead. Most of the flowers in the estuary have gone over, but the autumnal leaves, berries, rose-hips and other fruits of the shrubs and hedges and the multiple colours of the changing leaves on trees along the paths were endless and superb, really gorgeous against a blue sky with the sun shining on them.

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Nearing Neston I spotted a line of vast red sandstone blocks extending out into the estuary vegetation, and a small spur of land also extends out at this point. An information board explains that this is part of the Neston Colliery, Denhall Quay. There is a particularly good book about the collieries, The Neston Collieries, 1759–1855: An Industrial Revolution in Rural Cheshire (Anthony Annakin-Smith, second edition), published by the University of Chester, which I read and enjoyed a few years ago. The sandstone blocks are massive, and as well as retaining original metalwork, one of them has become a memorial stone, as has one of the trees on the small spur of land. The line of sandstone, now a piece of industrial archaeology, is a very small hint of the extensive work that once took place here, but is an important one. The author of the above-mentioned book refers to it in a short online page here, from which the following is taken:

There are still some signs today of the old mining operations. Most prominent is Denhall Quay, the remains of which still jut out into the Dee Estuary. This was built in 1791 and was used to ship coal to North Wales, Ireland and occasionally to foreign countries, as well as inland via newly-built canals. Also, if you know where to look it is possible to trace the location of many of the shafts that were once in use, including one hidden behind a brick wall in Riverside Walk. Easier and arguably more rewarding to find is The Harp Inn! The building was standing in the mines’ earliest days and records show it was a public house for the miners no later than 1813 and probably much earlier. It has several photos on its walls from the mines’ later days.

This is the point that I turned around and walked back. The image immediately above the map shows point where the Parkgate Spring emerges, very audible but not actually visible.

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There are very few places to sit down along the walk, so I would recommend that if you need to rest your legs occasionally, you take your own portable seating. Regarding refreshments, I have mentioned Net’s Café, near the Burton end. I haven’t visited and apparently there’s no website, but it is just off Denhall Lane and it is listed on Trip Advisor here. There is also a very good pub called The Harp, which I actually have visited, with outdoor tables immediately overlooking the wetlands towards the Welsh hills, just outside Little Neston. The food being served there looked excellent, and I can give a solid thumbs-up for the cider. The pub was particularly well situated for my return from Parkgate as the zoom lens on my camera, a particular beauty that has been worryingly on the twitch for weeks, suddenly stopped working and was now, just to ram home the overall message, rattling. A glass of cider and a seat in the sun were perfect for jury-rigging the wretched thing so that the zoom now worked like an old-fashioned telescope and the camera’s autofocus, which was refusing point-blank to engage in conversation with the lens, could be operated manually on the lens itself. Sigh. New lens on order.

If you can do this walk in September when the berries are at their best, do take the opportunity, because it is stunning, particularly on a sunny day. And all on the flat too, so entirely appropriate for unwilling legs.
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2025 Open Day of the CRAG excavations at Bryneglwys, Llantysilio Mountain

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Many thanks to the Clwydian Range Archaeology Group (CRAG) for organizing an Open Day to the Bryneglwys excavations on 9th August 2025, and to Dr Ian Brooks of Engineering Archaeological Services (EAS), who is consulting for CRAG, for an excellent guided tour of the Bryneglwys archaeological site. The volunteer excavators, all CRAG members, were remarkably tolerant of us peering into their trenches as they worked. Thanks are due too to Dr Pauline Clarke for arranging for Chester Archaeological Society members to visit. The site is on private land, so visits are by invitation only, and it was a great opportunity to get a feel not only for the pioneering nature of the excavations, but also for the way in which that particular landscape has been used over long periods of time. I attended with another CAS member, Helen Anderson, and we both enjoyed it enormously.

The site sits on the west-facing lower slopes of the Llantysilio mountain near Bryneglwys, with views both across the valley and down the valley towards the southwest. Unlike the Clwydian range, which runs broadly north to south, with a tilt towards the east, the main line of the Llantysilio mountain runs roughly northeast to southwest, with the valley of Afon Morwynion along its western edge, crossing below the end of the Clwydian Range. It is now followed by the A5104 from Llandegla to Corwen, with the A494 picking up the route of the River Dee, and following it to Bala and Lake Tegid, and beyond into midwest Wales. This has almost certainly been an important route connecting northern and middle parts of Wales with the English northwest at least since the end of the last Ice Age, with Iron Age hillforts standing prominent guard over much of the route.

The undulating Llantisylio mountain rising above the village and site of Bryneglwys, its ridge marked by a prominent modern trackway

Research goals

When it was established, the remit of the Bryneglwys project was partly to investigate potential sites identified by the landowner, a keen supporter of the excavations. It was thought that at least one of the sites might be an early-mid Bronze Age cairn. As sites from the period are an important aspect of northeast Wales, and there are very few known from the Llantysilio mountain, this was an opportunity to improve knowledge on the subject and extend an understanding of how these sites were distributed both locally and in northeast Wales. Given the relative proximity of two Iron Age hillforts. Given the proximity of an Iron Age hillfort, it was not out of the question that Iron Age data might be recovered.

View to the west of the lower Bryneglwys excavation area

The medieval history of the area was also taken into account. Bryneglwys village is first mentioned by name in documents in 1284. Its church, which dates to the late 15th or early 16th century, contains a 14th century slab. Not far away, just outside Llangollen are the ruins of the 1201 the Cistercian abbey of Valle Crucis, established in 1201 and forced to close in 1537, which may have owned farm property in this location. The economic activities of Valle Crucis Cistercian monastery near Llangollen are not well documented and any archaeological evidence contributing information would obviously be useful. The Clwyd and Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT) report on the subject of granges in northeast Wales collated the information available, but is far from definitive on the subject, and it would be very useful to know if a grange had indeed been established in the Bryneglwys area.

Finally, as usual in rural landscape investigations, seeing what else turned up in the process, including far more recent use of the landscape, was very much part of project scope and has produced some interesting results about changes agricultural land use and the challenges of dealing with drought conditions.
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Survey and excavations

Initial surveys

The Bryneglwys project has produced some revealing results touching on some if not all of these areas of interest. The initial investigation focused on non-invasive topographical and geophysical surveys, the combination of which determined where the initial excavations should take place. The topographical investigations located areas where potential archaeological and historical features are visible to the eye, including field boundaries, trackways, a natural spring uphill from the known archaeological features, and evidence of ridge-and-furrow agriculture. The online resource Archwilio was employed to supplement ground-level observations by providing a birds-eye view of the location. The geophysical surveys, allowing the team to assess what might lie beneath the surface level, identified features that seemed non-natural and might be man-made. The excavations have been following up on some of these initial investigations.

Like the Clwydian Range, the Llantisylio mountain has a ridge that is now covered in moorland scrub, although the remains ridge and furrow ploughing show that it was cultivated during the Middle Ages. The lower slopes at Bryneglwys, having been cultivated and/or grazed for centuries, are largely fee of moorland scrub. The geological bedrock over which all the Bryneglwys excavations are located is composed of the same cleaved Silurian siltstones that I mentioned on my Dinas Bran post, and look horrendous to excavate. The current excavations have been taking place either side of a boundary marked by a low turfed stone wall topped with shrubs dating from at least 1740, fields that are now used for herding sheep, although they were ploughed in the past. Although there were findings of a few Mesolithic tools, which are often found in the area, the main discoveries were far more substantial.

Bronze Age ring cairn and associated finds

Bryneglwys composite photographs of the ring cairn, excavated over two seasons. Source: Clwydian Range Archaeology Group

On the upper side of the boundary wall, the furthest away from the valley floor, the most exciting find to date has been the discovery of a Bronze Age ring cairn, the diameter of which was around 7m. All four quadrants were excavated over two seasons,

It is thought that the monument probably started life as a small stone circle with upright stones, some modified, and that the structure was later adapted into a banked ring into which the cremated bones and artefacts were deposited on a clay base before being topped with a low cairn. There were four other deposits of cremated bone and charcoal. The repeated use of cairns is a normal for the period, indicating the importance of these sites from one generation to the next.

The cremated human remains were found together with some pieces of pottery. One of these was a large but very poorly fired piece around 120mm in diameter, found upright in the ground just outside the main ring of boulders. The rim was missing, probably due to plough activity.

Pottery vessel as it was found at the ring cairn, Bryneglwys. Source: Clwydian Range Archaeology Group

Although this poorly fired vessel with the rim missing does not look particularly exceptional today, it was an important contribution to the ring cairn

There were also around 40 sherds of other pottery in the cairn accompanying the cremated remains, some with attractive cord-impressed designs that were perhaps intended emulate basketry.

Pottery sherds from Bryneglwys ring cairn. Source: Clwydian Range Archaeology Group

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One of the cremations was deposited in a circle of stones, which was deposited with a quartz crystal and one of two flint arrowheads found at the site. There were a number of tools made on flint and chert, including two barbed and tanged arrowheads, thumbnail scrapers and a small knife blade. The flint was very fine and may have been imported. Tools made on chert were also found. As well as those in the ring cairn itself, there was also a flint scatter which is at present focused around the ring cairn. The amount of flint has been unusual for the area, and is of particular interest.
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Remarkably, over 150 pieces of quartz were found in and around the circle, and include a range of different forms and types.

A sample of some of the quarts items found in the ring cairn. Source: Clwydian Range Archaeology Group

There were also a large number of other more general-purpose but important tools like hammer stones and shale disk-shaped items, the function of which is uncertain but look rather like lids. Most of the finds from the site are currently on show at a temporary exhibition in the Llangollen Museum but some were on display on a table in the field serving as a car park, together with photographs of those on loan to the exhibition.

The volume of finds in the site has clearly been both rewarding and very informative, providing new insights into the funerary and ceremonial tradition in the area. The site has now been refilled.

Standing on the refilled excavation of the ring cairn, looking towards the southwest

As ring cairns are rarely found in isolation, the team immediately went looking for similar sites, and a little to the south opened a sample trench, which has unearthed the foundations of another circular cairn which needs to be fully excavated in order to reveal more details.

Lines of sight are an important element of landscape archaeology. Because so little is known about what, if any, contemporary sites may have been located in the vicinity, this cannot yet be achieved. Another reason for its position, however, may have been the views from across the valley to the west and down the valley towards Rhug, with distant hilltops figuring as prominent markers not only as landmarks in their own right but also as markers of important routes below that ultimately lead to northwest and midwest Wales, including the Cadair Idris and Snowdonia areas respectively. The later hillforts, dating to the late Bronze Age and Iron Age that adorn some of these hilltops are indications of the importance of these routes and of the need to protect resources.

The horseshoe feature

The horse-shoe shaped feature, with boulders along one of the banks. Excavated but not yet understood, radiocarbon dates should at least help to establish when it was constructed

Another site that was excavated and has now been refilled was a horse-shoe shaped feature defined by a bank with what looked like an entrance interrupting it on its western side. Apart from a small group of stones, a large one of which seems to have a cup mark, and some evidence of burning on the flat floor of the feature, this nearly sterile. Sufficient burnt debris has survived to be sent for radiocarbon dating. Photographs of the cup-marked surface have been sent to an expert on the subject and it seems probable that this is indeed an example of a form of stone marking common to upland areas during the Bronze Age.

The horse-shoe shaped site produced what is probably a cup-marked stone. Source: CRAG Facebook page

The other excavated areas

In the final days of this year’s work, during which further geophysical survey has been carried out, three excavated areas were opened on the basis of previous geophysical survey results, and were being worked on by volunteers during our visit. At the moment it is not at all clear what the features uncovered represent, and nor is it known when they may date to. A piece of medieval pottery from one of the trenches is not particularly informative.

Although it would be very nice if some information about land management during prehistoric and medieval periods became available, this is clearly some way off at the moment, but by no means out of the scope of the project should it gain future funding.
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General Context

There is no mention of the Llantysilio mountain in my fairly thorough collection of books about prehistoric Wales, and looking at the Ordnance Survey map, there are only two archaeological sites marked in the vicinity, both Iron Age hillforts. One of these is Moel y Gaer, about 2km as the crow flies, but uphill all the way, roughly east from Bryneglwys village (not to be confused with either of the two of the same name on the Clwydian Range). The other is Caer Drewyn (about which I have posted here) and is around 7km to the southwest. The usually helpful Megalithic Portal had nothing else to add. Archwilio is somewhat more informative, but makes it clear that this is still an area that is surprisingly short on recorded prehistoric data when compared with, for example, the Clwydian Range or the nearby Eglwyseg mountain. Further information is provided by Heneb, which comments that there are “Bronze Age hilltop burial monuments on Moel y Gamelin and Gribin Oernant” (on their Llantysilio Mountain HLCA 1142 page).

The Archwilio website shows possible sites (unexcavated) in the Bryneglwys area, as well as the Iron Age hillfort Moel y Gaer (not to be confused with those of the same name on the Clywdian Range)

This emphasis on the survival of cairns and ceremonial sites in the archaeological record is typical. Settlement data is very thin on the ground anywhere in Britain, because having been built in perishable materials, they have decayed into the ground. Archaeological data is therefore skewed towards funerary sites, which probably also double as statements of identity and territorial affiliation. Ceremonial sites are known throughout Wales, although in northeast Wales these are rarely found. The function of henges (banked and ditched enclosures, with ditches on the inside) and stone or timber circles seems, in northeast Wales, to have been either irrelevant or was incorporated into cairn designs, like ring cairns, that combined funerary and ceremonial functions.

Distribution of round barrows and cairns in Wales after c.2100BC – c.1600BC. Source: Burrow 2011, p.106

Looking in general terms at the early to mid Bronze Age of northeast Wales, beginning a little before 2100BC and lasting to around 1600BC, there are plenty of round cairns on the Clwydian range, the Eglwyseg range, and Ruabon mountain, apparently coinciding with improvement in climatic conditions. Writing in 2004 Steve Burrows noted that a survey by Cadw had identified 17 cairns on the Clwydian Range alone; and more have been identified since then. These are just a small sample of the 1000s that have been found throughout Wales as a whole. It is interesting to note that most of these are on, rather than above, worked land. Although most of those remaining are on uplands, the presence of lowland and valley bottom locations indicates that even though many of those on land attractive to more recent farmers may have been ploughed out, they were certainly there. On the least attractive land for cultivation, pastoral herding was probably favoured, requiring smaller groups and greater mobility for at least part of the year.

Most of the remains interred in cairns are cremated, and represent a tiny proportion of the population, indicating that communities were singling out particular individuals for burial. Where sufficient bone has been preserved amongst the cremated remains, it has been determined that these may be adults, children or infants, male and female. The presence of children may or may not suggest that a sense of family lineage was involved. Unfortunately DNA testing techniques are problematic and so far no familial connections have been proved within Bronze Age cairns in Britain.

Barbed and tangled arrowhead from the Bryneglwys ringcairn. Source: Clwydian Range Archaeology Group

Grave goods accompanied many, but not all of the interments. The Bryneglwys ring cairn burials were accompanied, probably added at different times, with pottery and flint tools and flakes, but some sites have produced no objects, whilst others contained more elaborate items. The single most famous example of a grave object dominating the narrative is the Mold Cape (about which I have posted previously here) but less remarkable sites include some well preserved pottery, quantities of well-crafted stone tools and some objects made of copper and bronze. Flint tools may seem more mundane, but many were beautifully crafted and, in the case of flint, the material itself may have had a certain amount of status. Some raw flint can be found on beaches and in glacial deposits, it is only rarely of high quality, suggesting that where fine flint is found, like the Bryneglwys flint used for tool manufacture, it could have been imported.

In terms of landscape use in northeast Wales the proliferation of cairns suggests there was a requirement for display of belief and ideology, and perhaps identity or territoriality, in the positioning of highly visible funerary monuments in land that could also be employed for either crop growing or pastoral herding. Although the western valley, slopes and heights of the Llantysilio mountain have not revealed much information about land use in the Bronze Age, the Bryneglwys excavations are beginning to add to this wider regional knowledge base of information.

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Final Comments

The mapped Llantysilio site data suggest that although the current Bryneglwys excavations by CRAG are not in completely virgin territory, there are considerable gaps in knowledge and the work is pioneering in terms of starting to do a professional job of opening up the landscape archaeology of the Llantysilio mountain area. There’s real knowledge buried in them there hills.

For those interested in exploring further, the Bryneglwys excavations are being carried out on private land, but to get a sense of the landscape there is a track across the Llantysilion mountain, taking in Moel y Gaer hillfort and offering wide views of the surrounding hills and valleys, which can be approached from the Horseshoe Pass. Bryneglwys itself is bisected by the Welsh Cistercian Way, a modern creation, but an interesting one that focuses on monastic sites in Wales and is featured by the British Pilgrimage Trust. The site is also located just south of the line of the 122 mile (196km) Clwydian Way, a long-distance walking trail that was established by members of the Ramblers’ Association as a Millennium Project in 2000. Website links below.

Thanks again to the team for a great visit.
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Sources

The guided tour by Dr Ian Brooks (Engineering Archaeological Services on behalf of CRAG) on 9th August 2025 was the primary source of information about the excavations, with particular thanks to Dr Brooks for taking time out of his busy life to go over my first draft and suggest corrections, and for forwarding CRAG suggestions regarding my account of the ring cairn excavation. Much appreciated!

The Ordnance Survey map for this area is the Explorer 256, Wrexham and Llangollen

Books and papers

Brown, Ian. 2004. Discovering a Welsh Landscape. Archaeology in the Clwydian Range. Windgather Press

Burrow, Steve. 2011. Shadowland. Wales 3000-1500BC. Oxbow / National Museum of Wales

Jenkins, David A. 1991. The Environment: Past and Present. In (eds.) John Manley, Stephen Grenter and Fiona Gale. The Archaeology of Clwyd. Clwyd County Council

Jones, Glanville 1991. Medieval Settlement. In (eds.) John Manley, Stephen Grenter and Fiona Gale. The Archaeology of Clwyd. Clwyd County Council

Lynch, Frances, 2000. The Later Neolithic and Earlier Bronze Age. In (eds.) Frances Lynch, Stephen Aldhouse-Green and Jeffrey L. Davies. Sutton, p.79-138.

Pratt, D., 2011. Valle Crucis abbey: lands and charters. Transactions of the Denbighshire Historical Society 59, p.9-55

Williams, D.H., 1990. Atlas of Cistercian Lands. University of Wales Press
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Websites

(in order of usefulness for this topic)

Clwydian Range Archaeology Group
Website
https://cragnorthwales.wordpress.com/
Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/CRAGNorthWales

CBA Newsletters
No. 64. Autumn 2022:
Excavation of a Ring Cairn at Bryneglwys, Denbighshire From CBA Wales
https://cragnorthwales.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/newsletter-report-in-publisher.pdf
No. 66. Autumn 2023:
Excavation of a Ring Cairn at Bryneglwys, Denbighshire (Part 2) by The Clwydian Range Archaeology Group (CRAG), p.13-15
https://cragnorthwales.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/20231017-cba-wales-newsletter-66-autumn-2023.pdf

Clwydian Range and Dee Valley
The Dee Valley
https://www.clwydianrangeanddeevalleyaonb.org.uk/projects/the-dee-valley/

Archwilio
Denbighshire (search under “Bryneglwys” to centre in on the area)
https://archwilio.org.uk/her/chi3/arch.php?county=Denbighshire&lang=eng

Clwyd and Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT)
CPAT Report No. 1340. The Monastic Granges of East Wales. A Scheduling Enhancement Project. By R.J. Silvester and R. Hankinson, March 2015
https://coflein.gov.uk/media/241/979/652240.pdf
Historic Settlements in Denbighshire. CPAT Report no.1257. By R.J. Silvester, C.H.R. Martin and S.E. Watson, March 2014, p.14-15
https://coflein.gov.uk/media/287/517/652224.pdf

Coflein
Moel y Gaer hillfort, Llantysilio mountain
https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/306813/

Heneb
Llantysilio Mountain, Brynegleys, Corwen and Llantysilio Communities, Denbighshire (HLCA 1142)
https://heneb.org.uk/hcla/vale-of-llangollen-and-eglwyseg/llantysilio-mountain-brynegleys-corwen-and-llantysilio-communities-denbighshire-hlca-1142/
Llantysilio Mountain and Moel y Gaer Hillfort (walk and background history)
https://heneb.org.uk/archive/cpat/walks/moelygaer.pdf

Megalithic Portal
Moel y Gaer, Llantysilio
https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=14086

Based In Churton
Who was Brymbo Man, what was the Mold Cape and why do they matter? (3-part series)
https://basedinchurton.co.uk/2023/03/18/part-1-who-was-brymbo-man-what-was-the-mold-cape-and-why-do-they-matter/
Caer Drewyn, Corwen
https://basedinchurton.co.uk/2023/09/11/sunshine-and-great-views-at-caer-drewyn-iron-age-hillfort-at-corwen/
Valle Crucis Cistercian Abbey
https://basedinchurton.co.uk/2021/11/23/monastic-northeast-wales-and-west-cheshire-2-valle-crucis/

The British Pilgrimage Trust
The Welsh Cistercian Way
British Pilgrimage Trust
https://www.britishpilgrimage.org/portfolio/welsh-cistercian-way
The Welsh Cistercian Way on Google
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1nDf0d1rqf5P5uWJDDYvg2i8L8Lo&hl=en&femb=1&ll=53.02208569877805%2C-3.2900072936767533&z=15

The Clwydian Way
This area lies in section 9, but note that to follow the trail requires a paid subscription to the Ordnance Survey online.
https://www.clwydianway.co.uk/

Engineering Archaeological Services Ltd
http://eas-archaeology.co.uk/

The site of the ring cairn, refilled after the excavation

Thanks to Helen Anderson for this photograph of the 11am Open Day group standing by the ring cairn and the scene towards the southwest in the distance (copyright Helen Anderson)

The fabulous nature reserve at the RSPB’s Burton Mere Wetlands

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When I got up this morning and saw what a beautiful day awaited, I decided on the spur of the moment to go to the RSPB nature reserve on the Dee estuary at Burton.

Burton village, well-kept and firmly manicured, is located on the southwest of the Wirral, about 20 minutes drive out of Chester, an area now better known for giving its name to the nearby wetlands. The wetlands are divided into two separate entities. The first is the splendidly well organized and laid out nature reserve operated by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (the RSPB) which was specially set up for the benefit of birds and bird watchers, but accommodates general visitors too. There is also a route through the wetlands on the far side of the RSPB reserve, and extending well beyond it, which is the Sustrans route number 568, developed for cyclists but welcoming walkers. It crosses the wetlands from Connah’s Quay, meeting the Wirral peninsula at just above Burton Point, and continuing on to Neston. They provide two very different but both marvellous experiences of the wetland scenery. I have already posted a short piece about my short visit to the Sustrans cycle and walking route in the Burton Point area, although I want to walk the whole thing eventually.

A lapwing stretching its wings, whilst a common sandpiper stands by unimpressed

The RSPB wetland reserve

Greylag geese with their bright orange beaks at the RSPB’s Burton Mere

Several miles of wetland are enclosed within the RSPB reserve, which attract thousands of birds of many different species, with the river Dee invisible along the far edge of north Wales. The canalization of the Dee, completed in 1737, completely changed the environmental conditions of this part of the estuary, forcing the river to run along the Welsh edge of the estuary. The canalized channel of the Dee is not visible from the nature reserve, but the miles of wetland are lovely. There are huge expanses of pond and small lake, as well as flooded wetlands in the distance. On a bright day with blue skies overhead it is gorgeous. The reserve backs on to farmland at the rear, includes a woodland walk, and has a very attractive red sandstone railway bridge crossing the tracks below and even boasts the remains of an Iron Age hillfort which, if somewhat puzzling as an archaeological entity, has lovely views along the estuary towards Hilbre Island and across to north Wales.

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For bird watchers there is an enclosed viewing room where the ticket office is located, and throughout the reserve there are coverts and hides like the one above, all of them with benches, and all with windows suitable for both seated and standing visitors, and there are also viewing screens and viewing platforms dotted throughout.

For less specialist visitors there are some splendid wending walks through the reserve, where water-loving plant and tree species abound, many in flower or producing berries at this time of year, and all providing a myriad of colours and textures over a base of deep greens and rich browns, which provide excellent resources for insect life. The plants are so dense that where there is water running beneath boardwalks the water is scarcely visible.

The walks are all nice and even underfoot, many of the boardwalks coated in wire mesh to prevent them becoming slippery, and it is all beautifully maintained. Being located on the side of the estuary, the nature reserve is nearly all on the flat. All the main walks are wheelchair friendly, as are the hides and coverts. There are actually four miles of signposted walks, as well as the woodland walk, which takes about half an hour. There are plenty of benches dotted around for a moment of relaxation and contemplation. Burton Point, at the furthest end of the nature reserve, is a tiny headland, which involves walking a short way up a slight slope and an informal footpath, and offers some great views along the estuary. It is supposed to be the site of a small Iron Age promontory hillfort, but the evidence for this is difficult to see, although an interpretation sign does its best to offer a visualization of how it may have looked.

Even if you are not a regular bird watcher, the water birds are fascinating. There are plenty of information boards showing what you are likely to see, and there is a whiteboard in the reception area showing a list of what has been spotted on a given and previous days. Binoculars and cameras with enormous lenses (one of them in camouflage colours!) were very much in evidence and I soon found at why – my nice all-round lens, a 28-300mm zoom, was struggling desperately at its top end, and something much more powerful would have been helpful. Do note that you can hire or buy binoculars from the reception area to get a better view of what birdlife is spending its time on the wetlands. At this time of year the geese dominate, both in numbers and in voice. Their honking can be heard wherever you are in the reserve, even when you can’t see them, There were Canada and greylag geese in great numbers, and a handful of Egyptian geese sunbathing on the far side of one of the stretches of open water, but there are plenty of other species too.

Greylag geese at the RSPB's Burton Mere nature reserve

There was something distinctly conversational, and rather cross, going on here, and you should have heard the honking!

Of the smaller water birds, as well as the familiar moorhens, coots and mallards, there were gorgeous lapwings and a variety of small wading birds, with slender legs and long beaks, including a common sandpiper that was distinguished by its rusty coloured plumage. There were multiple grey herons looking like statues, waiting patiently for unsuspecting fish to swim by, and I spotted some tiny little fish in one of the ponds near the cafe which are presumably a popular part of the herons’ dietary intake. There must be lots of reed-loving birds hidden in the wetlands, successfully shielding themselves from prying eyes. There was apparently a spotted redshank, which was causing some excitement among the better informed bird watchers in one covert, but although I followed the directions that a father was giving his son (along the lines of – left of that greylag goose walking in front of that moorhen and then two back and one over) I was unable to spot it. Bird feeders dotted around were attracting blue tits and great tits in great numbers and there were pied wagtails in some of the many trees that line the edges of some of the paths. There’s an A-Z of bird species on the RSPB website.

One of many grey herons, on the hunt for unsuspecting fish

This is a super place to visit, and seasonal changes in bird and plant life mean that there will always be something new to see, and there are plenty of butterflies, bees, dragonflies, damsonfiles and other insects to observe if you look carefully. The grasshopper in the image below was particularly well camouflaged, and apparently there are sometimes lizards sunbathing in the sunnier patches. On Burton Point there are rabbit warrens, and according to some of the signage (much of it directed at children, but still informative to older visitors) the local animals have a vibrant night life.

Spot the grasshopper

Regarding the hillfort on the promontory, Burton Point, there are websites that say that the small headland on which the site is located is privately owned and should not be entered without permission, but this is in fact now included in the RSPB reserve and is served by good footpaths and includes interpretation signage to give visitors some idea of what was here. I’ll talk more about this site on a separate post.

Burton Point, a low promontory that overlooks the Dee estuary and is the possible site of an Iron Age Hillfort. In this photograph the footpath at far right leads into the woodland, where a vantage point looks down on the fortifications, but you can also see what remains of the fortifications at the far left of the photo where an earthwork is clearly visible

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Visiting the RSPB reserve

Meadow Brown butterfly beautifully camouflaged

The RSPB reserve is very easy to find, although if you rely on that Google SatNav, please note that mine, having been asked to find “RSPB Burton” informed us we had reached our destination before we had actually arrived. Fortunately, if you use the What3Words smartphone ap, which is stupendous (narrowing locations down to metre-sized locations) you can find it at ///readings.sideburns.handicaps. Other details can be found on the RSPB website which includes the address, postcode, as well as details of the current ticket price and full details about what the nature reserve offers the visitor: https://www.rspb.org.uk/days-out/reserves/dee-estuary-burton-mere-wetlands.

The RSPB site has been very well thought out, and is very welcoming. A single lane road from Puddington Lane has speed bumps and plenty of passing places, leading to a well-sized car park. Entrance is via a building with a look-out over the estuary. The entrance fee is £7.00 at the time of writing (July 2025), which helps to support the charity. There is a nice modern cafe on site, which sells tea, very good coffee, cold drinks and snacks. This is also where the toilets are located. There is a small shop next to the ticket desk that sells gifts, books and bird food.

I have been following the RSPB Burton reserve on Twitter for a couple of years, without ever having managed to get there, and every day they take a photograph of their whiteboard to give you an idea of what species have been observed recently so that you know what to look out for. You can find this at https://x.com/RSPB_BurtonMere. There is a placeholder for them on Bluesky but no content just yet.

I rarely give an opinion about wheelchair use, but there were actually several wheelchairs users out and about today. It would not be possible to get wheelchairs up to the Burton Point hill fort, or navigate them down one or two of the little tracks that run at the back of the reserve, but all of the coverts and hides are wheelchair friendly and, for both wheelchair users and children, the viewing windows extend from low to high for both seated and standing visitors. The same comments go for those with unwilling legs.

Dogs are not permitted, and nor are drones.

Excerpt from the RSPB’s leaflet about Burton Mere, showing the top things to do on a seasonal basis

Based in Churton

A Londoner living in West Cheshire

Category Archives: Scenery

Late June at Ness Botanic Garden on the Wirral

The small and rather puzzling Burton Point Iron Age promontory fort on the Wirral

Archaeological phases

Neolithic

Iron Age

The site

Roman

Medieval use and quarrying

Post-medieval land use, quarrying and burials

Final Comments

Sources

Books and papers

Websites

A sunny spring canal walk south from Waverton to Golden Nook Bridge

Snowy fields, copses and lanes between Churton and Aldford

A stunning late autumn sun-filled walk at Bickerton Hill, with lovely views

A very beautiful autumnal sunshine walk along the Wirral estuary from Burton to Parkgate

2025 Open Day of the CRAG excavations at Bryneglwys, Llantysilio Mountain

Research goals

Survey and excavations

Initial surveys

Bronze Age ring cairn and associated finds

The horseshoe feature

The other excavated areas

General Context

Final Comments

Sources

Books and papers

Websites

The fabulous nature reserve at the RSPB’s Burton Mere Wetlands

The RSPB wetland reserve

Visiting the RSPB reserve

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Archaeological phases

Neolithic

Iron Age

The site

Roman

Medieval use and quarrying

Post-medieval land use, quarrying and burials

Final Comments

Sources

Books and papers

Websites

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Research goals

Survey and excavations

Initial surveys

Bronze Age ring cairn and associated finds

The horseshoe feature

The other excavated areas

General Context

Final Comments

Sources

Books and papers

Websites

Share this:

The RSPB wetland reserve

Visiting the RSPB reserve

Share this: