Most of you I’m sure will have visited the National Trust manor house Erddig many times, but perhaps haven’t ventured into its vast parklands. There is a whole 1220 acre estate to explore with mature woodland, the Afon Clwedog (yes that river again!) and even some interesting hydraulic water features thrown in for good measure!
There are numerous walks you can do, this one will give you a good introduction to the estate from where you can explore it further. It’s important to note that the grounds outside the house are completely free of charge to enter and you do not need to be an NT member.
This walk starts at Felin Puleston car park (no charge). Turn left out of the car park, walk down the road then just as it bends, walk straight onto the footpath, cross over the small wooden footbridge and turn left entering the grounds of the estate.
The first part of the walk follows a path over the parkland with the River Clywedog on your left. Just after you’ve passed through the first gate there is a small weir which is easy to miss. By the time I spotted it the kids had ran on ahead and completely ignored my requests to come back and have a look. The main path is obvious so you can’t go wrong really. From the starting point, until you reach a stone bridge there are numerous places to play in the shallow river, so expect to keep diverting off the main path for a little paddle (remember those wellies!).
After a game of pooh sticks (I didn’t win) on said stone bridge we turned right (without crossing the bridge) and walked about 8 mins to a hydraulic water system which without getting too scientific (it’s not my strong point) is an eighteenth century mechanism to get water from the river up to the manor house. It’s definitely worth a look however do not take your eyes off your children as it would be extremely dangerous if they fell into it, so mine begrudgingly held my hands and we carried our youngest.
They spent a long time playing beside the little wooden bridge you cross to get to it, the water was a bit too deep for my liking but that didn’t stop them!
We then walked back to the stone bridge, crossed over and took the left diagonal path which leads up to Coed y Llys (Court Wood).
You can either keep going through the woods or not long after entering the woods you’ll see a path on the left which follows the river, either way you’ll end up back at the car park.
I can’t tell you just how wet and muddy my kids were, I think about half a litre of water came out of my son’s wellies when we emptied them at the car! Even on a winter’s day they had a ball, but I can imagine this would be a smashing walk to take a picnic on in the summer months.
