Start: Car park at Pistyll Gwyn Quarry on the B5430 about 1 mile north of Llanarmon-yn-Iâl.
Grid ref: 189 573 (Landranger 116/117, Explorer 265).
The walk
1. Turn left out of the car park and follow the signed ‘Permissive Path’ which runs along the grass verge close to the road, then veers left uphill by a rockface into the trees.
After a right turn bear left along the edge of the trees with fields and a house on the right. After a rise left, a stile leads into a small field with the quarry a few yards away on the left. Walk ahead across the field to the far corner, then by the fence to a stile in the far fence with a fingerpost beyond.
Turn left here and follow a rising path with the quarry close by on the left. Where the footpath enters a field, keep ahead to a gate in the far fence which leads beside ‘Bryn-y-gloch’ to a quiet lane.
Turn right along the lane (ignore a turning to ‘Fron Cottage Farm’ immediately on the right) and keep right at a fork in about 30 yards. Follow the rising lane.
The lane ends at a gate (‘Tan-y-Marian’ on the left) which leads into open grazing fields.
Go through the gate and in a few yards bear right on a rising diagonal footpath. At the top of the rise the path swings right, then left. A little further on when a gate comes into view about 100 yards ahead, bear left down through gorse bushes to a stile over a wall ahead. Go ahead through the following field to the corner to join an old unsurfaced lane.
Turn right along the lane and in about 200 yards where the lane levels turn left through a gateway and cross a stile. Walk ahead initially, then curve leftwards before the fence to follow a path which heads up towards the skyline.
Continue over the highest point (Bryn Alyn) and follow the line of the rocks down to join an unsurfaced track in a hollow. Turn right along the track and follow it as it curves leftwards out of the hollow to pass through grazing fields.
Follow the track for about 350 yards and as you approach a stile in the fence on the left (just before overhead cables), turn right across the large open field towards a rocky cutting. Immediately before the cutting turn right along a faint grass track for about 25 yards and where this bends right, turn left through gorse bushes to stone steps in the wall.
In the next field locate a ladder stile in the wall over to the right which should soon be visible and make your way through the gorse which occupies much of the field.
Cross the stile and in the following field keep half-left through more scrub where the path is not visible. Further on you can look down to a lane where there is an old shed immediately adjacent to the road. Head for this and join the lane by a stile behind the shed.
2. Turn left along the lane and at the crossroads turn right to walk through Eryrys passing the ‘Sun Inn’ and further on at the edge of the village an old chapel on the right.
Lead mining has a long history in this area with the Romans said to be among the earliest prospectors. By the time of Edward I mining was obviously well established as local miners were recruited to work in new mines in southern Britain.
Look for a stile on the right by caravans soon after the old chapel. Turn right here to cross a small field to a stile over the wall. Keep straight ahead now in a larger field passing beneath overhead cables to a stile in the far fence.
In the following field keep ahead again for a few yards then look for a stile in the fence on the left. Turn left over the stile and walk down through an area of waste – known as ‘silver sand’; a by-product of lead mining – to a rough track and turn right.
Follow the track, ignoring two right forks, to a lane. Turn left along the lane for a few yards then right on a footpath towards a large square stone tower associated with mining in the area.
This little valley, known as Nant, lay at the centre of a thriving lead mining industry during the nineteenth century and this seemingly out-of-place structure is the remains of a large engine house used to pump water from the lead mines.
Flooding became an increasing problem as the mines became deeper.
At the next junction turn left down a track to reach the lane again. Directly opposite, take the signed footpath up the bank to a stile in the wall and into fields.
Walk directly through the field to a stile in the far wall. After the stile bear half-right to walk beside the lower fence passing overgrown mounds from nearby mines on the left.
At the end of the field pass crumbling ruins on the right and head towards a farm directly ahead.
About 50 yards before the farm turn left and in another 50 yards or so turn right through a gate and stile to cross a small field to a lane (the farm should now be down to your right).
Turn left along the lane and continue to the road. Turn right down the road to the B5430. Turn left here, then right at the Llanarmon-yn-Iâl sign.
Down by the river (Afon Alyn) look to your left where you will see the mound – partly defended by a natural crag – of a motte and bailey castle. Motte and baileys were built during the 11th and 12th centuries either by the Normans themselves or the by Welsh copying the Norman style.
3. Turn right immediately before ‘The Raven Inn’ onto a short access road (a close of modern houses to the right). This soon joins an enclosed footpath which runs between gardens. At the end of the path cross a stile into fields. Bear half-right through the centre of the field (in the direction Pistyll Gwyn Quarry) to a stile in the fence.
Follow the path ahead through two more fields and after the third stile bear right around the field edge to a stile in the far corner by caravans (river to the right).
Follow a footpath through a small field to where a footbridge leads over the river.
Beyond the bridge, follow a track for about 30 yards before turning left onto a narrow footpath which soon leads to the road. Turn left along the road to return to the car park to complete the walk.