Dee Valley & the Berwyn
The green, water-threaded country where the Dee runs down from Bala's great lake through Llangollen's World Heritage canal. Behind it rise the quiet Berwyn mountains, hiding Wales' tallest waterfall and a perfect Bronze Age stone circle. Under-walked, easy to reach, and rich in both nature and engineering history.
8 places covered · 2 towns to stay.
🗿 Ancient sites
🏰 Castles & history
🛶 Lakes & paddling
💧 Waterfalls & views
⛺ Campsites & camping
Water, and the engineering of it
Llangollen is the hub. Just east, Thomas Telford's Pontcysyllte Aqueduct carries the canal 38 metres above the Dee — a UNESCO World Heritage 'stream in the sky' you can cross on foot or by horse-drawn boat. Above the town stand the romantic ruins of Castell Dinas Brân, and a steam heritage railway runs up the valley.
The wild edge is the Berwyn. Pistyll Rhaeadr, near Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, drops about 240 feet in a single fall — the tallest in Wales. To the west, Bala (Llyn Tegid) is the largest natural lake in the country, good for sailing, paddling and the little lakeside railway.
It's all easily reached off the A5 from the English border, and far quieter than Eryri. The mix of towpath, waterfall and lake makes it one of the best all-weather corners of North Wales.
Build a day out here
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