Moel Famau circular via the Jubilee Tower (with Foel Fenlli extension)

If North-East Wales has a rite of passage, it’s this loop. It’s the walk we take first-time visitors on, the one that converts “it’s flat up north, isn’t it?” sceptics, and the route that makes the Clwydians make sense: forest, open ridge, a ruined tower on the roof, and the Vale of Clwyd like a green sea below.

The route, walked

Start — forest tracks (0 to 1.6 km). From the lower Moel Famau car park, take the main forest track uphill (red/blue trail markers). The conifers do their cathedral thing, red squirrels have been reintroduced nearby, and the gradient is polite. Ignore the temptation of every downhill fork; you want height.

Forest edge to the ridge (1.6 to 3 km). You emerge from the trees at a gate onto open heather moor with the summit tower now visible — psychologically, the walk’s best moment. Join the broad ridgeline path (this is the Offa’s Dyke Path, acorn waymarks) and climb steadily. The last 400 metres steepen enough to justify the flask.

The Jubilee Tower (3 km). The unfinished 1810 obelisk base is your summit furniture: windbreak, picnic table and panorama dial. On clear days the named sightlines run from Liverpool’s cathedrals to Snowdon’s summit. It can be a different climate up here — the car park was warm; pack the extra layer regardless.

Descent (3 to 7.4 km). Retrace 200 metres, then take the obvious broad path descending south-west off the ridge (Bwlch Penbarras direction), and at the pass either drop straight back into the forest tracks (signed to the lower car park) or —

The upgrade: Foel Fenlli (+2 km, +150 m). Cross the road at Bwlch Penbarras and take the stone steps up the rampart face of Foel Fenlli. Twenty steep minutes buy you a summit ringed with Iron Age ramparts and a fraction of Moel Famau’s foot traffic. Circle the ramparts anticlockwise, descend the same steps, and pick up the forest track home.

Practicalities

Pay-and-display at the start (contactless); toilets at Loggerheads Country Park, five minutes’ drive, not at the trailhead. The route is dog-friendly on leads (sheep graze the open hill year-round). Ground is good but the summit path is rutted — trainers fine in summer, boots kinder in the wet. Phone signal is patchy in the forest, decent on the ridge; the grid references here work regardless.

Common questions

Why start from the lower car park rather than Bwlch Penbarras?

Three reasons: it almost always has space when Bwlch Penbarras is full, the forest start is prettier and more sheltered, and it makes the route a genuine circular rather than an out-and-back. If you only want the shortest possible summit dash, Bwlch Penbarras remains the cheat code.

Is the route waymarked?

Effectively yes: forest tracks lead to the Offa's Dyke Path (acorn symbols), which you follow to the summit, and our descent line down the ridge to the forest edge is an obvious broad path. That said, don't rely on the waymarks in low cloud — the acorns are spaced for good visibility and the tower vanishes in mist. If cloud is down, carry OS Explorer 265 and a compass (or our offline map) and be confident navigating before you set off. See the safety note above.

Can I take a pushchair or a wheelchair?

The lower forest tracks, yes — there's a decent accessible loop below the treeline. The summit push, no: it's a rough, rutted hill path. An all-terrain pushchair with a determined pilot makes it in dry weather; we've seen it done, with respect.

When's the best time of year?

Late August for the heather, when the whole ridge goes purple. Clear winter days for the longest views (Blackpool Tower to Snowdon). Summer weekends are busy 11am–3pm; before or after, the hill breathes again.

Staying over?

Ruthin has beautiful scenery, a castle and a very good bakery — what more could you ask of a base?

Browse places to stay near Ruthin ↗ opens Booking.com — needs signal