Cilcain

Alyn Valley Woods and Alyn Gorge Caves is a Site of Special Scientific Interest on the border of Flintshire and Denbighshire in north Wales. Most of the site is also designated as the Alyn Valley Woods Special Area of Conservation and the southern part includes Loggerheads Country Park. The SSSI has an area of 190.3 hectares while the SAC covers 168.3 hectares.A large part of the site is covered by broadleaved woodland with sessile oak, ash and sycamore among the dominant tree species. Notable plants in the woods include stinking hellebore, green-flowered helleborine and wayfaring tree. There are also areas of calcareous grassland with plants such as bloody cranesbill and lesser meadow-rue. Much of the site lies on an escarpment of Carboniferous limestone and there are three cave systems: Ogof Hesp Alyn, Ogof Hen Ffynhonnau and Ogof Nadolig. Lead ore, zinc ore, limestone and calcite were formerly mined in the area.

St Mary's Church, Cilcain, is in the village of Cilcain, Flintshire, Wales. It is an active Anglican church in the Bro Famau group of parishes, in the Mold Mission Area, in the archdeaconry of Wrexham and the diocese of St Asaph. The church is designated by Cadw as a Grade I listed building.

The Clwydian Range (Welsh: Bryniau Clwyd; also known as the Clwydian Hills; or simply the Clwyds) is a series of hills in the north-east of Wales that runs from Llandegla in the south to Prestatyn in the north; the highest point is 554 m (1,818 ft) Moel Famau. The range forms the north-western part of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Ogof Nadolig is a cave in the Alyn Gorge near Cilcain, Flintshire, Wales. It is mostly crawling, 300 metres (980 ft) long, and ends with a shaft up to the surface and a locked manhole cover. Nearby, but closer to the river, are the caves Ogof Hesp Alyn and Ogof Hen Ffynhonnau. Its name derives from the fact that it was discovered on Christmas Day.

Moel Famau is the highest hill in the Clwydian Range and the highest point (county top) of the county of Flintshire in Wales (both the historic county and the current council area). It lies on the boundary between Denbighshire and Flintshire. The hill, which also gives its name to the Moel Famau country park, has been classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty since 1985. It is also surrounded by several well-preserved Iron Age hill forts. It is also the third-highest peak in the extended AONB of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley. A northern part of the Offa's Dyke long-distance footpath, one of the UK's most popular National Trails, crosses the summit of Moel Famau and the Jubilee Tower. Loggerheads Country Park is nearby.

Ogof Hen Ffynhonnau (sometimes known in English as Poacher's Cave) lies in the Alyn Gorge in Flintshire, Wales close to Ogof Hesp Alyn. It was discovered in 1978 after excavation allowed access to Dyer's Adit. Being below a dry river bed, the cave can be prone to flooding in wet weather. There is a short ladder pitch just inside the entrance, and it makes a short trip suitable for novice cavers.

Tafarn-y-Gelyn is a small village in the east of Denbighshire, North East Wales. Situated near Llanferres, at the foot of Moel Famau, just off the A494 road halfway between Ruthin and Mold. Tafarn-y-Gelyn (225m) is the start of the old coach road Bwlch Pen Barras across the Clwydian Range, between Moel Famau and Moel Fenlli. This was the original road from the Vale of Clwyd to Mold before the advent of the A494.

Pantymwyn is a small village just outside Mold in Flintshire, Wales, in the community of Gwernaffield with Pantymwyn. The village is located within the designated Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, lying on the east side of the Clwydian Range. Pantymwyn is four miles west of Mold and 16 miles west of Chester. The village has a pub (the Crown Inn), a post office and convenience store, a garage and an 18-hole uplands golf course (the home of Mold Golf Club). During the summer, Pantymwyn holds an annual village fair. Pantymywn adjoins Gwernaffield, the population of Pantymwyn itself is around 800 with most people born in England. Access to the Loggerheads country park is within short walking distance, as are many walks over the Clwydian Range of mountains. The village is often visited by walkers and cyclists. The area has a history involving lead mining and limestone quarrying.

Ogof Hesp Alyn (Welsh for: Dry Alyn Cave) was discovered by North Wales Caving Club in 1973 in the Alyn Gorge near Cilcain, Flintshire, Wales. Reaching the end of the cave is a serious commitment involving 24 pitches and the draining of two sumps. The proliferation of short, awkward and muddy pitches appear best suited to be tackled by wire ladders, but in the 1980s a team of divers from the Wessex Caving Club who passed the sumps, concluded that single rope technique was preferable, avoiding the need for excessive numbers of people to carry the equipment. A perpetual siphon has since been used at the first sump which does a good job of keeping the water level relatively low, when working properly. A BCRA grade 5b survey of the cave exists that was created by North Wales Caving Club in two phases, in periods during the original 70s exploration, and further exploration beyond the sumps in the 80s. As well as the main passage that meanders through the cave there are several interesting detours including the Northeast Chambers, the Mousetrap series and the Wormway, which gets its name from the numerous worms that live in the sediment. Much of the cave is wet and muddy, with the entrance series setting the theme for what is to come later on. With more recent discoveries, the length of cave passage totals 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) extending over a vertical range of about 90 metres (300 ft). The entrance would have functioned as a rising prior to the lowering of local water levels by mine drainage. As drainage only took place in the early 20th century, Ogof Hesp Alyn provides a valuable opportunity to study a cave system developed almost entirely by a phreatic processes which remains largely unmodified by vadose streams. Despite the drainage that now occurs down to the Milwr Tunnel which is several hundred feet below, during periods of intense wet weather the cave can fill completely with water. This is quite rare but any visitor should take care. When the water level recedes, the 'Sand Crawl' can still remain a sump for weeks later. It lies close to another cave, Ogof Hen Ffynhonnau, which lies about 150 metres (160 yd) further upstream in the Alyn Gorge. These two caves with Ogof Nadolig form the caves part of the Alyn Valley Woods and Alyn Gorge Caves SSSI.

Loggerheads is a village in Denbighshire, Wales on the River Alyn, a tributary of the River Dee. It is the location of Loggerheads Country Park which follows the course of the River Alyn through karstic limestone countryside including the sites of old lead mines and mills. There is a working flour mill on site. A leat or leete, built around 1824, follows the side of the valley nearby and was used to carry water to the lead mines of Mold Mines, on land owned by the Grosvenor family. It is now the popular Leete Walk. The name Loggerheads may come from the dispute over estate boundaries between the lordships of Mold and Llanferres. The final boundary is marked by Carreg Carn March Arthur which is said to bear the imprint of Arthur's horse's hoof after it jumped from the nearby mountain, Moel Famau. The local pub has a sign showing two men grimacing at each other with the words We Three Loggerheads, taken from a painting by Richard Wilson. The third loggerhead was the viewer.

Gwernaffield with Pantymwyn is a community in Flintshire, Wales with a population of 1942 as of the 2011 UK census. It includes the villages of Gwernaffield and Pantymwyn.The community council was formed in 1985. It consists of twelve councillors, six elected from the Gwernaffield ward and six from Pantymwyn.For Flintshire County Council, the community is part of the Gwernaffield and Gwernymynydd electoral ward, which elects two councillors.

Bwlch Penbarras (also known as Bwlch Pen Barras, or the Old Bwlch) is a mountain pass in the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in north-east Wales. The gap, which is at an altitude of 360 m (1,180 ft), lies between the hills of Moel Famau and Foel Fenlli. An unclassified road between Tafarn-y-Gelyn and Llanbedr-Dyffryn-Clwyd runs from east to west through the pass. Offa's Dyke Path, running broadly south–north, crosses the road at its highest point. The alternative name of Old Bwlch references its position on the historic route between Mold and Ruthin via Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd. It was superseded by the 18th-century Mold to Denbigh turnpike (now the A494 road), which crosses the Clwydian range several miles to the south, at Bwlch-y-Parc. The eastern side of Bwlch Penbarras is an almost straight ascent with no severe gradients; however, the western side of the pass is characterised by long drops, a narrower road and steep gradients: the road drops 260 m (850 ft) in 1.5 mi (2.4 km) with gradients approaching 25% and a sharp hairpin bend.