The cloud base is low on the Clwydian hills

It’s the middle of August, I’ve got a day off work, what could possibly go wrong!

Well, for starters,  I thought it was summer, a time for warm, sunny days, unfortunately, the weather had other ideas!

I parked up in the main Moel Famau car park. Parking here costs £2 for the day.
Access to the car park is through a barrier in to which you put your money.
There is a public toilet here and, at busier times, a van selling drinks and snacks.

There are a number of routes up from the car park. I took the main path,  heading roughly North West,  through the woodland.
At one point the path splits, one way is the more direct route up to the peak and the Jubilee tower, the other path, to the left, is slightly further put more pleasant.

The top of Moel Famau can get very busy with lots of people milling around the tower. Many visitors head straight up, take a look at the views then go straight back down again. So, to avoid the crowds (not that there was anyone out today!) take the left hand fork just before the peak, on to the Clwydian Way/Offa’s Dyke path.

Usually there would be great views over to Wirral, Merseyside and Snowdonia, however, not today!
At least, up to this point it was’t raining, it was  humid but not raining. This soon changed as I continued on to Moel Dywyll.

Staying on the Clwydian Way I continued to the steps leading down to the road opposite which stands the distinctively shaped Moel Arthur.  This hill is home to a small hill fort and, possibly, a Bronze Age burial mound.
This route, however, passes the hill rather than climbs it and I took the path which runs parallel to the road in a North Easterly direction. The path climbs a bit before leading through fields to a quiet road not far from the village of Cilcain.

The path continues through fields and woodland before climbing back up Moel Famau. Yes, a climb near the end of an 11 mile walk isn’t ideal but, on the bright side, you don’t need to go all the way back to the peak!

By now the rain was torrential so I took the  fire roads back down to the car park to make for an easier, faster route.
Was very glad of a decent waterproof by this point!
There are several, more pleasant routes back down to the car park, however, this particular route can be downloaded from my ViewRanger pages.

There is also a short video on the new Black Pudding Gaiters YouTube channel