Clinker boulder to world heritage site is a mystery
A new footpath cutting through part of Llangollen's world heritage site has revealed a huge rock that some have mistaken for a meteorite.
The pathway linking the community centre in Trevor to the Llangollen canal has been christened The Clinker Path, because of a number of clinker boulders that litter the woodland at Rhos y Coed.
It is providing a direct link for the community to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct though a former industrial area where nature has taken over and woodland has naturally regenerated.
The large clinker boulder beside the canal is a dramatic reminder of the industrial past with also several smaller clinker boulders within the woodland. But historians are not sure how it came to be in the woodland.
Ffion Roberts from Denbighshire Council said: "Clinker is the waste product from the smelting process in the iron industry. The giant meteorite-like large clinker boulder may also be easily mistaken for a tree root plate and many people will have passed by without understanding the significance of its existence.
"The plan is to clear the vegetation around the clinker and provide some interpretation and a bench for quiet canal-side contemplation. Initially sections of the path will have a base surfacing which will be allowed to settle for twelve months, after that a top layer will be applied. There will also be some mitigation tree planting 3 saplings for every mature tree that has been cut down to enable the path to go through the woodland.
"This new path has been made possible by the Heritage Lottery Funded project ‘Our Picturesque Landscape’ which centres on the landscape of the Dee Valley and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site. It takes the theme of inspirational journeys that have been, and continue to be, a feature of the area which is cut by the canal, Telford's A5 and the River Dee.
"The story of the clinker and how it came to be where it is found today is still a bit of a mystery and the OPL team would be grateful for any help in finding out more about it.
Llangollen Rural Community Council and The Aqueduct Community Association said they were excited that the long dreamed of path in Rhos y Coed Wood is finally happening and say residents are looking forward to being able to walk through and enjoy the woodland.
Our Picturesque Landscape Project is predominantly funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund.
It is a partnership project developed by the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site, Denbighshire County Council, Wrexham County Borough Council, Shropshire Council, The Canal & River Trust, Natural Resources Wales, Cadw, Cadwyn Clwyd, Aqueducks ad the Friends of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley.
