An unspoilt landscape of rolling hills, babbling streams and bluebell woods in a quiet corner of North East Wales, the Ceiriog Valley is a joy to explore. This beautiful valley, south of Llangollen, is the perfect spot to throw on the hiking boots and get out to explore the countryside, before settling down in the fabulous surroundings of The West Arms Hotel in Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog.
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THE CEIRIOG VALLEY IN NORTH EAST WALES
Located in North East Wales, south of Llangollen and west of Chirk, the Ceiriog Valley (Dyffryn Ceiriog) packs a lot of beautiful scenery into a relatively small space. Running east to west, the valley is about 12 miles long dotted with tiny hamlets and pretty villages including Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog – our base for a couple of nights. Whilst the valley is only a short drive from the Welsh-English border and the town of Llangollen, it feels like a world away. Surrounded by peace and tranquility, this is a place to leave the car and get out to explore on foot. While there are a number of beauty spots in the surrounding areas, the beauty of the Ceiriog Valley surrounds you. The rolling hills and lush green meadows of this area are a far cry from the dramatic landscapes of Eryri, but there’s a charm and sense of calm that’s unrivalled.
A WEEKEND AT THE WEST ARMS HOTEL, LLANARMON DYFFRYN CEIRIOG
For a compact village, Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog excels in the hospitality game. Located centrally in the village, there are not one, but two award winning hotels sitting across from each other. Our choice of accommodation for a weekend stay was at THE WEST ARMS HOTEL, a stunning whitewashed stone country inn. While the original farmhouse building dates back to 1570, the building became an inn some hundred years later. Today, this beautiful property features sixteen individual rooms in a range of styles and sizes, alongside public areas featuring a collection of cosy nooks, traditional bars and a bright airy restaurant overlooking the valley.
EXPLORING THE HOTEL | From the outside, the striking frontage of the West Arms Hotel sits within the backdrop of the rolling hills and woodland of valley. With cast iron window frames and a steep gabled roof, springtime saw the bright white building awash with the pink flowers of the clematis spreading across its walls. Stepping into a porchway and through a heavy wooden door, the welcoming interior to the front was a collection of cosy rooms with low beamed ceilings, large stone fireplaces and the comforting aroma of wood burning fires. Just what you need from a country inn. A warm welcome from the proprietors Nicky and Mark Williamson, who took over the hotel in 2018, and we were provided with a wealth of information about our stay and the local area before being shown to our room.
Exploring deeper into building, further corridors led past welcoming meeting rooms and a large restaurant, through into the rear bar area, made up of two separate rooms. These cosy spaces had a traditional country pub feel with quarry tiled flooring, large stone fireplaces alongside a mix of cosy seating areas. A perfect spot for a G&T or a pint of something local after a day out exploring. Stepping out from one of the rear doorways, pathways lead out into a spacious garden with a large lawn area and picnic tables with unobscured views out of the valley, with the relaxing sounds of the nearby River Ceiriog. Wandering around the building, a large gravelled area featured a mix of seating, with fire pit areas and also some undercover areas for those occasions when the weather was not so great in Wales.
THE ROOMS AT THE WEST ARMS | With sixteen rooms to choose from at The West Arms Hotel, there something to suit all tastes. Rooms range from Classic Rooms, Character Rooms and King Valley Rooms through to a number of suites, all providing a touch of luxury and warmth in-keeping with the rest of the property. With some rooms located in the original 16th century building and others located to the rear offering wonderful valley views, four legged friends are also welcome in this dog friendly property.
Our room from the King Valley Rooms range was a beautiful bright and airy space with tall ceilings and character features. With a pitched beamed ceiling, exposed stone walls and brickwork of the old fireplace chimney, this cosy and comfortable space had a picture window looking directly out across the valley. With plenty of storage space, complimentary robes and a spacious bathroom with bathtub and separate shower, it was a perfect haven to relax and gather your thoughts after a day out exploring.
WALKS IN THE CEIRIOG VALLEY FROM LLANARMON
A good nights sleep and awaking to clear blue skies on a Saturday morning, it was time to put on the hiking boots to explore the Ceiriog Valley. The intention for our stay was park up on Friday when we arrived and leave the car until we departed on Sunday. When making plans to visit an area, it’s so simple to look up local attractions and scenic viewpoints and drive from place to place, without really exploring what is on your doorstep. This weekend was intended just for that – exploring locally, following one or two of the numerous walking routes around the Ceiriog Valley directly from the door of The West Arms Hotel.
The village of Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog effectively sits on a crossroads. Heading out in any of the four directions provides a number of walking routes that range from gentle strolls along the valley floor, to more strenuous hikes with some fairly steep climbs. That’s the thing with valleys – they are usually surrounded by hills! Following a hearty breakfast, Nicky provided us with a map of local walking routes along with the loan of a local guide book covering a number of hikes in the area. The map highlighted a number of routes from the village ranging from shorter walks lasting an hour or so, to longer hikes taking a number of hours to cover. We opted for a couple of the shorter routes, to give us a more rounded view of the area – one morning hike and another in the afternoon after we’d replenished our energy with a nice lunch.
WALK 1 | Our morning walk was a relatively short walk with some hills offering fabulous views of Llanarmon and the Ceiriog Valley, before heading into woodland and back down to the valley floor. Taking a left turn out of the hotel and crossing the stone bridge across the River Ceiriog, we followed a lane steeply uphill for a short while and took a sharp left hand turn before following the Public Footpath sign into a field overlooking the valley. With Llanarmon nestled below on the valley floor, the surrounding landscape was of rolling hills in all directions.
Following the footpath through the field with the valley floor to the left, we continued until we reached the edge of a woodland and climbed a stile. This pine woodland, the scent of the trees strong in the air, was filled with a carpet of bluebells. With beams of sunlight bursting through the trees occasionally, the bright blues of the delicate flowers contrasted beautifully with a dark woodland floor. A meander through the woodland and we exited the other side lower down in valley into lush green fields, heading down towards the River Ceiriog. Following the river and crossing a bridge bought us to one of the lanes that would lead us back to the village.
WALK 2 | Refuelled with a delicious lunch in the gardens of The West Arms Hotel, it was time to head out on our second hike of the day. This circular route was a slightly longer walk which would take us to higher elevations, along with riverside sections and a visit to St. Garmon’s Church in the village. Taking a right turn out of The West Arms Hotel we followed the road passing the right hand side of The Hand Hotel and continued to the edges of the village until the footpath signs led up a lane bearing left. From here the footpath led into open fields, climbing slowly around the side of a hill until reaching a high point with fabulous views of the surrounding landscape.
Joining up with another pathway through the fields, there was a descent towards one of the lanes, which we crossed and headed further down into the valley towards Treceiriog, before joining another footpath leading alongside the River Ceiriog to the east of Llanarmon. This footpath led through another beautiful section of bluebell filled woodland before leading back into open fields with fabulous views of the valley. Passing an impressive old derelict barn, we continued on a slight incline to join the lane and headed downhill towards the village, arriving at St. Garmon’s Church, which we explored.
FOOD AND DRINK IN LLANARMON DYFFRYN CEIRIOG
One of the best things about a stay in Ceiriog Valley, aside from the beautiful surroundings, is the food scene. Basing yourself in Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog provides the opportunity to wine and dine at two of the most recognised eateries in the area. Both The West Arms Hotel and The Hand at Llanarmon feature award winning restaurants, offering fabulous dining experiences which are unique to each property.
THE WEST ARMS HOTEL | With our stay being based at The West Arms Hotel, we had the opportunity to sample breakfast. lunch and dinner at the hotel. Breakfast on both days was a relaxed affair, taken in one of the side rooms at the front of the hotel. In between our walks, we had a light lunch in the garden and dinner was served in a bright and spacious dining room to the rear of the building with views across the valley. The a la carte menu changes regularly, with an emphasis on local produce, clearly stating where the menu items are sourced. With a number of awards, the restaurant is a desirable hotspot in the area with people travelling a distance to sample.
THE HAND AT LLANARMON | Across the road, The Hand at Llanarmon features an award winning restaurant that’s featured in the Michelin Guide. Once again, this property has a cosy country pub feel to the front with a traditional bar. The beautiful dining room to the rear features high ceilings with exposed beams, stone walls and a fabulous parquet floor. The regularly changing menu provides a range of traditional dishes as well as some fabulous specials, showing off the creativity and flair of the resident chef.
If this is the first time you have heard of the Ceiriog Valley, be sure to consider it on your next trip to North Wales.
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