Nant-y-Ffrith
Encyclopedia
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
and the wooded valley through which it flows on the border between Flintshire
Flintshire
Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...
and Wrexham County Borough in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The stream begins in moorland
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
to the east of Llandegla
Llandegla
Llandegla or Llandegla-yn-Iâl is a village and community in the county of Denbighshire in Wales. In the 2001 census, the community had a population of 494.- Name :...
. It passes Bwlchgwyn
Bwlchgwyn
Bwlchgwyn is a village in Wrexham county borough, Wales, on the A525 road, west of the town of Wrexham and south-east of the town of Ruthin. Bwlchgwyn is part of the community of Brymbo...
village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
before entering a rather steep-sided, rocky valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
. It passes under the viaduct
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
of a disused railway line before joinng the River Cegidog
River Cegidog
The River Cegidog is a river in north-east Wales. It flows mainly through Flintshire but towards the end of its course it forms the border between Flintshire and Wrexham County Borough....
at Ffrith
Ffrith
Ffrith is a small village in the community of Llanfynydd in Flintshire, north-east Wales.-Name:The name Ffrith reflects a spelling and pronunciation particular to Flintshire: it is derived from a North Welsh word meaning variously a "pasture", "enclosure" or "forest" and borrowed originally from...
.
The woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
s contain some deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
trees but are dominated by recent conifer plantations. They contain a range of flora and fauna including various fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s and moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
es and woodland birds such as Wood Warbler
Wood Warbler
The Wood Warbler is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asia in the southern Ural Mountains...
and Redstart
Common Redstart
The Common Redstart , or often simply Redstart, is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus...
.
There are several abandoned silica quarries and lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
mines in the area. Lead mining may have begun as early as Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
times and has left a number of caves.
Nant-y-Ffrith Hall
Nant-y-Ffrith Hall was originally built as a hunting lodge in 1850. Successive owners enlarged the building and created landscaped gardens. An open day and garden party was held each year for local villagers. The hall gradually fell into disrepair; it was used for ammunition storage in the Second World War and finally demolished between 1947 and 1950. The only signs of it today are a clearing in the woods, scattered stones and some exotic vegetation such as rhododendronRhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
s.
Nant-y-Ffrith Reservoir
This is a small reservoirReservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
near the source of the stream. It provides water to the villages to the west of Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
. Work began on it in October 1868 and it was supplying water by February 1871. It was built by Brymbo Water Company and is now owned by Dee Valley Water
Dee Valley Water
Dee Valley Water / Dŵr Dyffryn Dyfrdwy is a company which supplies drinking water services to parts of North East Wales and parts of North West England...
.
Breeding birds on the reservoir include Great Crested Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
The Great Crested Grebe is a member of the grebe family of water birds.- Description :The Great Crested Grebe is long with a wingspan. It is an excellent swimmer and diver, and pursues its fish prey underwater. The adults are unmistakable in summer with head and neck decorations...
and Coot
Eurasian Coot
The Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra, also known as Coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. The Australian subspecies is known as the Australian Coot.-Distribution:...
with Sedge Warbler
Sedge Warbler
The Sedge Warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is a medium-sized warbler with a brown, streaked back and wings and a distinct pale supercilium. Sedge Warblers are migratory, crossing the Sahara to get from their European and Asian breeding grounds to spend winter in Africa...
and Reed Bunting
Reed Bunting
The Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae....
in the surrounding vegetation and Lapwing
Northern Lapwing
The Northern Lapwing , also known as the Peewit, Green Plover or just Lapwing, is a bird in the plover family. It is common through temperate Eurasia....
and Curlew
Eurasian Curlew
The Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia...
in nearby fields.