An interactive audio tour that guides you through breath-taking scenery of a section of Offa’s Dyke in the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is being officially launched today. (Monday, 24 July)
This is the third audio tour to be written and published by the Heritage Lottery funded Heather and Hillforts project and guides visitors along a section of the national trail from Coed Llangwyfan to the Penycloddiau hillfort above Llandyrnog and Nannerch. The audio heritage trail utilises new interpretive media to increase people’s awareness and understanding of the upland landscape and its heritage.
The first two tours of Moel Famau and Caer Drewyn incorporated interviews with local people, but this latest version talks to historic characters; people who have used the hill in the past, going all the way back to the Stone Age. These characters have been played by local actors, including Rod and Margaret Williams- owners of Penycloddiau hillfort. Rod is also the Chairman of the Heather and Hillforts Project.
The trail is available to visitors in two ways. People can download the audio points from the internet (www.heatherandhillforts.co.uk), or if you are on site without internet access you can access the points through your mobile phone. All you have to do is call 01745 222123 (this number is advertised on waymarker discs along the walk and calls are charged at local rate), choose your language, agree to the T&C’s and you’re off!
The trail begins with an introduction and instructions at Coed Llangwyfan car park then takes you north along Offa’s Dyke Path National Trail. You will find Audio Point One on a finger post at the entrance to the hillfort where we travel back to the Iron Age (2500-2000 years ago) to meet a lady who used to live in the hillfort.
The trail continues along Offa’s Dyke path to the next wooden waymarker where we find Audio Point Two and step back to the Stone Age to meet a man who roamed the hills when they were covered in trees, around 12000 years ago. Next to the pond on Penycloddiau we meet a lady from the Bronze Age at Audio Point three who tells us about the burial mound on the hill, built around 4000 years ago and when we reach the summit we are taken forward in time to the Victorian era when antiquarians excavated the burial mound, looking for treasure!
Erin Robinson, Heather and Hillforts Officer, said: “New technology has been used to interpret the site in this way as it is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and sits within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
“We felt that installing signs to interpret the sites should be contained within areas that had already been ‘urbanised’ i.e. car parks and use virtual interpretation to tell people about the sites as they leave the car parks and head for the hills. Using this technology, all you need is your phone or mp3 player and to look out for waymarker discs which we have installed on existing posts.
