Visitors to the Clwydian Range may be more used to picking up a leaflet, browsing an information panel or surfing the net to find information about the area, but a new resource is to be used to interpret the past – the old fashioned car park.
Work on introducing new features has begun at the Bwlch Pen Barras car park at Moel Famau in partnership with the Forestry Commission.
Features include a new design of the viewpoint at Bwlch Pen Barras to mimic Iron Age roundhouse remains as well as increasing accessibility to the feature, Clawdd dry stone walling replacing railway sleepers, inspired by how hillforts were built using a similar technique 2,500 years ago and helping to make features that need to be present in a car park, e.g. parking machines, fit into surroundings better.
Erin Robinson, Heather and Hillforts Officer, said: “Car parks are essential for visitors and residents to enjoy the countryside; whether it is for a stopping place to enjoy the views, a place to leave the car for the day, or somewhere to begin your visit when enjoying the countryside by foot, bicycle or bus.
“They are important places, but can detract from the surrounding beauty and heritage, so how can we help these places fit in to the area better, whilst telling a story? By using features from the past in our design, we hope that this will add another layer to the visitor experience.
“There will be no mass overhaul, no large ‘adventure park’ style additions and nothing that will detract from the surrounding landscape; we will be working with the land to create a sense of place.
The three year Heather and Hillforts Project is developing a £2.3 million initiative for upland conservation work and has received a grant of £1.5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. For more information please visit heatherandhillforts.co.uk.
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