Chirk: Castle, Aqueduct and Walking Trails

Chirk brings together medieval architecture and evidence of canal and railway construction. Several circular walks differ in length, route and, in some cases, stated difficulty. If you’re looking for a hotel for your stay, you can first consider whether castle and town history, canal heritage or a particular walk will shape your travel plans.

Castle, Garden and Town History

Since 1295, Chirk Castle has overlooked the Welsh borderlands. Work on the castle probably began in the last decade of the 13th century. Adam Tower features medieval garderobes, arrow slits and two-storey dungeons. Cromwell Hall displays weapons and armour from the 17th-century English Civil War. The castle thus brings together different aspects of its history: medieval architectural features and exhibits from a later historical period.

The accessible garden trail at Chirk Castle is suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs. It passes clipped yews, the Rose Garden and the historic Hawk House. If you’re more interested in the older town centre, Chirk’s conservation area offers another connection to the past: it encompasses the original medieval settlement around the Church of St Mary and Church Street. Written records of the church begin with the Norman occupation; the earliest surviving reference appears in the Pipe Rolls of 1163.

Canal Construction and Landscape

The Chirk Aqueduct was built from 1796 to 1801 by William Jessop and Thomas Telford for the Ellesmere Canal. When it opened in 1801, it was the highest navigable aqueduct in the world. The waterway runs through a cast-iron trough concealed within the masonry. The structure is part of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site.

The Chirk Tunnel is also part of the canal’s history: it was one of the first British canal tunnels with an integrated towpath and is 460 yards long. The Chirk Circular 2 route follows the Llangollen Canal towpath into the tunnel. Another prominent structure is the Chirk Viaduct. Completed in 1848, it carries the railway line from Ruabon to Chester over the River Ceiriog.

The Chirk Castle estate lies within the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The parkland is considered an outstanding landscape feature and was partly designed by William Emes. The section of Offa’s Dyke at Chirk Castle is about 1,400 metres long and runs north-north-east through the Ceiriog Valley.

Walking Trails by Length and Character

Several walks with different highlights start at the castle. The easy Chirk Castle Woodland Walk is a circular route through woodland and open fields around Chirk Castle in Wrexham, Wales. The moderate Old Golf Walk is 1.2 miles long and offers views of the castle along the way. The Battle of Crogen circular walk starts at Chirk Castle, covers 3 miles, includes a short section of the Offa’s Dyke Path and passes the site of the Battle of Crogen.

Other local routes can be compared by their stated length and elevation gain. Atop the Aqueduct starts at the town car park in Chirk, is about 1¾ miles long and has 100 feet of elevation gain. Lady Margaret’s Walk is approximately 2 miles long, with 40 feet of elevation gain. The Riverside, Forge and Hilltop circular walk covers about 5¼ miles, with 470 feet of elevation gain; A Taste of the Ceiriog Valley is about 3 miles long, with 100 feet of elevation gain. So the figures differ not only in route length: the stated elevation gains also vary considerably. The Chirk and River Ceiriog circular walk is 6.5 miles long, starts near the railway station and connects Chirk with Chirk Castle, the Offa’s Dyke National Trail and the River Ceiriog.

Getting There and Planning Your Day

Chirk Station is on the railway line between Shrewsbury and Chester. Arriva bus service 2/A from Wrexham to Oswestry stops in the town near the station; check the timetable details before travelling. The best access to the Chirk Aqueduct towpath is a 25-minute walk from Chirk Station. When planning your stay, you can match this travel information to your preferred focus: the castle and town centre, canal structures or a circular walk of a suitable length.

Discover more destinations: Wrexham, Penycae, Trevor, Bangor-on-Dee, Bradley, Rossett, Erbistock, Llanarmon Dyffryn-Ceiriog.

Return to the main travel overview: Wrexham.