The River Ceiriog rises in the Berwyn Mountains at 1,800 feet and then swiftly, impetuously, descends eastwards for some 18 miles to confluence with the more sedate River Dee. During it's length, the Ceiriog Valley provides a myriad of different landscapes and every turn in the valley's meandering road brings something new and unexpected. The lush, pastoral valley floor 300 yards across at its widest point, is home to sheep and cattle; they quietly graze beside the fast flowing, trout filled waters of the Ceiriog. Further up the valley, remote romantic rocky glens, and wooded slopes are overlooked by bare mountain summits and heather clad moorland. Here, the overwhelming feeling is of the impressiveness of the mountain slopes and a sense of peacefulness. This silence may only be broken by the call of a buzzard or the bleating of a lamb.

'A little bit of heaven on Earth' was how Lloyd George described the Ceiriog Valley. Surprisingly, this beautiful valley has remained relatively undiscovered, - a secret place. Only a few miles from the English border and the A5, one of the main tourist routes into North Wales, it has remarkably retained its cultural heritage and unspoilt countryside.

The Ceiriog Valley lies immediately south of and parallel to the picturesque Vale of Llangollen. Yet it is the Ceiriog Valley that has been called 'little Switzerland' and given rise to three notable poets, undoubtedly inspired by their love for their homeland. It is all the more surprising, therefore, that had Lloyd George not spoken so passionately in its defence, we may never have known of its beauty.

In 1923, Parliament was asked to grant statutory powers to impound the upper waters of the River Ceiriog and to evict the local population living within an area of 13,600 acres. Thankfully, commonsense prevailed and the proposal was defeated.