The Alyn Gorge is a

gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...

section of the

River Alyn The River Alyn () is a tributary of the River Dee in north-east Wales. It rises at the southern end of the Clwydian hills and the Alyn Valley forms part of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The main tow ...

north between Loggerheads and Rhydymwyn in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The west side of the valley rises gently to Moel Famau, while the east bank is along parts a cliff with evidence of tram lines and old quarry workings. The path along the edge of the gorge is well maintained, with metal bridges and barriers across sites which are popular with climbers. The character of the gorge changes at Cilcain where a small bridge crosses the watercourse at . The water sinks into the river bed a hundred metres north from this place and enters the

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

s Ogof Hen Ffynhonnau and Ogof Hesp Alyn, which were discovered in the 1970s after the watertable had changed due to the mine-workings earlier in the century. High on the east bank near these two entrances is the small cave of Ogof Nadolig. The Alyn Gorge and caves have been designated as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI)

References

Canyons and gorges of Denbighshire Canyons and gorges of Flintshire {{Flintshire-geo-stub