Chirk, Chirk Bank, The Temple and Chirk Castle 13th June 2026

Welsh poppies next to the path. 

One of the willd flower meadows that we crossed on the way to The Temple Folly.

Buttercups next to the path.

The permissive way to the Temple Folly.

The Temple Folly.

At the Temple.

Views towards Chirk and beyond.

White valerian.

Red valerian.

First views of Chirk Castle.

Alpacas on the run.

A type of Cornflower.

Kilns next to the road leading to the "Crogen" bridge.

The Afon Ceiriog from the Crogen Bridge.

The commemorative plaque on the bridge over the Afon Ceoriog.

One of three information boards about the Battle of Crogen next to the permissive path leading to Chirk Castle.

The informative totem pole in the Mindful Meadow in the grounds of Chirk Castle.

Yellow rattle in the meadow next to our lunch spot.

Our closest view of Chirk Castle.

The dead and living side by side.

An information boards celebrating the beauty of waterways aeound Chirk.

Distance: 6.3 miles. Climb: 715’.
Time: 3 hours 44 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.5 m.p.h. Overall walking average: 1.8 m.p.h.
Temperature: 13.5 Celsius at the start. In the main around 17.8 Celsius, although the breeze meant it felt cooler.
Beaufort Wind Force: Max 3, just a Gentle breeze.
Group: Martyn, and Mike.
The weather forecast looked pretty good today, except for strong winds, so we made a last-minute decision to walk from Chirk.
The walk took us through several wild flower meadow where “No Mo May” had been followed.
Permission to walk through the field to The Temple Folly has now granted, so there is no need to feel guilty when you walk to the folly.
Approaching Pont Raen, we forgot to take a minor road to the right, and ended up at the bridge with the plaque commemorating the Battle of Crogen.
This had the advantage that we didn’t have to walk the long access road through the grounds of Chirk Castle. It did however, shorted the walk by a couple of miles!
Lunch was taken in the “Mindful Garden” in the grounds of Chirk Castle. This a very pleasant, peaceful spot with plenty of picnic tables in a wildflower meadow, that thankfully seems to be ignored by the crowds visiting he castle.
After lunch, our route from the castle followed field paths through the grounds, eventually arriving at Chirk Station.
Birds seen or heard today included: Common blackbird, Common pheasant, Chiffchaff, Winter wren, Great tit, Blackcap, European robin, Common kestrel, Common buzzard, Common chaffinch, Goldfinch, House martin, Mallard, Rook, Barn swallow, House sparrow, Jackdaw, Carrion crow, Blue tit and European robin.
We arrived back at the car, with a strong smell of chocolate in air, a legacy of a nearby factory.
Overall, it was an enjoyable walk, despite it being a little on the short side.
Once more, we headed to the Pant yr Ochain for some liquid refreshment. Mike enjoyed his pint of Purple Moose’s Cwrw Eryri with some Sweet Chilli crisps, and I enjoyed a pot of tea with extra hot water.
I dropped Mike off in Upton, and it was still early enough to cross Chester before the races on the Roodee had finished.