It's likely you've never heard of this forest, which is perched high on a mountainside and is less than a century old. But in that short time, Clocaenog has endeared itself to generations of visitors as it mingles the scent of trees with great walks and superb views.
Off one track lies a beautiful gamekeeper's lodge, eerily abandoned deep in the forest. There’s a beautiful lake and the Afon Clwyd River springs from its depths. The forest is home to a once “extinct” breed of wild horse and the trees also hide a much-loved creature that can be found in few other places south of Hadrian’s Wall, Britain’s native red squirrel. Until surpassed by Anglesey's reds, Clocaenog had the biggest population in Wales.
The forest on Mynydd Hiraethog (an upland region in Conwy and Denbighshire) offers much else besides and has just topped a list of the “50 best UK forests for autumn visits”, North Wales Live reports. It was a compilation dominated by woodlands in Wales: nine occupied the top 26 places.
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Among these was Gwydyr Forest near Betws-y-Coed, Conwy, placed fourth overall. Set among lakes, this lies in the heart of Eryri and it too is noted for its wildlife, walks and cycle trails. Gwydyr also has the Caerdroia Labyrinth, the largest of its kind in the world, which will be joint-hosting a new “Welsh Robin Hood” festival later this month.
The list was compiled by HomeToGo, an online search facility for holiday lets. Of Clocaenog, the company said: “This forest is peppered with waymarked trails. Each path promises unique sights, with some leading past secret waterfalls (Rhyd y Gaseg) and others to hilltop monuments (Pincyn Llys). Animal lovers can spend time trying to spot rare black grouse and elusive red squirrels, or following the Coed y Fron Wyllt path through ancient woodland to a wetland wildlife viewing hide.”
The list was drawn up by extracting data points to form four categories. “Serenity” scored highest for forests with lowest search volumes, suggesting they were relatively unexplored. “Prices” were based on nightly accommodation costs.
“Rain & Shine” scores were derived from Met Office data for sunshine hours and rainfall levels in October and November. “Room to Explore” scores simply depended on a forest’s size. Clocaenog Forest amounts to a hefty 22 sq miles – and almost twice as big again once surrounding moorland is included. Taking its name from the ancient village of Clocaenog, since overshadowed by its giant neighbour, the forest was greatly expanded by the Forestry Commission in 1930, its original 12,711 acres coming from the bulk of Lord Bagot’s Pool Park estate. Lord Bagot planted the first trees there exactly 100 years earlier, and the Pincyn Llys memorial stands as a testament to his enterprise. The estate’s old gamekeeper’s lodge has long since been enveloped by trees.
Once the area would have been crossed by ancient drovers’ trails, used by Welsh farmers to herd sheep, cattle and geese to England's market towns. Now the forest has its own set of walking trails. Still a commercial forest, harvested for its timber, it is also crisscrossed by multiple tracks. Clocaenog has numerous car parks. Prominent ones include Pincyn Llys, Boncyn Foel Fach and Bod Petryal. This, and its many miles of quiet forest roads, makes it an ideal location for family walks, cycling and horse riding. Clocaenog has its own herd of Przewalski horses, which once featured on cave paintings when they roamed Britain 4,000 years ago. Once extinct in the wild, the breed was conserved by zoos and Clocaenog’s horses were bred at Colwyn Bay Mountain Zoo.
Other introductions were more controversial. When RWE completed its 27-turbine Clocaenog Forest wind farm in 2020, it was the company’s largest onshore wind venture in the UK.
Occasionally the peace and quiet is shattered by the roar of high-powered cars: Clocaenog is a regular stage on the Wales Rally GB. Inevitably, in a forest so large and relatively remote, there have been less welcome uses too.
Serial killer Peter Moore buried his youngest victim there, and in 2002, a 47-year-old artist with schizophrenia died after handcuffing himself to a tree and throwing away the key. More recently, the body of an unidentified murder victim was discovered by two brothers attending the 2015 Wales Rally GB.
Despite this, Clocaenog Forest is much loved by its visitors. “Beautiful, easy walk on a cold, crisp and sunny afternoon in November,” said one reviewer. Another added: “Lovely walk in the sunshine. Nice stream running through in parts for the dog. Only saw two groups of people the whole way around! Nice picnic area too.”
Other Welsh forest in the top 50 UK list included Coed-y-Brenin, Gwynedd (20th), Llandegla Forest, Denbighshire (23rd) and Newborough Forest, Anglesey (25th). Last of the Welsh representatives was Hafren Forest, Powys (26th).
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