The Clwydian Range is sometimes described as a chain of hillforts, and beyond the better-known summits of Moel Famau and Foel Fenlli, two more sites are worth seeking out for anyone exploring the hills above Denbigh on foot. Moel Arthur is often ranked among the finest hillforts in Wales, its ramparts and ditches remaining unusually well preserved for a monument well over two thousand years old.
Further along the ridge, Penycloddiau is one of the largest hillforts in the range, its interior still showing the sites of former round houses where an Iron Age community once lived. Together with Foel Fenlli, Moel Famau and Moel y Gaer near Bodfari, these hillforts form a near-continuous line along the high ground of the Clwydian Range, broadly followed by Offa's Dyke Path — giving walkers the chance to string several ancient sites together in a single ridge walk.
The scale of these monuments, several of them enclosing tens of acres apiece, is a striking reminder of just how populous and organised this stretch of the Welsh borders was in the centuries before the Romans arrived.
Moel Arthur and Penycloddiau are two more of the string of Iron Age hillforts that crown the Clwydian Range, each showing the characteristic multiple banks and ditches used by prehistoric communities to defend hilltop settlements roughly 2,500 years ago. Penycloddiau, at over 40 hectares, is the largest hillfort in the range, while the smaller, more compact Moel Arthur offers a shorter, steeper climb with excellent views.
Both hills are linked by Offa's Dyke Path and connecting bridleways, making it possible to walk a satisfying loop or ridge route taking in several hillforts in a single day — a genuinely rewarding way to explore both the scenery and the ancient archaeology of the Clwydian Range from a Denbigh base.