Over the footbridge on the river Wheeler we go, following the path to house with a red post box in front, heading up through the bracken until you reach a height, giving a clear view of Bodfari and its white church.
You can’t escape the radio mast on Moel y Parc as you follow a stoney track uphill, going past an atmospheric barn nestling below. The path takes us to a gateway by a small pull in big enough for a few cars to park. The next sign is a bit ambiguous. Just don’t follow the sign for Clifford byway or you will have to make your way back up to the gate. Go through the gate and head uphill and you are soon out on open moorland. The heather and gorse is beginning to bloom, and I have never seen so many bilberry clumps, although some of the plants are already turning a burnished red from the hot early summer.
You top out at 1442 feet at Pen y Cloddiau, an Iron Age fort, before starting your descent, eventually reaching Coed Llangwyfan on our right.
The Clwydian hills were covered in mist by now, with the first drops of rain in weeks. We togged up in our wet weather gear, before exiting the trees at the car park.
The downpour put paid to our walking for the day, which meant that we were miles away from our cars. The plan was to walk in Llandyrnog and ring for a taxi.
Half way down the road, a light blue jaguar stops, and the driver recognised us from walking the path. We felt guilty dripping all over the car’s cream interior, but not so guilty as to refuse a lift.
Having been dropped at the junction to Bodfari, we were quickly offered another lift by a young woman with a soft Scottish accent, who also enjoyed walking Wales’s paths. It was still raining when we reached the car, and the visibility at Clwyd Gate was limited. We congratulated ourselves on a decision well made, settling down to watch Wimbledon tennis for the afternoon.