View of Bwlch pen Barras from Foel Fenlli - geograph

Bwlch Penbarras (also known as ''Bwlch Pen Barras'', or the ''Old Bwlch'') is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

in the

Clwydian Range and Dee Valley , iucn_category =V , iucn_ref = , photo =Sunny Hillside, Frosty Valley Dee Valley Wales (11014647076).jpg , photo_width = , photo_alt =Image of the view of the Dee Valley from Moel Y Gamelin , photo_caption = ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...

, in north-east

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

. The gap, which is at an altitude of , lies between the hills of

Moel Famau Moel Famau is the highest hill in the Clwydian Range and the highest point (county top) of the county of Flintshire in Wales (both the historic county and the current council area). It lies on the boundary between Denbighshire and Flintshire. ...

and

Foel Fenlli Foel Fenlli or Moel Fenlli is a hill in Denbighshire, North Wales. With a summit at an elevation of , it is the second highest peak of the Clwydian Range. A popular ascent leads south from the car park at Bwlch Penbarras, which is also a popul ...

. An unclassified road between

Tafarn-y-Gelyn Tafarn-y-Gelyn is a small village in the east of Denbighshire, North East Wales. Situated near Llanferres, at the foot of Moel Famau, just off the A494 road halfway between Ruthin and Mold. Tafarn-y-Gelyn (225m) is the start of the old coach ...

and Llanbedr-Dyffryn-Clwyd runs from east to west through the pass.

Offa's Dyke Path Offa's Dyke Path ( cy, Llwybr Clawdd Offa) is a long-distance footpath loosely following the Wales–England border. Officially opened on 10 July 1971, by Lord Hunt, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws walkers from throughout th ...

, running broadly south–north, crosses the road at its highest point. The alternative name of Old Bwlch references its position on the historic route between

Mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal seco ...

and

Ruthin Ruthin ( ; cy, Rhuthun) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. It is Denbighshire's county town. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and ...

via

Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd is a small village and community in Denbighshire in Wales, approximately 2 miles north-east of the town of Ruthin on the main A494 road towards Chester. There are several places called Llanbedr in Wales, as the word li ...

. It was superseded by the 18th-century Mold to Denbigh turnpike (now the

A494 road The A494 is a trunk road in Wales and England. The route, which is officially known as the Dolgellau to South of Birkenhead Trunk Road, runs between the terminus of the M56 motorway between Mollington and Capenhurst and the A470 at Dolgellau ...

), which crosses the Clwydian range several miles to the south, at Bwlch-y-Parc. The eastern side of Bwlch Penbarras is an almost straight ascent with no severe gradients; however, the western side of the pass is characterised by long drops, a narrower road and steep gradients: the road drops in with

gradient In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the gradi ...

s approaching 25% and a sharp

hairpin bend A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal hai ...

Leisure

The pass is a popular access point for walkers venturing to Moel Famau, and there are two

Natural Resources Wales Natural Resources Wales ( cy, Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru) is a Welsh Government sponsored body, which became operational from 1 April 2013, when it took over the management of the natural resources of Wales. It was formed from a merger of the Count ...

car parks to meet demand: one at the summit of the pass, and one a mile down the eastern side towards Tafarn-y-Gelyn. Access tracks climb through the forest from both car parks to Moel Famau's summit. The steep climb on the western approach from Llanbedr-Dyffryn-Clwyd has made the pass popular with cyclists. ''

Cycling Weekly ''Cycling Weekly'' is a British cycling magazine. It is published by Future and is devoted to the sport and pastime of cycling. It used to be affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".

'' magazine has featured it as a 'Killer Climb', and also listed it in the

Dave Lloyd Mega Challenge The Dave Lloyd Mega Challenge was a cyclosportive challenge based in North East Wales. Held for the first time in June 2008. The Independent Association of Cyclosportive Organisers placed it in the top three of UK sportives. The challenge feature ...

cyclosportive A cyclosportive, or often simply sportive, is a short to long distance, organised, mass-participation cycling event, typically held annually. The Italian term '' Gran Fondo'' is commonly used for these events in the United States, Australia and so ...

. Nigel Blackwell of

Half Man Half Biscuit Half Man Half Biscuit are an English rock band, formed in 1984 in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Known for their satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs, the band comprises lead singer and guitarist Nigel Blackwell, bassist and singer Neil Cr ...

mentioned the pass in a 2012 interview when he said: "the biggest achievement for me is creating a situation for myself whereby I can get up of a morning and decide to go and tackle Bwlch Pen Barras on the bike".

References

External links

RoadcyclingUK 'Ten Steepest Climbs' - Bwlch Penbarras
{{coord, 53.137, -3.251, type:pass_region:GB, display=title Mountain passes of Denbighshire Roads in Denbighshire