Tŷ Mawr Country Park
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Tŷ Mawr Country Park () is a
country park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a specific meaning. There are around 250 designated c ...
and farm park near
Cefn Mawr Cefn Mawr (; ) is a village in the Community (Wales), community of Cefn (community), Cefn within Wrexham County Borough, Wales. Its name translates as "big ridge".Mills, D. ''A Dictionary of British Place Names'', OUP, p.104 The population in ...
in
Wrexham County Borough Wrexham County Borough () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough, with city status in the United Kingdom, city status, in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It borders the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire and Shropshire to ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. The country park lies between Cefn-bychan and Newbridge to the north, the River Dee to the south and west, and the Cefn Viaduct carrying the
Shrewsbury–Chester line The Shrewsbury–Chester line is a railway line between Chester and Shrewsbury in England, with the line passing through Wrexham in Wales. Passenger train services are operated by Transport for Wales Rail between , in the north, and , in the so ...
to the east.


Description

The country park lies on the
banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. As banks ...
of the River Dee and its
SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
, within the Vale of Llangollen in the Dee Valley. It is situated next to and underneath the stone-built Cefn
Viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...
carrying the Shrewsbury to Chester railway line. It is situated south of
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
. The park is downstream from
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (; ) is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal across the River Dee in the Vale of Llangollen in northeast Wales. The 18-arched stone and cast iron structure is for use by narrowboats and was complet ...
has been within the boundaries of the buffer zone of the aqueduct's
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
since 2009, and within the
Clwydian Range and Dee Valley The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley () is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; also known as a ''National Landscape'') located in north-east Wales, covering the Clwydian Range (), and the valley of the River Dee, Wales, River D ...
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...
since
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
. The country park has been accredited with the
Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...
annually since 2006. The park is connected to the Cefn Mawr Heritage Trail, a longer circular walk, and the Viaduct - Aqueduct Walk. It is also located near the Offa's Dyke National Trail and parts of
Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke () is a large linear Earthworks (Archaeology), earthwork that roughly follows the England–Wales border, border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa of Mercia, Offa, the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon king of Mer ...
on the otherside of the River Dee. There is a picnic area with some wooden sculptures which overlooks the viaduct. In 2016, the park had 47,000 visitors. In July 2024, the country park was awarded the
Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...
.


Farm park

The country park hosts a "farm park" (a
petting zoo A petting zoo (also called a children's zoo, children's farm, or petting farm) features a combination of domesticated animals and some wild species that are docile enough to touch and feed. In addition to independent petting zoos, many general ...
situated in an organic working farm), home to various farm animals, such as
donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...
s,
sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...
,
pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...
s,
goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...
s,
chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...
s,
duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...
s and the two
llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...
s in the park, named Carlos and Pedro who guard the sheep from
fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
es. The park also contains organic
wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, rather than being intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is any different from the native plant, eve ...
meadows, various wild birds, insects and other wild animals which thrive on the park's land due to the absence of any use of chemicals and pesticides. The park hosts
Visitor centre A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center or tourist information centre is a physical location that provides information to tourists. Types A visitor center may be a Civic c ...
and a Barn Centre which serves as the
community centre A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...
for the park, used for education, park events, children's birthday parties, or various community or private events.


Sponsorship scheme

Since 2006, there has been a sponsorship scheme at the country park to support the animals within the park. Animals open to sponsorship are: llamas, sheep, goats,
rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...
s, ducks, chickens,
cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...
s and
guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy ( ), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'', family Caviidae. Animal fancy, Breeders tend to use the name "cavy" for the ani ...
s. They cost either £10 or £15 annually depending on animal.


Tŷ Mawr Trail

The country park contains a circular trail on tarmac surfaced footpaths. Starting at the visitor centre and going anti-clockwise, the trail passes a goat field, the River Dee and Aqueduct Path, a riverside beach, then parallels the Cefn Viaduct until it reaches a
Dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot (Scots Language, Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house Domestic pigeon, pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or b ...
and the "Mini Beast Woods".


Larry the Llama

On 5 February 2009, "Larry the Llama" (full name Lawrence) who was based at the country park since 2003 was transferred out of the park due to his attacks on the park's sheep. Llamas are housed at the country park to guard the sheep on site from wild foxes. By 2009, the llama was discovered to be biting and chasing the park's sheep, inflicting serious injuries on some. Senior ranger Liz Carding theorised that the events could have been a power struggle over food, with Carding stating that Larry may have realised that if he had scared sheep away there would be more food for himself. Staff at the park initially separated Larry from the sheep, but his behaviour failed to improve, and Larry the Llama was moved to a farm in
Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...
. Two new Llamas were bought as replacements and delivered to the park in March 2009, the llama half-brothers Carlos and Pedro from
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
.


See also

* Parks and open spaces in Wrexham *
Wynnstay Wynnstay is a country house within an important landscaped park 1.3 km (0.75 miles) south-east of Ruabon, near Wrexham, Wales. Wynnstay, previously Watstay, is a famous estate and the family seat of the Williams-Wynn baronets. The house wa ...
*
Shrewsbury and Chester Railway The North Wales Mineral Railway was formed to carry coal and ironstone from the mineral-bearing area around Wrexham to the River Dee, Wales, River Dee wharves. It was extended to run from Shrewsbury and formed part of a main line trunk route, ...


References

{{Parks and open spaces in Wrexham Country parks in Wales Parks in Wrexham County Borough