We visited this after viewing a house, really sad we didn’t get the property. But love the area, so will look for more around here.

Chirk Castle estate is made up of 480 acres of woodland, meadow and tenanted grassland. Discover a working landscape full of ancient trees, wild flowers, birds and insects.

Offa’s Dyke
Bisecting the estate is a section of the remarkable 8th-century defensive earthwork Offa’s Dyke, built by King Offa of Mercia to mark the ancient border with the kingdom of Powys. 

The Davies Gates
The ornate Baroque gates are usually the first thing visitors will see when they arrive at Chirk Castle. They were commissioned by Sir Richard Myddelton in 1712, and made by two local blacksmiths, Robert and John Davies using iron from the Myddelton forge at Pont-y-blew. 

The gates originally stood near the north face of the castle, but William Emes moved them in 1770 to the current visitor entrance, and they were moved again in 1888 to their current location when the railway arrived.

Estate wildlife at Chirk
The estate is rich in biodiversity, and the 650 veteran trees on the estate are an important ecosystems in their own right. They support species of lichens, liverworts and mosses; provide roosting and breeding sites for bat species; and nest sites for bird species, including tree creepers and great spotted woodpeckers.

Habitat heaven for invertebrates
The standing and fallen deadwood trees provide habitat for species of fungi and saproxylic invertebrates. On the estate over 200 species of these invertebrates have been recorded including 20 Red Data Book species and 97 Nationally Scarce species. These invertebrates, in turn, provide a vital food source for many species of bird and small mammal.

Fabulous fungi
The front park on the estate is a very important site for the populations of grassland fungi, with a total of 32 different species having been recorded. This group of fungi is comprised of species of Pinkgills, Fairy Clubs, Earth Tongues, and the brightly coloured Waxcaps, of which 15 different species have been recorded.

We didn’t find everything as it was merely a quick woodland walk after viewing a house nearby. But it was a glorious walk, not too hard, but still wore me out.