Moel Famau
Moel Famau
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Moel Famau

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Moel Famau

Moel Famau (listen) 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. The hill, which also gives its name to the Moel Famau country park, has been classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty since 1985. It is also surrounded by several well-preserved Iron Age hill forts. It is also the fourth-highest peak in the extended AONB of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley. It is sometimes claimed as the highest point in North-east Wales, but that honour goes to Cadair Berwyn; Moel Famau is also lower than Moel y Gamelin and Moel Fferna, the highest points in the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

A northern part of the Offa's Dyke long-distance footpath, one of the UK's most popular National Trails, crosses the summit of Moel Famau and the Jubilee Tower. Loggerheads Country Park is nearby.

Although historical sources attest to a variety of spellings (such as Moel Famma, Moel Vamma and Moel Fammau), the only two in common use today are Moel Famau and Moel Fama. The first word moel is a common Welsh place-name element meaning "bare". The meaning and preferred spelling of the second element are less certain, but is roughly translated into "mothers".

Attestations from as early as the fourteenth century consistently show that the second element ends in –a. This conforms to the local pronunciation (Welsh: [ˈvama]) and is "the preferred spelling", according to the Dictionary of the Place-names of Wales. The meaning of the Fama is somewhat uncertain, but it is probably a lenited form of a personal name, 'Mama'.

The alternative form Moel Famau is a result of an "antiquarian perception" first attested in the eighteenth century that the second element was the lenited form of the common noun mamau ("mothers"). If that were the case, however, the early forms in –a would be very difficult to explain. Nevertheless, the form Moel Famau is common today and it is still sometimes said to mean "mothers' hill".

The park, which covers an area over 3 square miles (8 km2), is managed by Denbighshire Countryside Service which is responsible for the heather moorland, dry stone walls and access paths, and provides information and facilities for visitors. The area is home to wildlife such as red grouse, European stonechat and Eurasian curlew. The summit of Moel Famau lies just within the Flintshire border.

Natural Resources Wales manage the neighbouring forest as a sustainable conifer plantation for timber production and tourism.

Numerous well-maintained paths of varying difficulty lead to the summit. Two of the easiest and most popular routes start from the southern car parks at Bwlch Penbarras, a pass between Moel Famau and Foel Fenlli, about 1.25 miles (2.0 km) from the summit. The northern route begins at the car park south of the Iron Age hill fort at Moel Arthur. A footpath to the top of Moel Famau also begins from the village of Cilcain.

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