The Llan Ceiriog Way is a fantastic link-up of two well established routes in and around the Dee Valley- The Llangollen Round (which circumnavigates the town of Llangollen) and the Llwybr Ceiriog Trail (which circumnavigates the village of Glyn Ceiriog). It's varied terrain of classic Welsh character, with savagely steep gradients up on Llantysilio mountain complementing nicely the rolling highly run-able ridgeline of the North Berwyn Way. It's not all high-level however; the Ceiriog trail portion of the route provides an intriguing mix of old sunken bridleways- clearly roads of old that have been bypassed but remain as historical reminders of a slower time of horses and carts. The route also crosses the engineering marvel that is the Froncysyllte Aquaduct, and provides oustanding views of Castel Dinas Bran from up above Trevor Rocks, thus cementing the route as a rich cultural experience. Why do both routes in a single push? Other than the added variation mentioned, this route provides a stern challenge of a double marathon with nearly 10,000ft climbing, in classic Welsh country but away from the hype and busyness of Snowdonia (you may not see another soul all day!). You're never really far from help, but parts feel very remote and the opportunities for re-supply on route are sparse. This means it's a route that favours the bold unsupported adventurer, a true test of 10-14hours that will worry even the hardiest ultrarunner.
Both routes share a few miles of lane on the ridgeline south of Langollen (~SJ210394) providing an ideal way of merging them to create the round (by removing this section of lane- from ~SJ202393 to ~SJ226398). This way you never really have to go back on yourself. The round can obviously be started at any point, but the Aquaduct to the East or the bridge at Carrog to the West probably make the most sense.
