Wat's Dyke is a 40-mile linear earthwork, generally thought to predate the better-known Offa's Dyke, running from Basingwerk on the Flintshire coast southward past Wrexham to Maesbury, near Oswestry. Traces can be picked up on the eastern side of Ruabon, forming the second of the two ancient boundary earthworks described in Location & Features.
Like Offa's Dyke, Wat's Dyke takes the form of a substantial bank with a ditch on its western side, built to formalise a boundary between Mercia and the Welsh kingdoms in the early medieval period, sometime in the 5th to 8th centuries. Exactly how the two dykes relate to one another chronologically, and why both were needed, remains a live question among archaeologists.
The best-preserved and most easily visited stretches of Wat's Dyke lie a little further north, within the grounds of Erddig, a National Trust property near Wrexham, where well-preserved sections survive within the estate's woodland. Locally around Ruabon, shorter, quieter traces can still be picked out by anyone who knows where to look, though they are less continuous than the Erddig sections.
The best-preserved sections of Wat's Dyke are within Erddig's grounds near Wrexham, reached via the National Trust car park or on foot from Wrexham; normal National Trust admission or membership terms apply for the wider estate, though the dyke itself can often be reached via public paths at the estate's edges. Shorter traces near Ruabon are accessible via public rights of way, free of charge.
Search hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses and self-catering — powered by Booking.com.
Search Accommodation on Booking.com →Powered by Booking.com — our affiliate partner
Day trips