All walks › Wrexham and Flintshire
Wrexham and FlintshireMinera Lead Mines and Esclusham Mountain
A restored engine house and dressing floors on a hillside that was one of the richest lead fields in Wales, with open moor above it.
- Distance
- 3.7 mi / 6 km
- Time
- 2 hr 5
- Ascent
- 200 m
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Shape
- Circular
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
From the mine site, tracks climb onto Esclusham Mountain and the limestone quarries, returning by field paths through the village.
Worth knowing
- The Meadow Shaft site is restored and interpreted, and is free to visit.
- The limestone grassland above holds rare plants adapted to metal-rich soils.
- The mountain road above gives a big view over Cheshire.
What you’ll see
The engine house and dressing floors, limestone quarries, and the Cheshire plain from the ridge.
Background
Lead was mined at Minera from Roman times and intensively in the nineteenth century, when the field was among the most productive in Britain.