A Gwersyllt bridge damaged in the 2022 storms, which severed access to part of the Wat’s Dyke Trail, is to be replaced. Wrexham County Borough Council has issued a tender for contractors to reinstate the public right of way near Wilderness Mill Farm. The former crossing connected footpath LLA15 from Llay with footpath GWE21 on the opposite side of the River Alyn.

The Wat’s Dyke Way is a 61-mile (about 98 km) walking trail that follows the line of an ancient earthwork called Wat’s Dyke. The route runs through the Welsh–English borderlands from the Llanymynech area down to the Dee estuary near Holywell, passing through towns and villages such as Oswestry, Wrexham, Caergwrle and Flint. It’s popular with walkers because it links attractive countryside, riverside paths and historic settlements across the northern Marches.

Wat’s Dyke itself is a long linear bank and ditch structure. It likely served as a territorial boundary in the early medieval period, marking the frontier between the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia and the western lands that became Wales. There’s still debate about when it was built—some evidence points to the 8th century, while more recent work suggests parts could be earlier, in the 5th or 6th century. Either way, it predates many later border arrangements and played a role in shaping how the border region developed.

For Wrexham, the Dyke and the trail are part of the area’s deep borderland history. This was frontier country for many centuries, and the line of Wat’s Dyke shows how early the landscape was divided and defended. Sections of the earthwork still influence today’s rights of way, local place names and walking routes. The modern trail brings visitors into the county borough, supports local tourism and outdoor recreation, and links Wrexham’s rural surroundings to wider heritage networks across the Marches.

In February 2022, storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin caused a partial collapse of the bridge’s arch and parapet. With the crossing severed, walkers could no longer follow the Wat’s Dyke Trail over the river and through Wrexham.

Now, four years on, Wrexham County Borough Council has put out a tender for a replacement. The proposal calls for a 20-metre-long, two-metre-wide steel bridge with accessible exit ramps and lockable gates, capable of carrying pedestrians, cattle and a quadbike for the neighbouring farm.

If approved, construction will begin on April 1 and finish no later than September 1. The deadline for submissions is January 30.

Pic . Alyn Waters Country Park – Darren Jones, 2022