Llanymynech

Llanymynech Hill is one of Wales' earliest mining sites. Evidence suggests that copper was mined and smelted here in the late Bronze Age, and that the metal was used to make bronze weapons and other implements. The hill above Llanymynech is crowned with an extensive Iron Age hillfort, which extends over 57 hectares (140 acres), and surrounds a cave opening known as the Ogof. The size of this hillfort is probably explained by the presence of the copper mines. The hillfort would have served as protection for the mine, and housed the labourers employed in the extraction of copper. The Bronze Age British miners would have used fire-setting mining techniques, but with the arrival of the Romans…

Llanymynech Hill is now the site of Llanymynech Golf Club perched on top of the cliffs, whose 18-hole course is the only one in Europe to straddle a country border, being partly in England and partly in Wales. The village is home to one of only three remaining Hoffmann kilns in the British Isles, and the only one with a chimney. The kiln at Llanymynech was used for lime burning. The area around the kiln is designated as the Llanymynech Heritage Area. The former limestone quarry which fed the kiln is now the Shropshire Wildlife Trust's Llanymynech Rocks Nature Reserve, and its cliff face is popular with rock climbers.