Wepre Park
A 160-acre country park on the edge of Connah’s Quay, with woodland walks, a waterfall, a 13th-century Welsh castle and the best free playground in Flintshire.
Wepre Park is a 160-acre country park on the southern edge of Connah’s Quay, run by Flintshire County Council. It holds a Green Flag award and draws around 200,000 visitors a year, who come for the woodland, the walk up to a ruined Welsh castle, and a playground that has a strong claim to being the best in the county. Entry is free and the park is open all year.
The valley, the brook and the waterfall
The heart of the park is the wooded valley of Wepre Brook, which winds down through ancient woodland towards the Dee. A boardwalk carries the path across the wetter ground, and the trees, ponds and streams make the park a recognised wildlife site.
The waterfall is the feature most visitors head for first, and it is at its most dramatic after heavy rain. It is not entirely natural. The cascade was engineered along the brook in the 1800s to drive a small turbine generating electricity for Wepre Hall, the estate house that once stood here. Nearby is Rosie Pool, a managed fishing pond, and the outcrop known as the Red Rocks, a band of red sandstone that was quarried to build the castle further up the valley.
Ewloe Castle
The walk through the woods leads to Ewloe Castle, a native Welsh castle hidden on a promontory above the meeting of two streams. It is one of the few castles in north Wales built by the Welsh princes rather than against them.
Its history is not fully documented. The distinctive D-shaped keep, known as the Welsh Tower, was probably begun by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, Llywelyn the Great, some time after 1210. The curtain walls and the round western tower were added around 1257 by his grandson Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Llywelyn the Last, the final independent prince of Wales. The site sat close to the English border and watched the road to Chester. Centuries earlier, in 1157, the woods nearby were the scene of the Battle of Ewloe, where Owain Gwynedd ambushed and defeated the army of Henry II.
The castle is a Grade I listed building in the care of Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic environment service, and is free to enter. It sits roughly a 30 to 40 minute walk from the main car park, and the ground-floor levels are open to visitors. Dogs on short leads are allowed.
Walking the park
The best-known route is the circuit up to Ewloe Castle and back, around three miles and about an hour at a steady pace. The paths are well made, but the valley is steep in places and can be muddy after rain, so proper footwear helps. Shorter strolls around the visitor centre, the ponds and the waterfall suit families and anyone wanting an easy hour rather than a hike.
The Wepre parkrun takes place every Saturday at 9am, a free, timed five-kilometre run open to all abilities. The route is a hilly one, passing the waterfall and Rosie Pool before finishing outside the visitor centre.
For families
The playground is the draw for many local families, alongside an outdoor gym, the fishing pond and open grass for football. The visitor centre has a café, toilets and information on the park and its events programme, and is the natural place to start a visit and pick up a trail map.
Getting there and practical details
The main car park is off Wepre Drive, Connah’s Quay, CH5 4HL. Vehicle access to the car park runs from dawn to dusk, while the park itself is open to people on foot at any time. There are toilets and a café at the visitor centre, and dogs are welcome throughout, on a lead near the castle and the playground.
Parking charges apply. The current rates and the full list of facilities and accessibility information are set out in the [Connah’s Quay hub FAQ](/connahs-quay). If you are planning a visit by car, that is the page to check before you set off.
The history of the park
The park is what survives of the Wepre Hall estate. The name “Wepre” is old, thought to come from Welsh words meaning something close to “water hill”, and the land was wooded and held in private estates for centuries.
Wepre Hall itself was demolished in 1960, after Flintshire’s local council acquired what remained of the estate and opened the grounds to the public. The original cellars of the hall still lie beneath the visitor centre. Today the park is managed by Flintshire County Council’s countryside service, which runs it alongside Greenfield Valley Heritage Park in Holywell as the county’s two main country parks.
Wepre Park is one of the reasons Connah’s Quay holds onto its green and riverside character. For more on the town and what else there is to do, see our guide to things to do in Connah’s Quay.
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