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As you approach Llangollen from either Wrexham or along the A5, the white rocks of the Eglwyseg Escarpment form a spectacular backdrop and mark the boundaries to one of the most mysterious places in Wales.

Ruabon Mountain, as the vast area of moorland beyond these white cliffs is known, was once home to hundreds of burial chambers dating from as far back as 2000 B.C. Indeed the whole expanse of the Land of the Dead can be traced up to the Delyn Plateau by the North Wales Coast.

A quick glimpse at a pre WWII Ordnance Survey map shows very clearly the extent of these cairns. Unfortunately, many of these, with the exception of those on the very edges of the Escarpment, were destroyed by German bombs during WWII as the area was used as a decoy area to protect Liverpool.

But could this be the true area on which the Celtic Otherworld, or Annwn, is based?

References to Gwyn ap Nudd, Lord of the Celtic Otherworld, are rife in the area, with the name for the local Mountain range Berwyn translating to Gwyn's Hill, with others such as Nant Gwyn (Gwyn's Valley), Caer Drewyn (Gwyn's Town). Indeed the whole area has been known locally as Gwyn's Land for centuries.

Legend has it that St Collen defeated Gwyn ap Nudd and later asked God for somewhere he could live in peace forever. God told Collen to go out until he found a horse then ride over as large an area as he could encompass in a day, then this would be his sanctuary until Doomsday.

This he did and the area encompassed became his Parish, with his cell or church at its centre. Here he spent the rest of his life and where he was buried.

This legend is now associated with Glastonbury Abbey, almost 200 miles distant despite all this local Welsh tradition, which seems highly unlikely!!