New to the Village?

If you have recently moved in to Penyffordd / Penymynydd / Dobshill or are thinking of living here, let us tell you what you need to know about our village.

About the village

There are roughly 2,000 homes and over 4,000 residents in the ward. The villages of Pen-y-ffordd and Penymynydd are joined together and spread along a mile and a half of valley from St Johns Church, Penymynydd at one end, to the top of Wrexham Road, Pen-y-ffordd at the other. In between there are ribbons of older housing (mostly pre-1960) along the main roads of Hawarden Road (which becomes Vounog Hill and then Wrexham Road), Penymynydd Road and Corwen Road (which becomes Rhos Road). Throughout the village there are pockets of housing developments from the late 1960's up to the present day. Each of these developments has its own name and they slightly differ in character (Millstone View, Heritage Park, the Groves, Riversdale, Abbotsford, Meadowslea, The Towers, Wellhouse, Bellway and so on). 

There is a growing centre of the village around the Millennium clock, with the Spar, Barbers, Garage, Vet, Dentist, Osteopath, Millstone pub, Co-op, Pharmacy and hairdresser all within a short walk. In the same stretch you will find the Scout hut, Community Centre (Youth Club) and the Millstone play area (with something for all ages). The community garden and allotments are at the back of the play area.

You will find lots of contact details and practical information on our ‘Need to Know’ pages

What's it like to live here?

The residents come from all walks of life, there are many who have lived here their whole life (some who came as refugees in the war and never left), many families with 3 or more generations in the village and more again working people and families who have moved into the area over the last 40 years. A great many residents work outside of the village and in the daytime it can feel very quiet. At the weekend it comes alive with people very active.

There are many families and therefore children. There are two primary schools in the village - St John the Baptist Primary and Ysgol Penyffordd. There are pre-school and nursery clubs for smaller children. There is a youth club as well as Scouts, Beavers and Cubs. There is an excellent secondary school at Castell Alun, Hope, though there is always pressure on places, Elfed School at Buckley is growing in reputation (but has no 6th form). The nearest private schools in Chester and Ruthin pick up and drop off from Penyffordd.

Sports and fitness are well catered for with a tennis club, football club for adults and children, bowling, skate park, multi-use-games-area, outdoor gym equipment and there are a host of fitness groups and clubs including Penyffordd Run Club. There are children's play areas throughout the village - alongside the Millstone pub, on the Groves estate along with a football pitch, off Rhos Road, Melrose Close, Heritage Park, West View and Dobshill.

For the less active there are allotments, bingo, darts, indoor bowls, bridge, ballroom dancing, flower arranging, pilates, Women's Institute and a host of other groups and clubs.

Every year there is a village Carnival with Carnival Queen and fun fair. There is a large annual bonfire and firework display, remembrance parade, Santa Dash and Christmas carol concerts. It does still feel like a real community.

One of the great appeals of the village for many is living in the country with links to civilisation close at hand. There are plenty of public footpaths out of the village through the farmland that surrounds houses - no house is more than 250m from a field. There are two published circular walking routes you can use to get to know the area.

We are just 9 miles from Chester and its history, shops and entertainment and about the same from Wrexham. London is just 2 hours and 3 minutes from Chester station. Manchester airport is 40 minutes away and Manchester and Liverpool city centres are accessible in an hour or less by car (and Liverpool by train from Penyffordd station via Bidston).

We have the seaside, mountains, rivers, forests and castles on a doorstep - it's a beautiful part of the world.