Derwen, Denbighshire, Wales

A view of Derwen

The Giant

The account was said to have taken place many years ago on a Mayday morning. A youth reported seeing “a gigantic figure carrying a pine tree over his shoulder” walking towards him, as he and a friend walked by the bridge over the River Clwyd. However, the second youth did not witness the huge man, who proceeded to throw the pine tree into the river. The giant then disappeared.

 

Could this be the ghost of Sir John Salusbury? He was described as a “giant of a man, with eight fingers and two thumbs on each hand”. It is said that he used to pull up pine trees for exercise!

Location

Visitor Information

Derwen is a rural village in the south of Denbighshire, Wales.

It lies approximately half way between Corwen and Ruthin, in the upper part of Dyffryn Clwyd ond the north side of the River Clwyd, opposite the village of Brynsaithmarchog.

Pictured is a view of Derwen courtesy of Eirian Evans. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.