Wrexham County Borough 71 - Chirk - A tale of two friends, a viaduct, an aqueduct, a very wet dog and a very dark tunnel

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What could possibly go wrong for Sion when heis left in charge of the organisation for a day out with his best friend Woolly Mammoth , his carer Jo and Alfie Dog..

He came up pretty quickly with Hawkstone Park and the Follies . He was convinced we would love the walks and the climb , the frightening tunnels and grotto described as the Victorian equivalent of Alton Towers theme park . Only problem I had to break the news that the site only opened on a Friday and over the weekend . We were meeting Jo, Woolly and Alfie on a Monday. " Not open - what's that all about ????" came the plaintive reply. So it was back to the drawing board for the intrepid travelling sheep .

Never short on ideas it did not take him long to come up with other ideas . Some too close to our house . Some too far. Most of them not open yet . But then he had his eureka moment - "how about the Llangollen canal ?. I have found the car park near to the Chain Bridge in Llangollen which could be the starting point of a walk along the canal to the town and back" . Only one problem I knew that Jo had been recently on the very same path so it was a non starter . I had to break the news to Sion that he needed to start again .

"Well I am trying " Yes never a truer word said in jest . The poor lad went back to his drawing board and started again . Well it did not take him long to realise that the canal went beyond Llangollen to the world famous Pontcysyllte aqueduct where he had already met Woolly about eighteen months ago . Once on this trail though it took him to his idea for a place to meet up with is best friend .

" How about this one - the canal goes to Chirk and there is a towpath to walk along " OK so far so good I thought . This sounds as if it is going in the right direction . "There is a walkway up in the air above the Dee Valley and an aqueduct " Sion was getting into the swing of things by now I did worry though about them being near water , high up in the air and going through dark tunnels . ."And a viaduct with a railway . We might see trains " " And some bridges " "And best of all the tunnel called the Darkie locally because its dark ". An idea was forming in his head and to be fair it sounded a good one . " There is a cafe too. Caffi Wylfa . We can get drinks, food , cakes , ice creams , more cakes , biscuits and more cakes ".

So without further ado it was going to be Chirk and a walk along the canalside . What on earth could go wrong ? I let Jo know the plan and it seemed like this was where we were going to spend Monday morning .

It took about 21 minutes to drive to the car park at the Caffi Wylfa . All the way there all I heard was the little voice in the back asking where we there yet and could I see Woolly. I was suprised to find on a Monday morning that by the time we got there the car park was full to brimming . We drove out and parked up on the road . Jo arrived more or less a few minutes later and we all greeted each other . It was the first time we had met in 2022. The last time we met was at Chirk Castle at Christmas . So much had changed since then and we had much catching up to do which we would do over the coffee..

We sat at a table outside in the lovely Spring sunshine . The boys sat together catching up on their news as we drank our coffees . Jo told us about her new job and we decided a visit would be necessary. We talked about the train trip through Russia that was no longer possible for Jo. We discussed what plans she had to travel to other countries . Sion shared his news about his up coming holiday to France. How he was going to visit Le Mans - a place he knew Woolly had visited . His trip on a steam train, see an aeroplane museum and go for a ride on Minotaur . Before long the boys got impatient and it was time to head up to the walk along the canal

It was a pleasant walk in the spring sunshine . The Daffodils were out in force as were the walkers . Alfie caused a lot of attention and stops along the way as walkers stroked him and made a fuss . Not a good idea when Sion and Woolly "are about . Both Woolly and Sion chipped in with the history of the canal and the tunnel . First one would come up with a fact followed quickly by other . " Did you know that the aqueduct was designed by Telford and the foundation stone was laid on the 17th June 1796? " "It was completed in 1801 and has a cast iron trough filled with water with masonary wall to hide the iron works ." "It was built before its big brother the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and was briefly the tallest navigable one built " The boys were in full swing as we stopped to look over the wall to the valley below . The river Ceiriog which formed the border between England and Wales ran beneath us . We at one point had one foot in England and the other in Wales . So far so good nothing had gone wrong with the walk . We had stunning views from all sides as we looked through the piers of the viaduct above us . Two bridges for the price of one . Sion was busy counting the arches of the aqueduct . "Yes there are ten of them and did you know that they have a span of 12 feet and the water level is 65 feet above the ground " If we knew nothing about the aqueduct before we certainly knew its history by the time we reached the other side .

There were not many boats on the canal but we did find one or two along the walk . Alfie found them interesting and climbed on board to investigate as he ran back and forth . Along the canal are a number of canalside cottages and a number of bridges . We had to turn round rather rapidly . We encountered some rather large geese . "Yes great big hissing things ." " They were too big to argue with and began to try to round up Alfie , Woolly , me and the humans" It was time to retrace our steps .

This time the boys had an eye on the viaduct above us expecially when the train went over . "The viaduct was erected between 1846 and 1848 and was the work of the scottish engineer Henry Robertson ." This structure was 100 feet up again and was very impressive linking up the lines from Chester to Shrewsbury. " Did we know that the locals were hostile to the building of the railway ?" "Did we know that Robertson had to survey at night ?" The facts were tripping off the boys tongues as we walked and talked about the price of fuel , the cost of rising electricity and the war in Ukraine .

We had finally now reached the tunnel . Woolly was well versed with tunnels and canals as he had spent a few days a week or so ago walking the canals of the West Midlands and had walked through a very long and dark tunnel so this was nothing new to him. Being both boys who love adventure they were raring to go . The humans on the trip were trying to light the way with torches . " Useless ones at that " Jo or should I say Alfie led the way. His bright white tail acted like a beacon as he raced forward leading where we would follow . Jo followed Alfie and kept Woolly safe . I brought up the rear . There is a guard rail along the edge but as the tunnel got darker I kept bumping my head on overhanging bricks . " Bang Bang - it was funny to see Jen struggling with a wind up torch and shouting ouch ouch ouch " "If a phrenologist ran their hands over her head they find a mass of bumps and not be able to read anything from the bumps " I was indeed struggling with the darkness , the transition lenses in my varifocals not helping at all .

And then there was the splash . In a flash Jo realised Alfie was not to be seen and the noise of splashing was coming from Alfie who had fallen in the canal . It was hard to see him in the dark as he paddled along trying to find a way out . Jo leapt into action . " Yes she threw Woolly our way and Jen had to save him and keep him safe while Jo kept shouting to Alfie" It seemed to take an age before Jo caught Alfie and dragged a wet and soggy dog out of the canal . Seemingly no worse from his ordeal apart from being dripping wet and shaking like a leaf . He soon took off running up and down the canal footpath like a whippet . We were mortified to have put Alfie through such a trauma . It took a while for our heart beats to get back to normal and to realise how lucky we were to be able to get Alfie out safe and sound . He needed a towel rub down and a doggy ice cream to compensate for the ordeal he had been put through .

We had to make a decision first though . How to get back ? There was a road and in the back of my mind it did take us back to where we needed to be . Or should we turn round and go through the tunnel back . This time I walked through first slowly holding the guard rail all the way along . Reflections in my glasses made me think often that someone was walking towards me . Alfie was kept firmly on the lead and the boys were safely tucked up . Despite being kept safe both Sion and Woolly continued with the commentary about the tunnel this time . " The tunnel is 460 yards long and unusually has a towpath all along its length . " " Normally you wouldnt be able to walk along it with your boat but would need to use your legs pushing along the roof to gain momentum to get to the other side " The tunnel is just big enough for one standard narrowboat so passing is impossible . The navigator on the boat could see from oen end to the other and if there was no boat already in the tunnel he could progress . All boats were required to have lights to show their presence in the tunnel .

I think we were all relieved to reach light at the other end and be able to head back to Caffi Wylfa for a well deserved drink and some lunch .

Our trip was over and what an end . Just when you think nothing can go wrong then disaster almost strikes . Sion was relieved that Alfie was ok . He admitted he really likes Alfie and all this I don't like Alfie Dog and I don't want him to come with us is all show . We walked back to our cars . All in all it had been a good morning with the exception of Alfies dip in the cut . We said our goodbyes and wished Jo all the best in her new job and promised it wouldnt be long until the boys could meet up again for another long chat and this time there won't be a canal or water anywhere near us .

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