Exploring Llangollen Canal

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This is my first posting since 2013! I've been off work for nearly three weeks in December/January and did a fair bit of travelling in the UK. This trip was a return to Wrexham and the Llangollen Canal but this time I went with Mum and it was winter time! I don't mind travelling in winter as it's generally quieter and not as crowded especially with popular tourist centres like Llangollen. I have a passion for walking on canals and my friend and I were in the area in the summer and we walked from Chirk to Llangollen via the infamous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

I always wanted to return to check out the Chirk aqueduct, which goes over the River Ceiriog and the river marks the border for England and Wales. Both Pontcysyllte and Chirk Aqueducts are part of the Canal World Heritage Site. Mum and I did this on the second day; got the train to Chirk and started our canal walk and it was fun walking through the very dark Chirk Tunnel and my torch came in handy! Mum wasn't keen but she braved the experience. Coming out of the Chirk tunnel we approached the aqueduct and the railway viaduct besides and what an amazing sight! We crossed into England and walked on the canal for a bit to have lunch at Gledrid, the starting/ending point of the World Heritage Site (depending which direction you're going). We had mixed weather but it was a great photo opportunity to capture the rainbow across Chirk Aqueduct!

The following day we were planning to revisit the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct but as I was battling with a head cold I wanted to do a shorter walk (than the six miles round walking trip from Chirk). We decided at the last minute to travel to Llangollen and check out the end/beginning of the Canal and also the Horseshoe Falls. It took us approximately 30-40 minutes by bus to reach Llangollen from Wrexham and on our arrival we checked out the River Dee. We walked from Llangollen Wharf to Horseshoe Falls (approximately 4 miles round walking trip) and en route we met some friendly walkers, two of them were on our same outbound bus, and we also bumped into them again at the Chain Bridge Hotel, and also in the town centre. It took us approximately an hour to reach the Horseshoe Falls - I was a bit disappointed with them but maybe I was expecting more and what was interesting is that the Falls, generated from a weir designed by Thomas Telford, source the canal. Afterwards Mum and I enjoyed coffee and delicious scones at the Chain Bridge Hotel which is infamous for its Chain Bridge, which was originally used to transport coal to the roads and today people use it to cross the river and access the Llangollen Railway and/or the canal. We returned to Llangollen town Centre the same way on the canal and caught our bus back to Wrexham.

We had a lovely few days in Wrexham and the Llangollen Canal. I certainly will return to the area but in the meantime cherish our memories with this trip.

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Comments

[Home and Away]

Welcome back!!!
It's great to see you blogging again. We love to read about your local travels, too.

[spidermiss]

Thank you! It's good to be back ?.