A towpath journey: Llangollen Canal
A World Heritage route
THE Llangollen Canal ambles 46 miles, crossing the scenic north-east corner of Wales, yet once carried industrial materials of coal, limestone, clay and ironstone on their way to the Midlands.
Built by William Jessop and Thomas Telford more than 200 years ago, it climbs the contours of the landscape through locks and tunnels. When the Dee Valley got in the way, Thomas Telford made the canal fly through the air, 127ft above the river valley.
Llangollen Canal heads away from the Shropshire Union Canal at Hurleston Junction, rolling through lazy green scenery. At Wrenbury, the canal passes through several lift bridges synonymous with this canal.
The Sandstone Trail and Bishop Bennet Way meet the canal at Willeymoor Lock – both are 34 miles long, and the latter was originally designed as a horse trail named after William Bennet (1745-1820), Bishop of Cork and Ross then later Bishop of Cloyne, who carried out detailed surveys of Roman roads including those between Chester (Deva) and Whitchurch (Mediolanum).
Grindley Brook presents the canal’s first major canal challenge – three of the locks are joined together in a staircase – a lock keeper is on hand to help during the busy summer season.
A short arm leads to Whitchurch, dating back to Roman times and recorded in the Domesday Book. Famed for Joyce’s tower clocks, it was also where Cheshire cheese was loaded on to canal boats and transported to Ellesmere Port for export. Whitchurch’s other claim to canal fame is a former rector of St Alkmund’s Church. Francis Henry Egerton came from the lineage of the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater who instructed canal engineer James Brindley to build the Bridgewater Canal, hence launching a canal revolution!
The canal crosses the huge expanse of Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Together with Cadney and Wem Mosses, the area forms
Britain’s third largest lowland raised bog, is a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, a European Special Area of Conservation, and is apparently large enough to be seen from space!
Just past bridge 53, the canal bends round past Cole Mere, the first of several Ice-Age meres along this stunning landscape, then through the short Ellesmere Tunnel (87yd/80m long) as it approaches the pretty town of Ellesmere and the Mere which gave Ellesmere its name. Ellesmere Yard, opposite the town arm, is a rare example of an unspoilt and much-cherished canal scene, a wellpreserved canal maintenance yard dating from the early 1800s. Engineer Thomas Telford worked here while building this canal. There are a range of buildings, many now Grade II*-listed, including a blacksmith’s forge and joiner’s shop, dry dock, yard manager’s house and Beech House – the former head offices of the Ellesmere Canal Company.
At Frankton Junction, the Montgomery Canal branches off to the south, while the Llangollen Canal soon quietly loops round to cross Chirk Aqueduct, leaving England behind and entering Wales.
Grade II*-listed Chirk Aqueduct is 70ft high, built of masonry and stone, with 10 spans of 40ft each to carry the canal over the river. The history of canals as transport routes and the invention of their rival railways is written powerfully here, as the railway exerted its importance in 1846-48 by building the viaduct 30ft higher.
Chirk Tunnel (459yd/420m long) is not wide enough for two boats to pass. The canal passes Chirk then through short Whitehouse Tunnel (191yd/175m long). From here most boats cruise in slow sweaty haste, passing Fron Lift Bridge, before turning northwards to where the canal’s marvel awaits.
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is the longest and highest aqueduct in the UK, 1007ft long and 127ft high, and spans the River Dee in the valley below. This inspirational feat of engineering sends shivers to the vertiginous and the non-vertiginous. Built by Thomas Telford and William Jessop, the aqueduct was completed in 1805 and is considered one of Telford’s greatest engineering achievements. The aqueduct and 11 miles of the Llangollen Canal, built between 1795 and 1808, stretching from Horseshoe Falls at Llangollen through to Chirk Aqueduct, were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009.
The water winds its narrow leafy way through idyllic Welsh countryside past sheep-filled fields and under pretty stone bridges, as it hugs the hillside with occasional peeks over the stunning river below. The canal narrows approaching Llangollen then opens out into perfect visitor moorings just beyond the wharf. Llangollen is famous for being the festival capital of Wales, and the world turns up on its doorstep every year for the International Music Eisteddfod.
A short distance from Llangollen
Wharf lie Horseshoe Falls. Here, the water swirls into an impressive circular weir across the River Dee, marking Thomas Telford’s dramatic finale to his canal. The weir keeps a constant supply of water flowing into the canal – an amazing 12 million gallons of water flow beyond Llangollen, all the way to Hurleston Reservoir at the other end of the canal.
Before engines were invented, canal boats were pulled by real horse power and it’s possible to step straight back into history on the horse-pulled trip boat that meanders from busy Llangollen Wharf towards the end of the navigable canal. It’s a thrill to see these gentle giants at work.