Claire posted: " With cool, dry weather there was only one thing to do. Have a day out, but where to go ? We jumped in the car and set off, we had a couple of places in mind, down the motorway and then we could branch off in one direction for one place and the other " Claire's chaotic middle age
With cool, dry weather there was only one thing to do. Have a day out, but where to go ?
We jumped in the car and set off, we had a couple of places in mind, down the motorway and then we could branch off in one direction for one place and the other direction for …. Wales ! Yes we ended up here again.
This time was Llangollen to walk along the aqueduct and canal. We arrived to a quiet car park and a very peaceful place.
We strolled along the canal side up to the aqueduct, stopping to have a look around the visitor centre and read a little about the area. We noticed they had boat trips over the Pontcysyllte aqueduct but had a wait for the next one so decided to walk across and then follow the path down and underneath.
On our return we noticed the canal boat was due to leave for a tour so climbed onboard. It was strange sitting so low down and realising how slowly canal boats travel when people walking alongside were travelling faster than us ! There was a live commentary on the journey, really interesting history of the aqueduct and area with information about the canal itself. Both the boat operators live on canal boats locally and it was good to find out more about the lifestyle and costs of a permanent mooring. It seems a relaxing way of life, although I would imagine at times it could be difficult or challenging.
The aqueduct is a man made structure to carry the canal across the valley. Being up so high gives amazing views and was easy to see why this area is a World heritage site. We could see another structure in the distance. Looking on the map it showed that this both an aqueduct with a viaduct alongside. This was our next stop and we had a drink in the last pub in England, The Bridge Inn right on the border of Wales.
We walked along the Chirk canal, with tiny cottages alongside and an allotment site and across the aqueduct to the Chirk tunnel, there was a boat coming through so we started to walk through the tunnel. Although once the boat had passed us the tunnel was pitch dark so we turned around and walked with the boat, and light, back the way we had come. The viaduct alongside carries a railway line.
Time was getting on so we set off towards home when I spotted a sign for Horseshoe Falls, the tour guide had told us of this place. It's a man made structure. The River Dee had to be diverted to create the canal but the water needed to be managed and so the falls had been created to slow the water feeding into the canal. This also meant that the Dee funnelled water into both the canal and along it's original river channel.
It was good to see families enjoying the water and playing on the fields. It was a good place for us to stop for a cup of tea and I continued with a little crochet (I've taken to doing this on journeys when I'm not driving)
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