Crossing the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Wales
Llangollen Canal Crosses the River Dee in North Wales on 19 Arches
Sep 24, 2009
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on the Llangollen Canal took ten years to build. It has been carrying boats over the River Dee valley for over two hundred years.
Crossing the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Wales
Going in a boat over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is rather like being suspended in mid-air. The narrow towpath over it is protected by iron railings, but on the other side the edge of the cast-iron trough carrying the water is only a few inches high.
The trough is just wide enough to take a single boat. So when someone on a boat glances down, there is nothing between them and the river and fields far below. Not surprisingly, many people keep their eyes tight shut all the way across, but that is a great shame as the views over the valley are magnificent.
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct across the River Dee Designed by Thomas Telford
The Pontcysyllte aqueduct across the River Dee was designed by Thomas Telford, the famous Scottish civil engineer. Initially few people believed it would be possible to build such an enormous structure, but after ten years work by hundreds of labourers, it opened on 26 November 1805 having cost just £45,000.
The name Pontcysyllte (pronounced ‘pont-kuh-sih-hl-ter’) means in Welsh ‘the bridge that connects’, because the canal created a navigable link between England and Wales, connecting the Severn, Dee and Mersey rivers.
Best Way to Cross the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
The towpath is very popular with walkers and cyclists, but undoubtedly the best way to cross the aqueduct is by boat. Trips operate from the canal centre in Llangollen (4 miles away) from Easter to October, but it is much more fun to navigate oneself.
Narrowboats can be hired from several bases nearby and the Llangollen Canal offers 32 miles of lock-free cruising through wonderful scenery between Whitchurch and Llangollen. Indeed this stretch is the most popular for cruising on the entire 1800-mile network in England and Wales.
Llangollen Canal
Travelling along the Llangollen Canal is never boring. As well as the Pontcysyllte aqueduct, there is another aqueduct at Chirk, two tunnels, several swing bridges, many sharp bends to negotiate and some one-way stretches.
Hire boats are always comfortably equipped, as well as being fun to operate. With a single throttle lever for forward or reverse, controlling the speed is easy. Steering is more complicated, as the boat’s length (anything from 35 to 70 feet) makes it unwieldy and slow to react, but most people quickly get the knack.
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