Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal

We were 20 metres above ground as we crossed the border. The wide valley of the turbulent River Ceiriog below tried its best to demarcate where England ended and Wales began, but it was no match for man’s ingenuity. As we walked the towpath of the Chirk Aqueduct there was a steady flow of Welsh water down the canal to our left, helping narrowboats navigate their way south into England. And just beyond it, a train nosed north over the Chirk Railway Viaduct where its journey between the English cities of Shrewsbury and Chester took it through Wales.

This was my third visit to Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal – the third different area of the site and the first deliberate one. The site is a linear 11-mile stretch of what is now known as the Llangollen Canal, but was previously a branch of the Ellesmere Canal. My first was July 2009 when, in our early days of dating, my then girlfriend, knowing of my mild mania for all things UNESCO, brought me out to the newly-inscribed Pontycysyllte Aqueduct for a walk and a picnic. Reader, I married her. My second was again with her, but also with our 20-month-old son, on a sunny Summer day trip to the pleasant and touristy town of Llangollen. Put off by the price of a ride on the heritage steam railway we instead booked a trip on a horse-drawn boat up and down the narrow cutting from Llangollen Wharf. It wasn’t until …

As other reviewers have noted, the name of this site is somewhat misleading as there is no such thing as the ‘Pontcysyllte Canal’. Rather then Pontcysyllte Aqueduct forms part of the Llangollen Canal, which is itself just a branch of the much larger Shropshire Union Canal. It was constructed at the turn of the 18th Century to transport coal, iron, and other goods needed in the early days of the Industrial Revolution. This was to have been part of the grand Ellesmere Canal to connect the River Mersey in the north with the River Severn in the south, joining the great port cities of Bristol and the ex-WHS Liverpool, but the full canal was never realised. Today, the Llangollen Branch runs from the town of Llangollen (not much surprise there) in north Wales to the tiny rural village of Hurleston in Cheshire, England where it joins the Shropshire Union. From there, goods could be shipped north through Chester to Ellesmere Port and the Mersey, which was later connected to the mills of Lancashire by the huge Manchester Ship Canal. Alternatively, turning south the canal eventually joins the endless maze of canals in the Midlands providing access to the great industrial metropolis of Birmingham, which is one of several places referred to as the ‘Venice of the North’ although perhaps less seriously so than Bruges, Amsterdam, etc.

Returning to the actual inscribed area, the first 11 miles of the Llangollen Branch forms the core zone out of the total length …

‘The river in the sky’ as it’s known is a marvel to behold, even in the pouring rain when I visited. I took a train to Ruabon then the number 5 bus to Trevor which drops you off about a ten minute walk from the aqueduct. Once there you can pop into the free and informative visitor’s centre which has a few videos and boards about the construction. After a decade of construction it opened in 1805 employing a cast iron trough to carry the five foot five inches deep canal 1007 feet (307 metres) across the River Dee which lies 127 feet (39 metres) below. It holds enough water to fill 16,000 baths. 

But away from the facts, the aqueduct when you venture outside and go and see it is pure engineering magic of the highest degree. Picture this in your mind. You are walking along a gentle canal, nothing untoward, past houseboats and ducks, when up ahead you see that the land disappears but the canal doesn’t. It continues, without so much of a blip, across a valley to the other side far far away. All the time though, there is a perfect line of water suspended in a flat line. You could almost believe that the land either side of the water was dug away rather than the aqueduct constructed, until you spot the iron archways and stone supports grandly lifting the water high in the sky. It simply beggars belief. There is a narrow path …

March 2018 - Fter visiting Ironbridge we came back to Wales and came closer to Pontcysyllte. Suddenly we were in in Trevor. There was a free car park and due to grey clouds we quickly started or tour to the Aquaduct. Walking over it is quite amazing, and to see the boats on it is very obscure. we walked a little further to see the next lift and then all way back. The historic boats make it an authentic visit.

Afterwards we followed the canal by car to Llangollen and made another stop at the wharf.

First things first, travelling in Wales made me feel like I was back in elementary school: “Could you repeat that?” was a common reply to me trying my utmost best to pronounce any place name. For the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct I eventually settled on referring to it simply as The Aqueduct. That worked splendidly.

Coming from the bus stop I made my way across rather quiet Trevor town. The aqueduct is not directly visible as you are on the upper plateau. So it’s a bit of a surprise when it suddenly gets busy and you get to see the aqueduct standing majestically in the landscape with the Severn flowing way below you.

Another surprise was the width of the canal on the aqueduct. I anticipated it to be way wider than it actually was. As a consequence, the barges travelling along the canal are very narrow, albeit quite long, and have a unique look. What they don’t have is much speed. So walking at a bit more than leisurely pace will allow you to overtake most of them. But the views you get from the aqueduct are stunning, so I paused frequently taking yet another picture and having the barges pass me by.

Getting There and Around

The closest train station is Ruabon (Ru-a-bon as I pronounced it was clearly wrong). From there buses run to Trevor (direction Llangollen). Be advised that some buses do not stop in front of the train station in Ruabon, but …

Again, I'm not sure why I have been so fascinated with canals lately, but I went back to the Llangollen Canal WHS on the 4th week of January to see one of the main components of this site, that is the Horseshoe Falls.

In order to do so, I decided to stay overnight in the town of Llangollen, which surprised me as soon as my bus from Wrexham entered the town.

The whole area around Llangollen constitutes "one huge outdoor adventure playground" with hiking trails, one of which leads to the Horseshoe Falls. I took the trail along the Llangollen Canal and the River Dee to the Falls. In fact I'd have to say it is the River Dee that makes the natural setting of the whole area so dynamic and beautiful.

You can also kayak on the river, take a narrow boat, even one drawn by a horse, on the canal, or take a Steam Locomotive (not in winter) between Llangollen and the Horseshoe Falls.

At the artificial Horseshoe Falls some water from the River Dee is diverted to feed the Llangollen Canal, the system designed by pioneering engineers William Jessop and Thomas Telford.

Later I also hiked up to the hill-top ruin of Castle Dinas Bran, where you get the 360-degree, sweeping view of the whole area all the way to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

I am so glad that I went back to the area to see the Falls because, who knows, …

I visited this WHS in June 2016. I drove from Ironbridge and I arrived just before the last few boat trips which float through the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct marketed as the river in the sky. The boat trips' highlight is obviously the unique crossing over the aqueduct and the feeling of unease while standing to take pictures at a height of 38 metres (there are no safety railings on one side!). Another worthwhile boat trip experience at the Llangollen canal is the horse drawn boat trip should you have more time in the area. After visiting the Trevor Basin Visitor Centre (open 10am to 4pm), I enjoyed the heritage trail and after a quick photo of the bilingual UNESCO plaque in English and Welsh I drove to the nearby Chirk aqueduct before heading towards Harlech. This WHS reminded me of the Vizcaya Bridge in Spain and both were worthwhile WH visits. I look forward to visiting Forth bridge soon as well as the nearby river Clyde!

I visited the Chirk Aqueduct, the Chirk Tunnel, and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in May, 2016.

I took a train first from Chester (a beautiful city itself) to Chirk (where I had only 45 minutes between trains) to see the aqueduct and the tunnel. Then took a train back to Ruabon (where I had 2 hours between trains) to take a bus to Trevor to see the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. And then took a bus back to Ruabon and a train back to Chester.

The photo 1 shows the Chirk Aqueduct. The photo 2 shows the Chirk Aqueduct for water and ship and the Chirk Viaduct for train. The photo 3 shows the Chirk Tunnel, where I came across a boat when I was walking through. The photo 4 shows the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct with 2 boats on it (although difficult to see in the photo).

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to visit the Horseshue Falls, where the Llangollen Canal starts off the River Dee.

I find it interesting that there are some people who live on the uniquely narrow boats on this canal.

I think there are terminology confusions in the "Brief Synthesis" and the "Map" at the UNESCO website. With the Brief Synthesis I believe the canal is called Llangollen Canal and not Pontcysyllte Canal. The bridge by Trevor is called Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Pont means bridge anyway. The centerpiece of this WHS is the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. The other tunnel, "Whitehouse Tunnel," used to appear as "Whitehurst …

I went with my grandparents to Pontcysyllte in August 2013, having also visited around six years earlier - before it was inscribed in in 2009.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal is deemed to be worthy of recognition because it is an early example of the ingenuity of the engineers and architects of the Industrial Revolution. Wales’s hilly terrain does not lend itself to the needs of canals, yet this section traverses the countryside without resorting to locks.

Conceived of and overseen by Thomas Telford, construction began in 1795 and was completed 10 years later. The bridge has withstood the test of time, with even the cast iron trough being the original one put in by Telford more than two centuries ago. The mortar is apparently made from lime, water and ox blood!

In addition to Pontcysyllte, I went to see the less famous Chirk aqueduct (also part of the inscription). It was completed four years earlier than Pontcysyllte and is now flanked by a railway bridge alongside it. From the aqueduct the canal goes quickly into a tunnel, which provides a clear reminder of just how undulous the terrain is. The landscape, formerly covered in foundries, brickworks and lime kilns, was described in Victorian times as “a vision of hell”. Nowadays that description couldn’t be further from the truth.

On the hourly 5A bus from Trevor to Wrexham in Northeastern Wales, I was wondering how UNESCO World Heritage program took me to this corner of United Kingdom to see the unknown aqueduct which I hardy could make a proper pronunciation or even spelling, an engineering masterpiece, the Pontcysyllte. I walked along the Llangolan canal until I reached the aqueduct passing many boats which were mooring waiting for the tourist season to begin in the next couple of months. The aqueduct was indeed impressive especially for its height from the River Dee, its column and ached bridges really remind me the equally impressive of ancient Roman aqueduct of Segovia in Spain. To appreciate the height of the bridge I decided to walk down to the River Dee level, but it was very exhausted when I had to walk back to the aqueduct level again. Then I crossed the Aqueduct, it was a nice design to have walkway on the bridge too, so that I could saw the waterway and the surrounding view. The view along the canal was also lovely but nothing special and some part was similar to another World Heritage Site in Belgium, the old Canal du Centre. I looked around the place together with 5-10 tourists for about 40 minutes and found out nothing I could do more in this place, so I hurry walked back to the bus stop to catch the bus back to Wrexham before continuing my trip to Conwy for another World heritage …

This essentially is one single structure, although the UK has included the whole canal and some features around it in the core zone of the nomination. But it's the formidable aqueduct why we all go here, and why it has earned worldwide recognition. I had spotted it from a distance the day before when crossing the very narrow old stone bridge in the valley on my way to Ironbridge.

I arrived at the aqueduct from the side of Trevor. After parking my car, I actually had to look around for a bit to search for the aqueduct: you're so high up here that you do not see the arches, but only the canal. I was early, at about 8.30 am, and had the sight completely to myself except for some joggers and curious squirrels. It is good to arrive early, as it gets very busy later in the day when coach loads are offloaded.

I walked to the other end via the foot path next to the canal. Fortunately, it has a sturdy railing so you do not really feel the height. Just over half of it the wind comes in, shaking you just a little (but enough to realize how tiny you are out in the open on this enormous structure). It is the first aqueduct that I have visited that you can actually walk on, and the narrow canal flowing next to you with no boundaries makes it an extra special experience.

After having walked …

I paid the aqueduct a very unplanned visit in January 2008 whilst moving between Dublin and London. An early morning start from London led us to a great winter breakfast at Ironbridge Gorge. A drive further on led me through Llangollen, when suddenly a bell rung in my head that Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was located somewhere nearby. Fortunately a road sign turned up pointing us in the right direction.

As such my experience of this site was rather under researched and quick. I pulled up next to the start of the aqueduct to see that some early risers were readying their barges for the trip across it. I strolled out a short way and saw that it was a rather long way down.

After this I drove down to Horseshoe falls to get a view of the main span of the aqueduct. Unfortunately as I had a ferry to catch this was as much as I was able to see.

The route on to Holyhead (for the Dublin ferry) was fitting as Thomas Telford was instrumental in forging this link between what where then the two main cities of Britain. There are several Telford projects on this route, especially notable are the bridges at Conwy and across the Menai straights, which really add to the understanding of the infrastructure constructed during the industrial revolution.

My visit to Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was very brief and I am sure I will head back up there to appreciate it more in the near future. The …

In order to avoid any potential charges that patriotic pride has outrun objective assessment I don’t normally review sites from UK! But with Pontcysyllte up for nomination this year I will break the rule. In any case it is from Wales, whose “turn” has come round again within the UK “rota” for nomination – rather than from my own country England. This means that most of you non-English speakers will find its name as difficult to pronounce as I do. This is the approximate way to do it apparently - “pont-kuss-uth-tay”.

We have been there a few times over the years. The Llangollen Canal, which is carried 38 metres over the valley of the river Dee by the aqueduct, passes through scenery which, in World or even European terms could best be described as “pleasant” in an understated rural way. If it wasn’t in Wales I would say it was quite “English” in character – indeed the modern “border” is only 5 kms away and the historic boundary of Offa’s Dyke is even less. The Dee still has a fair way to go upstream before it reaches the “real” Welsh mountains – though even these of course strain to reach 3000ft! But the spectacular crossing of the aqueduct which is available both by boat and on foot (photo) and the quiet delights of the Vale of Llangollen make this stretch one of the most popular stretches of canal in UK. Interestingly the extension of the canal up to Llangollen was …