Almost immediately after leaving our mooring we were upon the Chirk Aqueduct, mirrored exactly by the ten arches of the railway viaduct, deliberately built higher to signify the superiority of rail over canal. Immediately at the end of the aqueduct the canal plunges into the 459 yd long Chirk Tunnel and a mile or so later into the shorter Whitehouse Tunnel.
There is a two mile an hour flow along this canal, delivering twelve million gallons of water a day to the Hurleston Reservoir, situated at the junction of the Llangollen Canal with the Shropshire Union from the River Dee in Wales. This flow of water is keenly felt in the tunnels and I had to continually apply more throttle as we crabbed our way along. Back into the daylight and miraculously the sun burst through the clouds as we started across the Pontcysylite Aqueduct. Probably the most amazing canal experience there is. We floated 120 ft above the valley and River Dee in this cast iron trough, with nothing on one side to stop you stepping out into thin air, should that feeling take hold, fortunately I don’t know of anybody having gone that way, that’s probably why Elf and Savty haven’t got involved, thank God. The last time we did this crossing I was wearing a red wig, black leather cap and supping from a can of beer, must have started to grow up at last.
A tricky tight turn, neatly accomplished and we were on the final bit, from Trevor to Llangollen. The canal becomes very narrow and shallow. At places, Jacquie walked ahead to ensure no other boat was coming the other way and soon we were tucked up in the beautifully situated basin at the end of the navigable part of the canal, complete with our own water and electricity supply, all for six pounds a night. A wander around the town and along the River Dee rounded off this great day.
1 comment:
It must be very tricky if you turn right at the end of the aqueduct - most people find it easier to turn left ;-)
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