Monday:
We passed through 2 narrow locks soon after starting for the day, the only 2 locks on the Llangollen Canal. The previous boat to pass through the locks had gone upstream so the water in the lock was at the high level. There was a boat coming down, so we waited to allow it to come down through the first lock and use the existing water in the lock (saves a huge amount of water). So, after opening & closing sluice paddles and lock gates, we passed through both uneventfully, previous lock experience coming back to us.
Round one corner and all of a sudden we were on the Chirk aqueduct, 220 m across and 21 m high with 10 arches. Good lead up to the aqueduct we (Rick) were waiting for. Off the aqueduct and into a basin to wait for a boat to come
out of the Chirk Tunnel. Built in 1801, it is a brick lined tunnel, 420m long and dark. The boats have “tunnel lights” on them, not so much to see your way, but to let oncoming boats know you’re in the tunnel. This tunnel was the first in Britain to be built with a towpath as Thomas Telford, the designer & engineer, 
considered “legging” dangerous and undignified. With other tunnels, the horses were unhitched and taken to the other end of the tunnel above ground 
and hitched up again. To get the boats through, the crew had to lie on the roof of the boat and push it through with their legs on the low tunnel roof. The tunnel can get quite wet at times.
Not far from there, we came across a lift bridge. It provides vehicular access over the canal, so has to be left down. We just had to wind a crank, connected to hydraulics, about 50 turns to raise it, then lower it after we went through.
From Chirk, it was an easy run to “THE aqueduct”.
Wow!! What an experience. We turned the corner and there it was. The Pontcysyllte aqueduct. In 2009, the Pontcysyllte aqueduct became a World Heritage Site . It is 307m long, 38m high and has 19 pillars supporting it. It took 10 years to build and opened in 1805. There is a footpath and handrail on one side, nothing, apart from the canal trough, on the other. No one coming our way, so we went for it. Gill drove so Rick could take photos. Bit unnerving looking down. Rick had set up the web cam on the front of the boat, but there was much too much glare, so it was useless. We did video a bit from the back of the boat. It really is an amazing structure and experience. Of the 3 narrow boat holidays we’ve had, this is definitely the best.
At the end of the aqueduct we had to make a very sharp turn to head towards Llangollen. Rick amazed both of us with the manoeuvre, using forward, reverse and the throttle to turn the boat almost in its own length. Hope other people were watching, they’d think we were seasoned canal boaters.
At one stage there were 4 boats in a row (all going the same direction), with a narrow bridge ahead and one boat coming through towards us. With many of the bridges, there is not much sight distance, and often you can only see past the bridge when you are close to it. Well, all of a sudden, there were boats everywhere, trying to get out of the way of the boat under the bridge, on all angles, some on one side of the canal, and some on the other. Somehow we all managed to miss each other and order was restored.
We decided to stop for the night before we reached Llangollen (1 3/4 miles away). We’d heard that the moorings were in short supply with so many boats there, and where we stopped was probably the last free overnight mooring
before Llangollen. There are 4 other boats here with us. Tomorrow there is about 500 yards of one way canal cut into the cliff and you can’t see the other end. Should be interesting. So into town tomorrow to get a few more provisions and fill up with water, then back towards the Pontcysyllte aqueduct.
Many years ago, in France, we bought some really good plunger coffee, Cafe Noir. Did we mention previously that Tesco’s sell it? Of course we bought a packet and it is the best coffee we’ve had. Can’t tell you how good it is to have it.
We passed through 2 narrow locks soon after starting for the day, the only 2 locks on the Llangollen Canal. The previous boat to pass through the locks had gone upstream so the water in the lock was at the high level. There was a boat coming down, so we waited to allow it to come down through the first lock and use the existing water in the lock (saves a huge amount of water). So, after opening & closing sluice paddles and lock gates, we passed through both uneventfully, previous lock experience coming back to us.
Round one corner and all of a sudden we were on the Chirk aqueduct, 220 m across and 21 m high with 10 arches. Good lead up to the aqueduct we (Rick) were waiting for. Off the aqueduct and into a basin to wait for a boat to come
out of the Chirk Tunnel. Built in 1801, it is a brick lined tunnel, 420m long and dark. The boats have “tunnel lights” on them, not so much to see your way, but to let oncoming boats know you’re in the tunnel. This tunnel was the first in Britain to be built with a towpath as Thomas Telford, the designer & engineer, 
considered “legging” dangerous and undignified. With other tunnels, the horses were unhitched and taken to the other end of the tunnel above ground 
and hitched up again. To get the boats through, the crew had to lie on the roof of the boat and push it through with their legs on the low tunnel roof. The tunnel can get quite wet at times.
Not far from there, we came across a lift bridge. It provides vehicular access over the canal, so has to be left down. We just had to wind a crank, connected to hydraulics, about 50 turns to raise it, then lower it after we went through.
From Chirk, it was an easy run to “THE aqueduct”.
Wow!! What an experience. We turned the corner and there it was. The Pontcysyllte aqueduct. In 2009, the Pontcysyllte aqueduct became a World Heritage Site . It is 307m long, 38m high and has 19 pillars supporting it. It took 10 years to build and opened in 1805. There is a footpath and handrail on one side, nothing, apart from the canal trough, on the other. No one coming our way, so we went for it. Gill drove so Rick could take photos. Bit unnerving looking down. Rick had set up the web cam on the front of the boat, but there was much too much glare, so it was useless. We did video a bit from the back of the boat. It really is an amazing structure and experience. Of the 3 narrow boat holidays we’ve had, this is definitely the best.
At the end of the aqueduct we had to make a very sharp turn to head towards Llangollen. Rick amazed both of us with the manoeuvre, using forward, reverse and the throttle to turn the boat almost in its own length. Hope other people were watching, they’d think we were seasoned canal boaters.At one stage there were 4 boats in a row (all going the same direction), with a narrow bridge ahead and one boat coming through towards us. With many of the bridges, there is not much sight distance, and often you can only see past the bridge when you are close to it. Well, all of a sudden, there were boats everywhere, trying to get out of the way of the boat under the bridge, on all angles, some on one side of the canal, and some on the other. Somehow we all managed to miss each other and order was restored.
We decided to stop for the night before we reached Llangollen (1 3/4 miles away). We’d heard that the moorings were in short supply with so many boats there, and where we stopped was probably the last free overnight mooring
before Llangollen. There are 4 other boats here with us. Tomorrow there is about 500 yards of one way canal cut into the cliff and you can’t see the other end. Should be interesting. So into town tomorrow to get a few more provisions and fill up with water, then back towards the Pontcysyllte aqueduct.Many years ago, in France, we bought some really good plunger coffee, Cafe Noir. Did we mention previously that Tesco’s sell it? Of course we bought a packet and it is the best coffee we’ve had. Can’t tell you how good it is to have it.
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