Discover Little Adventures on Your Doorstep

Home , Chirk Aqueduct, Llangollen Canal, Montgomery Canal, Swansea Canal, Welshpool, William Jessop

Wales Powys | Wrexham | Denbighshire

Discover little adventures on your doorstep

See how many birds you can spot and name in five minutes Looks fun Go for a walk along the towpath to Wow nice plan! see the beautiful Brynich Aqueduct

Take a torch and walk on the wild side through Chirk Tunnel

Picnic by the Llangollen Canal, one of the most scenic in Britain

Race to a canal bridge

Take a boat trip and experience the awesome landscape from the water

Cross Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on foot – but make sure you’ve got a head for heights!

Get to the pub in time for lunch

Cycle up the towpath - you might be lucky and spot a kingfisher

Watch the boats passing through the locks

WOAH! Can I come?

Me Brecon Basin, Welshpool, Llanymynech, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Chirk Aqueduct, Llangollen too! Are you looking for inspiring places to visit with the family? Then look no further than your local canal or river. This guide features a selection of our best waterside places to visit in Wales – whatever the weather! Each location includes a map, suggestions of fun-packed activities you can do and useful information on where to park, places to eat, toilets and boat trips.

So many to choose from

RHYL

1 2 3

LLANGOLLEN LLANGOLLEN CANAL

4 1. LLangollen† 2. Pontcysyllte Adqueduct† 3. Chirk Aqueduct† 5 4. Llanymynech WELSHPOOL 5. Welshpool MONTGOMERY CANAL 6. Brecon Basin NEWTOWN

*AINA Waterways

†World Heritage Site

6 MONMOUTHSHIRE & BRECON CANAL BRECON

ABERGAVENNY

SWANSEA CANAL

Have a look on PONTYMOILE SWANSEA our map and

find a little NEWPORT adventure on your doorstep! CARDIFF Llangollen and Canal World Heritage Site

Valle Crucis Abbey Discover (ruins) & campsite Llangollen Llangollen Motor Museum The beautiful Llangollen Canal twists its Llantysilio The Chainbridge car park Hotel way through the awesome Welsh hills and across the spectacular Dee Valley. No wonder it’s a top choice for boaters and family visits alike. ee Horseshoe Falls D er iv Llangollen R Canal Little adventures Corwen Camp site on your doorstep 7 miles/11km A5 Caravan site

Mooring Meter House basin Llangollen Chainbridge Wharf (under restoration) Pontcysyllte Aqueduct Berwyn station 3.7 miles/6km Map not to scale: tea room Royal International Chirk 7.4 miles/12km Covers approx 1.6 miles/2.7km A5 Pavilion 42 A Llangollen Llangollen 539 Steam Railway Town Centre Our ‘Places to Visit’ app can be downloaded Llangollen Museum Chirk 7 miles/11km FREE from the App Plas Newydd Store or Google Play™ STAY SAFE: Stay Away From canalrivertrust.org.uk the Edge A little bit of history Thomas Telford designed the LLangollen Canal to feed water from the River Dee at the Horseshoe Falls and into the canal network. Completed in 1808, he built aqueducts and tunnels to take the canal over and through difficult terrain. The area was designated a World Heritage Site in 2009.

Best of all it’s FREE!* Information ive thi F ngs to Main Car Park do a Market Street t Lla ngollen Llangollen LL20 8RT  Take a boat trip and experience the awesome landscape from the water. Some boats are still drawn Parking (free & by horse! pay & display)  Walk to the Horseshoe Falls also designed by Thomas Toilets Telford. It’s140 m long (460 ft). Café  Visit the Llangollen Museum to find out more about Pub this area. It’s free!  Check out the steam railway – the only standard Visitor Information Centre gauge railway in North Wales.  Pack a picnic and binoculars. Keep an eye open Picnic for green woodpeckers and other birds that love the Boat trips wooded hillsides. Path Allow 2-3 hours for this visit

* Don’t forget: What to Spot Although the site is always Explore the waterside together. open the facilities and boat How many of these can you spot? trips may not be and some may be chargeable. Please check with local businesses A duck quacking before setting out.

A fascinating The number of a   bridge or lock insect 

The names of A face Sign up for our two boats or animal newsletter and get regular in the updates and offers from the An interesting clouds Canal & River Trust. stone or brick    Simply go online and’. search for ‘canal newsletter Explore furthe r Go to canalriverexplo rers.or g.uk t o disco ily. ver lots of fun things to do with the fam © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped produce these. 09/15 Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site

The Telford Inn Anglo Welsh Llangollen & Boat Hire Horseshoe Falls Little adventures 9.5km/6 miles on your doorstep Trip boats Jones the Boat

Cysylltan Bridge Dry Trevor Basin dock B5454 Ty Mawr Country Park

Offa’s Dyke Visit Pontcysyllte River Dee Aqueduct Lift bridge Pontcysyllte Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the Trevor A5 Aqueduct Basin on the Llangollen Canal have L World Heritage Status. That means la ng it’s as important as Stonehenge! ol len C an al

Chirk Our ‘Places to Visit’ app (8km/5 miles) can be downloaded & Ellesmere FREE from the App STAY SAFE: Map not to scale: Store or Google Play™ Stay Away From Lime kilns A5 the Edge covers approx 1 mile/1.6km canalrivertrust.org.uk A little bit of history Thomas Telford and William Jessop designed Pontcysyllte Aqueduct to carry the Llangollen Canal across the Dee Valley. Completed in 1805, it’s a cast iron trough supported on giant stone pillars 39 metres (127 feet) above the river. It’s one of the most awesome engineering feats on the canal network.

Best of all it’s FREE!* Information Five things to do Pontcysyllte Aqueduct at LL20 7YQ Pon tcys  Cross the aqueduct on foot – buty makellte sureAq you’veuedu ct Parking got a head for heights! Toilets  Take a boat trip over the aqueduct. It’s like being suspended in mid air. Pub  Look for the grooves on the aqueduct railings. They Visitor Centre were made by the ropes of horse-drawn narrowboats. (open March -  Walk along the riverbank and view the aqueduct Oct) from below. To keep it as light as possible, the piers Picnic bench are partly hollow and taper at their summit. Boat hire & trips  Spot the remains of the iron foundries, brickworks and lime kilns which once dominated this landscape. Path In Victorian times, it was once described as ‘a vision of hell’. Offa’s Dyke National Trail

Allow a half to full day for this visit What to Spot Explore the waterside together. * Don’t forget: How many of these can you spot? Although the site is always open the facilities and boat trips may not be and some A duck quacking may be chargeable. Please check with local businesses before setting out.

A fascinating The number of a   bridge or lock insect 

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct Chirk Station Explore (2.6 miles/4.3km) Chirk Aqueduct Chirk Castle Glyn Wylfa B5070 & Gardens (NT) Chirk Aqueduct is part of Pontcysyllte Café 0.9 miles/1.5km Chirk Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site and a terrific place for family outings. It’s one of the best places in the country St Mary’s to see awe-inspiring canal architecture. Church 0 B450 Entrance to Chirk Aqueduct River Ceiriog Chirk Tunnel

The Bridge Inn

Chirk Viaduct Chirk Road

Ll an golle anal n C Gledrid Map not to scale: Chirk car park Covers approx 1.3 miles/2.2km Bank

Little adventures The Poachers Our ‘Places to Visit’ app on your doorstep can be downloaded FREE from the App STAY SAFE: Ellesmere and A5 Store or Google Play™ Stay Away From canalrivertrust.org.uk the Edge A little bit of history Situated on the Llangollen Canal, Chirk is where waterways, roads and the railway meet. There are aqueducts and viaducts to marvel at, long tunnels to discover, lush landscapes to admire and the canal to explore. There’s even one of Wales’ great medieval castles nearby.

Best of all Information it’s FREE!* Gledrid, Chirk, Wrexham LL14 5DG Five thing s to d o at Parking Chirk  Toilets Picnic by the Llangollen Canal, one of the most scenic in Britain. Café  Marvel at Chirk Aqueduct, opened in 1801. It was built by Thomas Telford and William Jessop to carry the Pub Ellesmere Canal, (the original name of the Llangollen Path Canal) over the Dee Valley.  Look up at Chirk Viaduct built by Scottish engineer English/Welsh border Henry Robertson and opened in 1848.  Take a torch and walk on the wild side through Allow 2-3 hours Chirk Tunnel. for this visit  Visit Chirk Castle. Completed in 1310, it’s the last of * Don’t forget: the castles built by Edward I that’s still lived in today. Although the site is always open the facilities and boat trips may not be and some may be chargeable. Please check with local businesses before setting out. Did you know?... It’s best to feed ducks tasty treats like: • porridge oats • rice • peas • chopped lettuce • birdseed Sign up for our Whilst they will gobble up white newsletter and get regular bread, crisps and chips its junk updates and offers from the Canal & River Trust. food for you and ducks! Simply go online and’. search for ‘canal newsletter Explore furthe r Go to canalriverexplo rers.or g.uk t o disco ily. ver lots of fun things to do with the fam © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped produce these. 09/15 Llanymynech

Llynclys Frankton Little adventures Oswestry Junction Discover on your doorstep Llanymynech Located on the Montgomery Canal, the English Welsh border runs down the centre of the main street of Hoffman Llanymynech. Enjoy family walks with lime kiln Llanymynech Wharf one foot in England and one in Wales! Visitor Centre

The Dolphin Cross Keys Hotel Montgomery Canal Bradford Arms

Post office Carreghofa Four Crosses Locks Welshpool (0.3 miles/0.5km) Wern Aqueduct Welshpool Our ‘Places to Visit’ app can be downloaded FREE from the App STAY SAFE: Store or Google Play™ Map not to scale: Stay Away From Covers approx 1.3 miles/2.2km the Edge canalrivertrust.org.uk A little bit of history The Llanymynech area is rich in limestone so the village developed as a mining settlement in early times. A rare Hoffman lime kiln, built to speed up the production of lime, can still be seen. Today the kiln, and the canal built to transport the lime elsewhere, form part of an industrial landscape of national importance.

Best of all Information it’s FREE!* North Road Llanymynech Five things Powys SY22 6ER to do at L lany Parking  Check out the Hoffman Hikes. There’sm a y1n mileec hwalk (or a 3 mile route) taking in stunning landscape, geology, Toilets and wildlife habitats. Look out for the Hoffman kiln Café chimney – it’s the only one left! Pub  Get out on to the water, take a boat trip and explore Picnic the Montgomery Canal (Easter to September only).  Follow the ancient Offa’s Dyke, part of which runs Boat trips alongside the canal here. The dyke is probably a Path defensive earthwork built in the 8th century by Offa, Hoffman Trail King of Mercia. 1 mile  Walk down to the towpath to Carreghofa Locks or walk English/Welsh a little further and see the Grade II Vyrnwy Aqueduct. border  Pack a picnic, sit on the banks and feed the ducks. Offa’s Dyke Allow 2-3 hours for this visit

* Don’t forget: Although the site is always Did you know?... open the facilities and boat trips may not be and some may be chargeable. Please Our lock gates are handbuilt check with local businesses by skilled carpenters in our before setting out. workshops in the West Midlands and Yorkshire, from FSC Green Oak. Each one is Sign up for our unique and can take up to a newsletter and get regular month to make. Once built they updates and offers from the last for about 25 years. Canal & River Trust. Simply go online and’. search for ‘canal newsletter Explore furthe r Go to canalriverexplo rers.or g.uk t o disco ily. ver lots of fun things to do with the fam © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped produce these. 09/15 Welshpool

Leisure Centre Little adventures on your doorstep Oswestry A458

Welshpool & Llanfair light Slipway railway To w n centre Montgomery Canal Powys Castle & A483 Explore Gardens (NT) Smithfield Bell Welshpool Welshpool lies on the Cycle hire Lledyn Montgomery Canal, known as Aqueduct ‘the Monty’. Regularly voted the Supermarket Supermarket prettiest canal, the Welshpool section was one of the first to be restored for pleasure use Domen Powysland Castle after being abandoned during Museum WWII. Welshpool Station Welshpool lock Our ‘Places to Visit’ app Newtown & can be downloaded Whitehouse Bridge Nature Reserve FREE from the App Map not to scale: STAY SAFE: Store or Google Play™ Stay Away From Covers approx 1.3 miles/2.2km the Edge canalrivertrust.org.uk A little bit of history The Monty was originally planned to run from Llanymynech to Newtown via Welshpool. It was built mainly to transport lime for use as a fertiliser on fields and produce better agricultural land. Many promoters were local landowners who hoped make money from bigger yields of crops rather than shares in the canal.

Best of all Information it’s FREE!* Church St Welshpool SY21 7DQ Five things to do Parking at W elshp (pay & display)  ool Find out more about Welshpool and the Monty in Toilets Powysland Museum. It’s housed in an old canal warehouse.  Check out the old stone wharf where lime and other Café goods were once off-loaded. Pub  Take a trip on the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway. It used to carry animals to the Livestock Market. Information Centre  Cycle up the towpath to the nature reserve. You might be lucky and spot a kingfisher. Path  Visit Powys Castle & Gardens that has a medieval Allow 2-3 hours deer park and world-famous gardens. for this visit

* Don’t forget: Although the site is always open the facilities and boat trips may not be and some may be chargeable. Please check with local businesses before setting out.

Did you know?... Coots have a white spot on the front of their head and moorhens have a bright red beak tipped with yellow,

and a white stripe on their side. Sign up for our newsletter and get regular updates and offers from the Canal & River Trust. Simply go online and’. search for ‘canal newsletter Explore furthe r Go to canalriverexplo rers.or g.uk t o disco ily. ver lots of fun things to do with the fam © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped produce these. 09/15 Brecon Basin

Visit Brecon Basin Supermarket Brecon The Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal (Mon & Brec) Trip boat & day boat hire town centre is often voted Britain’s prettiest canal. Much of it and castle runs through Brecon Beacon National Park and Start of Taff Trail NCN8 walking & cycling route follows the line of the lovely, wooded Usk Valley.

Probert’s Basin

Brecon Basin Lime Builthwells kilns Monmouthshire Canal Road & Brecon Canal

B4602 A40 Tipple ‘n’ Tiffin Rugby Theatre Club Usk River A470 Brynich Talybont Lock

Little adventures Brynich Aqueduct on your doorstep Our ‘Places to Visit’ app Map not to scale can be downloaded covers approx 1.5 miles/2km FREE from the App Store or Google Play™ STAY SAFE: Stay Away From canalrivertrust.org.uk the Edge A little bit of history The Mon & Brec was built to link Brecon with Newport and the Severn Estuary. Stone and lime from nearby quarries was transported to the canal on horse-drawn trams and then by barge to Newport. Today, there is little evidence of what was once a busy industrial site – it’s most people’s idea of a perfect country walk.

Best of all Information it’s FREE!* Brecon Basin, Powys LD3 7EW Five things to do Parking at B recon (pay & display)  Basin Take a boat trip and discover more about the Mon & Toilets Brec Canal.  See how many birds you can spot and name in five Café minutes. Pub  Explore two miles of the Taff Trail along the towpath starting from Brecon Basin to Brynich Lock. Picnic  Pack a picnic and go fishing or watch anglers along Boat trips the canal. There are plenty of carp, bream and roach in Path the canal.  Go for a walk along the towpath to see the beautiful Allow 2-3 hours Brynich Aqueduct. for this visit * Don’t forget: Although the site is always open the facilities and boat trips may not be and some may be chargeable. Please check with local businesses Can you name the different parts before setting out. of a narrowboat? 1 2 3

4 5 Answers: 1 bow; 2 cabin; 3 tiller; 4 hull; 5 stern 5 hull; 4 tiller; 3 cabin; 2 bow; 1 Answers: Simply go online and’. search for ‘canal newsletter Explore furthe r Go to canalriverexplo rers.or g.uk t o disco ily. ver lots of fun things to do with the fam © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped produce these. 09/15 For more inspiring places to visit look out for our other guides.

Yorkshire North West & North East

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The Canal & River Trust is here so you have a place to escape. A place where you can step off the pavement, onto the towpath and breathe. Sign up for our newsletter and get regular updates and offers Our waterway network is a national from the Canal & River Trust. treasure. It makes people’s lives better. We’re here to ensure that it Simply go online and search is protected forever. for ‘canal newsletter’.

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Images: Visit Wales, Eye Imagery

* This map shows waterways managed by members of the Association of Inland Navigation Authorities (AINA). We have not featured places to visit on waterways managed by these organisations. There are other inland waterways that have not been shown, the information on this map is for guidance only, for accurate information please visit our website.