Wales Powys | Wrexham | Denbighshire Discover little adventures on your doorstep See how many birds you can Wow nice plan! spot and name in five minutes Looks Go for a walk along the towpath to fun 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? Brecon Basin, Welshpool, Llanymynech, Pontcysyllte Me 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 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 Chirk Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site 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.