LANGUISHING ON THE LLANGOLLEN CANAL

The Llangollen is the canal many people choose as their first canal experience. Imagine then you are a guest on Narrowboat Mr David and about to travel up to Llangollen. Have you brought a cheap bottle of wine like most guests?
We are moored at the junction of the Shropshire Union Canal at the start of the Llangollen canal just north of Nantwich. Isolated from road and railways it is a very quiet area, only one other boat is moored here, a hundred yards away. We spend the evening snug in the sitting room of Mr David warmed by the solid fuel stove, whilst drinking 10 year old Macallan whisky and watching on Satellite TV Manchester United playing dazzling football,. You retire late to your luxurious single bunk.
It is now 6 o’clock in the morning. There is a sharp, hard frost outside and the boat is covered in a white sheet of frost. You are woken by the Captain stoking up the fire and making the tea. Being a perfect gentleman he knocks on the double doors of your bunk, enters, and places a cup of tea on the side table. He has washed his hands and therefore you have to be quite careful because he can’t do a thing with them. Also he’s now declared himself to be tri-sexual having not been fancied by any woman for the last thirty years.
The Captain withdraws to the bathroom where you can hear him washing, gargling and spitting. It’s a very communal, cosy boat. You then hear him grumbling at Brenda because she is not yet up and you then hear her slide into the bathroom. Her ablutions are much quieter than the Captains and the next thing you hear is “Bathroom is free.” And in you go. Plenty of hot water from the engine following its run yesterday. Hearing the Captain stomping and spitting outside you decide not to delay the start by having a shower so you merely wash, clean your teeth, comb your hair and finish dressing.
Brenda is stood in the kitchen finishing her cup of tea; the Captain is undoing the ropes and getting the engine going. You motor off to the first mooring which is by a wide sweep of water at the bottom of a flight of locks. Yesterday David dropped a windless in the canal and Brenda is still poking fun at him but he is highly pleased with himself having bought a new long-handled steel windlass. As Brenda always says, “Big windlass, little boy!”

The Hurlston Locks are the flight of four locks which raise boats from the Shropshire Union Canal to the Llangollen Canal. The bywash from the first lock is on the left hand side running parallel with the mooring rings which makes it quite tricky to moor and secure the boat. You need at least two lines to shore otherwise you are in danger of being flushed into the centre of the wide water.
David went ahead and opened up all four locks and is walking back down again whilst Brenda is fiddling around and finishing her tea. He doesn’t half work hard!
Into the first lock, which is brick lined and only just wide enough for the boat, no spare width as in most locks. There are signs warning you to lift any fenders. Our narrowboat just gets in with the small round pipe fenders down but only just. This lock will be a bit narrow for any river cruiser. One boater reportedly greased the side of his boat to get in this lock. No footbridge across the swim of the first three locks so if there is only one person working the locks then they have to walk all the way around the lock to open the second of the double entrance gates, or leap across the four feet dividing the gates, one open and one closed.
The second lock is also brick lined, but the brickwork appears to be older than that of the first lock and seems to be a bit more bowed, giving a fraction more width than in the first lock and the gates. With the locks being narrow the in coming water causes a vicious push back and then pull on the boat. You therefore have to be easy on the gates paddles to prevent the boat smashing into the lock gates or keep a member of the crew on the tiller to correct this turbulence. The third and forth locks are similar to the second and in direct line so no problems with manoeuvring the boat, an easy, if energetic start. These four locks are a good set of locks for a crew learning their trade.
When steering the boat you will immediately note the stream of water pushing against the boat particularly when passing through bridge holes and coming out of locks. This is because British Waterways have turned this canal into a river sending fourteen million gallons of water a day down the canal from Llangollen to the Hurleston reservoir.


At the top of the locks you have information, a small BW storage office, an old original lock-keeper’s cottage, rubbish disposal, a sanitary station and water. There are moorings at the top by Bridge 1 should you wish to complete the four locks the night before. It’s always worth checking information notices; British Waterways can surprise you with an unscheduled stoppage. At least the information notices will give you a few locks warning. A small weir is on your right; the weir sucks water from the canal into the reservoir. When we passed the waterpoint a boat was having a siesta despite there being visitor bollards further on.
At the first bridge the canal goes under a very busy road (buses to Chester or Nantwich) it’s good to see the wage slaves rushing off to work whilst we gently cruise the canal. This first bridge is a double bridge the old brick bridge disused and abandoned, the replacement modern flat concrete bridge, which it replaced taking the traffic rush. We are now passing through the attractive farmland plain. The sun is breaking through and we are bathed in the yellow warm sunshine which has melted all the frost and is now burning off the remaining water trapped on the boat roof. The second bridge is a reminder that most of the bridge holes on the canal are narrow and often a pile of bricks are at the foot of the bridge piers as evidence of careless steering. The bridges are attractive, built with brick and stone, most are the usual round bridge hole but an occasional one is eye-drop shaped to give more room to the towpath.
We pass large farm complexes, old mock Tudor black and white houses, one on the right with its own lake. Cormorants sit on a dead tree by the edge of the lake surveying their domain. Brenda puts the washing machine on. Have you any dirty washing?
There is an Ice cream emporium advertised as a 10 minute walk from Bridge 4, too early and cold for us but useful on a summer’s day. Moorings are also provided at Bridge 4, there is piling along much of the length of the Llangollen, the problem is not finding somewhere to moor but getting into the bank. The canal is very shallow in places having lacked concerted dredging in the past. When looking for a mooring it’s worth testing that you can get near the bank with the boat before committing to a mooring.

The first British Waterways worker of the day in his black coveralls. They used to have traditional green uniforms and you could see them for miles but now they’ve now gone into black and you cannot always tell if it is a BW employee or just a member of the public. One BW man was surveying the bridges we offered him a lift but he gruffly and ungraciously announced he was going the other way. There is a long curve after bridge 5 where new piling has been put in since our last visit. There is a tendancy for BW to put the new piling a yard into the canal and in-fill the gap. This does have the advantage of making it easier to moor, but you are losing a yard of the canal. The first sign of rubbish on this canal with a floating cardigan, not David’s size. The canal is mostly free of floating rubbish.
Primroses are flowering by Bridge 5 and wild flowers are seen all along the canal there are more 48 hr moorings before Bridge 6. A rumour persists that the Shropshire Union Canal Society provide the rings & BW fit them, the Society certainly provide picnic tables along the canal, well done them. Burland village is by bridge 6 with a general store. Here also is an old loading wharf used by BW to moor their tug Bala. We note the superb curved chimney on the mock Tudor house.
The crew now has the excitement of Swanley Locks. Paddles here are very stiff allowing David to use his new, extra long windless. More mooring opportunities and picnics table just past Bridge 8 with permanent moorings on right, then half a dozen boats before Bridge 9 and the second Swanley lock. Such is the amount of water flowing down the canal that it creates small sandbanks in the canal, you can often see floating debris trapped on them and if you are having to maneuver the boat to line up with the lock it can be difficult.
After Bridge 10 is a winding hole set in an old wharf on right hand side. The first boat of the day coming the other way, we are traveling in early spring and see only a couple of boats on the move during the day, in summer, however, the canal can be very busy. We found a flat plastic fender discarded on the bank and further along a perfectly good mooring pin neither of them attached to a boat, they will help to pay for David’s new windless.
We are passing through fields dissected by stands of oak. There are more 48 hrs moorings after Bridge 12.

A run now of three locks at Baddiley each a hundred yards or so apart. The locks are isolated and in the middle of beautiful farmland embroidered with trees. The middle lock has a lock keepers cottage on the towpath side protected by a thick yew hedge which obscures the view of the canal and shuts it off from the canal. Ten foot high thick, green hedge why would people want to shut off the views of the canal and the farmland? More 48 hour moorings above Lock No 3 should you have done enough work already.
Bridge 17 by Wrenbury Hall has a crudely painted ‘Shop’ notice but we could find no evidence of a shop in the cluster of houses. Just after is Bridge 18, Wrenbury Church lift bridge, the first lift bridge. This lift bridge is operated by pulling the chain bringing down the arm weight, then fastening the chain hook to a metal staple. The weight ratio was out and the bridge would not close without having to jump on the bridge and bring it down like a see-saw. We have now reached Wrenbury which is the first routine stop on the canal. English County Cruises have established a large hire fleet, with all services (except coal) and there are also good moorings behind the Cotton Arms pub plus superb food at The Dusty Miller. Save your pennies, sell the wife and spend the money on eats at The Dusty Miller. A walk into the large village will find a Post Office and general store.
Bridge 20 is the Wrenbury electric lift bridge take your time, play with the electric buttons and watch the motorists getting agitated about losing minutes of their lives. There are more moorings after the bridge but it is very tight as there are also moored boats on the off side bank. By bridge 22 are 48 hour moorings with Thomason’s winding hole. Just past here is a farmer in a field flinging it, we keep to the left to avoid getting our share. A run of an hour or so of absolute peace no trains, cars or airplanes, just the odd dog walker. Bridge 23 crosses flat and concrete just before the lock, mind your head.
Marbury Lock has an isolated picnic area with an old lock cottage. A fancy wrought iron fence on the left at the lock side stops you getting out by the cottage, but two steps on the right allow you exit on that side. The towpath changes to the right hand side at the lock. We stop here for an hour’s sleep due to the Captain being tired. Only bird song and David snoring can be heard. Our peace is shattered at Bridge 25 as the A49 roars over the canal and the traffic brings you back into the world.

Just after the A49 is Quoisley Lock a metal gated lock with gates built in1976. The lock is separated from the busy road by the by-wash and a small stream between the canal and the road. A wooden bridge has been constructed over the stream to give access to the island but no access bridge has been made across the by-wash. So you can see the road but you can’t get to it; in an emergency you would have to put a plank over the by-wash.
We arrive at Willimoor Lock and goody it is by a pub, the Willimoor Lock Tavern. The pub is closed in the afternoon, a great disappointment to the crew. So on to Povey’s Lock a standard lock with no difficulty operating. A small steam launch has left the tavern and is going like an annoying mosquito before us. The area is beginning to get a little hilly now, not the flat Cheshire plain as before. We are now heading for Grindley Brook Locks and the excitement of a three lock staircase.
Grindley Brook Bridge 27 is long, almost a small tunnel and there is little room beyond the bridge and before the first lock so we stay by the bridge whilst Brenda sets the lock. Behind the bridge is Lane Croft Wharf, an old canal wooden building and a collection of houses. Bridge 28 crosses the canal just before the locks.
Into the first lock of the flight of three Grindley Locks. The Three Bridges bookshop is advertised on the left, promising books at half price. After the first lock is a very handy Shell garage selling coal, gas and newspapers etc. The middle lock is on a tricky sharp turn but the third lock is a straight run in and has easy hydraulic paddle gear on the bottom gates.
Now there is a wide turn to the right and a chance to moor ready for the staircase. It is worth pausing here and investigating the state of the staircase. For those who have never met a staircase lock, it is a number of locks each lock built directly behind the other with only a lock gate separating them. Going up you need the bottom lock empty and the two locks above full. White painted lines on the locks show the level of water needed to enter the lock above. On entering the bottom lock the bottom gates and paddles are closed and the top paddles gently opened to allow water in the middle lock to fall into the bottom lock raising the boat. The large middle lock gate can then be opened and the boat driven into the middle lock. With the gate and paddles closed behind the boat, the top lock’s water can be emptied into the middle lock. When the water levels are equal the top gate on the middle lock can be opened and the boat taken into the top lock. It is then just a matter of treating the top lock as a normal lock. If it seems complicated that is because it can be. The main point is to take your time and to ensure that you never have the top and bottom paddles open in the lock at the same time. Coming down you will need the top lock full and the bottom two locks empty. Good luck!

At the side of the staircase is a super lockside store, selling local produce. We bought sausages for supper. So having completed the staircase we stop for the evening at the top of the staircase there is a water/sanitary/rubbish station and a long line of moorings.
Exhausted you have an early night and wake to the gently rocking of the boat and soft cries from the main cabin. The rocking eases and after a time David brings you a cup of tea. He is singing, out of tune, a romantic ballad. He continues to sing as he starts the engine and casts off!
A misty morning with a cold breeze but the promise of a nice day to come. An early morning cruise, under Bridge 30 a stone bridge and then bridge 30A a modern concrete high bridge taking a bypass road. The canal wends around between small hills. Moorings appear on the left for half a dozen boats. Just before the junction of the Llangollen with the Whitchurch arm is a lift bridge, Bridge 31, this one is hydraulic and you will need a windlass.
The Whitchurch arm cuts away sharply to the left, the main canal gently turning to the right. Medium size boats can get round into the arm in this direction but longer boats should go on to a winding hole 200 yards past the junction, turn and come back. You can almost see the end of the arm from the junction and mooring is possible on the left hand bank and there is a winding hole near the end. Should you wish to visit Whitchurch a bus service will take you from the end of the arm into the town, the centre is a little far to walk.
We ignore the arm and pass under the large concrete Bridge 31A which takes the Whitchurch bypass over the canal. After the bridge is the large Viking Afloat boatyard on the left, water, pumpout etc, but no coal. As it is still early in the season hire boats are stacked three deep at the boatyard.
Just after the yard is Bridge 33 another modern flat concrete bridge carrying the bypass. The canal now bends round to two more lift bridges, Hassalls Numbers One and Two. Both are hydraulic. The second bridge is very stiff to move and took a least 30 turns of the windlass to lift it, so these will keep you fit. This area of the canal is mostly made from small cuttings their sloping side tree lined, in fact, trees everywhere, birds singing, badger sets and rabbit holes in the embankments.

A very quiet country run down to Bridge 43 and the Waggoners Arms. Never short of a pub on this canal. The day has developed cold with that misty wet invasive cold which chills to the bone. The crew huddle inside by the solid fuel stove. A couple of hundred meters after Bridge 43 is The Barn Shop in a farmer’s garden, free range eggs and home made jam and with overnight moorings available.
Morris Lift Bridge sits in open farmland with a few small attractive lakes by the side. This bridge is a pig with seventy-three turns of the windlass to lift it. This area is a National Nature Reserve, the most southerly raised bog in the country. The area has now been saved from commercial peat exploitation allowing the peat moss to recover. Prior to the steel piling a gang of men continually built up clay banks to protect the canal. There are signs of the modern world with a scrap yard by the side of the canal. Now the Prees Branch cuts off to Whixall Marina advertising all the usual services except coal, for which we are now growing short. Two lift bridges protect the marina so we decide not to visit. The canal now cuts through the Mosses with sections of canal enclosed by tall hedges and trees, the canal is raised up from the land below.
We reach the first border crossing with England and Wales. We will cut in and out of Wales but this is the first crossing. You can tell we are in Wales as the sheep are smiling. Leaving the national park the canal now sits high above the surveying land with Bettisfield long term moorings. Then just before Bridge 48 there are two useful water points. After the bridge is Bettisford Pleasure Boats stone walls and a wooden workshop building. People appear to be building boats but no other facilities advertised.
Tight turns in the canal now before Bridge 50 and the first 48hr mooring for some time and by bridge 53 is the canal based Lyneal Holiday Centre with their own narrowboats for people with disabilities. David claims to have Special Needs, but don’t ask.

Long slow canal curves announce the start of Shopshire Lake District. Blake Mere provides picnic tables and several mooring places right beside the lake with beautiful views between high trees. Ellesmere tunnel at 80 meters long is a good taste of what’s to come, a tight tunnel with a towpath and guard rail on the right. You need to keep the boat hard over right to avoid scratching the boat roof as the stream of water tends to force the boat out of line. About a thousand yards from tunnel there are mooring rings on the right and you can see the extensive Blackwater Meadow Marina. No coal advertised here and a notice demands you check mooring and services availability before entering the marina. This gives a slight feeling of not being welcome.
We now enter the Ellesmere branch going down to the right under the white foot bridge. Mooring is possible all the way down the branch. At the bottom is the Ellesmere basin with room to turn but it can be cramped if busy. Nothing appears to have changed from our visit two years ago, derelict buildings and a run-down old warehouse, the town appears to be in a time warp. Some reasonable shopping in a small provincial town. We have been told that if we are staying the night it is better to moor at top by the junction, lots of weird characters abound around the canal basin. Look out for the one in yellow vest, dressing gown, chef’s trousers and Russian hat!
Just past the Elsemere arm is the extensive BW workshop with services for boaters. We spend the night on a superb isolated mooring just a mile out of town on the right, just before Bridge 60.
No rocking of the boat this morning and David is back to being grumpy and kicking things. We leave the lovely quiet mooring at approximately seven o’clock. The day is not too cold, but grey overcast. There are more 48 hr moorings just before Bridge 64 and a long sweeping bend up to Bridge 64. The land slopes away at different angles from the canal and makes it appear that you are going up hill; an optical illusion. Again, more 48 hr moorings after Bridge 67, here also a very large and aromic dairy farm. Not only are there sights in the country, there are also smells!
At bridge 69 there is a collection of houses and then, going off to the left, the junction to the Montgommery Canal which is currently being fully restored. This is the historic end of the first section of the canal which is why the bridges now begin at No 1 again; the towpath switches to left hand side. The canal snakes its way around increasingly large hillocks.
Bridge 5 has a tight turn with the A495 roaring over the canal and it’s a tricky boat turn as evidenced by the amount of concrete that has been knocked off the bridge support. Immediately after the bridge is the Narrowboat Inn, Tetley real ale plus a boatyard with a chandlers. We pass too early in the morning to discover if they sell coal. This is the home of Maestermyn Cruisers. Hire boats are three abreast making it a tricky passage.

The towpath now switches to the right after bridge, the boatyard and linear moorings on the left. The attractive Bridge 6 takes the towpath back over to the left hand side, but the view is made ugly with a galvanized privacy gate for the linear moorings. You will find Bridge 8 a trifle tricky by Swanley Lock No 2 with the curve of the canal, Bridge 9 is adjacent to Swanley Lock No 1 and Bridge 10 is easy but unusual in having its foundations made of wooden beams.
Just past Bridge 10 there are the huge brick foundations of a railway bridge, the track presumably torn up by Dr Beeching’s minions. Just after Bridge 11 is the Jack Mytons Inn, it looks inviting with a full a la carte menu and bar snacks. Opposite is the resting place for BW tugs and barges. I’m sure it’s coincidence that they are moor by a pub.
The last two locks before Llangollen are the two Marton locks. They have heavy wooden gates but are easy to use. The water now is pretty clear. It has been trying to clear for some time now and once the locks are out of the way you can see the bed of the canal. There are two water points after the bridge. You can tell that they are water points, they have bollards and hire boats sitting on them long into the morning.
The towpath is now on the right after the lock. At bridge 17 a large new development and marina is being built with about eight piers, a conference centre and hotel etc. Serious planking along the bank here to avoid erosion which is a continual problem for the canal and just before Bridge19a there is a winding hole, but don’t turn here, you’ll miss the best part of the canal. Also by Bridge 19 is the Poacher’s Pocket pub on the road to Chirk, spruced up and painted white.
Now for the first time we begin to see fairly steep hills and deep valleys and the first spot of canal ‘narrows’ sided with concrete making the boat push hard against the current. There is a busy and popular moorings on right, from where you can walk down into the valley and Chirk, although it is easier to reach the town from the other side of tunnel. By this mooring you have The Bridge Inn - advertised as the last one in England (from this spot it’s a popular cry from pubs on the border).

Bridge 21 is tight to get through, it is made of stone and has iron curved girders supporting the bridge. There is a rude sign on the bridge saying ‘slow down’. You can if you want, but I think there’s more fun in doing it at high speed. There are mooring rings one hundred yards past the bridge on the right, but as it is very tight through these narrows with moored boats and other boats coming towards you so be prepared for the odd knock. I don’t think it is a very peaceful mooring when the canal is busy. There is a very nice series of canal cottages on the bend just before the aqueduct with a small BW yard with a collection of ‘No’ notices. Then it’s round the corner and into Chirk Aqueduct which is 70 feet high and not as long as Pontcysyllte. This is a practice for what is to come. On Chirk Aqueduct you have the protected towpath on your right, which has been made ugly by fitting chicken wire along the edge for protection, there must be a more attractive option. On the left are wide stone blocks, these give you a better a sense of security than on the Pontcysyllte. The stone blocks are a meter wide and warning notices have had to be placed to advise people not to walk across the blocks. The sides of the aqueduct are lined with wooden sleepers on both sides so you can do no damage as you nudge your way along.
After the aqueduct there is a small basin and the tunnel entrance before you. We need to take our time here, the tunnel entrance is off-set and you need to carefully line up the boat, checking no other boat is coming the other way. We enter, with water pushing against us, it is easy to scratch the boat on the left-hand side. The tunnel is brick lined and 421 meters long, with a towpath running down the right. The tunnel is fairly straight and you can see the exit shining brightly in the distance. The passage is very tight with the pressure of water against you and the curve of the wall trying to catch your boat. The opposing current is continually trying to push the boat out of line. We exit the tunnel, gratefully, into a wooded cutting. There are limited, dank, moorings here and you will probably need spikes to moor but it is the closest point to Chirk.
You now have the offer of a round of golf at the adjacent golf centre with free moorings, just watch out for sliced golf balls. The wonderful Chirk Castle can been seen dimly in the trees behind you on your left, it’s National Trust and well worth a visit. Chirk marina is also on your left through a tight turn. All facilities here, including coal, hurray! Beyond the marina is Whitehouse tunnel at only 171 meters long but again difficult to keep the boat straight with the current trying to edge you to the wall.
Through the ivy-clad Bridge 26 via a deep cutting, then the canal snakes to Bridge 27 where the towpath has been closed due to erosion. A lot of work has been completed around here on the canal, new concrete sides on the right and protection stones on the left.

You can now see wonderful views of villages across the valley and to the right the railway viaduct stalks across the valley. The canal is now in a concrete trough which covers most of the remainder of the canal to Llangollen. The hills begin to rise up on your left and a small village is on the right.
The sun finally breaks through making a lovely blue sky and warming your back. You get your first sight of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on right, elegant on its tall slim pillars. Before the aqueduct you have the exercise of Fron Lift Bridge with 65 turns of the windlass to raise it. There is a small canal basin with cottages on your left and with a right turn you are onto the approach to the aqueduct. Here are the Pontcysyllte long term mornings on your left and a towpath on both sides up to aqueduct, on the left two water points are being constructed and are currently enclosed in red plastic fencing.
With a gentle turn right, you have before you one of the wonders of the waterways. It looks a very narrow long channel from the boat with a towpath on the right and four inches of metal on the left. We confirm that no boat is coming the other way as there is only room for one boat and we set off. As there is no guardrail on the left you appear to float on air over the fields. The first sight below is a football pitch a hundred and twenty six feet below. On the right is the old metal guardrail protecting the walkers on the towpath. So, looking left you have got absolutely nothing, the lip of the metal is level with the back step of the boat. You could literally just step off the boat and plunge down, stressed executives should not look.

The tin tray is made up of blocks of metal some six feet long, some shorter, made to fit and welded together. You honestly doubt that they can hold the water and put up with the boats bumping along them. There is no skill crossing the aqueduct, beyond keeping your nerve you just keep the boat steadily going along bumping if necessary along the sides. I’m sure you could leave the boat in gear and just bump along. There are wonderful views all round, to the right the railway viaduct to the left lots of wooded hills. The impression of flying or floating on air with the boat is enhanced with the football pitch being flat and the people on the pitch appearing so tiny. Now down below you have an access road running along the side of the football pitch then a thick line of trees and the river below you. There is just the one set of rapids 150 yards up the river and then it’s clear beneath the aqueduct to another small falls on the other side of the aqueduct. The River Dee is absolutely crystal clear. Rooks fly between the rocks below, they are actually flying beneath the boat an incredible sight. Walkers pass by on the towpath trying not to be envious of you on the boat. Below you after the river there is an area of trees leading up to an attractive yellow stone cottage adjacent to a white cottage with white painted houses above. You are now inching up to the stone portal at the end of the aqueduct, to the right is a wooded ravine. You may need a little more power towards the end of the aqueduct as the canal is wide in front and the stream narrows to the aqueduct increasing the current.
We are across! Want to turn round and do it again? At the end of a small basin is the boatyard of Anglo-Welsh Cruisers with limited mooring on the left. We go left under the stone road bridge. Note the Thomas Telford pub, further along past the boatyard. The stone road bridge over the canal has metal curved beams, an attractive bridge spoilt by the ugly metal protection gates stopping you getting into the boatyard.
Following the excitement of the aqueduct you are back in the concrete trough. The canal narrows and there are detached houses on the left and an attractive landscape and gardens. Under a footbridge No 32 we drive away from this busy area. The footbridge, has a stone ramp on the left worn through the ages, and on the right a stone pillar where it joins the higher field on the right. You now have in front of you bloody big hills or a mountain, take your pick. The canal is now slipping through a pass in the hills with a deep valley on the left. Something very nasty in the trough here with the boat bumping over it. This area is very shallow and it continually feels that you have something round the prop, it is difficult to make headway. Even in the middle of the channel the boat is scraping the bottom, the whole length of the canal is badly in need of a dredge.
Bridge 34 is a nice stone bridge with a pretty background and down on the left an old mill with an old waterwheel which is worth seeing. You then pass through a series of stone bridges. There are gorgeous views across the valley with the river at the bottom of it. Stunning views of the river wending its way below by Bridge 36 but no room to moor here. The canal seems a bit deeper by bridge 36 and we are making better progress. Bleak hills are now rising up on the right studded with pretty white cottages.

There is a useful winding hole for dodging oncoming boats on the right. Then a large country hotel on the right after Bridge 38 for those wanting secluded nookie with several Mr and Mrs Smiths staying. The canal is now back to being as shallow as ever just by an ugly rusting pipe carrying water over the canal; it is also very shallow around Bridge 40.
We are now joined on right by the road to Llangollen, picking up quite a bit of traffic. A tall round hill with the ruins of Castell Dinas Bran directly in front, and with more hills going away in the distance. Should you need a rest the Sun Trevor restaurant is on the right by Bridge 41 with mooring rings on the left.
At Bridge 41 a British Waterways notice warns that the canal narrows to one boat width for the next three hundred meters and advises you to stop and check for oncoming boats. Passing places are marked with white posts. We found the best thing was to send somebody out on foot to check ahead and give warning. The single boat width concrete lining, curves its way through manicured lawns. With tight turns in the narrows by Bridge 42 it is better take it gentle and just let the boat bump along. Out of the narrows and after Bridge 42, you can see the road plunge downhill and wonder if Llangollen will never come.
The run to Bridge 43 is pretty good not too shallow and a slow curve after the bridge between wooded, sheep strewn hills, with new born lambs bleating on the hillside. There is some room to moor here, on piling, as the canal curves along valley side. We pass a small farmer’s lift bridge, normally open to stop the sheep wandering, and just when you are losing heart and fearing that you will never get there you glimpse houses through the trees on the hillside - the outskirts of Llangollen.
We pass through more narrows again through a rock cutting on the right, vines are coming down covering the rock. A deep wooded river valley is on the left below the towpath. This is a very slow and tedious progress through these narrows we are passed by a snail.
Into Llangollen with the smell of wild garlic, I don’t know if it was the Tandoori. At last the start of visitor moorings, 48 hours maximum. Rubbish disposal, the slowest water tap in the world and sanitary disposal here, an information point and two small British Waterways stone buildings. The town spreads out on the left as you come up past the long line of moorings.

Within the last set of narrows, and it is very difficult against the flow of water to get to the end winding hole. You need plenty of power cutting between a white cottage and a larger Victorian gothic castellated house built in 1860.
The last bridge is Bridge 45, a sloping concrete bridge with blue metal handrails. You need to go dead slow to get past the moored boats; Thomas Telford, a boat doing aqueduct trips by the old wharf warehouse and the promise of horse drawn trips in the summer. This is an award winning but heavily noticed private wharf with no visitor moorings. You may need to put some power on so you don’t scratch the boat as you go through the final bridge. The wide winding hole is on your right and ‘No Entry’ signs in front on the feeder arm going up to Horseshoe Falls. Once you have turned you will be amazed at the speed in which you go back downstream compared with the crawl to get up to the winding hole.
Llangollen is something of a tourist trap, lots of tea/gift and souvenir shops, all with adjacent crumbling hotels. There is a superb town bridge over the River Dee and you can see the fish swimming in the crystal clear water. There is the steam railway up the valley and a walk to do to the Horseshoe Falls whilst David finds a pub to watch the football. For some reason Llangollen has been taken over by what David thinks are Albanians. All around people are speaking a ‘Llangolleneise’. David says is Albanian and notes even the road signs are in English and Albanian. Hope you enjoyed your trip and your visit to Nb Mr David.

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