Llangollen (slow old journey)

We only had six miles left to get to Llangollen when we woke on Monday, mind you it took well over three hours because the channel was so narrow and the current was against us.  On the way we passed a couple of old lime kilns…

…and went through a couple of lift bridges…

…before we saw Pontcysyltte aqueduct in the distance.

There were some canoeists coming over the aqueduct so we had to wait until they were through before setting off.  These pictures and the one at the top shows how disorientating it is as there is a sheer drop on one side and you could step off the boat 130 feet to the River Dee valley below.

Here are a few shots going across the aqueduct which is over 1,000 feet long and opened in 1805.  I learnt today that the arches are hollow inside which was a deliberate design to reduce the weight of the structure.

At the far side was a place called Trevor.  An American tourist was clutching the railing at a point before the aqueduct started but was too frightened to go any further.  This is Trevor junction; straight ahead is a dead end with a boat yard but was originally intended to link up with Chester.  We turned left to Llangollen.

On our journey we managed to stock up on logs.

We also came across a couple of dogs who were drinking from the cut Buddy-style.

There were several places where it was so narrow that Karen had to walk 500/600 yards ahead to ensure no boats were coming.  As well as the narrowness some of these shots show the lovely autumnal colours coming on.

We reached Llangollen just as a horse drawn trip boat was leaving with a boat load of tourists.

A new basin has been built recently and seemed fairly empty.  Mind you after we went into town for a wander and returned it was about three quarters full.  There is a charge of £6 a day to moor in Llangollen but they do supply free electricity and water to every mooring space and pontoon – a welcome relief not to worry about batteries running low in the evening.

This is a selection of pictures of the town.  Sadly the steam trains weren’t running so we missed out on a special trip.

We have both felt like we have been holiday this week – I suppose it must be partly being in a foreign country and partly because there are lots of tourists around.  The holiday mode helped us into a Welsh pub and Buddy seemed happy he was allowed in.