Canal Boat Holiday Discover The Beauty Of The Llangollen Canal

We started our journey by lifting the electric swing bridge at Wrenbury Mill and leaving the marina. This is the only electric swing bridge on the journey. The rest of the swing bridges you encounter (about half a dozen of them) are all manually operated with your 'lock key' or windlass.

The Llangollen Canal (afficioados call it by its original name the Ellesmere Canal) officially starts at Hurleston at the junction with the Shropshire Union Canal

The first part of the cruise is a leisurely coast through rural Shropshire until you reach your first lock about half an hour away. This is more than enough time for the novice boater to get used to handling the narrow boat. The first lock is called Quoisley Lock and is the first of three locks that begin your climb towards Llangollen.

The lock stream that runs past these locks can be quite strong, pushing the boat to the bank so novice boaters just need to take that into account as you enter the lock. Be prepared for toots from the horns of passing drivers who are going past on the road that runs parallel with the canal for a short distance. If this is your first ever lock then just take your time there is no rush. You couldn't if you wanted to anyway!

This is our narrow boat. They look big and cumbersome to start with but you soon get the hang of it. They are built to be robust too which is good news for the novice boater. This boat had sleeping accommodation for four with two double beds.

Just like home from home. The Alvechurch narrow boats are very well equipped with gas hob, microwave oven, radio and TV (not that we ever used those!) The bathroom is 'bijou' understandably with a shower, and there's lots of storage space throughout. Very comfortable.

Off we headed through the beautiful Shropshire country side. This was typical of the route we boated through. We also struck it lucky with some wonderfully sunny April weather. The plan here was get to Grindley Brook about 2 hours boating ahead. Our narrow-boat was called The Great Crested Grebe.

The next two locks we passed through were typical small canal locks with double gates at the bottom and a single gate at the top. The etiquette of lock usage says that the Paddles which you use to control the flow of water into and out of the lock should be left down (closed), and the gates should be closed too, unless there is a boat waiting to enter the lock immediately.

A pub is situated right next to Willey Moor's lock. On the return journey we stopped here and I enjoyed a pint of one of my favourite beers Old Speckled Hen on draft. Bliss.

We reached Grindley Brook by evening and decided to moor up just below he lock system for the night. Grindley Brook is famous for a series of three locks close together; a so called staircase lock. Our first night was as short one as we got used to the relaxed pace of narrow boating and the unusual sounds of countryside. We were up and about to a beautiful sunrise at 5.30 a.m. which is shown here cooking bacon sandwiches and waiting until 8.00 a.m. (the traditional time for starting boat engines) before taking on the locks.

Due to the time of year we were lucky and navigated the locks without delay. In high season this exercise can take up to 4 hours.

This was the view as we approached the first Grindley Brook Lock. Each of the bridges on British Waterways carries a number and this is bridge 28. The first lock gates can be seen just past the bridge. Boaters might also like to know that there is shop and pub just off the tow path nearby.

A staircase lock is a series of locks without a mooring point between them. The upper gates of one lock are also the lower gates of the lock above. This means that the locks have to be filled and emptied in a logical sequence to navigate through them. Luckily there was a friendly lock keeper on hand to help us. The full flight of locks lifts the boat circa 40ft from the start. There are three locks here and signs also explain to boaters how to use them.

Boaters are very much the entertainment for the day for the cafe visitors who enjoy refreshments next to the lock. Our dog Grace was tied securely to the boat to prevent any accidents and her paws were kept well within the profile of the boat. (Essential for humans too!) At first she was quite nervous as the paddles opened and the water rushed into the lock. Something that must be done with caution by opening the paddles part way to prevent the boat being bashed against the lock gates.

The Lock Keeper at Grindley Brook was really helpful. He had a collection of flags from visiting boaters. Because we were the first through that morning he hadn't had time to set out all the flags he had collected. He made sure as he helped us that he put out the Dutch flag because the lady following us was a regular visitor from Holland who came every year spending a month in the UK canal boating. We didn't notice an American flag maybe someone can put that right? There were several other countries and regions that could be added to the lock keepers collection too.

This is the famous Jack Mytton Inn. Mooring up close by because all the places had been taken at this popular spot by early evening, we had a really good meal here. Our dog Grace was made very welcome because the pub's owner (a genial host with very pleasant bar and restaurant staff) is very dog friendly.

Jack Mytton was "Squire "Mad" Jack Mytton (1796-1838) - Shropshire's best-remembered sportsman, eccentric and drunkard"

As we headed to Ellesmere we passed through perhaps one of the UK's most hidden gem's the Shropshire Lake District. Here lake and canal exist closely side by side. Many people will be familiar with its more famous cousin the Lake District in Cumbria and I have to say as a Cumbrian myself the Mere's of Shropshire are a delight. The link provides panoramic views of Blakemere and Colmere and other Llangollen Canal sights

This is a short tunnel. They are all 'one way' so make sure no one is coming the other way and remember to put your headlight on!

There are several branches off the Llangollen Canal. One is affectionately known as the Monty or the Montgomery Canal. From the Frankton Junction circa 11 miles are navigable. Entry via the locks has to be pre-booked and there is only a short time window each day for this.

Several sections of the Llangollen Canal are quite shallow. Obviously this isn't due to the large number of animals of who take a drink, is it?

Two locks take you up to the Llangollen level of the canal. There are no more locks ahead. The owner of the lock keepers house sets out things to buy for boaters so if you need a book or lock key then you can pick one up here.

From Frankton's Junction the bridges have a 'W' suffix. This is to avoid rescue service confusion with locations.

Chirk has beautiful moorings. It is a border town between England and Wales. We moored up here and then walked into Chirk (about a mile each way from this bridge). We recommend McArdles butchers in Chirk for great sausage, burgers and bacon.

The first aqueduct on the way up to Llangollen. the Chirk Aqueduct is 220 m long and was built in 1801. A rail viaduct runs parallel. It's a foretaste of the Pontcyslytte aqueduct to come. Again one way so make sure the way is clear.

This is a long tunnel at 420m.Two or three narrow boats usually make the trip in a line once the coast is clear. You need to check if you can see approaching headlights before setting off. Thomas Telford built a footpath to make life easier for the original canal users who used to have to use their legs on the roof of tunnels to walk narrow boats through tunnels. this was known as legging

Nothing can quite prepare you for this aqueduct crossing experience. It's certainly something to tell the grand children. The canal runs in metal trough, the edge of which you can see in this picture. It is a sheer drop to the river Dee valley 126 feet below on that side of the aqueduct.

The picturesque section of the Welsh section of the Llangollen canal comes with some small challenges as you near Llangollen. These are the sections of 'narrows' passable only one direction at a time with blind bends. It pays to send a crew member up ahead (with a mobile phone or good running skills and a loud shout) to let you know its OK to proceed. Boats often wait to form a 'train' to the pass the narrows.

This is the famous Llangollen Wharf. Llangollen is also home of one of the several Welsh culture festivals the Eisteddfod

Some 75 yards past the Llangollen Wharf there is no powered narrow boat navigation beyond this point. To the right is the Llangollen Marina. Horse drawn shallow draft tourist boats do proceed further.

Short stay (four hours) is free, charges apply for longer.

Horses pull tourists in narrow boats further along the canal to a turning point.

This is where the Llangollen canal starts from the River Dee. It's about a 2 mile walk from Llangollen. The horseshoe shaped weir was designed by Thomas Telford to collect water so that the so called Gauging Station could manage the flow of water into the canal. Most of the waterway management buildings are run down at this point.