| Llangollan Canal Trip September, 2002 |
| After picking up supplies for the week,we began our trip on a sunny afternoon at the Chirk Marina in Wales. With no more than 5 minutes of instruction from the staff we headed west on our own. Suzanne and Jack were the first to take the helm of our 62 foot narrow boat and they were naturals at the job. By the end of the week we were all comfortable steering the boat but turning it around was a bit more of a challenge. |
| On the way to the town of Llangollan (pronounced Thlan-goth-lan) we crossed the Pontcysyllte (pronounced pont-ka-sylth-tee) Aquaduct. 120 feet above the Dee River valley, it was a breathtaking experience. In the picture to the right, you can see Suzanne and Barry hanging over the side of the narrow boat which is just clearing the edge of the aquaduct. He is taking my picture as I take theirs. |
| A view of the town of Llangollan, with the Dee River flowing under an ancient bridge, built in the 1200's. We spent the day here, walking in town and following the towpath along the unnavigable part of the canal to where it begins by Horseshoe Falls, seen below. |
| The next morning we headed back down the canal, recrossing the Pontcysyllte Aquaduct. Cruising at a leisurly pace (you can walk faster than the boat goes) we enjoyed the beautiful scenes along the way, stopping once in a while to lift bridges and operate locks. |
| Suzanne steers the boat while Barry and Jack man the ropes and I take pictures. |
| Left you see Suzanne and Barry by one of the quaint lift bridges crossing the canal while below are scenes along the way. We had wonderful weather every day. |
| Above you see Jack and I at the helm crossing the Chirk Aquaduct. Left of the boat is a railroad bridge and behind us is one of the three tunnels we had to go through. The picture below shows the same scene but from an overlook just above the tunnel. We spent our last night close by. |
| Holiday over, Barry serves Jack his birthday dinner of Beef Wellington. Happy 60th Jack! |
| Swans, stone bridges, trees and vines... everything was so lovely. |
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