Guide to the Llangollen Canal
Possible Holidays on the Llangollen Canal
Click on a boat base below for more information and possible routes from that base.
The Llangollen Canal is considered the most beautiful waterway in the country.
It includes the famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, one of the wonders of the canals, and is noted for its many lift bridges.
The full length of the canal is a week's cruise full of contrasts, from the staircase locks at Grindley Brook to Shropshire's mini lakes around Ellesmere, from the rolling plains of Cheshire to the hills and mountain scenery around Llangollen.
Distance, Time, and Locks
90 miles, about 40 hours cruising, 42 locks.
A pleasant week, and a favourite with both new and experienced canal boaters.
Cruising the Llangollen Canal
From the eastern end of the canal cruise through rural scenery past Wrenbury village to Grindley Brook and the market town of Whitchurch.
Traverse the remote Whixall Moss peat bog into the little known Shropshire Lake District and past some of its seven Meres to the unspoilt small country town of Ellesmere.
After Ellesmere the canal continues past farmland and open country to Chirk and through the Chirk Tunnel, with Chirk Castle close by. Cross from England into Wales over the Chirk Aqueduct then cruise on to Thomas Telford's breathtaking Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
It carries the canal in an iron trough 1,000 feet across the River Dee at a height of 120 feet.
The canal hugs the steep sides of the Dee valley with superb panoramic views before entering Llangollen on a high embankment.
