Canoeing Over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Wales

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England with its capital city of London and much talked about royal family often overshadows its neighbor, Wales. I mean do you even know the capital of Wales? Regardless of how much you know about Wales, you should definitely hop over the border from England on your next visit to the UK.

Wales is known for its national parks, medieval castles and outdoor activities. With the Penrhyn Zip Wire, the fastest zip line in the world, you are sure to find some exciting adventures. One of the most unique things to do in Wales is to go canoeing over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct!

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

Known as the “stream in the sky”, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct along with the Llangollen Canal is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was completed in 1805 as an industrial waterway. The most interesting part of the aqueduct is that you can still cross over it today on foot or by boat. Just don’t look down if you have a fear of heights! At 125 feet above the River Dee it is the highest aqueduct canal in the world.

Getting to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct Car Park (298 New Rd, Llangollen LL20 7TU, UK)

The aqueduct is located in Llangollen in northeast Wales. Your starting point will depend on how you wish to see the aqueduct. If you are planning on walking or taking a canoe trip you can start from the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct Car Park (address above). It is about an 8 minute drive from the center of Llangollen and about a 15 minute drive from Wrexham. There is a visitor center, free toilets and a small cafe in this area.

You can also take the #5 bus from Llangollen or Wrexham to the Old Station bus stop. Then it is a five minute walk to the car park. Make sure to check the times beforehand and allow enough time to arrive if you are taking a scheduled tour.

After canoeing we walked along the canal all the way to Llangollen and took the #5 bus from the Parade Street bus stop in town back to Wrexham.

Canoeing over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

Last year I was browsing my Pinterest and I came across a post about taking a boat on an aqueduct. At the time I didn’t have plans to go to the UK so I pinned the post and forgot about it. Months later when planning our UK trip I remembered it and starting researching boat companies that could take my mom and I across the canal. One search lead to another until I found that you could canoe across the aqueduct. As fun as taking a boat sounded, why ride in a boat when you can paddle your own canoe!

If you have been reading my blog for awhile you know that my mom and I meet up abroad every year for an international trip. I do all the trip planning, so everyday is a surprise for my mom. All she knows is what to wear. She guessed we were going kayaking because I recommended our kayaking clothes and we both really enjoy kayaking.

On the day of our activity we arrived at the designated meeting spot to meet our tour guide, Jaime, from Ty Nant Outdoors. I knew we were in the right spot because I saw the canoes. My mom on the other hand announced, “those are canoes, not kayaks.” If you aren’t a canoer or a kayaker you might not realize that there is a difference between the two types of boats. While my mom and I have done a fair amount of kayaking, we rarely canoe. This made her very nervous!

As I said she didn’t know what we were doing and she was already nervous to canoe. When Jamie mentioned the aqueduct she began to panic!

We were driven away from the parking lot to our starting point further down on the Llangollen Canal. We were given a brief introduction and then we set off with Jaime. Beforehand I wasn’t sure if there would be a guide accompanying us or not. It was helpful because the canal is really narrow and we frequently had to go off to the side and wait for the boats to pass. Jaime said he had never encountered so many longboats on the canal before.

Anyone can rent a boat and give it a go! By the end of our canoe trip we knew what Jamie was talking about when he said he could tell if it was someone’s first time on the canal!

Also one of us needed a little help learning how to canoe, I will let you guess who that was! Let’s just say I learned how to paddle a canoe in all directions from one side!

Before returning to the car park we did the best part, canoeing over the aqueduct two times! The funniest part was, my mom loved it! The reason she was so scared is that she didn’t know what an aqueduct was, she envisioned us careening over a dam!

I could see if you are afraid of heights it might be scary being up so high. There is only a very low wall stopping you from going over-board 125 feet! Other than that it isn’t scary at all, just like the canal on the ground, but in the air. It’s impressive to think about what an engineering feat that must have been!

We were the only people we saw navigating the canal in a canoe all day. A lot of people pointed and waved at us. Even my mom agrees now that we experienced the aqueduct and the canal in the best way!

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct Boat Tours

If you are feeling a little apprehensive like my mom was at the start of our tour you can also take a boat tour across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and canal.

Walking Across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and to Llangollen

Finally if you prefer to stay on dry land you can still experience the aqueduct and the canal. We didn’t walk over the aqueduct, but we did walk along the canal all the way from the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct car park to Llangollen. It’s a very pleasant walk and you can’t get lost because you follow the sidewalk alongside the canal the entire way.

About half-way from where we started our canoeing trip earlier in the morning, we saw a sign for Bryn Howel Hotel & Restaurant. We crossed over the nearby bridge and headed up the hill for lunch. We proceeded to have the most wonderful, yet strange dining experience. Upon entering the hotel there was not a person in sight. We rang the bell and inquired about lunch. The front desk worker said we could have something to eat in the bar.

The bar, where Sherlock Holmes may have had a drink a 100 years ago, was completely empty. The front desk worker, who was now a waitress, came to take our order. When my mom asked her a question about the menu, she went off looking for the chef. What felt like 10 minutes later she came back announcing she couldn’t find the chef. Minor panic set in that we wouldn’t be able to have lunch after-all.

She assured us we could still have lunch so we placed our order. At this point a lot of question marks came up. How could we have our lunch made if there was no chef? Why is there only one person working here? The hotel felt like an old Manor house and we felt we might become suspects in a murder mystery.

The employee warmed up to us and shared that she thought the hotel would be the perfect setting for a murder mystery as well. She told us some ghost stories about the hotel and then left us alone to eat our meal. Our entire time at the hotel we never saw another employee and only one other ghost….er I mean guest! But we are still here to tell this tale, so I dare you to check it out for yourselves!

What to Do in Llangollen

Llangollen is a small town of about 4,000 people. Our plan was to visit the Plas Newydd House Museum & Gardens a little outside of town. We didn’t have quite enough time to make it, but would have loved to learn about the former home of the two ladies who lived there together and caused quite a stir in their community at the time.

We also weren’t up for any more strenuous activity that day. But if you are, you can take the Llangollen history trail that takes you along the canal as well as by the Horseshoe Falls, Llantysilio Church, and Castle Dinas Bran. The entire circuit loop is about 6 miles.

We stayed in the town and devoured a warm Belgian waffle from a sweet shop and meandered through some of the shops. There are pay bathrooms in the center and free ones at the Stans of Llangollen gas station.

Where to Stay

If you are able to spend more time in the area you could stay in Llangollen. After spending five days in the Lake District and before heading further south in Wales, we only had one day to do our canoe tour in Llangollen. We were using public transportation to travel so it was easier for us to stay in nearby Wrexham and go to Llangollen only for the day.

To be honest Wrexham isn’t a city I would recommend you go out of your way to visit. There weren’t a lot of people around and there were several closed down businesses.

In Wrexham we stayed at the Wynnstay Arms Hotel by Marston’s Inns. Despite our lack of fondness for the city, we thought the hotel was great. It had a business feel so it had all the amenities that come in handy that are often lacking in boutique type hotels and guesthouses in smaller towns in the UK.

The best part was the attached pub. I’m usually not someone that likes to eat at the hotel. I prefer getting out and exploring the local restaurants. There didn’t seem to be a lot of options in town and we really liked our food both nights for dinner. I had one of the best chicken & waffle meals I have ever had for about $5 one night! Breakfast at the pub is also included with your stay at the hotel. They have a large continental breakfast along with the option to order hot items off the menu for no additional charge. American pancakes were one of the options! At that point I had been abroad for 3 months so I was starting to miss ‘actual’ pancakes!

More Places to Go in Wales & England

Combine all these posts for a two week UK itinerary in England and wales.

• England: Getting to the Lake District
• England’s Lake District (Northern England): 5 Day Itinerary
• Hay-on-Wye (South Wales): “The Book Town”
• Cardiff (Wales’ capital in the south): St Fagans Open Air Museum & more about Cardiff

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