Llangollen

This delightful town is set astride the Dee, between Ruabon and Corwen. The neighbouring scenery, not mountainous, but hilly and wooded, is very attractive, and the vale of the Dee, or Glyndwfrdwy, is hardly surpassed in Wales. There is good angling to be had on the river, both for salmon and trout. The town is famed for its bridge, one of the “seven wonders of Wales,” It is basically a 4-arched structure, added to with the coming of the railway. Near the town is Plas Newydd, once the home of the “Ladies of Llangollen,” two famous old maidens who became quite a show-piece in the nineteenth century, and were visited by many famous people. They dressed like men. When the poet Wordsworth visited Plas Newydd, he described it in a poem as a “lowroofed cot.” This annoyed the old ladies, who were proud of their grotesque mansion. Facing the town on top of a 1000-foot hill is Castell Dinas Bran, or “Crow Castle,” a ruined structure of very early date. It belonged in the sixth century to Eliseg, Prince of Powis, whose memorial pillar stands in Valle Crucis.

One of the biggest attractions of Llangollen, however is the magnificent Pontcysyllte canal aqueduct. This towers hundreds of feet above the dee valley below, and was built by Thomas Telford in 1805. It is the longest and highest aqueduct in Britain, and never fails to awe all those who set eyes upon it. It is still in use as part of the Llangollen Canal system, and many boats travel over it each day. For visitors, a great way to experience this marvel of engineering is to take a boat trip from Llangollen over the aqueduct, or for those with no fear of heights,  why not try walking along the cantilivered towpath at the side of the aqueduct?