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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 3688 |
8th June 2018 Mt. Biking: Lower Frankton to Pontcysyllte Aqueduct Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: cloudy Max Speed: 25.11 (knots - unless stated otherwise) Distance Covered: 29 miles (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise) Friday 8th June – Bike ***** Lower Frankton to Pontcysyllte Aqueduct – cloudy. A bit of a disturbed night in our out of the way carpark by the Montgomery Canal at Lower Frankton. First the hatch gang turned up and parked close, Mag even heard the sound of the seat sliding back and a girl talking, don’t want to think about what was happening. Then at two the rain started and fell all night and we woke to a cloudy day and our chairs full of water as we left them out last night! A little undecided what to do but checked the weather even though the internet on the mobile is painfully slow, and the sun is supposed to come out this afternoon and we don’t want to bike to a major tourist site at the weekend so after a late breakfast with picnic packed we set off. Mag had already walked up to the Llangollan Canal this morning and spoken to the lock keeper, having to avoid loads of tiny frogs hopping across the path. Several narrow boats were queuing to enter the flight of steep locks which only open for a couple of hours to limit the number of boats on the Montgomery Canal. At Frankton Junction we turned left and to be honest the first section of canal up to Bridge 5 is some of the worst tow path we have ever biked on. Narrow and very bumpy, most unpleasant:( We crossed over the canal a few times and the path luckily for us improved otherwise we would have really struggled to make it to Pontcysyllte! The first big point of interest came at Chirk Aqueduct passing over the river with an equally impressive railway viaduct close by to the left:) After cycling over the aqueduct we came to a basin where the boats queued to enter the first and longest tunnel, 459 yards long. We stopped and spoke to a friendly fisherman who said our destination was only 4 miles away and that we could push our bikes through the tunnel! This is the first tunnel with a tow path and it was very exciting. There was now a boat at each end both waiting for the other to enter, a bit of a narrowboat standoff! The tunnel was slightly curved and we were soon in pitch black, pushing our bikes with our right hand and holding the wooden handrail with the other, we just hoped no bike came the other way! The boat behind us eventually entered the tunnel so I waited to take some pics and was passed by two ladies walking who had the sense to take a torch! You have to wonder at the skill of the workmen who built these tunnels in the 1700 century in candle light as the brickwork is still amazing 400 years later! You came out in a pretty but dark tree lined section of tunnel with a top tow path and we were soon at the next tunnel. This was much shorter only 191 yards but we still had to wait for three cyclists before we could enter. We had now passed into Wales in fact on the Chirk aqueduct and it had become hilly with the canal being cut into the side with great views down into the valley to the right. We now got fleeting glimpses of the long Cefn Viaduct built to carry the train a hundred years after the canal. Ahead the canal turned sharply to the right and we got the first sighting of the amazing Pontcysyllte Aqueduct built by Telford in the 1700’s, we passed a narrowboat selling sweets from jars on the side of his boat while he did rope work on the bank and we were soon high above the ground on the narrow towpath. The boats had to take it in turns to cross over and for the people on the narrowboats the journey across was a little scary as you only had 4 inches of cast iron between you and a massive drop! Unfortunately, the Welsh had built a sewage works in the middle of the valley which was not very pleasing on the eye but when you got to the River Dee it improved greatly especially with the Cefn in the background. It was a busy little spot with walkers/cyclists and pleasure boats (actually called ‘Jones the Boat’!!) taking people across the aqueduct. After a quick explore around the top we thought the best place for lunch was down by the fast-flowing river far below. It was a bit of an effort getting our bikes down some steep steps but we found a great spot right by the river for our picnic being able to watch the action high above us:) We even saw our first Dipper of the trip fishing in the fast-flowing water. Then Mag picked up the usual litter left by oafs and took it to a bin in our picnic bag. We spoke a young father with his son getting wet shoes in the river who said we could bike through Ty Mawr Country Park and re-join the canal. So, after our picnic we cycled right under the tall stone columns holding the canal and then followed the river down, got a close-up view of the train viaduct before returning along the road to the canal. Then all we had to do was bike 12 miles home, which to be honest I was not looking forward to! We walked through the first tunnel but went over the second and stopped in Chirk basin for a chocolate bar before setting off. We counted down the bridges from 18 to 1 as we went and it was a hard trip back especially the last bumpy section but we made it in the end after being out for 6 hours, covering 29 miles with top speed of 25.11 knots. Mag made a cuppa and then a left-over curry tea and very nice it was too. There is another small camper here too and let’s hope the noisy lovebirds go somewhere else tonight! Photo Gallery Here Saturday 9th June – Relax, travel and two small walks ***** cloudy start then sunny and hot! Our third night by the Montgomery Canal at Lower Frankton, the kids from last night returned and I think we were a little hard on them as they rolled up at ten and just sat on a bench and left no mess, so not all youngsters don’t care! Woke to a cloudy morning but we both did our exercises as all the narrowboats left to queue for the locks out onto the Llangollen Canal. After a late breakfast we headed off in search of a shop and found a Lidl in Oswestry and had a good stock up. We then picked up the A5 to Llangollen which was a hive of tourist activity with loads to offer including the Steam Railway, the canal and River Dee but it was heaving being a Saturday so we continued to the famous Horseshoe Falls. We found a place in the National Trust carpark for £1 for two hours and it was full of canoers preparing for a trip down the Dee:) At the top of the steep hill down to the falls your breath is taken away by the view, just stunning:) The large weir was again made by the brilliant Thomas Telford to form a lagoon that feeds a small canal to keep the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct full of water just fantastic and all in the 17th century:) The weir was purposely made to look natural to fit in with the surrounding and is a very popular spot but not as crowded as you would expect so we were pleasantly surprised. We sat under a tree and watched the river action including loads of canoes and white-water rafters, people paddling and picnicking. The river paddlers started just above the falls and we watched in amusement as the headed over the falls, mainly getting stuck on the edge and to much laughter they had to move their weight forward to get over:) I got some nice blurred water shots before walking down stream looking for the Chain Bridge. We came to a group of kayakers who we had seen paddling up the feeder canal crossing over to the Dee to go back. To enter the river there was a purpose built concrete ramp which was great fun to do and watch, I got some great pics too! A short way along we came to the Chain Bridge accessed through the hideous Chain Bridge Hotel, the old section was nice but the new section where the bedrooms are is just a blot on the landscape and how they ever got permission to build this in such a wonderful place is beyond me! On the plus side the old part of the hotel had some nice flowers in boxes with people enjoying lunch, just to make things perfect there was a wedding reception going on and a steam train stopped at the station opposite, we didn’t get there in time for a pic but it wouldn’t have been great as the engine was going backwards! We walked along the station and got a good look at the bride waving to the white-water rafters passing below! Back across the river we saw the horse that tows the narrow boat down the feed canal. Back at the van we leave in search of a nice place for lunch. We use the most amazing narrow white road, only just wide enough for our van through some of the best scenery ever, following the Dee and then heading up into the hills but found nowhere suitable to stop. Arriving at Carrog there is a lovely stone bridge and several people about, we soon discover why as there is a large campsite so we carry on. We are fast running out of options to stop as we are about to re-join the A5 but opposite Corwen we happen upon a parking spot with a little seat with fantastic views down the valley, just perfect, especially as the sun was out and its very hot. We decide to stay, Mag makes a yummy mackerel salad and we relax in the sun surrounded by sheep and cows with a game of cricket going on in the village below! In the evening we go for a walk along the lane and return for soup at the end of a nice day in Wales:) |
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