Disclosure: We were invited on a press trip with Drifters Waterway Holidays and this is my honest review of our holiday on the Llangollen Canal.
Cruising along, only just a touch faster than dog walkers on the towpath, we spotted a Heron hunting for fish. As we drew nearer it dipped its head, emerged with a fish and flew off further along the canal. A few minutes we caught up with it again and watched it fly off. This wasn’t the only wildlife encounter on our trip. Birds of prey swept down over the canal from the trees, hounding crows over the nearby fields. Ducks followed our boat as it churned up the water, bringing tasty food pieces to the surface. Or waddled along the towpath beside our moored boat looking for titbits.
The Llangollen canal is lined by hedgerows and tree lines, peat bogs and farmland. All very quiet and perfect for enjoying the serenity and wildflife of Shropshire and North Wales. The boat meandering through the water. Passing into and then out of Wales several times, or watching Wales across the other side of the towpath. The border here is certainly not straight!
Drifters Waterway Holidays can help you find the perfect canal holiday for you and even help decide which boat would work best. They can offer a short break on a hire boat or a week or more depending on your interests. Check out the Drifters website here for more information on UK canal boat holidays. You can scroll down to the bottom of the post to find our week long itinerary for this trip too.
Table of Contents
The Narrowboat Lifestyle
Living on a Narrowboat whilst on holiday is a great reason to go! Imagine a caravan holiday, but on a longer, thinner vessel. With plenty of space to relax and enjoy the journey. Narrowboats come in all different lengths and layouts. So it really depends on what you are looking for when you choose a boat. Ours was a rather long 66ft narrowboat, which can be difficult to manoeuvre to begin with. Once you are used to driving, then it gets much easier. I suggest beginning in a wide section of canal if you start with this length of boat. Then you can get used to how to navigate the boat. Then try out the different locks or narrow sections once you have the hang of it!
This size of boat was perfect for us, it meant we all had our own beds made throughout the day. So the youngest could lie in bed and read his book, whilst the eldest was on the sofa engrossed in his own novel! Technically our boat could sleep 6. You would just need to set up the sofa bed each evening for the other people in the group.
Gray’s Lark
Our narrowboat was called the Gray’s Lark and the Lark boats from ABC Boat hire are all the same set-up. At the back is the tiller, and the first room down the steps was made up into two single beds, with storage shelves and a cupboard. Next door was a toilet and shower, then a double bed set up for ourselves. A second toilet and shower, then a kitchen and dining room/sofa. All the bedding, towels, toilet roll were provided and there was plenty of crockery and kitchen equipment. The kitchen used a gas stove and oven, plus microwave for cooking. We managed to cook a variety of meals, from pizza to sausages and mash. You can also set up a little table out at the front to sit and enjoy the day.
There were several mini books about birds and knots, as well as a pack of cards to play too. Our youngest has been practicing card tricks, so he enjoyed those! Our boat even had some fresh daffodils on the table and little chocolate eggs left out too (it was almost Easter!)! A lovely little touch.
On busy days we would have help from the children at locks, aqueducts and tunnels. But when there wasn’t much to do the kids could just relax inside the boat. Or sit at the front and watch the view slide slowly past. A perfect holiday if you like to have a mix of relaxing and things to do. Although, of course, the driver is always busy when the boat is moving!
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
The highlight of this canal boat holiday for me was certainly the famous Pontcysyllte aqueduct. The highest aqueduct in the world and also the longest in the UK! It stands at 38 metres above the Dee Valley. With a footpath and rail to one side and then a significant drop on the other! Cruising over this UNESCO World Heritage Site in a narrowboat is certainly worthwhile, the views down and across the valley are beautiful.
The aqueduct was designed by famous engineer Thomas Telford and built by chief engineer William Jessop. It’s been in constant use since it was built 200 years ago. Previously it was used for barges carrying materials such as coal, limestone and iron down the canal. Now it’s mostly used by pleasure boats and for drinking water.
On this part of the canal you do need to check that there are no other narrowboats coming in the other direction. There is only room for one boat width along the aqueduct.
Chirk Aqueduct – Holiday on the Llangollen Canal
If you’re not convinced to travel along the Llangollen and Montgomery Canal by the awesome engineering of the Pontcysyllte aqueduct, then there are plenty more reasons! The Chirk aqueduct is smaller in length and height, but is still impressive to cross! This aqueduct is a little tricky as at one end there is a tunnel. So not only do you need to check the aqueduct is clear, but you also need to check the tunnel is safe to enter. This is a useful task to send the kids across to check for oncoming canal boats. Fortunately there is a little passing area between the two obstacles.
Tunnels
The section of canal that we cruised along was from Whitchurch to Llangollen and back. Along this section you will find 3 tunnels to navigate, which were built wide enough to have a towpath for the horse alongside the canal. Early canal tunnels wouldn’t have had a towpath. Instead the people on the barge would need to push it through by lying on their backs on top of the barge and ‘walking’ on the ceiling! This was called legging. Fortunately these canal tunnels are much simpler to navigate And you can walk on the towpath too.
The 3 tunnels in this section are Ellesmere Tunnel, Whitehouse tunnel and Chirk tunnel. The Chirk Tunnel is the longest of the 3 at 420 metres long. This tunnel and the Whitehouse tunnel were the first tunnels to be built in the UK with a towpath. This is because Thomas Telford considered legging dangerous and undignified!
When entering any of the tunnels you do need to check if there are boats coming toward you. But how can you tell which direction they’re moving in the dark? Well Narrowboat all have a bright light at the front and if you can see the light shining towards you, then the boat is coming your direction. No light, then it’s going the same direction as you.
Canal Locks
Locks are a quintessential part of canal life. They are required on many canals to gain or lose height and the Llangollen canal is no different. There are only 2 locks between Whitchurch and Llangollen. So it‘s enough to feel like you have had some excitement, but not too much to be stressful. If you prefer more locks you can also start your holiday further downstream at Wrenbury Mill Marina. From here there are 10 locks to get you from Wrenbury to the top of Grindley Brook locks.
Locks are something kids can help with too. Although younger kids will need full supervision at all times and need to wear a lifejacket. The main thing to do is wind the paddles up to let water out or down to stop water coming through. Then pushing the gates open or closed. It’s very simple to do at the single locks. When you have staircase locks, such as those at Grindley Brook, there are often volunteers to help too.
Lift Bridges – Holiday on the Llangollen Canal
The lift bridges are the simplest obstacle. You only need to pull the boat over to the side so someone can hop off with a lock key to wind it up and then back down once you’re through. A great job for the kids, although it’s useful to go with them as you may need to take turns if it’s stiff.
It’s also a great social activity for kids, making sure they check that nobody wants to cross the lift bridge before they raise it too!
Relaxing Cruises As You Holiday On The Llangollen Canal
A narrowboat holiday is meant to be relaxing, you don’t want to feel rushed. So make sure you have plenty of time to stop and enjoy the trip, rather than driving the boat for several hours. As narrowboats can’t go that fast anyway, you can watch the world pass by, and more than likely joggers overtaking you with ease! But with the people out of sight you’ll certainly feel the peaceful quiet of canal life.
Wildlife
One of the benefits of going slowly is that you also tend to see more wildlife. We spotted herons catching fish, bats flying above the boat in the evening, birds of prey chasing each other in the sky and plenty of ducks and ducklings. Of course you can see other wildlife along different canals, so if this important chat to Drifters Waterway Holidays about the best canals for wildlife watching.
Chirk Castle – Holiday on The Llangollen Canal
A short walk from the North side of the Chirk tunnel is Chirk Castle. Well, actually it’s a 5 minute walk to the gates and another 25 minutes walk up the drive to get to the castle. It’s worth a visit if you’re interested in history, plus it‘s a great spot for a picnic in the extensive gardens and woodlands.
The castle is partly occupied, but you can explore a good number of rooms and also the dungeons and rooms in the older Adam’s Tower. You can also find a cafe in the castle, ice cream and snacks in the outbuildings, a shop and kids play area too.
Llangollen Steam Railway
Unfortunately the Llangollen steam railway was closed the week we visited. However, we did get to see the trains running up and down the track in preparation for a special event at the weekend. Normally they are open several days a week and you can take a steam train along a 10 mile heritage railway track. There are several different stops along the railway, so you can hop off and enjoy a walk, visit a tearoom and get back on a later train.
Climb Up To Castell Dinas Bran For Amazing Views
Above Llangollen is the Castell Dinas Bran, perched high on a hill top. It’s only a 30-40 minute walk, although it’s rather steep at some points! So please take plenty of water if it’s hot and take your time too. The castle is just ruins now, burnt down by the Welsh occupants to stop the invading English taking the castle. Castell Dinas Bran only stood for a total of 10-15 years, between the 1260’s and 1277. So it was short lived, but prior to the stone castle it was in use as a wooden fort and had been in use since around 600 BCE. The views at the top are stunning and well worth the climb on a clear day. The Dee Valley spread out below and the dramatic limestone escarpment that continues on to World’s End.
Family Time – Holiday on the Llangollen Canal
Canal boat holidays are perfect for time together as a family. Narrow boats are compact enough so that you tend to gather together once the boat stops. Chatting and playing games in the dining room. The kids also help out at a lot of the different canal features such as locks and lift bridges, enjoying that responsibility. Our days often looked like a few hours of cruising in the morning, stopping somewhere for lunch. Whether that was on the boat or at Ellesmere Port to find somewhere in the town to eat. Then we would head off for another hour or so until we found somewhere to stop for the night. We’d play games, eat dinner and enjoy each others company, a perfect family experience!
Horse drawn Canal Boat Trips – Holiday on the Llangollen Canal
If you’re visiting the Llangollen town, where the canal begins, then you may also want to try a different type of canal boat journey. Powered motor craft can only go as far as the basin at Llangollen. From here you can then take a horse-drawn canal boat a little further upstream. It’s a different way of travelling and gives you an idea of how people moved boats along the canal before motors. The shop and cafe at the reception are also great to stop at too.
Horseshoe Falls – Holiday on the Llangollen Canal
At the beginning of the canal you will find Horseshoe Falls. It’s an impressive circular weir on the River Dee, raising the river level up to constantly feed the canal with water. The water here is very clear and you can see various freshwater plants swaying in the canal. Due to recent storms the falls are blocked in various areas by tree branches, so they aren’t as obviously horseshoe shaped as normal. Hopefully these will be cleared soon.
It’s a 30 minute walk from Llangollen basin to Horseshoe falls along the towpath. Look out for the chain bridge on the way too!
Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve
Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses is a designated National Nature Reserve. The mosses are a peat bog that has been cut and used over time, once was over 10 metres deep! There are currently a series of projects aiming to restore the bog and prevent carbon escaping. Peat bogs in good, wet condition can store carbon better than a rainforest! but if they dry out carbon can escape and cause climate change to worsen. So it’s in all of our interests to restore the bog and let it form more peat, storing carbon.
The best way to visit is by mooring your canal boat around the junction where it is safe and visiting the Mammoth Tower. This area shows you some of the interesting features of the mosses, has a periscope and lots of information about bogs and why you should buy peat free compost.
There are also various walks to try, we chose the shorter green route as it was rather hot and the kids weren’t feeling up to a longer walk. The green route also has the history trail, posts showing you different things from the past and also wildlife that are around.
Nearby is a fantastic bird hide at Sinker’s Field, worth a visit too. There is a QR code to scan on the sign, where you fill in your details and are given the code to enter.
This was definitely an unexpected bonus on our canal trip!
Canalside Pubs When on Holiday on The Llangollen Canal
If you don’t want to wander too far from the boat for dinner or lunch, then you will be happy to know that the canal has many pubs beside or very close to the water. In fact some pubs you can literally moor up outside! We passed many pubs that had canal boats moored right outside, including The Telford in Trevor and the Narrowboat Inn. We also chose to walk a little further to find nearby pubs, just a short walk from the canal. The Horse and Jockey at Grindley Brook was fantastic, as was the Boat House at Ellesmere. So this is a definitely a great bonus if you don’t want to cook every night!
Unique Experience – Holiday on The Llangollen Canal
Travelling along Britain’s canals on a narrow boat holiday is definitely a unique experience. These are a historic part of life throughout the UK and it’s amazing to cruise down the canal and see some of the wear from ropes dragging alongside bridges or the curved bridges allowing horses to change sides along the canal. Having an adventure along a canal is particularly exciting as first timers. Staying in a boat on the water for a whole week is a lot of fun, with the boat swaying a little on the water, wildlife right outside your door and the ability to move on without having to pack up everything.
It’s also amazing to go through different canal features and get to open and shut them all by yourselves! Then of course, the Pontcysyllte aqueduct was an amazing experience in itself.
Ability To Stop Wherever Along The Canal
There are plenty of visitor mooring spots along the canal, shown on the canal map and featuring heavy metal rings to tie up your boat. However, you are also able to moor up anywhere along the canal that is in a sensible spot, i.e. not on corners, junctions, narrow sections or areas designated for waiting. There are also signs in certain areas showing that you cannot moor between certain points. However, this leaves a huge length of canal where you can moor up. So it’s great that you can cruise along, then moor up using pins and rope to have a break for lunch. Or just find a beautiful spot for the night. Don’t be surprised if another canal boat joins you though. Seeing a narrowboat moored up means others think it’s a safe place to stop too!
Llangollen Canal 7 Day Itinerary
Seven days on the Llangollen canal is plenty, leaving either on the evening of the 7th day or the morning of the 8th day. We chose to leave on the Saturday morning, our 8th day as we had travelled by train in the morning. If you are arriving by train too, or just don’t want to pack food, you can get a delivery of food to the canal boat hire at Whitchurch marina from Sainsbury’s. I’d hate to bring the food down with us all the way from Scotland!
Day 1
Travel to Whitchurch Marina to board your boat. It will take a little time to get everything onboard and run through all the safety information and how the boat works. Don’t forget to buy a crew badge from the shop, and maybe an ice cream if it’s warm too! Start your trip by sailing West along the canal and manoeuvring the boat through 3 lift bridges. Moor up at Whixall Moss for the night. Take a walk to the Mammoth Tower and a walk around one of the trails through the peat bog. If you have time after dinner visit the bird hide across the Morris’ Lift Bridge.
Make sure you have dinner for your first night, there’s nowhere nearby to eat at this stop, but it is a very beautiful area to explore!
Day 2
Today you set out on a windy section of the canal, getting used to how it moves. Just before the town of Ellesmere you’ll find the short Ellesmere tunnel. This is one of the 2 short tunnels on the canal, and then one significantly longer on day 3. Visit Ellesmere town, here you can stock up on food at Tesco, eat out in the town and wander through the pretty park beside the mere. Don’t miss the beautiful sculpture trail or the kids adventure play park. We recommend the Boat House for lunch, delicious food and friendly staff.
After lunch, head a bit further up the canal to find a good spot to moor up for the evening. We’d recommend stopping just past the bridge after Frankton junction. You can have a wander down to the locks to see how they work before you tackle the Marton locks the following day.
Day 3
Get up early today, it’s going to be a long one! Particularly if the canal is busy and you need to wait around for locks, tunnels and aqueducts. Head straight on to the locks and wait for your turn. Locks allow one person up and one person down each time, so you may need to wait if there’s a queue. Don’t forget to take the lock key when you hop off the boat to open and close the locks. There are two locks 5 minutes apart to navigate. If you need water, there‘s a good place to stop just after the Marton Top Lock.
Then continue on until you reach Chirk. Here you will need to cross the aqueduct, get one of your crew to go ahead and check it’s clear before you enter. Then pause at the entrance to Chirk tunnel, again check for oncoming boats, it‘s 420m long, so it takes some time to get to the other side. Find somewhere to stop for lunch, either before or after the aqueduct and tunnel.
From here there’s another short tunnel, and one more lift bridge before you get to cross the magnificent Pontcysyllte aqueduct. This one may take a little more time waiting, especially if there are kayakers ahead taking photos in the middle. Either moor at Trevor basin for the night or a little further down the canal (beware of shallow edges!). The Telford Inn in Trevor is a good dinner spot.
Day 4
This will be a short day cruising along the Llangollen canal. It’s only a few miles to Llangollen basin, however this is one of the narrowest sections of the canal, with several sections requiring someone to go ahead and check that there are no boats coming through. There aren’t any passing places! Once you are through this you can attempt the most difficult part of driving a canal boat. Turning it and reversing into a mooring on a pontoon!
Spend the rest of the day exploring Llangollen. Choose from a walk uphill to Castell Dinas Bran, along the towpath to Horseshoe falls, a trip on a horse drawn boat, a ride on the steam railway or visit the abbey. There’s a lot to see!
Day 5
This is the day you get to head back down the canal! You will now be going with the flow of the water, so you may feel like you’re going a little quicker than previous days. Head back through the narrows carefully (always send someone ahead with a phone or radio before you enter!) and then on to Trevor and back over the aqueduct. We continued on until the visitor moorings before the Chirk tunnel. Moor here and walk up over the tunnel and into Chirk castle grounds via the beautiful gates. Chirk castle is a great place to explore and have lunch too.
Head back down to the boat and continue through the tunnel and aqueduct, mooring up somewhere for the night after Chirk.
Day 6
Today it’s back through the locks and on to Ellesmere again. If you didn’t have a wander around the mere last time, then it’s a good day to have a look around. Check out the offerings of canal boats moored along the Ellesmere branch, many people who live in their boats full time sell food, jewellery or even alcohol! Find somewhere to stop for the night between Blake Mere and Cole Mere.
Day 7
Your final full day! Cruise gently along the canal, marvelling at how much easier this section is now that you’ve had plenty of practice! Stop at Whixall Mosses to walk along one of the trails or visit the mammoth tower and bird hide if you haven’t already. It’s a good spot for lunch too, very pretty with plenty of birdlife.
After lunch continue down the canal and go past the Whitchurch marina, turning around just before Grindley brook locks. It’s tough turning if you have a 66ft boat, but it can be done with just a little bumping! This is a good spot to top up with water and then moor up for the night. The staircase locks are fun to explore and it’s a short walk to the Horse and Jockey pub. You can also walk down the canal to Whitchurch town arm, and have a look at some of the old canal features that have been filled in and built over!
Day 8
Return the boat first thing and head back home!
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