Aqueducts and a Castle

Today, we started again at 8 a.m.  After a couple miles, we came to the two New Marton locks, the last heading westward on the Llangollen Canal.  (Somewhere, we had passed into England again.)  There was a lot of traffic on the canal this morning, so there was a queue for the locks, causing them to take more time than usual.  However, we reached the Chirk Aqueduct just before noon.  This 710-foot long aqueduct consists of ten masonry arches carrying a cast iron trough 70 feet above the Ceiriog river.  It opened in 1801 and was designed by the Scottish engineer Thomas Telford, the most famous builder of roads, canals and bridges in his time.  (In fact, Telford participated in the design and construction of the entire Ellesmere Canal, now known as the Llangollen Canal).  Beside the Chirk Aqueduct is a railroad viaduct built 40 years later.  Specifically included in the design was a height greater than the aqueduct, in order to emphasize the superiority of rail over water transportation.

Peter at the tiller crossing the Chirk Aqueduct with the higher railroad viaduct beside it

Immediately following the Chirk Aqueduct we entered Wales again and the narrow, dark and dank Chirk tunnel, 421 meters (710 foot) long with a complete towpath inside.  Telford considered the established practice of “legging” by boatman to be dangerous and undignified.  (Legging entails lying on the top of the canal boat and using feet and legs to propel the barge through the tunnel.)

We moored up right after the tunnel, had a lunch of soup and bread, and walked a mile up the hillside to the west to reach Chirk Castle (Castell y Waun), which is situated on a bluff overlooking and controlling the Ceiriog valley.  The original castle was probably begun soon around 1295, for the Englishman Roger Mortimer de Chirk, First Earl of March, on lands formerly belonging to the Princedom of Llewelyn ap Gryffydd ap Madog.  Mortimer is believed to be responsible for the untimely deaths of the heirs to this princedom and was rewarded by the Crown.  The castle is part of King Edward I's chain of fortresses across the north of Wales used by the English to control the Welsh.  In the ensuing 300 years, it passed through several hands; in 1595, it was purchased by the merchant adventurer Thomas Myddleton, in whose lineage it has continued until the present day.  Because it has been lived in continuously, there have many renovations and additions, and the interior offers a mixture of styles.  The lavishly furnished rooms reflect over 400 years of changing but expensive taste. 

Gates to the estate of Chirk Castle

Portcullis to Chirk Castle

Dining Room

Saloon 

Drawing room decorated in the 20th century

Library

View from the medieval Adam's Tower of the courtyard

Northeast tower of Chirk Castle

We arrived back at the boat around 4 p.m. (passing many cows and sheep on the way across the footpaths) and cast off.  We stopped briefly at Chirk Marina to pump out the holding tank (a necessary and not entirely pleasant task) and then continued on to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, one of our primary reasons for traveling on this canal.  Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is the longest and highest aqueduct in Great Britain.  Completed in 1805, the 1008 foot (307 meter) long aqueduct rises 126 feet (38 meters) above the valley floor of the River Dee.  Pedestrians, and the horses once used for towing, are protected from falling from the aqueduct by railings on the outside edge of the towpath, but the holes in the top flange of the other side of the trough, capable of mounting railings, were never used. The trough sides rise only about 6 inches above the water level, so the impression for anyone standing on that side of the boat is of being on the edge of an abyss.  This is where I chose to stand.  (“Look, Mom, no hands!”  Andrew insisted I hold on.) 

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

The side of the aqueduct and the River Dee below

After the excitement of crossing this famous aqueduct, we found a mooring spot about a mile further along the canal, surrounded by green fields and woods and overshadowed by gray skies.  Paula cooked a delicious dinner, and we have settled in for the night.

Matthew called to report that he and Katya are enjoying London.  In addition to markets and the British Library, they have been to the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the Zoo.