Chirk to Llangollen (viaEllesmere )
Llangollen Canal
Pontycysyllte Aqueduct
£1040pp (£2080 per charter)
Cruise 13 - 12th to 17th July 2026 (5 nights)

This trip will start from Chirk Bank – probably the Poachers Pocket pub (as they are quite chilled out about a car being left in their car park) … Alternatively, we can start at the Western Entrance to Chirk tunnel for an easy walk from the train station which is a few hundred yards away.

 

 Total distance is 29 miles and 4 locks . There are 2 moveable bridges of which 1 is usually left open; 3 small aqueducts or underbridges and 2 tunnels (Chirk Tunnel (459 yards long) and Whitehouses Tunnel (191 yards long))  and 2 major aqueducts (Chirk Aqueduct (237 yards long) and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (336 yards long).

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Guests will arrive approximately 1.30pm on day one and after an introductory blah blah (and most probably glass of something fizzy) we’ll chug off to begin our adventure.

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 This is an unusual route to get to Llangollen.  To be honest, We'd rather START a trip in Ellesmere but because there is no train station here, it makes sense to begin in Chirk, detour to Ellesmere (and back) then head over the Aqueducts and up to Llangollen.  

 

The section of canal between Ellesmere & Llangollen (imho) is the prettiest part of the entire canal - ergo the introduction of this cruise.

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NB - IF guests would rather skip the Ellesmere & back element, we could always add a night on to Llangollen Basin instead and travel a bit slower.

 

 We should be able to have a nice leisurely trip and probably spend our first night either at the bottom of New Marten Locks or near the Junction to the Montgomery Canal (to allow guests time to explore on foot).   

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Next morning after a DIY breakfast we'll push on to Ellesmere and hope to time our arrival just as the previous night's Moorer's are leaving the arm.  It's a nice town with a couple of nice pubs worth a visit and the walk around the Mere itself is lovely.

 

Once we leave Ellesmere, we'll put in a longer day and probably moor a mile or so before the Ponty to allow time for a photo opportunity from the path bellow.

 

Next morning we'll head over the Aqueduct and turn left on to the final part of the canal up to Llangollen.

 

This section is beautiful but can be VERY busy what with canoeists and hire boaters - think 'whacky races'...  Lunch will be wherever we can fit it in or maybe even not until we tie up in Llangollen basin for our penultimate evening.  Conditions allowing, there should  be time for a walk to Horseshoe falls or down into the town itself... the riverside is beautiful.

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​After our final evening moored in Llangollen we'll wave farewell to our guests following breakfast  around 9.30am.  If guests are travelling by public transport, feel free to ask for  a hand with your luggage from the basin down the hill to the bus stop... it's a heck of a hill to lug a bag down but Capt. E. will usually. oblige!