A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal.
A nifty shuffle through Chirk and along the canal
(Photos © urban75, November 2008)
With several hours to kill before our train back to London we elected to take a walk along the Llangollen Canal, hurtling along at such a pace that we managed to cover nearly nine miles in around two hours!
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-01.jpg) The impressive sight of Chirk Aqueduct, built by Thomas Telford in 1801.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-02.jpg) The 70 foot high aqueduct has ten spans of 40 feet each and is part of a canal system connecting the area to Chester and the Mersey.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-03.jpg) The railway rocked up in 1846, and as if to emphasise their superiority, built their viaduct some 30 feet higher.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-04.jpg) The stone railway viaduct stands 100ft high and has ten spans with round arches.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-05.jpg) Barges on the aqueduct.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-06.jpg)
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-07.jpg) Train and barge, Chirk aqueduct.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-08.jpg) Delightful old canal worker's house.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-09.jpg) We walked along the canal hoping to grab a pint in a nearby pub but discovered that it didn't open til 6pm. Doh!
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-10.jpg)
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-11.jpg) The taller railway viaduct against the aqueduct.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-12.jpg) Lovely!
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-13.jpg) Parish Church of St Mary, Chirk, part of the Church in Wales.
The first stone church was built in Chirk during the early 11th Century, and was known by the dedication of Saint Tysilio until the late 15th or early 16th century, when it was re-dedicated to Saint Mary.
In 1651 a Welsh bible was purchased for the church and in 1687 a Welsh book of Common Prayer was placed in the church.
The church of Saint Mary's remained part of the Church of England until the disestablishment of the Welsh Church in 1921. The Church in Wales remains a member of the world-wide Anglican Communion.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-14.jpg) Sacred Heart church, Chirk.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-15.jpg) Built in the late 1890s as a private house for local solicitor, Mr Sissions, this building eventually became the property of the local council before passing into ownership of Wrexham Council.
Derelict for some years, it is now in the process of being purchased by a local group whose intention is
to develop it and have a cafe and tourist information point on site.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-16.jpg) We walked back to the aqueduct and headed north.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-17.jpg) Walking through the 460 yard long Chirk tunnel. It got very dark in the middle!
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-18.jpg) Reaching the northern end.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-19.jpg)
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-20.jpg) Heading north towards Pentre.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-21.jpg)
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-22.jpg) Barge detail.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-23.jpg)
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-24.jpg) Fungus.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-25.jpg) It was a really lovely walk, full of autumnal colours.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-26.jpg) Passing Chirk Marina.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-27.jpg) Another, shorter tunnel ahead.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-28.jpg)
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-29.jpg)
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-30.jpg) The Newbridge railway viaduct heads north across the Dee valley, carrying the railway from Chester to Shrewsbury. It was built by Henry Robinson, a Scottish engineer, around 1856.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-31.jpg) We had hoped to make the massively impressive Pontcysyllte Aqueduct at Froncysyllte, but time was against us and we had to turn around.
Taking 10 years to build the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was opened in 1805, with each stone pier rising to a height of 116ft. The tapered support piers start at 27ft in width at the bottom and 17ft at the top, with a total of 19 cast iron arches (each with a 45ft span supporting the bridgework).
BBC feature and panorama
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-32.jpg) Ever mindful of our train time, we thundered along the towpath back to Chirk station.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-33.jpg) The Cadburys Chocolate factory at Chirk.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-34.jpg) Waiting for the train at Chirk.
![A walk from Chirk along the Llangollen Canal to Pentre and Froncysyllte, north Wales](images/chirk-llangollen-canal-35.jpg)
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