Below are detailed some of the places you might like to visit whilst on a cruise from Blackwater Meadow Marina.
Blackwater Meadow Marina is situated on the Llangollen Canal, one of of Britain's most popular canals. There is 20 miles of lock free cruising through beautiful scenery, and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, which is considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways. The marina is situated within walking distance of Ellesmere, a picturesque market town. Some of the attractions of this idyllic town include a weekly market held at the Market Hall, several traditional pubs and restaurants and a good choice of shops and local amenities
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
Chirk Aqueduct
Chirk Castle
Llangollen
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct pronounced "pont-kuss-uth-tay" is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal over the valley of the River Dee, between the villages of Trevor and Froncysyllte, Wrexham in north east Wales. Completed in 1805, it is the longest and highest aqueduct in Britain, and is a Grade I Listed Building.
The aqueduct, built by Thomas Telford and William Jessop, is 1,007ft (307m) long, 11ft (3.4m) wide and 5.25ft (1.60m) deep. It consists of a cast iron trough supported 126ft (38m) above the river by nineteen hollow masonry piers (pillars). Each span is 53ft (16m) wide. Many people were sceptical, but Telford was confident: he had built at least one previous cast iron trough aqueduct (the Longdon-on-Tern aqueduct on the Shrewsbury Canal, still visible in the middle of a field, though the canal was abandoned years ago).
The Chirk Aqueduct
Chirk Aqueduct is a 70ft high and 710ft long aqueduct near Chirk that carries the Llangollen Canal across the Ceiriog Valley.
It was designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1801. It possesses a cast trough within which the water is contained. The masonry walls effectively hide the cast iron interior. The aqueduct followed Telford's innovative Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct on the Shrewsbury Canal, and was a forerunner of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
Chirk Castle
Chirk Castle is a castle located at Chirk, Wrexham, Wales.
The castle was built in 1295 by Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March as part of King Edward I's chain of fortresses across the north of Wales. It guards the entrance to the Ceiriog Valley. It was the administrative centre for the Marcher Lordship of Chirkland
Llangollen
Llangollen takes its name from Saint Collen (from the Welsh llan meaning 'place of' and gollen meaning Collen), a 7th century monk who founded a church besides the river here. St Collen is said to have arrived in Llangollen by coracle. As there are no other churches in Wales dedicated to St. Collen, it is possible that this St. Collen may also have connections in both St. Collen, Cornwall and Langolen, Brittany.
Standing high above the town to the north is Castell Dinas Bran, the former stronghold of the Princes of Powys. Beyond the castle is the limestone escarpment known as the Eglwyseg Rocks. The outcrop continues north to the area known as World's End. The area nearest to the castle is the Panorama Walk, and a monument to local poet I.D. Hooson (from the nearby village of Rhosllanerchrugog) can be found there.
