Charles Darwin sitting comfortably at the entrance to Shrewsbury Library, 1st August 2022 (Author’s Collection).
Following last Thursday’s tale of fortuitously going wrong and ending up, via the kindness of a stranger and hitchhiking aboard his canal boat, everything possible going right, this is a return to the scene of the serendipity of 72 hours before, and another world heritage site and another piece of breath taking ingenuity and engineering from a bygone age. Whereas Thursday took me to Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the highest navigable canal aqueduct in the entire world (as well as a hitchhiked hour aboard “Liberty Lilly”, the meeting of it’s owner Paul and the 16 mile round trip walk that encompassed the completion of the Llangollen Canal as well as the accompanying waterfall at “Horseshoe Falls”), today’s trip started from it’s aqueduct cousin a few miles away in Chirk, through to nearby St Martin’s and back, before a brief sojourn with Charles Darwin and neighbouring Shrewsbury Castle.
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct stands at 126 feet and whereas the Chirk Aqueduct only weighs in at 70 feet high it’s still yet another self titled “Stream in the Sky” as well as a bridging point between the neighbouring countries of England and Wales and, as I hope you’ll agree shortly, quite the starting point for a three mile amble along a canal. This article will be a pictorial journey (with only minimal colour commentary from hereon in), from the Chirk Aqueduct to St Martin’s with the 6 mile round trip walk aided and abetted by my same day walk in the sunshine of Shrewsbury with Charles Darwin.
For today was the first day of a brand new month as we rotate around the sun and luckily for me, the sun shone on a rather splendid collision with that quaint old fashioned concept of “real life”. You should try it sometime.
Does wonders for the soul.
Anyway, I sincerely hope this virtual stroll along the jagged English/Welsh border entertains you somewhat before you visit pastures new inside The Matrix.
*All images were captured by me today, 1st August 2022*
As I awaited the arrival of my train, I spent a sunshine filled quarter of an hour in the grounds of “All Saints Church”, Wellington, Shropshire.
Welcome to another “Stream in the Sky” at 70 feet high and 710 feet long, the Chirk Aqueduct. Here you are officially standing in Wales. Traverse the aqueduct and you enter the wonders of another country, England!
Final view from on high and “Chirk Tunnel Bridge” demonstrating the extent and scale of the aqueduct.
The magnificent engineering feats of the Chirk aqueduct and neighbouring railway arches of the viaduct.
Chirk aqueduct — 70 feet high, 710 feet long, and on a quite perfect morning for a stroll in the sky!
A view through the railway arches of the neighbouring viaduct and the rolling hillsides that typify the jagged border between Wales and England.
“Josephine’s Story” navigating the tight, narrow stretches of the Llangollen Canal that rarely allow for passing.
A flock of noisy geese!
Say hello to “Annie” and her noisy friends!
A perfect representation of this stretch of the waterways with tight stretches of the “Cut” opening into passing places for the canal boaters as well as accommodating pleasure seeking canoeists.
A favourite image captured this morning. Mother and daughter at the front of “Carry On”, Father and Son at the rear. Father has a glass of wine in hand as his son steers the boat. So quintessentially British!
Well over halfway to “St Martin’s”.
The “Pride of Sherwood” leaving Bridge 16W or “Belmont Bridge”.
Another perfect timing moment at Bridge 16W, this time with “Two Do-Little” and a rather lovely dog with the best seat in the house!
Final image from the outward journey and whilst still at Bridge 16W this is “Saturn” being pulled along by a steam powered canal boat.
(1) Charles Darwin sitting comfortably at the entrance to Shrewsbury Library.
(2) Charles Darwin sitting comfortably at the entrance to Shrewsbury Library.
(3) Charles Darwin sitting comfortably at the entrance to Shrewsbury Library.
Also in the entrance grounds to the library in Shrewsbury, local born novelist and writer, Mary Webb.
At the entrance to Shrewsbury Castle and a “Cosmic Egg” for some unexplained reason!
“Mork calling Orson. Come in, Orson. Mork calling Orson. Come in, Orson!”.
The ancient and the modern with the Union Jack flying high above Shrewsbury Library juxtaposed with a “Cosmic Egg”.
Shrewsbury Castle and the only “clean” image I could capture unhindered from the variety of building and grounds work taking place. To the right is a small communal grass area that is a perfect spot for drinking in the castle and some beautiful sunshine.
Taking pride of place within the castle gardens and acquired from “Minden Barracks” in Cologne, Germany, 1925.
A final image as you leave Shrewsbury Castle.
A final image of the magnificent library in Shrewsbury.
Shrewsbury’s very own slinky spring! Or to give it it’s more grandly official title “The Darwin Memorial Geo-Garden Quantum Leap”.
The “River Severn” which flows in a loop around the Tudor architecture adorned Shropshire town of Shrewsbury.
A final shot of the entire castle at Shrewsbury as it sits atop a hill high above the train station.
For the return journey along the canal we start here with a view from atop Bridge 13W or “St Martin’s Moor Bridge”.
A “Perfect Timing” moment as we commence the three mile stroll back toward Chirk.
View from beneath Bridge 15W or “Pryshenelle Bridge”.
View from atop Bridge 16W or “Belmont Bridge”.
Say hello to canal life, “Centaurus” and a flock of geese ahead!
“The Last Pub in England”.
View of both the aqueduct and viaduct in Chirk from the “Last Pub in England”, The Bridge Inn.
All there is to know about “Chirk Bank” on the approach to the aqueduct.
“Centaurus” now moored at “Chirk Bank” after we passed her earlier.
“Chirk Aqueduct” and a perfect representation of the length and breadth of this “Stream in the Sky” as it leads directly into a long tunnel that then leads immediately to the marina here in Chirk before in 4 or so miles branching in the direction of Llangollen via the second and more imposing aqueduct at Pontcysyllte.
70 feet high and 710 feet long — Chirk Aqueduct.
Welcome (back) to Wales!
Welcome to Wales. All eleven miles of the world heritage cherished and held dear here in Wales has been covered either in this article or the first of my articles linked below. Both also cover the entirety of these small sections that encompass a near 20 mile round trip walk from Chirk Aqueduct , via Trevor Basin and the site of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, through Llangollen and both the end of the Llangollen Canal as well as Horseshoe Falls that feeds the nearby River Dee.
Thanks for reading. Further combined castle and canal walks are planned for this coming Wednesday and Friday (as long as the UK weather Gods are kind!), but please also do consider the three most recently published articles within my series of canal walks this Summer that are linked below:
