First things first, travelling in Wales made me feel like I was back in elementary school: “Could you repeat that?” was a common reply to me trying my utmost best to pronounce any place name. For the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct I eventually settled on referring to it simply as The Aqueduct. That worked splendidly.

Coming from the bus stop I made my way across rather quiet Trevor town. The aqueduct is not directly visible as you are on the upper plateau. So it’s a bit of a surprise when it suddenly gets busy and you get to see the aqueduct standing majestically in the landscape with the Severn flowing way below you.

Another surprise was the width of the canal on the aqueduct. I anticipated it to be way wider than it actually was. As a consequence, the barges travelling along the canal are very narrow, albeit quite long, and have a unique look. What they don’t have is much speed. So walking at a bit more than leisurely pace will allow you to overtake most of them. But the views you get from the aqueduct are stunning, so I paused frequently taking yet another picture and having the barges pass me by.

Getting There and Around

The closest train station is Ruabon (Ru-a-bon as I pronounced it was clearly wrong). From there buses run to Trevor (direction Llangollen). Be advised that some buses do not stop in front of the train station in Ruabon, but on the main road. It would be a two minute walk from the main street up to the train station. That is if you don’t miss the proper stop. For me it turned into a 800m sprint. Note: Ruabon Station at the time of writing had no National Rail ticket machine, so you were allowed to buy the ticket on the train. This policy seems to only apply if a station has no ticket office.

In Trevor you can do most on foot. If you want you can join a boat tour, but I felt little added value in it.

Similar to the Canal du Midi you can also explore the canal system by renting your own boat. It seems rather popular. The landscape is lovely and humming along on your barge must be quite enjoyable.

If you walk across the aqueduct, be advised that the path is rather narrow and the aqueduct really high. It requires some caution not to fall into the canal when you pass visitors coming from the other side, especially if bikes are involved. If you are travelling with small children, be mindful of the rails as the gaps are rather large and kids may slip through.

After you have crossed, I would recommend hiking a bit further as there are some nice viewpoints a bit further down the canal. Another nice viewpoint is found when you descend down to the Severn river.

Last but not least, I must say I felt tempted to just jump in and swim across the aqueduct. I guess I would have been heavily fined, but swimming across a WHS is still on my bucket list.

While You Are There

Unless you plan to rent your own boat, I wouldn’t stay here for long. I think two hours are more than enough to explore the site and see the aqueduct from all angles. Nearby Ironbridge Gorge and Gwynedd Castles make better base camps with the latter offering beaches and Snowdonia National Park as extras as well as another bridge by Thomas Telford who built the aqueduct. The Menai Suspension Bridge near Bangor crosses the Menai Straight to Anglesay Island. If you visit Beaumaris Castle, you will pass it.