Llangollen Mini-Expedition

I've not been far from home, but I've spent the last three days away on a mini expedition to Llangollen. I've been assisting a group of youngsters as they explored the area, both on foot...

 

...and by boat!

 

Tuesday was spent in the woodlands above the town, which were perfect for games, dens and a good walk too. The group were much younger than I am used to, but we could still give them boundaries and let them go and explore by themselves.

 

We were back in Llangollen at sunset, before taking a hike to the starting point of the canal system.

 

Horseshoe falls, is where the water is cleverly taken from the river to feed the canal system. We stayed until dark and then walked back along the tow path, watching for hunting Herons.

 

Wednesday was the main event, where John and I got to drive?/steer?/captain? a canal boat from Trevor Basin to Chirk. It was great fun and after a quick lesson, we were sent straight over the big aqueduct! Exciting stuff!

 

Soon we crossed the border into England as we set a steady 3mph pace.

There were two big tunnels to get through.

 

John took control of steering, while I manned the all-important coffee brewing.

 

All in all, it's not the most adrenaline pumping activity, but it was quite good fun. Thankfully, there were no locks to negotiate, just a lifting bridge to operate. Life in the slow lane was all rather enjoyable - just a shame we couldn't stop at any of the pubs!

 

Finally, we triumphantly exited our last tunnel and returned to Trevor, with all the crew still accounted for and only minimal 'cosmetic' scrapes from our 'pinball' style of steering.

 

Thursday involved a hike up to the castle above town, called Dinas Bran - Hill of the Crows!

 

There's not much castle left, but the views make up for that! A Brillant place for a picnic and only a short(ish) walk from the centre of Llangollen.

 

Then finally, after returning the children to their owners, Clare picked me up and we went straight to the beach for a surf. The weather has been fantastic (although the easterly wind is keeping the temperatures down), so we thought we should continue to make the most of it. There were a few tiny waves to play on, but a big team of friends still came out to enjoy the evening. As the sun went down, we stayed for a BBQ on the beach and didn't leave until the stars came out. A magic evening.