 Pontcysyllte Aqueduct | I knew I would not get this posted in Wales. So here I am in Manchester at a wonderful Airport hotel. Here the wifi works. So I will post last nights tale. It is so nice to have a comfortable last night. As I wrote yesterday… ...................................... This is the last chapter to post. Tomorrow is our final trip driving out to Manchester where we will connect with Emirates. |
Today was about bridges again. We chose Llangollen to stay because of its proximity to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. This is a quick drive from our hotel and we were the first into the car park. Not the first time that has happened this month. This was the usual Pay and Display but a whole day was £3.
Bargain!
Then a walk.
We walked over the Aqueduct which towers above the countryside. The walk is along the tow path where horses used to drag the narrow boats. The boats are very narrow and slip along the canal in the air at less than walking pace. We know this cos we walked past one as it motored along.
I called out to the guy driving the boat,
“If you are in a hurry, feel free to jump off and walk with us.”
Nice to make people giggle like that.
I wandered under the bridge to get some more pictures. It is an amazing structure by Thomas Telford. Another of the amazing British engineers of the 19th century. We have seen lots of his structures. Bridges, canals and locks. These guys were so busy in the 19th century.
Before leaving the site Julie wanted to learn how to pronounce the name of the bridge. We had a wonderful classroom session with a Welsh host in the gift shop.
She told us that Welsh is the easiest language to pronounce because it is fully phonetic. It has 26 letters but not the same 26. She claimed that if you master the 26 sounds and make even a tiny effort to pronounce correctly. You will convince everyone that you are a native because so few people speak any Welsh at all. It was an interesting story… but I am not sure I will remember it beyond today. Try as I might I still can't name the bridge correctly or the town we are staying in. In my mind it will remain in its anglicised version.
Walking around this World Heritage site took 2 hours. Then we headed out to our final bridge stops of the trip. We wanted to drive over Telford’s other bridge near here across the Menai Straits. This is the gap of water between Wales and Angelsey. More examples of the wonderful engineering skills from so long ago.
So our final day was a quiet, slow meander around North Wales. Tomorrow we begin the wind up. Easy drive to Manchester and our accomodation at an airport hotel. A different one to last time for sure, that was very unpleasant. I will spend a few hours plane spotting at the Runway Park. Then post this story.
Judging by the internet I have in Langollen right now, I wont be getting this posted tonight.
Thanks for reading my tales. I have appreciated your comments, encouragement and suggestions. I still have 3 or four stories almost written waiting to be edited. I may get them done on the plane.
Next job back in ADL, compile this 20,000 words into another book of my UK travels.
Bargain!
Then a walk.
We walked over the Aqueduct which towers above the countryside. The walk is along the tow path where horses used to drag the narrow boats. The boats are very narrow and slip along the canal in the air at less than walking pace. We know this cos we walked past one as it motored along.
I called out to the guy driving the boat,
“If you are in a hurry, feel free to jump off and walk with us.”
Nice to make people giggle like that.
I wandered under the bridge to get some more pictures. It is an amazing structure by Thomas Telford. Another of the amazing British engineers of the 19th century. We have seen lots of his structures. Bridges, canals and locks. These guys were so busy in the 19th century.
Before leaving the site Julie wanted to learn how to pronounce the name of the bridge. We had a wonderful classroom session with a Welsh host in the gift shop.
She told us that Welsh is the easiest language to pronounce because it is fully phonetic. It has 26 letters but not the same 26. She claimed that if you master the 26 sounds and make even a tiny effort to pronounce correctly. You will convince everyone that you are a native because so few people speak any Welsh at all. It was an interesting story… but I am not sure I will remember it beyond today. Try as I might I still can't name the bridge correctly or the town we are staying in. In my mind it will remain in its anglicised version.
Walking around this World Heritage site took 2 hours. Then we headed out to our final bridge stops of the trip. We wanted to drive over Telford’s other bridge near here across the Menai Straits. This is the gap of water between Wales and Angelsey. More examples of the wonderful engineering skills from so long ago.
So our final day was a quiet, slow meander around North Wales. Tomorrow we begin the wind up. Easy drive to Manchester and our accomodation at an airport hotel. A different one to last time for sure, that was very unpleasant. I will spend a few hours plane spotting at the Runway Park. Then post this story.
Judging by the internet I have in Langollen right now, I wont be getting this posted tonight.
Thanks for reading my tales. I have appreciated your comments, encouragement and suggestions. I still have 3 or four stories almost written waiting to be edited. I may get them done on the plane.
Next job back in ADL, compile this 20,000 words into another book of my UK travels.
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