Event this weekend to celebrate world-renowned beauty spot on Shropshire/Powys border

The event this Sunday (March 22) will celebrate the final phase of a two-year heritage project at the Llangollen Canal.

The event is taking place on the Llangollen Canal in Chirk, on the Welsh/English border north of Oswestry, and around the Chirk Aqueduct, a 700-foot-long aqueduct designed by famed engineers Thomas Telford and William Jessop that carries the Llangollen Canal 70 feet above the River Ceiriog across 10 circular masonry arches.

Spanning the Welsh/English border, the structure was completed in 1801. Today the much-loved canal landmark is Grade II* listed and is part of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The celebratory event will feature a floating market with stalls from local traders, live music and a free water taxi by Anglo-Welsh Waterway Holidays transporting passengers between Chirk Bank and the aqueduct.

Visitors can follow a self-guided history trail of the lesser-known heritage sites and landmarks along the canal towpath and across the town, or build their own LEGO model of the aqueduct, taking inspiration from a new 6ft LEGO model on display at Chirk Museum which is the second model commissioned as part of the heritage project. All events are free, but due to limited capacity booking by Eventbrite is advised.

The event will get under way at 10am, marked by the ringing of the six bells of St Mary’s Church which, after they were cast and tuned in the 1800s, were transported to Chirk via the River Severn and then Llangollen Canal across the Chirk Aqueduct.

It is being held to celebrate the end of the second phase of a heritage project by Glandŵr Cymru, the Canal & River Trust in Wales, funded thanks to the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund through Wrexham County Borough Council.

A spokesperson for Glandŵr Cymru said: "Follow history trails, listen to storytelling, enjoy family entertainment, browse colourful trade boats, and hop aboard free boat trips on the water (subject to availability). Whether you live locally or are visiting for the first time, it’s a perfect chance to explore Chirk’s rich heritage, the world-famous Llangollen Canal and surrounding beautiful landscape."

Over the last few years Glandŵr Cymru has been working closely with the communities of Chirk, Trevor, Froncysyllte and Cefn Mawr to "explore the individual identities of these communities" and celebrate the "enormity of heritage" in the area in the centuries since the aqueduct was built.

Anna Finn, community development manager for Glandŵr Cymru, said: “It’s fantastic to have the community coming together to celebrate their local canal heritage. The aqueduct is a remarkable feat of engineering within the World Heritage Site, that still connects people, places and histories along the Llangollen Canal today.

"Events like this bring the canal to life, inspiring pride, supporting wellbeing through time spent by water, and helping people discover more about the natural environment. Getting people involved and inspired helps our charity build long-term care for these special places so we can secure the canal’s future for generations to come.”

Claire Farrell, Glandŵr Cymru’s Shared Prosperity Fund community and heritage-led placemaking project director said: “The heritage and community-led project began with its first phase in 2023, we have come a long way in understanding the enormity of the industrial heritage that is still visible in abundance across the villages and towns which are brought to life through lived memories in these communities preserved by the local history museums here.

"This Sunday we are celebrating the centuries of people and places that tell the complete story of the industrial eras in this UNESCO World Heritage Site that followed the ingenuity of Chirk Aqueduct, and the pioneering technology which, as Dr Peter Wakelin describes in his Pontcysllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site Guidebook, saw engineering by Telford and Jessop ‘that literally commanded the landscape’”.

Councillor Keith Sinclair of Llangollen Rural Community Council added: “This event will bring the aqueduct to life with a day of activities that offers visitors the chance to explore beyond the aqueduct, while also discovering more about the impact it had on the landscape in this part of North Wales over the centuries. It will also encourage residents and visitors to contemplate how the canal connects to the neighbouring communities of Fron and Trevor and beyond.”

The event gets under way at 10am on Sunday. Anyone who signs up to attend in advance online can enter into a draw to win a £50 Castle Bistro voucher, £50 Hand Hotel voucher or an Anglo-Welsh boat trip for four people across Pontcysyllte Aqueduct during April.

A free heritage bus service will be in place on the day, running between Chirk and Chirk Aqueduct.

Learn more here.