Llangollen

Llangollen sits where the Dee runs fast under a fourteenth-century stone bridge, and its canal branch, built by Telford, is still worked by horse-drawn trip boats from the wharf, one of very few places in Britain where that survives. Four kilometres east, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct carries the canal in a cast-iron trough three hundred and seven metres across the valley at thirty-eight metres above the river, with no railing on the outside edge; opened in 1805, it is the highest navigable aqueduct in the world and was inscribed by UNESCO in 2009. The International Musical Eisteddfod has been held here every July since 1947, when it was founded to bring nations back together through music, and brings choirs and dancers from dozens of countries. Castell Dinas Bran stands ruined on the hill above.

What you actually see

• Pontcysyllte Aqueduct - an iron trough carrying boats thirty-eight metres up.
• The horse-drawn boats - trip boats still pulled by horse from the wharf.
• The Eisteddfod - an international music festival running each July since 1947.
• Castell Dinas Bran - a ruined hilltop castle above the town.

When to go

April to October for boats and the railway; early July for the Eisteddfod, when the town fills completely and accommodation books far ahead. Autumn colour along the Dee valley is strong.

Honest expectations

Walking the aqueduct means a narrow towpath with a drop on one side protected only by a railing and nothing at all on the trough side; it is not for anyone uneasy with heights. Llangollen parking is limited and charged. The steam railway runs on a seasonal timetable.

Nearby

Chirk Castle lies south; the Horseshoe Pass and Berwyn hills are north and west.