We parted company with our friends Jeeves and Michelle on Sunday morning, deciding to make the most of the day by visiting some local attractions on the way home.
Valle Crucis Abbey
The abbey is not far from where we had visited yesterday at Horseshoe Falls. It is seemingly surrounded by a caravan and camping site, (strange that they should have chosen this location for it).
Apparently this was the last Cistercian abbey built in Wales. It is now owned by Cadw who have clearly repaired some of the fabric of the buildings.
Chirk Castle
Chirk Castle is an impressive fortress, built in the late 13th century, on a hill near the border with England. In fact, Offa’s Dyke, an ancient border defence between England and Wales, passes through the castle grounds.
On our way into the castle, in the ticket office courtyard, we saw a sparrow feeding it’s young, perched on the side of the plant stall.
The castle interior is lavishly decorated with ornate ceilings, tapestries, oil paintings and furniture which was clearly not purchased from Ikea.
Chirk Castle is famous for its garden, in particular, the yew topiary.
Chirk Aquaduct
The Llangollen Canal is taken via the aqueduct, across a deep valley which has the River Cieriog and Offa’s Dyke below and then through a 400 yard tunnel immediately beyond. There is also a railway viaduct alongside.
The aquaduct crosses the England-Wales border and according to an information board, the aquaduct is 70 feet high and carries “wonderful Welsh water in the Llangollen Canal, all the way into England to provide water for the Shropshire Union Canal”.
It is a busy crossing with many boats traversing both the aqueduct and tunnel whilst we were there. Some of the people on board were clearly dressed up for the occasion.
The tunnel has a towpath/walkway all the way through. A bit scary in places, but quicker to walk than to navigate.
"See-u-Later" 