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The place where boats glide through the sky
16 August 2019
Welcome to the place where boats glide through the sky: The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is a monumental masterpiece, built between 1795 and 1805.
The great days of the canals might have passed, but this amazing feat of engineering is a wonder in the Welsh landscape of today.
Here’s six facts about this sensational structure that spans the Dee Valley...
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
Discover a place where boats glide through the sky!
- Ox blood was used in the mortar to hold the stones together. It was believed the strength of the ox would also make the aqueduct strong.
- Pontcysyllte means ‘the bridge that connects’ - though some say it just means ‘Cysyllte Bridge’, after a nearby town.
- Canal boats travel down the aqueduct at just four miles per hour… as fast as the horses that once pulled them.
- The aqueduct is 39 metres high, about 12 storeys… or, to be a little fowl, that’s about 307 ducks stacked on top of each other!
- It cost £38,499 to build the aqueduct at the time (1795-1805) - financially equivalent to £3,000,000 today.
- The aqueduct contains 1.5 million litres of water - enough to fill 8,572 bathtubs!
