AqueductInn

Thomas Telford and William Jessop finished the aqueduct in 1805, after ten years' work. Its cast-iron trough carries the Llangollen Canal 126 feet above the River Dee — still the tallest navigable aqueduct in the world.

UNESCO listed it in 2009, together with eleven miles of canal either side. Walking the towpath across is free, and the drop is at your elbow the whole way over.

The Trevor Basin Visitor Centre at the far end is free too, with hands-on models, a gift shop and refreshments.

Pay-and-display parking · satnav LL14 3SG

Llangollen Wharf runs 45-minute horse-drawn trips along the canal — the boats are still pulled by horse, as they have been since the 1880s.

The two-hour motorised cruise aboard the Thomas Telford goes the other way, out over Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and back. Booking ahead is wise in summer.

Llangollen Wharf, Wharf Hill, LL20 8TA · 01978 860702

Welsh-built in the 1260s and abandoned within two decades, the ruin stands alone on its hill with the whole Dee Valley below and the Eglwyseg escarpment opposite. Legend ties it to the Holy Grail.

Free and open all year, with no facilities of any kind. The climb is steep — roughly 3km round trip with 250 metres of ascent, 45 minutes to an hour each way. Not suitable for anyone with limited mobility.

Signposted path from near Llangollen bridge and the canal · pay-and-display parking on Market Street (LL20 8PS) or East Street (LL20 8RB)

The only standard gauge heritage line in North Wales, running ten miles up the Dee Valley from Llangollen to Corwen behind steam and heritage diesel locomotives.

Gala weekends, real ale trains and Santa Specials fill the timetable through the year — check dates before travelling.

Station beside the Dee bridge in the middle of Llangollen

Founded in 1201 by Madog ap Gruffydd, Prince of Powys Fadog, and dissolved in 1537. The rib-vaulted chapter house still stands, and the fishpond beside it is the only monastic fishpond left in Wales.

The ninth-century Pillar of Eliseg stands a short walk away and gives the abbey its name — Valle Crucis, the Valley of the Cross. It sits in the Vale of Llangollen, below the Eglwyseg escarpment.

Free and unstaffed, 10am–4pm · closed 24–26 December and 1 January · LL20 8DD, on the A542

The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod has been held every July since 1947, founded to bring nations back together through music after the war.

A week of daytime competitions and evening concerts at the Royal International Pavilion, with choirs, folk dancers and soloists from across the world.

Next edition 7–11 July 2027 — the Eisteddfod's 80th anniversary

Bwlch yr Oernant, the pass of the cold stream, carries the A542 between Llangollen and Llandegla. The road swings in a great horseshoe around the head of the valley to a summit of 417 metres.

Cyclists know it well: 5.2% on average, steepening to 11%, and a former host of the British National Hill Climb Championships. The views over the Dee Valley and the Clwydian Range are the reason to come.

The Ponderosa Café at the summit closed permanently in 2025 — there is nothing open at the top, so take a flask.

Five miles up the valley, Llangollen grew around its stone bridge over the Dee, built in the 1500s and long counted one of the Seven Wonders of Wales.

Independent shops, cafés and antique dealers line the main streets, and the town has held Cittaslow "slow town" status since 2013. Plas Newydd, home of the Ladies of Llangollen, is a short walk from the centre.

Tourist Information Centre at Y Capel, Castle Street, LL20 8NU · 01978 860828