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Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

Happy 200th Anniversary!

Celebrations to mark the 200th Anniversary of the completion of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct are planned throughout 2005.

The celebrations culminate in a spectacular event on November 26th when the Aqueduct was officially opened on this date 200 years ago. There will be something for all the family. A Napoleonic re-enactment, brass band and choir, visits on "Millie2" the boat for younger children and culminating in a fantastic firework display.

The structure represents a masterpiece of Georgian engineering created by Thomas Telford. Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is the "waterway in the sky". It carries the Llangollen canal 126ft above the River Dee and attracts thousands of visitors every year. Experience a memorable trip over the Aqueduct either by foot or narrowboat and feel suspended in the air. Truly amazing!

Aqueduct Facts and Figures

Pontcysyllte means "the bridge that connects". It created a navigable union between England and Wales, ultimately connecting the rivers Severn, Dee and Mersey.
The cast iron trough which holds the canal water is 11ft wide, 5ft 3ins deep an 1,007ft long at its highest point.
There are 19 arches, each with 45ft span and piers 116ft high.
To keep the Aqueduct as light as possible, the slender masonry piers are partly hollow and taper at their summit.
The mortar was made of oxen blood, lime and water.
The Aqueduct holds 1.5 million litres of water and takes 2 hours to drain.
The first stone was laid in July 1795 and it was completed in 1805.
At the centre it reaches a height of 126 feet from the river bed to the ironwork.
This is the largest Aqueduct in Britain.
The bridge cost £45,000 to build in 1805.