Best route for a family of newbies please

[ditchcrawler]

46 minutes ago, BeaBirch23 said:

Thanks very much for all the info and links, really appreciated!

We booked a boat yesterday leaving from Beeston…and have ordered a Welsh Waterways book.

 

From your stories, it sounds as though the aqueduct will be the high (!!) light! 
 

Are there any particular mooring points you would/wouldn’t recommend?  I need to have a proper look at the timings website kindly posted above alongside the book but we depart at 10am so could aim for a fairly full days travel?

 

Thanks again all

Moorings are listed here in the third section  SUCS Visitor Moorings - Shropshire Union Canal Society

[gatekrash]

We spent a couple of weeks up the Llan in May. So many places to stop.

 

Wrenbury is nice, the little post office shop has a really good selection of supplies. Whitchurch is worth visiting, but it's a bit of a walk from the boat.

Ellesmere, ignore the Tesco unless you really need lots of stuff and visit the deli instead, their pies are awesome. You can also stop by the lake which is an hour or so outside Ellesmere, which is really pretty.

We also stopped at Chirk, although it was a Friday afternoon and the castle was shutting when we moored up. Definitely stop at Llangollen itself, the town is very nice too.

 

If you're coming out of Beeston then the cheese at the Calvely Mill shop just after the services on the Shroppie one you've come up Bunbury is also worth a 10 minute stop for, if you like cheese that is !

 

 

[booke23]

12 hours ago, BeaBirch23 said:

Are there any particular mooring points you would/wouldn’t recommend?  I need to have a proper look at the timings website kindly posted above alongside the book but we depart at 10am so could aim for a fairly full days travel?

That's the beauty of the Llangollen, there isn't a bad mooring anywhere along it as there are no urban areas. Most of it is piled with armco so you don't even have to bang in pins if you don't want to!

 

One of our hires was a 10am pickup at Beeston......by the time you get your luggage loaded and do handover you won't be leaving Beeston until lunchtime, but that's fine....we were still able to get up the Hurleston flight and moor in the countryside on the Llangollen a few miles west of Hurleston on the first night. 

 

There are lots of interesting places to visit as already suggested. But to make it to Llangollen and back in a week, you're not going to have a huge amount of time for sightseeing away from the Canal.....maybe a day.

 

 

[IanD]

Would definitely recommend a visit/purchase to Snugbury's ice-cream, a couple of minutes walk from above Hurleston locks.

 

If it fits in with your plans an overnight stop at the Willeymoor Lock Tavern is worthwhile, friendly with good (and good value) food and beer.

 

A walk up to the Horseshoe Falls in Llangollen is also recommended.

Edited July 23, 2023 by IanD

[BeaBirch23]

Thanks so much for all your comments and advice, very much appreciated and we are all getting excited about our trip!

 

 

[Michael Donning]

Chas Hardern is a good choice IMHO. We hired a boat from Chas in the summer of 2019. The Shroppie from Beeston to the middlewidch Branc is already very nice. There's a castle at Beeston which you might want to plan in before or after your hire.
The first part of the llangollen is very rural. This is beautiful but you might have to do the extra mile for groceries. 😉

Although from a stop at Lift Bridge 19 (Wrenbury Church) there was a nice foot path over the church yard to a small village store in Wrenbury.
In Ellesmere there's a TESCO directly at the canal arm. (Might want to avoid going into the small arm in summer holidays.)

Don't worry to get a mooring spot in Llangollen. Try at the basin first and in the unlikely event there's no space then turn around an get a place at the towpath. "Smaller" walks from the mooring are up to the Dinas Bran castle ruins which my kids enjoyed very much or up the remaining llangollen to horseshoe falls. (On the way, you might step down to the rocks of the river dee if river flow permits.)
Anyway, even a shopping tour to ALDI along the river is a beautiful walk in Llangollen. 🙂

In case there are stoppages on the Llangollen then you can consult the people from Chas Hardern. There are plenty of alternatives when starting from Beeston.

 

[BeaBirch23]

That’s great, thank you 😊 We have booked Snowmane from Chas Hardern too!!