Horse-drawn boats from Llangollen Wharf

About

The trip boats at Llangollen Wharf, up Wharf Hill from the bridge, are still pulled by a horse, as boats have been taken out from here since 1884, the operator says. The Horse Drawn Boat Company's 45-minute return trip goes west along the feeder: every 30 minutes in the school holidays, roughly hourly in the week and half-hourly at weekends and bank holidays. A two-hour horse-drawn trip goes on to the Horseshoe Falls at weekends and on selected weekdays from late March. For the aqueduct there is a motor boat, the Thomas Telford: a two-hour trip from the wharf that finishes across Pontcysyllte at Froncysyllte, with a courtesy coach back to Llangollen. Cadw lists the wharf building as the Canal Museum, also known as Llangollen Wharf; it now holds the tea room.

Highlights

• ✓A horse on the towpath, not an engine
• ✓Every 30 minutes in the school holidays, roughly hourly in the week otherwise
• ✓Two-hour horse-drawn trip to the Horseshoe Falls
• ✓Two-hour boat across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, coach back to town

Tips

• →The operator recommends booking online at busy times but says seats are usually available on the day.
• →Aqueduct trip seats are released four weeks before the date; check in at the wharf 15 minutes before departure.
• →The horse-drawn boats have inside and outside seating, so a wet day still works.

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