UK weather can be unpredictable but, thankfully, on this particular day, the sun was peeking through the clouds to make canoeing that much more pleasant in Wrexham, Wales. Steading ourselves into the boat on Llangollen Canal, helped by a member of staff at TNR Outdoors, we were told to follow the straight-forward path along the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct – a World Heritage Site.
In our pairs, we canoed on the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, which is 1,007ft long and stands 126ft above the beautiful River Dee. A renowned viewing spot, we looked on in awe at the luscious greenery surrounding the flowing river. Thankfully, this respite came within 15 minutes of our departure that had lead to some couples bickering on how to row the boat.
Making our way through the narrow passageway, we soon spotted a shop and quickly decided grab some waters and enjoy a break.
It was at this pivotal moment that we all swapped our canoeing partners that made the rest of the journey a much smoother ride.
Ready for round two, we had just over two hours left to manoeuvre along the canal that borders between England and Wales.
We had hired the canoes for three hours (£60 per canoe), from 1.30pm to 4.30pm; the other available slot (we decided not to take) was 9.30am to 12.30pm.
This should have gave us enough time to move across five miles of waterway but, as a group, we were having a giggle trying to work the canoe.
My boat in particular, most likely because of me, would find itself bumping into other boats and the sides of the canal – although a lot of laughter ensued.
Through the Chirk tunnel, we came across a herd of magnificent cows and before we knew it, it was time to rush back to the starting point.
The only issue with that, though, was waiting for all the boats to come through the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on our way back, which held us up for some time, but we still managed to make it back with one minute to spare.