Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, a navigable structure, spans the River Dee in the Vale of Llangollen, northeast Wales, carrying the Llangollen Canal. This 19-arched stone and cast iron marvel, completed in 1805 after a decade of design and construction, accommodates narrowboats. Measuring 12 feet wide, it holds the distinction of being the longest aqueduct in Great Britain and the highest canal aqueduct globally. A towpath runs alongside the watercourse on one side.
Originally intended as a key component of the proposed Ellesmere Canal, an industrial waterway connecting the River Severn at Shrewsbury to the Port of Liverpool on the River Mersey, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was built on the westerly high-ground route across the Vale of Llangollen. This route would have traversed the mineral-rich coalfields of North East Wales. However, due to the unanticipated lack of required revenue, only parts of the canal were completed. Major construction ceased after the aqueduct’s completion in 1805.
Designed by civil engineers Thomas Telford and William Jessop, the aqueduct was situated near an 18th-century road crossing, Pont Cysyllte. Initially, the plan envisioned a series of locks down both sides of the valley leading to an embankment carrying the Ellesmere Canal over the River Dee. However, upon Telford’s involvement, the design shifted to an aqueduct providing an uninterrupted waterway across the valley. Despite public scepticism, Telford’s confidence stemmed from his previous success with the Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct on the Shrewsbury Canal, a cast-iron trough aqueduct.
Telford’s aqueduct, one of his first major civil engineering feats, established him as a leading industrial civil engineer in Britain. While Jessop, a more experienced canal engineer, supervised the project, William Hazledine supplied the ironwork from his foundries in Shrewsbury and Cefn Mawr. Taking about ten years from design to construction, the aqueduct cost approximately £47,000. Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to around £4,820,000 in 2023. However, it represented a significant investment relative to the contemporary GDP of about £400 million.
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The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, a navigable structure, spans the River Dee in the Vale of Llangollen, northeast Wales, carrying the Llangollen Canal. This 19-arched stone and cast iron marvel, completed in 1805 after a decade of design and construction, accommodates narrowboats. Measuring 12 feet wide, it holds the distinction of being the longest aqueduct in Great Britain and the highest canal aqueduct globally. A towpath runs alongside the watercourse on one side.
Originally intended as a key component of the proposed Ellesmere Canal, an industrial waterway connecting the River Severn at Shrewsbury to the Port of Liverpool on the River Mersey, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was built on the westerly high-ground route across the Vale of Llangollen. This route would have traversed the mineral-rich coalfields of North East Wales. However, due to the unanticipated lack of required revenue, only parts of the canal were completed. Major construction ceased after the aqueduct’s completion in 1805.
Designed by civil engineers Thomas Telford and William Jessop, the aqueduct was situated near an 18th-century road crossing, Pont Cysyllte. Initially, the plan envisioned a series of locks down both sides of the valley leading to an embankment carrying the Ellesmere Canal over the River Dee. However, upon Telford’s involvement, the design shifted to an aqueduct providing an uninterrupted waterway across the valley. Despite public scepticism, Telford’s confidence stemmed from his previous success with the Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct on the Shrewsbury Canal, a cast-iron trough aqueduct.
Telford’s aqueduct, one of his first major civil engineering feats, established him as a leading industrial civil engineer in Britain. While Jessop, a more experienced canal engineer, supervised the project, William Hazledine supplied the ironwork from his foundries in Shrewsbury and Cefn Mawr. Taking about ten years from design to construction, the aqueduct cost approximately £47,000. Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to around £4,820,000 in 2023. However, it represented a significant investment relative to the contemporary GDP of about £400 million.
Why not visit me on Facebook for more content where my drone flights are often showcased in other drone feeds and drone shows.
The content I create is regularly featured on live drone shows around the world.
facebook.com/share/18pM7XFDs4/?mibextid=wwXIfr
#drone #cinematicvideo #dramaticvideo #dronevideo
