Chirk

Aqueduct, Tunnel and Town

Arriving in Chirk, the first thing you see is a row of ten masonry arches carrying a canal seventy feet above the River Ceiriog, with a railway viaduct running alongside it. This is the Chirk Aqueduct, finished in 1801 by William Jessop and Thomas Telford, 710 feet of it, and it straddles the border so precisely that this is one of the few places on Britain's waterways where you can stand with one foot in England and one in Wales. The Llangollen Canal crosses here before disappearing into a tunnel more than 400 metres long, which you can walk through on the towpath.

The town sits above all this, between the Berwyn Mountains and the wooded Ceiriog Valley, with Chirk Castle overlooking the village to the west. The main street is a working one — shops, cafes and businesses rather than a parade of boutiques.

Pubs with Character

The Bridge Inn at Chirk Bank, locally called the Trap, sits beside the aqueduct and has a decked patio with views of the aqueduct and railway viaduct. It serves two real ales. In central Chirk, the Hand Hotel is a historic coaching inn with a lounge bar and the Coachhouse Restaurant & Grill. On Holyhead Road, Stanton House Inn offers cask ale and homemade food; the inn is within walking distance of the castle and the narrowboat basin. Out among fields near the canal, the Poachers serves pub food in a country setting.

Paths into the Valley

The walking is the reason to stay. A 6.5-mile circular route starts near Chirk station, linking the town with the castle, Offa's Dyke National Trail and the River Ceiriog. Expect steep slopes and potentially muddy ground.

Battle, Oak and Church

History sits close to the surface here. In 1165 Welsh forces confronted Henry II's army in the Ceiriog Valley; medieval chronicles record losses on both sides and Henry's retreat after severe weather and failing supplies. On the castle estate stands the Oak at the Gate of the Dead, an ancient tree believed to date from the 11th century. St Mary's Church, Grade I listed, retains its carved late-medieval roofs and an outstanding group of eighteenth-century monuments.

Railway and Football Stories

Chirk railway station is on the Shrewsbury to Chester line, about 1½ miles on foot from the castle. Chirk-born Billy Meredith played for the town's club before joining Manchester City in 1894.