Hurleston Locks, where the Llangollen and Shropshire Union canals meet, 3rd June 2023 (Author’s Collection).
I walked to Hurleston Locks for the one and only time last Summer and at the end of a marathon walk along the Shropshire Union Canal from a (not so) secret Nuclear Fallout Bunker past nearby Nantwich and because I was having far too much fun, I continued the extra 3 miles to where the Shropshire Union merges with the Llangollen Canal.
Today was the far more simple and straight forward 5 or so mile round trip but this time on the Llangollen Canal from nearby Swanley, and a stretch of canal I’ve never previously walked.
Well it was a Saturday.
The Great Fire God of the Sky was shining magnificently
and it was a damn fine walk.
I hope you enjoy this pictorial stroll along the Llangollen Canal on a lazy, sunshine filled Saturday morning and early afternoon.
View from Bridge Number 8 of the Llangollen Canal or simply “Swanley Bridge” heading south west towards the border with Wales and ultimately the end of the canal in Llangollen itself.
View from “Swanley Bridge” in the direction we’re walking (north/west) and the second of the village’s two canal Locks.
As we depart in a northerly direction for Hurleston, a pleasure boater passes travelling west and the bulk of the Llangollen Canal.
Reverse view of Lock Number 2 at Swanley.
Swanley Marina in the background. Mother Nature in the foreground.
Approaching Bridge Number 6 or “Wrexham Road Bridge”, please say a hearty hello and give a thumbs up to “Elapsed Time”. You’ll see why below.
The friendliness of the canal waterways of England and Wales. Always a thumbs up, “good morning” and well wishes aplenty.
Return view of the walk so far from “Wrexham Road Bridge”.
Bridge Number 5 of the Llangollen Canal or simply “Platts Bridge”.
Say hello to “Mallard” from Northwich, travelling south west along the Llangollen Canal.
“Cassy” on the Llangollen Canal — Part 1.
“Cassy” on the Llangollen Canal — Part 2.
View from Bridge Number 4 or “Lees Bridge” and the walk undertaken so far.
Return view from Bridge Number 1 or “Hurleston Bridge”.
“It is one of the busiest canals in the country and the gateway to Wales”.
(1) Four views of the first of Hurleston’s four Locks as the Llangollen Canal merges with the Shropshire Union Canal.
(2) Four views of the first of Hurleston’s four Locks as the Llangollen Canal merges with the Shropshire Union Canal.
(3) Four views of the first of Hurleston’s four Locks as the Llangollen Canal merges with the Shropshire Union Canal.
(4) Four views of the first of Hurleston’s four Locks as the Llangollen Canal merges with the Shropshire Union Canal.
View from the top of the first Lock and as Paul, a volunteer who works on this set of Locks said to me last year “Not a bad way to spend an afternoon in the sunshine”.
Hurleston Locks — Number 2.
View from Lock Number 2 onto the last two Locks and the merger with the Shropshire Union Canal.
Return view from Lock Number 2.
Ahoy Hoy! Beware. There be pirates!
View from Bridge Number 97 of the Shropshire Union Canal or simply “Hurleston Roving Bridge” heading south towards beautiful Nantwich.
Say hello to “Summer Breeze” as she’s safely departed the Llangollen Canal and now heading south towards Nantwich in Cheshire.
“Summer Breeze” departing for Nantwich and your choices are north west to Chester and ultimately the merging of the Shropshire Union Canal with the Manchester Ship Canal in Manchester, south with “Summer Breeze” toward Nantwich, or south west and the joining of the Llangollen Canal.
Final view from “Hurleston Roving Bridge” as “Summer Breeze” departs towards Nantwich.
With the Shropshire Union Canal heading and winding its way north, we must return in a south west direction on the Llangollen Canal once more.
And you wait around for one canal boat to be called “Summer Breeze”, and another arrives within minutes at Lock Number 1 at Hurleston Locks.
On our return walk, a return view of Bridge Number 5 or “Platts Bridge”.
A “Perfect Timing” moment at “Platts Bridge”.
Return view from Lock Number 2 at Swanley.
Another return to Mother Nature.
A final return view from where we started, Swanley, on the Llangollen Canal.
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this pictorial stroll, tell your friends! If you really enjoyed it, tell your enemies too! Anyway, here are my three most recently published articles that can be found within my “UK Travel” library:
