River Dee by Canoe

The river Dee from Llangollen to Erbistock is regarded as a classic trip for canoeists. The valley is steep sided so the low winter sunshine rarely gets a look in and leaves this place with a reputation for cold winter paddles.

We launched from the Ponsonby Arms car park just near the bridge at Llangollen having already left a couple of vehicles down river at Erbistock. The river is mostly Grade 1 & 2 with the possibility a couple of grade 3ish stretches.

We found some entertainment in the rapid that leads into Trevor Bridge but the fun was ours as we all remained dry. We also had plenty of fun surfing the wave beneath the bridge.

After that the water relented but only slightly. There was still plenty to concentrate on. This was made tricky because all I wanted to do was gaze upwards at the amazing Pontcysyllte Aqueduct towering more than 120 feet above the river.

We stopped for a hot drink and snack in a rare patch of sunshine at Ty Mawr Country Park. In spite of the sunshine it was too cold to stop for long so we headed on to pass beneath the spectacular Cefn railway viaduct.

From here the river levels off and its a much easier ride between steep wooded banks and some more open countryside. The final challenge is the weir just upstream from Erbistock. We landed to have a look from the bank to see if it would be safe. It looked quite lively! It was actually really good fun to paddle through some more white water before ending our trip on the bank beneath The Boat Inn at Erbistock.