Ellesmere Canal
The Ellesmere Canal is a waterway system constructed in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, linking Llangollen in north Wales with Nantwich in south Cheshire, via the town of Ellesmere in north-west Shropshire. It is regarded as the first major civil engineering work undertaken by Thomas Telford.Today, the canal is known as the 'Llangollen Canal'.
The canal was intended to provide a route from coalfields and ironworks near Wrexham to the sea. From Nantwich, canal traffic took the Chester Canal (now part of the Shropshire Union Canal) to Chester where - at least, initially - sea access via the River Dee was possible. However, a northern canal extension was added later, linking Chester with the River Mersey at a place now known as Ellesmere Port.
The canal's most notable features include the spectacular Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, engineered by Telford to carry the canal over the River Dee.
