The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct Drained

[Pudsey Bear]

Liz and I have walked across this many times, it's a lovely place.

 

[wildebus]

Liz and I have walked across this many times, it's a lovely place.

I've been there quite a few times. But never gone across... too dodgy!

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Liz has vertigo and managed to go across until last time when she had to turn back quite soon so we won't be going again.

 

[2cv]

We did it a couple of times by boat.

 

[trevskoda]

A shotblasters dream job.

 

[HurricaneSmith]

Because of my nearby paternal ancestry I've crossed over and under it quite a few times, mostly on foot but also including a barge.

Walking underneath it with a girlfriend almost 60 years ago, we met an old boy who was keen to share his knowledge about it's construction. It must have been his pet subject and he was absolutely fascinating. Then he started "wittering on" about using ox blood in it's construction, we knew better, and diplomatically moved away.

Many years later I came across an old book that described the construction and explained the exact same story. It seems that ox blood mixed with sugar really was used as an experimental innovation. So I wasn't such a smart a**e after all, and good on him.

 

[GeoffL]

Ox blood used to be employed in all sorts of applications. Back in the early 1970s, we used it as a foam agent in fire extinguishers. The same instructor who explained why ox blood was used to make protein-based foam also said it was used in lime mortar mixes likely to be subject to freeze/thaw conditions as it helped resist the cracking that might otherwise occur! So perhaps not as experimental as that article suggested?

 

[Pudsey Bear]

There is a plaque nearby that tells you all that is known about it.

 

[Caz]

9 miles up the road from me so have walked across it many times. The one at Chirk, whilst not perhaps as impressive, is actually scarier if you are scared of heights. Luckily I'm not and have walked that one countless times.

 

[trevskoda]

Im so scared of hights i live in a bungalow.

 

[HurricaneSmith]

9 miles up the road from me so have walked across it many times. The one at Chirk, whilst not perhaps as impressive, is actually scarier if you are scared of heights. Luckily I'm not and have walked that one countless times.

PM sent.

 

[CriftinsCampers]

It’s just down the road from us, two of our sons visited at the weekend with their new girlfriends so we did Chirk Castle and both Aqueducts, the Castle looked a bit bare compared to a few weeks ago when all the Xmas decorations where up.