Moss Valley Golf

Ffrwd Canal, Wrexham.

After several aborted attempts due to bad weather, I finally got to go off and search for the route of the long lost 'canal that went nowhere' - the Ffrwd Canal in North East Wales on 23/August/2015.

The Ffrwd Canal was meant to be the branch of the Ellesmere Canal, serving coal mines and iron works near Wrexham. It was dug in part, as the Ellesmere Canal was meant to pass Wrexham heading for Chester. However, in 1803, the resident engineer William Jessop advised the canal company to abandon its plan to dig from Trevor (Pontcysyllte Aqueduct) to Chester in favour of cutting eastwards to Nantwich to connect with an existing canal to Chester.

Once approved, the Ffrwd Canal was left literally, high & dry, isolated and useless as the main canal line it was supposed to link with didn't happen. What was constructed ended in 1805, the same year the Ellesmere Canal (now Llangollen Canal) and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct were officially opened.

The whole canal was opened by 1813 and became a great commercial success but was no doubt quite the opposite for anyone who invested in the Ffrwd Branch.

There are some records about the canal's history and route, but not many. I decided to follow the canal route as best I could and trace it through the hilly terrain between Gwersyllt and Ffrwd, a hamlet near the village of Cefn y Bedd.

If you are in the Llangollen area of North Wales any time, I recommend this local attraction -

Bub and Saggers Bath tub Sledge Run

Bub and Saggers Sledge down a hill in a bath tub