Today’s fast roads can easily bring you here, winding byways may make exploration a more relaxed affair, but our history reveals perhaps more sedate and romantic methods of transport, the legacy of which is still with us today.
On Oswestry’s doorstep three great waterways merge - the Montgomery, Llangollen and Shropshire Union Canals - reminders of the days when such routes were the arteries of the progressive industrial age.
Start at Llanymynech, a real border village, part in Wales, part in England, and you can see the Montgomery Canal’s importance in transporting lime from the local quarries. The rocks which overlook the Shropshire plains are testament to a more industrial past, as is the Heritage Area, where the canal is being reclaimed and the history of the lime works is brought to life.
The amazing aqueducts at Chirk and Froncysyllte are surely worth another mention, and serve as a reminder of the importance of the waterways. From mountainous Wales the Llangollen Canal crosses these monuments of engineering, and then meanders south towards Ellesmere and onwards, via the Shropshire Union Canal, to the industrial centres of Merseyside, and the Midlands Nowadays though, the canals offer a more relaxing mode.
Activities such as boating, walking, cycling, fishing, and nature-watching are all available, complemented by quaint, waterside pubs, and restaurants providing good, locally sourced food.
And so to another age, and the romance of steam. The Cambrian Railway Museum is a must for enthusiasts who remember the grand old days of rail travel, or for anyone who has that yearning for the days of steam.
Whichever you are, our whole region has lots to offer. At Llynclys you can enjoy a taste of what it was like to travel on the Cambrian Railway’s main line, or, a little further on, there is the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway, which rolls gently through Welsh countryside into the Banwy Valley.
Visit Llangollen and you can see where road, river, rail and canal follow nature’s path through the Dee Valley. Whether by car, steam train or narrow boat, your journey will pass through breath-taking scenery, not quite so noticeable if you take the alternative route and canoe the rapids of the River Dee! Rail and canal may be reminders of a progressive age, yet here in the borderlands industry and nature have seamlessly blended and so make any journey a delight.
Be part of that journey - Oswestry - where Shropshire meets Wales.
