A RETURN TO WALES - CROESO I GYMRU

Well, in this post we return to Wales, but there's a bit of Shropshire (England) to do first. Don't forget, you can follow the route here. Now, we're back on the Shropshire Union Canal at Grindley Brook.

Further west and still on the Shropshire Union - Ellesmere Wharf.

Welsh Frankton next. Here, the Montgomery Canal joins the Shropshire Union.

At Gobowen we come across the Wrexham to Shrewsbury railway line, where a traditional signal box looks after the crossing.

Here's All Saints Church in Gobowen (Creative Commons License).

It appears that the Cross Foxes in Gobowen no longer serves cask beer.

Thank goodness that the Last Inn in Upper Hengoed has plenty of great beers.

Another fine pub nearby is the Cross Keys at Selattyn.

There are some great views to be had around Selattyn.

So, as promised, we enter Wales, first finding the castle (of sorts) in the small town of Chirk.

GWR 6392 seen arriving at Chirk in 1932 (HC Casserley).

Chirk was where there was interchange with the long lost Glyn Valley Tramway.

Here's Chirk station and some of its traffic in 2010.

At Chirk the Llangollen Canal crosses an impressive aqueduct and then there's a short tunnel.

Further north on the Llangollen Canal is Pontcysyllte Acqueduct, over the Dee Valley, built by Thomas Telforda and his mates.

Just beyond Pontcysyllte Acqueduct is Trevor Basin, junction with the branch to Llangollen.

A short walk away is Cefn Mawr, the home of DC Jones Coaches.

Also in Cefn Mawr, the yard of Vale of Llangollen Coaches.

Back to the railway now and preserved GWR 6000 King George V is seen passing through Ruabon station.

There's a brilliant pub near Ruabon station, the Bridge End Inn.

The Wynnstay Arms is a Robinson's hotel and has beer and accomodation, therefore a good place to conclude this post.

Next time...... we dig deeper in Wales.

A BRIEF FORAY INTO SHROPSHIRE

To the west of Stafford is a village called Haughton, home to the Bell Inn.

 

The Royal Oak in Haughton seems to have closed some time back.

The Staffordshire village of Gnosall comes next. Here's St Lawrence church (Creative Commons License).

The Shropshire Union Canal runs through Gnosall. By the canal is the Boat Inn.

Nearby is the Navigation.

Onwards now to Newport (Shropshire), a small town, painted by Henry Lark Pratt in 1857. This shows the High Street.

Here's a multiview postcard of the delights of Newport.

The New Inn in Newport, seen here in 2008, has recently become a Joule's house.

The Pheasant is another decent pub in Newport.

We turn north now (you can see the route here) to the village of Sambrook, where one can enjoy a few beers at the Three Horseshoes.

Northward to Market Drayton, a small Shropshire town. It's home to Joule's Brewery.

Joule's Brewery Tap is the Red Lion.

Further to the north and just in Cheshire, is Audlem Flight on the Shropshire Union Canal.

Now we turn westwards again, to another Shropshire town, Whitchurch. Here we can find the Shropshire Union Canal again.

Three views around Whitchurch station in 1987.

Shearings once provided bus services in Whitchurch.

Huxley's of Threapwood also served the town.

In 2010, Arriva, GHA and Helms were to be found in Whitchurch.

St Alkmund's Church, Whitchurch (Robert Cutts - Creative Commons License).

The town's war memorial (Harry Pope - Creative Commons License).

Time for some beer in Whitchurch. First stop, the Red Cow,

No cask beer in the Anchor these days.

Never mind, there's plenty of Joule's in the Old Town Vaults.

That seems like a good spot to end this post. Next time, we'll be back in Wales.