Slow Boat
p. 113 · Read in the full issue
To Llangollen
In the days of high-speed travel and pre-cooked food, what could be more pleasant than a 3 mph cruise, eating such delicacies as plover’s egg salad, smoked salmon, jugged hare or casseroled pheasant? The cruises are planned to start this spring, aboard a 12-berth floating hotel on the 44-mile canal linking Chester with the North Wales town of Llangollen.
Man behind the idea is Mr Peter Brice of the New Inn Hotel, Gledrid, Chirk, who says that the Welsh Floatel will comprise two 72-foot vessels which should be completed next month.
One is a night boat with six double cabins (each with shower and toilet facilities), the other a day boat with dining area, lounge, sun deck and cocktail bar. Guests are advised to use the bar sparingly on the day they cross the spectacular Pont-y- Cysylltau aqueduct, which carries the canal 126 feet above the River Dee.
Cost of a week’s cruise, which starts with a captain’s champagne re ception, will be about £55 a head.
This 14th century four-arched bridge spans the River Dee in the centre of Llangollen. Not far from the bridge is a salmon leap; great numbers of salmon make use of the ladders on their way up the river to its source in Bala Lake.