Astounding Stream in the Sky Canal in Wales

The Pontcysllte Aqueduct is the tallest navigable aqueduct in the world and stands 39m high; the 11 mile long aqueduct is the longest in the UK

The aqueduct is only 12 feet wide including the walkway and 5 feet 3 inches deep; situated in NE Wales, we could have taken a tourist boat ride but the view was better walking

When the aqueduct was completed it was used to move bricks, tiles, iron products and coal as the Industrial Revolution transformed the surrounding area

This girl was afraid her boat would run over the ducks but they all safely got out of the way; for the non-Welsh speaker, Pontcysyllte is pronounced pont-kur-suck-tay

There are some small road bridges that cross the canal and crew on the boats have to get out to hand crank the bridges up to let the boat pass and then put the bridge back down

The Pontcysllte Aqueduct took 10 years to construct and was completed in 1805; now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the canal was to be a link between Shrewsbury and Liverpool but the rest of the route was never finished

The aqueduct is only wide enough for one boat so captains have to look the length of the canal to see if another boat is coming; I think a stop light would make for more efficient travel but why change a system that works fine

To achieve its great height, the upper part of the aqueduct had to be as light as possible; the solid masonry piers become hollow as they rise, and are topped with slender ribs of cast iron

The novelist Sir Walter Scott called the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct the most impressive work of art I've ever seen; 500 men were used to construct the aqueduct using simple wooden scaffolding

Some of the original structures lining the canal still exist; the aqueduct was built by Thomas Telford who also constructed the suspension bridge in Conwy

This google image shows the 18 arches of the aqueduct and the terrain it crosses; Pontcysyllte means the bridge that connects in Welsh

The aqueduct is crossed by 15,000 boats and 200,000 pedestrians each year; once every 5 years the canal is completely drained so it can be inspected and repaired