Heritage of Wales

The Bridges

There are 31 over bridges which had to be constructed over the canal, some to accommodate landowners who had had land split by the canal, others as road bridges and some for the operation of the canal itself. There are several different types of bridge. The first type were smaller, counterbalanced timber lift bridges designed to carry foot traffic, while the second were larger, stone built, humped backed bridges to carry the existing road systems over the canal.

  • The Scotch Hall Bridge viewed from the south side, showing the central river arch and the two later, outer arches added to accommodate the railway lines to the wharves.(DS2005_021_002, NPRN: 34411)
  • Detail of the cast iron ribs supporting the shallow arch over the canal. (DS2007_049_004, NPRN: 34411)
  • Still from a three-dimensional cutaway model of the central section of the Scotch Hall Bridge. (SHB03, NPRN: 34411)

The Scotch Hall Bridge

The standard bridges follow the traditional design of humped back stone bridges found on canals, but the detail designs vary to suit the specific conditions and requirements of each site. The Scotch Hall Bridge is one of three composite bridges found on the Llangollen Canal, innovative in using traditional masonry strengthened with cast-iron beams. The use of these beams allowed the river arch to be strong but flat, reducing the gradient for the road which the bridge carried over the canal. The two side arches span the lines of the former horse drawn railways that served the wharves.

  • The Llanddyn Lift Bridge (DS2007_104_001, NPRN: 405856)
  • The Trefor basin dry docks swing-bridge. (DS2007_124_001, NPRN: 406627)
  • The Bryn-Howel Bridge, a typical arched canal bridge (DS2007_056 _001: NPRN 406021)

The Lifting Bridges and Swing Bridges

There are two lift bridges of traditional design surviving on the Llangollen Canal, although both have been rebuilt with new materials and automated for safety reasons. They are drawbridges, hinged to one abutment with an overhead balance beam to raise the deck.

A timber swing-bridge crosses the entrance to the Trefor dry dock, carrying the tow path into the Trefor Basin.

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