Taff the horse makes narrowboat trip special on Llangollen Canal
A narrowboat has been pulled across a landmark on the Shropshire/Welsh border by horse for the first time in 60 years during a celebration of the area's industrial heritage.
Saturn, the last horse-drawn Shropshire Union Canal fly-boat in the world, which is now used for education projects, is currently visiting towns and villages along the Llangollen Canal.
To make the visit extra special, arrangements were made for the historic boat to be pulled across the Chirk Aqueduct near Oswestry by horse, repeating a scene which would have been commonplace when canals were used throughout Britain as the main way of transport.
Organisers said they were delighted to get permission from the Canal & River Trust, who now look after the waterways of England and Wales, to have the boat drawn over the aqueduct and through the quarter mile long Chirk Tunnel by horse yesterday and said the horse, called Taff, did a perfect job.
The trip is an integral part of the Llangollen Schools Education Days and is a joint project between the Llangollen Wharf and the Shropshire Union Fly-boat Restoration Society.
The Saturn will be at The Wharf from today until Friday next week.
Llangollen Wharf director Steve Furniss said: "It was a bit damp but Taff didn't bat an eyelid crossing the aqueduct, even with a 70ft drop to his right."
The Chirk Aqueduct and tunnel are a part of the Llangollen Canal World Heritage Site which extends from the canal's source at the Horseshoe Falls to just over the border into Shropshire.
The aqueduct and tunnel were designed and built by Thomas Telford in 1801 as a part of the planned route to Ellesmere Port. Unfortunately money ran out and the canal was diverted at the Trevor end of the Pontcysllte Aqueduct to Llangollen, as opposed to the planned water source near Wrexham.
Saturn is a unique canal narrowboat and is the last horse-drawn Shropshire Union Canal Fly-boat in the World – originally built to travel non-stop, day and night, carrying perishable goods.
Over 100 years old, she has been fully restored by volunteers at the Shropshire Union Fly-boat Restoration Society to preserve her for posterity and educate new generations about Britain's waterways, narrowboats and horse-boating.
