3 day walk - Llangollen Canal, Montgomery Canal and Offa's Dyke Path

This is my 3 day walk – Llangollen Canal, Montgomery Canal and Offa’s Dyke Path. The walking was surprisingly varied and enjoyable. I even managed to wild camp every night without any problems, in some lovely places.

Day 1 of the 3 day walk

Frankton Locks at the start of the Montgomery Canal

I started the walk on the Llangollen canal and soon joined the Montgomery Canal at Frankton Locks. This is a very quiet canal, I didn’t see many people walking on the tow path and there was only a few narrow boats on it. I had started the walk fairly late in the day, so I camped soon after joining the canal.

Wild camping beside the Montgomery Canal

This was a lovely quiet spot by a lock and I didn’t see anyone whilst I was there. I just had the sound of the the birds in the nearby trees and the water leaking through the lock gates.

Day 2 of the 3 day walk

I think it’s very important to Leave No Trace when wild camping and I always camp late and get up early. Wild camping is not allowed in many parts of the UK but is usually tolerated. However, this will only continue to be the case if people respect the land owners.

The Montgomery Canal tow path is in pretty good condition and it was an easy and peaceful walk. The canal is being restored and is only navigable by narrow boat up to Crickheath, thereafter it’s still possible to follow the tow path.

At the time of walking this in the summer of 2021, a section of the tow path was closed so I did have to take a diversion.

It was still enjoyable walking along the unrestored part of the canal and it passes through some lovely countryside. I also found it interesting to see how the canals are made.

I left the canal at Llanymynech and joined the Offa’s Dyke Path. This was a bit of a shock as I’d been walking on the flat for so long, the Offa’s Dyke Path climbed steeply to a trig point at 225m.

The views were well worth the climb and I was surprised by how good they were. It had turned into a lovely day so I stopped for lunch and to just take in the Welsh scenery.

The Offa’s Dyke Path was a surprise and I really did enjoy the path and views from it. Once off Llanymynech Hill the route is still fairly remote and quiet, passing through a village, fields and woodland.

It was getting late and I needed to find somewhere to spend the night soon. There’s not many places to wild camp discreetly when passing through farmland and I try not to camp in fields that are being used. I tend to look for unused pieces of land that will not affect the farmers livelihood. ie: not flatten crops or grass that may be food for sheep.

I eventually pitched my tent on a rough piece of ground in the corner of an empty field, as it got dark.

Day 3 of the 3 day walk

I woke to a tent soaked with condensation and got up and packed away early so if the landowner would happen to pass by, they would never have known that I had spent the night.

It was a very atmospheric morning walk through fields, but this later cleared for another lovely day.

The Offa’s Dyke Path has been a lot nicer than I was expecting and has made me think seriously about walking the whole length of it. I think I will be buying the Offa’s Dyke Path book and maps to study these for a future walk. Watch this space.

I left the Offa’s Dyke Path and joined Llangollen Canal at Bronygarth. This is a lovely canal and I would love to walk the whole length of it sometime. I met a couple of people doing that whilst walking this section and they seemed to be enjoying the walk.

I found the route surprisingly varied and interesting, it was a very nice 3 day walk. Even the wild camping was reasonably easy, considering it is a relatively lowland walk. The walk could be started from anywhere on the route, I started it where I did because I parked my car near the canal.

I love walking beside the canals and planned the route for that reason, just using the Offa’s Dyke Path to link them. But as it turned out, that part of the route was probably the highlight of the walk.

Alternative walk

Since walking this route I have purchased the Striding Edge narrow boat and travelled the whole length of the Llangollen Canal. It is a very interesting canal, I especially liked the Chirk Tunnel and Pontcytslite Aqueduct section. The Llangollen Canal is 49 miles long and it passes through really nice countryside. I think it would make a very good 3 day walk, all on tow paths.