If you are thinking of walking Offa’s Dyke, then you will certainly get to know the Montgomery Canal.
A section of the Offa’s Dyke Footpath (Llwybr Clawdd Offa) between Four Crosses in Powys to Llanymynech on the Powys/Shropshire border follows the towpath of the Montgomery Canal.
Regarded traditionally as the border between England and Wales, this section of the path brings ancient British history together with more modern history. Whilst Offa’s Dyke itself might date back to the Early Medieval Period (700AD) we had to wait another 1,000 years before the construction of the Montgomery Canal.
Heading north, walkers will be on the towpath for about two miles and cross the River Vyrnwy on an aqueduct built in the 1790s but repaired and strengthened in the next century.
The towpath was restored around 2015 and makes for some welcome flat and even walking on this stretch of the Offa’s Dyke Footpath (it will become steeper once you leave the towpath at Llanymynech) and thanks to ongoing restoration work, walkers will experience modern history in the making. Two new bridges are due to be constructed in 2025.
This section of the Montgomery Canal is very peaceful and currently cut off from the national canal network. Further on (in Shropshire, England) Shropshire Union Canal Society volunteers are working hard to join up the section to Llanymynech.
Walkers leave the towpath in Llanymynech by ascending steps to the pavement on the A483 road before passing the entrance to Llanymynech Heritage Area, which is well worth spending some time exploring – if the timetable allows.
If you are lucky enough to be passing when Llanymynech Canal Wharf is open (Weekends & Bank Holidays, Easter to September), volunteers there have light refreshments and can take you on a short narrowboat trip.
Your walk will continue around Llanymynech Rocks (via Pen y Foel), a prominent escarpment of limestone, which was quarried and turned into lime. It was the transportation of this product that gave birth to the Montgomery Canal and much of the landscape you see on this section of Offa’s Dyke.
More info on the Offa’s Dyke Association website – https://offasdyke.org.uk.
Clawdd Offa – Offa’s Dyke
Os ydych chi’n ystyried cerdded ar hyd Clawdd Offa, yna byddwch chi’n bendant yn dod i nabod Camlas Trefaldwyn.
Mae darn o Lwybr Clawdd Offa rhwng Four Crosses ym Mhowys a Llanymynech, sydd ar y ffin rhwng Powys a Sir Amwythig, yn dilyn llwybr tynnu’r camlas.
Mae Clawdd Offa yn cael ei ystyried yn draddodiadol fel y ffin rhwng Cymru a Lloegr, felly mae’r rhan hon o’r llwybr yn cyfuno hen hanes â hanes diweddarach Prydain. Er y gallai Clawdd Offa ei hun fod yn dyddio’n ôl i’r Oesoedd Canol Cynnar (700AD), bu’n rhaid aros 1,000 o flynyddoedd arall cyn adeiladu Camlas Trefaldwyn.
Wrth fynd tua’r gogledd, bydd cerddwyr yn teithio ar hyd y llwybr tynnu am tua dwy filltir ac yn croesi afon Efyrnwy ar draphont a adeiladwyd yn yr 1790au, ond a gafodd ei hatgyweirio a’i chryfhau yn y ganrif wedyn.
Cafodd y llwybr tynnu ei adfer tua’r flwyddyn 2015 ac mae’r rhan hon o Lwybr Clawdd Offa yn wastad ac yn llyfn (mae’r llwybr yn fwy serth ar ôl gadael y llwybr tynnu yn Llanymynech). A diolch i’r gwaith adfer sy’n dal i fynd rhagddo, gall cerddwyr brofi hanes modern wrth iddo gael ei greu. Mae disgwyl i ddwy bont newydd gael eu hadeiladu yn 2025.
Mae’r rhan hon o Gamlas Trefaldwyn yn dawel iawn a heb ei chysylltu â’r rhwydwaith cenedlaethol ar hyn o bryd. Ymhellach ymlaen (yn Swydd Amwythig/Lloegr) mae gwirfoddolwyr Cymdeithas Camlas Undeb Sir Amwythig yn gweithio’n galed i gysylltu’r darn i Lanymynech. Shropshire Union Canal Society
Mae cerddwyr yn gadael y llwybr tynnu yn Llanymynech drwy ddringo stepiau i’r palmant ar ffordd yr A483 cyn pasio’r fynedfa i Ardal Treftadaeth Llanymynech. Mae’n werth treulio peth amser yma – os oes amser.
Os ydych chi’n ddigon ffodus i fod yn pasio pan fydd Glanfa Llanymynech ar agor (Penwythnosau a Gwyliau Banc, Pasg i fis Medi) bydd yna wirfoddolwyr yno’n cynnig lluniaeth ysgafn i chi ac mi allan nhw fynd â chi ar daith fer mewn cwch cul.
Bydd eich taith gerdded yn parhau o gwmpas Creigiau Llanymynech (trwy Ben y Foel), tarren galchfaen amlwg a gafodd ei chloddio i wneud calch. Er mwyn cludo’r cynnyrch hwn y cafodd Camlas Trefaldwyn ei chreu. Lluniodd y gwaith lawer iawn o’r dirwedd a welwch ar y darn hwn o Glawdd Offa.
Mae rhagor o wybodaeth ar wefan Cymdeithas Clawdd Offa – https://offasdyke.org.uk.