Canal boat on Brecon Canal and barge near Talybont-on-Usk, Powys Wales UK 118014_Brecon-Canal
The Brecon and Abergavenny Canal was first proposed in 1792, to link Brecon to the River Usk near Caerleon. An Act of Parliament was obtained in March 1793, allowing the newly formed Canal Company to raise £100,000, and to construct railways to link the canal to mines, quarries and iron works. Initially work concentrated on the railways, with the construction of lines from the collieries at Gellifelen to Llangrwyney Forge, and on to the Abergavenny to Brecon turnpike road. The line was opened in 1794, and later served the canal at Gilwern. In 1795 Thomas Dadford was appointed as the engineer for the canal itself and construction began at Penpedairheol near Crickhowell. Work began in 1796 and by late 1797, the canal was open from Gilwern to Llangynidr in Brecknockshire. In 1799, further money was needed to complete the section from Clydach to Brecon. The canal was completed and opened to Talybont-on-Usk in late 1799 and through to Brecon in December 1800. The Canal Company obtained another Act of Parliament in 1804, to authorise the raising of more capital, and the section to Govilon, near Abergavenny was completed in 1805, but the company failed to raise the finance authorised by the 1804 act, and so construction stopped. The company then concentrated on running the canal and railways so far opened, and were running twenty boats by 1806, carrying coal and limestone as their main cargoes. The canal company completed the work, which opened in February 1812. From the Pontymoile junction, the Brecknock and Abergavenny runs through Llanfoist near Abergavenny and Talybont, ending at a basin in Brecon. The canal is 33 miles long and is level for the first 23 miles to Llangynidr, where there are five locks. Two miles below Brecon, the canal crosses the River Usk on an aqueduct at Brynich, and a final lock brings the total rise to 68 ft. The River Usk provides the main water supply for the canal. A weir near the Brecon Promenade controls the water levels on the river.
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Talybont-on-usk Powys Wales UK
Photo credit: © Daniel Valla FRPS / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: abergaveny, barge, bascule, beacons, boat, brecknock, brecon, bridge, canal, canals, communication, drawbridge, family, holiday, lifestyle, river, summer, sunny, talybont, transport, usk, water, waterway, welsh
