|
Various wharves along the canal were served by different
tramways, which were railways with trolleys pulled by horses, mules or later static
steam engines. Goytre wharf has been developed as a tourist centre on the Monmouth,
Brecon and Abergavenny canal, as it is now known, which runs for 36 miles from
Brecon to Cwmbran. This remarkable piece of engineering is virtually lock-free
(with one near Brecon and a group near Llangynidr) requiring it to have been cut
half way up the mountainside as it enters the Vale of Usk. This also meant that
it was prone to breaches and draining and it has been shut quite recently for
these reasons, but now all seems under control as economics dictate a better maintenance
schedule. The canal is one of the best in Europe for recreational use - it is
a separate section with no through traffic and passes through a sparcely populated
region, well away from anything else except for brief glimpses of a few roads.
Tourist development is still in the early stages, so if you like quiet holidays
in the middle of nowhere, this is for you. The benefits include several good nearby
pubs and stunning scenery, but the TV probably won't work very well so pack a
novel or two - Cordell, who wrote extensively about this area, is highly recommended. |
