Mon & Brec canal routes for holidays and short breaks
7 – 14 Night routes
Guides: Pearson 3, Nicholson 4, Lockmaster 24
The canal meanders and threads its way through the countryside for 36 miles with a remarkable diversity of scenery and often following the magnificent River Usk.
Goytre Wharf itself, the name meaning ‘place in the woods’, was once used to supply coal to the nearby estate. Lime kilns remain as well as an aqueduct dating from 1812 and with its licensed restaurant providing a popular place for visitors.
Pontymoile at one end of the canal was once a place thriving with activity with its warehouses and neighbouring industry and is now a convenient mooring place for Pontypool Leisure Centre with its swimming pool and dry ski slope.
Between here and Brecon at the other end it passes close to Abergavenny, often referred to as the gateway to Wales, Crickhowell with its 13 arch bridge, Talybont -on-Usk with its four mile long reservoir, and a number of other delightful villages.
3 – 4 Night routes
Guides: Pearson 3, Nicholson 4, Lockmaster 24
You can choose a leisurely lock free cruise with fine views along the valley and by turning below the lock at Llangynidr village, or if you want the experience of locking the boat, you can turn just above the first lock
Guides: Pearson 3, Nicholson 4, Lockmaster 24
This trip takes you further up the canal climbing 5 locks and passing through the Ashford Tunnel to the village of Talybont-on-Usk where you can still see the wharf with its lime kilns and the old tramroad up the side of the mountain.