THE Pontcysyllte Aqueduct World Heritage Site has been named as one of the 'Marvels of the Modern Waterways'.

It was named in a poll to mark 10 years since Glandŵr Cymru, the Canal and River Trust in Wales, was set up as a charity to look after 2,000 miles of canals and rivers in England and Wales.

A flight of 21 locks in Warwickshire, a three and a half-mile canal tunnel in Yorkshire and a scheduled ancient monument in Wiltshire are among the ten new Marvels of the Modern Waterways chosen by Britain’s boaters and canal supporters to celebrate the renaissance of the nation’s 200-year-old canal network and a decade of being looked after by the charitable sector.

READ MORE: Improvement plans worth £15m to begin at Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

The poll was run by the Canal and River Trust charity which took over the care of the nation’s waterways a decade ago in the biggest ever transfer of publicly owned heritage into the charitable sector.

Mark Evans, director of Wales at Glandŵr Cymru, said: “The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, also known as the ‘stream in the sky’ has got to be one of the must-see places for boaters and waterways enthusiasts in Wales. The aqueduct is a stunning piece of canal engineering and really deserves to be part of our new modern marvels.

“Completed in 1805 the aqueduct is the highest in the world and forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site making it as historically important as Stonehenge. Anyone wanting to visit needs to have a stomach for heights but the views over the Dee Valley is worth the walk or boat across. If you’ve not visited before, make sure to come this summer. Just find a nice spot, bring a picnic, and spend the day watching the world go by.”

The Leader:

Canals are an intrinsic part of the nation’s landscape with the quintessentially British sight of a narrowboat, lock or a humpback bridge familiar to anyone in towns or countryside alike.

Once the arteries of the Industrial Revolution, busy with boats carrying goods like coal, steel, porcelain and food, they now play an equally important role in society as green corridors that bring nature into cities, improving community wellbeing and tackling health inequalities, as well as supporting jobs and local economies.

Today, as well as being visited by around 10 million people every fortnight, the Canal and River Trust’s waterways are used by around 35,000 boats for pleasure, for work, and as homes, with boaters navigating the 200-year-old network in the same way as their predecessors.

The Canal and River Trust is committed to maintain the waterways in its care since it was formed in 2012.