The Mon & Brec - Canal Holiday Wales

A beautiful canal

The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal has, for two hundred years, wended its way through some of the most beautiful scenery in South Wales. Now its industrial life is over, it offers the opportunity to see the countryside from a unique perspective on your very own self drive narrow boat holiday.

The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal covers 33 miles of beautiful, rural, Welsh countryside from Brecon to Pontypool, much of which lies within the Brecon Beacons National Park. With six locks, lift bridges, a tunnel and an aquaduct over the scenic river Usk you will need at least a week to experience everything this amazing canal has to offer.

Along the canal there are country villages to explore, good pubs to visit and scenic walks to enjoy. During your narrowboat holiday experience you will come across a wide variety of wildlife, especially birds including kingfishers, red kite and heron.

Included in the cost of your narrow boat holiday is a canal guidebook which will make sure you don’t miss anything along the way.

For local attractions and adventures why not take a look at our links page.

Brecon

Theatre, Brecknock & Regimental Museums, leisure centre with indoor swimming pool, shopping centre, numerous public houses and eating places.

Talybont

Offers convenient canalside store/post office and public houses. Superb walking area including reservoir.

Llangynidr

Award winning flight of locks, general store and public houses.

Crickhowell

A delightful country town with much to offer the visitor. Well worth the walk from Llangattock.

Castle Narrowboats

Our base at Gilwern is ideally situated near to the centre of the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal. This enables our customers to travel in either direction and to have access to their cars mid-week if they wish to travel further afield.

Abergavenny

‘The Gateway to Wales’ situated a mile from the canal, the town has a good selection of shops, castle and museum. Market day is on a Tuesday.

Goytre

Goytre has a heritage and activity centre with historic limekilns, visitors’ centre and children’s play area.

Pontypool

The town offers a shopping centre, museum and leisure centre with swimming pool, water slides and dry ski slope.

The Industrial Past of the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal

Built between 1797 and 1812, The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, also known affectionately as ‘The Mon & Brec’, was originally two separate canals, The Monmouthshire Canal and The Brecon & Abergavenny Canal. The Monmouthshire Canal ran from Pontymoile, just outside Pontypool, to Newport and The Brecon and Abergavenny Canal ran from Brecon to a junction with The Monmouthshire Canal at Pontymoile.

Together the two canals formed the motorway of the industrial revolution carrying agricultural produce to market and connecting with nearly 200 miles of horsedrawn tramroad to carry coal, limestone, iron ore and coal, for example iron ore from Bleanavon Ironworks and coal from the Rhymney Valley. The limestone was burned in the lime kilns along The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal to produce lime for agriculture and building, many of these lime kilns can still be seen along The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal today. Ironically the iron ore carried along The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal was then transported around Britain, via Newport docks, and was used to provide rails for the transport system that eventually meant the end of the canals.

Set within the beautiful Brecon Beacons National Park

This drawing, courtesy of Michael Blackmore, shows Gilwern Wharf, where our hire base is situated on The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, circa 1830.

Set in some of the most beautiful scenery in Britain, The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal was reopened in 1970. The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal lies almost wholly within the Brecon Beacons National Park and hugs the mountainside above the valley of the River Usk for much of its length. For 23 of its 33 miles The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal is lock free, one of the longest lock free stretches in the inland waterway system.

Along The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal there are superb views across fields and valleys with mountains near and far. With every bend in The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal there is a change of scene as wooded banks give way to open views across valleys to mountain peaks. Almost throughout The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal the rural character remains, though never far from civilisation there is an abundance of wildlife including ducks, moorhens, herons and kingfishers to name but a few. The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal is beautiful in all seasons and we look forward to sharing it with you.

You can find more information about the history of the canal from ‘The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal’ guide written by John Norris, which is included in the cost of your holiday.