Wales, England and what comes between

The light this morning was extraordinary. I headed out at the crack of 8.15 into low sun feeling its way across the fields and melting the frost. Cloud shrouded Llangollen but not its castle, Dinas Brân, built on a vantage point in the 13th century to watch out for marauding English. (Sadly, the Welsh have had to keep an eye on us quite a bit of the time since, too.)

I was due to head home but when I got to Y Waun (Chirk) station I decided to miss my train so I could go and look at the nearby industrial revolution engineering. Staring into a dark canal tunnel at boat lights felt a perverse thing to do on one of the brightest days of the year, but I was very taken by how the canal bounced the sunlight onto the tunnel roof.

Immediately after emerging from the 421m tunnel the narrow boats reach Thomas Telford's astonishing Llangollen canal aqueduct, 220m long and a dramatic 21m above the Ceiriog valley). The water is contained in a cunning hidden cast iron trough - or so I am told.

It must have seemed when the aqueduct opened in 1801 as if canal infrastructure would last for ever but only 45 years later trains were overtaking the narrow boats on a railway viaduct built, symbolically, 10m higher. I've never found a really good picture of the dramatic scale of these bits of engineering over the river and the sheep grazing below; the clear air and bright sun today seemed as perfect conditions as I'd ever get to have a go myself. I had only my (scratched-lensed) compact but rapidly realised that even if I'd had the best camera on the market I'd still have needed a helicopter. But that didn't stop me leaning as far over the valley as I could, pressing the shutter and hoping for the best.

As boats reach the Welsh side of the aqueduct a sign welcomes them to Wales. On the far side, those going the other way are welcomed to England. I wonder who the water between belongs to.

2012challenge: contrast - light/dark