Llangollen Canal agreement had been reached in 1802 on a route from Tilstock Park to Hurleston Junction, on which work started immediately. It was completed on 25 March 1805. In order to keep the system supplied with water, an Act of Parliament obtained in 1804 had authorised the construction of a navigable feeder from the north end of Pontcysyllte aqueduct to LLangollen on onwards to Llantisilo, where the Horseshoe Falls weir would be constructed on the River Dee. Once this opened in 1808, the system was not short of water. The Ellesmere company attempted to buy out the Chester Canal in 1804,
Llangollen Canal to Llangollen thrived until the end of the First World War, after which it saw very little traffic. Navigation was formally abandoned under the terms of an Act of Abandonment obtained by the owners, the London Midland and Scottish Railway, in 1944, but the channel was retained as it still supplied water to the main line of the Shropshire Union, and subsequently to the Mid & South East Cheshire Water Board. This arrangement was due to end in 1954, but as there was no alternative supply of water, the powers were extended. Early pioneering cruises of the waterway were made