Trevor Basin, at the Ruabon-side end of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, became an important loading wharf during the era when canals and early railways worked side by side, offering a good interchange point between horse-drawn tramways and, later, steam-age railway engines. In its industrial heyday it would have been a hive of activity, with boats built and repaired on site and coal and other goods transferred between barges and trams bound for Cefn Mawr and beyond.
The Telford Inn, overlooking the basin, is thought to have been built by the Ellesmere Canal Company as a residence for the engineer supervising construction of the canal — renamed the Llangollen Canal in 1963 — and in particular the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct itself, built between 1795 and 1805. It remains a working pub today, and one of the most atmospheric spots to pause on a walk along the towpath.
The original central section of Scotch Hall Bridge, at the basin, was among the first in the world to use iron arches to span a canal, with further arches added later as the basin grew busier — a small but genuinely significant piece of canal engineering history hiding in plain sight beside the modern car park.
Today the basin serves as a mooring and turning point for canal boats north of the aqueduct, before the canal continues on toward Llangollen Marina, and functions as the main visitor gateway to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site, with parking, a café and seasonal boat trips departing from the wharf.
Trevor Basin has pay-and-display parking, a café and public toilets, and is the usual starting point for visiting the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on foot. Seasonal horse-drawn and powered canal boat trips depart from the basin and are worth booking in advance in peak season. The Telford Inn serves food and drink daily overlooking the water.
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Day trips