Shroppie Fly Paper - Autumn/Winter 2016

Autumn/Winter 2016

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Shroppie Fly Paper

Waterways calendar now available by mail order It’s the time of year when sales of our splendid waterways calendar by mail order really get going, so place your order early to make sure you don’t miss out.

We think our 2017 calendar is one of our best yet. In a convenient A4 size that gives space for writing appointments, it contains one lovely image per month from the popular and photogenic canals in our area – the Llangollen, Montgomery and Shropshire Union.

For all canal-lovers these are an ideal Christmas gift for family and friends, so why not order a couple or more? All money raised from the sale of the calendars stays local, here in our branch area, and enables us to support the restorations on the Montgomery, Shrewsbury & Newport and Whitchurch Arm of the Llangollen, as well as some of the volunteer groups working to maintain our local canals.

The calendars are just £6.50 each by mail order, including postage & packing.

Simply send your cheque (made payable to Inland Waterways Association) and your order details to: IWA SDNW, 7 Barnton Edge, Stone ST15 8ZR. The calendar is also still available while stocks last from our usual retail outlets: Aqueduct Marina Chandlery, Church Minshull - Audlem Mill, Audlem Canal Central, Maesbury - Kings Lock Chandlery, Middlewich Overwater Marina, Audlem - Venetian Marina Chandlery, Cholmondeston Shrewsbury Charity Christmas Card Shop in St Mary's Church (see page 7) Please support IWA – and do it today!

Cover image: Coalport by Barry Witts The final half mile section of William Reynolds’ Shropshire Canal at Coalport China Museum, between the Hay Incline Plane and the River Severn. Completed in 1792, its main purpose was to carry coal and pig iron from the east Shropshire coal field for transhipment at Coalport to barges and trows on the River Severn.

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Autumn/Winter 2016

The Editor's cut...

We appear to be living in interesting times, but for our branch at least, “interesting” at the moment seems to be a positive word.

We could hardly have hoped for a more interesting autumn, with the news that the lottery – one of the key sources of funding for the restoration movement – is to grant £2.53million to the Montgomery Canal, which as our chairman explains on subsequent pages will hopefully be enough to get navigation to Crickheath, if not to Llanymynech.

In the eastern part of our area, SNCT’s bid for Wappenshall Wharf funding is still making progress. Its second stage submission to the Heritage Lottery Fund, which was due to have been completed in early November, has been put back to midFebruary 2017 to allow all the match funding offers that SNCT has secured to be confirmed.

And in Whitchurch, the Waterway Trust has confirmed (page 25) a breakthrough with a grant from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

As well as updates on restoration, in this issue you will find reports of events past and notifications of events to come. We’ve had our usual interesting mix of festivals of varying shapes, sizes and rainfall figures, a well-supported fund-raising lock wind (page 29), VIP boating days (page 8) and a very successful social evening in Nantwich (page 30).

Volunteers have been out in force on our canals, while adoptions of different lengths seem to be gathering pace, which we applaud. Welshpool (page 21) and Gnosall (page 15) are the latest. There is also talk of trying to emulate the success of the Macclesfield Canal by entering the whole length of the Shropshire Union from Middlewich to Audlem via Barbridge for a Green Flag Award®. This scheme is the benchmark national standard for parks and green spaces in the UK and is managed by Keep Britain Tidy. We will follow this idea with interest.

Before leaving you to enjoy the newsletter, I must just draw your attention to our Spring 2017 outing (details on page 18) to Blists Hill Victorian Town in the Ironbridge World Heritage Site. We’ve got a tremendous day lined up for you and we really hope you’ll be able to come and have some fun with us there.

Michael Haig Next copy date: Monday, March 20, 2017 Autumn/Winter 2016

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The Branch Committee President & Chairman

Michael Limbrey 01691 654081

michael.limbrey@waterways.org.uk

Secretary & Membership Sec.

Dawn Aylwin 01691 830403

shrewsandnwales@waterways.org.uk

Vice Chairman & Newsletter Editor

Michael Haig 07801 415573

michael.haig@waterways.org.uk

Social Secretary

Val Haig 07976 280174

val.haig@waterways.org.uk

Treasurer & Welsh Liaison Officer

Alan Platt

alan.platt@waterways.org.uk

Webmaster

Alan Wilding

alan.wilding@waterways.org.uk

Committee Members

David Aylwin

shrewsandnwales@waterways.org.uk

Gerallt Hughes

gerallt.hughes@waterways.org.uk

Susan Wilding

alan.wilding@waterways.org.uk

NW Region Chairman

Mike Carter

Branch Web pages

www.waterways.org.uk/shrewsbury www.facebook.com/pages/IWA-Shrewsbury-Branch/388651831206061

Shroppie Fly Paper Shroppie Fly Paper is the newsletter of the Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch of The Inland Waterways Association (IWA). IWA is a membership charity that works to protect and restore the country's 6,500 miles of canals and rivers. For further information contact any committee member.

Copy for Shroppie Fly Paper is very welcome, preferably by email. Photographs may be in any common computer format or as prints. Please supply a stamped addressed envelope if you require photographs to be returned. ‘Letters to the Editor’ intended for publication are invited, as are comments for the Editor’s private guidance. Copy and letters submitted for publication may be edited.

The Inland Waterways Association may not agree with the opinions expressed in this branch newsletter but encourages publicity as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be construed as official policy unless stated otherwise. The Association accepts no liability for any matter in this newsletter. Any reproduction must be acknowledged.

The Inland Waterways Association is a non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee.

Registered in England no. 612245. Registered as a charity no. 212342 Registered Office: Island House, Moor Road, Chesham HP5 1WA Tel: 01494 783 453 Web: www.waterways.org.uk

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Autumn/Winter 2016

From The Steerer Well! That's wonderful!

You may already have heard the wonderful news about the Lottery grant for the next stage of Montgomery Canal restoration. More about this later, but it's important to stress that, with so many projects seeking funding, the bid would not have succeeded without support – from members like you, from the volunteers who come to work on the canal including those who have come over so many years – and from CRT and the local councils and other members of the Montgomery Canal Partnership.

Wonderful too, that the efforts of our branch have been recognised by the IWA 's Branch Achievement Award. Many thanks to all on the committee, now and in the past, and those wonderful members who come forward when help is needed. I think they – we – have done this because we believe the waterways are worth caring for, and because we have enjoyed making that contribution as a group of friends.

If you knew about the Award, you may have read it in the IWA's monthly Bulletin.

It's a brilliant way of keeping in touch with what goes on within the Association: you can read the Bulletin online at www.waterways.org.uk/news_campaigns/bulletins and on that page you can subscribe to have it emailed to you.

A new venture for the branch was the opening of Rednal Warehouse for Heritage Open Days. The four-day event, taking place across England (with Open Doors in September as the Welsh equivalent), is a major feature in the Oswestry area, with over 30 events, including more of the canal at Llanymynech. We didn't know what to expect but, as you can read on other pages, with much interest in Saturn and many trips on Countess, found ourselves much busier than expected.

Unexpected too, was our participation in the 42nd National Microcar Rally – well, when I say 'participation', they found us on their route from this year's rally site at Wem, so we had some twenty or more 'bubble-cars' of 1960s vintage parading past the warehouse with many toots and waves and, after they had turned at the end of the road, back they came with more. What fun!

October saw the Canal & River Trust's North Wales and Borders Partnership annual Showcase at Chester. With presentations through the day and many stands and displays from organisations in the area – including our branch, working with Chester & Merseyside Branch, as well as the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Autumn/Winter 2016

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Trust – this was a great opportunity to show what our waterways are about not only to those who know them but, more importantly, to 'outsiders' who are not aware of all that canals have to offer.

We tried to tell what our canals offer at the Maesbury canal fair in September. This was not the Maesbury Festival of the past, which had to be cancelled earlier in the year. As a consequence of the cancellation, Cracker and friends at Maesbury invited boats and stalls to an informal fair, and both came. Unfortunately, so did Weather. The Saturday is the only such occasion I can remember when stallholders had to talk to each other because there was nobody else to talk to!

Sunday was better, some new stalls had come, some of the previous day's had gone, and there was a trickle of hardy souls to see what was on offer.

There is talk of repeating the Welshpool and Maesbury events next year and I hope we can help to develop them to events showing off the canal, even if not on the scale of past festivals.

In the previous issue of Shroppie Fly Paper I mentioned a significant anonymous donation for the Montgomery restoration. We now have an offer to match every pound that we raise – and with Gift Aid every £1 could be worth £2.50 to the restoration. That's a seriously good offer, so we have been talking to the Friends of the Montgomery Canal and to Shropshire Union Canal Society about working together to raise funds for the restoration after the Lottery project.

There will be many ways in which members can help – could you spare an afternoon (or two) next summer to raise a few pounds, knowing that when you have finished they will be worth at least twice as much?

And as we look at restoration after the Lottery project, we will have the help of a Lottery funded Project Manager to help carry restoration forward. We have too the help of a couple of volunteers with professional skills who have been very helpful in developing ideas for cost-effective restoration. We could do with more help though – do you have technical skills that could help us develop the restoration from Crickheath to Llanymynech and Welshpool?

And finally: I know that one or two of you still hear from a former branch secretary, now abroad. A recent email showed pictures of boat names: one showed a boat with a girl's name that had been crossed out; another nine had been crossed out too, and then you reached the current name! Was it the same boater who owned the boat in the next picture – 'She got the House'? But the name that caught my eye first – I hope you have not seen this already – was .....'Dijabringabeeralong'!

Michael Limbrey

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Membership Matters Yes, membership really does matter. The more members we have the more impact the Association has when campaigning to influence navigation and public authorities. So we are delighted to welcome the following new members who have joined the branch since the summer edition of this magazine.

Mr Eaglestone from Llanrug, Mr & Mrs Hatfield from Hinstock, Mr & Mrs Haynes from Tilstock, Mr & Mrs Haynes from Coven, Miss Long from Llanegryn, Mr & Mrs Messham from Whixall, Mr & Mrs Pool from Randlay, Mr Richardson from Brithdir, Mrs Sprigg from Market Drayton, Mr & Mrs Taylor from Holbeach, Mr & Mrs Yates from Wem. It was lovely that some of you have already been able to join us at our Autumn Social Evening & Talk in Nantwich in October and we hope to see others at our events next year.

Dawn Aylwin

Waterways at Christmas The coming season is a great opportunity to spread awareness of our wonderful waterway heritage by sending canal scene Christmas cards and giving canal calendars. We've again made it easy to purchase these by participating in Shrewsbury's Charity Christmas Card Shop in St Mary's Church in the centre of town.

This unique pop-up shop, with its beautiful stained glass, opens daily, Mon - Sat, 10.15 - 4 pm, until 3 Dec 2016. Profits from our sales are directly helping local restoration work on the Shrewsbury & Newport and Montgomery Canals.

We need a new coordinator so that we can continue to offer this service within next year's shop; please find out more from:alan.wilding@waterways.org.uk (01743 359650).

Autumn/Winter 2016

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VIPs afloat Just to show that volunteering at our branch lock winds isn’t all carefree fun and frolics, we used the presence of so many helpers at the beginning of August to devise a plan to raise awareness of our canals among some key influential people.

What better way to do that, we thought, than to get them out on a boat?

The idea was first born back at the Norbury Canal Festival in early May, when CRT chief executive Richard Parry dropped by at our branch stand and remarked in passing that he hadn’t yet had the chance to boat that stretch of the Shroppie.

A-ha! we thought, IWA can do something about that!

Richard Parry, watched by Ira Theobold, steers nb Albion [Michael Haig]

A conversation with SNCT chairman Bernie Jones soon revealed that he had his own favoured guest list in the form of the mayors of Newport and Telford & Wrekin, so the plan was hatched to get them all on a boat together. There was only one problem. Whose boat? Ours lives in the opposite quadrant of the Four Counties Ring.

And then, at the lock wind, serendipity! Among our great team of volunteers, alongside Bernie and Anne Jones, were Ira and Carolyn Theobold, owners of nb Albion on moorings at Norbury Junction. So now we had the plan, we had the boat, and all we needed were the guests.

It quickly became apparent how difficult it would be to get three busy VIP guests onto a boat at the same time so we decided that, well, boat trips are fun so why not arrange two of them?

After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing with Mr Parry’s office we finally got agreement for a date in the middle of October and Albion was duly positioned to Gnosall the day before to await her guests.

Dawn broke. Mr Parry was welcomed aboard. But wait! Where were Bernie and our own leader, Michael Limbrey? Bernie eventually arrived at the correct departure point, but Michael had the better excuse – he was delayed at Queens Head doing Shroppie Fly Paper

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an interview live to air on BBC Radio Shropshire about the Montgomery’s £2.5million lottery award, news of which had just broken the day before.

Minus Michael at this stage, we set off south to High Onn, where we winded at Lord Talbot’s Wharf and returned through Gnosall to Norbury, embarking our chairman at a bridge hole en route.

Naturally enough, with the chairmen of both the Montgomery and Shrewsbury & Newport restoration projects on board, the conversation was full of plans for funding, digging and general progress. The Heritage Lottery Fund featured large, with SNCT hoping to replicate the Monty’s funding success in the near future.

In the midst of it all Richard Parry had plenty of time to helm our craft under the watchful eye of Ira Theobold and appeared to thoroughly enjoy his morning exploring the Shroppie, kindly providing a lunch at the Junction Inn before leaving for his next engagement.

A week later we were back again to host the two lady mayors, Cllr. Lyn Fowler of (L-R) Cllr. Lyn Fowler, Bernie Jones, Cllr. Rae Evans at Newport and Cllr. Rae Evans of Norbury [Michael Haig] Telford & Wrekin. CRT North Wales & Borders’ Duncan Davenport joined the crew for the morning cruise from Gnosall to Grub Street and back to Norbury Junction, while Bernie Jones was even spotted steering the boat!

Both mayors commented on how useful and helpful they found the trip, gaining a better understanding of the waterways and the major charities involved in their management, protection and restoration. And SNCT gained a judge for its “Best Dressed Boat’ competition at next year’s Norbury Festival, with Cllr. Evans bravely agreeing to take on the role.

There is little doubt that, whether it is CRT executives or local community decisionmakers, getting people afloat who seldom have the opportunity to go out on the water is a very positive way of boosting the profile of boating and of the canals generally. Our branch is hoping to make more ‘boating awareness days’ a regular feature in the months to come. Many thanks to all who made these so successful.

Michael Haig Autumn/Winter 2016

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What's Next for the Montgomery Canal?

Abandoned junctions were a fact of life in the days when I was discovering our waterways: Stourton, Hatherton, Etruria, Norbury, junctions for Prees and Whitchurch. Frankton was another and I have confessed before that we passed without pausing on my first trip to Llangollen.

A restored length, looking north from Redwith Bridge [Michael Limbrey]

When our branch was formed in 1975 an early question was 'what do you think about the Montgomery?' Our branch area included many miles of navigable, busy canals, but we gave the right answer. IWA commissioned consultants to look at volunteer restoration of the Four Miles to Queen's Head and WRG started its ten years of work on Frankton Locks: we will tell you something about this on our Winter Walk.

Much followed, and in the most recent chapter IWA is contributing to the latest Lotterybacked project, using hard-won funds, the proceeds of calendar and Christmas card sales, lockwinds etc.

The Lottery grant is £2.53million towards a £4.2million plan which builds on all the Montgomery Canal has to offer: its ecology, built heritage and communities.

At the same time, it recognises that only with boats can you have a vibrant, living canal.

The unrestored canal line at the site of Crickheath Wharf [Michael Limbrey]

The most exciting part of the new project is to bring boats to Crickheath: 700 yards more channel reconstruction for SUCS, which will open up the 1¼ mile selection from Gronwen. A Project Manager will help with volunteer works and future plans, Shroppie Fly Paper

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and a Community Officer will continue making sure that people know about the canal and value it.

There will be work across the Welsh border too, with repairs to structures 'at risk': all ready for navigation beyond Llanymynech.

Boaters will benefit under the plans for another nature reserve by Aston Middle Lock, the last major reserve before the Welsh border. The Aston reserves – the first funded by IWA and built by WRG – are the key to reducing restrictions on boating and, as they are an integral part of the Conservation Management Strategy, it might be worth reminding ourselves of some of its key provisions for the English length, arising from the canal's special ecological status: •

The target is to lift restrictions on navigation, providing the new nature reserve area attains and maintains optimum quality standards. In practice water supply and flows will continue to limit levels of navigation, but at significantly enhanced levels, potentially in excess of 5,000 boat movements per year. These levels are similar to the range found on, for instance, the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

•

Navigation levels will only be lifted after the full area of new nature reserve is fully established.

•

Reserves will have a minimum of two full growing seasons to establish.

•

Increases in navigation are therefore tied to overall improvements in the ecological resource, or to change in management that offsets any potential impacts. Improved boat design, reductions in boat speed along sensitive sections and encouraging out of season navigation are all ways to mitigate impacts, and will help achieve higher levels of navigation than would otherwise have been possible.

•

Monitoring results will be used to determine levels of navigation. Where positive management and designs can improve conditions, that improvement will enable additional levels of boat movements. Boating levels will be monitored, and adjusted to the maximum level consistent with always maintaining the conservation value of the canal, by adopting the precautionary principle.

So many millions, so much activity. And it is in the context of the latest strategy of the Montgomery Canal Partnership, to work to the reopening to Llanymynech alongside the Lottery project, and then to extend boating into Wales, with continuing discussions with highway engineers, planners and the Welsh Government.

Michael Limbrey Autumn/Winter 2016

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Gathering of Historic Boats at Audlem 30-31 July 2016 This year saw nearly 30 historic ex-working boats assembling at Audlem for the eighth annual gathering. The number was slightly down on recent years, as some boats, including several regulars, were making their way down to the Basingstoke Canal for the 50th anniversary event of the Historic Narrow Boat Club in early August, but several other boats did come that were new to the event.

The boats ranged in age from the oldest at 110 years through to the youngest at 56 – we had three Admiral class boats, including one pair, which are among the last working narrow boats to be built for British Waterways.

Moored by the wharf was Saturn, the 1906 cheese fly-boat which traded from Audlem and other Shroppie wharves, and for the first time at this event, the Fellows, Morton and Clayton steamer

Kildare and President [Peter Silvester]

President with butty Kildare (originally built as a horse-drawn boat), both based at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley.

The CRT heritage fleet was represented by the ex-Grand Union Canal Carrying Company pair of motor Scorpio and butty Leo, which looked wonderful in the early BW yellow paint scheme.

Leo and Scorpio [Peter Silvester]

Thanks go to CRT for all their help, and particularly to all the volunteers who manned four locks over the two days, ensuring that passing boats got through the Gathering pounds without delay.

Peter Silvester

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Living Waterways Award for Nantwich Aqueduct Repairs The £235,000 repair to the Nantwich Aqueduct was a winner at the 2016 Living Waterways Awards ceremony at Birmingham Town Hall in September.

The renovation work, completed in 2015, involved removing layers of old paint from the aqueduct’s structure, replacing a missing cast iron panel, repairs to the stone and brickwork and applying multiple coats of paint. Overhanging vegetation was also removed. New signage and interpretation is still to be completed, but is funded. The repairs did not constitute a full restoration, but the appearance of the iron work and condition of the stone work has been greatly improved. Local painting of handrails and clearing of weeds was undertaken by volunteers from the Nantwich Civic Society and the local Rotary Club.

The project was funded by generous donations to Canal & River Trust by members of the public (£130,000), Cheshire East Council (£40,000), Nantwich Town Council (£20,000), Acton, Edleston & Henhull Parish Council (£3,000) and the Nantwich Partnership (£2,000). The agreement on the financial arrangements was the result of several years of discussion.

While the contributions from councils are not unique, they reflect the importance of the 1826-built aqueduct to the area. CRT was able to go ahead with this work under the auspices of the Nantwich Partnership and all canal enthusiasts will be pleased to see these new money contributions to the upkeep of the canal infrastructure.

The winners of the 2016 Living Waterways Awards were announced at a ceremony at Birmingham Town Hall. An independent panel of experts, led by Christopher Rodrigues CBE, selected its finalists, after a series of visits and assessments.

Other entries covered inspirational visitor centres, vibrant theatrical performances, innovative education projects and pioneering environmental initiatives. Winners are listed under nine award categories and Nantwich Aqueduct was the winner in the Restoration & Historic Environment category.

Nantwich Partnership – not related in any way to the CRT North Wales and Borders Partnership – is a fully constituted group that has been established to attract substantial inward investment into Nantwich town. It is focused on public realm improvements and operates mainly within the town council boundaries, but includes projects just outside this area that will impact on the town. Councils, business, tourism and volunteer organisations are represented on the Partnership.

David Fletcher

Autumn/Winter 2016

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Volunteering on the Shroppie The Small Tasks Team Volunteers have been busy again during September and October “sprucing up” another stretch of the Shropshire Union between Barbridge and Wharton’s Lock, while the new Minor Tasks on The Move team gave TLC to anything that needed it between Wharton’s Lock & The Farm Shop at Calveley.

Eleven benches and five picnic tables were renovated and painted. Fifty bollards were rubbed down and painted.

Moorings rings were cleared and replaced and all the mooring and fishing totems were given a coat of Sadolin and their signage replaced. The team of 14 volunteers, with six boats and two cars gave 375 hours of their time.

Repairing the Barbridge waste compound [STTV]

Eighteen projects will have been completed by the end of November 2016 by 41 volunteers working in three sections of the waterway area.

Meanwhile, readers may have heard of the nasty oil pollution incident on the Middlewich Branch, with oil spilling into the canal from a field drain at Bridge 11 and travelling towards Middlewich.

Several SUMBA volunteers were able to react to an early morning text message asking for their help to close the Middlewich Branch at both ends.

CRT & EA were quickly on the scene, laying booms across the canal at bridge 11, the winding hole near bridge 16 and at culverts & overflows. Over the two-day closure SUMBA manned both entrances to SUMBA cutting back vegetation [Graham Russell] the Branch giving advice to boaters on their best options and helping them with access to temporary moorings and boat services etc. CRT has been most appreciative of SUMBA’s help in overcoming this difficult situation.

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On 19 November the Shropshire Union Middlewich Branch Adopters celebrate their 100th work party, continuing the autumn/winter programme of cutting back offside and towpath overhanging vegetation and trees using CRT’s work boats.

This is a fantastic achievement - since April 2014 SUMBA will have completed in excess of 1,030 volunteer days and 4,930 hours of work.

Further up the Main Line in Audlem, the Towpath Taskforce work party in September must have had a slight end-of-an-era feel to it, as volunteer leader Dek Owen stood down after six years of service. Dek’s group undertook a complete repaint and refresh of Lock 6 on the flight, a job that completed the repainting of the Lock gates at Audlem for the third time in three summers.

Dek, who won Towpath Talk’s inaugural Volunteer of the Year Award last year, has clocked up no less than 5,000 volunteer hours, 250 projects and 12,000 lock operations since joining as a volunteer lock keeper in the summer of 2010. He has become a feature of our local waterways, happily volunteering his time, energy and skills not just in Audlem but all around our area.

Dek Owen However, it has been in and around Audlem that his presence has been felt most strongly, and everyone who boats, walks or bikes the Audlem flight owes him an enormous debt of gratitude.

Finally, we welcome a new adoption at Gnosall. The Parish Council and CRT agreed the adoption earlier in the year and Barry Witts has agreed to act as the local co-ordinator.

Gnosall Towpath Restoration works on the length from Cowley Tunnel north to Bridge 36, after the railway. As the group has built in numbers, it now meets regularly on the third Saturday of the month at 10am at The Navigation.

The autumn/winter programme aims to concentrate on improvements to the Dell at the tunnel end of the length, but volunteers are also lined up to help CRT with tasks such as towpath patching, installing mooring rings and offside vegetation clearance. Anyone interested in joining the workparties, regularly or occasionally, should please get in touch with Barry (07921 75824 or barry.witts@gmail.com).

Michael Haig, from contributions from the volunteers Autumn/Winter 2016

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IWA Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch - Diary 2017 All branch members are welcome to join us at our regular branch business meetings, which are preceded by an opportunity for supper and socialising. Meetings begin at 7.00pm, with supper from 6.00pm. To give our venues an idea of numbers please let the branch know if you would like to attend. shrewsandnwales@waterways.org.uk

December 12

Branch business meeting at Narrowboat Inn, Whittington SY11 4NU.

January 2

Winter Walk, Weston Arm Junction to Jack Mytton Inn. See page 23.

February 13

Branch business meeting at The Leopard, 33 London Road, Nantwich CW5 6LJ.

February 20

Quiz Night at Narrowboat Inn, Whittington SY11 4NU. See below

March 18

Members' visit to Blists Hill Victorian Town. See page 18.

March 18

Branch AGM at Blists Hill Victorian Town. See page 19.

April 11

Branch business meeting at Narrowboat Inn, Whittington SY11 4NU.

April 29 - May 1

Norbury Canal Festival. Offers to help on the branch stand for any parts of the event would be very welcome. Please conact Dawn or Val (details on page 4).

May 6

Montgomery Canal Triathlon

June 4

Shrewsbury River Festival

June 12

Branch business meeting. Venue to be advised in next issue.

June 16-18

Middlewich Folk & Boat Festival. www.midfest.org.uk

July 15

Welshpool Canal & Food Festival

September 2-3

Whitchurch Boat Rally

September 10

Audlem RNLI Festival at Overwater Marina

Quiz Night Monday, February 20, 2017 7.30pm The Narrowboat Inn at the Maestermyn Marina, Whittington (SY11 4NU tel: 01691 661051) will again host the popular Branch Quiz Night in February.

Come along with some friends or join others on the night to form a team and test your general knowledge. Last year's winners set the questions - can you outwit them?

It will be the usual format with a meal beforehand from 6.30pm - prior notice of those wishing to eat would be helpful. The quiz follows at 7.30pm.

Make a note now on your 2017 calendar - turn to page 2 (inside front cover) if you haven't already got one of our lovely waterways calendars to find out how to get one.

For further information contact Val Haig at val.haig@waterways.org.uk.

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Whitchurch Boat Rally 2016 Hundreds of people came along to the Whitchurch Waterways Trust’s Boat Rally over the weekend of 20th & 21st August. The weather on Saturday was pretty grim and although most exhibitors managed to tether their gazebos down securely, one took to the skies on Saturday evening never to be seen again. Fortunately ceilidh band Jigsmith kept people cheerful.

There were trading boats and decorated boats among the 20 that had booked in. Traders included freshly made pizza, teas and coffees, crafts, canal ware and a blacksmith with a working forge. Towpath stalls did brisk trading on Sunday as the weather improved, especially the ice cream seller.

Some stall holders even did well on Saturday as people tried to get out of the wind and rain.

[Dawn Aylwin]

Thanks to Canal & River Trust and the Small Tasks Team Volunteers we were able to offer the public free boat trips along the Whitchurch Arm and Llangollen Canal.

These trips are very popular, as are the opportunities to look over various private and hire boats. We are grateful to the owners who offer them.

The Best Decorated Boat theme this year was 'pirates' and as usual there were some great displays. The VIPs enjoyed their jaunt along the towpath and judged the winner to be nb Dreamsong No.2, well decorated by Dave and Helen Newall.

I think that Dave's disguise of hook, eye patch and shorts with socks & sandles won it for them. Everyone had worked really hard and should be congratulated.

Boaters and townsfolk entered their dogs into our fun dog show. For the first time this year there was an agility class, which was very entertaining and caught everybody on the hop! [Pun intended? – Ed.] One owner even went through the tunnel with her dog. Steve Leonard from Leonard Brothers Veterinary Practice in Whitchurch did the judging for us, for which we are most grateful.

The rally in 2017 is on 2-3 September and I am assured the weather will be fine on both days!

Lindsay Green - WWT Autumn/Winter 2016

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Boats, trains and planes in Victorian Shropshire?

Saturday, 18 March 2017 - from 10.00am for 11.00am start Join us on a trip back in time for our Spring outing as we visit Blists Hill Victorian Town, one of the ten Ironbridge Gorge museums, on Saturday 18 March.

We have arranged an exclusive day out for IWA members, giving it a special waterways twist that should appeal to all enthusiasts. And to sweeten the offer even further, entrance to the museum (normally £16.25) will be free to members.

As well as the opportunity to explore the recreated Victorian shops and businesses and the fascinating museum exhibits, which include the historic canal icebreaker Middlewich, a genuine East Shropshire canals tub boat (complete with genuine holes in the hull!) and the beautifully-restored Lower Severn trow Spry, we have also got top-class talks and a guided walk.

Our keynote speaker will be Neil Clarke, a gold mine of information on transport in Shropshire whose published works include the “Through Time” trilogy, covering the roads, waterways and railways of East Shropshire. Neil’s topic for us will be “Canal, River, Railway and Road Transport links within the Ironbridge Gorge”.

Joining Neil will be John Freeman, a Trustee of Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, who will give us some background on Blists Hill Victorian Town.

As if that wasn’t enough, after lunch – more on that in a moment – we have the opportunity to hear something about the Shropshire Canal, which passes through Blists Hill and the Ironbridge World Heritage Site, as we take a guided walk along the canal with Ian Gaston of Waterway Recovery Group.

WRG is doing some work at the site over the winter, so this is a great chance to find out what the WRGies have been up to as well as learning more about the Shropshire Canal with its tub boats and inclined planes.

Our venue for the talks and lunch will be the Dining Room, upstairs at the New Inn on the town’s High Street.

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We hope you agree that this is a terrific location and programme, and we are extremely grateful for the very generous sponsorship of the museum admission and the New Inn venue by John Freeman of Hire! Freeman plant hire of Telford.

Places for the day must be prebooked with Val at val.haig@waterways.org.uk or through 07976 280174. We will greet you on arrival at the Blists Hill Visitor Centre to sign you in and direct you to the New Inn. Lunch will be soup and a choice of sandwich at £6 or sandwich only for £4. There will also be a choice of apple crumble or a [both photos by Michael Haig] slice of cake at an extra cost, for those of you with a sweet tooth.

Teas, coffees, soft and alcoholic drinks are also available at extra charge. All food and drink must be paid for in cash to the venue on the day. Please note the bit about cash, not debit/credit cards. There are no ATMs on site at Blists Hill Victorian Town.

The entrance to the Victorian Town is well sign posted and off Legges Way, Madeley, Telford TF7 5DU. Please remember – you must prebook places to get the benefit of this one-off offer and a superb day out. val.haig@waterways.org.uk or 07976 280174.

(Oh, did we mention that we will have our branch annual meeting there as well?)

IWA Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch Notice is hereby given for the 2017 Annual General Meeting of the Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch of The Inland Waterways Association to be held at The New Inn, Blists Hill Victorian Town, Madeley, Telford TF7 5DU on Saturday, March 18, 2017 at 12.00 noon AGENDA Apologies for absence Minutes of the 2016 AGM Matters arising from the minutes Branch Report Treasurer's Report Election of Committee Members

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Branch honoured at IWA national AGM Many people can think of better things to do on a Saturday than go to an Annual General Meeting, but for some years now the last Saturday in September has seen me wend my way down to the IWA’s National AGM, usually in the Midlands so not too far away; when I was Region Chairman attendance at the AGM was something of a three-line whip and the practice stuck. I travel down with an old friend or two from Manchester branch and it’s a chance to meet up with friends and to find out what’s going on nationally. Up here in our area with a lot going on, it’s easy to forget that the IWA is also a national body.

This year’s meeting was held in a splendid new ‘Academy’ school in Bilston where the facilities were much different to the time of my far distant schooldays. The morning was taken up with reports from the great and the good on the last year and then we had a short break before prize giving. Prizes are something I’m not a great fan of; we do what we do because we think it worth doing, not in expectation of a gong or a pot, but I suppose it is good for people or branches who have done worthy deeds to be recognized, and last year there was a useful cash prize going with the restoration trophy for the Montgomery Trust.

I know from the past that the one award that’s not notified in advance to the recipients is the Branch Achievement Award, and so I was very grateful that during the coffee break, Les Etheridge, our national chairman, came up to me and said ‘I hope you’ve got your speech ready’.

Apparently the message to our branch chairman had not been heavy enough for him to pick up and Michael had sensibly decided he had better things to do, so I was the only member of the committee there. I had five minutes or so to get my act together and think of a few bon mots before the result was announced; I forget what I said – something about the importance of branches and the great work done by those that toil at shows, lock winds and work parties throughout the year.

Anyway It’s a nice salver decorated with the sword that used to form part of the IWA logo before it was decided to remove it in case it might incite members to acts of violence. Those of you at the October Talk in Nantwich will have had a chance to Shroppie Fly Paper

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see the salver, and this is the first time in its 18-year history the branch has won it. The official citation praised the branch for its excellent newsletter [Blush – Ed.] and enterprising fundraising activities. It mentioned that, despite being a large and rural area, we have a strong, active network of volunteers who enjoy good relations with our local waterway groups and it commended us for developing strong relationships with local politicians and playing a key part in the publication of the Welsh Manifesto earlier this year.

After the prize giving, I consigned the salver safely to the car to be guarded by Lola, my dog, and we all had lunch. In the afternoon there was a choice between looking at a local restoration or visiting the Bradley workshops, one of the two where CRT make lock gates. I chose this option, partly as I’m not too nimble and when you’ve got the Montgomery restoration at hand, ‘why eat mince when you can have steak’.

Anyway even for an engineering ignoramus like me, the workshops were fascinating, and the CRT staff in attendance were most interesting and helpful.

And so back home through the M6 traffic while we put the world, and especially the IWA, to rights with the feeling that it’s nice that the work the branch does year in, year out, is recognized in the larger world. To those who help us out at events etc, a well earned pat on the back, and to the others, come and help us when you can.

Alan Platt

WAGs or TRAMPs to clean up Welshpool Many readers may not be aware that the Heulwen Trust has been running trips through Welshpool for disadvantaged people in their two narrowboats for over 30 years. Last year, for the first time, trips were offered to the public at weekends, run by a band of volunteer skippers. In some cases these trips have been a challenge because of weed, silt and vegetation growth.

This prompted Pat Ward, vice chairman of the Trust, to set in motion with CRT the adoption of the Montgomery Canal through Welshpool. Last March, when I joined the small band of volunteers currently known as the Welshpool Adoption Group, Pat welcomed me with the greeting: ”Our goal is to keep the channel clear and to make this stretch of canal a showpiece for Welshpool.” Quite a challenge!

In my ignorance I thought it wouldn’t take long to tidy up Welshpool, so suggested we adopt the five miles from Belan to Pool Quay. We had an enjoyable day walking the section with CRT’s Howard Griffiths, identifying what could be done by a group Autumn/Winter 2016

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of pensioners. The result was 60 photos and a 14-page work programme - and even that didn’t cover everything.

Taking a break at Buttington Wharf, north of Welshpool [Chris Bushnell]

We meet every Thursday, with generally about 10 volunteers gathering at the Town Wharf at 9.30 and finishing by 14.30.

We have a flexible approach and everyone is free to give as much or as little time as they can spare. One of our group felt it was inappropriate for us to be called WAGs and suggested we rename ourselves TRAMPs (for Thursday Restoration And Maintenance Party).

As well as keeping up with the discarded beer cans in and around the canal and a regular supermarket trolley rescue, the jobs we have tackled so far this year include clearing off-side vegetation using CRT’s workboat Brendon; painting and repairing the Town Lock; mowing and painting at the Town Wharf and along the canal corridor through town; fencing; restoring a flood spillway and repairing picnic benches.

Towpath walkers say we have made a real difference in a short time, which is very satisfying. We try to attempt a variety of tasks to suit the skills of our members and are looking forward to learning Restoring the spillway near Poets Castle, south of some new skills such as Welshpool [Chris Bushnell] hedge-laying. Above all we attempt to make progress with the ‘showpiece’ while having a fun time.

To join us, please contact Chris.Bushnell@paradigmstraining.co.uk Chris Bushnell Shroppie Fly Paper

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Winter Walk Holiday Monday, January 2, 2017 Our traditional New Year’s walk will this year take place on the Montgomery and Llangollen canals near Whittington, Shropshire.

Led by branch chairman Michael Limbrey, the walk will begin at the Weston Arm Junction of the Montgomery Canal, about half a mile below Frankton Bottom Lock and close to Lockgate Bridge No 71 on the Monty. The route will take us up the Frankton Lock flight, restored between 1979 and 1987 by IWA’s Waterway Recovery Group, and from Frankton Junction along the Llangollen Canal towpath to the Jack Mytton Inn at Hindford, near Whittington.

The route is about 3 miles in length on towpath that is mostly in good condition, though uneven in places and there is a short stretch that is more difficult but passable.

The usual warning about suitable footwear applies.

WRG restoring Frankton Lock 1 about 1980 [Waterway Images]

Many walkers will probably want to return on foot to the Weston Arm after lunch at the Jack Mytton Inn, but we would hope to also have one or two cars at the pub that may be able to offer a return journey.

Meet: Weston Arm Junction car park (OS grid reference SJ369310, post code SY11 4PB) by Lockgate Bridge. Turn South off the A495 at Welsh Frankton, go through the village of Lower Frankton and the car park is on the left after going over Lockgate Bridge. Lockgate Bridge is a severe hump-back bridge; there are alternative routes to the car park from Tetchill and Queen's Head, or it would be possible to park at Frankton Junction and walk down the locks to the start (thus reducing the length of the return after lunch).

There are toilet facilities at CRT’s Weston Services (watermate key required).

Time: 10.30 for 11.00am departure.

We hope to see you there.

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IWA opens Rednal Warehouse for first time As part of the 2016 Heritage Open Days, on 10 September our branch opened Rednal Warehouse, owned by Canal & River Trust, on the Montgomery Canal near Queens Head in north Shropshire. This was the first time the branch had taken part in a Heritage Day, and the first time, so far as we can find, that this warehouse has been opened to the public.

In 1852-3 Rednal Warehouse was the 'terminal' for passenger boat services to Newtown when the railways had not yet penetrated the Upper Severn valley.

Passengers would walk to the canal from the nearby station on the Shrewsbury-Chester railway for a five-hour journey to Newtown; up to 700 passengers a month did so.

[ Alan Wilding]

The warehouse was also a delivery point for the Shropshire Union fly-boat service from Ellesmere Port and is equipped with a STOP signal for this service (which we rather enjoyed playing with!).

Our IWA team was joined by flyboat Saturn and her crew, and by the tripboat Countess from Maesbury, which ran trips to Queens Head drawn by Cracker.

[ Alan Wilding]

The story of the Montgomery Canal was brought right up-to-date with the rolls of waterproof liner stored in the warehouse, awaiting use on the dry section at Crickheath.

We enjoyed meeting over eighty visitors on the day, some of whom travelled considerable distances to reach us. Our opening was one of over thirty local Heritage Open Day events, and many of our visitors were on their way to or from other events.

More pictures are available online at www.waterways.org.uk/shrewsbury.

Michael Limbrey Shroppie Fly Paper

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Whitchurch Canal Extension and Basin Progress - Good News!

In October 2015, Whitchurch Waterway Trust made an initial application to the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) for funding designated for Tourism in the Marches, and was invited to make a full application in February 2016.

The challenge has been identifying a tranche of work which could be done within the amount of funding available, and which improved tourism in Whitchurch, while making progress towards the canal extension and basin. If the work was to count as "making a start", to avoid our planning permission lapsing this November, it had to include either moving a significant quantity of soil or diverting the sewer.

We were told in October that EAFRD has awarded us funding of just over £61,000.

This will not build the canal extension and basin, but we are hopeful that it will allow us to make a start and leave the site in an improved state which will encourage canal-related tourism to Whitchurch. It will also benefit Whitchurch residents, as a "meantime" use while we seek further funding towards the new basin. There are still a few issues to be sorted out, but the further soil contamination tests required by planning have been done, costing over £13,000, and have so far not revealed any significant problems.

The plan above shows the work that will be done. There will be some levelling of the ground, improvement of existing paths to “accessible” (wheelchair-friendly) standard, creation of a new accessible path into the site from Smallbrook Road, and a new picnic area. A fence will be erected between the path and the brook to protect water vole habitat from dogs and walkers. The fence will have temporary sheeting to keep construction debris away from the water voles during the work.

Helen Brockman - WWT Autumn/Winter 2016

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North Wales & Borders Waterway User Forum 27 October 2016 We thought members would be interested in some of the questions submitted to the recent User Forum in Nantwich by the branch and the NW Region chairman, and the answers we got from CRT. Q. What can be done to better manage congestion at the narrows, tunnels and aqueducts on the Llangollen Canal? Printed instruction leaflets, additional mooring bollards and more active staffing have all been suggested to CRT by IWA members this year.

A. Whilst we appreciate the problems due to the number of boats using the canal our ability to manage the movements of the boats without installing some form of timed passage will be minimal. We do not have staffing resources to allocate to boating congestion but we are always looking to recruit additional volunteers to act as towpath rangers around the canal.

Would IWA be willing to conduct a survey of the key pinch points to help identify hotspots so we can focus any potential improvements at these key sites?

Q. Can CRT please take action to improve safety for canoes at Chirk & Whitehouse tunnels? There is a canalside rack with canoes at Chirk Marina (between the two tunnels) and we have reported canoeists without lights or lifejackets.

A. We are aware of the recent problems with canoeists through the tunnels, we are in the process of contacting the organisers of the canal activity to discuss the safety concerns and to raise awareness of the Trust's advice on safety whilst canoeing on our canals.

Q. Can signage be installed when approaching Trevor indicating the presence of moorings beyond the Anglo Welsh base?

A. Yes - We will look into an appropriate location to install mooring signage.

Q. There are still problems with overhanging vegetation on the Llangollen & Montgomery Canals, this has been a persistent problem for some time. There are areas that may be considered restrictions to safe navigation, specifically east of Ellesmere (Llangollen Canal) and the 3 mile stretch north of Queens Head (Montgomery Canal). When will the tree cutting commence?

A. We continue with our ongoing winter programmes for offside shrub and tree removal using contractors, direct workforce and volunteer groups once again this winter. We believe we have made significant improvements across a great many areas over the past 4 year programme including in the areas you have highlighted in your question. We will investigate in particular the areas you have highlighted and should there be the opportunity to make further improvement we will try to build them into a programme for this winter.

Q. Would it be possible for CRT/STTV volunteers to move the two BW-key leaflet boxes in Whitchurch to more sensible positions?

A. Yes we will review the locations and arrange through our volunteering programme to move the leaflet boxes.

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To the point‌ Crunch time for Barbridge water You may have noticed that the water point on the Shroppie Main Line at Barbridge Junction is out of action. CRT tells us that the mains feeder pipe serving the water point was fractured in mid-October, probably due to contact from a passing boat.

In consequence there is no longer a supply to the water point.

Apparently the pipe was surface laid on the bed of the canal, but unfortunately such an installation is no longer compliant with current regulations, which require an underground bore beneath the canal entailing considerable expense.

CRT is "looking at available options and reviewing its 2017 business plan". The branch will follow up with the local waterway manager. Meanwhile the nearest water points are at Calveley and Nantwich, which can get very congested.

Wanted - Heritage Walk Leader for Montgomery Canal Do you have any knowledge of the Montgomery canal? Would you be interested in sharing it with a small group of people over a short walk?

You don’t need to be a trained walk leader as long as you know how to bring things to life, i.e. story telling style. If so, we would like to hear from you or you may know the ideal person to volunteer a couple of hours in the spring or summer.

Travel expenses paid.

Get in touch with the CRT Montgomery Canal community development officer on 07787 508635 or drop her a line at sylvia.edwards@canalrivertrust.org.uk Wanted - more Planning Monitors Many thanks to all our IWA branch members who responded to the request for volunteers, especially those who stepped forward to help with monitoring planning issues. We now have most of the Shropshire Union, the Middlewich Branch and some of the Llangollen Canal covered. However, we still have one or two gaps! Do you live in Ellesmere? Llangollen? Welshpool or anywhere along the Montgomery Canal corridor? If so would you be willing to be the branch's eyes and ears? If so, please get in touch with Dawn Aylwin at shrewsandnwales@waterways.org.uk

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Cone Fishing!

A few intrepid Nantwich volunteers went to the River Weaver at the town’s Welsh Row Bridge at the end of October to clear debris from the waterway. We knew that we had about six traffic cones to recover, but when we went prodding around, it turned out to be eleven cones and two bikes as well.

Cones are not easy to get hold of in the water – they’re the wrong shape and slippery and heavy from the mud. Most of them have a small lip at the top, and we were able to attach a lanyard with a plastic cable tie pulled tight. For a few cones with nothing to get hold of, we had to drill a hole and feed a cable tie though to secure the lanyard.

The "afloat" team in action [David Fletcher]

The bikes were a bonus, we had no idea they were there until close by on the water.

After a quick wash down to leave the mud in the river, the shore team were able to pull the items up the bank with a grappling hook. Finally, we arranged for the local Council to take the rubbish away quickly before it got thrown back into the river.

Part of the haul [David Fletcher] The river flow and levels are very low at the moment due to so little rain, so there were no problems with the navigation.

A good afternoon's work, and the afloat team got to paddle the river too.

David Fletcher Shroppie Fly Paper

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Hurleston Lock Wind 2016 As usual this fundraising event was in August during the school summer holiday and for once the English weather didn't let us down.

In fact, it was the first year in a long time that it didn't rain, even during the Friday evening BBQ. Although late Friday night, or was it early Saturday morning, the wind did get a bit boisterous and we had to leave the warmth Hurleston during the lock wind [Denis Farmer] and comfort of our bed to reinforce the guy ropes on (or rather inside) the gazebo. However, there is one constant factor every year – we always run out of cakes and jam, much to the disappointment of visitors (boaters, walkers and cyclists alike).

A few anti-lock wind comments have appeared in the national waterways press Boat movements: during the year but our experience Saturday contradicts this. Virtually all of the boaters Down 24 - Up 24 - Total 48 were very appreciative and were full of Sunday praise, loved the fact that they could buy Down 11 - Up 31 - Total 42 home-made goodies, gave generous Weekend donations and asked whether we would be Down 35 - Up 55 - Total 90 available for their return journey. We had just About 10% down on last year one Mr Grumpy who wanted our help but Boats not lifting fenders (stuck): 1 thought that he paid enough money to CRT and it was his right as a single boater to be Number of volunteers: 17 assisted through the locks. There's always Giving 178 volunteer hours one! But we did willingly work the locks for Money raised for local canals: £413 him with a smile on our faces.

Lock wind in numbers

Many thanks to all who turned up to help over the weekend (sorry some of you got lost – we will improve the sign-posting next year!) And thank you for all your kind comments. I'm glad you enjoyed the weekend - see you next year.

Dawn Aylwin

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Cross-Channel navigator reveals all (about her journey) Over 40 members and guests gathered at the 16th-century Crown Hotel in Nantwich in October for our Autumn Social Evening and Talk. Sarah Henshaw, editor of IWA’s Waterways magazine and deputy editor of Waterways World, kindly came all the way from France to tell us of her experiences in a year when she: • Got married, • Ran a marathon, • Started to build a house in France, and • Narrowboated the English Channel.

Honeymoon begins! Recognisably English [Sarah Henshaw]

Sarah quickly debunked the myth that navigating a boat across to France was a cheaper option than transporting it on a low-loader aboard a ferry, explaining the large and small modifications necessary to make her 57’ narrowboat Channelworthy as well as having to complete the mandatory VHF radio certificate and the RYAaccredited Certificate of Competence required by the French authorities for

private boats cruising inland waterways.

Another hurdle to be jumped was sorting out insurance for the crossing - initially the underwriters stipulated that the “entire” crossing must take place under conditions of Force 2 on the Beaufort scale or less, which on a stretch of open water as changeable as the Channel would have made the crossing almost impossible.

Fortunately, they eventually conceded that the wind must be no more than Force 2 only “at the time of departure”.

That chimed with the advice Sarah had earlier received from Terry Darlington, wellknown cross-Channel narrowboater and author, when he said that only three things ultimately matter: weather, weather and weather!

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Setting off from Staffordshire on the evening of her wedding day in April, the journey evolved into a particularly stressful honeymoon and a permanent move abroad. After a month-long journey on this country’s waterways Sarah and her husband Stuart finally linked up on the River Swale in Kent with her pilot Mike Oram from Dover Sea School and his son, who skippered one of the school’s safety boats to rescue them if nb Joseph foundered (another, more practical recommendation from Terry Darlington)!

And how long did the crossing take? Take your pick, she said, from: •

•

•

•

12 hours - continuous cruising from Queenborough, near Sheerness, to Calais six hours - the shortest bit, coast-to-coast, from turning off Ramsgate to cross the actual Strait of Dover one hour - the time it takes to cross one shipping lane by That's different - nb Joseph on the Meuse in Namur narrowboat (which feels [Sarah Henshaw] more like a lifetime when you're doing it than just sixty minutes for each one) five years! - the time taken since initially having the idea, having to put up with every other person trying to talk you out of the idea, saving enough money, modifying the boat, getting the paperwork in place and plucking up the courage or maintaining the idiocy, whichever way you want to look at it, to follow it through.

During the evening Sarah drew the winning tickets for our well-supported raffle.

This year we managed to badger our friends at Aqueduct and Overwater marinas and Kings Lock Chandlery to support us by providing very generous raffle prizes, and we’re most grateful to them and the other prize donors for the money raised.

Sarah rounded off the event by signing copies of her book, “The Bookshop That Floated Away”, about the trials and tribulations of building an independent bookselling business from her narrowboat, and her journeys on the English canal network that developed into a five-year obsession with taking the boat to sea.

By the way, in case you’re wondering, we’re pretty sure she won’t be doing it again.

Michael Haig Autumn/Winter 2016

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Aerial views of the Coalport China Museum (above), and the Iron Bridge, built in 1779 over the River Severn (below), both taken from a drone during a recent photo shoot by Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust

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