Shroppie Fly Paper - October 2026 The Newsletter of the Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch
Hello, and welcome to Shroppie Fly Paper In this month’s issue we report on… • Gnosall C-Fest • 2027 Branch Calendars – don’t miss out, act now! • Whitchurch Canal Festival • Our electric boating bit • Canal Heritage Day at Queens Head • Alan Platt – an appreciation • What makes a honeypot? • Saturn’s double anniversary • How we campaigned during IWA’s 50th anniversary • Still rebuilding the Montgomery But before we jump in, here’s a quick reminder that the seasonal charity Christmas card shops in Shrewsbury and Oswestry will be opening for business at the end of October. If you live within striking distance of either, why not call in and get your Christmas cards and other seasonal gifts sorted? Full details of opening hours are below, in the 2027 Branch Calendars section.
Where We’ve Been Over the Summer In our May issue we reported on the first three events of our 2026 season, which, despite the difficult conditions affecting the canals both locally and further afield, has been almost as busy as usual. In this edition, you can read news of three more local events, one of which we were trialling for the first time. This year, sadly, our lock wind unwound, with the Middlewich Branch subject to daily navigation closures due to low water levels in the 10 days leading up to the event. Consequently, with no guarantee that there would be any boating possible through Cholmondeston Lock or how many boats might make it if there was, we decided we had to shelve the event for this year. We’re hoping for lots of rain over the winter and spring to replenish water resources (preferably without flooding anywhere) so that long-suffering boaters, and we, have a better time in 2027.
2026 Gnosall C-Fest – The Biggest Yet
Gnosall Towpath Restoration (GTR) volunteers Martin Wright and Barry Witts tell all. In what must have been the best July weather in recent years volunteers, trading and historic boats had the luxury of arriving and setting up in fabulous warm and dry conditions, with boats stretched between Cowley Tunnel and the old railway bridge - the largest festival to date! Following feedback from last year, GTR had upgraded car park signage and toilets available by Bridge 34, and festival goers certainly appreciated those improvements. This year’s festival attracted 37 visiting boats – including 19 trading and 13 historic – which certainly helped to bring in the crowds; 1,900 visitors were counted through the main entrance alone while many more will have joined the towpath via other access points. By lunchtime on Saturday, the car park had to be extended as it had reached its 300-vehicle capacity!
GTR’s raffles enjoyed a bumper year, raising almost £900 towards towpath work as well as the cost of staging the festival. The organisers are very grateful to all the local businesses who generously supported the festival and donated fabulous prizes. Twenty free narrowboat rides were enjoyed by 150 visitors of all ages, including a VIP trip with the Mayor of Stafford aboard. The boat took them on a 45-minute return journey through the festival site; several trips included a heritage talk with guests amazed at the history behind the lumps, bumps and features on either side of the canal. It's fair to say that the GTR volunteers thoroughly enjoyed crewing the narrowboat.
[GTR leader Barry Witts (3rd left in well-deck) guides the Mayor and Mayoress of Stafford (1st & 2nd left) on their trip boat tour. Credit M Barton/GTR] The trading boats reported healthy sales throughout, and the historic narrowboats welcomed onlookers to jump on board and have a chat with volunteers. Visitors, young and old alike, learned all about life onboard in earlier years where whole families lived in a tiny section of the boat. On Saturday afternoon, the heritage working boats were joined by “Flower”, a real-life canal boat-horse (thanks to David Ray of Norbury Wharf). The Boat and Navigation Inns excelled in providing a wide selection of food including breakfasts, drink and entertainment with both pubs putting on additional outdoor facilities for the crowd. Between them, the pubs hosted 10 live music acts and an ‘open mic’ session over the weekend. Youngsters were entertained too with about 100 children taking part in free waterways related activities; making duck or pirate hats, building model boats, making dragonflies, rose and castle art, brass rubbing, building a bridge or doing a duck treasure hunt. The festival was hailed as a success with many traders commenting on how well organised and attended it was. Perhaps GTR will see you again next year?
2027 Calendars – Time to Order Now! October already – did you realise there are fewer than 90 days until Christmas? That means it’s definitely time to snap up as many of our 2027 waterways calendars as you need for yourselves or as gifts for family and friends. With our events season now over, there are still easy ways you can get your calendars. POP IN TO A POP-UP The pop-up charity card shops at St Mary’s Church, Shrewsbury, and at St Oswald’s Church, Oswestry are opening soon. As well as our calendars, you can stock up on an extensive range of Christmas cards from IWA and other charities. Shrewsbury: Wednesday October 28 - Saturday December 5, 10am - 4pm daily except Sundays. Oswestry: Saturday October 31 - Saturday December 12, 10am - 3pm daily except Sundays DIRECT FROM THE BRANCH ONLINE OR BY MAIL ORDER For online purchases, please visit https://iwa-shrewsburynorthwales.sumupstore.com. For mail order, please email shrewsandnwales@waterways.org.uk with the number of calendars you would like, the address to which they should be posted, and how you’d like to pay (BACS transfer or card payment via SumUp). We will reply with the amount payable, and the branch bank details or a secure SumUp payment link depending on your preferred payment method. The price is just £8 per calendar, plus shipping costs on a sliding scale per shipment: 1 calendar £3; 2 calendars £4; 3 calendars £6; 4 calendars £7; 5-8 calendars £9
[Calendar cover photo by Ian Roberts]
With thanks to our generous calendar sponsors… Aqueduct Marina Morris Lubricants Swanley Bridge Marina
Kings Lock Distribution Norbury Wharf Talbot Wharf
Knights Narrowboats OverWater Marina
…and to the photographers who kindly donated their photography for our use.
Whitchurch Canal Festival 2026 – A Year to Remember
Whitchurch Waterway Trust chair Mark Lacey gives his view of what he hopes will be a unique event! Record crowds flocked to the Whitchurch Canal Festival on 5-6th September as the sun returned. Some came to see the breach repairs, some came to watch musical performances, buy from the floating traders and towpath stalls or learn about historic boats. There were activities for children, including a treasure hunt and painting a 30ft cutout model of a canal boat. Still more people came for a cuppa and cake at the café or to partake of refreshments from Tipsy Tom’s Horsebox Bar and there were long queues for the electric trip boat Perfect Day, loaned by ABC Boat Hire and crewed by a team organised by our local IWA branch. Everywhere you looked there was something happening. It was all a far cry from 4am on 22nd December 2025 when the embankment slid away in the night leaving 3 narrowboats stranded, a field flooded and the water supply to Hurleston Reservoir cut off. We arrived on site later that morning not knowing what to expect. It was a strange mixture of horror and relief to see that the breach had occurred just 50 metres from the end of the Arm. WWT trustees met in January and decided to proceed with the festival to demonstrate the resilience of the Whitchurch community. We quickly established a good working relationship with the CRT project manager for the breach repairs. This was to prove crucial in securing access to the moorings on the upstream side of the Arm. Fewer boats were able to attend this year, but this didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of those who did.
[The IWA team ready for action at Whitchurch. Credit Mike Haig] The Mini Canal Regatta involved local shops decorating 3ft narrowboats to display in their windows and later at the festival. The boats were voted on by visitors, with first prize going to The Wheatsheaf Hotel. This competition linked the high street with the festival in a really inventive way and is destined to become a Whitchurch tradition. We have had so much positive feedback both during and after the festival which has confirmed our original decision to go ahead despite the canal breach. Thank you to Doug Sealy, our festival coordinator, and to our wonderful team of volunteers. We will be back in 2027 to do it all again.
Shh… I can hear you!
Alison Smith makes her debut in an electric boat At Whitchurch Canal Festival in September, a number of IWA members and friends were on a rota to drive the trip boat, which was, as in previous years, and as ever with our grateful thanks, lent to the festival by ABC Boat Hire. However, this year there was a twist, as the vessel in question was nb Perfect Day, a 35’ electric day boat. This was the first time that she was going to be used in this way, with the need to spin twice on each trip of 20 minutes’ duration, over a six-hour period. ABC were keen therefore to warn us about excessive battery use and when to call it a day if need be. That apart, the induction process was: ‘here’s where you put the key, off you go.’
[nb Perfect Day comes alongside on the Whitchurch Arm at the start of the festival. Credit Mike Haig] In terms of operating the boat, tiller and handling were completely familiar. Power was controlled by a small joystick, which was very sensitive but also had a slight lag before kicking in. For this reason, it was easy to over-rev, especially if you are used to hearing a roaring diesel immediately underfoot. A glance at the controls, though, would show not only the revs but a little image of the propellor thrashing round. Ease up the stick, and the prop image would slow down, giving a very intuitive experience. Visibility was good, too, even for the vertically challenged such as myself, and handling easy. Coming to almost a dead stop before turning into the winding holes meant the boat would spin pretty much in its own length, with no need for reverse. The quiet! This was a huge difference... you really could hear conversations forward in the cabin, and on the towpath... no need to knock out of gear to hear what someone’s saying to you. Some members even described it as eerie. And as for battery usage... we delivered it back to Whitchurch Marina both days at a whisker under 80% capacity, whereas most day boats return at around 50% charge. We surmise that the hob and kettle, which were not used at all, would take up a good chunk of the remaining power, and when we were not manoeuvring, we were on tickover which would surely make a difference. Overall, all the steerers and I found electric boating to be a very pleasurable experience. We did not explore the size of battery bank, content that there was enough oomph to last the day and return to shoreline: a boat out for extended cruising would surely have a very different set up. But this little boat does show that all electric boating has lots of potential.
IWA Publishes Guide to Lithium Batteries For those considering a transition from lead acid batteries to a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4 or LFP) system, IWA’s Sustainable Boating Group, together with the Cruising Association (CA), has published a Guidance Note on installing lithium batteries for domestic power on leisure craft. The document ‘aims to sit in the middle ground to provide information on the make-up and complexities of an LFP system; describe current good practice and to provide a usable check-list to inform users of what questions to ask a professional installer when specifying, installing, commissioning and maintaining an LFP system.’ It could also be used by competent individuals as a starting point for self-installation, but IWA and the CA would not recommend self-installation for the vast majority of members. Visit https://waterways.org.uk/campaigns/sustainable-boating for details, or scan this QR Code:
IWA Pilots First Canal Heritage Day at Queen’s Head
The Shrewsbury & North Wales Branch teamed up with hosts Shropshire Paddlesport Club to test interest in an independent heritage event with a canal theme, Philippa Bursey reports. Some vitally needed, if somewhat unwelcome rain around lunchtime failed to put a dampener on the branch’s first Canal Heritage Day held at Queen’s Head on the Montgomery Canal near Oswestry. Organised to reflect other heritage-focused events in the area, visitors were able to discover more about the canal in its trading heyday, see Saturn, built in 1906, now the only surviving Shropshire Union Canal fly-boat, and, with both CRT and IWA on the towpath, learn more about current and planned restoration works, particularly on the Montgomery Canal. A display board encompassing photographs of the area from way back, combined with copies of old maps on display in the local hostelry, resulted in fascinating debates as to the course of the ancient tramway used to deliver material from the nearby sandpit to the canal, as well as discussions on structural changes to the tramway tunnel and surrounding area resulting from the modernisation of the adjacent road. There were enthusiastic canoeists to be watched enjoying the water itself, while the more energetic visitor could also enjoy that water by joining a canoeing taster session thanks to the Shopshire Paddlesport Club, based in the old Queen’s Head canalside warehouse. Budding engineers could even try their hand at building a canal-style bridge, thanks to the branch’s model bridge-building kit which we can lend out to other canal-themed events on request. All in all, a most enjoyable and informative time was had by one and all. We were pleased, too, to get positive feedback from our co-hosts at the Paddlesport Club, who indicated their willingness to participate again another year, especially if the event can be woven into calendars further in advance to help with volunteer availability and promotional opportunities.
[Build it, and they will come! IWA at Queens Head. Credit Michael Limbrey] Queen's Head Canal Heritage Footnote All across the canal network are minor settlements which tell some of the story of their canal. At Queen's Head the Montgomery Canal crosses under Telford’s Holyhead Road and there is a wharf and an Inn. This is the end of Phase II of the restoration from Welsh Frankton funded by the European Regional Development Fund (replaced more recently by the UK Levelling-Up Fund) and Whitehall’s Derelict Land Grant. In peaty ground the contractors used pumps to restore the canal channel but, unlike earlier sections, they did not line the channel from Keepers Bridge (no 73). In 1900 there was a sandpit at Queen's Head in the hillside across the lane to Rednal and a tramway to bring that sand to the wharf through a tunnel under both the road and the canalside warehouse (now the home of Shropshire Paddlesport Club). That warehouse, though rebuilt a quarter of a century ago, still has the remains of a STOP sign, presumably to tell the weekly packet-boat that a collection was to be made. Another STOP sign survives complete at Rednal warehouse. Maps show ‘Old limekilns’ by Corbetts Bridge (no 75) though the local farmer told us there had been a gravel pit there.
What Makes a Honeypot?
Michael Limbrey wonders how visitor numbers can be boosted on the Montgomery Canal and whether our readers can help. Boating has been rather truncated this year – no canal in some places and not enough water in others. As a non-boat owner whose children all now live as far from the family home as they decently can, I have been out and about, usually visiting said family. On recent journeys I have called at Stoke
Bruerne and Cromford Wharf: busy spots, each with a trip-boat, ice-creams and crowded towpath. You may know other places like them – Audlem, Trevor, Foxton, Fradley, Shardlow, Devizes… Canal festivals create a similar busy scene; Mike Haig caught this at Whitchurch…
Sadly, plans for the Wilderness Boat Club to visit Welshpool were dashed. However, we do want the revival of the Montgomery Canal to create similar opportunities. After all, restoration is to create a canal to be enjoyed by local communities and visitors, for recreation, its built and natural heritage, and for the opportunities it can provide for the tourism economy, so important to the borderlands. (Let’s leave aside questions of tourism taxes and today’s many challenges for ‘hospitality’.) On the Montgomery Canal long-established villages and towns like Llanymynech, Welshpool and Berriew are the obvious places which can benefit. But our canals also created places which had no significance before the canals arrived: Lower Frankton, Maesbury Marsh, Crickheath … just as nowadays Whixall or Aqueduct Marinas create new centres for visitors, jobs and opportunity. Bringing the Montgomery Canal back to life has involved many years of effort and substantial investment of public money, privately-raised funds and volunteer time. The IWA believes that waterways are vital for today. Transforming waterways for leisure, living and business will revitalise the local economy and connect communities while having a positive impact on the environment. It has published reports which highlight those opportunities – Water Adds Value and Waterways for Today which set out this vision for the future. Could members of our branch create a vision of the opportunities the Montgomery Canal offers for visitors, jobs and recreation? What could Llanymynech look like, or the canal through Welshpool? Is this your skill? If so, it would be great to hear from you.
SUCS Chair wins top restoration award At its recent Annual Meeting in Worcester, the Inland Waterways Association announced that David Carter, chair of the Shropshire Union Canal Society (SUCS) had been chosen as this year’s winner of the Christopher Power Prize, IWA’s flagship award for a person, society or trust who has made the most significant contribution to the restoration of an inland waterway.
[David Carter, right, bringing the restoration to life for representatives of Shropshire Council in September. Michael Limbrey and John Dodwell are in the background. Credit Mike Haig] Recognising David’s major contribution to the restoration of the Montgomery Canal over many years, IWA’s award citation went on to detail how, for at least nine years, he organised the restoration work parties on the ‘Mont’, helping to bring a long section of the canal back into use as far as Crickheath Basin. ‘Working with volunteer labour and funding from a Heritage Lottery grant, David led a team through an ambitious programme of practical restoration,’ IWA explained. ‘He organised regular work parties and everything needed to make them happen, from materials and plant to volunteers and safety arrangements, including navigating the additional challenges of working during the Covid pandemic. ‘The result was a remarkable volunteer-led restoration effort that saw sections of canal reappear where they had effectively disappeared into farmland. ‘David continues to lead the Society’s enhancement team, helping to maintain and improve the canal around Ellesmere. As Chairman, he also supports volunteers, works with CRT, councils and landowners, and takes on the many less visible jobs that keep the Society moving.’ SUCS is also one of the major supporters of the Restore The Montgomery Canal appeal funding group, which includes the local IWA Shrewsbury & North Wales branch, the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust, and its Friends of the Montgomery Canal membership arm. David’s much-deserved award is the latest in a succession of IWA tributes recognising the vitality of the Montgomery Canal restoration and the significant achievements of its leading players.
Saturn Fly-Boat’s Double Celebration Saturn Fly-Boat’s chair, Nick Grundy, reports.
On Saturday 11th July over sixty Saturn members, friends and supporters gathered at Ellesmere Yard to celebrate 120 years since Saturn was launched in 1906 and 21 years since the completion of Saturn’s rebuilding and restoration in 2005 - a Saturn 120/21 celebration! This was an informal and relaxed get together with refreshments and a celebratory cake! Saturn was on display on the wharf and open for viewing. Musical entertainment was provided by the Boat Band who played in the old lock gate workshop in the yard, a welcome venue out of the sunshine on one of the hot days in the summer heatwave. Visitors were able to enjoy guided tours of the yard, led by Ellesmere Yard volunteers.
[Guests enjoy the sunshine at Ellesmere Yard for Saturn Fly-Boat’s anniversary. Credit Bob Jervis] Our president, Tony Lewery, gave a fascinating speech about how the Saturn Project came about, with early (unsuccessful) efforts to rescue Symbol before Saturn became available. Our youngest member, Elizabeth Ray, cut the celebratory cake which was enjoyed by all present. Thanks to our member Roger Ball for bringing his 1928 Alvis ‘Ducksback’ which looked absolutely magnificent parked in the yard. This is the same type of car which Tom Rolt owned. Tom, of course, owned Cressy, another well-known fly-boat, so it felt particularly appropriate to have it with us for this occasion. Thanks also to the CRT team at Ellesmere Yard for supporting this special event. Saturn Fly-Boat is an educational and heritage charity, run entirely by volunteers. Saturn travels the canals for school visits and public events. For further information about Saturn, please visit: www.saturnflyboat.org.uk
Alan Platt: A Tribute
Michael Limbrey offers an appreciation of Alan’s IWA years. Our good friend and colleague Alan Platt died recently, aged 81, after battling with cancer for some months. Representatives from the branch and other IWA members were present at his funeral. In the Autumn 2020 issue of Shroppie Fly Paper, Alan described how he fell for the waterways:
The whole saga started back in the 1970’s. We saw an advertisement for a cut price offer of a holiday on the Broads, and with the benefit of hindsight I now know why it was cheap. The boat was like a CRT mud hopper but made out of plastic and had all the style and swim of a brick, but we had fun, didn't drown either of the lads or totally wreck the boat, though I do remember my first, but not last, instance of looking at the bank to decide whether the boat or the current was winning. A second trip, in a better boat on the Broads a few years later was followed by a decision to try something not so flat so we had a couple of holidays in a hire boat from Wrenbury (then English County Cruises). In the second of these the late lamented made the fateful comment that 'hiring is very expensive, why don't we try and buy one'.
[Alan in 2013, while North West Region chairman. Photo from the Shroppie Fly Paper archive] Alan joined IWA in the 1980s and after the loss of his wife joined the branch committee in 2002, then throwing himself energetically into the life of the IWA. Around this time IWA was under pressure to respond to the establishment of the Welsh Assembly (despite the differences between the canals in our branch area and those in South Wales). Throughout his time on the branch committee Alan was its Welsh Representative, attending meetings of the CrossParty Waterways Group in Cardiff and representing the branch on IWA's Committee for Wales. I joined Alan at that committee's last meeting: in Wolverhampton, the most convenient place for representatives from south and north to meet! In April 2005 Alan became branch chairman for the then-customary three-year term. Four years later he became North West Region chairman, and so an IWA trustee, and remained so until September 2015 when he volunteered to help the current region chairman settle into the role by acting temporarily as region secretary, which lasted for four years! And, as if that wasn’t enough, Alan, a chartered accountant by training and by profession, still found time to serve as our branch treasurer for 10 years from 2015 until 2025.
He was deputy national chairman from 2014 until 2017, fondly remembered by then-national chairman Les Etheridge at the funeral. When CRT succeeded British Waterways in 2012 it set up local partnerships to match the regions it then operated. Ours was the North Wales & Borders Partnership and Alan was a diligent, if sometimes questioning, member. In 2020 Alan was awarded the North West Region’s Kenwin Trophy for services to IWA. Because of Covid restrictions there had to be a 'virtual' presentation, sprung on Alan at a region meeting on Zoom. Shroppie Fly Paper reported that Alan "was taken by surprise, so had no opportunity to decline as he doesn't really believe we should get pots for enjoying ourselves". The presentation itself had to be completed by the postman! My enduring memory of Alan is his contribution to Montgomery events in 2008/9. The early 2000s were lean years for the Montgomery: previously the Welshpool section had been opened between Arddleen and Berriew and in Shropshire boats could reach Queen's Head. Discussions for the Conservation Management Strategy had taken years and it was to be more years before any new lengths were opened for navigation. To maintain interest the branch joined with the Friends of the Montgomery Canal and the Shropshire Union Canal Society with 'Monty '08': a programme of events centred around canal weekends at Maesbury and Welshpool, the Welshpool event being that year's IWA national campaign festival. organising committee and led the team which managed the Welshpool event. The following January, Alan was present as branch chairman when Sonia Rolt unveiled a plaque at Frankton Locks commemorating the original conversion there of the Shropshire Union narrowboat Cressy for pleasure use. Alan was good company, with an irreverent sense of humour, and was a stalwart friend to the branch and its volunteers. He contributed greatly to the branch, the IWA and, though he did not like the word 'campaign', to the cause of our waterways. We send our sympathies to his partner, Gilly, and to his family.
It Was Thirty Years Ago Today…
Our final celebration of IWA’s 80th anniversary looks back 30 years to the creative efforts to mark IWA’s 50th in 1996. This is an abridged version of Michael Limbrey’s contemporary tale of how our branch, then titled the Shrewsbury & Border Counties Branch, contributed to the Jubilee Jigsaw, assembled in Birmingham from pieces that had travelled from all corners of the country. It was just as well that Shrewsbury & Border Counties Branch chose to send not one but two pieces of Jubilee Jigsaw to Birmingham. Because of the size of our branch area each ended up about 5ft long and over 2ft wide, and a single piece would have been almost unmanageable! With two pieces we ended up with a journey involving eleven councils, 8 boats, and a dozen meeting places in five counties over a month-long trip. The pieces were signed in (almost) permanent pen at every reception. The first piece started from Llangollen Wharf in late May on a boat provided by Anglo Welsh from Trevor, sent off by the Chairman of Denbighshire County Council. Arriving the following day at Maestermyn Marina [now Whittington Wharf Narrowboats, between Whittington and Ellesmere], it was greeted by the Mayor of Oswestry, before leaving for the Whitchurch Arm and yet another civic reception with the Town Mayor, the Chairman of North Shropshire District Council, and the Chairman of the Whitchurch Waterway Trust. From Whitchurch, it was on to Nantwich, to wait there before starting the next part of its journey down the SU Main Line to Norbury Junction. The second piece of jigsaw had what must have been one of the most interesting journeys of any, involving no less than three waterways that are not properly navigable. On a Saturday at the beginning of June this piece was sent off from Newtown by the Chairman of Montgomeryshire Council, the Mayor of Newtown, and the Chairman of Montgomery Waterway
Restoration Trust. We can’t yet get to Newtown by water [and, of course, still can’t] so it journeyed by a trailed boat, which was towed to Welshpool, slipped afloat, and proceeded by water to that year’s Welshpool Trailboat Festival. On the Sunday the piece was taken on the IWA/SUCS Dinghy Dawdle along the newly-opened canal through Whitehouse Bridge and back to the festival site. The following day, we were back with another towed boat, Jays Jewel, to follow the River Severn to Shrewsbury, where the jigsaw piece was met by the Mayor, the Chairman of Shropshire County Council, the Chairman of Severn Navigation Restoration Trust, and an enormous crane, provided by Morris & Co who were developing a riverside complex by Welsh Bridge.
[Jigsaws over the Severn. Credit Michael Limbrey] The jigsaw piece was lowered to a waiting boat, Rebecca, one of the few resident boats on the Severn in Shrewsbury. It made a smashing photograph in the Shropshire Star and credit to Rebecca’s owners at the receiving end of five feet of jigsaw and a massive crane hook descending twenty feet to their fibreglass craft on the river below! After a trip through the town by river the jigsaw piece was returned to Jays Jewel to follow the line of the third waterway, the Shrewsbury & Newport Canal. At Newport, the penultimate stop, the jigsaw piece was met beside a surviving length of the canal by the Town Mayor, Wrekin District Council Chairman, and a representative of Shropshire Union Canal Society. From Newport, the jigsaw piece completed its journey to the British Waterways yard at Norbury Junction on the Main Line, and one last civic reception with the Leader of Staffordshire County Council. The final leg saw the two pieces paired at Norbury to complete the journey into Birmingham and be united with 34 other pieces representing each of IWA’s branches. We had marvellous press and radio publicity, and we were delighted by the interest and enthusiasm shown by the civic leaders whom we met on the way: only three of the 14 local authorities in our area were not able to join us.
I sometimes talk of the unusual experiences that the IWA has offered: I can assure you that I shall not forget the sight of a be-chained mayor kneeling in the middle of Newtown’s Broad Street on a busy Saturday morning, holding up all the traffic, signing a jigsaw for the benefit of the local press!
[The contributions from all 35 IWA branches were erected at the Birmingham Convention Centre as part of the World Canals Conference. Credit: Ivor Caplan/IWA Archive]
WHAT’S HAPPENING ON THE MONTGOMERY? Well, quite a lot, actually! John Dodwell fills us in SHROPSHIRE COUNCIL VISIT Your Branch chairman was one of those who accompanied some Shropshire Council representatives on their visit to the Canal on September 11th. Councillor Sarah Marston (Portfolio Holder for Communities & Environment, Chair of the Shropshire Council Montgomery Canal Project Board), Councillor David Walker (Portfolio Holder for Planning and nominated Shropshire Council representative to Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust (MWRT)) and Becky Jones, (Interim Historic Environment Manager – Place Shaping) joined Mike Haig, Michael Limbrey (Branch President and Chair of MWRT) and John Dodwell (Chair, Montgomery Canal Partnership) on a trip on ICTUS (the steam launch owned by our Members Chris Bushnell and Maggie Ellis) from Maesbury Marsh to Crickheath Basin (thus seeing the recently restored section). From there, they were escorted by David Carter (Chair, Shropshire Union Canal Society (SUCS)) along the next section which has already been lined and blocked – this work has now almost reached Schoolhouse Bridge. They saw work at the rebuilt Schoolhouse Bridge where the wash walls and towpath under the bridge are being built by volunteers.
[The Shropshire Council delegation was able to view volunteers working to build the wash wall and towpath at Schoolhouse Bridge. Credit SUCS] The party then walked along the section to Malthouse Bridge where they saw more volunteers (Including some from local firm AICO) clearing scrub. The visit finished by seeing the cleared “lagoon” at Waen Wen and by going on to Pant Bridge to see where future restoration will take place.
WAEN WEN TO PANT Mindful of the need to look ahead, planning has started for a bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) for the section from and including Waen Wen to Pant Wharf. This would be a joint bid by Canal & River Trust and SUCS on the basis that the voluntary sector raises the match funding needed. Initial discussions have been held with Severn Trent Water about moving the sewer pipe which was laid along about half a mile of the Canal in Pant – beyond the section to be covered by the NLHF bid. NEW ACCOMMODATION BRIDGE Members may recall the need to build a new farm accommodation bridge between Crickheath and Schoolhouse bridges. Design work is in progress – we have been fortunate in establishing a link with the Wey & Arun Canal Trust who are building a similar bridge. The planning permission process has begun, with the usual pre-planning application having been submitted. POWYS Over the border, work continues with the rebuilding of Carreghofa Lane Bridge, delayed by the need to move a water main. Completion is now expected by next February.
[An aerial view of the Carreghofa Lane site, with the towpath under construction to the left of the bridge structure. Credit Canal & River Trust & Keir] The start of rebuilding Williams Bridge is still awaiting planning approval. There is better news about the new Vyrnwy nature reserve where the main works have been largely completed, making rapid progress in the (dry!) summer. However, the delays with Carreghofa Lane Bridge mean that dredging the section north from Carreghofa Locks will have to wait till next autumn as access to the disposal point depends on the bridge being built; dredging this section cannot be done during the bird nesting season. In addition, there are concerns whether there will be enough left in the LUF budget for this work. Progress continues being made with the initial development phase of the successful NLHF bid for major repairs to the Grade II* listed Vyrnwy Aqueduct. Funding for the delivery phase will come mainly from the NLHF and the Mid Wales Growth Deal.
The bad news from Powys is that the extreme drought conditions over the summer resulted in inadequate water supplies from the Rivers Severn and Vyrnwy – remember: there are no reservoirs feeding this canal. This has resulted in low water levels in Welshpool leading to suspension of activities by the Huelwen Trust trip boats and the cancellation of a visit by Wilderness trail boats. Even worse, the canal at Llanymynech dried out, leaving the trip boat there sitting on the bottom. The slightly better news is that CRT have been able to repair the Tanat Weir (whence the Tanat Feeder brings water to the canal, partly for Llanymynech) where the weir crest had been damaged by trees brought down the river by winter floods (anyone spot the irony?)
Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch Steering Team Your Branch Steering Team currently comprises: Philippa Bursey Mike Haig Michael Limbrey Graham Russell Alison Smith Alan Wilding Susan Wilding
Secretary Chairman Hon. President Treasurer Navigation Officer Online Editor Member
philippa.bursey@waterways.org.uk michael.haig@waterways.org.uk michael.limbrey@waterways.org.uk graham.russell@waterways.org.uk alison.smith@waterways.org.uk alan.wilding@waterways.org.uk susan.wilding@waterways.org.uk
Sir Robert Atkins, IWA North West Region Chairman (robert.atkins@waterways.org.uk) is an exofficio member SHROPPIE FLY PAPER BACK ISSUES ONLINE, AND STAYING IN TOUCH Previous issues of this newsletter, all the way back to 2009, can be found at issuu.com through this link: https://issuu.com/waterwaysassoc/stacks/ff499dbd5f2941bba5e738cf88c600d6 But if that’s too much to type in, try this shortened version instead: https://bit.ly/2Pn5arf You can keep up to date with the latest news from the branch at https://waterways.org.uk/shrewsburynorthwales or https://www.facebook.com/shrewsburynorthwales SOME SMALL PRINT Shroppie Fly Paper is the newsletter of the Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch of The Inland Waterways Association (IWA). IWA is the only independent, national charity campaigning for all Britain’s canals and rivers. We are dedicated to supporting and regenerating Britain’s waterways – for leisure, living and business. For further information contact any Steering Team member. 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.