Shrewsbury River Festival 2013 Held on a gloriously sunny Sunday in early June, the festival in Shrewsbury's Quarry Park and on the banks of the River Severn drew large crowds. We will have a full report in the next issue, including the presentation to IWA National Chairman, Les Etheridge, of funds from the Severn Navigation Restoration Trust.
Les Etheridge (left) and Cllr Jon Tandy, Mayor of Shrewsbury, hold the cheque presented by (from 3rd right) David Struckett, Christine Wilkinson and Arthur Pagett representing SNRT
Shrewsbury-based Morris Lubricants' entry for the pirate-themed raft race on the river. The four-mile raft course from Bicton to Shrewsbury was one of the 40 sections in Morris Lubricants' Charity Challenge for 2013, "Seven ways to do the Severn Way for the Severn Hospice". Other sections of the 214 mile long Severn Way include walking, canoeing, cycling, swimming and horse-riding. More information about the Challenge and how to donate at morrislubricants.co.uk
Our front cover shows Barbridge Junction in early summer. Unfortunately it seems the signpost writer had no access to a spellcheck program! All images on the outside and inside covers by Michael Haig
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The Editor's cut... The ‘summer’ edition of the Shroppie Fly Paper is upon us and marks my debut as your editor. My predecessor’s distinguished spell in the editor’s chair has met with general acclaim, so I think you will be pleased to know that I’m not proposing any radical changes to your newsletter. Having said that, rather like working locks or mooring up, everyone has their different ways of doing things and I hope you’ll like any evolutionary changes you see. Optimistically dubbing this the ‘summer’ edition means that, by the time it lands on your doormat or in your inbox, we hope the weather will have improved on a tumultuous April and May. Fortunately, the organisers of the Norbury Canal Festival enjoyed sparkling Early May Bank Holiday weather and record visitor numbers (more on page 30), though the competitors in the Montgomery Triathlon the following weekend (report on page 10) were not so lucky. Let’s hope the other festivals and outdoor activities in the area this summer – such as the Audlem Festival of Transport, Middlewich Folk and Boat and our own Hurleston lock wind – see their fair share of sun. Finally, I just have room to extend congratulations to our Region Chairman, Alan Platt, who has been appointed a Deputy National Chairman of the IWA, one of three current holders of that office. Alan's appointment adds to an honourable record for our Region. I am informed that in the last 40 years no less than five out of eight National Chairmen have been from (what is now) the North West Region.
Shroppie Fly Paper Newsletter Editor
Michael Haig, 17 Nantwich Road, Woore, Crewe CW3 9SB 01630 647517 michael@3-cm.co.uk
The Shroppie Fly Paper is the newsletter of the Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch of The Inland Waterways Association with a membership of about 390. Nationally the IWA has about 18,000 members and campaigns for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and development of the inland waterways. For further information contact any committee member. Copy for the Shroppie Fly Paper is welcome by email, on disk or in manuscript form. 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. Next Copy Date: October 14, 2013
Summer 2013
Printed by Downstream Print, Nantwich
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The Branch Committee President Chairman Vice Chairman Region Chairman Secretary Treasurer Heritage & Planning Officer Social Secretary Membership Secretary Webmaster Committee Members
Branch Web pages
Michael Limbrey, Greenfields, Weston Lane, Oswestry SY11 2BD 01691 654081 michael@limbrey.net Carolyn Theobold, Nb Albion, The Wharf, Norbury Junction ST20 0PN 07976 250681 carolyn_t@mac.com David Aylwin, Wyndcliff, Pen y Garreg Lane, Pant, Oswestry SY10 8JS 01691 830403 shrewsandnwales@waterways.org.uk Alan Platt, Argoed, Pen y Cefn Road, Caerwys, Flintshire CH7 5BH 01352 720649 alanplatt@hotmail.co.uk Dawn Aylwin, Wyndcliff, Pen y Garreg Lane, Pant, Oswestry SY10 8JS 01691 830403 shrewsandnwales@waterways.org.uk Denis Farmer, 8 Kingbur Place, Audlem, Crewe CW3 0DL 01270 811157 janden1@btinternet.com Peter Brown, 34 Waterside Drive, Market Drayton TF9 1HU 01630 652567 iwa@peter-quita.demon.co.uk Janet Farmer, 8 Kingbur Place, Audlem, Crewe CW3 0DL 01270 811157 janden1@btinternet.com Dawn Aylwin, Wyndcliff, Pen y Garreg Lane, Pant, Oswestry SY10 8JS 01691 830403 shrewsandnwales@waterways.org.uk Alan Wilding, Priory Lodge, 154 Longden Road, Shrewsbury SY3 9ED 01743 359 650 alan.wilding@waterways.org.uk Gerallt Hughes (General Secretary Committee for Wales) Ty’n y Coed, Arthog, Gwynedd LL39 1YS 01341 250631 gerallt.hughes@waterways.org.uk Susan Wilding, Priory Lodge, 154 Longden Road, Shrewsbury SY3 9ED 01743 359 650 alan.wilding@waterways.org.uk Hugh Appleton, Ann Appleton 01691 828124 annandhugh@btinternet.com www.waterways.org.uk/shrewsbury www.facebook.com/pages/IWA-Shrewsbury-Branch/388651831206061
From the Steerer It seems to have been a very long winter both on a personal basis, with the slow process of recovery from last summer's stroke, and with the protracted unseasonal weather. But as I write, early summer seems really to be under way at last; early and late blossom are out in concert, and along the canal there are great broods of mallard, goose and moorhen chicks to entertain us. The advent of better weather has coincided with my return to something like normal fitness. We have been able to get out boating at last, to the Overwater Marina RNLI Shroppie Fly Paper
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Festival (of which more elsewhere) and I have finally been able to resume some of my IWA duties. I must once again record my thanks to fellow Committtee members for their forbearance and for covering for me so ably on top of their other duties, both IWA and personal. Apart from being Branch Chairman, I wear another IWA hat as a member of Restoration Committee (ResCom); as you may know, this is the IWA Committtee which promotes and advises on waterway restoration, and visits projects around the country as part of its meetings. Recently, the Committee was on our “home turf” in a visit to the Shrewsbury and Newport Canals. I was delighted to see that the visit report included universally positive and enthusiastic feedback about the canals and the work of the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust and the Norbury to Newport CIC. It was a similar story when ResCom visited the Montgomery Canal a couple of years ago. Last week I attended my first North West Region Committee meeting in St Helens. We are part of a large and disparate region and it was interesting to meet representatives of other branches and to note their differing styles and the types of activities they undertake. In particular, it was noticeable that some organise more hands-on volunteering and do more monitoring of the waterways within their area. It occurred to me that these are two sides of the same coin. Our Branch is blessed with miles of very busy waterways spread over a large geographical area, and with many very active restoration projects and waterways societies with their own dedicated bands of volunteers. Other branches have less miles of waterway with fewer such projects and thus perhaps have readier access to a pool of willing volunteers for their activities. However, whatever our approach, we all share the common cause of our love of the waterways and enthusiasm to protect and enhance them. Our Region has recently begun the process of reviewing how it operates, and has asked Branches to look again at their roles and how they fulfill them. There will almost certainly be more about this later in the year, but in the meantime I would be very pleased to hear your views. Do you feel an affinity with your Branch or is it just an administrative convenience for your IWA membership? What activities would you like to see? Work parties, more social events, talks, trips? If so, would you be willing to spend a few hours helping us to organise an event? You don't need to join the Committtee, it can be done wherever you live – and might encourage some of your friends and neighbours to join us! Do drop me an email, the details are on page 4 – I look forward to hearing from you. Carolyn Theobold - Branch Chairman Summer 2013
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Region Chairman writes... The last few months have been interesting ones for the IWA, even if for those of us who are boaters, the unseasonable weather has cramped our style somewhat. The events and rallies season has still to get started, although as I write this the Trailboat Festival is taking place on the river Rother in Kent. We have the connected string of events around London coming up, but all these are somewhat remote from us in the North West. One local event that took place successfully was the second Montgomery Canal Triathlon, organised by the Friends of the Montgomery Canal assisted by local societies, including the IWA. I congratulate the organisers on winning the prestigious ‘Recreation and Tourism’ category at the Waterways Renaissance Awards last week for the 2012 event. Also on the Montgomery, recently I was able to present the NW Region Tetlow Trophy to Mike Friend of the Shropshire Union Canal Society for his sterling work as work party organizer for the Society for the last ten years, during which time they have done excellent work on the restoration. In April we also presented the other Region trophy, the Kenwin Cup, to Madeline Dean for her work over the years for the Lancashire & Cumbria Branch, the IWA nationally and for the Lancaster Restoration at the other end of our Region. This presentation was one of the highlights of the Region Meeting ‘Not an AGM’ held at Fiddlers Ferry on the Sankey, which was attended by nearly 40 members and my thanks go to those who helped make it a success. Nationally, I attended a joint workshop on "working together" in Birmingham recently, hosted jointly by CRT and the IWA. As an output from that, the local regional CRT Partnership on which I sit is going to look at the position regarding slipways in our area in partnership with the local IWA region and others. Some of you will be aware that the CRT Partnerships actively encourage the provision and use of slipways to increase access to the waterways for the general public, so we are disappointed at the news that two in our region are under threat of closure. The affected IWA Branch is actively campaigning on this issue. We are also making progress on the strategic plan, as are the other CRT Shroppie Fly Paper
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Partnerships throughout the country, and these are being, or will be shortly, brought out for public consultation so that all may see what we’ve been up to for the last year or so. As our National Chairman wrote in his piece in the Summer 2013 issue of ‘Waterways’, we are concerned about the proposals for the new high speed rail link HS2. In the North West Region the planned route will have an impact on the Middlewich branch of the Shropshire Union, the Trent and Mersey in the Dane Valley, and the Bridgewater at Bollington, as well as on the Manchester Ship Canal and possible interference with the line of the Sankey. It is not the role of the IWA to comment on the merits or otherwise of HS2 as a national initiative, but it definitely is our job to comment upon the effect on the waterways of this proposal. This is not just a matter of either approving of or objecting to a crossing, but of arguing for greater headroom, or screening to reduce the impact of the proposals, etc. This is being coordinated nationally to have a significant impact, and Mike Carter is involved in our input into this as our Region representative on Navigation Committee; which is not to say individual branches or members are being discouraged from having their own say. And finally I dropped in briefly to a recent Open Day in Chester, held to promote the 'One City Plan'. The plan includes a vision for improving the waterways in Chester and specifically of working with other towards enabling navigation on and access to the Dee. This is a long-term project and it is great that the IWA is working with CRT and other Chester groups to bring this forward. I know some of you are planning to go to the National at Cassiobury Park in Watford at the end of July, and I hope to see you there. So with June nearly here and the days lengthening, hopefully we can anticipate some great days on or beside the canals and rivers in our region; which just goes to prove that despite appearances to the contrary, basically I’m an eternal optimist. Alan Platt Peter Brown, our Branch Heritage & Planning Officer, commented on the current HS2 plans: The proposed new high-speed railway from Birmingham to Manchester, known as HS2, crosses the canal only once in our Branch area, not far from Stanthorne Lock on the Middlewich Branch. Although this is a pleasant rural spot, it is not exceptionally beautiful or important historically, so it is pointless to object. However, the IWA will press for mitigation measures such as tree planning to help shield the noise.
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Membership Matters Yes, membership really does matter and we are delighted to welcome the following members who have joined the Branch since the spring edition of this magazine: Mr Allen from Buckley, Ms Doyle from Reabrook, Mr Elliott from Longhorsley in Northumberland, Mr & Mrs Franklin from Old Colwyn, Mr & Mrs Gardner from Woodside near Telford, Mr Gaydon & Mrs Tainton from Llanerchymedd, Mr & Mrs Gebbels from Market Drayton, Mr Jones from Newtown, and Mr & Mrs Weaver from Hadnall. We look forward to meeting you all at one of the forthcoming events. I am pleased to announce that the Branch has had one enquiry about taking over from Janet Farmer as Social Secretary. However, we still need a volunteer to work with Denis Farmer with a view to taking over as Branch Treasurer in the near future. I realise Denis will be a hard act to follow but with 363 memberships (or counting couples 547) there must be somebody out there willing to step into his shoes. Dawn Aylwin
Defect Detectives The prime asset of the IWA, and of this Branch in particular, is its members and we would like to ask for your help in making our part of the canal network better, safer and more enjoyable. One of the valuable areas where we can assist CRT in its job of maintaining and repairing the waterways infrastructure is to report significant defects that we encounter in our cruising, cycling, angling or walking the system. As Dawn mentions above, this Branch is fortunate enough to have over 500 members, all enthusiastic advocates for the canals, we presume!
Cracking up - the off side coping stones at Tyrley Locks No 3 Photo: Michael Haig
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So when you’re out and about, if you come across problem lock gates, damaged paddle mechanisms, subsiding lock moorings, excessively overhanging vegetation or any of the other issues that cause problems for waterways users, we would urge you to report them – preferably with an accompanying photograph – through your Branch Committee. Our Chairman, Carolyn Theobold, has offered to be the coordinator to bring reported items to CRT’s attention and to press them for action. Please email her at carolyn_t@mac.com. Michael Haig
Appeal for help with hedgerow survey You may have seen or heard recent BBC television and radio coverage of the Canal & River Trust’s appeal for volunteers to help with a survey of all the hedgerows along our waterway network. This is a national project which aims to assess the condition of our hedgerows and help with identifying where improvements can be made with re-planting, gapping up and laying to increase wildlife value. The North Wales and Borders area contains over 270km of hedgerow and we are seeking volunteers who would be interested in undertaking a basic survey of various sections using a portable computer and with the support of training. If you would like to take part then it would be great to hear from you and we can then see how many people we have to survey hedgerows in their area and allocate suitable sections based on how much time you have. This is a great opportunity to have a bit of a walk in the sunshine for a few miles or so and at the same time contribute significantly to this project. We can then use the results of the project to identify a lot of the work that we can do with our task days throughout next winter. If you would like to get involved please contact me at Glenn.Young@canalrivertrust.org.uk or 07775 118823. I will put you in touch with CRT waterway ecologist Stuart Moodie, who will arrange training for you and allocate sections. Glenn Young - Canal & River Trust Volunteer Team Leader Summer 2013
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Bikes, Boats 'n' Boots – Montgomery Canal Triathlon 2013 The second Montgomery Canal Triathlon took place on May 11, a few weeks earlier than last year to try to avoid upsetting the breeding swans. The event attracted over 140 entrants, most of whom completed all three sections of the 35-mile route of the canal, starting from Newtown on bicycles, changing to canoes in Welshpool and finishing on foot from Llanymynech to Welsh Frankton. Cllr Val Howard, Mayor of Newtown, started the event on the Severn Way and at Welshpool the Mayor, Cllr John Meredith, greeted entrants. The first participants arrived at Frankton Locks in mid-afternoon, some completing the event in under six hours despite the disappointing weather conditions. John Griffiths AM presents a medallion to Andrew Stumpf, top, and below, competitors in fancy dress Photos: Christine Palin
Notable entrants were John Griffiths AM, Welsh Minister for Culture and Sport, who at the end presented commemorative medallions to those who had taken part, and Andrew Stumpf, Head of Wales for Glandŵr Cymru/Canal & River Trust. The youngest entrant, Ben Homewood, aged 11, completed the whole triathlon in 8¾ hours and raised £800 in sponsorship. Many of the other participants also raised sponsorship money, some even entering in fancy dress.
Volunteers from CRT and the Friends of the Montgomery Canal had worked hard to clear the canal and make the canoe section easier. In addition, the cycle way had been extended a further two miles since last year – leaving only a mile of rough towpath to be negotiated between Brithdir and Belan. Friends of the Montgomery Canal Chairman, Christine Palin, praised their efforts, as well as the contribution of the 60 marshals who helped make the event possible. Shroppie Fly Paper
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Tetlow Trophy On 20 May, during the course of the regular Shropshire Union Canal Society workparty by Redwith Bridge, Mike Friend from the Society was presented with the Tetlow Trophy for 2013. The trophy is awarded by the North Western Region of the Inland Waterways Association to someone other than an IWA member who has made a major contribution to the waterways over a period of time. Presenting the award, Alan Platt, Chairman of the North West Region and a Deputy National Chairman of the IWA, referred to Mike's ten years as work party organizer of the SUCS workparties. He has thus been largely responsible for their sterling work in the restoration of the Montgomery and maintaining the profile of the canal, especially during the current period when outside funds are so hard to come by. This was echoed by Pat Wilson, Chairman of SUCS and by Michael Limbrey of the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust. Mike in his turn paid tribute to the workparties themselves and especially to Jan, his wife, for her patience and support. Pictured below is Mike, wearing his famous white wellies, receiving the trophy from Alan, flanked by Pat Wilson and Jan Friend and the SUCS workparty
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Accidental drowning ... or murder? On February 10, 1849 Richard Wilson walked with his wife Anne from their home at Hankelow (north of Audlem) to Market Drayton to collect his pension. They stayed in town drinking, before starting to walk home in the starlight. A witness saw them on the towpath, apparently talking on good terms. However when Anne, being drunk and lame, could not walk fast enough, her husband argued with her, hit her, and threatened to throw her in the canal. She replied that he would not dare do it, but he said he would do it before she got home. He then knocked her down, shouted at her, then pulled her up and they walked on. Five minutes or so later, the witness heard screams and a cry of ‘Murder’. Another witness, John Williams, saw them a few minutes later — they were occasionally talking lovingly and sometimes quarrelling. Both were tipsy; Anne was lame and unable to walk without a stick. Williams walked with them as far as Victoria Bridge [Bridge 65, by the coalyard], where Anne said she was unable to go on, so lay down. Wilson insisted she went on, saying, ‘Damn your eyes, if you don’t I’ll drown you’. She replied that he dare not.
Bridge 65 from the south - the last
Williams then left them, but an hour later, at about place Anne Wilson was seen alive seven o’clock, he saw Wilson at Adderley lockPhoto: Michael Haig house. Wilson said that he had left his wife at Simon’s Bridge [Bridge 67, now known as Betton Coppice Bridge], waiting for a boat. Wilson walked on, while Williams and another man walked back to beyond Simon’s Bridge but couldn’t find any trace of her. About ten o’clock that evening Wilson went for a drink at a public house near his home. When the landlady asked after his wife, he said that he had left her on the canal side waiting for a boat. When he prepared to leave the landlady asked why he was going, and he replied that he wanted to go home to prepare a cup of tea and a good fire for his wife, as the boat would not pass till about half past twelve. She reported that there was nothing particular about his look or manner except that he appeared as if he was recovering from having had a lot to drink. Some time later that evening he went to another public house. The landlady said
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it was too late to serve him. When she said that his wife would not like him stopping out so late, he said she would not know of it. The following morning a passing boatman saw Anne floating in the water near Betton Wood Bridge [66]. Both the body and her clothes were ‘lying straight’. Her gown was wrapped round her left hand, which the boatman said might have been caused by the flush of the water. Her shawl was wrapped two or three times round her head, which the boatman thought must have been done by someone. Her cap was not torn but her bonnet was not found. There was no sign of blood on her, and the surgeon who later examined her said that he found no mark whatever of violence.
From Br. 65, Wilson walked north along the towpath towards Audlem Photo: Michael Haig
Williams, the man who had seen Wilson and his wife the previous evening, saw Anne’s body taken out of the canal and found her stick about thirty yards away in the far side of the high hedge at the top of the steep cutting. He thought it would have been impossible for her to have climbed the bank or to have flung the stick there from the towpath. Two police constables questioned Wilson that morning. He admitted not having made any enquiries about her, but on being charged with having drowned her, he exclaimed ‘My God, has the poor thing done anything to herself? I hope she is not dead.’ He was escorted to the place to which Anne’s body had been taken. When he got there he said, ‘Oh dear, oh dear; I doubt I shall suffer for this. If I do I shall die innocent. These hands never put that poor body in the water.’ When the shawl covering her face was removed, he fainted. The case was heard before Justice Coltman at the Shrewsbury Assizes the following month. The jury took little time in returning a verdict of Not Guilty. [Paraphrased from the report in The Times, March 22, 1849, with thanks to Anna Martin for drawing my attention to it. Hankelow parish extends almost to the canal, so the Wilsons may have lived close to it, rather than in the village, in which case the public houses may have been in Audlem.]
Peter Brown
Summer 2013
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Llangollen Canal – Marinas Update In the Spring 2013 issue of Shroppie Fly Paper, we reported and commented on the proposals for new marinas at Ellesmere and Wrenbury. As far as the latter is concerned, the planning application submitted by Enzygo Ltd for a 178-berth facility at Wrenbury Heath (between Baddiley Locks and Wrenbury Hall) has been withdrawn. However campaigners against the development, though relieved, cannot breathe easily just yet. For on June 5, in a front-page article bylined “exclusive”, the Nantwich Chronicle revealed new proposals from a different developer, named as Oligra Town Planning of Shavington, for a 200-berth marina at Wrenbury. The Chronicle reports, “The fields behind St Margaret’s Church and the Cotton Arms pub…could make way for the proposed site”. We will have to see if the proposal develops into a formal planning application. Meanwhile at Ellesmere Wharf, the proposed “multi-use leisure site including hotel, 188 berth marina, leisure complex, pub/restaurant, cabins and touring caravans and 250 dwellings” south of Canal Way is, at the time of going to press, still pending a planning decision from Shropshire Council although the public consultation period has ended. Updates can be found at www.shropshire.gov.uk under application reference 13/00804/SCO. Coincidentally, in April the British Marine Federation released the results of its latest survey into supply and demand for marina berths as of January 2013. It said that its survey had elicited 53 “valid responses” from marina businesses covering the CRT waterways. The total capacity of the 53 CRT-based marinas at the time of the survey was 7,710 berths, of which the total occupancy was 6,122 berths, giving 1,588 vacant berths and an average occupancy rate for the 53 CRT-based marinas who responded of 79.4% (20.6% vacant) at the time of the survey. Clearly these occupancy/vacancy rates are an average for the CRT-based marinas that responded, and since nationally only about 56% of relevant BMF members did respond (totalling 145 marinas including tidal/coastal and those under other navigation authorities), it would be unwise to conclude that these levels of occupancy/vacancy necessarily apply to the Llangollen Canal or other local waterways. Nevertheless, readers may wonder whether there is really such pent-up demand Shroppie Fly Paper
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for berths that an additional 350-plus craft would come forward if the proposed Llangollen Canal developments eventually went ahead. Certainly there are some stretches of the SU Main Line in particular where there is a significant number of linear moorings, but your editor doubts that a lack of marina berths is the main factor in their popularity. Michael Haig
Historic Working Narrow Boats Today -‐ A Pictorial Record Canal Book Shop, based at Audlem Mill has recently published what must be one of the finest definitive guides to historic working boats. The 110 page, full colour A4 book contains over 590 photographs of 465 historic working narrow boats still in existence, together with brief notes on each boat. Nearly all the photographs are by David Williams, a CRT volunteer ranger at Audlem Locks, with text by Peter Silvester of Audlem Mill. Most of the boats are listed in chapters relating to the company or area for which they were built, such as Fellows, Morton & Clayton, Grand Union Canal Carrying Company, Midlands & Coast Canal Carriers and Severn & Canal Carrying Company. The book records significantly more than half of the approximately 840 historic working narrow boats known by The Historic Narrow Boat Club to be still in existence. The book is available from Audlem Mill at £19.95, or online from www.canalbookshop.co.uk (postage extra). For more information contact Peter Silvester at Audlem Mill, The Wharf, Audlem CW3 0DX, phone 01270 811059 or visit www.audlemmill.co.uk.
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IWA Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch Diary July 7
Annual Branch Outing to the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port. If you are planning to go please contact Janet 01270 811157.
July 19-21
Waterways Festival (The IWA National) at Cassiobury Park, Watford, on the Grand Union Canal.
July 21
Church Minshull Aqueduct Marina Open Day. The Branch will have a stall at the event.
July 27-28
Lock wind and meeting boaters at Hurleston Bottom Lock, Llangollen/Shropshire Union Canals. See facing page and contact Dawn 01681 830403 for more information and to let us know if you intend to arrive by boat.
July 28
Audlem Festival of Transport and Historic Boats Gathering. To date 38 historic boats have booked to attend the festival.
August 12
Branch Business Meeting at 7.00pm at the Narrowboat Inn, Whittington. Members are very welcome to join us but please confirm the date and time with any Committee member before attending.
August 16-18
Llanymynech Folk Festival. See page 19 for further details. Please contact Dawn 01691 830403 if you are able to help with WOW (children's) activities on the Sunday.
August 17-18
Friends of the Montgomery Canal annual lock wind at New Marton Locks (near Whittington on the Llangollen Canal). Contact Judy 01691 831455 if you would like to help.
Sept 21-22
Whitchurch Waterways Trust gathering of boats. Contact Mike Parsonage 01984 830447 evenings only. Please support the Branch stall.
October 14
Branch Business Meeting at 7.00pm at the Narrowboat Inn, Whittington. Members are very welcome to join us but please confirm the date and time with any Committee member before attending.
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December 8
Welshpool Winter Festival - Christmas street market, charity and craft stalls.
December 9
Branch Business Meeting at 7.00pm at the Narrowboat Inn, Whittington. Members are very welcome to join us but please confirm the date and time with any Committee member before attending.
Branch Lock Wind - Hurleston Bottom Lock 27 & 28 July 2013 Once again the annual Lock Wind will be at Hurleston Bottom Lock during the last weekend of July. Apart from talking to people and encouraging new members to join this is one of our major fund raising events so please support your Branch. As well as helping boaters through the lock (for a small donation although this is not essential) we want to attract other boaters passing along the Shropshire Union to stop and buy from our stall. So we need lots of goodies; home-made cakes, pies, pickles and jam are very popular and every year we run out, so please if you can spare the time, we would welcome contributions. If you are unable to come along and help but still want to bake a cake or pass on surplus garden produce please get in touch with any committee member. You are very welcome to join us by boat but please let me know beforehand as CRT have asked how many boats are likely to attend. There are plenty of mooring spaces on the main Shropshire Union with plenty of space to turn round if you need to return to your mooring after the event. You are equally welcome if you come by car. There is plenty of parking space on the old road which is just after Snugbury’s Ice Cream shop on the A51 Chester & Tarporley road out of Nantwich. You can’t miss it. Just turn off the main road by the ‘Free Range Eggs’ sign then walk down to the bridge and turn right along the tow path. Sounds like hard work? Actually it's good fun! Windlasses will be provided. We look forward to meeting you all. Dawn Aylwin
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From Milk Float to Cheese Boat Moored next to each other at the Norbury festival were two boats with a common theme – electric propulsion – but with a very different provenance! The older boat started life as a working boat built in 1910 for the Great Western Railway. From 1969 she came under the ownership of British Waterways, which used her as a maintenance boat until the Dudley Canal Trust bought her in 1974. The Trust put in a new cabin in 1975 and the following year added an electric motor and batteries from a milk float. She became Electra, the first Dudley Canal Trust trip boat to carry people on tours through the Dudley Tunnels, until replaced by the new Electra, which was purpose built for the job. The original Electra's cabin was cut off and a pontoon added to her stern to take a mini digger. So modified, she helped excavate the Singing Cavern and other areas to be included on the DCT’s tours until her retirement in 2001. In 2004 Kevin Higgs purchased the hull which, though floating, was in poor condition. He completely rebuilt the stern, restoring her to her original 70’ length. A new cabin was added and a new engine room housing a National DA2 thought to be of 1940s vintage. Electra was no longer an electric boat. Her new owners purchased her in 2012 and she continues to be, in their words, “very much a work in progress”.
Electra, above left, and SQII at Norbury Photos: Michael Haig
In contrast, the newer boat, named SQII, is a contemporary creation completed in 2011. Her owners specified a 57’ Tyler Wilson shell which they could fit out themselves. They decided on electric propulsion as a modern, practical way of emulating the near-silent passage of traditional horse-drawn working boats as well as keeping SQII as environmentally Shroppie Fly Paper
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friendly as possible. Instead of concrete ballast, 24 two-volt battery cells weighing 1.5 tonnes sit beneath the oak floor and drive a 20Kw motor – the approximate equivalent of a 38 horsepower diesel. A four-hour charge can provide up to eight hours cruising, but with all mod cons on board, the owners are going to have to wait for some significant advances in battery and renewable energy technology before they can dispense with their trusty Beta diesel generator! SQII may be rather more than a milk float but the dairy theme continues – she is home to The Borders Cheese Carrying Company and can be seen in our Branch area at the Aqueduct Marina Family Funday on July 21 and at the Audlem Festival of Transport on July 27-28. Val Haig
Llanymynech Folk Festival, August 16-18 The festival in the ‘international’ village of Llanymynech (well, it does lie on the border!) brings together the folk music and culture of Shropshire and mid-Wales. In addition to the programme below, the organisers are planning a variety of musicians playing in the local pubs and around the village throughout the weekend. Friday, August 16 - Concert at Llanymynech Village Hall at 7.30pm Featuring Stephen Rees and Huw Roberts, two of Wales’ finest fiddle players, and Huw’s son Sion, a brilliantly talented accompanist. This is traditional Welsh music at its best, full of fire and vigour, played with an obvious love of the tradition. Saturday, August 17 - workshops at the Village Hall, Church Hall and Presbyterian Chapel Hall. A chance to brush up on existing skills or perhaps try your hands (or your feet) at something you've never tried before. How about some Welsh clog dancing? Come and try out a few different instruments, or go to the English folk song workshop. Saturday night is for dancing at the Village Hall – come to the twmpath/barn dance in the company of the Tanat Valley Dancers. Sunday, August 18 – Music service at Llanymynech Church, then a procession along the border to the Heritage Area for a grand village fete – puppets, art and craft stalls, music, dancers, food and drink – an afternoon for the whole family to enjoy. There will also be WOW activities for the younger visitors. Dawn Aylwin would love to hear from you on 01691 830403 if you could spare some time to help with these. More information from Gary at garynortheast@dolanog.net Summer 2013
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North West Region Social Meeting On Saturday April 20, about 40 members of IWA North West Region met at Fiddlers Ferry Yacht Haven on the Sankey Canal, the oldest on the system. As regions no longer need to hold annual general meetings, this was styled as ‘Not an AGM’. Region Chairman, Alan Platt, welcomed members from all the branches in the Region, who were then shown a brief compilation of activities during last year (complete with a sound track expertly put together by Mike Carter and now to be found on the NW region page of the website). There was then an open discussion and Q&A session on matters of interest to those present. The Region awards two trophies annually. The Tetlow Cup is for outstanding service to the waterways by a non-IWA person or group and this year was awarded to Mike Friend for ten years as the work-party organizer for the Shropshire Union Canal Society on the Montgomery Canal. Unfortunately Mike was unable to attend the ‘Not an AGM”, so a separate presentation was held in May (see page 11). The Kenwin Trophy for services to the IWA was awarded to Madeline Dean, recently retired as Chairman of the N Lancs and Cumbria branch, a long-term stalwart of the Lancaster Canal restoration and familiar to many as custodian of the Cressy Lounge at Nationals. Following an excellent lunch provided by the Yacht Club, there was a talk on the history of the Sankey by Dave Smallshaw, Chester and Region committee member as well as Chairman of Sankey Canal Restoration Society, after which Dave and Colin Greenall took those who wanted for a tour of the adjacent canal. As a pleasant change, the weather was very spring-like and the members plus a few canine companions enjoyed a most enjoyable walk. Given the success of the event and the favourable comments of those who attended we certainly intend to repeat it in the future. Audrey Smith, former National Chairman, (right) with Alan Platt, Regional Chairman, (left) presents the Kenwin Trophy to Madeline Dean of North Lancashire & Cumbria Branch Photo: Dawn Aylwin
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Maureen Shaw Panel unveiled In response to the invitation in the last edition of Shroppie Fly Paper and elsewhere, more than a hundred people braved bitterly cold weather on March 23 to attend the official unveiling of the Maureen Shaw Panel in Middlewich. Maureen, as many readers will be aware, was a former working boat woman who, after her retirement, lived in the Lock Cottage at Wardle Lock, on the Middlewich Arm of the Shropshire Union Canal. Well-known both to visiting boaters and in the local community, Maureen’s conversation and commentary enlivened many a boater’s passage through the lock. Fiona Bruce MP and Sharron Underwood at Wardle Lock Following her death in 2012 an appeal was launched to provide a fitting Photo: Peter Bolt commemoration of Maureen’s life and the contribution of working boats and their families to the local community. From the opening of the appeal fund at the Middlewich Folk & Boat Festival in June, by autumn the fund was well on the way to reaching the target of £1,800, mostly from individual donations but also from gifts by boat clubs and societies from all over the country.
Fiona Bruce, MP for Congleton and IWA’s current Parliamentarian of the Year for her support for the inland waterways, opened the ceremony with a speech recalling the history of the working boats and paying tribute to the courageous role played by working boaters during the Second World War. Maureen’s daughter, Sharron Underwood, completed an emotional unveiling of the commemorative panel, which contains stories in Maureen’s own words about the routes the working boaters travelled and the cargoes they carried. It also includes two images of working boats by Sheila Webster, the well-known waterways artist from Audlem. One of CRT’s Small Task Team volunteer groups installed the panel, which now provides a permanent memory of this remarkable woman and her vanished way of life. Summer 2013
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Tugboat Ted There can be advantages for bears living in houses. Although Ethelted and I consider ourselves pretty hardy, we have to accept that life on Leo would have been very chilly this winter so we have consoled ourselves with the home comforts of Kingbur Place. We understand that Leo is still with us and that we may yet find ourselves boating, when it warms up. The humans report that, walking along the towpath this winter, it has been evident that many a log has been used to produce comfort and warmth for those brave enough to be on their boats. When the wood smoke drifts through the mist on the canal, it can create a peaceful and sometimes inspiring scene for photographers, as the February picture in the Branch calendar proves – and it smells good too. My big outing in April was to watch the Branch play skittles. The gathering at Stafford Boat Club was as convivial as usual and I watched from my vantage point on a corner table – well away from the raffle so that I was not mistaken for a prize! It was the second year that Stoke-on-Trent Branch (now to be known as North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch) had organised the event, which proved popular again.
A doubtful-looking Branch team watch Peter Brown in skittles action at Stafford Boat Club! Photo: Denis Farmer
Eight of our branch members competed with the other four teams made up from the splendid turnout by Stoke and members of the Litchfield Branch.
Shrewsbury & North Wales Branch finished just two points behind the winners, a group of Stoke members calling themselves "Cheshire". It was a well-deserved result for the Stoke-on-Trent Branch who had done all the work! By the time you read this the summer outing to the Ellesmere Port Boat Museum on Sunday 7 July will be fast approaching, so don’t forget to let us know if you would like to join us. We hope to see the steam engine running on that day as well as explore the archives, have a short boat trip and generally get nostalgic. We hope to see you there. Have a great summer anyway – it does seem to be getting warmer at last! Shroppie Fly Paper
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Fly-boat Saturn Summer 2013 Programme The historic Shropshire Union fly-boat Saturn left her winter moorings on the Montgomery Canal for the first event of her 2013 educational and event tour – the Gathering of Traditional Boats at the National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port, held over the Easter Bank Holiday. The Shropshire Union Fly-Boat Restoration Society (SUFBRS) also held their AGM there. Over the summer, Saturn will take part in events at Church Minshull Aqueduct Marina (Open Day, July 21), Audlem Saturn leaving winter moorings pulled by horse Cracker on the Montgomery Canal (Festival of Transport, July 28) and Whitchurch (Boat Festival, Photo: Bob Jervis September 21-22). Around these – and at other locations and dates – the boat will be involved in school and educational visits. On some days, Saturn will be horsedrawn. Please see the SUFBRS web site for final confirmation of dates, times and other Saturn activities (www.saturnflyboat.org.uk). The Saturn Project – a partnership between SUFBRS and the Canal & River Trust, North Wales & Borders – is run entirely by the work and the fundraising of volunteer members. Chair of SUFBRS, Sue Cawson, paid Saturn at an Etruria Canal Festival tribute to their work and the help of CRT staff, supporters and donors, Photo: Waterways Images urging potential new members: "Join us, help keep Saturn on our waterways, and even take part in a bit of unusual and interesting boating.” Anyone interested in joining SUFBRS can contact Membership Secretary, Valerie Reade on 01948 663953 or visit the Saturn web site (www.saturnflyboat.org.uk). Summer 2013
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Norbury to Newport Canal Restoration CIC It may come as a surprise to some people that a weekend trip to a derelict canal to clear vegetation could be considered a treat and a ‘holiday’. But it is, and the hardy folk from the London Waterways Restoration Group came to Forton, near Newport in Shropshire, in February 2013 to clear the vegetation from the site of the proposed Phase 1 Restoration being undertaken by the Norbury to Newport Canal Restoration Community Interest Company (NTNCR CIC). The restoration plans cover two phases at present. Phase 1 is a short stretch of canal at Forton, from the Skew Bridge to the Aqueduct, to be returned to water with the adjacent areas made available for leisure activities. Phase 2 will see the canal from Meretown Bridge to the next bridge near the northern end of Moss Pool returned to water, with the towpath re-opened. Bridge 10, Skew Bridge, at Forton
Each of these projects has presented us with different problems to overcome before they can be completed, and we recognise that there will be hold-ups in progress. Photo: NTNCR CIC
But, by working on two active projects simultaneously, we hope to be able to move ahead with one or the other over coming months. The Phase 1 and 2 restoration plans mean that local leisure facilities for those living in Newport will be created alongside the old canal, with new walking and cycling routes linking up to existing lanes and with the additional benefit of improving and expanding the canal-side habitat for many species of fauna and flora. The CIC is not alone in working on the restoration – we cooperate very closely with the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust (SNCT), whose remit is to restore the canal to its terminus in Shrewsbury; so getting the canal back into operation from The Junction Inn at Norbury through to Newport is also an important goal for the Trust. Adrienne Barnwell - Norbury to Newport Canal Restoration CIC Shroppie Fly Paper
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Audlem RNLI Festival at Overwater As a follow-up to last year’s very successful Safety Afloat Day, Overwater Marina hosted the two day Audlem RNLI Festival over the first weekend of June. There was much to see and do and it was a most enjoyable and entertaining event. One of the highlights was Sunday’s raft race. Over 25 years ago Audlem used to hold an annual raft race and this was triumphantly brought back to life in the marina. Seven teams designed and decorated their handmade rafts and competition was fierce, with PRG Trailers ultimately claiming the hard-fought trophy.
The raft race gets under way in front of Overwater's amenities building Photo: Overwater Marina
Audlem Fire Station’s crew won best-dressed raft for their brilliant Hawaii-themed “Cheshire Fire-O” raft complete with inflatable palm tree, grass skirts and colourful lei garlands! The other teams taking part in the fun included Overwater Narrowboat Services’ “Morris Dancers”, Cheshire Police’s “Canal Cops,” Audlem Scouts and two teams from Audlem Football Club. As well as pony rides, a dog show, agility training and falconry demonstrations, there were many other displays including Cheshire Search & Rescue, Cheshire Police, IWA SD&NW Branch, craft and refreshment stalls and the RNLI bar. The Saturday night entertainment featured the excellent 22-piece Wychcraft Big Swing Band, with the Josh Walker Band and Steven Miller also on the bill. The Rode Heath Brass Band entertained on Sunday afternoon alongside experts talking about a wide range of boating related topics. Adderley Wharf Farm Shop provided the food and catering over the weekend. Janet Maughan of Overwater Marina and Rodney Cottrell for the RNLI are very grateful for the enthusiasm, time and effort that so many people put into making the event a success and are committed to making this an annual event on the Shroppie. Anthony Davies - Overwater Marina Summer 2013
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Tyrley Tattle Tyrley Locks has seen a plethora of activity with the coming of 2013. At quite short notice, CRT announced that the sanitary station would be out of action for a few weeks to facilitate the installation of a new cesspit, in fact a giant holding tank to replace the former septic tank. The contractors duly arrived in the second week of February and began the task of digging a huge hole next to the top lock. They tried hard to minimise the disruption but due to the bad weather there was soon mud everywhere, as they had to take the spoil from the excavation a couple of hundred yards up the road and dump it to await collection by lorry. On the first day they unexpectedly broke into a land drain, which was running hard because of all the rain, so they had to install a large temporary pump, providing us with 24-hour background noise for several days.
The waste tank being installed at Tyrley Top Lock Photo: Richard Hall
Despite having to work in some very poor weather conditions including rain and snow, they did get the job finished more or less on time, although they returned in May to replace the fence between the lock-side and the field, as they had had to remove it to gain proper access to the site.
My immediate neighbour and the new owners of the Old Stables, another lockside house, were spared the noise and disruption, as their properties were vacant for alteration works. By the time Shroppie Fly Paper is published they should all have returned and we will have a new addition to the Wharf, as nb Armadillo will be mooring here. Boats wishing to wind above Tyrley Top will then have to negotiate around two boats instead of mine alone, which may prove exciting! At the end of the first week in April, there was yet more disruption at the top lock, when a mysterious underwater obstruction began to hamper the passage of descending boats on the Saturday. A pair of CRT workers were unable to identify the cause of the trouble and arranged for the lock to be dewatered and further examined the following Monday. Boats continued to have trouble on Sunday, and matters came to a head when a boat became trapped for the best part of two hours, Shroppie Fly Paper
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with its bow in the bottom gates of the lock so that they could not be shut to allow the lock to be refilled. Eventually, with difficulty, the boat was moved sufficiently to shut the gates and refill the lock. The unfortunate craft was able to leave the lock at the second attempt. With the lock empty again, it became clear what was causing the obstruction. The bumper, which stops boats hitting the top cill, had The offending bumper, finally ashore at Tyrley broken loose from its retaining slots. Top Lock Two different men from CRT came a Photo: Richard Hall short time later, located the board, dragged it through the bottom gates of the lock but were unable to get it out of the water, even with the help of several onlookers. However, they managed to secure it to a bollard and yet another team finally removed the obstruction on the Monday. Having seen it on dry land I’m not surprised it caused such problems, as it consisted of several sleepers bolted together with a piece of rail. Fortunately, in view of all these distractions, the canal has been relatively quiet. The dreadful weather in March doubtless discouraged all but the hardiest boaters but even since then, the locks haven’t been very busy. There have been hardly any queues, despite the IWA having identified Tyrley Locks some years ago as being a bottleneck on the Shroppie. This seems to be characteristic of a general decline in the use of the canal from a few years ago, when there were sometimes lock queues extending south to Bridge 59. I think the busiest spell this year has been with boats returning from the Norbury Festival. The Tyrley wildlife is as active as ever. The bees have survived the winter in fairly good shape, with the single casualty being a hive in which the queen has only been laying drones because her eggs are unfertilised, a consequence of the wet summer which prevented her mating properly. We still get badger visits and we know that a fox has cubs in a nearby earth. In its efforts to feed them, it has started to catch pheasants in the garden leaving the feathers spread around for us to clear up. We still battle with the mice, whose latest enthusiasm is for onion sets of which they have consumed a couple of dozen! Richard Hall
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Letters Dear David, I received your Spring 2013 issue and what a really interesting read that was! I am tempted to agree with your Chester Branch correspondent that the Shroppie Fly Paper is more interesting than the national magazine! Michael Limbrey’s article about the happenings 20 years and 40 years ago took me back to the years between 1978 and 2000 when Ron and I were deeply involved with the Branch. It is great to see that there IS progress, despite the current economic climate, and that the new CRT seems to be doing a good job. I am sorry that there are so few names I recognise now (though Michael seems to go on for ever!), but very pleased that younger people come along to take their place. Keep up the good work! Barbara Reid It’s good to know that readers get such enjoyment from the newsletter and that it evokes fond memories as well as, we hope, providing an informative account of current events and issues relating to the Branch’s part of the waterways. That’s thanks to the efforts of both our regular and occasional contributors, without whom the magazine would be a very slim affair! We love to see articles and photos for potential publication, so please don’t be shy about sending them to us! Editor
Monty Triathlon wins National Waterways Award The Montgomery Canal Triathlon has won the Recreation & Tourism category of the 2013 Waterways Renaissance Awards, announced at a ceremony in Birmingham at the end of May. The awards recognise exceptional projects that are helping to care for canals and rivers across the UK. Friends of the Montgomery Canal has led the creation and staging of the triathlon, with substantial volunteer Judy and Peter Richards of the Friends of the support from IWA Shrewsbury & North Montgomery Canal with the framed award Wales, Shropshire Union Canal Photo: CRT Society, CRT staff, Friends of Llanymynech Heritage Area and local communities. Shroppie Fly Paper
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Whitchurch News Plans for our boat rally on September 21-22 are well advanced and the boat and stall entries are coming along nicely. The ever-popular dog show will be taking place on the Sunday and we are hoping to run a trip boat over the weekend. Please come and join us – you’re sure of a very warm welcome! The planning process for the basin at the end of the Whitchurch Arm proceeds very slowly and now the Environment Agency requires a Flood Risk Survey so a decision is still some way away. Our extremely small maintenance team work hard every Sunday keeping the Arm clean and tidy. They have been edging the grass near the moorings and it really lifts the whole area. The daffodils are over now but they made a lovely show. The rubbish is accumulating at the end of the Arm because the frogs and toads are spawning so we hope to have tadpoles very soon - if the ducklings and goslings don’t eat them all. Exciting news! We have a mooring vacancy in the Arm that could take a full-length boat! Please contact me, Lindsay Green, for further details on 07968 339335 or at chem1bz-wwt@yahoo.co.uk. I would also like to remind members that we offer winter moorings at Whitchurch. Lindsay Green
Shropshire Sculpture – The Canal Etchings In early May, fly-boat Saturn carried the final sculpture piece of the Canal Etchings Sculpture Trail from Ellesmere to the gateway of the World Heritage Site at Gledrid, Chirk. This is the fifth site-specific zinc etched sculpture by Jason Hicklin, Head of Printmaking at the City & Guilds of London Art School. Commissioned by Ellesmere Sculpture Initiative, it completes the series located alongside the Montgomery Canal at Llanymynech and Frankton Locks, with two further pieces at Ellesmere, one at the wharf on the town end of the arm and one at the mere. Visitors can explore the Sculpture Trail by car through approximately 20 miles of beautiful Shropshire countryside, or on foot or by bicycle following the towpath or quiet country lanes. Before you set off, why not visit www.thecanaletchings.com for further information on each of the sculptures and the history of the sites at which they are situated? Summer 2013
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Norbury Canal Festival Shrewsbury & Newport Canal Trust members turned out in force over the May Day Bank Holiday to help organise the largest event ever staged at the Norbury Canal Festival. A stunningly good spell of weather certainly made it the biggest and the best-attended event at this popular site. In fact, it was so popular that the pub ran out of beer, the cheese boat ran out of cheese and marshals had to create an overflow car park to cope with the influx of visitors! Saturday morning started with a few showers that threatened to deter some people from coming, but the afternoon saw brilliant sunshine that brought some 1,500 people to the event. This swelled to over 4,000 on Sunday and more than 5,000 on Bank Holiday Monday as the temperatures rose. The Trust's two trip boats, loaned from Simon Jenkins at Norbury Wharf, were running flat out on all three days, with many passengers going on to a canal for the first time. Almost 40 stalls and stands plus swing boats and a bouncy castle, an RNLI stand and an engine from Staffordshire Fire & Rescue added to the festival atmosphere. Over 30 visiting craft – including six historic boats – provided a colourful backdrop of banners and bunting, with many decorated especially for the festival’s ‘Best Decorated Boat’ competition, which this year was themed to commemorate the centenary of the birth of local Shrewsbury gardening personality Percy Thrower. Percy’s eldest daughter Margaret kindly came to judge the competition, awarding first prize to Sandra & Peter Rigby on nb Thistle Dhu for an original and amusing floral display. The festival also celebrated the first outing of Norbury Wharf’s latest trip boat – a 70ft, 42-seat narrowboat newly named Shropshire Star. Steered by Mal Edwards MBE, her short maiden cruise down the Shropshire Union Canal to Grubb Street and back carried some lucky passengers including Tom Graham, son of Malcolm Graham, owner of the Shropshire Star newspaper. Other entertainment saw the annual "Jammin' at the Junction" bands event, a Ceilidh and caller plus a hog roast and Monday afternoon featured All-In International Tag Wrestling. Bernie Jones - Shrewsbury & Newport Canal Trust
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Norbury Canal Festival 2013
Norbury Junction, tranquil in the sunshine the day before the arrival of the festival boats
The Branch's floating stand attracted interest from inquisitive adults and children alike
Dressing the part - boat owners enter into the spirit of the event
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All present and very nearly correct over 30 boats including six historic working boats crowded into Norbury Junction for the festival
Margaret Thrower, centre, eldest daughter of television and radio gardening personality Percy Thrower, awards the prize for the Best Decorated Boat to Sandra and Peter Rigby of nb Thistle Dhu
Lots of effort and attention to detail went into the winning display