Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch Newsletter Spring 2022
Front cover : Narrowboat Vegvisir at Nantwich Aqueduct by Andrew Smith
THE BRANCH COMMITTEE
President
Michael Limbrey 01691 654081
michael.limbrey@waterways.org.uk
Chairman
Michael Haig 07801 415573
michael.haig@waterways.org.uk
Secretary
Philippa Bursey
philippa.bursey@waterways.org.uk
Membership Sec.
Dawn Aylwin 01691 830403
dawn.aylwin@waterways.org.uk
Treasurer & Welsh Liaison Officer
Alan Platt
alan.platt@waterways.org.uk
Webmaster
Alan Wilding
alan.wilding@waterways.org.uk
Newsletter Editor
Andrew Smith
andrew.smith@waterways.org.uk
Committee Members
Susan Wilding Graham Russell
susan.wilding@waterways.org.uk graham.russell@waterways.org.uk
Publicity
Phil Pickin
phil.pickin@waterways.org.uk
NW Region Chairman
Sir Robert Atkins robert.atkins@waterways.org.uk 01995 602225 or 07770 254444
Heritage & Planning
Peter Brown
iwa@peterquita.co.uk
Branch Web pages https://waterways.org.uk/shrewsburynorthwales https://www.facebook.com/shrewsburynorthwales If you would prefer to communicate with the branch in the traditional way, please write to the chairman c/o IWA Chesham address at foot of page Shroppie Fly Paper is the newsletter of the Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch of The Inland Waterways Association (IWA). IWA is a membership charity that works to protect and restore the country's 6,500 miles of canals and rivers. For further information contact any committee member. Copy for Shroppie Fly Paper is very welcome, preferably by email. Photographs may be in any common computer format or as prints. Please supply a stamped addressed envelope if you require photographs to be returned. ‘Letters to the Editor’ intended for publication are invited, as are comments for the Editor’s private guidance. Copy and letters submitted for publication may be edited. The Inland Waterways Association may not agree with the opinions expressed in this branch newsletter but encourages publicity as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be construed as official policy unless stated otherwise. The Association accepts no liability for any matter in this newsletter. Any reproduction must be acknowledged. The Inland Waterways Association is a non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee. Registered in England no. 612245. Registered as a charity no. 212342 Registered Office: Island House, Moor Road, Chesham HP5 1WA Tel: 01494 783 453 Web: www.waterways.org.uk
THE EDITOR'S CUT... I was excited to recently be copied in on an email where Andrew Denny, News Editor of the Waterways World magazine was asking for copies of IWA local newsletters. The reason for my excitement was that his Granny Buttons blog was among the first canal related content that I started following on the internet. And talking about canal related content… This issue is full of material highlighting the wide range of activities taking place on our local canals and rivers. Whether this is the excellent restoration work being carried out on the Montgomery Canal and the Shrewsbury & Newport Canal, news of the various festivals taking place this summer or just the ongoing work to maintain the waterways, it is most impressive to see the effort being put in, largely by volunteers. If you would like to help at any of the branch events mentioned in the magazine, please do get in contact with any of the committee. It’s a great way to meet others with an interest in our waterways and helps you get more out of your IWA membership. We will be heading off on an extended cruise after the Easter weekend and aim to be taking part in the Norbury Canal Festival and the branch lock wind from our boat. If you are boating this year, you will find an expanded cruising guide section towards the back of the magazine with the summer opening and booking details for key places in or near our branch area. Hope to see some of you on the cut or at one of the events.
Andrew Smith
Next copy date: Friday, June 24, 2022 SHROPPIE FLY PAPER BACK ISSUES ONLINE!
Did you know that you can access back issues of this magazine at issuu.com? The link to find issues back to 2009 is https://issuu.com/waterwaysassoc/stacks/ ff499dbd5f2941bba5e738cf88c600d6 But if that’s too much to type in, try this shortened version! https://bit.ly/2Pn5arf
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IWA SHREWSBURY DISTRICT & NORTH WALES BRANCH DIARY 2022 You can find details of the various events mentioned below in the magazine. Obviously, with Covid-19 still prevalent, they will be subject to conditions at the time and it will be well worth checking before travelling to any events. To reduce travelling and cost many of the branch business meetings now take place online. If you would like to join us online, please contact our Chairman at: michael.haig@waterways.org.uk Date(s)
Event
See page
April 11, 2022
Branch Committee Meeting (online)
Apr 30—May 2, 2022
Norbury Canal Festival
Apr 30—May 2, 2022
IWA Cavalcade, Little Venice, London
May 7, 2022
Montgomery Canal Triathlon
May 16, 2022
Montgomery Forum, Newtown (14:30 venue tba)
June 13, 2022
Branch Committee Meeting (online)
July 15-17, 2022
Gnosall Canal Festival
Aug 2022
Branch Committee Meeting (online)
Aug 12-13, 2022
Branch Lock Wind
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3-4 Sept, 2022
Whitchurch Canal Festival
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HOW DO YOU WANT YOUR COPY OF SHROPPIE FLY PAPER? This magazine is available in a range of different forms:
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Distribution of Shroppie Fly Paper in all forms is handled by IWA headquarters staff. So, if you would like to change the way that you receive this magazine, please email membership@waterways.org.uk.
FROM THE STEERER
Wow – that’s hard work! My admiration for the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust volunteers at Wappenshall Wharf – and, indeed, waterways volunteers across the country including our very own Waterway Recovery Group – has soared in the last couple of months. I began ferrying my granddaughter to the Saturday Wappenshall work parties at the end of January to help her quest for her Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award, but I think my description of them as ‘parties’ may have misled her a bit. So far, we have helped lay the last of the concrete bed for the canal basin, dug out a drainage catch pit and outfall pipe trench, positioned concrete blocks to form a berm underneath the warehouse building, erected a scaffold tower and edged the soon-to-be towpath alongside the basin. Hard hats and high-vis make a bit of a change for desk warriors like me, but there’s no denying the satisfaction of helping to move the project forward, even if others have been doing the real heavy lifting for years, right through the pandemic. You can read Phil’s full report about SNCT’s progress with this landmark restoration on page 20. Another side-benefit of the branch’s relationship with SNCT was an invitation to spend an hour one Sunday morning in mid-February in the company of Stephen Kearney, Julia Olsen and ‘Captain Phil’ Tarrant on Waterwaves Radio, an internet radio station that aims to inform and entertain listeners on all things watery, whether inland or blue-water. In a wide-ranging conversation, we touched on many of IWA’s key themes both locally and nationally, not least the work that has been and is being done by IWA’s Sustainable Propulsion Group to explore routes to more environmentally friendly boating – a topical subject in these days of scarce and expensive fossil fuels. My thanks go to Jenny Morris, our volunteer & restoration hub coordinator in Chesham, for briefing me so comprehensively. You can still catch this recording of the show at https://www.mixcloud.com/ WaterwavesRadio/captain-phil-julia-and-stephen-meet-michael-haig-from-the -inland-waterways-association/
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Also in February, we hosted our Annual Meeting by Zoom. You can find my report to the meeting in this issue of Shroppie Fly Paper on page 12. Prior to the formal AGM business, we enjoyed a presentation by Elizabeth Thomson, Heritage Adviser Operational Projects at CRT West Midlands. Included in the presentation was a discussion about the Architectural Heritage Survey, originally undertaken in the era of British Waterways and now in need of updating. Elizabeth hopes that there will be sufficient interest among volunteers to help with a new survey of the Montgomery Canal heritage, and her article explaining what is needed is on page 8. An altogether different form of volunteering awaits us at the end of April, with the very welcome return of the Norbury Canal Festival, the first since 2019. The dates for Norbury, and the other much-anticipated canalside events at Gnosall and Whitchurch, are in our branch diary on page 2 and we’re looking forward to welcoming members and non-members to our stands. Michael Haig, Branch Chairman
ELLESMERE YARD WEBINAR Following our visit in October 2021 to Ellesmere Yard, former headquarters of the Ellesmere Canal Company, the branch was pleased to host a webinar in December featuring the yard. In “Ellesmere Yard – Regenerating Waterways Heritage”, the Ellesmere Yard team talks about this historic asset dating back to 1806, probably the only early 19th century canal workshop that is still being used for its original purpose. Presenters Tony Lewery, Nicola Lewis-Smith and Ruth Essex spoke about the past, present and possible future for the Yard. Tony is a respected local waterways historian and restoration expert, Nicola is Enterprise Manager (West Midlands) with Canal & River Trust, while Ruth is part of MAAP (Media and Arts Partnership) who are leading the Trust’s drive to find sustainable alternative uses for the Yard. A video of the webinar is available online at https://youtu.be/-Elp5Zf9QHI
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REGION CHAIRMAN WRITES
“Spring is here! Spring is here!” So sang Tom Lehrer all those years ago. And after COVID and Lockdown, perhaps the opportunity to be back on the Cut in the, heretofore, usual way. I do hope so. I was present at a Regional Advisory Board of CRT last month at which one of the topics was the need to attract young people, both to work for CRT but also to appreciate the joys of leisure on the waterways. A very impressive scheme is underway, attracting about 100+ potential joiners, all of whom are enjoying both work and play in our watery environment. The future beckons and, perhaps, the IWA should do something similar. We discussed also two major regional issues - the Anderton Lift and the Chester Graving Dock. The first is having a great deal of money spent on it and some members are questioning why the substantial expenditure made on it only 20 years ago does not seem to have lasted. Fair comment? Or just the process of wear and tear on a piece of our boating history?
The Chester issue is a running sore and I and others are doing what we can to resolve the difficulties between CRT and a local boatyard. My attention was drawn recently to a change of style - and paint - in the CRT restoration of some other heritage sites. They were always painted in black/ white but that has now changed to blue/white. No consultation with IWA, apparently, before the change was effected. Views? The IWA National Treasurer has been warning Trustees recently that our finances - largely derived from the membership - are in a parlous state and need urgent remedial attention. This is a big and worrying problem and will be the first item on the next Trustees agenda. I must record my thanks - and that of many others - to Alan Platt, who has finally decided to retire from the Regional Committee. He has been a stalwart for years, knowledgeable, well-informed, committed and hard-working - as well as being a thoroughly good bloke. He is due our gratitude and good wishes. As are all of you for your continuing involvement and support. Enjoy Spring on the Cut. Sir Robert Atkins—Chairman, North West Region
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MEMBERSHIP MATTERS Spring is on the way
The last few months have been very quiet on the canals with few boats moving and even fewer events, however there have been walkers and cyclists out and about between the storms and downpours of rain. The towpaths are a safe place to be, unlike river paths especially along the River Severn corridor which meanders right through the middle of our Branch area. Our thoughts are with all who have been flooded out and hope that the warmer Spring weather will improve the situation. Understandably there have been very few new members to the Association or the Branch since the Autumn/Winter edition but we are very pleased to welcome Mr & Mrs Brewer from Allostock, Knutsford who have moved from the Manchester Branch to us. Now that the longer warmer days of Spring are upon us and lockdown restrictions are (hopefully) a distant memory, the Branch is looking forward to organising a few activities and events. But before we do please will you let us know what you want - it's your Branch. What do you expect and what will you join in with?
Will you join us at a pub quiz, a Summer outing, canalside walks or a dinner with a guest speaker?
Are you willing to help organise one of the above?
Do you have any other ideas or expectations?
Are you ready and willing to help us at the lockwind or at canal festivals?
Last but not least will you join the Branch committee? Enthusiasm and love of the canals is all that's needed.
Please email your thoughts (details on inside front cover) while they are still fresh in your mind - don't leave it until tomorrow. Dawn Aylwin
WHITCHURCH CANAL FESTIVAL 3-4 SEPT 2022 Planning is underway for the 2022 Canal Festival to be held this September in the Whitchurch Arm of the Llangollen Canal. Booking forms for boats and stalls will be available soon on the Whitchurch Waterway Trust website (http://www.whitchurchwaterway.uk/ canal-festival).
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NORBURY CANAL FESTIVAL 30 APRIL — 2 MAY 2022 The branch will have a stand at the Norbury Canal Festival which takes place during the May Day Bank Holiday weekend. The organisers expect boats to be moored along about a kilometre of the Shropshire Union Canal selling food, gifts, arts, crafts and more. There will be activities, street food, entertainment, boat trips and displays about the work to restore the Shrewsbury and Newport canals. There will be children’s entertainment in the Junction Inn’s garden field including a bouncy castle, face painting and more. Sunday at 14:00 there will be the traditional church service on Norbury Wharf. A working pair of historic boats named Bainton and Berkhampstead, that are undergoing restoration, will be present for visitors to see and speak to the volunteers that are doing this important work. The Junction Inn and Norbury Wharf Ltd will once again be supporting the event with plenty to eat and drink, a narrowboat trip, or a longer cruise on the 42seat Shropshire Star where you can eat and drink aboard.
Photo courtesy of Norbury Canal Festival
Both businesses will have live music through Saturday and Sunday afternoons and evenings. Car parking is free and adjacent to the canal.
It will be a great family day out and you will be helping to restore our local canal network all the way from Norbury Junction to Shrewsbury. The event is free and opens at 10 am daily until 4pm and can be found by using Post Code ST20 0PN. For further information please email norburyfestival@gmail.com or visit Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/ShrewsburyAndNewportCanalTrust. The Junction Inn has its own information page about the festival at: https://www.thejunctioninnnorbury.co.uk/about-3 We hope to see you there!
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ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE SURVEY REVISITED A POTENTIAL VOLUNTEER PROJECT
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The purpose of the British Waterways Board Architectural Heritage Survey (AHS), which was undertaken in the late 1980s to mid-1990s, was to record built heritage features of the waterways from small items to major buildings. The AHS now needs updating in order to record and understand changes to the canal landscape and its heritage assets. Over the last ten years, volunteers have assisted the Canal & River Trust with ongoing updates to the AHS records which have updated the Staffordshire and Worcestershire, Worcestershire and Birmingham, Monmouthshire and Brecon and the Leeds & Liverpool canals. They updated the records using digital cameras and GPS mapping equipment, analysed the new data against the historic AHS and archive material, and uploaded the revised information to the Trust’s GIS database. This is vital work, helping the trust to manage and protect the waterways for years to come. The Montgomery Canal AHS was undertaken between 1994 to 1996. Each survey data sheet included the structure type, condition, material, date of construction and a description of each heritage feature which was recorded. As the Montgomery Canal has undergone many changes since this survey it would be extremely useful to capture and analyse the heritage of the canal by undertaking a new AHS. By capturing the heritage of the Montgomery Canal in a ‘moment in time’, it will mean that any stakeholders involved in the restoration and ongoing maintenance of the canal have a detailed understanding of its heritage value. It will also enable an analysis of how the canal has changed since the original survey from the 1990s. Most importantly it will reveal any historic features which weren’t recorded in the original survey. The original AHS mainly focused on the obvious structures which were associated with the canal such as locks, bridges, toll-houses and cottages. We now have a better understanding about ‘local vernacular’ and the features which distinguish one canal from the next, and most importantly what makes it truly special.
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Therefore, a new survey of the Montgomery Canal will not only revise the original survey data but also document very specific details such as the type of building stone used for a cottage, the rope marks on a bridge and features along on the towpath such as mileposts and historic signage. A revised Architectural Heritage Survey will also mean that further analysis can be made of whether historic structures should be added to or removed from Heritage at Risk registers which are maintained by Historic England, CADW and some local authorities. There are various ways of undertaking a new AHS on the Montgomery Canal. Previous re-surveys have been undertaken by one individual over a year or two while others have been completed by canal society members who have worked in pairs and covered a 3-4 mile stretch of canal. Some volunteers have provided their own camera and laptop while others have been provided with the necessary equipment. Full training was provided before the recording commenced and most people completed their surveys in the Spring and Summer months. This is a brief note to gauge if there is an interest to get involved with the resurvey of the Montgomery Canal. Would you be willing and able to help with the re-survey of the Montgomery Canal? If you are interested in getting involved or would like further details about the project, please email Elizabeth Thomson elizabeth.thomson@canalrivertrust.org.uk Elizabeth Thomson, Heritage Adviser, Operational Projects, Canal & River Trust
TIM & PRU APPEAL FOR SCHOOLHOUSE BRIDGE You can expect to see plenty of these leaflets at waterways events this summer as Tim West and Prunella Scales lend their support to the fundraising to restore the Schoolhouse Bridge on the Montgomery Canal. If you want to donate but can’t pick up a leaflet, you can donate online at: www.localgiving.org/charity/restorethemontgomerycanal
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NANTWICH STOP GATES INVESTIGATION Thanks to branch committee member Graham Russell for these images of the recent dewatering by CRT of the Shropshire Union canal at Nantwich to investigate why the stop gate at Bridge 91 will not close. A similar investigation of the other stop gate at Bridge 92 had already been carried out.
The problem appears to be caused by a build up of silt. Now that this has been established, the project will be passed back to the relevant CRT asset team for the work to be planned for a future date. The planning process includes testing the silt for contaminates before removal.
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HERITAGE FLY-BOAT'S NEW HOME AT ELLESMERE YARD. There's plenty to celebrate with the arrival of Saturn, the heritage fly-boat and her companion craft Sweden. This begins a new era for Ellesmere Yard, North Shropshire and builds on a longterm relationship between the Saturn Project and Canal & River Trust. Nicola Lewis-Smith, West Midlands Enterprise Manager for the Trust is delighted to have the restored fly-boat onsite and moored at the Yard. Working with the Saturn Project, Nicola was involved in helping to raise Heritage Lottery Funds to restore Saturn in 2005. Nicola says 'The Trust acknowledges the national significance of Saturn, enabling us all to step onboard and hear the compelling stories of those who worked the canals during their industrial heyday of the 19th century'. Keep in touch to find out more about Ellesmere Yard's 2022 programme in partnership with the Saturn Project. You can sign up for their newletter at: http://linktr.ee/ellesmereyard Drone Rangers Footage - EllesmereYard You Tube Channel
Saturn Fly-boat - http://www.saturnflyboat.org.uk Instagram @saturnflyboat / Facebook Saturn Flyboat Photos on this page courtesy of Bob Jervis - The Saturn Project
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CHAIRMAN’S REPORT TO SHREWSBURY DISTRICT & NORTH WALES BRANCH AGM 7 February 2022
As members will know, 2021 was another year heavily affected by the coronavirus, but the branch continued to function effectively, even if most activity took place online. Nevertheless, we were fortunate in being able to do more physically than in 2020.
Navigation
The year started badly, with a closure at Bridge 80 on the Shropshire Union Canal from the middle of January until the end of March, due to a hole in a culvert draining the canal, while at Woodseaves between Bridges 56 and 57 the navigation was closed due to a landslip and fallen trees. In the spring we had further bad news, with a closure of the Llangollen Canal between Bridges 3 and 4 to effect temporary repairs to another culvert problem, and a little later Stanthorne Lock on the Middlewich Branch closed for gate repairs. All this came as leisure boating was forbidden during the first few months of the year due to virus lockdown, though the subsequent reopening of the system and continued obstacles to overseas travel provided a welcome summer boost to the hire-boat businesses in our area. CRT West Midlands and CRT North West each held regional user forums online, at which the Branch was represented, and we maintained our dialogue with CRT North West together with neighbouring IWA branches.
Fundraising and events The usual schedule of waterside festivals and events was severely curtailed, although the Friends of the Montgomery Canal very creditably managed to stage a Montgomery Triathlon with reduced numbers and over a different course than normal.
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We were able to resume production of a pictorial calendar after a pause in 2020 - this is another mainstay of our branch fundraising efforts. Thanks to those who helped put it together and, of course, to all those who bought it. You will have read in Shroppie Fly Paper of the splendid contribution from branch stalwart Peter Brown, who self-published a collection of his essays and articles under the title ‘A Shropshire Union Miscellany’, with profits going to the branch for use in the restoration of the Montgomery Canal. This was in addition to his help as our planning & heritage officer, scanning over 120 planning applications during the year across the seven local planning authorities in our area. The branch lock wind at Cholmondeston made a welcome return, and our thanks go to all the volunteers who cheerfully worked through some very mixed weather to help us raise funds. Towards the end of the year we participated successfully at the pop-up charity card shops in Shrewsbury and Oswestry, which between them yielded over £700.
Social activity
Again due to virus concerns, we were unable to host our customary quiz night and our autumn dinner & talk. However, after many conversations with CRT and the team tasked with exploring complementary alternative uses for Ellesmere Yard, we were delighted to organise a visit for a small group of a dozen people to see the inner workings of this historic waterways depot. We plan to arrange another tour in early spring 2022 for those who couldn’t join us in 2021. Many members will have seen the online waterway webinar about the Yard that we hosted as a follow-up to our visit - about 90 joined us online - and anyone who couldn’t watch ‘live’ the link to the recording is on page 4. We had hoped to organise a New Year’s winter walk but, in the absence of a fresh volunteer coming forward to take over the running of this, we settled instead for a lunch in Audlem early in the New Year, ably organised by Susan & Alan Wilding, to say thank you to a good number of our committed helpers.
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Waterway restoration
The headline announcement in 2021 came in the government’s Budget - that over £15 million would be awarded out of the UK’s Levelling Up Fund to the Montgomery restoration in Wales, between Arddleen and Llanymynech. Congratulations to CRT and Powys County Council on putting together the successful bid and to Montgomeryshire’s Craig Williams MP for championing the bid so effectively. Together with a grant of over £300,000 from the Community Renewal Fund to plan how to overcome the road blockages at Maerdy and Arddleen, this will help fund new work on the Welsh side of the border.
In England, the legal niceties to enable the restoration of Schoolhouse Bridge have inched towards a conclusion and work should start - and complete - in 2022. The procedural delays, exacerbated by soaring costs of construction materials due to supply chain disruptions, mean that the budget has had to be revised upwards significantly, and members will soon be seeing a renewed appeal for funds in the waterways press. Meanwhile the work to reopen the navigation between Gronwen Bridge and Crickheath is nearly finished, leaving just the last two miles of dry canal between Crickheath and the Welsh border at Llanymynech to be rebuilt and rewatered. Also in Shropshire, Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust has now completed the retaining wall of the East Basin at Wappenshall and plans to re-water it later in the year. Work continues on the buildings at the Wharf, and once the concreting of the basin bed is completed in a couple of weeks, additional volunteers can be deployed to work on the structures. Restoration work is also coming along well at Berwick Tunnel, assisted on occasion by volunteers from Waterway Recovery Group. And finally for restoration projects in our area, Whitchurch Waterway Trust managed a great improvement by resurfacing about 200 metres of towpath along the Arm for only around £1,000, so well done to them too.
Administration and thanks
Your branch is fortunate to have an enthusiastic and committed team of nine volunteers on its steering committee, helped by additional volunteers on our various activities such as the calendar, lock wind and at events. But there is no room for complacency and we are always keen to welcome on board fresh energy and ideas, so if you would like to help us in any way please speak to any member of our team. Contact details can be found in every issue of Shroppie Fly Paper.
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To close, may I again thank all colleagues and volunteers for their efforts throughout the year. It really would not be possible to keep the Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch going without you. Michael Haig
IWA NORTH WEST REGION SOCIAL
Another excellent IWA North West Region social meeting is coming our way, to be hosted this year by IWA Manchester Branch.
On June 11, the luxury purpose-built wide-beam restaurant boat Emmeline Pankhurst, operated by City Centre Cruises, will embark guests at around 11am for a cruise of the Manchester waterways starting at Castlefield, in the heart of Roman Manchester. The event will also feature a lunch and entertainment on board. The cost will be £25 per person. Full details, including how to book, will be circulated to members by email closer to the date. In the meantime, why not pencil June 11 in your diary?
Photo courtesy of City Centre Cruises Ltd.
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RESTORE THE MONTGOMERY CANAL! Levelling Up
His rich deep voice is actually all I remember of Sir Geoffrey de Freitas. His was probably the first telephone call I had from an MP about the Montgomery Canal: the second, shortly after the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust was set up, was from Baroness White – would I meet her for tea? Unlike Sir Geoffrey, Lady White carried on a strong interest in the canal, becoming President of MWRT and opener of the restored Carreghofa Locks. Since then the support of politicians of all parties, from Westminster, Cardiff and Brussels, has been a continuing feature of the restoration. Last summer the Welsh Secretary visited the canal. More recently Waterways
L to R: Richard Parry (CRT), Christine Palin (Friends of the Montgomery Canal), Rebecca Pow MP (DEFRA), John Dodwell (Montgomery Canal Partnership), Craig Williams MP, Aled Davies, Deputy Leader Powys County Council. Photo by Michael Limbrey
Minister Rebecca Pow visited Welshpool with Montgomeryshire MP Craig Williams. She met Richard Parry of CRT, John Dodwell of the Montgomery Canal Partnership, the Deputy Leader of Powys Council Aled Davies, the Heulwen Team and a collection of TRAMPS (the Welshpool Adoption team, you will remember), all in recognition of the value that the Government’s LevellingUp grant brings the area and the canal. After the Levelling-Up grant the Powys/CRT team had further success with a grant from Westminster’s Communities Renewal Fund. With a modest matchfunding contribution from the Restore the Montgomery Canal! appeal there is a third of a million pounds for consultants to plan restoration between Arddleen and Maerdy.
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At Arddleen the 1970s construction was a compromise: the trunk road is higher than the highway-men wanted but the canal has to be lower than we would want. Then there was to be a 1½ mile lowered pound from Burgedin to Maerdy, an expensive and difficult solution which was abandoned when Burgedin top lock was restored at the original level. It is still possible to construct a dropped lock/pound at Arddleen – either one continuous dropped lock, perhaps a hundred yards between gates, or two locks with a lowered pound between them – but Maerdy has always been more difficult. Twenty years ago proposals to alter the B4393 junction at Maerdy led to a review of the alternatives: raising the trunk road to clear the canal was an option, though not very practical; or the trunk road could be diverted west and again raised over the canal, possibly with the canal line altered too, or the canal could be diverted west of the main road to run round Arddleen. The favoured solution at that time was suggested by MWRT trustee Tony Adams; a shorter diversion to the west to cross under the main road where it is higher then return to the historic route. All these plans are restricted by the main road and side roads; in addition, the brook culverted under the canal is affected by flooding from the River Severn so any project has to avoid increasing flood risk. IWA honorary consulting engineers have visited: I think they have found it easier to rule out options than to favour one over another! Now that Communities Renewal grant will bring consultants to seek a solution and we could then apply to the Mid-Wales Growth Fund to pay for the work. What do IWA members think would be best?
Vyrnwy Aqueduct
The latest grants will not restore all the canal from Welshpool to Llanymynech. I have reported before that CRT are working on a lottery bid for the Vyrnwy Aqueduct. This is the biggest structure on the canal and where a lot of the rare plants can be found that give the canal in Wales the highest ecological protection.
Shropshire
Shropshire has some catching up to do: no millions for the canal there – yet! But that does not mean no progress. For any restoration, and any funding, we need to know the engineering involved, its cost, and the benefits that show the project is worthwhile. For the first, SUCS have been assisting CRT’s consulting engineers to examine the dry section from Crickheath where they plan to continue restoration after they finish to the basin. The benefits of restoration on both sides of the border are being reviewed by consultants, in Powys supported by a funding contribution from the Friends of the Montgomery Canal.
Schoolhouse Bridge
Over the years, much Montgomery restoration has been funded by UK or European grants or the lottery. Frankton and Aston locks were paid for by IWA and a branch member’s legacy was the major contributor to the Lock 1 reserve at Aston. Five years ago, with the lottery project for the latest Aston reserves and restoration to Crickheath still to get under way, we could see no likely
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source of funding for Schoolhouse Bridge, the last highway blockage in Shropshire, so the branch joined other Montgomery organisations to launch the Restore the Montgomery Canal! appeal. We knew that neither CRT nor Shropshire Council would commission the bridge or make any financial contribution (though they have been generous in support in other ways). The plan was therefore that we would do it without waiting. With support from the branch and IWA nationally the Restore the Montgomery Canal! appeal has raised over half a million pounds for the bridge: this amazing total includes regular monthly payments from over a hundred donors, single donations large and small from individuals and trusts, cake sales, plant sales … and a famous Quiz! Many, many thanks to everyone who has supported the appeal in any way.
Waterways Recovery Group (WRG) at Schoolhouse Bridge in Dec 2021 for final clearance of hedgerows and scrub before nesting season
Alongside the fund-raising our volunteer team finalised many hundreds of pages of formal agreement, technical specification, CDM, health & safety and other documentation and designed a bridge officially approved for adoption by the Council and CRT, without charge in either case. Now with the project almost ready to start we are finding that intense activity in the construction sector is causing delayed delivery dates and notable cost increases. (These all affect our timetable so we have not yet been able to tell the enthusiastic volunteers who have offered to help when and how we can start – I hope we shall be able to do so soon.) Now we have to address those costs. After the last two years’ interruptions a final appeal is being launched with the support of TV’s canal stars Timothy West and Prunella Scales. A generous (anonymous) supporter will match every pound we raise up to £50,000. If you add the Gift Aid tax rebate of 25p for each £1, a £10 donation becomes £22.50 and a gift of £25 benefits the appeal by no less than £56.25. You will see the appeal leaflet in waterway magazines in coming weeks. Could you help with this final drive? Do you have online skills you could use to promote the appeal on social media? Could you arrange a coffee morning or sponsored activity? Or help the appeal at a local event or at one of the bigger events in the area? We have lots of publicity material so you don’t need to be an expert on the bridge or the canal. It will all help to finish that bridge, a valuable step in Restoring the Montgomery Canal! Michael Limbrey
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BRAIN OF MONTY 2022 "Hooray the Monty Quiz!" and "Great I usually enjoy having a go". Just two of the comments received so far this year. Why not give it a go and join the elite group of Brain of Monty enthusiasts? The proceeds will go towards the restoration as part of the Restore the Montgomery Canal! appeal. The winner will hold the coveted title of 'Brain of Monty 2022' and receive a £25 prize - all for just £1. Unfortunately four opportunities to sell the quiz have already been lost (3 AGMs and a pub quiz evening) so we really do need your help. It would be fantastic if every member of the branch would buy/sell 5 copies. Don't leave it for tomorrow as tomorrow never comes, but do it today before you forget. Please send to Brain of Monty quiz, Wyndcliff, Pen-y-Garreg Lane, Pant, Oswestry SY10 8JS:
SAE (A5 16 x 23cm) plus £1 for a single copy or
SAE (as above) plus £5 for 5 copies to sell to family and friends or
SAE plus £1 and a donation to help the canal restoration.
From past experience £1 coins travel safely through the post, suitably wrapped, and notes are even easier to send! But please no cheques as the bank now charges 40p to process every one. PLEASE HELP US to reach the target of selling 1,000 copies. Just think of what your contribution will do for the restoration project. Dawn Aylwin
MONTGOMERY CANAL MENTIONED IN SENEDD DEBATE
The Senedd is the democratically elected body that represents the interests of Wales and its people, makes laws for Wales, agrees Welsh taxes and holds the Welsh Government to account. Russell George, the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Mongomeryshire was able to secure a short debate in Senedd highlighting the value of the Montgomery Canal. You can watch the debate at: http://www.senedd.tv/Meeting/Clip/7a7bbc474a83-4b22-95df-75a2bf10db64?inPoint=04:45:53&outPoint=05:07:09 Or the easy to type link is: https://tinyurl.com/2p88z4wj
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PROGRESS CONTINUES AT WAPPENSHALL DESPITE THE CHALLENGES. As with most of the canal restoration projects across the country the lockdowns brought things to a standstill. A shortage of materials has also impacted on a wide range of projects making the post lockdown restart even more of a challenge. As a result, projects large and small have been set back, but thankfully, with restrictions now lifted, things are getting started once again. It is with this in mind that I paid a visit to Wappenshall to see how things had progressed since my last visit, embarrassingly some years ago! And it would seem that the 50+ volunteers, who have toiled in the mud, cold, wet and sometimes freezing conditions to restore the unique buildings and canal basin, certainly haven't let a pandemic stop them. However, according to Bernie Jones, SNCT’s chairman, things at the site did have to stop for many Diggers hard at work removing mud and silt months, and even when work did restart many restrictions had to be put in place to keep everyone safe. The work at Wappenshall is being carried out under the watchful eye of the Trust’s Project Manager John Heather, who has also had to find ways around some more unusual problems. One that has had a noticeable impact on the upper floor of the larger of the two wharf side buildings, has been to create a home for bats and barn owls. The result has been a sizeable mezzanine structure in the roof space to provide nesting and roosting areas for these protected residents. Despite the setbacks and the extra work Bernie told the Shropshire Star, “but for the want of £1m, we could have this project completed in 18 months!” Sadly the £1m has not, as yet, appeared so it will fall to hard work and effort of the volunteers to put in the hours needed to complete the project.
Marion Weir and William Jones working on the retaining wall brickwork (Photo by Bernie Jones)
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The dedicated band of between 10 and 15 people regularly turn up on Fridays and Saturdays with numbers recently been boosted by four young people taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme. Many now help out regularly and it is great that younger people are being encouraged to take an interest in their local waterways. Despite the holdups, the progress that has been made over the last few years at the site is significant. Recently, despite some appalling weather, 101 concrete slabs covering over 1,000 square metres have been laid on a waterproof membrane to form the basin floor. Two thousand five hundred cubic meters of silt and debris have been removed from the basin, with another 250 cubic metres still to be removed. The creation of two berms, to keep the One of the berms below water when it is eventually allowed into the basin, the skew bridge and the building of retaining walls to avoid any potential breaches are just some of the achievements. The hope is that water will be back in the basin towards the end of this year; fingers crossed!
Work on restoring the two Woolwich Class narrowboats by group members continues and it will be wonderful to see these boats back in the basin and moored up to the shiny new stainless steel mooring rings! Let’s just hope that the volunteers don’t come up against any last moment obstacles that delay the re-watering.
Some of the volunteers working on the smaller of the two warehouses
Despite a lot of work taking place outside, renovation work is still taking place on the two wharf buildings, the smaller of which will become a coffee shop with a meeting room above. Open to all visitors; the hope is that local groups will look to use the space for meetings etc. The second, and larger building, will be restored to provide an exhibition space.
The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust will be involved in using the space to create a rolling exhibition on the life and work of Thomas Telford.
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The Shrewsbury team recently had a visit from Jenny Spelling and Tom Wilding from CRT’s Heritage and Ecology department and met Peter Cann and Bernie Jones at the North Portal of Berwick Tunnel on the Shrewsbury canal. They will be working to provide advice in connection with our project to construct an All-Ability path and the restoration of the Donkey Shed. Donkeys used to pull boats through the tunnel using a wooden towpath.
Jenny Spelling, Peter Cann and Tom Wilding during recent visit by CRT Heritage and Ecology department (Photo by Bernie Jones)
The volunteers have achieved a great deal during the last couple of years, and it will be a testament to the hard work when water is, once again, in the basin. The Wappenshall group are not unique. Across the country, there are groups of people who care passionately about their waterways heritage and who work just as hard to restore and maintain their chosen part of it. Without them, most of these locations would be lost forever.
82 y/o Dave Moore, the oldest volunteer, making a mould for a concrete window lintel
So if you feel inspired to help out have a look at the Waterways Recovery Group section of the IWA’s website to find a local project or contact your local project. I’m sure they would be more than happy to hear from you. Main article byPhil Pickin With additional content from Bernie Jones Photos by Phil Pickin unless otherwise noted.
CALENDAR PHOTOS NEEDED
We hope you are enjoying the pictures in your 2022 calendar. Planning is already under way for the 2023 calendar and we are looking for good quality photos of the waterways in our branch area. Please send your photos to Michael Haig (address on inside front cover)
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CRT NORTH WEST USER FORUM REPORT Part of the role of IWA is to work with navigation authorities to raise concerns about the waterways they run. Our branch is large and has waterways overseen by three CRT regions— North West, Wales & South West, and West Midlands. At Canal & River Trust’s North West Region User Forum in February we raised a couple of questions concerning the Shropshire Union Canal in the North West. Local area operations manager Kate Simons supplied the answers. With the permanent closure of the Barbridge waste facility, are there any plans to provide a replacement facility between Barbridge and Anderton/ Wheelock? Kate confirmed that there are no plans to provide waste facilities between Barbridge and Anderton/Wheelock. Some time ago the Branch discussed with CRT having a facility at their Stoke Hall moorings on the Middlewich Branch, but this came to nothing. When will the Nantwich Embankment’s badly cracked towpath surface be repaired? This has been getting worse for over four years and currently the cracks are wide enough to trap wheelchair wheels. Kate confirmed that there are “slippage issues” on this part of the embankment but currently there are no plans to repair the towpath’s surface.
MONTGOMERY CANAL TRIATHLON Following last year’s successful event the 2022 Montgomery Canal Triathlon will take place on Saturday 7th May. There are 3 stages: 12 miles cycling, 5.5 miles canoeing and 9.5 miles walking. You can complete one or two sections or attempt all three! If you want to enter, there should just be time to do so online at: https:// themontgomerycanal.org.uk/ montgomery-canal-triathlon-2022/ Entries close around 9th April.
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HOW GOOD CAME OF BRITISH WATERWAYS’ VANDALISM The late Edwin Shearing took this photograph of Hurleston Junction in 1957. Within two years the cottage, which had been erected shortly after 1813 opposite the entrance to the Llangollen Canal, had been demolished. This prompted Sir John Smith (1923– 2007), wealthy banker and since 1952 a member of the committee of the National Trust, to take action. He later wrote, ‘It was, in particular, the destruction of Thomas Telford’s Junction House at Hurleston ... which maddened us into starting the Landmark Trust’.
Tixall Gatehouse by Peter Brown
Photo from Railway & Canal Historical Society, Shearing Collection
The Trust was set up in 1965 to save historic buildings that are at risk and give them a new and secure future. It now owns two canal cottages: by Lock 31 at Lowsonford on the Stratfordupon-Avon Canal, and between Locks 31 and 32 on the Stoke Pound of the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. Not canalside, but clearly visible from my favourite rural mooring, Tixall Wide on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal, is Tixall Gatehouse, one of the Trusts earliest purchases. All these properties are available as holiday lets. Peter Brown
A CONNECTION WITH THE UKRAINE
In these troubled times, our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine. George Jebb (1838–1927), the Shropshire Union's Engineer from 1869 until 1919, provides a link between the our canal and that country. Jebb was born at Baschurch and during his training worked on railway schemes in the Chester area. In 1863 he went to Galicia, then a province in Austria-Hungary, where he helped survey and build the railway from Lemberg (now Lviv) to Czernowitz (now Chernivtsi), a distance of about 175 miles, in what is now western Ukraine. Lemberg, renamed Lvov, became part of Poland after WW1; after WW2 as Lviv it became part of the Soviet Union, and in 1991 part of the independent nation of Ukraine.
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BRANCH LOCK WIND 12-13 AUGUST 2022 Planning is underway for this year’s lock wind which is a key fundraising and social event for the branch. The lock wind will take place at Cholmondeston Lock on the Middlewich branch of the Shropshire Union Canal near Venetian Marina on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th August 2022. For any members unfamiliar with lock winds, we work the lock for passing boaters and encourage them to make a donation or purchase something from our stall. We have noticed over the years that the donations get more generous if the weather is bad. Not sure if it’s in sympathy with us in our wet weather gear or just gratitude for not having to get off the boat to work the lock!
As you can see from the photo, we also get nice weather and it is a fun day or two out in the open air meeting other IWA members and the boaters. If you would like to take part this year, please contact any of the committee using the contact details on the inside front cover. If you can’t help on the day, perhaps you could donate some goods for sale on the stall? We typically sell jam, chutney, cakes, books, DVDs alongside the IWA merchandise. Watch out for a further call for stall goods in the Summer issue! We hope to see you there! Andrew Smith
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GNOSALL TOWPATH RESTORATION GROUP – CANAL FESTIVAL JULY 2022
We’ve been invited to share with the readers of The Shroppie Fly a little bit about the work we have been doing. ‘We’ are Gnosall Towpath Restoration group [GTR]. About 25+ volunteers doing what we can when we can. Numbers fluctuate according to volunteers’ personal circumstances and availability and currently include three young men doing their Duke of Edinburgh award. As readers will know, in many areas local communities have adopted relevant sections of canal agreeing to do minor maintenance, tidying up and reporting problems to CRT. Gnosall Parish Council, adopted “our” length of canal on behalf of the village in spring 2016. This runs from Cowley Tunnel south of the village [“bridge” 33] to bridge 36 which is beyond the old railway bridge [35a]. During 2021 we input about 500 hours of labour. We now have ten planter beds, including a much admired herb garden, five fruit trees coming on nicely, cycle parking, a cycle ramp and a much improved towpath between The Boat and The Navigation. The three bridges within the village boundary are now largely free from ivy and the banks around them have been planted with bulbs and primrose producing a beautiful display this month. We have two welcome signs planted with flowers at the north and south approaches to the village and the mile-markers, water points and other signs have been painted and refurbished.
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In July 2019, before any of us had heard about Covid-19, GTR organized a very successful Canal Festival. Having learned ‘on the job’ and flushed with our success we immediately scheduled another one for 2020 but it was not to be. We tried again in July 2021 but were again thwarted by covid uncertainty! However, third time lucky we are now organizing the Gnosall Canal Festival [C’Fest] for July 15th-17th inclusive. There will be a range of trade and historic boats and the event will be well supported by the two canalside pubs, The Navigation and the Boat. More information is available at www.gnosallcanalfestival.co.uk
Barry Witts
PLANNING A CRUISE? The information below from CRT may be useful if you are planning a cruise in or near our branch area.
Grindley Brook Locks 1—3 Staircase
CRT aim to have Volunteer Lock Keepers present between March and October to support passage through the staircase locks at peak times. There will be signage present to highlight when a lock keeper in present on duty. If you require their assistance, they will be happy to help. Please note, at busy times, delays are to be expected.
Frankton Locks
Summer 2022 (4 April 2022 — 31 October 2022) Opening Times: 09:00—12:00 daily (including Bank Holidays) Booking is required for passage through the locks. Bookings can be made up to the end of the day before passage. Bookings are not accepted on the day of passage. Online booking is available on the CRT website. If you have difficulty booking online, please contact 0303 0404040 8am – 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 5pm Saturday & Sunday. Customers are advised that there is a maximum of 12 boats allowed down the locks and 12 boats allowed up the locks per day. Booking well in advance is recommended to avoid disappointment. There is a minimum of 1 night and a maximum of 14 nights stay.
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Harecastle Tunnel
Summer 2022 (1 March 2022— 31 October 2022) Un-booked (Open) passages are available from 08:00— 12:00 Monday to Sunday. Open passages must arrive at the tunnel portal between 08:00— 12:00. There is no guarantee of passage for arrivals after 12:00 unless pre booked online. Bookable passages are available Southbound (Kidsgrove to Tunstall) at 14:00 and 16:00 and Northbound (Tunstall to Kidsgrove) at 15:00. For direct tunnel enquiries please email eventsnorthstaffs@canalrivertrust.org.uk Passage is only permitted with a working horn and tunnel light; at present CRT are unable to lend such items.
Anderton Boat Lift
Summer 2022 (1 April 2022—31 October 2022) During the summer period the lift will be operating 7 days a week.
Friday to Wednesday: 09:30 — 16:30
Thursday: 10:45 — 16:30 to allow for weekly inspections
Monthly routine inspections on the Lift every first Thursday of the month. The Queen’s Jubilee, Thursday 2 June will be open as normal, and inspections will be carried out on Thursday 9 June 2022 instead. Passages on Tuesday 12 July 2022 have been suspended, subject to change. Confirmed notice will be provided nearer the time. All passages must be booked in advance, bookings can not be taken onsite. Bookings can be made online or by calling 0303 0404040 between Monday to Friday, 08:30 – 17:00 and Saturday & Sunday, 10:00 — 14:00. Next available slot on the day is free of charge, however this passage is subject to availability, otherwise, charges of passage do apply. Please ensure that you arrive at the holding area 30 minutes before the scheduled passage which gives CRT staff an opportunity to visually check the boat for any potential issues, and more importantly, allows time for the safety briefing to be delivered and to answer any questions that might arise. You will be charged the full amount should you fail to turn up for your booked passage. Failing to turn up has an adverse impact on the efficiency of the lift and limited operational staff. Before travel, please check CRT’s “Water level and strong stream warnings” page at https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/boating/planningyour-boat-trip/water-level-and-strong-stream-warnings.
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Vale Royal, Hunts, Saltersford and Dutton Locks, Weaver Navigation
From Friday 8 April 2022 until Sunday 30 October 2022 inclusive, these locks on the Weaver Navigation will be open to navigation 7 days a week. Lock keepers will be onsite to operate the 4 locks as per the following times. No booking required. From Friday 8 April until, and inclusive of Friday 29 April, the following times will apply: Monday to Sunday: 8:30am to 5pm, last passage at 16:30. Over the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend, from Saturday 16 April until Monday 18 April inclusive, the following times will apply: 09:30 — 18:00 – 6pm, last passage 17:30
From Saturday 30 April, until Sunday 11 September inclusive, the following times will apply: Monday to Friday: 08:30 — 17:00, last passage at 16:30. Saturday, Sunday & Bank Holidays: 09:30 — 18:00, last passage at 17:30. Please note the following Bank Holidays will operate as per normal Monday to Friday hours, 08:30 — 17:00, last passage at 16:30: Good Friday, Friday 15 April 2022 Queen's Platinum Jubilee, Friday 3 June 2022 Passage through the 4 locks on Tuesday 12 July 2022 is suspended, subject to change. Confirmed notice will be provided nearer the time. Due to reduced daylight hours, from Monday 12 September until, and inclusive of Sunday 30 October 2022, the following times will apply: Monday to Sunday: 8:30am to 5pm, last passage at 4:30pm.
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More information available at www.gnosallcanalfestival.co.uk
