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)

NORBURY CANAL F ESTIVAL 30 APRIL — 2 MAY 2 0 22

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. 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!

Photo courtesy of Norbury Canal Festival

ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE SURVEY REVISITED A POTENTIAL VOLUNTEER PROJEC T

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.

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 & PR U A PPE A L F OR SC HOOLHOUSE 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

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.

HERITAGE F L Y-BOAT'S NEW HO ME AT EL L ESMER E Y A RD .

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

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT TO SHREW SBURY D I STR I C T & NOR TH WA LES 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.

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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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.

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 NOR TH WES T R EGION SOCI AL

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.

RESTORE THE M ONTGOMERY 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

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.

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

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 17

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 Waterways Recovery Group (WRG) at Schoolhouse Bridge in Dec 2021 for individuals and trusts, cake sales, plant final clearance of hedgerows and scrub sales … and a famous Quiz! Many, before nesting season many thanks to everyone who has supported the appeal in any way. 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

"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

MONTGO MER Y C A NA L MENTIONED IN SENEDD D EB A TE

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

PROGRESS CON TINUES AT WAP PENSHALL D ESPI TE THE C HA L L ENGES.

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)

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 water when it is eventually allowed into the basin, One of the berms below 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. 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.

Some of the volunteers working on the smaller of the two warehouses

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.

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. 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.

82 y/o Dave Moore, the oldest volunteer, making a mould for a concrete window lintel

Jenny Spelling, Peter Cann and Tom Wilding during recent visit by CRT Heritage and Ecology department (Photo by Bernie Jones)

Main article byPhil Pickin With additional content from Bernie Jones Photos by Phil Pickin unless otherwise noted.

CAL ENDAR 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)

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.

MONTGO MER Y C A NA L TR IA THL ON

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.

HOW GOOD CAM E OF BRITISH WATERWAYS’ V A ND A LI SM

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’.

Photo from Railway & Canal Historical Society, Shearing Collection

Tixall Gatehouse by Peter Brown

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 C ONNEC TI ON WI TH THE UKR A I NE

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.