Shropshire Magazine

Canoeing on the Montgomery Canal.

Neil Thomas dips a toe into still waters and finds some enthusiasts making a splash

“There is nothing — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” So said Water Rat to Mole in Kenneth Grahame’s classic Edwardian story The Wind In The Willows. And the Friends of the Montgomery Canal would quite like it if you and I shared the sentiment.

The role of the Friends is to encourage us to use this attractive feature which straddles not only two counties, Shropshire and Powys, but two countries. It stretches from its junction with the Llangollen Canal at Frankton Locks, near Ellesmere, south west to Freestone lock, near Newtown – an idyllic 35 miles through some of the most attractive rural scenery the Welsh Marches has to offer, with its largest port of call being Welshpool.

The canal is largely rural and a real haven for wildlife, with many Sites of Special Scientific Interest along the way. At present, only certain sections are navigable by boat, but there is much to offer the walker and angler too. 

Frankton Locks present an idyllic scene.

As canals as a means of commercial transport fell into disuse, sections of the country’s network silted up and became impassable. That the ‘Monty’, derelict for many years, is now being reborn as a cruiseway with more than half of it in water, is in no small measure thanks to the tireless efforts of the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust and its army of volunteer workers. 

The Friends group was launched by the trust to provide information and to involve people living in the canal corridor, and has a membership of close on 100. One of the key roles of the Friends is to promote the canal for leisure use. Plenty goes on along the waterway and it publishes an informative seasonal newsletter, as well as organising events to highlight the joys of incorporating the canal into our leisure time.

For instance, you might be surprised on a stroll along the towpath to see canoeists paddle by. The Friends have several  Canadian-style canoes, with equipment, available for use along most of the canal’s length.

“You obviously can’t canoe through the locks so you have to get out and carry the canoes and then get back in again, but there are plenty of stretches that you can use,” says Friends’ publicity officer Freda Davies, who became involved in the group eight years ago through her interest in tourism.

The Friends’ view is that the more that boaters use the canal the better, as it keeps weeds down. The canoes are based at Pool Quay and Maesbury and can be borrowed for a donation (contact 01938 590543 or 01691 831455 for details).

Colourful

Another colourful use of the canal is the annual Dinghy Dawdle, which last month saw 40 brave crews battle heavy rain and strong winds to stay afloat on a stretch between Penllwyn Lodges, near Garthmyl, and Aberbechan, near Newtown.

The event was organised by the Friends with the Shropshire Union Canal Society and participants were also given the option to travel for the first time to Freestone Lock.

Organiser Terry Wain said: “It was great fun and successful in promoting the canal and raising some funds.”

The Friends have gone to great lengths to make the towpath user-friendly. Stretches have been brightened up by a network of sculptures by artist Pippa Taylor, of Machynlleth, and her partner Jon Easterby, all of which have been designed to reflect an aspect of canal history. Three also act as seats for weary walkers. 

Areas of the towpath which offer canalside access for wheelchairs and pushchairs have also been identified, so that everyone can get the chance to enjoy attractions like Llanymynech Visitor Centre and the Wern Nature Reserve. The Heulwen Trust also runs group boat trips for disabled people on the Welshpool section.

In its 19th-century working heyday the ‘Monty’ was part of a network of over 200 miles of waterways owned by the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company. Work on it was held up by the Napoleonic Wars and it was left to a separate company to complete the Newtown extension, which opened in 1821. 

The canal was built primarily for agricultural use but also moved limestone from the quarries at Llanymynech to limekilns on the bank side. In 1840 there were 92 limekilns along the canal and their remnants can be seen today at several locations. The ‘Monty’ also provided the power for eight watermills.

Competition from the railways led to a decline in trade and when the canal breached its banks in 1936, isolating it from the rest of the system, the repairs were deemed unviable and abandoned. The canal legally fell into disuse in 1944. 

However, in the 1960s a restoration campaign was launched in Welshpool and years of hard work by enthusiasts has ensued. Today the Montgomery Canal, once unloved and forgotten, is part of our lives again. 

• For more details on the Friends of Montgomery Canal visit www.montgomerycanal.org.uk

Canadian canoes are available in exchange for a donation to the Friends.