THE SHREWSBURY DISTRICT & North Wales branch of the Inland Waterways Association recently celebrated the heritage of the Montgomery Canal at Queen's Head, near Oswestry.
Alongside other heritage-focused events in the area, visitors were able to discover more about the canal in its trading heyday, see the beautifully restored Saturn, built in 1906 and now the only surviving Shropshire Union Canal fly-boat, visiting from its base in Ellesmere.
The Inland Waterways Association and the Canal & River Trust representatives were present to tell visitors more about the history of the Montgomery Canal and current and planned restoration works. Budding engineers could even try their hand at building a canal-style bridge to see how an arch is built and how strong it can be.
Shropshire Paddlesport Club, based in the old Queen’s Head canalside warehouse, held their usual training sessions in the morning and then provided taster sessions for those who wanted an experience on the water.
Most successful
Branch chairman, Michael Haig, explained:
“Our heritage day was most successful. Visitors came to learn about the canal and its story: the working days exemplified by Saturn, new works in Shropshire and across the border in Powys, the nature reserves by the nearby Aston Locks and elsewhere. Some could give us new details they remembered.
“The canals were an essential part of the Industrial Revolution which changed this country for ever. Settlements like Queen's Head across the canal network were part of the story of their working days. At Queen's Head the canal was crossed by Telford’s Holyhead Road, there was a warehouse, wharf and crane, an Inn, and even a tramway tunnel. After it was abandoned in the 1930s the canal became overgrown and clogged, but after sixty years restoration meant boats could return to Queen's Head once more.
“Today the Montgomery Canal attracts visitors from across the country and abroad and navigation extends another four miles beyond Queen's Head. There are four new road crossings in Shropshire, including the two at Queen's Head, and volunteers are pressing on to extend navigation towards the Shropshire border.
“This year the Inland Waterways Association is celebrating eighty years since the start of its campaign to protect and restore our waterways. In the early days pioneers of the Association could not even reach Llangollen and now the canal there is one of the busiest holiday canals in the country—or would be apart from the breach in the banks at Whitchurch, and that shows how important it is to care for this two-hundred year heritage.
“The Montgomery Canal is special. It was always a branch line at the end of the Shropshire Union system which extended from the Black Country to the Mersey and into Wales. Today we value its built heritage and its flora and fauna protected in reserves alongside the canal. The first of these reserves, a short distance down the canal from Queen's Head, was built by volunteers of our Waterway Recovery Group with funds bequeathed by a branch member.
“With their heritage and the opportunities for recreation and tourism our canals can be an important amenity for local communities and their visitors. The Inland Waterways Association is the only independent, national charity campaigning for Britain’s canals and rivers, dedicated to supporting and regenerating them for leisure, living and business.
“Our events like the Heritage Day at Queen's Head are an opportunity to tell people what we stand for. It was a good day and a most enjoyable and informative time was had by one and all. We hope to repeat our Canal Heritage Day next year.”