Shroppie Fly Paper - Spring 2016

Spring 2016 Shroppie Fly PaperPage

Spring 2016Shroppie Fly Paper PageCover image: Swan over the Shropshire Union, by Mark Welton

Shroppie Fly PaperSpring 2016 Page 3

The Editor's cut...

Your editor recently spent a very enjoyable day helping thevolunteers with our local adoption group, SUMBA, ‘Cleanfor The Queen’ in an ambitious Litter Pick-athon along thewhole ten-mile length of the Middlewich Branch (plus a bit).

Besides sparingHerMajesty, should she be out walking thecorgis along the towpath, from the sight of the dozens ofbags of litter and miscellaneous junk we collected, thevolunteers could also take satisfaction from being able to ‘give something back’ tothe canals we are so fortunate to have around us.

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved listed in the pages of this issue,and most of them needn’t take up much of your valuable time or even be on aregular basis.

For example, the participants in the Montgomery Triathlon in early May (opposite)would really appreciate some stewards for the event to help keep everyone safeandhappy.Or, itwouldbewonderful if youcoulddonate somehomemadeproducefor sale at our early August lock wind (page 9), and perhaps even turn up for a halfday to join our happy crew on the branch stall and help boaters through the locks.

It’s sometimes easy to think that the work of IWA, whether in the branches such asShrewsbury & North Wales or nationally, somehow looks after itself. In realitythough, IWA is a membership organisation (unlike CRT) and totally reliant on itsmembers for all its achievements. Apart from a small, mainly administrative, teamat the office in Chesham, everything that IWAdoes is done by volunteermembers.

You'll see numerous appeals for help in the pages of this issue. We're veryappreciative of our 'armchair members', who support IWA by being loyal membersand paying their regular subscriptions. But a lot of what we would like to do as abranch can only be done by people stepping forward and being prepared to getinvolved – to a greater or lesser degree – in supporting our activities.

We need your help – and there are opportunities to suit virtually all interests andcapabilities. It's also fun!

If you feel you could ‘give something back’ to the waterways, please contact anymember of the branch committee (details on page 4).

Michael Haig

Next copy date: Friday, June 24, 2016

Spring 2016Shroppie Fly Paper Page 4

The Branch CommitteePresident & Michael Limbrey [email protected] 01691 654081Secretary & Dawn Aylwin [email protected] Sec. 01691 830403Heritage & Peter Brown [email protected] OfficerVice Chairman & Michael Haig [email protected] Editor 07801 415573Social Secretary Val Haig [email protected]

07976 280174Treasurer & Alan Platt [email protected] Liaison OfficerWebmaster Alan Wilding [email protected] Members David Aylwin [email protected]

Gerallt Hughes [email protected] Wilding [email protected]

NW Region Chairman Mike Carter [email protected]

Branch Web pages www.waterways.org.uk/shrewsburywww.facebook.com/pages/IWA-Shrewsbury-Branch/388651831206061

Shroppie Fly PaperShroppie Fly Paper is the newsletter of the Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch of The InlandWaterwaysAssociation (IWA). IWAcampaigns for theconservation, use,maintenance, restorationanddevelopment of the inland waterways. For further information contact any committee member.

Copy for Shroppie Fly Paper is welcome by email, on disk or in manuscript form. Photographs may bein any common computer format or as prints. Please supply a stamped addressed envelope if yourequire photographs to be returned. ‘Letters to the Editor’ intended for publication are invited, as arecomments for the Editor’s private guidance. Copy and letters submitted for publication may be edited.

The InlandWaterwaysAssociationmaynot agreewith theopinionsexpressed in this branchnewsletterbut encourages publicity as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be construed as official policyunless stated otherwise. The Association accepts no liability for any matter in this newsletter. Anyreproduction 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.


From The Steerer

It's seventy years since IWA was formed. The branchmarked previous silver and golden anniversaries – the50th in 1996 saw the National Trailboat Festival atWelshpool. This year celebrations will be more muted –perhaps they are when you get older!

The world of our waterways has changed so much overthose years. In the earliest days Tom Rolt could not gethis boat up the Llangollen as far as Ellesmere, while inthe '60s Barbara Castle took away the valued 'right ofnavigation' but gave protection to Cruising Waterways – including the Llangollen– and to Commercial Waterways, but none to the Remainder Waterways.

John Prescott'sWaterways for Tomorrow marked a change in the Government'sattitude (“Our waterways are a sustainable resource that can flourish. Theprospects are exciting,” he wrote) and – greatest of all – CRT's takeover ofsomewhat under a half of the country's waterways has brought a new approachand a future assured in a way another IWA founder, Robert Aickman, could onlydream of.

WhileCRTmaybeon theway tobecoming theWaterwayConservancy thatRobertAickmanwished for, many waterways remain outside the CRT fold. IWA has beencampaigning for theEnvironmentAgencywaterways tobe transferred toCRT, andit is welcome news that those organisations are now talking about how that couldbe achieved.

Our branch is of course not directly affected by this issue, but we are part of anational organisation,withmemberswhodon't onlyboatwithinbranchboundaries.For this reason we included the idea when writing to newly elected MPs within ourbranch area last year, and again will touch on all Welsh issues when similarlyapproaching candidates in the coming Welsh Assembly elections.

One point we will raise with election candidates is the Welshpool Town Councilinitiative to reopen theMontgomeryCanal toWelshpool: more about this on pages29 & 30 of this issue of Shroppie Fly Paper.

The border between England and Wales does funny things in our branch area: itruns along the towpath south of Bridge 42 on the Llangollen, crosses for a coupleof miles past Bettisfield, then at Chirk and Llanymynech the Llangollen andMontgomery canals cross into Wales for good.

In Wales CRT operates as Glandŵr Cymru. It has just set up a board, BwrddGlandŵr Cymru, to oversee operations in Wales, dealing with the Assembly at astrategic level, at local level working with the two partnerships in Wales. 'Ours' of


course is NorthWales & Borders Partnership, and our branch treasurer Alan Plattis a member. Bwrdd members have a wide range of experience in charity andpublic work, and a number of its members come from our area.

Also in Wales, we are approaching the final stages of the Powys LocalDevelopment Plan. The latest changes underline the importance of theMontgomery Canal for its ecology and habitats, but diminish the value of its builtheritage and the value of the boating connection to the national waterway network.With other Montgomery groups, IWA is making representations.

Asmembers you are supportingwhat IWAdoes for our waterways, in our area andfurther afield. There are things CRT cannot do and which are beyond the scope ofour friends in other local canal organisations.We value your support, and need thesupport of more who care for our waterways – so please encourage other peopleto join IWA, to do for our waterways what no-one else can do.

Our AGMwill be held at the Narrowboat Inn, Whittington on 11 April. This meetinghas had different formats over the last few years, and this year's will be the leastformal. The Narrowboat is a regular venue for our business meetings: many of ushave a meal beforehand, combining pleasure with business. While we have toaddress the formalities of the AGM, I hope the greater part of our evening will befor members to discuss with us what IWA does in our area and across the country.

As avid readers of Shroppie Fly Paper you all know what the branch does in ourarea. In the North-West and nationally IWA is Keeping Our Waterways Alive forboaters and everyone else who enjoys our canals, with issues which affect ...

· boating – from winding holes to waste disposal, from visiting the Bridgewaterto challenging HS2 proposals which would damage valued spots on the network

· restoration,with threevaluableprojects inourarea, not tomentionothersacrossthe country (which is your favourite?)

· the future of our waterways: bringing Environment Agency waterways to CRTwould be a great benefit in some parts of the country

· the future of IWA: developing the rôle of 'critical friend' to CRT, with both of uslooking for ways to encourage coming generations to value our waterways and tocarry on the work of the last seventy years.

These are serious things, but we can often leave serious behind, and just enjoydoing something for our waterways. Come and join us.

Michael Limbrey – Branch Chairman

Please support the Brain of Monty QuizProceeds support projects on the Montgomery Canal - Question sheets only £1

each from Judith 01691 831455


Region Chairman writes

From the regional perspective it has been an interestingstart to 2016 with much to occupy us, including heavyflooding, work parties and numerous forward planningmeetings.

In our region we continued to suffer many unplannedstoppages causedbyeverything from fallen trees to lorrystrikes on bridges. However, as you know, there hasbeen much worse following the wettest December onrecord and theBoxingDay floods caused great damage.

Stainton Aqueduct on the Lancaster Canal is still closed and farther afield largeareas of the Calder & Hebble and Eastern Rochdale canals remain unnavigable.A great response from volunteers has now resulted in reopening much of the towpath of this valuable trans-Pennine waterway, a terrific example of the power ofvolunteeringwhich should beapplauded.However, after seeingall thedevastationcaused by these flash floods, I think we should be ready for a long navigationstoppage here.

Having been involved in many consultations with CRT and more recently with theBridgewater Canal Co., I wonder, did wemake a difference, is our message clear,are we being listened to, etc.? Overall I think we can claim that we have made adifference as the value of consultation with IWA has now been recognised by thenavigation authorities in our region.CRTandnow theBridgewaterCanalCo. seemto be eager to hear our views.

When it comes to the local planning authorities though, I think we still have a longway to go, so it's good to see the branches in our region getting involved with localauthorities in developing local waterway strategies. Given all the recent TVpublicity showing the value or canals, I'm sure that, with a little nudge from the localbranches, Shropshire, Powys, Denbighshire and Cheshire East will see the valueof developing similar strategies to Cheshire West and Chester, where IWA isrecognised as a reliable authority on all waterway matters.

Another area where I'm sure we will see success is in bringing the IWA messageto the various communities in our region. Specifically, flying the IWA flag at eventssuch as Norbury,Whitchurch andWelshpool gives us a great opportunity to talk topeople who may otherwise know little about the regeneration value of canals andhow to get involved in keeping their waterway environments clean and tidy.

In conclusion I would like to thank all the volunteers for keeping our waterwaysalive. Long may the excellent work continue.

Mike Carter - Region Chairman


Membership Matters

We are delighted to welcome the following new members who have joined thebranch since the Autumn/Winter edition of this magazine, and look forward tomeeting you at one of the events this year. Full details can be found on page 16.

Mr &Mrs Darby fromMochdre, Mr & Mrs Dillon fromWhixall, Mr & Mrs Nunn fromBeaumaris, Mr Thompson from Brynteg.

Everybody has different reasons for joining IWA. I joined by default. In fact whenwe started hiring boats I had never heard of the Association or even BW. The latterorganisation came into focus when we bought a boat and had to pay the licencefee. However David suddenly announced that he was joining IWA - what? who?why? I still didn't really know why until we moved to the Midlands and werewelcomed to the Shrewsbury Branch - living on the south coast we did not getinvolvedwith events, not thatwewere aware of any, or that branches evenexisted!So we were armchair members to start with.

For some years now we have enjoyed being active members of the branch, andtwo of the people we have to thank for this are Janet and Denis Farmer, whorecently decided to retire from the committee although I hope they will still attendthe odd event or two. When I became the branch secretary I needed a lot of helpand encouragement; Janet and Denis were always there at the end of the phoneto answer innumerable questions and queries. I would not have survived withoutthem. So many thanks. You will be missed, in fact you have left a very large hole.

Dawn Aylwin

FundraisingIn recent years Shrewsbury & North Wales Branch has been very successful inraising funds to support our local waterways, both the ones we can boat, walk andfish along and also the ones that teams of volunteers are making such strenuousefforts to restore.

We have been able to donate around £1,000 in each of the last two years to helpprojectson theShrewsbury&Newport, theMontgomeryandatWhitchurch, aswellas a contribution to the expenses of the Small Task Team Volunteers on the SUand Llangollen. Our current bank account balance is largely earmarked to supportthe Heritage Lottery Fund match funding needs of the bids from SNCT andMontgomery Waterway Restoration Trust. We have pledged several thousandpounds to each of these, and we are fervently hoping they are successful.

This money has all been generated by the efforts of branch volunteers – none ofit comes from central IWA funds.


Butobviouslywhatgoesoutat thebottomhas tobe replenishedat the top!Wehavetwo main fundraising activities each year – our popular calendar, which can raise£1,000 or more from sales, thanks to generous sponsors helping us take care oftheprinting costs, andour annual lockwind,wheredonations frompassingboatersandsalesof cards, booksandhome-madeproducecanearnupwardsof £500.Ourbranch stall at other events such as the Norbury and Whitchurch festivals alsohelps to boost our funds.

2017 Calendar – appeal for photos

We didn’t quite manage to sell all our2016 calendars (we ordered extra stockafter selling out the two previous years)but we’ve agreed to produce a newcalendar for 2017.Wealways have lots ofpositive comments on the quality of thephotos we include and this is really one ofthe big selling points for the calendar.

So if you are a photographer and haveimages of local waterways scenes thatyou think may be suitable, please send aselection as soon as possible to theeditor, [email protected] usual geographic boundaries apply:photos should have been taken on theLlangollen, Montgomery, SU MiddlewichBranch,SUMainLinebetweenBarbridgeand Bridge 9, Pendeford (south ofBrewood), and, of course, the S&N! We need a choice of quality photos from allseasons, so please trawl your photo libraries and see what you can find.

2016 Lock Wind – appeal for help

Our lock wind this year will be on the weekend of August 6-7, once again based atthe bottom lock at Hurleston Junction near Nantwich. In the past couple of yearswe’ve had great support from members and others who have turned out over theweekend, some just for a couple of hours, to give us a hand on the branch stall andin working the locks. Please put the date in your diary and come along and havesome fun this year.

Also, we badly need donations of home-made produce – jams, chutneys, cakesand things – that we can sell from the stall. These are always extremely popularwith passing boaters and we invariably run out before the weekend is over. Themore we have to sell the more money we can raise! Thank you for your support.

Michael Haig


Lockage statistics 2015

Usage of the canals in the branch area in 2015 would appear to be down by anaverage of more than 3% on 2014 based on the information in CRT’s AnnualLockage Report for the year, compiled by its Water Management team.

However, there must be caution about reading too much into that statistic, sincethe conversion of lockages (the filling and emptying of a lock chamber), which iswhat CRT measures, into boat movements is more art than science. Manyobservers say that to turn emptyings into movements for narrow canals, it isnecessary to add about a third, so that is what we have used.

NewMarton Lock 2 had 8,779 emptyings, now the busiest for which records werekept in the area, overtaking Cholmondeston, which had 7,850. The decline in theuse of the ‘attached’ Montgomery Canal continued, with about 1,400 movementsthroughFranktonLocks,well short of thepermittedmaximumof 2,500.Our declinewas in line with the general trend, lockages nationally being down by more than10% from the peak year, 2009.

Twelveof the locks inourbranchareaaremonitored,all by telemetryexceptTyrley,which is by manual measurement. These are:

Llangollen: Lock 1, Hurleston; Marbury; Lock 2, New MartonMontgomery: Lock 1, Belan; Pool Quay Lock; Lock 3 Aston; Lock 4, FranktonSU Main Line: Lock 3, Audlem; Tyrley; Wheaton AstonSU Middlewich Branch:Wardle; Cholmondeston

Cholmondeston Lock, with a rise of 13’ 3” (4.04m) is much deeper than NewMarton or any other well-used lock, so probably passes a bigger volume of waterannually than any other narrow lock on the network. (Ignoring leakage!) Eachemptying is about 38,000 gallons (170,000 litres) – in a year, the amount of waterwhich passes through is equivalent to 600 Olympic swimming pools.

Useof the twoEnglish ‘Millennium’ canals isdisappointing: only319 lockageswererecorded at Marsden, at the eastern end of the summit level of the HuddersfieldNarrow Canal while Rochdale Lock was empted only 223 times.

Coincidentally, our local NorthWales&BordersWaterway contains the three leastused of the measured locks on CRT’s system: Belan on the Montgomery with 103lockages and Lock 1 (Graving Lock) and Ellesmere Port’s Top Wide Lock on theShropshire Union, both with fewer than 100.

Michael Haig


Reclaiming Ravensmoor Wharf

Over the winter, the Small Tasks Team Volunteers (STTV) group has beenconcentrating its efforts on the lower lengths of the Llangollen.

In recent times the site of Ravensmoor Wharf at Burland (by the winding hole atBridge 6) has been used as an informal car park, for fishing, occasionally as atemporary base for CRT operations, andmost recently was adopted for a while bya group of resident boats with attendant vehicles. Vegetation was overgrown, litterwas profuse and dumping/storage ofmaterials was obtrusive. Vehicle accesswasfraught with traffic hazards and pedestrian access wasmuddy at best and floodedin times of serious rain.

The first job for the volunteerswas to tidy the site whileconstructing new fences andgates, providing safer roadaccess and preparing it for useasa loadingbay for the local coalboats and as an operationalbase for CRT.

At the end of January STTV wasat Burland again to spread andcompact 55 tonnes of stone onthe car park. This was achievedwith theaidof adigger, a coupleofmini dumpers, andvibratingplate compactors…and a good deal of work with shovels and rakes.

In February STTV beganmore work at Hurleston, this time making improvementsto the landing below the bottom lock and to the towpath between the lock and thebridge on the main line.

-----

MauriceWard joined STTV in April 2012 and soon became joint leader, along withPaul Mills who founded the group. Over nearly four years, and more than 70projects, his contributionhasbeenenormous.Quiteapart from thework-partydaysshared by the volunteers, Maurice shouldered a great deal of the ‘invisible work’so essential for efficient and safe activity. Maurice has decided to relinquish hisleadership role and to step aside from the group for a while. His contribution will bemissed.

John Bannister

Volunteers in action at Ravensmoor Wharf [STTV]


Tugboat Tom

It's been a while since you read anything frommymate Ted. We used to be on thetugboats together, but he retiredawhile back. Before that though, hewould tell youabout his humansand the things theygot up to. Thehumans– let's call themDenisand Janet, though some may call them Janet and Denis – started off with theShrewsbury branch over twenty-five years ago ( – that's in human terms: it'sdifferent for knitted bears). That was before my time but I am told they ran thebranch sales for five years, and after that came the sand game. Theymade all that

money so Denis ended upspending many years asTreasurer.

These were the days of the 'Headof Navigation Rally', which movedas restoration brought theMontgomery Canal back to lifedown from Frankton Junction. Bythen Denis was a trustee of theMontgomery WaterwayRestoration Trust and at theserallies he displayed on the front ofhis boat his copy of theMontgomery paddlegear.

One of the most memorable rallies was at the Millennium when Denis was branchchairman. The 'Grand InternationalMillenniumRally' was to be atWelsh Franktonbut, as the branch press release explained, IWA and SUCS had hit a problembecause it might not be truly international. Whilst by canal you cannot travel fromthere without crossing into Wales, Welsh Frankton was – and is – in England.However, with the connivance of the Mayor, the town of Newtown – in Wales, ofcourse – annexed half of the canal atWelsh Frankton for the duration of the event.It was a memorable – international – evening, in warm boat cabins, looking out atfireworks across the Shropshire plain.

Janet was the custodian of bears, undoubtedly themore important task. We bearswent to rallies too, proudly atop the boat, telling anybody who cared to listen howimportant our canals are. And for somany years Janet organised social events too– quizzes, talks, skittles, meetings, raffles, visits … you name it, and Janet wasbehind it.

It's not for me to say, but I think that the Shrewsbury, District &NorthWales branchof IWA owes a lot to these humans.

Trademark teddies on the Mont [Denis Farmer]


Keeping Shrewsbury District & North Wales Waterways Alive

Every now and then IWA looks at how it presents itself. It has played a pivotal rolein saving our waterways and now contributes to protecting, developing andextending the system. IWA can present the case for our waterways locally and inCardiff and Westminster. It is a respected partner of the Canal & River Trust, buthas interests which go beyond those of CRT.

Recently IWAhasbeenusing theslogan,KeepingOurWaterwaysAlive. It hasalsoused another: Friends of the Waterways.

Ourbranchhasplayed its part inKeepingOurWaterwaysAlive, for over forty yearsnow. And we have much to show for it.

Now we are losing some valuable and long-standing members of the committee.Asyouwill readelsewhereandopposite,Denis andJanetFarmerare takingawell-earned retirement. After many years of making a significant contribution to thebranch, Peter Brown will be leaving us at the AGM to become Secretary of theRailway & Canal Historical Society.

I hope that does not mean that we are unable to do as much.

We need help.As a branchwehave always donewhat committeemembers arewilling to do. Thatmeans our activities have changed from time to time to suit the people who helpus.

Can you help us?Wemeet roughly every twomonths, using email in between.Weoften have amealtogether before our business meeting: the social aspect of the committee isimportant to us.

For a good while we have enjoyed a well-sized and well-experienced committee,but now our numbers are thinning. I am delighted to say that when this hashappened in the past, members have come forward and a revived committee hasgone from strength to strength.

Can you help us keep our waterways alive?We don't twist arms. We are not too formal. We are always delighted to seememberswho just come tomeet us or sit in on committeemeetings.Why don't youcome and see? Our next meetings are at Whittington on April 11 and Nantwich onJune 27.

Michael Limbrey


Socially speaking…

As our over-wintering comes to an end for another year I thought I would mentionsome of the highlights and also look forward a bit.

As reported in the Autumn/Winter Shroppie Fly Paper, we surprised ourselves,others, and me especially at last autumn’s inter-branch social evening at StaffordBoat Club. Being something of a ‘Jacquie-come-lately’ to the black arts of skittles,I can only put it down to beginner’s luck that I managed to join fellow branchmember JohnMyers at the topof the leader boardand that theShrewsbury&NorthWales team emerged as unexpected winners. (Just as well it wasn’t darts!)

Surprises apart, it was, as usual, an enjoyable social evening, giving us a chanceto mingle and get to know members from North Staffs & South Cheshire andLichfield branches.

It seems to be something of a tradition of IWA social events that if you winsomething, you have to organise it next time (see also Quiz). You will see a littleadvert opposite about this year’s inter-branch social – I know it seems a long wayoff at the moment but do pencil it into your diaries so as not to miss it.

In November about 40 of us gathered atthe Brooklands Hotel in Shrewsbury forPeter Brown’s talk on “Crime on theShropshire Union”. Some of you mayhave seen articles that Peter hascontributed elsewhere on this topic, soall I will say is that it was well up to hisusual standards of meticulous researchand amusing narration. Peter is apopular speaker on the waterwayscircuit and if you haven’t yet been to oneof his talks I can commend them to you.His Speaker’s Waistcoat was prettyfancy, too!

The evening also gave us the opportunity to finally unite Michael Limbrey with theChristopher Power Prize, IWA’s national award for someone who has made themost significant contribution to the restoration of an inland waterway. Michael, ofcourse, received the recognition for his work leading Montgomery WaterwayRestoration Trust, and we are very grateful to the Trust’s treasurer, Nick Bostock,who came along to pass over the trophy he had collected on Michael’s behalf atIWA’s National Members’ Meeting in September.

Peter Brown & Michael Limbrey [Susan Wilding]


In February we transferred seamlessly to one of our most frequent venues, theNarrowboat Inn at Whittington, for our annual Quiz Night. Again this was veryencouragingly attended and it was nice to see groups from WWT, SNCT andFriends of the Mont among the 35-plus diners and quiz fiends. Well, some weremore fiendish than others, and needed to be as many of the questions set by lastyear’s winners were, as they say, ‘challenging’.

The winner, by a full six-pointmargin, was Mad Mandarins,meaning itwill fall to theBrowns,Fiona Pearson, Ann Pilsburyand Gilly Devall to set thequestions next year.

Incidentally, I must recordspecial thanks on this occasionto Martin and the staff of theNarrowboat Inn foraccommodating us so well onthe eve of his father Colin’sfuneral. Fiona presents an appreciation of Colin, the guiding hand behind theNarrowboat Inn and the Maestermyn Group, elsewhere in these pages.

Some readers may have noticed that, after well-attended events in the last coupleof years at Joule’s Brewery in Market Drayton and the Anderton Boat Lift, we arenot running aMay social event this year. I agree – this is a disappointment, and it’sone we hope to rectify next year. I’m currently looking at a trip to the DudleyTunnels, which the branch last visited in 2007, since when I understand that thevisitor attractions have been substantially upgraded and expanded.

Shroppie Fly Paper will keep you informed as this idea develops, but if you haveany other suggestions about future social events that would float your boat I wouldlove to hear from you: [email protected].

Val Haig

Mad Mandarins, thrilled to be setting the questions in 2017

Inter-Branch Social Evening - Saturday, October 15, 2016 7.30pmStafford Boat Club, Wildwood, Stafford ST17 4SG - 01785 660725

Come and join us for this year's Social & Skittles Evening with our neighbouring IWA branches.

Based on last year, the cost will be around £7.50 per head including food and skittles, and wewill confirm the details in the next issue of Shroppie Fly Paper. You can pay on the night,however we need to know in advance (for catering) how many will be attending. Please

contact [email protected] to book your place.


IWA Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch - Diary 2016All branch members are welcome to join us at our regular branch business meetings, which arepreceded by an opportunity for supper and socialising. Meetings begin at 7.00pm, with supper from6.00pm. To give our venues an idea of numbers please let the branch know if you would like to attend.

[email protected]

March 13-April 9 8th Annual Canal Art Exhibition at Audlem Mill, in conjunction with theGuild of Waterway Artists. In probably the largest collection of canalart anywhere, around 150 works of art from at least 15 artists will beon display. Open every day - The Wharf, Audlem CW3 0DX

April 11 Branch business meeting at Narrowboat Inn, Whittington SY11 4NUto be preceded by the branch AGM at 7.00pm.

April 30-May 2 Norbury Canal Festival. The branch stall will be operating from nbTamarind - we look forward to seeing you. See opposite.

May 7 Montgomery Canal Triathlon. Volunteers are still needed, so pleaseget in touch if you are able to help. At the moment there are well over125 people booked in to cycle, walk and canoe the whole length of thecanal. Why not join them?

June 5 Shrewsbury River Festival, Quarry Park, ShrewsburyJune 11-12 IWA National Campaign Festival at Eldonian Village, Liverpool, part of

the Leeds & Liverpool Canal Bicentenary celebrations.June 17-19 Middlewich Folk & Boat Festival. www.midfest.org.ukJune 27, 2.30pm Montgomery Canal Forum, Elephant & Castle Hotel, Broad Street,

Newtown, SY16 2BQ. A public meeting to look at the restoration ofthe Montgomery Canal, no charge, all welcome. Further details will beposted nearer the time on the branch website.

June 27 Branch business meeting at The Leopard, 33 London Road, NantwichCW5 6LJ. Our inaugural meeting at this Joule's Brewery pub - comeand join us, we would love to see you! Let us know if you wish to eat.

July 2 Welshpool Food & Canal Festival. The branch stand and WoWactivities. Why not enter a team for the coracle relay? See back cover.

July 24 Church Minshull Aqueduct Marina Open Day.August 6-7 Branch annual lock wind at Hurleston Locks. One of the main fund-

raising events in our calendar. See page 9.August 15 Branch business meeting at Narrowboat Inn, Whittington SY11 4NUAugust 20-21 Whitchurch Gathering of Boats. Please come and support the branch

stall. See page oppositeSeptember 4 Audlem RNLI Festival at OverWater Marina. More details to follow.October 10 Branch business meeting. Venue to be advised in the Summer issue.October 15 Inter-branch Social - The Skittles Challenge. See page 15.


Maesbury Canal FestivalIt is with great sadness and disappointment that the Maesbury Canal Festival this yearhas been cancelled. Many thanks to everyone who volunteered at previous events -

you all helped to make the festival very successful.

Norbury Canal FestivalNorbury Junction, Staffordshire ST20 0PN

May Bank Holiday Weekend

Come and join the fun at the 2016 festival. As well as the traditional craft and foodstalls and refreshments in the garden of the Norbury Junction Inn, more stalls andactivities will be spread along the canalside, around Norbury Wharf and in the Canal& River Trust yard. CRT will be opening the wharf to display some of the specialised

equipment, artefacts and canal memorabilia.

New this year will be an Austin 7 Car Club Rally on Monday 2nd May, when visitorswill have a chance to take a close look at these vintage cars.

There will be lots of children’s activities including a bouncy castle, face painting andfunfair rides, plus at the Wild Over Waterways tent they will be able to take part in

interactive games learning about the waterways.

On the water lots of boat traders, including the very popular Cheese Boat, havealready booked space and they will be joined by a gathering of narrowboats. Visitorswill have the opportunity to look inside some of the narrow boats to see what life islike on board. The Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust will again be operating boattrips along the canal to give people the experience of seeing it from the water.

The Whitchurch Waterway TrustBoat Gathering

The Whitchurch Waterway Trust is holding a gathering of boats on 20th & 21stAugust 2016 on the restored Whitchurch Arm of the Llangollen Canal at

Whitchurch. Entry is £12.50 per boat which includes mooring, commemorativeplaque and competitions. A boaters' social evening at Chemistry Farm will include ameal costing £7.00 per head. Entry forms from Lindsay Green,Chemistry Farm,Whitchurch. SY13 1BZ Tel: 01948 662779 ; e-mail: [email protected] or

download from the website www.whitchurchwaterway.uk.


Clean for The Queen

Clean for The Queen is a campaign promoted by Keep Britain Tidy to clear upBritain in time for Her Majesty the Queen's 90th birthday. During March, lots ofgroups have been busy clearing up our waterways – two in our branch area havebeen the SU Middlewich Branch Adopters and the Audlem Towpath Task-Force.

SUMBAset itself theambitioustarget of litter picking twelvemiles of canal towpath andembankments from Calveleyon the Shropshire Union MainLine to Barbridge Junction -and the whole length of theMiddlewich Branch from thereto Middlewich.

Thirty-five volunteers,includingCubs&Leaders fromNantwich and staff from ActiveCheshire met at AqueductMarina at on a very cold

morning before splitting into teams to coverthe route. Even CRT’s chief executive,Richard Parry, arrived to help the clean-up.

Twoboats decoratedwith flags andbanners,nb No Plan 2 and CRT's workboat Gowy,started from Barbridge and Middlewich andworked their way back to Aqueduct Marina,collecting the 'trophies' of the litter-pickteams as they went. One team who had thelongest route, and the biggest job with litterand fly tipping near Middlewich, gratefullyaccepted a lift back in Gowy.

Over 50 bags of litter andamassof fly tippingwas collected from along the twelve-mileroute.

Besides the expected paper, plastic, tissues,bottles and cans, volunteers found severalwork surfaces, a cupboard door, small bath,garden furniture, car number plates, tyresand wheels, a Hoover hose and an oven door - to list just a few items.

Homeward bound from Middlewich [Graham Russell]

Gowy's haul [Graham Russell]


A smaller but equally determined group of volunteers in Audlem worked the canalside, car parks and paths between the canal, Shroppie Fly car park and the playingfield, collecting a total of 18 full refuse sacks along with a large bucket of brokenglass.

Not only has the village ofAudlem and canal usersbenefited from the tidy up butthe removal of such a quantityof broken glass from the edgeof theplaying field andaccessareas makes it a saferenvironment for all.

The volunteers enjoyed theday being out in the sunshine,along with hot soup,homemade cakes andbiscuits. It was also nice tosee the spring flowers planted by the volunteers in recent years blooming withcolour along the canal.

Both volunteer groups would like to say a big thank you to all who attended andsupported.

Cleaning for The Queen in Audlem [Dek Owen]

Shrewsbury & Newport ShortsEarly in 2016 the Trust will receive up to £100,000 for the restoration of the locks onthe Trench Arm, the eastern part of the Shrewsbury Canal. The money is Section 106funding (a contribution from a developer towards the costs of providing community andsocial infrastructure), for which SNCT was sponsored by Telford & Wrekin Council.

There will be a canal paddle day on May 22 along the length of the Newport Canal inwater. Only five canoes can take part, so contact BarryWitts at [email protected] check if there are any places left or just come along and watch the fun.

SNCT's Annual General Meeting will be at Wappenshall Wharf on June 11. IWARestoration Committee member Geraint Coles will be the guest speaker.

On Saturday, July 9, SNCT will be holding another of its successful 'Balsam Bashes' onthe Newport Canal - the third year of working to entirely remove Himalayan balsamfrom the canal. Details from John Myers 07711 858986 or email [email protected]

The Heritage Lottery Fund has extended the deadline until December 2016 for SNCTto raise match funding of £500,000 for the restoration of Wappenshall Wharf. Detailsof how to donate or pledge are at cms.snct.co.uk.


From the horse's mouth

My name is Cracker, and as the only boat horse currently operating on an oldsection of the “Shroppie”, I would like to give you an insight into my life.

By way of introduction, youmay be surprised to hear thatI’m a strawberry roan gelding,standing 13.2 hands high andI am officially known as a“Shropshire Half-leg”, (whichis a cross between a Welshcob and a Shire); that meansI look like a verticallychallenged shire-horse.Although my ancestors wereoriginally used as pit poniesdown the mines, I now ply my

trade by pulling a canal boat along theMontgomery canal, affectionately known asthe ‘Monty’.

Operating fromCanal Central inMaesburyMarsh, North Shropshire, I take visitorsout on a narrowboat built in the style of a Victorian packet boat.

At the other end of the tow-rope is the “Countess of Maesbury”, a 5 year old vesselthat takes up to 12 passengers in comfort. We get on well and are really quiteattached to each other, in fact she follows me everywhere!

As you can see from the photograph, it’s really no effort for me to pull Countess,although she weighs in at about 6 tons. Visitors are always surprised to learn thata full size working boat could weigh up to 80 tons!

The spring bank holiday will coincide with my 12th birthday and I’m really lookingforward to the new season. Our season starts at Easter and continues untilHallowe’en although this year, due to popular demand, we started on Valentine’sDay and have followed it up with trips on Mothering Sunday and even hosted ourfirst hen party.

“I’m not a political animal, but I sometimes wish I was” A camel, they say, isa horse put together by a committee, and although I considermyself to be verywellput together, I witness much of such discussions.

Whether it be of delays to much needed repairs or procrastinations because of ill-


positioned newts, it never ceases to amaze me that the Monty renovations havebeen going on for well nigh fifty years, and there’s still no end in sight (well thereis, but unfortunately it’s not at Crickheath). I remember when I was a foal andnestling againstmymother’s flanks, shewould tellmeof the great daywhenPrinceCharles came to blow his royal fanfare in support of the Monty refurbishment. Hewas then, as he is now, the Prince of Wales, so perhaps things are not meant tohappen quickly!

I would love to travel along the stretch down to Pryces Bridge, another 400metresof “newly” reinstated section, but despite years of rebuilding, and an officialopening in 2014, it still remains closed. Why? Well at first, it was thought that thenew-fangled liner leaked,requiring costly and complicatedrepairs. It now turns out that theproblem is merely dried outretaining wall and all it requires issome drilling and clay infill tosolve the problem. So why doeseverything take so long?

Oh, I know it sounds as if I’ve gotout of the wrong side of thebedding, but I’m not just “gettingon my high horse” for the sake ofit. I can assure you that thefrustration stems merely fromseeing our beloved Monty notrealising its true potential.

When I look back at the old, blackand white photos of the overgrown, dried-up ditch that it once was, and compareit to the now resplendent waterway, I am full of respect and wonder at what hasbeen achieved. The amount of time, effort and money that has already beeninvested surely justifies one last concerted push to join up the gaps!

As we all know, it’s not what you know, it’s invariably who you know that getsresults. So, I shall be getting in touch with my mates, HRH’s polo ponies, who willno doubt have a word in his shell-like to spur him oncemore unto the breach, dearfriends! Expect a visit in the not so distant future.

If youwould like to find outmoreaboutCracker’s 2016 season - timings, availabilityand prices - please get in touch via email at [email protected].

Bywater's Tim Barker, Cracker and happy customers


Let’s talk dirty

Aha! Got your attention there, did we? This item is particularly for our boatingmembers, as it’s about what you should find at CRT sanitary stations and refusecompounds when you’re cruising the Llangollen, Montgomery and ShropshireUnion Canals this season - Ed.

Elsan disposal – Service block flush hoses

Some two years or so ago, the majority of the small lengths of flexible hose fixedto the rinse taps – located above, or near, the ‘bowl’ of CRT chemical toilet (Elsan)disposal facilities at sanitary stations – were removed (ostensibly to meet watersupply regulations). Since then, as predicted by many users, the overallcleanliness of many of these facilities has deteriorated.

The good news is that CRT has agreed to reinstate the flush hoses so you shouldsee an improvement in cleanliness and ease of use.

However, if you come across any service blocks which have not yet had the flushhoses refitted, may we urge you to contact your editor with the date and locationso the branch can collate these action items into a report for the CRT waterwaysmanagement? [email protected]

Refuse recycling

This information also appeared in the Autumn/Winter issue ofShroppie Fly Paper,but with the start of this year’s cruising season a reminder seemed timely.

There are recycling bins at all CRTboaters’ waste compounds in theNorth Wales & Borders area exceptHurleston, Barbridge, MarketDrayton (Betton Road) andNorthwich town centre, on the RiverWeaver. The compounds now haveseparate bins for general waste, formixed glass and for dry mixedrecycling (DMR).

The mixed glass wheelie bins acceptempty bottles, jars and broken

household glassware. The larger DMR “Euro-bins” are for paper, cardboard,plastic bottles, hard plastics, aluminium and steel cans.

However, importantly, plastic bags cannot be accepted in either of the recyclingbins andmust be placed in general waste. This includes any plastic bags that mayhave been used to hold and store boaters’ recycling. If any plastic bags are in the

Nice and tidy at Audlem [Dek Owen]


recycling bins, waste contractor Biffa will deem the load ‘contaminated’ and CRTwill incur extra costs.

All food waste must continue to go in the general waste bins, and the normalprohibitions still apply for other waste materials, such as electrical appliances,engine oil, diesel fuel, used batteries and other toxic waste, which must bedisposed of at a council-run Household Waste Recycling Centre.

Another step forward in the Montgomery Canal restoration

In February WRG volunteers helped take another step forward in the restorationof the Montgomery Canal at Pant near Oswestry.

The former Cambrian Railwaysline, which was closed in the1960s, crosses the canal on anembankment constructed inabout 1952 to replace the originaliron girder bridge. At that timethere was no expectation that thecanal would be restored or eventhat people would want to walkthe towpath so the embankmentwas fenced off. Nicholson’sGuide still states “towpathobstructed” but more recently,steps were built so that walkers,no longer at risk of running into passing trains, could climb the embankment.

A number of major trees which had grown over the last six decades were felled byWRG Forestry group several years ago and WRG returned to continue the work,tackling the remaining trees and undergrowth. The aim also was to try and clarifyhow much of the massive stone abutments of the original bridge remain in place,as thebridgewasat anacute angle so it is difficult to picture exactlywhere thewallswould be Late in the weekend, the top stone of the offside wall was uncovered,apparently unharmed by its burial over so many years.

It is hoped that later in the year a machine can be brought in to start digging downto uncover the walls for inspection by CRT engineers.

The complete removal of the embankment down to towpath level will greatlyimprove the usability of this very popular path and make a clear statement that re-watering of another part of the canal is being brought closer.

Bob Dewey

Pant Embankment, cleared of trees [Bob Dewey]


Farmers' Almanac

Audlem Community Canal

Oneof themost obvious attitude changes following the transfer of our canals to theCanal & River Trust (CRT) charity is that it sees itself as owner of a national asset,which is shared with local communities throughout the country. In order to makethe most of the wide ranging interests in each locality, CRT is about to initiate sixpilot studies in which everyone involved, including heritage, environment andbusiness, can pool their ideas and resources. If successful, the studies will beundertaken more widely.

Audlem is one of the first and to date the only onethat comprisesawholevillagecommunity, othersinclude specific assets such as the Anderton Liftand Foxton inclined plane.

The first meeting in Audlem took place on the22nd February andwas attended by local peopleincluding volunteer groups, boaters, CRT staffand community officers. Alison Caffyn, aconsultant leading the initiative for CRT,reminded the meeting that the canal had been atthe heart of the village life and economy since itwas opened in 1835. Apart from the localrecreational benefits, business opportunities arecreated by the many visitors who come by boat,on foot, cycle or by car. She went on to ask whatimprovements could be made to encouragevisitors and to make visits to Audlem moreenjoyable.

The responseswerewide ranging but broadly fellinto two categories: improvements to the canaland its structure, and wider matters affecting thewhole area around the village. For example, thefirst group included the poor state of the towpath,mooring rings and signage; and the second theshortage of adequate car parking, developmentof local walks and events.

All the matters raised were carefully recorded and will be summarised in a reportfor another meeting in March In the meantime, we are all encouraged to consider

Old and new lock ladders on theAudlem flight [Denis Farmer]


in what way our organisations can help. On an individual level more workers areneeded for the excellent and dedicated team of volunteers who help on the locksand the surrounding area

Canals and Audlem

It is hard to disassociate the two! Attending the very positive meeting run by CRTreaffirmed how lucky we are to have this facility but how often do we think of thework and cost involved inkeeping everything in order? Ona personal basis, Denis and Ihave had somany benefits, evenbefore we came to live inAudlem, which is one of thereasons we have been involvedfor a long time. Now that we areno longer boaters, it would beeasy to take them for granted.We shouldn't! Most days we takea walk by the canal. We grumblea bit about the mud, but CRT islisteningandsays that thiswill besorted - it has been a very wetwinter!

SinceChristmas it hasbeenabusy timeon thecanal.CRTand its contractors havereplacedeight sets of defective lockgateson theAudlem,Adderley andTyrley lockflights and replaced or reworked 14 lock ladders in a repair job that has apparentlycost £250,000. The ladders are designed to address safety criticisms, givingmoretoe room behind the ladder which leads more directly to the upper hand rail. (seepicture).

The scenery on the locks is wonderful - especially for photographers – there is noshortage of pictures in our house. We enjoy the whole village, including theactivities and surroundings, but the canal is a bonus and we shouldn’t forget thisWe have an excellent group of canal volunteers in the village who do a splendidjob of keeping the area looking smart and tidy. I also try to do my bit taking a polly'bag with me on my walks to pick up any stray bits of litter. I personally think thatnothingspoils theatmosphereofanareaasmuchas litter; onepieceseems tospoilthings and it breeds! I must admit that I baulk at anything that looks like dog pooand just mutter words like "disgrace". Maybe more disposal bins would help?

Janet Farmer

The canal drained for work on the lock gates at Audlem[Denis Farmer]


Colin (Collingwood) Hill1934 - 2016

The waterways have lost a familiar figure, following the death on 23rd January ofColin Hill of Maestermyn Marine on the Llangollen Canal. He was well-known tomany canal people who appreciated a genuine family-run business: hirers, usersof the boatyard services and chandlery, boat-owners with a mooring on the wharf,and customers of the Narrowboat Inn.

He moved to Shrewsbury as a child, and was educated at the Priory GrammarSchool for boys. His early career was as electrician and refrigeration engineer,establishing Refrigeration West Midlands in Shrewsbury.

Colin and Elaine, with their sons Martin and Chris,discovered an early interest in canal boating, at firstowning cruisers for holidaying. Thatwas the timewhena “real” steel narrowboat was quite a rarity. Colin soonrealised the business potential in hire boats, his firstventure being two Dawncraft based at Kinver Wharf.

In 1972 he bought a strip of canalside land at WelshFrankton, and set to work installing the wharf andwidening part of it tomake the basin. At first sharing thepremiseswith threeother companies, theMaestermynfleet was gradually built up.

This eventually expanded to over forty boats, as he bought Welsh Lady Cruisersand Swan Line, which gave him a base at Fradley. One of their most famouscustomers was Harrison Ford who took a boat to Llangollen with his family.

The cottage next to the site was bought and extended to become the popularNarrowboat Inn, which opened in 1981. Many of us appreciate the friendlywelcome, the real ales, Sunday roasts, not to mention the banana boats!

Since the very early days of this branch, Colin supported IWA; the Narrowboatbeing host to committeemeetings and various events, the latest of course the verysuccessful quiz on 22nd February.

Colin had been chairman of the Association of Pleasure Craft Operators, and hewas also the instigator of the hire boat handover procedure which is still used. Hewas still very much involved with the day-to-day business at Maestermyn, and hismany friends and associates will miss his presence on the canal.

Fiona Pearson


The reliable donkey (no offence, Cracker)

Newspapers are a valuable research resource, and occasionally somethingincidental to articles can bemore revealing than their main subjects. For example,during 2014 I looked at well over a hundred press reports concerning theShropshire Union system for the period from 1800 to 1920, and several referredto the animals drawing the boats. To my surprise there were more mentions ofdonkeys than of horses: ten and six respectively.

Sevenof thementionsofdonkeyeither specifically said therewasapair or thewordwas in the plural. Of the other three, one concerned sickness (glanders), oneconcerned a prosecution for ill-treatment of an animal, and the other was a letterto the editor written in the name of ‘Abused Donkey’.

One particularly interesting report was that in the Llangollen Advertiser of 29 June1900:

LLANGOLLEN PETTY SESSIONS Samuel Rogers was charged withcruelty to two donkeys on the canal on May 18th. P.C. Parry gaveevidence to the effect that on the date in question he saw the animalsdragging a barge, containing 15 tons of sand, against the stream. It wasevident that the barge touched bottom, the water being muddy, and theanimals had been greatly over-worked. Inspector Blake Jones said theanimals were completely done up with the strain that had been put uponthem. A fair load for them to tow was little more than half they had beendragging against the stream and in shallow water. Defendant had beenpreviously cautioned for a similar offence. A fine of 7s.6d. and costs, 18s.in all, was imposed.

The following day’sWrexhamAdvertiser reported the casemore briefly (and givesa different figure for the costs) but gave additional information:

SamuelRogers, boatman, StMartins, for employing twodonkeys to drawfifteen tons of sand in a barge along the canal from St Martins toPentrefelin, Llangollen, was fined 7s.6d. and 8s.6d. costs.

The load of 15 tons does not seem unreasonable, but the canal at Pentrefelin,which is amile above Llangollen on the feeder from the Dee, was (and is) certainlyshallow with a significant flow of water.

Donkeys were hardier and longer-lived than horses, and less particular about thequality of their food. They were also sure-footed and were generally unshod.However they were not as strong, and had a tendency to ‘jib’ — to come to a stopfor no apparent reason, possibly when they thought they had done enough work


for the day — and then be unresponsive to bribery or threats.

Donkeys were more docile than horses. The only reported death caused by ananimal was in 1894, when a kick from his horse killed Thomas Bricknell, master ofthe Shropshire Union barge Coot.

The minutes of the Shropshire Union Canal Company contained much abouthorses— indeed, there seemedmore about horses than boatmen, which perhapsshows the management’s priorities. Donkeys and mules were never mentioned.

The press reports about donkeys tended to be earlier than those about horses:

decade mentions of donkeys mentions of horses1860s 1 –1870s 4 –1880s 3 11890s 1 11900s 1 21910s – 2

Onemust not generalise too readily from this analysis. It is curious that none of thepress reports from the first half of the 19th century mentioned boat animals. Theon-line sources most easily available were the Cheshire and north Walesnewspapers; few of the Shropshire newspapers had been digitised. This meanttherewasabias towards incidents onwhatwewould nowcall the LlangollenCanal— and this was a relatively isolated canal with little fly-boat activity.

Despite my reservations about the bias in the data from the newspaper articles, Ithink it fair to say that in certain parts of the country in the 19th century, haulageby donkeys was at least as significant as by horses, probably more so. Towardsthe end of the century and into the 20th century, horses became the dominantmethod of haulage.

Much depended on the method of organisation of the trade. Fly-boats withperishable or valuable cargo worked to a strict timetable day and night with a crewof four men, exchanging their horses every few hours. Stage boats with their bulkloads only worked during the day; these invariably used a horse if they wereactually operated by the Shropshire Union, but not necessarily if (as appliedthroughmuch of the second half of the 19th century) the company owned the boatbut day-to-day operation was the full responsibility of the steerer. And of coursemany boats were operated by local firms, some solely in connection with their ownbusiness, a few as a general boating contractor.

Peter Brown


Bringing Boats to Welshpool

The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal is 14 miles long, isolated from the nationalcanal system, and is home to sixty boats. The Montgomery Canal in Wales is 11miles long, isolated from the national canal system and, apart from occasions likelast year's Making Waves Festival, sees few boats beyond those run by theHeulwen Trust.

So why is that? Why don't more boats visit?

Is it the launchingarrangements?Theconditionof thecanal?Thenumberof locks?Or Welshpool itself? Is the canal not sufficiently well-known?What could be doneto attract more boats to the Welsh section (Join it to the main network, I hear youcry!) and what sort of boats could we attract?

Pat Ward of the Heulwen Trust – who volunteers with the adoption group inWelshpool – has agreed to collate ideas, so please let him know what you think.You can email him at [email protected] or, if you prefer, write to HighfieldGrange, Rhallt,Welshpool, SY21 9HS.

I have written before aboutthe happy conjunction of theMaking Waves programme,the enthusiasm of the newMayor of Welshpool, and thefresh approach by HeulwenTrust to raise its profile withpublic trips on top of its coreactivities for disabled childrenand adults.

After last year's events,Welshpool Town Council metthe Deputy Minister in Cardiffand local MP Glyn Davies tolookatwhat could bedone forWelshpool. Theobvious conclusionwas to completethe restoration of the canal from Redwith to re-connect Welshpool to the nationalcanal system.

A small steering group brought together Robert Robinson,Welshpool TownClerk,John Dodwell, CRT Trustee and Chairman of theMontgomery Canal Partnership,Pat Ward of Heulwen Trust and me (as Chairman of the Montgomery WaterwayRestoration Trust), tasked with finding a way to bring boats back to Welshpool.

Heulwen II gets a lift ashore for a winter makeover [Vic Smith]


We elected for a simple plan making use of existing proposals and costings. Theplan splits the unrestored canal into five sections, identifies the keyworks requiredin each and pulls together an outline budget to showpolicy-makers the sort of cashnumbers needed.

(It’s around £30million, by the way, including almost £9million for provision ofnature reserves thatwould create the largest area of its type inWales andenhancethe area for tourism.)

The plan has already been circulated to interestedwaterways and other groups fortheir views and the next stage will be to present the plan to Governments inWestminster and Cardiff.

The initial urgency of our timetable is being driven by the aim of documenting andpresenting the plan before the Welsh elections on 5 May. Direct responsibility forwaterways is not devolved, though theWelshAssembly doesdealwithmanyof theissues associated with them – tourism, regeneration, health and well-being –hence the presentations in Cardiff and in Westminster.

At the same time there will be more work to get the schemes ready, especially onthe Shropshire section where the use of volunteer labour boosted by money forplant andmaterials cansaveabout £10millionagainst thecost of usingcontractors'labour. These schemes will rely not only on volunteers with shovels in their hands,or even at the controls of yellow diggers. There are many other ways to help: forexample, alreadywe have have been fortunate enough to receive assistance fromtwo IWA members who are qualified engineers.

We will also need help with organisational arrangements, so there will be anopening for a project manager: not necessarily an engineer – and not necessarilyon a voluntary basis – but someonewho canmanagework parties and ensure thatequipment, material and facilities are ready for them. Would you like to help withthis? Do you know someone who would?

In the meantime, back to the question of how to attract more boats to the existing11 miles of the canal in Wales.

I do urge you to get in touch with your ideas. You may be interested to know thatthere is an opportunity now available to run boat / canoe / cycle hire at the formerhire base by the Museum in the centre of Welshpool. Now there's a way to bringboats to Welshpool! Expressions of interest welcome!

Michael Limbrey


Caption CompetitionEmail your suggestions to the editor,

[email protected], with "CaptionCompetition" in the subject line and we will reveal thewittiest (printable) entries in the Summer issue.

If you have any photos that you would like us to considerfor a future Caption Competition, please email to the editorand we may run this feature again if we have space.

The Brain BoxFor readers who couldn't attend our Quiz Night, and even for those who could but haveshort memories, here is a selection of the questions that challenged our contestants thatevening. How many can you get right without looking up the answers? (Answers below)

a) Where is the world's only Cornish Pasty Museum?b) Who was Superintendent of the Royal Institution for about 20 years in the 19thcentury?c) How many tons did Tennessee Ernie Ford load?d) The official definition in the UK of a mountain is land of non-improved or semi-improved grassland over how many metres in height?e) Who invented dynamite in the 19th century?f) What does the J stand for in the name of the writer J.K.Rowling?g) How many songs are there in Schubert's Winterrreise set?h) Who wrote ‘Doctor Faustus’i) Who worked as assistant to Charles Barry as architect of the Palace ofWestminster.j) Which is the only one of the Great Lakes of North America that does not lie inboth the USA and Canada?k) How many strings does the most common variety of double-neck guitar have?l) Who wrote the Proclamation of the Republic of Ireland, read out on the steps ofthe GPO in Dublin on 24 April 1916?

Quizanswers-a)RealdeMonte,Mexicob)MichaelFaradayc)16d)600e)AlfredNobelf)Joanneg)24h)ChristopherMarlowei)AugustusPuginj)LakeMichigank)18(6+12)l)PadraigPearse


Shroppie Fly Paper - Spring 2016

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