Narrowboat Tacet

Silent Movement - Our gap year travelling the inland waterways



Thursday 6 October 2011

Montgomery Canal

Tuesday morning we had a further look around Ellesmere and went to the market. Ellesmere takes it name from the Mere which is the largest and most spectacular of nine glacial meres around the 'North Shropshire Lake District'.

photo taken from web.

The market stalls inside an old market building now also used as a sports hall.



Some more of the fine buildings around the town. The last row of cottages overlook the Canal basin. I guess they would have had some connection with the canal.
Leaving the Ellesmere basin, we stopped at the services to fill and empty the various containers!
 
Approaching Frankton junction, through the bridge is the turn to the top lock and the Montgomery Canal.
Waiting for our turn to go down the locks. The first two are a staircase and the lock-keeper is here to let you through from 12-2pm each day (October hours) and will allow up to 16 boats a day through.
7 miles of the canal are navigable down to Maesbury, the rest of the canal to Newtown is in various states of repair, some in water, some still under restoration.
This is the limit of the navigation today, just past Maesbury. We turned here at a small boatyard.


Having just passed Crofts Mill, with quite a few moorings along the arm and into a basin at the end.
We walked on to see the work in progress. The next section is now in water, not very wide, with reeds growing, but they were contained by pockets in the lining.

At Redwith bridge, the water comes to an end.
The other side of the bridge where you can see the concrete channel  under the bridge and then the block lined section started.

The next section being dug out ready for lining.

At the next bridge another section well under way, the very sloping sides will make getting a boat to the bank a bit tricky.

And beyond that, you can clearly see the line of the canal and the towpath is good, but some way still to go.
The hard working Shropshire Union Canal Society responsible for us being able to use any of the Montgomery Canal. Thanks.
11 miles, 8 locks, 2 bridges.




3 comments:

  1. Fascinating to see the work in progress! Concrete blocks are all a bit different from the puddled clay of yesteryear!

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  2. Apparently they can't use puddled clay as it would have dried out and cracked before they can get a length of canal finished and ready to fill with water. Think they need some navvies!

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  3. Nearly done to the next bridge see they are making a little home for newts some they can keep going

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