Massive work on the Montgomery

VOLUNTEERS of the Waterway Recovery Group (WRG) will be returning to the Montgomery Canal for more work on the restoration of the canal in Pant this week-end in one of its biggest work parties to date.

The volunteers will be working again on a disused railway embankment on the 4th and 5th of February which blocks the canal, having paid several visits previously to prepare the embankment for removal.

Preparation of dry bed

This working weekend will see the clearance of trees and undergrowth from the embankment and the preparation of the dry canal bed for access by the machinery needed to remove the embankment itself later in the year.

Michael Limbrey, Chairman of the Shrewsbury District & North Wales branch of the Inland Waterways Association, explained:

"The volunteers of Waterway Recovery Group and Shropshire Union Canal Society have achieved a huge amount for the canal restoration over many years and they are now concentrating on the dry section from Crickheath through Pant to Llanymynech.

"This will be the biggest Waterway Recovery Group party to visit the Montgomery Canal for some time. It is a very capable group, and several have over 40 years experience on waterway restorations across the country. While most are from the North-West of England, their group includes members who have come from as far as Lancaster and Holmfirth in the North to Hereford and Watford in the South.

"The same weekend will see volunteers of Shropshire Union Canal Society continuing their work on the canal at Redwith. They will be preparing for next month's start of the Heritage Lottery Fund-supported project to reopen the canal to Crickheath Wharf where boats can turn.

After that there will be just two miles of dry canal to Llanymynech, including this railway embankment. These two miles will be quite a challenge, but we know that other canal restorations have faced greater problems. This link to Llanymynech is a vital part of the borderland canal route between Llangollen and Newtown and will connect mid-Wales to a canal and river network which stretches right across the country."