General and Who Does What?
What is the Montgomery Canal?
Montgomery Canal is the name used to describe the canal from Lower Frankton to Newtown. It is one part of the historic Shropshire Union Canal network.
What is so special about the Montgomery Canal?
The canal is special because of its heritage and environment. It features 126 listed structures along its 35-mile length, one of the highest densities of listed buildings per mile on the UK canal network. The variety of natural habitats it provides along its length support a wide range of aquatic and water margin plants, invertebrates, fish and a whole raft of animal species such as otters, kingfishers and bats. Canals are an artificial man-made habitat that provides similar conditions to the natural habitats for these species, which is why they host these plants and animals.
Is the Montgomery Canal navigable?
The canal is navigable from Lower Frankton to Crickheath Basin and this stretch is connected to the national canal network via the Llangollen Canal. There are also isolated navigable sections around Welshpool and Llanymynech. The unnavigable parts of the canal are the subject of several ongoing restoration projects.
A map specifying the status of each section of the Montgomery Canal can be seen here.
Does the Shropshire Union Canal Society own the Montgomery Canal?
No. The canal is owned and operated by the Canal and River Trust.
Who maintains the canal and towpaths on the Shropshire Union Canal network?
This is the responsibility of Canal and River Trust (CRT), for example, to keep towpaths accessible by walkers and others.
CRT have a number of policies relating to towpath vegetation clearance – you can find more information on their website here. Remember that in some places, for example between Gronwen and Redwith on the Montgomery Canal, vegetation, eg bulrush, has been deliberately used to protect the bank from the wash of boats and to keep it wildlife-friendly. On these stretches, maintenance might be limited to removal of scrub tree saplings particularly where the canal profile is unsuitable for mooring.
Once the Shropshire Union Canal Society has restored a section of the Montgomery Canal, it is handed back to CRT for ongoing operational activities.
There are several different volunteer groups who look after sections of towpath on behalf of CRT. The Shropshire Union Canal Society is one such and looks after a section of the Llangollen Canal around Ellesmere. You can see the Society at work there and follow our progress on this website and on social media. A report on activity in 2025 can be seen here.
Any problems with the towpath should always be referred to CRT in the first instance.
What is the Shropshire Gap?
The Shropshire Gap is the two-mile section of the Montgomery Canal between the navigable canal at Crickheath Wharf and the previously restored canal at Llanymynech. It is partly derelict, partly under restoration and yet to be reopened for navigation.
What is the Society’s role in restoration of the Montgomery Canal?
The Society’s current project, “Crickheath South”, is restoration of the channel between bridges 85-87 (Crickheath – Malthouse). Preliminary activities (clearance and site investigation) have also started west of bridge 87 at Waen Wen Basin. The Society operates as principal contractor to Canal and River Trust whose role is that of client and principal designer. These roles are defined by HSE CDM (Construction Design and Management) regulations.
In the past, the Society has helped restore other sections of the Montgomery Canal. More detail can be found here.
Who else is involved in restoration of the Montgomery Canal?
There are a number of restoration initiatives led by CRT currently underway in Powys – see answer below. In Shropshire, Schoolhouse Bridge was rebuilt in 2023. This project was funded by Montgomery Waterways Restoration Trust. The Montgomery Canal Partnership brings together those parties with an interest in restoration of the canal and has representatives covering the full range of interests including local authorities, conservation organisations and waterways groups.
What restoration work on the Montgomery Canal is being led by Canal & River Trust?
Canal and River Trust, as the owners of the canal, are managing larger projects on the Montgomery Canal in Powys using externally-provided funding to rebuild two bridges, undertake extensive dredging and provide new nature reserves. The Vyrnwy Aqueduct currently has a funded “development phase” to assessment requirements and approach which will conclude late summer 2026. This will inform a bid for delivery funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund and others. They have a webpage providing updates for the current projects here.
The Society’s work on the Montgomery Canal and elsewhere
What is the Society doing at Crickheath South?
An overview of the project can be found here.
What is the Society doing at Waen Wen?
Waen Wen, the stretch of canal alongside Penygarreg Lane immediately north of Pant, will be the next area for restoration once the Crickheath South project is completed. Much preliminary and preparation work is required before restoration can start. The site must be cleared and site investigations undertaken which will inform the design. Volunteers started clearance work in September 2025 which was followed by contractors removing trees that had grown up in the canal since it fell into disuse. There is much more work to be done over the following 2-3 years.
Why is the channel at Crickheath South being lined?
Water testing of the channel shows that it leaks in places. These sections will have to be waterproofed. The method used for the current project is to use a waterproof lining system. This consists of a layer of geotextile impregnated with a self-healing compound sandwiched between two layers of plastic sheeting and covered by a heavy-duty geotextile. The lining system is then covered with concrete blocks to weigh it down and protect it.
Why not use “puddling clay” to line the channel when restoring the Montgomery Canal?
Clay to the required specification is extracted from wetland areas which are now recognised as environmentally sensitive. Supply is therefore limited, expensive and would need to be transported long distances to Shropshire. The clay must be kept continuously wet, otherwise it loses its waterproof properties. Traditionally, the lining at the bottom of the channel was up to three feet thick and so enormous quantities and specialised heavy machinery would be required to deliver and compact it (or a huge labour force and herds of cows!)
Puddled clay is not easy to work over significant lengths and must be rewatered immediately before it dries out, making it unsuitable for volunteer works with monthly work parties.
Previously, the stretch from Gronwen to Redwith was lined with clay using contractors and European Union grants.
Canal & River Trust still use puddling clay to a particular specification for small repairs.
Will all of the channel at Crickheath South be lined?
No, only where ground investigation tests have shown it to be unacceptably leaky or liable to subsidence.
Why is the channel being restored with relatively shallow sloping sides?
The channel is not being rebuilt but being restored to its original 18th century profile. The canal was rural and traffic was relatively light. To rebuild it all to a different profile with, for example, a piled vertical towpath bank would be invasive, prohibitively expensive, require the removal of large quantities of spoil and be counter to modern day environmental regulations such as biodiversity net gain. Moorings on newly-restored lengths will be at intervals specified by Canal and River Trust in consultation with its “Navigation Advisory Group”.
What is happening about the farmers crossing at the south end of Crickheath Wharf?
Design options are being considered to overcome this. It does not become an obstacle to navigation until all of the restoration to the next winding hole at Waen Wen Basin has been completed.
What is required for the channel to pass through Schoolhouse Bridge and when will work start?
A wash wall topped with coping stones will be constructed on the towpath side running through the bridge and extending either side. The hollow blocks, reinforcing steelwork and coping stones are already sourced and work is planned to start in the second half of 2026. Piers and fender will be installed on the offside under the bridge to protect the bridge abutment. This work will only commence once the channel southwards from bridge 86 (Schoolhouse Bridge) to bridge 87 (known locally as Malthouse Bridge) is completed. This is to provide plenty of access for supply of materials through the bridge hole from the compound on the north side. Once all these works are complete, the access point from the compound will be removed and the channel through the bridge connected to the channel north of Schoolhouse Bridge.
What provision will be made for mooring when restoring the Montgomery Canal?
The Society has a history of providing and maintaining visitor moorings . A list can be found here.
Other moorings can be found at, for example, Queen’s Head and Crickheath.
Moorings on newly-restored lengths will be at intervals specified by CRT in consultation with its “Navigation Advisory Group”.
Does restoring unnavigable canals divert scarce resources from the existing network?
Restoration itself rarely uses Canal and River Trust (CRT) money. Restoration groups such as ourselves have been successful in making the economic case for their projects to bodies such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Government’s “Levelling Up Fund” who have awarded tens of millions of pounds to waterway restoration schemes in recent years. This is development capital and it would be highly unlikely that these bodies would fund ongoing maintenance. These awards have been matched by heroic fundraising by the groups themselves.
Once restoration is complete, there is a second issue relating to spreading the available CRT budget over a bigger navigable network. In an interview for the Inland Waterways Association “Navvies” Magazine in 2023, the then CRT Chief Exec expressed the view that the skill and experience of restoration groups might be used to find innovative ways of squaring this circle. He also pointed out that, as a charitable organisation increasingly looking to raise its own funds, restoration projects galvanise support for and raise awareness of the waterway network as a whole and on balance he was in favour of them continuing.
Volunteering
Why do you need volunteers?
The Society is run by its members and has no paid employees. Everything we do is done by volunteers.
What skills are you looking for in volunteers and how can I get involved?
Please see here for more details.
Do you look after the moorings/picnic areas listed on your website?
The Society was contracted by the then British Waterways (BW) to install these facilities nearly 25 years ago. We ran a large group of volunteers carrying out these tasks around the Shropshire Union system.
When Canal and River Trust took over from BW, they wanted to create their own volunteer resource along the lines of the National Trust and absorbed our enhancement group into this operation, in particular their “Small Tasks Team” and “SU Middlewich Branch Action”. Unfortunately, neither of these groups still functions so CRT no longer have the capability to maintain these facilities.
Given our “contractor” status, we handed the facilities to BW/CRT on completion so we do not own them, nor do we have CRT’s blanket authority to carry out work on them.
CRT have now enlisted our help in enhancing the canal environment in the Ellesmere Lakes area of the canal. We have created a small team to do this which unfortunately is not geared up to work further afield and we have no current plans to expand this operation.
CRT do work with volunteer groups in specific areas, for example the Gnosall Towpath Group and TRAMPS on the Welshpool section of the Montgomery and such arrangements are expected to expand.
Environment and Ecology
What sections of the Montgomery Canal have protected ecological status?
The part of the Montgomery Canal that lies in Wales is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The SAC and SSSI designations are particularly due to its rare plants and invertebrates. It boasts a wide range of aquatic plants including rare Floating Water Plantain and others such as the nationally important Grass-wrack Pondweed. Recent restoration works in Powys have been approved by Natural Resources Wales.
In Shropshire, much of the ten miles of canal dried out in the years of dereliction but a two-mile section north from Aston Locks to what was Keepers Bridge is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The section was restored over 20 years ago with approval from Natural England.
The designations followed an agreement to restore the canal for ecology and navigation.
The section currently under restoration in the Crickheath to Pant area in Shropshire is not in a SSSI.
So shouldn’t we just leave the Montgomery Canal alone?
A canal is an artificial manmade habitat. If left to nature, over time it would revert to swamp and then woodland. The special habitats would be lost.
As a wetland habitat, it is one that is constantly changing and would eventually become unrecognisable. This process is known as succession and can result in change from open water habitat with surrounding fringe to a filled in dry channel in which trees begin to establish. The loss of the open water means that it can no longer support the aquatic species of conservation importance. To prevent succession reaching this point, careful long-term management is required.
What is being done to protect the canal’s ecology?
Substantial new nature reserves have been built at Aston in Shropshire. A large new nature reserve has also been built at Wern in Powys and another one is being built in Powys near the Vyrnwy Aqueduct, both with the approval of Natural Resources Wales.
In Shropshire, biodiversity is enhanced by the re-watering of the Canal, leading to aquatic life coming back to the area, such as fish, amphibians, water insects and molluscs, water birds and, it is hoped, water voles. There have been several sightings of otters at the newly restored sections at Crickheath.
In both counties, hedgerows are being maintained and extended, enhancing opportunities for nesting birds and other wildlife. New trees are being planted.
Who checks that no harm is being done when restoring the Montgomery Canal?
All works on the Montgomery Canal and others undergo a process known as environmental appraisal. This involves specialists from within Canal and River Trust (CRT) and elsewhere looking at the potential environmental impacts. All environmental, ecological and heritage elements are factored in at the concept, design and implementation stages to make sure the required standards are upheld. Works by the Society comply with these requirements and are monitored by CRT specialists.
How can you justify the felling of mature trees along the course of the Montgomery Canal, most recently at Waen Wen in Pant, Shropshire?
Refer also to the answer above.
Specifically in relation to trees: occasionally these may be felled for safety along the towpath, for example relating to ash die-back. Felling may also occur to protect a specific habitat from excessive shading and leaf drop. Recent felling at Waen Wen has been limited to only trees below the future waterline and several ash trees suffering die-back. All other trees will be retained. As part of the canal restoration new trees will be planted, along with hedgerow improvements.
Wouldn’t traditional “puddling clay” to line the channel be more environmentally friendly when restoring the Montgomery Canal
See here.
To be really environmentally friendly shouldn’t motorised boats be banned from the Montgomery Canal?
The Conservation Management Strategy addresses this in detail. The Strategy was prepared on behalf of the Montgomery Canal Partnership which has representatives covering the full range of interests, including local authorities, conservation organisations and waterway groups.
There is a balance to be struck between unlimited motorised boating and letting the canal decay; the downside is visible in Shropshire where miles of the canal dried out, and all the water-based life disappeared. The Conservation Management Strategy concluded that the right way forward was a restriction on boat movements with monitoring to inform management.
Other FAQs
If you have any questions not covered by the above, please get in touch.