Synopsis
The Shropshire Gap is a two-mile derelict section of the Montgomery Canal between the Welsh border at Llanymynech and Crickheath (Shropshire). This page explains the significance of the Shropshire Gap to the national canal network, some of its historical features, its place in the local economy and summarises the technical and economic aspects of its restoration.
What is the Shropshire Gap?
The current restoration status of the Montgomery Canal is shown here. The eight-mile-long section north from Crickheath Bridge has already been restored and is connected to the national canal network via the Llangollen Canal. The short section of navigable canal at Llanymynech forms the southern end of the Gap. The two miles of derelict canal sandwiched between Crickheath Bridge (here) and the end of the isolated section at at Llanymynech (here) is the Shropshire Gap. Click here to see an Ordnance Survey map of the gap.
Restoration of the 750m of the Shropshire Gap between Crickheath Bridge and Schoolhouse Bridge is already in progress. This is the Crickheath South project. For more details of this project, see here.
The only dropped bridge within the Shropshire Gap, Schoolhouse Bridge (here), has recently been rebuilt and was opened to road traffic in 2024. The near £1 million work was funded by monies raised during a six-year campaign by the Restore the Montgomery! group. Following on from this success, Restore the Montgomery! is now dedicated to funding work on the Shropshire Gap – see here.
Part of the canal southwards from Llanymynech is being restored under the current Levelling Up Project. For more information, see here.
The below flythrough is a LiDAR survey of the Shropshire Gap starting from Schoolhouse Bridge and going south:
Significance of the restoration of the Shropshire Gap to the canal network
When the Shropshire Gap is fully restored, for the first time since a breach in 1936, it will be possible to navigate the Montgomery Canal from the Welsh border at Llanymynech to the national canal network at Frankton and beyond. The Llangollen Canal is the most popular holiday canal in the country with some 8,000 boat movements per year and many of these boats will be attracted to the Montgomery Canal (which is a branch of the Llangollen).
Significance of the Shropshire Gap in the local economy
A restored Shropshire Gap will help to create a sense of place and enhance the attractiveness of the Montgomery Canal to users and visitors and reduce seasonality by enabling access throughout the year. It will increase dwell time and expenditure in the local economy. Recent work by the Shropshire Project Board and Shropshire Council (2024) suggests that the economic benefit within the ten-mile Montgomery Canal corridor within Shropshire is £73 million over a ten-year period assuming the restoration of the whole length through to Llanymynech.
As well as the economic uplift, the Canal & River Trust Impact Report 2024 (see here) quantifies how spending time by water improves health, wellbeing and happiness benefiting both physical and mental health.
The restoration of the Montgomery Canal in Shropshire with an accessible towpath will enable people, whether arriving on foot, bike or boat, to explore the other places of interest in the Llanymynech area. These include the extensive Llanymynech Limeworks area, the Rocks nature reserve and Wats Dyke path.
History
There are a number of old industrial sites within the Shropshire Gap length. Limestone from the Llanymynech area was prized for making fertilizer and the quarries were the principal raison d’etre for the construction of the canal. The quarries were linked to the canal wharves at Crickheath, Pant and Llanymynech by means of narrow-gauge tramways and/or inclines.
The most northerly of the limestone transhipment wharves is at Crickheath (here). A tramroad, some four kilometres long and promoted by the Earl of Powis, linked the canal to the Porth-y-waen (Whitehaven) quarries. Most of the tramway route has returned to agriculture or been covered by development but the sizable linear canal wharf survives at Crickheath in two private gardens. The waggons negotiated the large change of level between the surrounding fields and canal by means of a double incline and head shunt. The use of the tramway appears to have ceased about the time of the First World War. The Shropshire Union Canal Society and the Dry Stone Walling Association are currently restoring the canal-side wharf using as much of the original stone as possible.
The Malt House at Waen Wen (here) is a large, three-storeyed building with its gable end facing the towpath. The upper storeys are red brick extensions of an older random-stone lower level. It is not known when malting ceased on the site.
Pant Wharf (here) was connected to the quarries by a tramroad/incline and being adjacent to Pant Railway station, had an interchange with both canal and railway. The tramway ran along the wharf-side (which survives) and Bridge 88 carrying a lane over the canal has another bridge hole built into it to accommodate the tramway.
Pant Limekilns (here) are a bank of canalside kilns notable for being located above canal level. This may have been to assist the loading of boats with the burnt lime. The kilns and the adjacent canal wharf were supplied by an incline from the quarries above.
Just outside the Shropshire Gap by virtue of being on the short navigable section of canal is the largest complex of limestone shipment and processing points located in the present Llanymynech Heritage Area (here). This includes a spectacular Hoffman lime kiln. The area has a museum for the lime works and a visitor centre based on the canal wharf (here). Both are well worth a visit. Restoration of the canal and towpath will make all of the above more accessible.
Technical aspects with restoration
The two-mile length is presently dry and is the subject of a number of feasibility studies including topographic surveys and the assessment of structures. The strata beneath the majority of the section are mainly limestone which, whilst offering a stable base with little settlement, may also be prone to leakage. The channel is infilled in places although the largest single blockage (a railway embankment) was removed in 2018 using volunteer labour (see here). There are a number of pipes located in the channel which must be relocated as part of the work. These include a foul water sewer serving many of the houses in Pant and terminating at Llanymynech sewage works. Also, a stormwater pipe in much of the channel in the Pant area which intercepts a stream flowing down Llanymynech Hill for discharge into a watercourse some distance away at Waen Wen.
Some of the potential restoration work is of a type that could be undertaken by volunteers. Other work, notably relocation of the various sewer and other pipes, will require the input of professional contractors.
Outline ideas for rebuild
The Montgomery Canal is being restored to as near its original channel profile as possible. In general, this involves sloping banks and a horizontal channel bed giving a finished navigable depth of about 1.2m. Depending on the permeability of the base of the channel, lining may be necessary. This is likely to be the multi-layer sheet lining material and block overburden as used to restore other sections of the Montgomery Canal. The towpath will be rebuilt to a standard specification which allows walking, wheelchair access and cycling.
Two essential features of any working canal are winding holes (locations where boats may turn) and moorings. Winding holes and moorings are already available at Crickheath Basin and in Llanymynech. Within the Shropshire Gap, once restoration is complete, a winding hole and moorings will be available at Waen Wen basin. Moorings might also become available elsewhere, for example by restoration of the some of the original wharves in Pant.
The restoration work within the Shropshire Gap will provide a biodiversity net gain of 10% or greater as required by the Environment Act 2021. Biodiversity net gain makes sure that habitats for wildlife are left in a measurably better state than they were before the development.
Funding
The cost of restoration of the Shropshire Gap length will depend on how the restoration is carried out. Some parts will need to be done by commercial contractors, as described above. Other parts are suitable for restoration using volunteer labour. Previous experience shows that using part-time volunteer labour (one weekend per month), a project will take of the order of eight times longer but be approximately six times cheaper than using a full-time professional contractor with a result of comparable quality. The amount of funding required to close the Shropshire Gap is difficult to estimate at this stage because the necessary survey, design and construction planning work which would enable accurate costs to be determined has yet to be undertaken. However, it is likely that the eventual sum will be measured in millions of pounds.
Grants are an essential part of the funding process for works of this scale. Volunteer-led funding appeals lead by the Restore the Montgomery! group enable matched funding (an essential part of most grant awarding schemes) to be accumulated. These appeals will also assist with meeting the costs of maintaining the capacity of a volunteer organisation (likely the Shropshire Union Canal Society) to do restoration work. This includes such things as tools, training, welfare facilities and so on over and above the plant and materials to do the actual work.
Details of the Restore the Montgomery! appeal and how to contribute can be seen here.
