'We're master coracle makers, and it's our duty to protect these endangered boats' - Veteran boat builders on history and Shropshire connections
Two veteran master coracle makers have told of their “duty” to protect the “endangered” boats.
Shropshire has a special connection with the humble coracle, with Shrewsbury, Ironbridge and Welshpool each having their own unique variations of the crafts.
And last weekend a special race was held on the River Severn in Shrewsbury to commemorate Fred Davies, the legendary Shrewsbury Town FC football fetcher who would take to his little coracle boat to pluck balls which had been hoofed out of the old Gay Meadow stadium and into the water.
However, coracles have been placed on the “red list of endangered crafts” by the Heritage Crafts Association, meaning there are strong fears that they could become extinct within a generation.
