New exhibition shows beauty of Shropshire canal
Montgomery Canal’s beautiful waterway scenery and impressive historic structures provide the inspiration for a touring photographic exhibition which has moved to Newtown Library.
The exhibition features the work of community photographers, as well as fascinating black and white archive pictures of the Welshpool Big Dig of 1969.
It was put together by the Canal & River Trust charity and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of a £4 million Montgomery Canal restoration project.
Hundreds of people have enjoyed the exhibition at Oswestry Library and Powysland Museum Welshpool, and Sylvia Edwards, the Trust’s Montgomery Canal Community Development Officer, is hoping it will have similar appeal for canal enthusiasts in Newtown.
She said: “The exhibition contains some great shots of structures and wildlife, as well as showing the challenging mitigation measures the Canal & River Trust has had to put in place to get permission to restore the canal. Visitors will also be able to compare past and current canal restoration techniques employed by the hard-working, enthusiastic Shropshire Union Canal Society volunteers. The exhibition provides a brilliant window into a fascinating world of canal restoration.
The Trust, which cares for the Montgomery Canal and 2,000 miles of waterways, is currently working on a major project to restore a section of the Montgomery on the Shropshire/Welsh border, which is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The major canal restoration project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and a Shropshire Wildlife Trust programme, supported by the Montgomery Canal Partnership, and delivered by the Canal & River Trust. Only around half of the canal is currently navigable but, with the help of the Shropshire Union Canal Society and other volunteers, this latest major phase should be completed by 2020.
Work is progressing well on upgrading nearly five miles of towpath, restoring 1¼ miles of the canal to navigation from Maesbury to Crickheath and creating a dedicated turning point for narrowboats, known as a ‘winding hole’. This will enable boats to return to the area for the first time since 1936 when the canal was closed.
The Montgomery Canal photographic exhibition will be at Newtown Library until 30 March.
