Enjoying Canals: Exhibition brings waterways history to life in Shrewsbury
Enjoying Canals is a public exhibition to showcase the work of the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) and other local canal groups which being staged at the old Abbey Station in Shrewsbury by kind invitation of Shrewsbury Railway Heritage Trust.
It’s on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 September, and there will be free admission from 10.30am to 3.30pm.
The local IWA branch will be joined by other local canal groups, including the Shrewsbury and Newport Canals Trust, the Friends of the Montgomery Canal and the Shropshire Union Canal Society. There will be lots to see and to talk about and you will also find our superb 2026 waterways calendar on sale to help fund waterways projects.
One of the exhibition organisers. Alan Wilding, online editor for the Shrewsbury District and North Wales Branch of the IWA, said: “Back in the mid-1970s, when friends invited my wife and me to join them on their boat for an afternoon trip up the river from Shrewsbury’s Welsh Bridge, we had no idea that, fifty years later, we would still be enjoying the abundance of inland waterways in, and around, our town. So, beware, the waterways can become addictive!
“Living in Shrewsbury, we are fortunate that, within a 20-mile radius of the town, there are several notable canals which offer many opportunities to use the waterways for some relaxing leisure time and/or to actively participate in helping restoration of currently un-navigable stretches.”
The popular Llangollen, Shropshire Union and Montgomery Canals offer day and holiday boating, canoeing, walking, fishing, bird watching, eating at attractive canalside pubs or having quiet picnics in picturesque countryside. The Shrewsbury and Newport and the Montgomery Canals, both have volunteer work parties actively bringing former navigations and associated buildings back into use.
Joint organiser Susan Wilding said: “Whenever we put on a waterways exhibition in the cosy Abbey Station, we meet lots of people who want to know more about the canals and how to get involved. Fortunately, many of our IWA members have a wealth of experience of navigating British and continental waterways and also of hands-on restoration work. We look forward to sharing our personal experiences of enjoying Britain’s rich heritage of canals.”
The Enjoying Canals exhibition will also feature the IWA’s on-going campaign work to properly fund, maintain and improve the country’s waterways for everyone.
The Abbey Station is in Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury SY2 6AH (directly opposite to the Abbey Church) and there is a large public car park immediately adjacent.
More information can be found at:
