To celebrate the Shropshire Union Canal Society’s 60th anniversary, a raffle was organised for the many hundreds of society members, and the winners were treated to a cruise from Ellesmere through the restored section of the Montgomery canal to Crickheath Basin, and a return the next day with more lucky winners being taken back to Ellesmere.
Fred Barrett, one of the raffle winners said,
“I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, lots of great conversations and stories and I liked it for very selfish reasons. In 1980, my wife and I started to walk the Montgomery canal and over the years saw some parts restored by contractors and in 2008, I started to volunteer myself at Redwith bridge, on the Llynclys, Knocking Road. Since then, I have hardly missed any work parties and now, in 2026 I’ve done eighteen years’ service and I’m the oldest regular volunteer at 84 years old. I’d like to thank the Shropshire Union Canal Society for the right royal buffet, organised by Sue Ball and not forgetting the volunteers from the Lyneal Trust for generously giving their time and their narrowboat for the event.”
Lyneal Trust, a charity that offers accessible canal boat holidays, day trips, and cottage stays for people with disabilities, illness, or other vulnerabilities, very kindly supplied one of their specially designed narrowboats, the Shropshire Lady and volunteers to crew her for the round trip.
Fred continued,
“I was invited to steer the boat from Redwith Bridge to Crickheath Basin – it was such a privilege to be at the helm on the section of the canal that I helped to restore – it meant a great deal to me – something I’ll never forget”.
The society was formed in 1966 when Welshpool council issued plans to build a road along the course of the canal. Then in 1969 the society organised, what became known as the ‘big dig’ which involved hundreds of volunteers clearing and digging out the canal at Welshpool. Restoration then followed, sometimes slowly, sometimes not quite so slowly but there have been major sections of this beautiful canal restored, and the society is now busy working on the ‘Shropshire Gap’ – the section from Crickheath to Llanymynech.
Feature image: The winners on the Shropshire Lady at Crickheath Basin
Visit: shropshireunion.org.uk
