Restoration of the Montgomery Canal relies on engineering, a volunteer workforce and money!
We have a pretty good idea of what has to be done in engineering terms. But engineering projects are not cheap. Thousands of dedicated volunteers have brought 50% of the canal back into water and many others have raised funds and campaigned for the Montgomery Canal. Could you volunteer?
The dry section through Pant in Shropshire may involve the same process as the once derelict canal south of Redwith, now reopened to Crickheath , i.e. reshaping and lining with waterproof membrane and securing with concrete blocks, although modified to suit different ground conditions.
We have plans in various stages of development for the two minor road bridges near Llanymynech and the trunk road bridges at Maerdy and Arddleen as well as for the new nature reserves we need to create in the Welshpool area.
There is a lot to do, so plans for restoration south of Berriew still have to be worked on, but there are plans from the 1980s which can be dusted off.
Volunteers have supported the canal so well over so many years. The Shropshire Union Canal Society work parties (the Montgomery is part of the Shropshire Union Canal network), include local volunteers and others who travel several hundred miles to join in. The national Waterway Recovery Group has brought many volunteers to work on its projects – twenty years ago the Kent & East Sussex Canal Group were particularly active at Aston. The Canal & River Trust has active volunteer groups on the canal too.
Volunteers from a local group carried out preparatory work for the Schoolhouse Bridge project which, after delays caused by Covid amongst other things, has now almost been completed by specialist bridge building contractors. Volunteers from a local group will be called on for landscaping and other works when the contractors have finished.
If you would be interested in volunteering to help reopen the Monty, please get in touch friends@themontgomerycanal.org.uk.
If you are interested in hands-on work restoring the Monty, please take a look at the opportunities offered by the Waterway Recovery Group and by the Shropshire Union Canal Society.
