Cruising the Welshpool section of the Montgomery

[Philip]

Basically I'm looking into transporting my boat by using slipways and a trailer to reach the cut off navigable section of the Montgomery for a first cruise on it. I just have a couple of questions...firstly is weed growth a serious problem to the point that it would be better to arrange a temporary quick and easy access arrangement for the weed hatch? There is a seat cowling arrangement currently in place which makes access to the hatch a bit of a faff around. Am I likely to be having to clear the prop every couple of miles or is it not so bad? Secondly; what is the air draft restriction for this section? I have a fixed windscreen on mine which brings the total air draft to approximately 6'3 to 6'5.

[Philip]

Any information anyone? 

[Graham Davis]

I went passed the section south of Welshpool the other week and there didn't seem to be much weed then.

To be fair, it isn't the most popular area for cruising, in fact I can't remember seeing a boat on it for a couple of years, so the lack of response isn't surprising. And have you checked the availabilty of slip ways?

[Philip]

3 minutes ago, Graham Davis said:

I went passed the section south of Welshpool the other week and there didn't seem to be much weed then.

To be fair, it isn't the most popular area for cruising, in fact I can't remember seeing a boat on it for a couple of years, so the lack of response isn't surprising. And have you checked the availabilty of slip ways?

I've read that there is a slipway in Welshpool. It's been a long-term ambition to do this bit and since my boat is only 24 feet long I'm hoping it'll turn in most places and enable me to cover as much navigable canal as possible.

[magpie patrick]

I'm one of the few who has cruised this in a full sized boat, but it was a long-time ago! A group of us hired a 40 ish foot narrow boat from Welshpool and went to Berriew Aqueduct and back. It was 20 years ago though. I've done the length towards Burgeddin in a car top dinghy but that was even longer ago.

Weed wasn't a problem then, and it hasn't looked to be a problem when I've seen the canal since. The worst weed I've ever encountered was on the Rufford branch, when I gave up trying to reach Tarleton in the dinghy. A narrow boat would probably have been okay. 

Find a slipway and let us know how you get on. Where you go others will hopefully follow - including me in Juno. 

Edited April 19, 2018 by magpie patrick

[haggis]

Might be worth contacting the Wilderness owners boat club as I am sure some of them will have boated there 

Haggis 

[Philip]

Thanks all, I'll let you know how it goes - hopefully no difficulties in getting it there! It's one advantage to owning a cruiser rather than the Aintree Beetle that I'm rather interested in; it's easy to transport off the water!

The scenery on this section does look fantastic from what I've seen, I wonder how long it'll be before it is connected to the main system?

 

[sandgrown]

We have done that stretch a couple of times with our Caraboat, I remember we used a Slipway in Welshpool and it was accessed in a supermarket car park in the town, there were some services by the slipway too like water and Elsan which were under some metal covers so not too apparent. I don't remember weed being a problem though there is some low bridges at some of the locks, a very pretty stretch to cruise.

[Philip]

I've just got back from doing this trip, all in all it went very well although there were a few obstacles! Went from Welshpool to the limit of navigation at Berriew (winding hole there), then back to Welshpool and onto Burgedin; managed to complete all but the final quarter of a mile at Arddlin, which was too choked up with weed - had to be sensible since my boat is raw-water cooled. The slipway was ok although not suitable for anything longer than 25-30ft. There were four boats on the whole canal - the two Heulwen Trust trip boats, one narrowboat that permanently moors on it and myself!

 

It's a really beautiful stretch; it is in the upper Severn valley and for most of the way is on a terrace on the valley side, frequently in pretty wooded surroundings, with dramatic hilly scenery on the other side of the valley and sloping up steeply from the side of the canal. Wildlife and vegetation abound! The locks are in reasonable condition, if a bit stiff with some of the paddles and some leaky top gates. The paddle gear is varied and at times a bit eccentric - standard modern gear on some, BCN gear on Crowther Hall lock, Llangollen style swan-neck ground paddles at Brithdir and Berriew locks and the traditional Montgomery ground paddle arrangement on the others, the latter was sadly locked out of use on all of them. The two lift bridges on this stretch are still chain operated, so quite fun to work.

 

Navigation is easy between Brithdir lock and Moors Farm lift bridge (north of Welshpool); beyond both of these ends it becomes more difficult with weed, but especially the Burgedin end. The stretch around Pool Quay was really difficult and overgrown; thankfully there were gaps of clear water here to act as a breather for the prop and the cooling system. There was a tree completely engulfing the passage between Cabin and Bank locks, but the branches were thin enough to push out of the way and navigation wasn't blocked. All in all though it's a neat indication that the little used bits away from Welshpool are suffering through lack of use. But a very worthwhile and enjoyable trip nonetheless.

[Philip]

Some pictures of the trip:

 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

Great report and pictures.

Kudos on your achievement.

[cuthound]

Great photo's,. Use it or lose it! Have a greenie.

 

I drove along the A483 from Welshpool to Caersws on Sunday and noticed the weeded up section running alongside the road.

[Philip]

27 minutes ago, cuthound said:

Great photo's,. Use it or lose it! Have a greenie.

 

I drove along the A483 from Welshpool to Caersws on Sunday and noticed the weeded up section running alongside the road.

Thanks all - hopefully at some point this will be cleared up. A short term hire base on the canal at Welshpool like they had before would probably be popular, would certainly help remove the foliage! One other thing, some of the bridges at the tail of the locks at Pool Quay were very tight - top of the arch not that low but the arch sweeps down more steeply than normal and the towpath is quite wide, so it's very easy to catch the side of the boat on the brickwork. The windscreen had to come off and even then there wasn't much to spare.

Edited June 7, 2018 by Philip

[Machpoint005]

I was just thinking how nice it was that the photos could have been taken 50 years ago - then I saw the date on one of the lock gates!

[Graham Davis]

Well done and great photos.

Living locally I'm afraid that getting the section south of Berriew reopened will be a very long task, as there are far too many bridges on the A489 that have been lowered and/or totally removed.

There will be various events on the canal in Welshpool over the weekend of 23rd/24th of June, when the Welshpool Transport Festival takes place. I'll be there on one of the days with the local Classic Car Club.
http://welshpooltransportfestival.org.uk/