Information board at Ditherington on the old Shrewsbury Canal

Image: © Jeremy Bolwell Taken: 6 Sep 2020

Wow, what a great info board. Turns out that a canal ran almost into the heart of Shrewsbury; namely the Shrewsbury Canal, which joined the Newport Canal and was linked with the wider canal network from there. This is one conspicuous section, still extant today. The Shrewsbury and Newport Canal Trust (SNCT) are working to restore it all. Wow, a massive undertaking. They plan to start here at Sundorne and Ditherington, and restore the stretch running into town, which originally had its terminus at the Buttermarket in Shrewsbury. Then they hope to restore eastwards to Newport, Shropshire and reunite the Shrewsbury and Newport Canals, which in turn linked with the famous Shroppie, the Shropshire Union Canal. Built in 1797 the Shrewsbury Canal linked Shrewsbury with the Shroppie and the wider national canal network and served coal mines and ironworks at Oakengates, Ketley, Donnington Woods and Trench. It is 17 miles long, incorporated 11 locks and one inclined plane. It used horse-drawn barges and trains of boats. It passes the Dithergton Flaxmill (the world's first iron-framed building) and used the Longdon-on-Tern aqueduct, which was Thomas Telford's very first aqueduct. Hmm, interesting. Thank you compilers of this board. Great photos too.

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