Shrewsbury Canal, Berwick to Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury Canal

Berwick to Shrewsbury

July 2010

These final miles of the Shrewsbury Canal are easy to follow, as clear as the lines on your hand, but there are very few solid structures left.

Sites of bridges 40 and 41

Bridge No 40, just north of the Berwick Tunnel has been lowered and used as a water pumping station and then a bit further on Downton Bridge (41) has also been removed, but with a reed filled channel very apparent.

Cottages at Kennels Bridge

We had left the other car at Uffington, and Jeff decided to skip the final four miles into Shrewsbury. Dr D and I pressed on, pausing at Kennels Bridge which used to the the site of a hump backed bridge right beside the cottage. Next up was a bridge over the arm leading to Sundorne Pool, now drained but presumably once a reservoir for the canal.

From here a well maintained path exists, good for walking or as a secluded cycling route right into the heart of Shrewsbury.  The maps give give the canal its full title "Shropshire Union Canal - Newport and Shrewsbury Branch", which is something of a mouthful. The canal is strangely narrow in this area, a tribute to the gas main which was laid in its bed and then covered to create the path.

Flax Mill, Shrewsbury

The cut finally hits its final urban stride, first crossing the inner ring road, then housing and then huge Flax Mill, currently clad in scaffolding awaiting restoration. Another development project halted by the recession.  After a basin, which will be reinstated in due course, the canal dips under a major road via Factory Bridge, flanked by some impressivee canal houses.

 Factory Bridge No 47

Finally, after all those miles, we burst upon the terminus. This is all lost with one part buried beneath Morris Oils sprawling plant and then out the other side into a big car park next to the station.

Canal Tavern, high and dry

Its been a long trek from Norbury, and very different to the usual inner city lines I follow, but a real joy to get out on our bikes in the company of Jeff and Dr D. As with many things in life, an experience best shared.

Shrewsbury Canal terminis basin 2010

Berwick Tunnel

Berwick Tunnel

Shrewsbury Canal

7th July 2010

Berwick tunnel is something of a gem from this trip, ranking a close second to Longdon upon Tern Aqueduct.

Berwick Tunnel southern portal

The old maps clearly show the tunnel burrowing under a hill half a mile to the north of Berwick Wharf, and continuing in a north north westerly direction emerging near the hamlet of Preston.

Dr D had seen photos of the southern portal and therefore believed it to be findable. The map suggested the southern end was parallel with the end of a triangular field so we identified the field, and the hedge at the end and duly crossed over to the stand of trees which should contain the tunnel mouth. Beneath the trees there was.... nothing.

Inside the southern end of Berwick Tunnel

We scouted round and noticed that the land was rising a lot so we crashed and stumbled through the woodland and were on the point of giving the hunt up as a bad job, when Dr D nearly fell over the parapet and into the water below.

Sure enough, the southern portal is alive and kicking, with water trickling out and a barred doorway leading in. Naturally, the door was locked but the bars were wide enough to let us get  some internal photos, bouncing the flash off the surface to probe the depths of the gloom.

Berwick Tunnel northern portal

The records tell us that this was a winding tunnel, with no line of sight from one end to the other. This deficiency in construction led to an interesting solution when it was being used commercially. A white line was painted at the middle and the first boat to reach it has right of way - and the other has to be legged back out again. I can imagine this was cause for many arguments and fallings out!

We could find no trace of the seven air shafts shown on the map, but we did find irrigation pipes sprouting along its line, suggesting that whilst it may no longer usefully carry boats, it still serves as a water supply for the local farms.

Inside the northern end

At the northern end the portal can be found just beside the road into Preston, again bricked and barred but with an old stables next to it, it's roof gone and it's walls starting to decay into the ground.

Stable window - Berwick Tunnel

All in all a splendid find and well worth the hunt. Its just a shame that this still serviceable tunnel will not form part of the restored route, unless a way is found under the busy A5.

Withington to Berwick Wharf

Withington to Berwick Wharf

Shrewsbury Canal

6t July 2010

These rural sections of the old Shrewsbury offer little for the canal hunter.

The canal was repeatedly crossed, but by lift bridges which have all been lost with the passage of 70 years. The line itself is indistinct and the next evidence is in Withington. Bridge 25 still stands and beside it a shallow farm pond exists in what must have been the canal bed. We hoped for more as it snaked past the south of the parish church, but this has been lost beneath a new and very expensive house.

Canal Line at Lift Bridge 27 - Withington

Our vsit to Withington coincided with a couple who were wandering round not having seen the place for 40 year. We were assured that back in the 1960's the canal was much in evidence.

With little to see in Withington we pressed on towards Upton Magna, diverting down a lane to cross the line near CJ Wildbird Foods Ltd. Road improvements have obliterated the bridge 33, but a new concrete access road gave us a quick access west to the rail and A5 crossing, immediately to the south of Upton Magna. Predictably, the A5 has covered every last trace of the canal and if it ever does get restored it's here it will branch off to the north west, parallelling the railway line in a cut and cover tunnel.

Canal in Water at Bridge 36 - Berwick New House

Now, this cut and cover proposal is a shame because this cut off loop contains probably the best length between Wappenshall and Shrewsbury. The two miles to the west of the A5 crossing are shadowed by a country lane. The canal bed is clear and at times in water, bordered by spectacular poppy fields. Bridge 37 has gone, but the adjoining canal cottages are still very much in use.

Canal Cottages at Bridge 37 - Berwick Wharf

But just when we thought that Berwick Wharf had revealed all it had to offer we spied something interesting behind a row of cottages. If my eyes dont deceive me there is a canal in water through there. A clamber over waste ground and a peer over a garden fence and hey presto:

Canal at Berwick Wharf

Berwick Wharf

Longdon to Rodington - Shrewsbury Canal

Longdon to Rodington

Shrewsbury Canal

4th July 2010

This western canal was abandoned during the war, and had ceased to see any real trade some ten years before that. A private boat passage (a skiff, not a big narrowboat) was recorded in 1937 so to all intents and purposes this waterway has been abandoned for 80 years.

That long period has seen the removal of most structures and nearly 70% of the actual channel, so finding any remains is something of a bonus.

One rather attractive relic is Wharf Cottage in Longwaste, just north of Longdon. The canalside cottage boasts a name board with a narrow boat on it, but these days its cars that move along the line of the canal, not boats. The cut, the basin and everything else has gone, just the cottage stands.

Wharf Cottage Longwaste

From here the trail goes cold for a  couple of miles. We zig zagged across the countryside, crossing and recrossing the line. At most points we could tell where the canal had run  but the evidence was the merest depression in the ground and without a map to inform us it wouldn't have been discernable. What is more, most road crossings were by way of lift bridge which have long since gone, leaving a few trace foundations which may, or may not, be canal relics.

Poppy fields

After a barren few miles punctuated only by some glorious poppy fields, we rolled into Rodington, site on  no less than two queducts.

Rodington Aqueduct

Firstly there was a brick tunnel running beneath a high embankment with a weed choked trench on the top. Then there was the river crossing next to some common land. Sadly this river crossing has been removed and the waters slide past the truncated ends of the embankments.

Time for a lunch break beneath the hanging fronds of a weeping willow next to the river before setting off once more before finding a final bridge, number 25, at the end of a garden and now used to store scaffolding.

Bridge 25

Then it's back into countryside and fields where there should be canal.

Longdon upon Tern Aqueduct

Longdon upon Tern Aqueduct

Shrewsbury Canal

3 July 2010

This was one canal relic I had really been looking forward to seeing. I have read about it and seen photos of it, I have even been told of it by Jim of nb Starcross and written up a report of it in my UK Aqueducts blog, but I had never actually seen it.

There is loads of history to this structure, which Telford inherited and cut his teeth on, but I dont plan to repeat myself. If you want the history click here.

Longdon upon Tern Aqueduct

This aqueduct is a listed structure, sitting well back from the road in the midst of fields, stretching over the River Tern carrying nothing but the imaginations of canal buffs. The farmer has granted permissive access so you can take a closer look providing you respect the land and close the gates.

The aqueuct is that curious mix of brick and iron, due to its unusual conception. Whilst it does have a passing resemblance to a wartime bailey bridge, it has a certain grace about it, possibly even beauty.

I think I will let the photo's do the talking for this post.

Original brick arches with Telford's Iron Channel

Ironwork detail - bolts and plug hole

Jaws into the aqueduct

Spindly legs and wobbly sides

Corrosion - nearly perforating the iron

Long Lane - Shrewsbury Canal

Long Lane

Shrewsbury Canal

2nd July 2010

Long Lane marked the start of our cycle ride, a lay by off the main road. The logistics of these trips can be quite complicated as we like to do a one way ride. Jeff was deposited at the roadside complete with bicycles whilst Dr D and I set off in both cars looking for an as yet unidentified parking space somewhere near the far end of the canal.

One plan was to go right into Shrewsbury and park near the prison but that meant an extra 40 mins batling with the city centre traffic. Instead we opted to look around Uffington, which marks the start of a towpath cycle way which extends right into the city centre. As luck would have it the church hall has a decent car park with no "no parking" signs, so we left the Mondeo and its cycle rack there and Dr D drove back to Telford.

Long Lane Bridge

Long lane was quite a canal centre in its day, with its now demolished wharf and two bridges, numbers 16 and 17. Bridge 16 came as something of a surprise, standing complete with its brich arch curving gracefully over a short stretch of canal. It seems that the Shrewsbury and Newport Canal Society have been having a go at this site, which is very visible from the adjoining A5, clearing out the rubbish and making a little pearl to attract public support.

Whilst this in water, progress is brought to an abrupt halt in the form of a dropped road deck with no obvious way across. A big problem for another day. Rinky dink engineering solutions involving automated rising aqueducts have been mooted but in my experience, simple is almost always best.

Native English Iris thrive in the boggy sections

There is little to be seen of the next mile, a bit of water near the railway line but generally the track has been ploughed under the field and it's as if it never existed at all.

Eyton Lock- Shrewsbury Canal

Eyton Lock

Shrewsbury Canal

1st July 2010

By rights we should have started our cycle ride from Wappenshall Junction, picking up where we left off last time. But with little of the Shropshire Canal remaining before Longden on Tern there seemed little point, and by advancing our starting point were were just within striking distance of Shrewsbury itself.

Eyton Lock

However, we didnt want to miss any significant features on our travels so we drove to Eyton en route to Longden.

Eyton Lock Keepers Cottage

The canal through Eyton still carries water, but now its a drainage channel rather than a navigation, with Eyton Lock chamber containing a flood control wier.

West from Eyton Lock


Eyton Lock



Eyton Lower Lock


Eyton Lower Lock

Eyton Lower Lock

In addition to the lock there is also a classic lock keepers cottage, standing to the north of the canal line but now surrounded by arable fields instrad of narrowboats. The canals route remains obvious from the long stand of trees, but the propensity for lift bridges hereabouts mean that tangible remains are very thin on the ground.