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Mainly narrow canal,
66
miles, 47 locks.
Middlewich Branch ('New Cut'): narrow canal, 10 miles, 4 locks.
The Shropshire Union was formed by the "union" of a number
of canals, that from Nantwich to Chester was built to broad
barge standards, and many miles of little used branches through
Shropshire were abandoned earlier this century. |
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 The
Shropshire Union Canal runs from the edge of urban
Wolverhampton through some of the most underpopulated
areas of England
to the River Mersey at Ellesmere Port,
about sixty miles in all and taking a fairly leisurely
four days to cruise. The scenery is often quite dramatic,
with sweeping views across to the Welsh Marches and the
strangely shaped ridge called "The Wrekin" from
the long embankments and with the atmospheric heavily
wooded deep cuttings, a number of which were reputed by
the old boat people to be haunted. These days this is
also UFO territory! Strange visions are also likely if
you have had a few pints of "6X" in the Anchor
Inn at High Offley, an old boatmans pub that has
survived almost unchanged.Top
right: View towards the Welsh Marches with the long ridge called The
Wrekin visible in the distance.
Market Drayton and Nantwich are
medieval market towns which still have some of the old
half-timbered black and white buildings. However the
jewel in the Shropshire Union crown must be Chester, a
Roman fortress and port which has many Roman ruins, as
well as an almost complete set of medieval city walls
which tower above the canal and the unique
"rows", shops on two levels overlooking the
street which date back to the middle ages. Chester has
many visitors year round, with museums, fine cathedral,
good hotels, town-crier and street theatre, but it still
manages to feel friendly and small scale. The northern
end of the canal is at Ellesmere Port which was a
transhipment port from canal to sea-going ships. The old
docks now house The Boat Museum which has a unique
collection of ex working boats and waterways exhibitions.
The canal was one
of the last built and borrowed from the latest railway
building methods, taking a direct line cross country, on
embankments and through cuttings. These were massive
undertakings, Shelmore embankment took six years to build
and Woodseaves cutting is 100 feet deep. The sides of the cuttings are
so steep in places that landslips are common and sunlight rarely
penetrates. Despite this plants and mosses cling to every available
slope. Little wonder the boatpeople did not like to moor in these
cuttings. Nearly all the
locks are bunched together in "flights". This
made for quicker working by the boat people because locks
could be easily prepared in advance of the boats.
People and buildings seem very
few and far between yet you are little more than twenty
miles from the heavily populated cities of Wolverhampton
and Birmingham. There are long vistas
across open farmlands towards mid Wales and across to
Cheshire and Staffordshire from the high canal
embankments. |
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Hire boats on the Shropshire Union Canal |
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 Chas
Hardern
Boats,
family run for over 30yrs offering a fleet of excellent value, well
equipped 2 to 6 berth boats for all year cruising. Ideal for
Shropshire Union, Llangollen & adjoining canals. |
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Hireboats on the Shropshire Union Canal |
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 Marine
Cruisers Stoke on Trent base is ideally situated to cruise
the fascinating Four Counties Ring and the beautiful Shropshire
Union Canal. Fully equipped 4 star rated narrowboats. |
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Hireboats on the Shropshire Union Canal |
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 Norbury
Wharf. Independently managed, privately owned luxury
narrowboats on the beautiful Shropshire Union canal. Enjoy the
country pubs, the freedom and heritage of the canals. Short & long
term hire available. |
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Chester Walls linocut by Eric Gaskell
details |
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The 'Four
Counties
Ring' links to the
