The ever-popular musings of a narrowboat horse on the Montgomery Canal.
THE dawn of a new decade, with the previous one decayed (did you see what I did there?), heralds the opportunity for me to review my past predictions and to promulgate some more for the future.
I was born (not under a wandering star sung by Lee Marvin) but in the mid-Noughties. In those days, the vision of me plodding was as unforeseen as iPadding, twittering was confined to the birds and Spotify was reserved for spotting the kingfisher flashing along the Monty.
It’s always fun to look back at previous prognostications to see how accurate or otherwise they were, so here are a few selections from times gone by:
1854 – the passenger flyboat service from Newtown to Rednal is in full swing, allowing travellers to catch the train to London at Heath Houses terminal. This facility is here to stay as these new-fangled railways won’t catch on and certainly will never be built into rural Wales.
1936 – the breach near the Perry aqueduct will be repaired in the near future, as it’s relatively cheap to accomplish and the canal is a vital transport link. These new-fangled lorries won’t catch on as they are so unreliable.
1969 – the proposed bypass around the town of Welshpool will follow the line of the defunct and unloved Montgomery canal. Although controversial, the new road will go ahead because the restoration of the canal is a mere pipe dream.
As we all now know, the above three prophecies were proved to be wildly incorrect.
(1) Newtown’s first trains began in 1859 on a track to Llanidloes, which was isolated from the rail network. Locomotives arrived by road, smaller supplies by canal. In 1861 the Llanidloes & Newtown Railway was connected to the network by the new Oswestry & Newtown Railway.
(2) The Monty breach was not repaired and the canal was officially closed in 1944.
(3) The ‘Big Dig’ took place over the weekend of October 18-19, 1969, when more than 300 local residents and canal enthusiasts got together to clean out the canal through Welshpool and start the long and active campaign and ongoing restoration programme to restore and reopen the Montgomery Canal.
So what do the next 10 years have in store for us? Well, with a bit of luck and a following wind, I confidently predict the following:
2023 – navigation now possible in theory up to Crickheath winding hole, however the leak between Redwith and Pryces bridges is still awaiting repair.
2027 – supported by the ruling Green Party, planning permission granted to reinstate the A483 road bridges, to allow boat traffic underneath. Previous plans to build new locks either side of the bridges were deemed to be ‘not in keeping’ with current policies to restore national heritage to its original status.
2029 – Some 60 years after restoration started, the Monty from Frankton to Refail will be fully navigable by narrowboat. Plans will be in place to continue the project through Garthmyl and Abermule and onwards towards Newtown.
I’ve just looked out of my stable window and I hope that wasn’t a flying pig I just saw in the sky!
A nice bit of actual history to finish with; the photo of working boats negotiating the ice in 1963 shows my team-mate Mike Dutton on the Anglesey Branch (Wyrley & Essington Canal). It was his first experience of canal life and what a way to start, but 57 years later he’s still doing it. Long may it continue.
Until next time, may your bucket be full of carrots.
Love Cracker