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MONTGOMERY WATERWAY RESTORATION TRUST - YMDDIRIEDOLAETH ADFER CAMLAS MALDWYN

Fortieth anniversary commemoration of the start of restoration - Big Dig 40 ― 17-18 October 2009

The Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust in partnership to promote the restoration and development of the Montgomery Canal in England and Wales will be commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the start of the waterway's restoration with "Big Dig 40" on 17-18 October 2009

Final arrangements ― Biggest volunteer effort since 1969

Volunteers are putting the finishing touches to the arrangements for Big Dig 40, a commemoration of the start of the restoration of the Montgomery Canal forty years ago.
Details recently finalised include:

• arrangements for unveiling the commemorative plaque and
• a vintage bus service to view the work of volunteers.

Unveiling the commemorative plaque will be the central feature of the events on Saturday 17 October.

The plaque commemorating the start of restoration will be unveiled by four people who took part in the events of October 1969, representing the groups involved:

left to right:

Mrs Pat Wilson, representing the Shropshire Union Canal Society. Pat has twice been Chairman of the Shropshire Union Canal Society: she and her late husband Geoff and their children all took part in the working party in October 1969 and with their converted narrowboat have remained involved in waterways ever since.

Mrs Nancy Millington of Welshpool, representing the local community volunteers who opposed the idea of building a by-pass along the line of the canal. Nancy and her late husband Claude have been long-time supporters of the restoration of the Montgomery Canal, and she is the bookings secretary for the Heulwen Trust, the first charity in the world to provide canal boat trips for disabled children and adults.

John Dodwell, representing what was to become the Waterway Recovery Group (though it did not formally adopt that name until the following year). John is Chairman of the Commercial Boat Owners' Association and has recently been appointed to the Government's advisory body on waterway matters, the Inland Waterways Advisory Council.

Harry Arnold, waterway journalist and photographer, representing the committee which organised the 1969 weekend. Harry was a founder member of the Shropshire Union Canal Society and is a Vice-President of the Inland Waterways Association.

Guests at the unveiling will include Lembit Opik MP and representatives of local councils in Shropshire and Montgomeryshire, British Waterways and the volunteer organisations.

After the unveiling there will be a repeat of the final event of 1969 with the Mayor of Welshpool, Cllr Ann Holloway, being taken through Welshpool on a small boat, followed this time by a flotilla of about a dozen boats including Heulwen, steam and motor boats, a cara-boat and canoes.

After these proceedings, invited guests will be given a brief presentation by Andrew Stumpf, who will shortly be taking up the post of British Waterways' Head of Regeneration, Wales & West.

On Saturday at Welshpool, organised by Friends of the Montgomery Canal with the assistance of IWA, there will also be―

• boat trips run by Heulwen Trust from Welshpool Town Lock from 10.00
• canalside displays, stands and children's activities at Welshpool Town Wharf and Central Car Park, and Powysland Museum, from 13.00
• accompanied by a band from Welshpool High School.

Other activity over the weekend includes working parties by ―

• Shropshire Union Canal Society continuing the project to restore the canal south of Redwith and
• Waterway Recovery Group clearing a further dry channel section of vegetation and obstructions, with over 120 volunteers expected.

On Sunday 18 October there will be a free vintage bus service from Welshpool to join conducted walks along the towpath to see what the working parties have been up to between Redwith and Pant, departing from Welshpool Visitor Information Centre (Central Car Park) on Sunday at 10.00 and 14.00. Anyone using this service is advised to wear footwear suitable for a towpath walk.

Trust Chairman Michael Limbrey said, “The Big Dig in October 1969 was one of the first big working party weekends in the country and the only one in Wales. Unlike the others, this was a combined effort with volunteers from the local community as well as canal enthusiasts from across the country. They believed that the restored canal would be good for Welshpool and would make a valuable addition to the national waterway network.
"Volunteers have never stopped work in the years since 1969 and over 150 volunteers will make this weekend the biggest volunteer effort on the Montgomery Canal in forty years. It is with the efforts of these volunteer working parties, as well as major publicly funded projects, that half the canal has now been restored.

“There are still some challenges for the restoration, including the dry length to Pant where volunteers will be working this weekend to prepare to bring the canal back to life as a living waterspace which will be an amenity for residents, and visitors.
"This weekend will be commemorating the start of the restoration, celebrating the achievements of volunteers since, and showing that the Montgomery project is very much alive.”

The weekend will be co-ordinated by the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust and will involve the groups involved in the restoration project – Friends of the Montgomery Canal, Inland Waterways Association, Shropshire Union Canal Society, Waterway Recovery Group and British Waterways.