History of the Montgomery Canal
The present day Montgomery Canal runs from Frankton Junction for 35 miles to Newtown with 25 locks. The original Montgomery Canal, from Llanymynech to Newtown, became part of the Shropshire Union amalgamated canal network and was constructed mainly to transport limestone from the Llanymynech quarries and coal from Chirk and Oswestry to canalside kilns. Quicklime was made and used to improve the soil quality and crop yield. With the introduction of the motor lorry, the use of the canal gradually diminished and it was formally closed in an Act of 1944 following de facto closure in 1936 after a major breach.
Restoration of the Montgomery Canal
The section of the Montgomery Canal through Welshpool was one of the first sections to be reopened. A proposal for a new bypass in 1969, using the route of the derelict canal, prompted the start of the restoration project. The whole navigable isolated section is twelve miles long with eleven locks. The original cast iron locks gates from Welshpool Town Lock have been preserved at the Waterways Museum in Stoke Bruerne.
The Silver Propeller location is at the present southern limit of navigation of this isolated section. Refail winding hole is 5 miles and 5 locks from the Town Wharf in Welshpool, just after Berriew Aqueduct.