Opened in the early years of the 19th Century, by 1939 canal traffic had virtually ceased. All remaining parts of the Ellesmere Canal network were closed to navigation by Act of Parliament in 1944.
The canal from Hurleston to Llangollen was retained as a conduit to carry drinking water for Crewe and natwich and as water feed for the Shropshire Union Canal.
Painting of the River Dee
The water from the River Dee was the reason the canal continued to exist!In 1955 an agreement with the Mid & South East Cheshire Water Board secured the canal's future.
British Waterways rebranded the canal in the 1980s calling it the Llangollen Canal.
Horseshoe Falls - photograph
The water for the Llangollen Canal is drawn off the River dee at the Horseshoe Falls - near Llangollen.In 2009 11 miles of the Llangollen Canal - from the Horseshoe falls to Chirk Bank- was awarded World Heritage Site Status.
To the Whitchurch Arm with pen, ink,watercolour and acrylic.
Paintings of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, the Bascule Bridge (counterbalanced) Whixall and the Whitchurch Arm - Chemistry Farm"
The Whitchurch Waterway Country Park"The Whitchurch Waterway Country Park is a green ribbon of quiet, open space including grassy areas, wetland, woodland and the Staggs Brook stretches from Jubilee Park to The canal spur at Chemistry and is a haven for wildlife. The country park includes Greenfields Nature Reserve which is managed by Shropshire Wildlife Trust and is ideal for a quiet wildlife walk on hard level paths.
The area has a range of valuable wildlife that has escaped the attention of developers and agriculture and is now managed to encourage a range of wildflowers and animals. Look out for cuckoo flower on the wetter areas in spring and listen for the 'plop' of the water voles escaping into the stream. This is one of the few places in Shropshire where you may still see this nationally rare mammal, which was once common throughout the country.
The grassland areas are managed by cutting and grazing later in the summer in order to allow native plants in the meadows to flower and set seed.
A recent project, funded through the Market Town Revitalisation Project, called 'Walking in Whitchurch' has made improvements to the paths and signposts leading from the canal to the Town Centre and Greenfields Nature Reserve in order to encourage people to make use of this lovely part of the town.
Whitchurch Waterways Country Park came about as a result of activity under the Whitchurch Renewal Area Scheme where land was bought at Sherrymill Hill (some of which is leased to Whitchurch Town Council) to form part of the Country Park.
The land was bought in order to safeguard the area with an eye to future plans for the former canal to be reinstated into the centre of the town. The historic canal originally linked the town with the Llangollen Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal very close to the line of this valley and was filled in during the last century.
The first 400 metres of the canal branch have been completely reinstated. Whitchurch Waterway Trust is working on plans to further extend the canal.
The Council are maintaining the land in trust on behalf of the Whitchurch Waterways Trust.
There are level easy walks on mostly hard surfaced tracks. Some flooding may occur in the winter months." SOURCE: (
visit link)