"As an early boating user of restored sections of the wonderful Montgomery Canal I feel frustrated that it's still not possible to cruise the whole length from Welsh Frankton, in north Shropshire, through Llanymynech and Welshpool to Newtown - 35 miles of unparalleled beauty, history and peaceful enjoyment.

It's certainly not for the lack of effort by enthusiasts over the past thirty years, both behind the scenes in committee rooms and, right out front, getting down and dirty, with tough hands-on re-building work.

I was so pleased that the Inland Waterways Association allocated its 2008 National Campaign Rally to the project because this now gives everyone a great chance to celebrate the massive amount of restoration achieved to date. And, more importantly, it should help towards full restoration of this unique asset for future generations.

Canal buffs will happily relate the complicated and piecemeal building of the original canal but suffice for most to learn that its commercial carrying days were effectively ended in early 1936 when part of its banks gave way near its Shropshire junction with the Llangollen Canal on the national network. Gradual decay, dereliction and official abandonment followed.

A late 1960s proposal to turn its defunct channel though Welshpool into a dual carriage bypass was always going to be difficult, with only a 7 foot wide canal bed available, but the legendary Welshpool Dig of 1969 ensured the demise of that idea.

Nearly 200 volunteers from across the UK spent a weekend making the waterway usable, thus initiating its long running restoration and current day use as a superb leisure facility for local people and tourists.

Endless problems, delays and lack of finance have not daunted enthusiasts from the Inland Waterways Association and Shropshire Union Canal Society and, during the past 40 years, many parts of the restoration jigsaw have dropped into place.

Today it is again possible to cruise from the national network as far as Maesbury where the Festival weekend of 5 - 7 September will be attended by boaters cruising from across England.

During the previous weekend, 30 - 31 August, the slipway in Welshpool will be the destination for trail boaters from further afield who want to explore the currently landlocked section extending either side of the town.

At both venues a lively programme of entertainment and information will attract those who can only get there by land.

All the details of these and many other activities during the summer of 2008 can be found on the Montgomery Canal provided as a link on the right hand side of this page.

This BBC site will also be worth re-visiting because I'm sure there will be lots of other personal experiences of the ever-magical Montgomery Canal."

Article written by Alan Wilding