Cheers! A beer and boating mix to raise canal funds

Glasses are being raised to a local business that has launched a new product that will help to connect Welshpool to the rest of the UK via the canals network.

Tens of millions of pounds are being pumped into the project the reconnect Montgomery Canal, with supporters championing it as a project that will bring in the visitors to boost local tourism.

And fundraising to restore the historic tramway wharf at Crickheath, near Oswestry, and another 200 metres of canal has taken a step forward after a partnership arrangement with Monty's Brewery was agreed, which will result in the launching of a new beer named Monty's Navigation Ale.

Commission on every pint consumed will be used to purchase materials and hire plant for the next phase of restoration by the Shropshire Union Canal Society (SUCS) whose volunteers undertake the physical work.

For logistical reasons, the brewery and the society will initially focus on pubs and outlets along the length of the Montgomery and Llangollen Canals - from the Newtown area in mid Wales through Welshpool and Oswestry to Nantwich in Cheshire.

Talks are taking place with pub owners ready for a significant sponsorship launch in spring 2023.

One of the objectives of the fundraising is to connect the national canal network to Schoolhouse Bridge, the last major obstruction on the Montgomery Canal between Frankton in Shropshire and Llanymynech on the English/Welsh border.

Russ Honeyman, Commercial Director of Monty’s Brewery, said: “The restoration of this historic section of the canal is a marvellous project bringing further benefits to the community. When we were approached by the volunteers we were delighted to get involved.”

The 4% pale bitter has been brewed to suit all tastes and to honour the navvies and boat people who developed and used a canal that was to serve the populations of the border counties and mid Wales for over 150 years, until a decline in trade brought about closure and legal abandonment in 1944.

Monty’s Brewery is a successful company based in Montgomery producing distinctive ales and supporting and employing local people.

The brewery management, directed by Pam Honeyman, has a proud record of supporting local charities and good causes.