Frosty scenes greet volunteers working to bring the Montgomery Canal back to working order
Volunteers working to restore the 200-year-old Montgomery Canal have shared a chilly update.
The volunteers wrapped up for a weekend of frosty work on a patch of the 200-year-old Mongomery Canal earlier this month.
This phase of the canal's restoration aims to restore the channel so that boats will be able to use the waterway for the first time since the 1930s. It will also help make the canal easier to use for unpowered activities such as canoeing and paddleboarding.
The restoration is also creating a broad and sustainable habitat to support a range of wildlife and the protected floating water plantain that are found on the canal.
When the final work party of the year at the Crickheath South stretch got to work on December 1, they were met with freezing temperatures.
Tom Fulda, restoration project manager said: “Winter certainly arrived for the December work party with heavy frost and cloudless skies on Friday and Saturday followed by snow and mist on Sunday.
"Nevertheless, there is much to report. The last work party of this year featured traditional winter activities and much to set us up for a flying start next year."
Over 75 metres of new mixed hedging was planted, which concluded the last task funded by a grant from National Grid Electricity Distribution Community Matters Fund.
On December 2, the team was visited by the High Sheriff of Shropshire, Mandy Thorn, who was impressed by the high number of volunteers working to restore the canal.
The team will be starting work to restore the northern half of the channel in the new year.
