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The Montgomeryshire Canal |
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The disused Montgomeryshire Canal stretches between Welsh Frankton in Shropshire and Newtown in Powys. The length in Montgomeryshire lies between Llanymynech in the north and Newtown in the west of the county and is approximately 23 miles long. The canal is designated as both an SSSI and cSAC (candidate Special Area of Conservation). The majority of the canals full length in Montgomeryshire is readily accessible to the public via the towpath. Easy access with parking is available in both Newtown and Welshpool and at several of the villages along its route including Garthmyl, Berriew, Arddleen, Four Crosses and Llanymynech. There are two off-line nature reserves adjacent to the canal including the British Waterways managed Wern Clay Pits reserve west of Arddleen (SJ25171413) and the Pwll Penarth reserve (SO13869264) managed by the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust which lies to the east of Newtown.
Two views of the lush vegetation on the canal
Resident species of dragonfly which the visitor can expect to see include the following (note that all scarcity remarks are of local rather than national relevance): Azure Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Large Red Damselfly, Red-eyed Damselfly, Emerald Damselfly, Banded Demoiselle, White-legged Damselfly (uncommon), Beautiful Demoiselle (scarce), Southern Hawker (uncommon), Brown Hawker, Emperor Dragonfly, Club-tailed Dragonfly (very scarce), Broad-bodied Chaser (extremely scarce), Four-spotted Chaser (very scarce), Common Darter and Ruddy Darter. Please email me with any records of sightings you make along the canal
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