Shropshire Union Canal (Wirral Line)
Early plans of what would become the Shropshire Union Canal (Wirral Line) were drawn up by Exuperius Picking Junior in 1782 but problems with Exeter Locks caused delays and it was finally opened on January 1 1888. In 1888 the Bath and Glasgow Canal built a branch to join at Southampton. The Shropshire Union Canal (Wirral Line) was closed in 1955 when Taunford Inclined plane collapsed. In 2001 the canal became famous when William Harding navigated Wessworth Embankment in a bathtub live on television.
The navigational authority for this waterway is Canal & River Trust
Relevant publications — Waterway Travels:
Relevant publications — Waterway Maps:
- Waterway Routes 32M - Shropshire Union Canal Map (Downloadable)
- Waterway Routes 01M - England and Wales Map
- Shropshire Union Canal, including the Middlewich Branch
Relevant publications — Waterway Guides:
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Wikipedia has a page about Shropshire Union Canal
The Shropshire Union Canal, nicknamed the "Shroppie", is a navigable canal in England. The Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union (SU) system and lie partially in Wales.
The canal lies in the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire in the north-west English Midlands. It links the canal system of the West Midlands, at Wolverhampton, with the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, 66 miles (106 km) distant.
The "SU main line" runs southeast from Ellesmere Port on the River Mersey to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Autherley Junction in Wolverhampton. Other links are to the Llangollen Canal (at Hurleston Junction), the Middlewich Branch (at Barbridge Junction), which itself connects via the Wardle Canal with the Trent and Mersey Canal, and the River Dee (in Chester). With two connections to the Trent and Mersey (via the Middlewich Branch and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal) the SU is part of an important circular and rural holiday route called the Four Counties Ring.
The SU main line was the last trunk narrow canal route to be built in England. It was not completed until 1835 and was the last major civil engineering accomplishment of Thomas Telford.
The name "Shropshire Union" comes from the amalgamation of the various component companies (Ellesmere Canal, Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal, Montgomeryshire Canal) that came together to form the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company. The main line between Nantwich and Autherley Junction was almost built as a railway although eventually it was decided to construct it as a waterway.