Shropshire Union Canal
Arrow-straight for much of its length, this charming rural waterway strides across the landscape.
The 66-mile Shropshire Union Canal is a canal of two halves. North of Nantwich, the canal - built originally as the Chester Canal - is a wide waterway following the gentle rolling landscape of western Cheshire to Ellesmere Port. Here, the Shroppie meets with the iconic Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey, and on the banks of these vast waterways you will find the wonderful National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port.
But the southern half of the canal - built in the twilight of the canal age - is an astonishing feat of engineering. Its long embankments, deep cuttings and grandiose bridges frequently dominate the scenery. In contrast to the winding contours of early canals, the Shroppie kept the same course across valley and through hills, speeding cargoes on their way from the North-West to Wolverhampton and the Midlands. Concrete 'pill boxes' are an artefact from later times, a reminder of how the line was defended in wartime.
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