Severn Way: Newtown to Welshpool, via Berriew
Route facts
Waterways:
Montgomery Canal »
River Severn »
Distance: 9.20 / 14.8
Duration: Five hours
Difficulty: Easy
Starts at: Halfpenny Bridge, Newtown
Ends at: Powysland Museum, Welshpool
This gentle section of the Severn Way follows the towpath of the Montgomery Canal.
One of the easier sections of the Severn Way, this route keeps close to the Montgomery Canal towpath. You can end your walk at several points along the way, including Berriew and take a bus back to Newtown, or continue to Welshpool and catch the train.
Getting there
Parking: The nearest car park in Newtown is opposite the main post office. A large public car park is also available in Welshpool.
Public transport: Regular trains run between Newtown and Welshpool, on the Birmingham-Shrewsbury-Aberystwyth line (Tel: 08457 484950). Buses run regularly between Welspool and Newtown making several stops on the way. For timetable information, contact Tourist Information - Welshpool, 01938 552043 or Newtown, 01686 625580.
Waypoints
1. Halfpenny Bridge, Newtown
You can join the Severn Way at the Severn footbridge in the centre of Newtown, known locally as Halfpenny Bridge. The nearest car park is opposite the main Post Office in the town. After crossing the footbridge, turn right over a metal stile and walk along the floodbank. At the far end, descend to a gate and onto a path through undergrowth. Pass through the grounds of the Old Pump House, now a private residence, and onto a track that runs on to join the Montgomery Canal Walkway, constructed by Severn Trent Water in 1983 using the former canal bed and parts of the riverbank.
2. Pwll Penarth Nature Reserve
The onward path past the Pwll Penarth Nature Reserve is the old towpath alongside the former canal bed, which is dry at this point. Stay on the towpath, unless you want to divert at a stile into the main part of the nature reserve. Beyond the end of the nature reserve, from Freestone Lock onwards, the canal is filled with water. With little need for route description, the Severn Way now simply follows the towpath all the way to Welshpool. As it approaches Aberbechan the canal is carried by a triple-arched aqueduct over Bechan Brook, where the remains of a corn mill and makings are concealed by trees.
3. Abermule
At Abermule, the route is diverted to the right to pass under a road. Continue to Brynderwen locks where you cross to the opposite side of the canal for a short distance, before crossing back again at the next bridge, turning under it to rejoin the towpath. Brynderwen is a former coal wharf and a 19th-century warehouse still survives. Beyond Brynderwen Cottage, it's towpath all the way into Welshpool; delightful, easy walking, but often too close to the A483 to enjoy the tranquillity of what is unquestionably beautiful countryside. A number of bridges add interest to this section. Glanhafren Bridge is the most ornate, with its cast iron balustrades, while Red House Bridge is one of the few remaining swing bridges on the canal. In the summer, keep a keen eye out for grass snakes basking in the sun and kingfishers feeding on fish from the canal.
4. Fron
South of Fron, the canal finally meets the busy road. Cross with care and continue on the other side. North of Fron the canal, but not the towpath, passes beneath the main road, which you have to recross to continue beside the on-going canal, finally getting a little further away from the road and the sound of traffic for a while.
5. Garthmyl
On the edge of Garthmyl, where a number of wharf buildings can still be identified, you meet the B4385. Turn left to a junction, and then right on the A483. Go past the Nag's Head and branch left onto a lane which crosses the canal. Turn left to rejoin the towpath. When next you meet a road, at Refail, go forward to rejoin the towpath.
6. Berriew Aqueduct
Anyone wanting to explore Berriew village, or watch salmon leaping the waterfall in October, should leave the towpath at the aqueduct and descend to join a lane. Turn left alongside the River Rhiw and walk up towards the village. Go past the Andrew Logan Museum of Sculpture to a junction near the Talbot Inn. Turn right, crossing the Rhiw. A short way on you'll find a post office, village shops, the Lion Hotel and a telephone. You can either catch a bus back from Berriew to Newtown or continue along the Severn Way to Welshpool - about another five miles.
7. Long Bridge (B4390), Berriew
To continue to Welshpool, leave the village of Berriew along the B4390, until you reach the canal once more, and turn down onto the towpath. Soon you pass more locks and a garden area of a cottage. The Luggy Aqueduct, a small iron trough built in 1819, carries the canal over Luggy Brook before you pass Brithdir and Wernllwyd to reach Chapel Bridge at Llwynderw. More easy towpath walking ensues as you continue past Llwynderw and on towards Welshpool.
8. Belan Locks
Before long, Belan is reached, with its recently restored locks and distinctive black and white houses, built c. 1800 by the canal company for the limekiln workers. Soon after Belan, some of the parkland surrounding the National Trust's Powis Castle can be seen on the left. The castle was built in c. 1200 but has been much extended and embellished since. Magnificent though Powis Castle is, it is the spectacular terraced garden which is world famous.
9. Welshpool
Not long before reaching the edge of Welshpool the canal passes beneath the main road. Pass the Whitehouse Nature Reserve on your right (a remnant section of canal) and continue on the towpath into the centre of Welshpool and the Town Lock. Leave the canal at the Severn Road bridge, adjacent to the Powysland Museum; the centre of Welshpool is on your left, the train station on your right.
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