Volunteers who operate the George Watson Buck narrowboat on the Montgomery Canal in Llanymynech have launched a campaign to fund a refurbishment.
Graham Deakin, chairperson at Llanymynech Canal Wharf, said the group had taken the “difficult decision” to suspend weekend boat trips during 2026 due to factors outside their control. He said the Visitor Centre would still be open at weekends offering light refreshments, a canal exhibition and gift shop.
Graham said:
“This decision hasn’t been taken lightly, but we didn’t want to promise trips that we might not be able to deliver for our visitors.
“The situation does though give us an opportunity to refurbish our boat during the summer months when it is hopefully drier, warmer and with longer days. We have long planned to make 2026 a year to raise funds to refurbish our historic and unique boat, the only narrowboat built by JCB, so we are now launching a campaign to ask 2,026 people to give a fiver to help us complete a major overhaul of the boat this summer.
“We recently received a generous donation for £500 towards refurbishment from The Cabin in Llandrinio so we are looking to use that to help us improve the boat for future generations of visitors.
“Our popular Visitor Centre and exhibition will remain open to welcome visitors who want light refreshments and to find out more about the Montgomery Canal.”
Based at the Llanymynech Canal Wharf in the Heritage Area in Llanymynech, the Visitor Centre is in a historic stable block. The wharf is run by volunteers from the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust charity.
A small exhibition outlines the history associated with the Montgomery Canal, which was built to carry limestone from local quarries as well as passengers and agricultural goods. The Centre also has a number of second-hand books and small gifts for sale, with all proceeds and donations go towards running the Centre and keeping the George Watson Buck ship shape.
Graham added:
“We will continue to offer visitors a space to buy light refreshments and ice creams at weekends from Easter until the end of September and we are upgrading our souvenir shop to give visitors more to experience by the canal.
“We are a small, friendly group here and we’d love to welcome new volunteers to come and find out how they could help.
“We are aiming to install new windows and toilet on the boat as well as replacing the internal cabin cladding. The work is likely to cost £10-20,000 so if we can recruit local tradespeople and volunteers who would like to become part of this project, it would make it much more manageable.”
The Visitor Centre adjoins the Llanymynech Heritage Area and is open on Saturdays and Sundays from Easter until the end of September. Opening hours are 1.00 – 4.00pm.
Online donations can be madehere – https://pay.sumup.com/b2c/Q0JTJS4I.
If you are interested in helping in the restoration of the George Watson Buck narrowboat, call at the Visitor Centre or email news@themontgomerycanal.org.uk.
