Just days left to enter canal triathlon

Residents  Newtown and visitors from across the UK have just days left to secure their place in this year's Montgomery Canal Triathlon, with bookings closing on Saturday.

The annual cross-border endurance event will begin in Newtown on Saturday, 6 September, before taking participants on a challenging journey through Montgomeryshire and into Shropshire.

The 2025 triathlon, organised by the Friends of the Montgomery Canal, will see cyclists set off from Newtown for a 12-mile ride along the towpath to Whitehouse Bridge, south of Welshpool. This opening section forms part of National Cycle Route 81 and offers participants their first glimpse of the canal's varied restoration states.

From Whitehouse Bridge, entrants will switch to canoes for a five-mile paddle through Welshpool, navigating a couple of locks with assistance available. The final challenge is a 10-mile run or hike from Pool Quay across the English border to this year's finish point at Crickheath Bridge, south of Oswestry.

The triathlon's route changes annually as restoration work progresses along the historic waterway. This year's finish at Crickheath Bridge marks the latest milestone in the decades-long effort to restore the Montgomery Canal, making the event "a bit longer than a marathon" according to organisers.

The Montgomery Canal, known as "The Monty," is partially restored in eastern Powys and northwest Shropshire. It runs 33 miles from the Llangollen Canal at Frankton Junction to Newtown via Llanymynech and Welshpool.

A spokesman for the Friends of the Montgomery Canal said the event attracts families, keen athletes and casual participants from across the country, with entries this year already coming from locations ranging from the north of England to the Isle of Wight and the south coast. 

Participants can enter individual sections or tackle all three challenges. Those completing all three sections receive a commemorative medallion of local slate printed in gold, with silver medallions for two sections and bronze for single-section participants.

The event serves as a vital fundraiser for the ongoing restoration of the Montgomery Canal. The canal fell into disuse following a breach in 1936 and was officially abandoned in 1944. The restoration effort began in earnest during the 1970s, with volunteers and organisations working tirelessly to restore sections to navigable condition.

The canal's rich history dates back to the mid-1790s when the Ellesmere Canal Company built the section from Frankton Junction to Carreghofa. The independent Montgomeryshire Canal followed, opening from Carreghofa to Garthmyl in 1797, with the final six miles into Newtown completed in 1819. Originally built to transport limestone and coal, which was burnt in canalside kilns to produce quicklime fertiliser, the canal also carried timber, building stone and slates.

More than half the canal has been restored today, with significant sections navigable around Welshpool and from Frankton Junction to Crickheath. The restoration work has created one of Britain's most ecologically valuable waterways. 

It has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in several locations and is home to the largest UK populations of rare aquatic plants, including floating water plantain and grass wrack pondweed.

The Friends of the Montgomery Canal have contributed almost £40,000 to the restoration appeal through events like the triathlon, working alongside the Shropshire Union Canal Society and the Shrewsbury District & North Wales branch of the Inland Waterways Association. The "Restore the Montgomery Canal!" appeal supports volunteer restoration work that continues throughout the year.

Organisers emphasise that the Montgomery Canal Triathlon is not a race. Participants must take care on the towpath and when crossing roads that currently block sections of the canal. Entries can be booked online at themontgomerycanal.org.uk/friends/montgomery-canal-triathlon.