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Monday
14  July

Newtown's Montgomery Canal Triathlon entries flooding in

 
01/07/2025 @ 07:37

 

Entries for this year’s Montgomery Canal Triathlon, which starts in Newtown, are already coming in from across the UK, according to organisers.

The cross-border event, usually held in May has been switched to September 6 to give organisers and entrants the opportunity to see if this is a more suitable time of year.

The triathlon was last held in September in 2021 as Covid restrictions eased.

The Montgomery Canal Triathlon is a popular and family-friendly event which brings people from across the country each year. Regulars will see some changes to the event as the Friends of the Montgomery Canal simplify the administration for the organising volunteers. Continuing restoration of the canal in Shropshire means the finish will be at a different location this year too.

Entrants, who can take part in one, two or all three sections, will set off from Newtown on bikes and change to canoes near Whitehouse Bridge, Welshpool (thanks to the generous permission of Powis Estates) to paddle five miles through the centre of Welshpool.

Canoes will be left at Pool Quay ready for the final 10 miles on foot and on the way, entrants will be able to see where contractors are at work to create a new canalside nature reserve and to build a new highway bridge across the canal.

After crossing the border at Llanymynech the entrants will see the progress now being made by volunteers reinstating the canal channel.

As the canal and towpath can only take a limited number of entrants, early booking is advised. There is an 'early bird' reduction in entry fees until July 13.

A spokesperson for the Friends of the Montgomery Canal said: “The Triathlon is the year’s biggest event on the Montgomery Canal with families and friends joining every year, many from a long way away. Already this year we have entries from Cornwall, west Wales, London and the East Midlands.

“The Triathlon highlights everything that has already been achieved as today over half the canal has been reopened. On the way, participants will see where road crossings block the canal and where contractors are working to remove one of the blockages and to add another nature reserve to protect the canal’s valued flora and fauna.

“As they approach the finish they will see the great progress of volunteer work parties restoring a section of the canal towards the new Schoolhouse Bridge.

“We are running the Triathlon to support those volunteer work parties and each year the Friends of the Montgomery Canal is able to make a contribution from the proceeds of the event to the Restore the Montgomery Canal! appeal.

“The triathlon is a great advertisement not only for the Montgomery Canal, a byway on the fringe of our national canal system, but also for the borderland of Powys and Shropshire, its market towns, countryside and wildlife. We know that a reopened canal can bring many benefits to the local community and we look forward to seeing those benefits in Mid Wales.

“As usual, entrants who complete any section will receive a commemorative medallion of local slate, printed in gold for anyone who completes all three sections, silver for those who complete two, and bronze if only one section is completed.”

The canal owners, the Canal & River Trust, support the triathlon, which is made possible by an army of volunteers who marshal at locks and road crossings, the team at Llanymynech Wharf Visitor Centre, and, in particular, volunteers of the Welshpool Towpath Taskforce, TRAMPS, who prepare sites for the event and clear them afterwards. A Tesco Stronger Starts grant assists the triathlon.

Booking is online through https://themontgomerycanal.org.uk/friends/montgomery-canal-triathlon/.

Organisers point out that the Montgomery Canal Triathlon is not a race, and entrants will have to take care on the towpath, at locks and when crossing roads where they currently block the canal.